In speaking of the Merino in this connection, no reference is made to the Saxons, though they are, as is well known, pure-blooded descendants of the former. Assuming it, then, as settled, that it is to the Merino race that the wool-grower must look for the most profitable sheep, a few considerations are subjoined as to the adaptability of the widely diverse sub-varieties of the race to the wants and circumstances of different portions of the country. Upon the first introduction of the Saxons, they were sought with avidity by the holders of the fine-woolled flocks of the country, consisting at that time of pure or grade Merinos. Under the decisive encouragement offered both to the wool-grower and the manufacturer by the tariff of 1828, a great impetus was given to the production of the finest wools, and the Saxon everywhere superseded, or bred out by crossing, the Spanish Merinos. In New York and New England, the latter almost entirely disappeared. In the fine-wool mania which ensued, weight of fleece, constitution, and every thing else, were sacrificed to the quality of the wool. Then came the tariff of 1832, which, as well as that of 1828, gave too much protection to both wool-grower and manufacturer, into whose pursuits agricultural and mercantile speculators madly rushed. Skill without capital, capital without skill, and in some cases, probably, thirst for gain without either, laid hold of these favored avocations. The natural and inevitable result followed. In the financial crisis of 1837, manufacturing, and all other monetary enterprises which had not been conducted with skill and providence, and which were not based on an adequate and vast capital, were involved in a common destruction; and even the most solid and best conducted institutions of the country were shaken by the fury of the explosion. Wool suddenly fell almost fifty per cent. The grower began to be discouraged. The breeder of the delicate Saxons--and they comprised the flocks of nearly all the large wool-growers in the country, at that time--could not obtain for his wool its actual first cost per pound.