1848. THE CULTIVATOR. 11 
Merino, unless I knew that the Merino had been kept 
pure and unmixed in Saxony. The contrary practice 
would be gradually but certainly breeding back again 
into the common stock of the country. I have, how¬ 
ever, every reason to believe, that the sheep imported 
by Mr. Muller were perfectly pure Merinos: and I think 
Clolumbus [a noted ram] was the first descendant from 
Muller’s ram, and one of Col. Humphrey’s ewes. You 
are certainly wrong in thinking Columbus was the best 
ram in my flo6k. It was Americas that sheared 124 
lbs. of wool which I sold for $25 cash. It was Amer- 
icus that weighed 148 lbs. Americus was begotten by 
Columbus, and was, in my opinion, in all respects a 
superior sheep. I now think that Americus was the 
best Merino ram I have ever met with, although I have 
travelled from Boston to Alexandria for the purpose of 
examining all the early importations from Spain, and 
of purchasing the best I could find. 
u I have expended more than $40,000 upon Merino 
sheep, but never could find one equal to Americus in 
every respect. I do not remember the weight of Co¬ 
lumbus; but his fleece never weighed more than 94 lbs., 
which I sold for $2 per lb. Mr. Howell gave me $300 
for Columbus, at a time when the best imported Spanish 
rams were to be had for $50. The same Mr. Howell 
gave me Jive hundred dollars for Americus. I presume 
you have mistaken these two sheep.” 
There cannot be a doubt that Mr. Dickinson ren¬ 
dered the section where he was located, very important 
service by the introduction and dissemination of llis 
valuable stock of sheep. It will be seen by Mr. Cald¬ 
well’s letter, that these sheep had not ov\y Jine wool, 
but that they produced very heavy fleeces—the ram 
Columbus having sheared 94 lbs. at a clip, and Ameri¬ 
cus 124 lbs.; and the wool of both was of such excel¬ 
lent quality that it readily «ommanded $2 per lb., cash. 
The fleeces were unquestionably washed, or they would 
not have brought such a price. It is true that this 
was at an early day, when fine-wool was comparatively 
scarce, but the price is, nevertheless, an indication of 
superior quality. 
In the American Farmer , vol. vii, page 331, there 
is a communication under date of Dec. 23, 1825, from 
John McDowell, Steubenville, Ohio, in .reference to 
some samples of wool which he had sent to Mr. Skin¬ 
ner, then the editor of that publication. The samples 
were taken from Mr. McD.’s flock, which he states was 
derived from Mr. Dickinson, and the quality of the 
wool was stated to be such that Mr. McD. obtained 
ts eighty cents per pound for the lot [about 400 fleeces] 
in the dirt.” Mr. McD. observes that “ the country 
is more indebted to Mr. Dickinson than to any other 
man in it, for the present standing of the Merino sheep; 
for when they were at the lowest ebb, perfectly de¬ 
graded, and suffered to be adulterated, and destroyed 
in every manner, he meted to them the strictest atten¬ 
tion, and retained them entirely pure, and-for many 
years supplied all the flocks of the west with full-bred 
bucks.” In relation to the samples of wool and Mr. 
Dickinson’s flock, the editor of the publication referred 
to remarks, that he believes Mr. D. could “ select 
from his flock individual rams and ewes in as great 
number, and with fleeces as fine, as can be found in any 
flock of like number in any country.” 
John H. Ewing, Washington, Pa., speaking of the 
introduction of Merino sheep into that section, says:— 
“ Hut of those most distinguished for their efforts. 
Messrs. Wells & Dickinson, of Steubenville, are enti¬ 
tled to the greatest credit. They made great progress 
in Wool-improvement, and spent a fortune to establish 
their purpose, and in establishing its manufacture.” 
[Amer. Shepherd , page 414. 
The chief point to which I wish to call attention, in 
relation to this subject, is, that Mr, Dickinson obtained 
the remarkable fineness of wool for which his sheep 
became noted, principally by his own good manage¬ 
ment. With the exception of the ram from Hesse 
Cassel, above-mentioned, his flock appears to have 
originated from Spanish sheep of various importations. 
He observed great care in his selections, and in that 
way. and by bestowing proper treatment on his sheep 
at all times, he continually improved the general qual¬ 
ity of their wool; and in this he gave an example which 
other wool-growers might profitably imitate. 
In a future article, I will endeavor to give some no¬ 
tice of the most celebrated flocks in this section. R. W. 
Wellsburg, Va., Nov. 23, 1847. 
S>oMiestic Ec©it©aiiy, Keclpe§, ^kc. 
Preserving Grapes in Winter.-— W. Williams,, 
near New-York city, describes, in the Horticulturist, 
two modes of preserving Isabella and Catawba grapes: 
the first for early winter use; the second for late win¬ 
ter and spring—he. has kept them quite sound till 
April. 
The first mode consists simply of depositing the 
grapes in single layers on shelves with light wooden 
latice bottoms, arranged within his ice-house. 
The second is packing them-in boxes, which are of 
rather small size, (about 1 peck each,) such as may 
be opened once a week, as wanted for use. As these 
are for longer keeping, the grapes are gathered, be¬ 
fore fully ripe, on a dry windy day, and packed away 
perfectly dry. They are lined first with paper, and 
then with cotton, and cotton is placed between every 
layer of grapes till the box is full. They are then 
covered with cotton, and the cover fastened down with 
nails or otherwise. It is found that decay takes place 
slower when the air is not entirely excluded. 
Curing Beef. —By most of the modes now in use, 
the beef becomes too much impregnated with salt, and 
is not as a consequence so fine for eating. By the fol¬ 
lowing process this difficulty is prevented, and the beef 
will keep till the following summer: To 8 gallons of 
water, add 2 lbs. of brown sugar, 1 quart of molasses, 
4 oz. of*nitre, and fine salt till it will float an egg. 
This is enough for 2 common quarters of beef. It ha® 
been repeatedly tried and found very fine; a famous 
beef eater says it is the only good way. 
To extinguish Chimneys on Fire. —“ First shut the 
doors and windows of the room containing the fire; stop 
up the flue of the chimney with a piece of wet carpet or 
blanket; and then throw a little water or common salt 
on the fire. By this means the draught of the chimney 
will be checked, and the burning soot will soon be ex¬ 
tinguished for want of air. Let this be remembered 
by the reader.” 
Fattening Poultry. —An excellent way is to boil 
potatoes, and mash them fine, then add meal, just be¬ 
fore the food is given to them. It is asserted that tur¬ 
keys, geese, and other fowls, will thus fatten in on© 
half the time usually required when they are fed on 
grain alone. 
Age of Poultry. —Those who purchase poultry 
will observe, that if a hen’s spur is hard, and the scales 
on the legs rough, she is old. If the head is on, th® 
comb will be thick and rough, and the under bill stiff, 
and hard to bend down. A young hen has only rudi¬ 
ments of spurs, scales on the legs smooth, and fresh, 
claws tender and short, under bill short, comb thin and 
smooth. The same remarks, as to the legs, apply ita 
part to turkeys and to geese. 
Water proof Glue. —Render glue perfectly soft, 
but not liquid, in cold water; then dissolve it by gentl© 
heat, in linseed oil. It dries almost immediately, and 
water will not affect it- 
