252 THE CULTIVATOR August. 
Saxon breed, onl Mr. Jacob N. Blakeslee, of Connecti¬ 
cut, advocate for the Merino breed, largely and most 
interestingly participated. These gentlemen, after va¬ 
rious, propositions with the aid and approbation of the 
meeting, came to and agreed upon the following man¬ 
ner of testing, and as far as could be done, settling the 
question of the relative value of these two important 
breeds of sheep. 
Perkins & Brown, in the presence of Guy Walcott, 
of Summit county, Ohio, are to select forty lambs, 
which said Walcott is to see shorn, and is to certify 
that they were of the flock and bred by said Perkins & 
Brown, and that they were shorn at or about one year 
of age, and at the clip of 1847. The said Blakeslee is 
to select a like number from his flock, which are to be 
shorn at the same age, in presence of N. B. Smith, of 
Connecticut, at the clip of 1847, who is to make a like 
certificate as the one described—which certificates are 
to accompany the wool of the said lambs to the Middle¬ 
sex Company, and to be placed in the hands of Samuel 
Lawrence Esq., who is to be the umpire to decide 
upon the merits of the two lots; and it is understood 
that the wool is to be stapled and scoured, and the value 
of each fleece placed against it—and to give to the gen¬ 
tlemen competitors and the world, his decision and his 
views at large on the comparative excellence of the 
two kinds of sheep and their fleeces; and the wool- 
growers throughout the United States are respectfully 
and earnestly invited to participate in this competition, 
the results of which are deemed important to the wool 
interest, and to shear at the clip of 1847, a like number 
of lambs, (and if there be any variation from one year 
in the age, have the certificate state that variation par¬ 
ticularly,) and to obtain the proper and well authentica¬ 
ted certificates, and send them with the clip to the 
above-named umpire, who will report upon the whole, 
and award the meed of honor to whom it may be due, 
and make the report public. The reader will under¬ 
stand that Perkins.& Brown have a very choice flock of 
Saxons, and Mr. Blakeslee, a very choice flock of Me¬ 
rinos. 
It was unanimously voted that this report be signed 
by the chairman and secretary, and published in the 
Lowell Courier, and that the papers friendly to the 
wool interest throughout the country be requested to 
copy. SAMUEL LAWRENCE, Ch’n. 
George Dana, Sec’y. 
SHEEP AND WOOL. 
We have received a communication from Mr. Jacob 
N. Blakeslee, of Watertown, Ct., on the subject of 
sheep and wool, from which we make the following ex¬ 
tracts. 
In reference to breeding sheep, Mr. B. makes an ob¬ 
servation, the truth of which we think all will admit, 
viz., that “ It is one thing to collect a fine flock of sheep 
by selecting here and there one from the finest flocks in 
the whole country; and it is quite another and much 
more difficult thing, to improve a flock by the art of 
breeding. In the former case, improvement is only 
transferred from one to another; in the latter, the real 
value of property is actually increased. 5 ’ 
Mr. B. thinks too many wool-growers in this country 
have run into extremes. He says — st after the intro¬ 
duction of Saxon sheep to this country, it seemed to be 
the great aim of the wool-growers to produce the 
finest wool;, without regard to the weight of fleece or 
the constitution of the sheep. After awhile many saw 
their error. The next move was to see how great a 
fleece could be got, without regard to fineness and soft¬ 
ness. These are the two extremes; let them be shunned, 
and let it be the endeavor of the wool-grower to com¬ 
bine as many valuable and essential qualities as possible 
in the same animal, or in the same flock of sheep. 
“ In selecting male animals for breeders, we should 
take great pains to procure those of pure blood and the 
most perfect forms. At least three out of four animals 
partake largely, in their outward coat and appearance, 
of the male parent. In breeding fine-wooled sheep, 
this is an object of great importance, as their outward 
coat constitutes nine-tenths of their value. 
“I have always bred from the best buck I could raise 
or find, but since I purchased the one in 1828, bred by 
Daniel Bacon, [see Cultivator, for 1844, p. 335,] I have 
not been able to find one not of my own breeding that 
suited me to use in my own flock. * * * I never 
sell any of my best ewes till they are advanced in 
years# 55 
AGrRICULTURAL STATISTICS OF NEW-YORK. 
Mr. Tucker —The June number of your most excel¬ 
lent Cultivator is now before me, and I cannot omit 
here to express the pleasure and satisfaction which I 
have derived from the perusal thereof. It is, and has 
long been a matter of surprise to me, that a periodical 
whose every page teems with matter of the greatest in¬ 
terest and usefulness to the farmer should not receive a 
large addition to its already extensive list of subscri¬ 
bers. 
I have taken up my pen now more particularly to call 
your attention, and that of your readers, to an article in 
the June number, which will no doubt be extensively 
copied into other journals throughout this country not 
only, but also abroad, containing errors in some of its 
details calculated to give a wrong impression, and 
which I think should be immediately corrected. 
I refer to the agricultural statistics of this state, fur¬ 
nished to you by Mr. Randall. Statistics form the ba¬ 
sis of all human calculations, and it is therefore of the 
greatest importance that when given to the public they 
should be in all respects absolutely and positively cor¬ 
rect. 
So much of the article of Mr. R. as refers to the popu¬ 
lation, number of horses, cattle, horses, sheep, swine, 
and the produce and average yield per acre of wheat, 
is probably correct. But when he states the average 
yield per acre of spring crops , he dips into a very ex¬ 
tensive error, as he himself will perceive by referring 
carefully to the returns of the marshals. 
The census was taken the first day of July, 1845. 
The number of acres at that time under corn, rye, oats, 
barley, buckwheat, peas, beans, flax, potatoes, and tur- 
neps, was the number returned by the marshals, while 
the amount given of the produce of each of these arti¬ 
cles was that of the previous year, 1844, and a correct 
average yield per acre cannot thereby be made to 
appear. 
But let us look at the dairying operations. The 
marshals give us the number of cows that were milked 
in July, 1845, and the amount of butter and cheese 
made during the year 1844. Of course tthe average 
yield per cow is incorrect. 
When the marshal of our town called upon me, I re¬ 
monstrated with him on the subject, and the census of 
our town at least would have been taken in a proper 
manner had not the circular of the Hon. Secretary of 
State been issued. That profound paper directed the 
marshals to proceed precisely in the manner they did 
proceed, thus giving to the public a collection of agri¬ 
cultural statistics which are worthless. J. L. H. 
Castile, Wyovmig Co ., iV. Y. 
WHEAT AND CHESS-AN INCIDENT. 
I lately made a short journey in company with an in¬ 
telligent and experienced farmer, whose fine farm and 
heavy crops have long told the skill with which he 
managed his business, when the conversation turned 
upon the transmutation of wheat to chess. He men¬ 
tioned several strong cases to prove the change of one 
plant to the other—cases where clean seed had been 
sown on new land, and heavy crops of chess were the 
result. As is usual in such cases, unless I could assign 
a satisfactory cause, though knowing nothing of the 
circumstances, the assumed and unsatisfactory explana¬ 
tion by transmutation, was regarded by my friend as the 
