FINE WOOL SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 45 
had previously supplied us with our woolen goods, 
and was so interrupted and precarious with all others, 
that the establishment of home manufactories and of 
the means of supplying them with raw material, 
became an object of prime necessity. Most fortu- 
nately, the embargo was raised at just the right 
moment to allow the sheep, which the situation of 
Spanish affairs threw in the way of Mr. Jarvis and 
others, to be purchased and sent home. 
At such a juncture, it would be expected that the 
arrival of the Merino on our shores would be hailed 
with enthusiasm—particularly when it was learned 
that we had obtained the very best sheep of Spain. 
And, as a matter of course, the spirit of speculation 
lent energy to the movement. From $1,000 to $1,500 
a head were in many instances paid for the imported 
rams, and $1,000 a head for the ewes. Flocks of full 
blood or grade sheep were eagerly commenced in all 
parts of the country. ine wool commanded such an 
exorbitant price that it required the utmost bad man- 
agement, added to the most extravagant original dis- 
bursement, to render the venture unprofitable. As 
early as 1807 wool rose to a dollara pound. In 1809, 
Mr. Livingston sold his full-blood Merino wool, 
unwashed, for two dollars a pound! During the war 
with England it rose to $2.50. 
State Encouragement. 
The Legislature of this state passed laws to encour- 
age the manufacture of woolen cloth. By the act of 
April 8, 1808, premiums of $150, $75 and $50 were 
respectively offered for “the best specimens of woolen 
