1865.J 
AMERICAN ACRICULTURIST. 
76 
American Merino Sheep. 
The engraving herewith presented is a por¬ 
trait of a pair of ewes, bred and owned by Mr. 
George Campbell, of Westminster, Vt.,—the 
breeder who gained for American Merinos so 
much credit at the Hamburgh World’s Fair, in 
1863. Twelve of his sheep, competing with 
the best flocks of Europe, took two first prizes, 
for length of staple and weight of fleece, not- 
witlistanding the number of entries in the Mer¬ 
ino class was 013. This breed of sheep, then for 
the first time brought prominently before the 
public, have very rapidly risen in favor, and the 
American Merinos, especially as bred in Ver¬ 
mont, are greatly sought for to improve flocks 
of fine wool sheep all over the world. Among 
the older and most noted breeders are Mr. Ham¬ 
mond, Mr. Sanford, the Messrs. Cutting, Mr. 
Wright, Mr. Saxton, and others, in the Western 
portion of the State, and in the Eastern part, 
Messrs. Campbell, Cushing, Bridge, Perkins, 
Fuller, and others—the great pioneers in the im¬ 
provement of the original Spanish Merino. 
These flocks principall}'originated from the ear¬ 
ly importations of Col. David Humphreys, of 
Connecticut. Mr. Hammond and others, in Ad¬ 
dison Co., made their purchases of the Hum¬ 
phrey’s stock of Mr. Stephen Atwood, of Con¬ 
necticut, principally in the years 1844 to 1846. 
These sheep have been so much improved, 
by Vermont breeders chiefly, that at a late 
meeting, held at White River Junction, for 
the purpose of forming a New-England Wool- 
Growers’ Association, it was thought proper to 
give them the name Improved American Meri¬ 
nos, in jilace of Spanish Merinos. This Con¬ 
vention passed the following resolution: 
'■'■Resolved —, That in consideration of the great 
advance which has been made in the breeding 
of Merino sheep, in the United States, since 
their first introduction here, we hereby agree 
to adopt the name of Improved American 
jSlerinos, as most appropriate to the thorough¬ 
bred Spanish Merino sheep of these States, and 
we recommend that this name be adopted by 
agricultural societies in offering preuuums.” 
The improvements are in their form, constitu¬ 
tion, and fleece. Formerly the wool on their 
bellies was short and thin, and there was scarcely 
any on their legs. At the present day, they are 
much stronger made, of better form and pro¬ 
portions, and are thickly covered with wool 
down to their feet. There is one disadvantage 
in having the sheep so thoroughly clothed on 
every part with wool, viz., that before dropping 
their lambs it is necessary for the shepherd to 
cut away the wool from the udder, so that the 
lamb may be able to find the teats. If the wool 
is left on, and the lamb left to take care of itself, 
in many instances it would perish. These cir¬ 
cumstances would not be as liable to occni- in 
summer as in winter, for the reason that nature 
has provided a remedy. After the sheep go to 
grass, the greater flow of milk, with the warm 
weather, causes a little feverishness in the bag, 
and the wool starts off, leaving the teats free. 
March and April Lambs. 
In order to raise lambs as early as March and 
April, the ewes should be in good condition. 
To have the lambs dropped strong and healthy, 
the ewes should have had plenty’ of gentle 
exercise. To make them grow, good eai-ly cut 
hay should be provided,—clover is best for milk. 
For grain, feed oats, shorts, and oil-meal, and, if 
possible, provide plenty of roots, of which beets 
are best. A warm barn or shed is of importance, 
for no prudent man wilt attempt to have early 
lambs without a comfortable place for them. 
A few small pens, sufficiently large for one 
sheep and lamb, say 3i by 3 feet, ought to be 
provided, and as soon as the lamb is dropped it 
should be put, with its dam, into one of these 
pens. If the wool has not already been cut 
away from the teats, this must be done at once, 
if necessary, and the shepherd should see that 
the lamb sucks. After remaining separate from 
the flock for a day or two, if the lambs become 
strong and suck well, they can be taken out 
and put with the flock of ewes with young 
lambs, leaving the pens for younger ones. It is 
not well to allow ewes with lambs to run with 
those that have not lambed.—To make the small 
pens, take sound boards and match them to¬ 
gether, so as to make the pen 2 feet 8 inches high 
7 feet long, and 3 j wide. Make a little feed rack, 
1 foot wide and 3j long, and set in the center, 
and you have two good pens 3 feet liy 31 each. 
If the weather is unusually cold, make a cover 
to these pens and cover them over when you 
have fi'esh lambs,—they need no bottom. 
After the lambs are three weeks old, they 
should be separated from their dams a part of 
the time. This prevents the lambs from learn¬ 
ing to cat wool from the sides and legs of the 
sheep, as they frequently do when left to them¬ 
selves. Another advantage in separating them 
is, that they can be fed with a little grain and 
roots and a few choice locks of hay, all of 
which they will soon learn to cat. The ewes 
will also do better when the lambs are kejit 
away from them a portion of the time each day. 
To separate them, let the shepherd stand in 
the doorway, with the door open just enough 
to let one sheep pass out at a time; a boy going 
behind the sheep drives them out while the 
shepherd keeps the lambs back. If the sheep 
are well trained, they will readily pass out, and 
the Iambs will learn to stay back. If they have 
not been handled much, and are inclined to be 
timid, be gentle with them, and in a short time 
they will learn their duty. Good lambs can bC' 
raised at any time in winter, by the above plan.> 
Look Out Early. 
Several indications point to a pretty large 
demand for implements, seeds, trees, etc., the 
coming spring and summer. Money is more 
abundant than labor; labor is high, and imjde- 
ments have not advanced in price so much as 
farm products. Any thing that will help out 
work, and increase the products of the soil,' will 
be eagerly secured by sensible farmers. Tlierj 
is a possibility, rather a probability, that con¬ 
siderable portions of some Southern States may¬ 
be sending for implements which they formerly 
procured mainly from the north. So there is 
danger of a short supply. The suggestion we 
