Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-12-06
Sheep Jnterest.
AMERICAN MERINOS.

would seem to be Dove some Vermont |
sheep breeder to answer. What if | |
venture a reply to "some" of them. He |
asks, What Is the cause of all this? We
had supposed that every intelligent sheep |
breeder in the United States understood |
that the prosperity of the sheep breeder
Qor wool and the Improvement of Sheep !
depended largely upon living price for
wool and also the same for manufactured
goods. Whenever our Congress shall
enact good substantial tariff law that
will save our markets from Il "flood" of
foreign wool, and also from foreign man
ufactured wooden goods, then Gas it has
always been with us) our sheep will find
buyers here in our United States.
AS to our present and prospective for
eign trade for our American Mernos,
some other considerations seem to have
an important bearing upon the subject.
Mr.. Dmmock pertinenty asks, "Why
did the breeders only sell the II carloads
for the West and 5000 for 81 80 IA head for
peltors?" Precisely because those Sl.50
sheep were not fit for foreign trade and
would not pay the expense OF transpor-
tation. | am glad Mr.. Dimmock has
asked these questions. But the remedy
for this state of affairs is perhaps not
precisely in accord with that in the mind
of Mr.. Dimmock Undoubtedly if he
does not shout it to us from the house
top, he will whisper in our ears-'Ram-
bouillet."
Is it necessary to remind the sheep
breeders of Vermont that not many years
ago the experiment of the "French cross"
with the Spanish Mernos was tried by
some of our foremost breeders, and quite
suddenly colapsed-in some cases "went
out between two days?'
Mr.. Dimmock quotes the figures of
sale in South America of "Rambouillet"
and "Negrete" rams, which we think to
be bit misleading 1t would seem to
have been more to the point if instead of
"Negrete" rams he could or would haye
given the figures on "American" rams
sold in that market.
As to the business of the "imprOve-
ment of Merino Sheep it is found that
in foreign countries breeders differ as to
"ways and means" there as well as here
in Vermont or the United States.
Have veteran breeders here in Vermont
forgotten the warfare which has been
waged among the improvers of Merinos
around about us, and in all of our best
sheep growing States? Have not some of
the most notable of our breeders been
scofled at, almost howled at, because of
their innovations upon some of the
time-honored ways of Eastern breeders?
Is not human nature presumably
about the same among the breeders i'll
foreign countries?
Will they not be likely in foreign
countries to fight (for a time) our bet
ter ways and methods? And is it at all
strange that Australia is not quite ready
to open her ports to us? But is it not
reasonable to presume that the time is
not far distant when she will welcome
us with open arms-if we are worthy of
her?
Does rot the fact of Mr.. Mcfarland
having there, III the face and teeth of the
most strenuous opposition, taken the
"Grand champion prize" for the two
past years with sheep high up in Gamer
lean" blood, show which way the wind
Ga strong one) is blowing?
Will not Vermont breeders better
, enquire within if we have not still the
, legitimate facilities in line descent
+ with which to carry up our sheep to
such standard of excellence as will
. more and more command the attention -
nay, the appreciation of those foreign
breeders who for surety know much
about sheep, but presumably not yet
all? Let us not fatter ourselves that
we have got to the lend of the rope in
Improvement of our Spanish American
/ Sheep and that we must take "French
: Dip to insure the ''holding of our own,
+ or to improve.
f viii we not better think 'one-two-
couple-o' times before we conclude
that we have solved all of our American
, Merino problems, and worked up, TO the
h. best adcantage. all of the material which
, Vermont has within her borders of good
e hay best Spanish American Merino
bIonIc Who N hplinyps that thg
late Edwin Hammond and l.. p. Clark,
f if they were now living upon the earth
would themselves practice, or advise
4 others to, the use of a type of rams like
to Sweepstakes and Gold-drop or
y Patrick Henry and General? Great
q as these sheep truly were in their day
: and generation, and marvellous as was
+ the outcome of them, would it be the
h exercise of good sense or the practice OF
good policy for our breeders to go bach
o to the use of those now outgrown types
a of sheep? Has the study and obserya
e ton of our best Vermont breeders fol
f the last quarter of a century been to M
q better purpose than to now undertake
!, the turning of the 'wheels of time
IS back. and to the declaration that We
n have all been barking up the wrong
!. tree:"
y We would not be misunderstood
Il While it might be probable that breed
e ers who have never, or hardly eve
r awaited themselves of the use of sheel
IS of the types above mentioned, would b.
!. to considerable extent benefited by
!. them, even at this late day it does no
n "stand to reason" that the advance
Y guard of our sheep-breeding fraternt,
]. would reckon it as the practice of "goo'
l. husbandry" to undertake the continuing
l. of that type from now on till the dawl
i of the next millennium. The improve
d ments which have afforded our "Ameri
can MeTinos" worldwide reputation
,e have not come to us by chance, or by Z"
"a miraculous descent from Gaudaloup
Il to the green hills of Vermont. Coul
a the holding or reproducing of ''fair t
:, middling." or a somewhat better tina
q that type of sheep be maintained b.
|, propagating exclusively in that line
Ie then the born conservative breeder
Y might with much complacence wra
:. himself nicely i'm his mantle of cOnceit