338 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
FULL BLOOD MERINO SHEEP. 
In our October number, we spoke of some sheep exhi¬ 
bited at Poughkeepsie, by Mr. Jacob N. Blakeslee, of 
Watertown, Litchfield county, Conn., and by Mr. Stephen 
Atwood of Woodbury, in the same county. We stated 
that these sheep were represented as being entirely of 
the blood imported by Col. Humphrey in 1802. This 
statement which was made without reference to some pa¬ 
pers given us by Mr. Blakeslee, and which were then 
mislaid, was not quite correct, It is hot claimed that the 
sheep are entirely descended from the Humphrey impor¬ 
tation, as will be seen by the account furnished us by 
Mr. Blakeslee, which we give below. 
In the April number of the Cultivator, we published a 
communication from the Hon. Wm. Jarvis, of Weathers- 
field, Vt., in which he expresses doubts whether there 
are any full blood Merinos in the country, excepting 
some which have been derived from his flock. That in 
this particular Mr. Jarvis was mistaken, will appear from 
the statements of Mr. Sanford in the September number. 
In reference to the communication of Mr. Jarvis, Mr. 
Blakeslee says —“ He seems to doubt that there is any 
pure blooded Merino sheep in the country at the present 
time, but what are in his possession. The duty which I 
owe myself and my neighbors, requires me to give a de¬ 
scription of some pure bloods, that are the offspring of 
some of the first that ever came into the United States, 
brought into the country by David Humphrey in 1802, 
which were a present to his wife by her father, as she 
was a Spanish lady. After a few years, two pairs of them 
were purchased by Daniel Bacon, of Woodbury, Litch¬ 
field county. They were kept in their pure state till 
1811. There was then an importation of the Guadaloupe 
sheep by a company formed in Litchfield county; John 
De Forest, supercargo. They arrived at New-Haven, 
and were sold at auction, Jan. 17, 1811. There was one 
full blooded Escurialbuck, which was purchased by Dan¬ 
iel Bacon at $275, and was crossed upon those sheep 
that came'by the way of Mrs.’Humphrey. He continued 
this cross till 1816 or 1817, when he sold his Escurial 
buck to William K, Lampson for $1,130. He kept his 
sheep pure till the introduction of Saxony sheep. He 
then sold the remainder of his flock to Daniel Martin. I 
began a flock of sheep in 1815, that were imported by 
Peck & Atwater, New-Haven. A part of them were the 
Negretti and a part Montarco. I let them run together 
till 1823. I then procured the use of a buck for three 
seasons, bred by Daniel Bacon from his Escurial buck. 
The average weight of the fleeces of the stock from this 
buck, was four pounds, and the wool brought me ten 
cents in a pound more than the original stock. In 1828 
I purchased a buck that was raised by Daniel Bacon. 
From that time down to the present, I have kept that 
blood pure; this flock is now a cross of three sorts of 
Spanish sheep, and perfectly clear from native or Saxony 
blood. My farm is not a healthy farm for sheep, and of 
course they are a little under size. They are a full, 
round, handsome bodied sheep, with shortish legs and a 
very round neck. They have very heavy fleeces for 
their size. Their wool is a long staple, a great deal of 
crimp, and very compact at the outer end. They have 
generally wool about their face and on their legs down to 
their feet. After taking great pains to wash them, the 
average weight of their fleeces this season was three 
pounds and a half, and there are very few flocks of Saxo¬ 
ny sheep any finer. Mr. Samuel Lawrence of Lowell, 
who has had this wool for four seasons past, has givqn 
his opinion that there is no Merino wool that compares 
with it. This improvement has been made by a cross 
of the different breeds. I am decidedly of the opinion 
that there is no full blood animal equal to a cross; the 
reason I give is that there is no perfect animal on the 
face of this earth: where an animal is imperfect, you can 
never remedy the defect by the use of an animal that has 
the same defect. The Saxony sheep are defective in the 
quantity of wool; in our cold climate the outer end be¬ 
comes dead and destitute of felting properties. The 
Spanish breeds spoken of are free from both these de¬ 
fects, and wherever those bucks have been crossed upon 
high blood Saxons, there has been an addition of 8 to 24 
ounces to each fleece, and whenever it has been througn 
the process of stapling, it has brought at least 5 cents 
more on a pound. I have often heard the question ask¬ 
ed, why new wool would not felt like wool that had lain 
a year. I believe if the wool growers had taken as much 
pains to improve upon the Merino as they have upon the 
Saxony, that question never would have been asked. Al¬ 
most the whole of the fine goods that are now made are 
made from Saxony wool that has a dead end, very tender 
when new, and destitute of felting properties; after lying 
in the native oil one year it becomes so rotten that it 
wastes in the machinery before it comes to the felting 
process. As there is more native oil in the fine Merino 
wool, it has been the cause of some complaint by our 
manufacturers, that it wastes too much in cleansing. If 
they would weigh both kinds of wool in the fleece, and 
then weigh the goods when finished, they would find the 
Saxony wool would waste as much as the Merino.” 
Mr. Blakeslee’s sheep are compact and symmetrical, 
answering the description given of the Gaudaloupe, 
which are said to have the most perfect form of any of 
the Merino varieties. (Library of Useful Knowledge— 
“ Sheep,” p. 156.) 
THE ARTICHOKE. 
Several trials which we have known made with this 
root, indicate that it is one of the most valuable for stock, 
which can be cultivated. A few years ago, a gentleman 
of our acquaintance planted a small patch of rich ground 
with them. The produce was at the rate of 1,200 bush¬ 
els per acre. They were principally harvested by hogs, 
which were turned in and allowed to root them up as 
their appetite prompted. They gained well, with no oth¬ 
er food, while the artichokes lasted. A great advantage 
of this root is, that it will lie in the ground without inju¬ 
ry all winter. 
Mr. Thomas Noble, of Massillon, gave us a brief ac¬ 
count of a trial with artichokes, made by him the past 
season. In April, 1843, he planted two acres with this 
vegetable. The ground was of medium quality. The 
artichokes were planted in rows to 3 feet apart—using 
a little more seed than is commonly used in planting po¬ 
tatoes. As soon as the frost was out of the ground last, 
spring, (1844,) the digging of them was begun and con¬ 
tinued as the stock required. The produce of the two 
acres was 1500 bushels. They were fed principally to 
sheep, though some were given to cattle, horses and 
hogs. All animals ate them well, seeming to prefer them 
to turneps. While the sheep were being fed with them, 
they were pastured on growing wheat and clover. The 
shepherd thought the wheat and clover was sufficient for 
them,.as there was a full “ bite,” and he accordingly dis¬ 
continued the artichokes. The ewes “ fell off” in their 
milk, and the lambs soon showed that they were not do¬ 
ing so well. The artichokes were again given, and they 
soon did as well as ever. 
Mr. Noble also used the tops for fodder. He cut them 
in October, just before frost came, dried and housed them. 
They were fed to the stock in winter, and were evident¬ 
ly preferred to corn fodder. 
Mr. N. is so well pleased with artichokes, that he is 
raising them this year on a larger scale. They require 
but little cultivation; it being only necessary to keep the 
ground clear of weeds till the artichokes get a good start. 
Mr. T. M. Johnson of Greensboro 5 , Alabama, lately in¬ 
formed us, that he is this year growing 30 acres of arti¬ 
chokes. He considers them the most profitable vegeta¬ 
ble he can raise. In that climate they can be dug any 
time in the winter. 
There are several varieties of artichokes, but that call¬ 
ed the Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) is con¬ 
sidered best. From the fibres of the tops or stems, a cor¬ 
dage is sometimes manufactured in some parts of Eu¬ 
rope. 
Two tea-spoons full of finely powdered charcoal, (says 
the N. Y. Herald,) drank in a half tumbler of water, will, 
in less than fifteen minutes, give relief to the sick head¬ 
ache, when caused, as in most cases it is, by superabun 
dance of acid on the stomach. 
