Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1862-07-31
Nrom the Country Gentleman and Cultivator.
FINE THOROUGHBRED SHEEP
... nc,, u,.I IN VERMONT. ....,....
RUTLAND, VI, July IA, 1862.


Messrs. Editors II notice in your is
sue of July 10th, 1862, a letter signed
George Burts, Manlius, N. Y, treating
on fine wool sheep, amp weight of fleece
ALSO asking to hear from others in
similar way.
10 L am on visit to Vermont in search Of
thorough Inbred sheep, looking for myself,
instead of buying of eastern traders and
spectators that visit our section annual
/ ". and being deceived, as / aave been by
| them. and for the last time I think, pay
ing them large prices Gas | now ind,) for
grade sheen. / have just returned from
visit to the farm of N. I. SPRAGUE, Jr.,
of Brandon, Vermont. was kindly
shown over the farm by Col. II. II. Mer-
rift, the shepherd and care-taker of the
premises. And such sheep 1t would
do any lover Of fine stock good to see
them. One buck deserves special notice.
He was two years old April 27, 1862
He sheared this season p pounds 9 OF. of
white, handsome unwashed wool /; q
weighed the fleece MYSELF - perfect
sheep in shape, with a strong constitution.
Also s two year old and Is yearling ewes
that sheared 424 40 lbs. of wool, (the
average is II 40 lbs. per head without
selecting out the best, as is many times
done, and giving to the public the weight
of the fleece of blood sheep - piece
of deception oftimes practiced upon the
reading community. The above number
of yearlings and two year olds. are all that
were raised on said farm in 1860 and 1861.
The flock of thorough bred sheep on said
farm is 1903. They sheared. as ] am iu-
formed by Col. Merritt, 1896 3-l6 lbs. of
wool. The wool is white as I ever saw
in fact | think that any wool buyer
would pronounce it a handsome lot of
washed wool, 1t is long staple with a
white exc or oil, strong fibre denoting a
strong constitution and good breeding.
This flock was bred from the Atwood
| flock of Connecticut. Mr.. Sprague in
forms me that when he commenced breed
ing them they only sheared six lbs. per
head. He has almost doubled the
weight of fleece Il say to sheep breeders
of the west, what has been done, can Be
done again. / think that the west has
the brains, capital and climate, to compete
with Vermont and her sheep breeders
Let us wake up to this subject, and raise
Our own fine stock, instead of going to
Vermont for it. We can do it by buying
their best instead Of their grade sheep,
and in noaother way. To be sure it costs
more in the start, bnt it is cheaper in the
long run.
/ have visited many fine focks in Yer
mont, and at some future time, with your
consent, Messrs. Editors, / will give your
readers brief sketch of my visit here
also a short history Of sheep breeding, as
1 practiced in Vermont. . ~ aaar-s
The crops in thesyalley of Otter creek
are looking well. The western towns of
this State, bordering on Lake Champlain,
have suffered severely with the drouth-
/ grass not morea than one-half the usual
crop Corn all through tho State is quite
backward .ra -.
The war spirit in Vermont is above
zero. | learn that she starts her first reg
irnent under the new call for 100000
men, tomorrow. IF this is true, she will
4 be the first in the field under the last call,
1 if am rightly posted. ai1si ss9as-sa. /
In conclusion, l would say to sheep
breeders, can you beat the above describ-
ed flock, combining yourself to the white
exc or oil, with long staple, desirable
shape and strong constitution? If so,
speak out We go for improvement.
ta#..o ego HENRY j. Brown, 9ar .
Dill" of. Kalamazoo, Michigan.