The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-06-09
THE MERINO SHEEP OF VT.
HOW A FAMOUS BREED WAS DE-
yELOPED IN VERMONT.


GOld-AustraIia and South Africa
Depend Upon This State for High
Grade Stock.
Zadock Thompson estimated in 1924
that the number of sheep in Vermont
was 475,O0O, and predicted that YER
mont would become a great wool pro-
ducing State. But for various reas-
ons 1t has not anu a comparatively
few small flocks scattered about the
farmers, make up its sheep popula-
ton. Yet Vermont developed what is
probably the finest sheep raised to-
day and furnishes much of the breed
ing stock for the great sheep rails
ers and wool growers of the world.
Carl Church, who represented
Whiting in the Legislature of 1908,
has been interested in the sheep in
dustry of Addison county and has
made 20 or more trips to South At
RIGA with breeding stock, the last trip
DtiHS ldoJ anu
are several firms who make bust
ness of raising and buying sheep for
the Australian and South African
market, the best known shippers being
Sprague, Charles Witherell and
Wright, Cartmell and Cook. Among
the Vermont sheep raisers whose
sheep have lineal descendants am
ong the great producing flocks of Au
stralia are II. C. Burwell, J. C. G..
Hamilton, l.. s.. Burwell. G.. II.
Smith, E. J. Carpenter, Charles Par
ish, j. I. Stickney, +. d. Barton and
G.. P. Morrison.
The Merino sheep, like the Morgan
horse, is distinctively Vermont pro-
duct, but the Merinos have been well
bred and carefully cared for, so there
is no need for the government to step
in, as it has done in the case of the
Morgans, to preserve the strain.
Though the Merino as now known
is a Vermont product and the best
breeding stock in the world is pro-
duced in this State, the breed did not
Originate here. 1t is one of the old
est strains in the world. 1t had a
,hDme in Spain before the Christian
era. When the Saracens conquered
Spain in the eighth century
they found focks and looms
and sufficient evidence to JUS
tify the belief that the Merinos
wool sheep described by Roman writ
Iers before Christian civilization had
lmade its appearance. In fact it is
sometimes questioned if the Merinos
may not have produced the original
golden fleece that tempted Jason on
his Argonautic expedition.
These Spanish sheep were distinct
in character from any other breeds
known in the world. They were di-
Ivided into small flocks which were
kept separate from each other and
subjected to special modes of breeding
which created the characters of the
separate families. The first import
liant division in Spain was into two
principal families. known as the
ITranshumanites and the Estantes, the
former of which were travelling flocks
and the latter stationary The Trans
Ihumanites were regarded as the more
valuable and We're owned largely by
lIyinuc hot
designated as the aristocratic Meri-
no. Among the esteemed families of
migratory sheep were the Escurial,
which possessed the finest wool in
EGuadaloupe, which had the most per-
feet forl1 and We're celebrated for the
quantity and quality of theih wool;
the Paulers, also noted as being large
wool producers; and the Infantados,
with hairy fleece. The Negretti were
the largest and strongest of all the
Spanish sheep.
But the American, or Vermont, Mer-
inc today bears little resemblance to
its Spanish ancestors. 1t has been
improved in size and wool producing
qualities, until an ordinary Merino
today is superior to the finest ever
owned by any granGee of Spain.
Thomas Jefferson has been by some
given credit for bringing the Meri-
nos into this country, and as he is
known to have been greatly interest
| ed in the Improvement of stock and
the development of agriculture, that
might readily be believed. But those
who lave made a study of Merino
history believe that while jefferson
may have brought Merinos here very
early the first importation from Spain
was made by Col. David Humphreys.
lCol Humphreys. who was the Ameri-
can Minister to Spain, made a ship
ment on April 10, 1902, of 100 sheep,
which were taken to MS farm at Derby,
Conn, and became the founders of
the Infantados, one of the leading
families of American Merinos These
were carefully bred and the stock i'm
proved so that In 1918 Stephen At
wood of Woodbury., Conn, paid Col.
Humphreys 1920 for a eve, a remark
able price for those days. Mr.. At