The record-union., 1892-08-23
FARM And ORCHARD.
Introduction of Breeds of Sheep
Into the United States.
To Cure Lemons CheapIy-An UnpreJ-
udiced Witness-Meat, MIX ana
Grass-Killing and Dressing Poultry
miscellaneous Items.

Miscellaneous Items.
There are no breeds of sheep indig-
enous to this country except the Dig
horn' of the Rocky Mountains. There
are accounts of "woolies," by the Voyag-
ers under Coronado, in the region known
now as Arizona, in about loo, but the
Spaniards did not see the animals, though
they saw the fleece and pronounced IL
wool; they saw the horns, and the hlsto-
rian of the expedition says OF them:
'They were enormous" The Indians
told the Spaniards their sheep We're as
large as the Spanish horses. OF
''woolies," Captain DeBonneville tells US
they were quite abundant in the Rocky
Mountains. Hespeaks also OF the Rocky
Mountain sheep.
The domestic sheep (OUis aries We're
brought here by the first Spanish colo
nists, and are said to have been intro
duced by all of the first colonists from the
land from which they came. 1t is, or has
has been, considered safe to assume this
as theory, at least when no direct evl-
dences are known. 1t seems strange that
so little is positively known of the intro
duction of domestic sheep PRIOR 10 the
beginning of this century, except by the
Spanish colonists Without telling us
where thew came from, Colonel Switzler,
statistician to the Treasury Department,
in the report he made on wool and man
lfactures of wool, in 1887, says, line
first sheep introduced into the colonies
were brought from England to James
town, Va, in the year 1909" These few,
he tells us, Increased by 1912 81. 10 o,uoO
head. He says, too, that in 1858 few
sheep were brought from England TO
Massachusetts, and that these also in
creased to 5000 head by 1910. In 1926
some sheep were brought by. the Dutch
colonists TO New York, but they proved
unsuccessful. In 1868 the Swedes intro
duced eighty sheep into their Delaware
colony. These sheep were Of no known
breed, and the wool was coarse and the
sheep inferior.
The first concerted action for the i'm
provement of the stock of sheep seems TO
have come from the Society for the Pro-
motion of Agriculture, of South Carolina.
In 1855 this society offered medal for the
first flock of Merino sheep kept in the
State; but there were no Merino sheep
introduced into any of the States until
1893. These were by William Foster of
Boston, Mass. In 1901 M. Dupont de Ne
mours and NJ. de Lessert imported four
ram lambs; only one ,C OF these arrived
safely in this country. This was known
as the ram Don Pedro, and became the
sire of many fine-grade fioclzs near Will
mington. Delaware. Some have believed
this ram was of the French Merino blood,
but DR.. Randall conjectureS that this ram
was from the original Spanish, and not
from French stock. The same year pair
OF Spanish sheep. which had been brought
from Spain into France, were imported by
Seth Adams of GAINESVILLE, Ohio. In 1892
two French Merinos were sent by Mr..
Livingston, American Minister to the
court of Portugal, and arrived safely on
his farm in New York and became quite
popular. Wool from the full bloods Of
This flock sold for 81 and 81 so per pound.
This was during the war of 1872. Colonel
Humphreys, American Minister in Spain,
later in the year 1902 sent home twenty
one rams and seventy ewes, bought for
him in Spain. In 1903 two black Merinos
were sent to Philadelphia by DR.. James
Mease, and by Mr.. Muller small number
from Hesse Cassel, in 1907 According to
DIR. Randall these sheep have descendants
that promise to aid in revOlutioniZlng the
Merino sheep husbandry of this country.
In 1909 and 1910 NJ. Jarvis, Consul to
Lisbon, purchased and sent to the United
States 1850 MerinoS, selected with the
greatest care from the best Spanish fiocks.
it is believed 5000 of these Spanish
Merinos were imported into this country
by 1910 and 1911.
Colonel Switzler says at an exhibition
of the Merino Society of the Middle
States in October 1911, there were speci-
mems of the Irish Tunisian: or Barbary,
New Leicester, Bakewell, or Dishley,
and Southdown breeds.
In 1923 the Saxon Merinos were i'm
ported. The history of American sheep
husbandry during those years is very
interesting, but does not belong to this
paper.
The French Merinos were introduced
in 1910 by O. G.. Collins of Hartford,
Conn. These came direct from the ma
tional flock of Ram bouillet. In 1916 Mr..
Taintor of Hartford, Conn.,, commenced
an extensive importation of French Me-
rinos.
The Silesian Merinos were introduced
by William Chamberlain of Red Hook,
n. Y, in 1854.
The Leicester sheep came down to US
associated with the patriotic Industries of
George Washington. Livingston, writ
wooded sheep, bred by Mr.. Curtis. were a
cross between Persian ram and Blake
we'll ewe."
A Mr. Lax of Long Island Struggled
some Leicesters into the United States
about 1910. Christopher Dunn of Al
bany, n. Y, obtained the first of his
long celebrated flock from Mr.. Lax. In
note by DIR. Randall as to this flock, he
says he commenced crossing it with a
Cotswold ram in 1882.
During the war of 1912, with England,
some choice Ieicesters on their way to
Canada were captured by one of our
priy2teers and sold at auction in New
York, and thus became scattered through
out the country. Some sheep of this
family were also early introduced by
Captain Beanes of New Jersey. He also
introduced Teeswaters and Southdowns.
Some TeeswaterS are SAID to have been in
Guided among the sheep captured as
oh tafa cd nv n rlriU in NJ
doubt many other small lots OF these and
other British breeds ofsheep, also Spanish
sheep, were obtained during this period
of our history.
The first considerable importation of
Cotswolds was in 1910, by Hon. Erastus
Corning of Albany, New York, and
William I'll. Sotham, whose name is well
throughout this country. More recently
large numbers of Cotswolds have been
obtained in Canada.
The Lincoln sheep were introduced by
Mr.. Leonard ID. Cliff, of New York, in
1885 and 1886.
The New Oxfordshires, or Improved
Cotswolds, were introduced by Charles
Reybold of Delaware in 1916.
The Black-faced Scotch sheep were
tried in this country about 1S60-63.
The Cheviot sheep have long been tried
in New York. Mention of them is made
In ''Sheep Husbandry of the South.n by
DR.. Randall, in 1S4S. Their popularity
has been maintained, if not increased, by
some very enterprising breeders of New
York.
The Southdowns were imported, and
attracted attention near the year 1850. by
such men as John Hare Powell of Penn.
sylvania, Francis Ratch, Esq, of New
York. Extensive importations of the
very best Southdowns were made by Mr.
<~cN AI1 a