52. FINE WOOL SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 
on a better selection, but to no purpose. A quarrel 
ensued between us, and Kretchman even went so far 
as to engage another to take charge of the sheep on 
their passage. My friends interposing, I was finally 
induced to take charge of them. ‘The number shipped 
was 167, fifteen of which perished on the passage. 
They were sold at Brighton, some of them going as 
high as $400 to $450. A portion of this importation 
consisted of grade sheep, which sold as high as the 
ure bloods, for the American purchasers could not 
cnow the difference. It may be readily imagined 
what an inducement the Brighton sale held out to 
speculation, both in this country and Saxony. The 
German newspapers teemed with advertisements of 
sheep for sale, headed ‘Good for the American mar- 
ket;’ and these sheep, in many instances, were actually 
bought up for the American market at five, eight, or 
ten dollars a head, when the pure bloods could not 
be purchased at from less than thirty to forty dol- 
lars. In 1836, Messrs. Searle imported three cargoes, 
amounting in the aggregate to 513 sheep. They were 
about of the same character with their prior importa- 
tions ; in the main good, but mixed with some grade 
sheep. On the same year a cargo of 221 arrived, on 
German account, Emil Bach, of Leipsic, supercargo. 
A few were good sheep and of pure blood ; but taken 
as a lot they were miserable. The owners sunk about 
$3,000. Next came a cargo of 210, on German ac- 
count, Wasmuss and Multer owners. The whole cost 
of these was about $1,125 in Germany. With the 
exception of a small number, procured to make a 
flourish on in their advertisements of sale, they were 
sheep having no pretensions to purity of blood. In 
1827, the same individuals brought out another cargo. 
These were selected exclusively from grade flocks of a 
low character. On the same year the Messrs. Searle 
made their last importation, consisting of 182 sheep. 
Of these I know little. My friends in Germany wrote 
