The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1874-03-31

lniantado) aud the Paulor branches OF
The Spanish merino, made rapid strides 10 |
an improvement BY "their
perfect understanding and exquisite man.
agemcnt Of their naterials," As great a.
that OF Blackwell in the coarse sheep Of
or Bates In the improved
'Sborthorn." They converted the thin,
smallish aud imperfeotly
covered sheep that they found into large,
round, low, strengthened, we'll covered
sheep, models Of compaetness aud beauty
In form and character" with which you
are all 10 converssnt, and fleece suoh as
the world never saw before--a fleece to
which the famed Golden Fsece," for
which Jason sailed the world over.
bore no comparison; a fleece with long,
foe, even, lustrous, elastic, strong stylish
6bre of the utmost quantity, holding its
quality upon flank, head, legs and belly,
compact, and finer to the touch. "opening
like book" and showing n soft, mellow,
piuk skin between tho cream tinted and
water lined leaves.
Early in this period the profits Of
breeding Spanish rerinos we're not large.
The American people had been mi-led
aud lost money 10 sheep. To be sure.
they we're Ssxons, aud their loss Was ow /.
log to the un6tness OF those sheep 10 th,
American market. and the stupid policy
Of building ny the commerce of country
at the expense Of her manufacturers. The
people moved slowly and the breeders
slowly, but surely; they were creating
from but meagre material a race-a
breed, and wonderful one it was, but
the people didn't see it. the change was
so gradual. Suddenly o bright light ap-
peared, like meteor fash The Iaintor
importations of French merinos, those
u 70 models Of bono and corrugated skin,
with their gross but uneven feeccs,struck
the eye, and the American people were
thoroughly awakened. and with their
characteristic unifcation, rushed pell nell
into their purchase. sometimes | have
thought from sheer force Of contrast
Alas to be again disappointed. The
French merino was as much too much OF
good thing as the Saxon too little.
Meanwhile the breeders of the Spanish
merino pursued the even tenor Of their
way, catching, it may be, an inspiration
from the advent Of such striking model
as the French sheep presented, and avail.
ing themselves Of the true breeders pre-.
rogative Of moulding according to will,
and to almost any type, In form, 10 fleece.
and all that goes to make up the perfect
sheep, they reached, it would seem, the
highest acme Of their art. and that. too,
by judicious selections and crossings
within the limits cf their own focks and
families, To such an extent we're their
improvements carried, that when the pres
tige Of the French was lost the awakened
mind of the American public we're ready
to accept the improved Spanish merino as
the sheep best adapted to their wants-a
sheep that showed itself possessed of all
the merits of the French meriuc. without
its defects.
The profits were bountful and the bar.
vest large, increased ard enhanced, it is
true. by our civil war, until the demand
WAS greater than the supply, and pricep
such as sheep had never reached before.
Dent blame the breeders for that; their
prices we're their protection. Too large
says one. Aye, too large they might
have been, don't deny that, but they
we're for a real thing, an article that wa
truly and demonstrably meritorious
For sheep was produced that yielded q
pound Of wool in the grease to pounds
Of carcass, and pound of clean, secured
wool, ct for the cards, to little over /.
pounds Of carcass. and that, too, so ever
and fine that nearly onc-half was Of ore
kind, known to the trade as No. q WOO
that enters most largely into the manu-
facture Of the best of American cloths
Individual sheep sheared as high as, eve
20 and rams 80 pounds per head. Flock
OF pure Spanish merinos we're established
in many parts OF the West, breeders buy
ing few ewes and their stock rams il
Vermont, often iepleui,hiug their stool
as they could afford, tfor these sheep wer,
costly, and the good ones are yeti. in tn
laudabe endcavor to become the ran
breeders CT their own sections, and i'm
prove the large flocks of grades aud re
Spanish the many focks Of Saxons, rails
ing their average from 2 to 6 and even
pounds of wool per head for large flock
kept for the purpose of wool GROWN
alone.
The American merino OF to-day, as W
breed them in Vermont, present the ex
cellencies combined sought out by tho ne
eessi:ies of former people, and brough
out by the art of their time. Thus W
have the white sheep of the primitiv
!, shepherds, the fine sheep of tho Roma
empire, the hardy sheep of the SPANS
Transhn nantes, the woody" sheep {
Prussian Silesia the wrinkly well covere
: -heep Of the Taiutor importation an
. Pauler cabana, with the fine style an
free oil of the Atwood-a sheep tn,
8 needs no covering, no oil or wines to lul
ricate its fleece to render it soft and pill
, BILE. or protect it from the "cotting" :
detrimental to the Saxons, the Silesian {
French. under exposure 10 fact. q
, American sheep for the American mani
:, facturer to meet the wants of the Amer
! can citizen, in our grand commune" ar
l mutuality Of interest.
yGaoI,.goJ o,-,.t anal