268 
ELECTORAL SAXON SHEEP. 
tained in their kind shepherd, the flocks are not 
wanting in an eloquent defender; and that all 
these remarks will tend to call public attention to 
them more pointedly than if they had never been 
made, and in this way their merits will become 
more known, and a greater anxiety manifested to 
obtain the animals in question. 
ELECTORAL SAXON SHEEP. 
The friends of the late H. D. Grove, have read 
with much surprise and regret, the remarks on 
his valuable flocks of “ Electoral Saxon Sheep,” in 
the May No. of the present volume of the Ameri¬ 
can Agriculturist, over the signature of Americus. 
The cause of this surprise was not, that a writer 
should express a partiality in favor of the animal 
in which a portion of his property might be in¬ 
vested, and when comparing it with other varie¬ 
ties of the same animal, rivals perhaps for the 
public favor, that he should draw conclusions fa¬ 
vorable to his own kind, and adverse to all others ; 
all of which being perfectly consistent with every 
day’s observation, might have been expected. 
But it arose from circumstances peculiar to this 
case. Mr. Grove slept in a recent grave; his 
more intimate friends had just taken hold to assist 
his bereaved, and at the time, in a great measure, 
helpless family, in the settlement of his estate; a 
large proportion of his property was in Saxon 
sheep, and these were advertised for sale; and yet, 
in the very No. of the periodical in which this 
advertisement appeared, an anonymous correspon¬ 
dent makes an attack not only on this variety of 
sheep, but upon the very flock by name thus ad¬ 
vertised. This was a thrust that no one could 
anticipate ; and as those who were the most deep¬ 
ly interested, possessed but an imperfect knowledge 
of this department of agriculture, no one was pre¬ 
pared to ward it off. Had Mr. Grove been alive, 
his ready pen would probably have come to the 
contest, fully capable of defending his favorite 
Saxons; yet that pen was now forever silenced, 
and they have been left to the discrimination of an 
enlightened public, for an appreciation of their val¬ 
uable qualities. 
Americus exhibits great tact through his whole 
article, and especially in that part more directly 
under consideration. In his general remarks he 
says, that the Merinos are “ undoubtedly the most 
valuable and profitable race of sheep for wool¬ 
growing purposes, which this country or the world 
has ever seen;” and having made this broad asser¬ 
tion, without even an attempted shadow of proof, 
he proceeds to compare the Saxons, and especially 
the flock of Mr. Grove, with this most indefinite 
standard of excellence. A seasonable proportion 
of flattery introduces this part of the subject: 
“ Mr. Grove, an occasional correspondent of yours, 
whose contributions to your pages I wish could be 
more frequent.” “He is a man of worth , as well 
as of intelligence, and his merit is only surpassed 
by his modesty .” But his sheep, though “ of dis¬ 
tinguished excellence, and believed to possess very 
strong and unquestioned claims to purity of blood,” 
are but “ delicate and beautiful hot-house plants.” 
“ Mr. Grove is a thorough Saxon shepherd,” and 
“ of this I need give no better evidence than his 
perfect success in raising” these animals, which 
“though so difficult a task in the hands of most 
other persons who have tried it in this country,” 
he “ finds in it nothing impossible or difficult. In 
his hands the Saxons live and thrive as well as the 
hardy Merinos do in mine;” all of which, when 
analyzed, means nothing more nor less, than that 
Mr. Grove has a most valuable flock of pure blood 
Saxons, which, from the fineness and “ admirable 
felting qualities” of their wool, are becoming great 
favorites with the public, and consequently very 
much in the way of Americus ’ Merinos. 
The question, notwithstanding Americus’ most 
unqualified assertion, remains yet undecided, what 
in reality constitutes “ the most valuable and prof¬ 
itable race of sheep for wool-growing purposes.” 
It is a question of immense importance, subject to 
the influence of a variety of circumstances, easily 
answered in general terms; yet extremely difficult, 
when brought to the test of a practical solution. 
It depends not only upon the facility of raising and 
keeping the animals, but also upon the demand in 
market for the particular staple thus produced. 
We need coarse wools—we need fine wools—and 
we need a middling quality ; and all of these varie¬ 
ties are equally necessary to supply the wants of 
the country and the demands of the market. Now 
as we cannot grow the fine wools on the South- 
Downs or Bakewells, nor the coarse wools on the 
Saxons, nor anything but a middling quality on the 
Merinos; each of these varieties of animal, become 
necessary to fill up its proper space in the wants 
of society; and the prosperity of the wool-growing 
community depends much upon the maintenance 
of a due proportion between the quantity produced 
of each of these qualities of staple, and the demand 
for it in the market—and, consequently, if an 
oversupply of either be produced, it must necessa¬ 
rily depreciate temporarily in value.* 
Another idea, and one to which Americus takes 
particular pains to call the attention of wool-grow¬ 
ers, is the delicateness and tenderness of the Saxon 
sheep, and he compares them with great gusto 
with what he considers the more hardy Merinos. 
This prejudice (for I think with regard to the pure 
blood Electoral Saxon, it is only a prejudice), has 
become somewhat extensive, arising from the fact, 
that during the first two or three years of the spec¬ 
ulating mania in Saxon sheep, say from 1824 to 
1827, large numbers of “miserable counterfeits” 
were introduced into the country under the name 
of open woolled animals, with their scant 2 lb. 
* To show that the market is not overstocked at present 
with Saxon wool, especially with Mr. Grove’s kind of Sax¬ 
on, I herewith present the bill of the sale of this wool 
this season. 
Middlesex Co. Bought of the Administrators of the 
estate of the late H. D. Grove. Lowell August 7, 1844. 
( 93 lbs. wool a 85 cts. pr. lb. 
tt • ^ i 1 139 “ “ a 70 “ “ “ 
floosie Flock ^ 252 « a a 62 11 11 11 
[ 76 “ “ a 50 “ “ “ 
( 63 lbs. wool a 85 cts. pr. lb. 
222 “ “ a 70 “ “ “ 
Ohio Flock \ 286 “ “ a 62 “ “ “ 
1374 “ “ a 60 “ “ “ 
121 “ “ a 50 “ “ “ 
