14. FINE WOOL SNEEP HUSBANDRY. 
importation, by Stephen Atwood, of Connecticut.* I 
* Mr. Atwood writes me that in the spring of 1813 he bought aewe 
of Colonel Humphreys for $120, and put her to aram “that Young- 
love Cutler bought of Colonel Humphreys in 1807.” This was the 
starting-point of his flock. He put their descendants to rams raised 
from Colonel Humphreys’ sheep in his neighborhood, until about 1830, 
after which period he used rams of his own raising. This is the dis- 
tinct and positive statement of a man whose character is considered 
good by those who know him. It has been uniformly made and per- 
sisted in by him froma period loug anterior to the time when the 
public attached any particular importance to the fact whether the 
sheep were descended egrlusively from Colonel Humphreys’ importa- 
tion or not. Though I own sheep of this family, Ihave never regarded 
that point of particular importance; and I commenced sifting out the 
facts on the present occasion leaning towards the opposite belief. But 
I find Mr. Atwood's statements persistent, coherent, reasonable in 
themselves, originally made under no peculiar motive of interest, and 
he certainly ought to Anow the history of his own flock better than 
those who are not even his near neighbors. To the only individual 
who has, so far as I know, impeached the accuracy of Mr. Atwood’s 
statements, I recently applied for a history of his own flock, only for 
the purpose of giving him the place and credit to which I supposed 
him entitled as a breeder of the pure descendants of imported Merino 
sheep. Something in the reply, and something in another letter re- 
ceived at the same period, induced me to question him in relation to 
Mr. Atwood’s flock. He says that prior to about the Sear 1822, Mr. 
Atwood’s sheep were Negrettis—“‘the hardest kind of Spanish sheep;” 
that Atwood then bought of him (my informant)a ram got by a ram 
“bred by Daniel Bacon, out of his imported Escurial buck ;” that some 
years after, Mr. Atwood hired a buck of (name illegible) that 
was got by his (my informant’s) “best Escurial buck ;” that ‘from these 
two bucks he (Atwood) has obtained his great credit.” My informant 
says his own ewes were Infantados. (See preceding note, where the 
importation of Atwater and Peck is spoken of) Admitting the sale, 
purchase, and hiring above alleged, does it prove any thing? Mr. At- 
wood not only bought or hired, but used a Saxon ram one year; hut 
wiser than his neighbors, promptly abandoned him and weeded all 
his lambs out of the flock. If there was any Merino flock in the 
United States specially unlike the Escurials, it was Mr. Atwood’s 
twenty years ago, and the samo is true now. How, then, could his 

