The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1879-06-20

density of the fleece, and consequently |
the amount of clcansed wool His case |
is one of many that might be cited TO
prove that it is unwisc for the breeder
to sacrifice some valuable points to de-
velop others they consider of great i'm
portancc, losing sight of the fact that
the greatest Improvement is made by
retaining all the valuable points, and
not by developing one or more at the
expense of others of equal or perhaps
greater value. The best accounts we
have give the weights of neeces of
Spanish Merino sheep at the time they
were imported to this country as about
eight to nine pounds for the rams, and
about four to five for the ewes, the wool
being 'unwashed. These were about
tho weights OF feeces Consul Jarvis
gave as received from the sheep he i'm
ported, and writing after he had crossed
a, part of his flock with Saxony, or
nearly fifty years after his importation,
he says: "Thc mcrino part of the flock
will not vary very much from the orig
inal flock"
AS we remember the Jarvis sheep we
saw when young, and just beginning to
breed sheep, they were not quite as
round-bodiod as "Consul" is represent
cd In the cut, though VIC remember one
or two that were quite as good in that
respect; they had long wool, of good
quality, but the fleece lacked density
and oil; generally they were light
colorcd on the surface, being in this re.
spect lighter than the Rich, and in still
stronger contrast to the first Atwood
sheep we ever saw. Consul Jarvis has
stated that he had rams in high case
that shcared somewhat more than tho
weights he gave, and il is reasonable tC
suppose that rams selected by good
Judges, as in tic case of "Consul," and
removed to the farms Of sheep breeder:
that personally attended to their OWL
sheep, would shear a quarter more thar
if they had remained in the large flocl
of Consul Jarvis and been fed ant
tended by himself. Fortunately for the
future sheep breeders, and for their i'm
provcment, while Consul Jarvis was
failing to improve his mcrino sheep il
consequence in part of his breeding
after his own ideas, and partly perhaps
for want of individual selections il
coupling that which intensified all tho
good qualities, and rcmcdicd the defect.
of either sire or dam, others were
breeding with different tastes and Will
different ideas as TO the desirability O
other excellent points. AS marked ex
amplcs of such breeders through whose
flocks our best mcrino sheep trace thcil
pedigrecs, we would name Andrew
Cook, Long Island; Stephen Atwood
j. n. Blakcslce, Connecticut; david
Builum and William Bailey, Rhode
Island, and during the latter part of tho
time previous to 1895, Mcssrs. Rich ano
Beedle in Shoreham, Vt. These breed
crs perpctuatcd other good qualities
that Consul Jarvis seems TO have los
sight of, and these good qualities, unitet
by crossing with breeders of skill an6
Judgment, as well as by superior dis
cernmcnt in selection from one famil,
and breeding to more perfect type
combining more excellent points thar
Mr.. Jarvis seems to have retained, pro
duced the first stage of improvement
or the next in line that we shall notice
and illustrate in future paper.