Hntt (College of ^Agriculture 
 Kt (Hatntll IninerBitH 
 
 ICtbtatu 
 
Cornell University Library 
 
 SF 375.U5A2 
 
 Sheep-husbandry in the United States, it 
 
 3 1924 003 071 077 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis bool< is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003071077 
 
4:5th CcwiGEESS, \ SEISTATE. ( Ex. Doc. 
 
 3d Sesi^ion. j ) No. 25. 
 
 —4^ 
 
 MESSAGE 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 PRESIBEIT OF THE UIITED STATES, 
 
 Cl/.UJIUXICATIXG, 
 
 In answer to a Senate resolution of Jv 17, 1878, information on the sub- 
 ject of sheep-liusbandnj. 
 
 1 1 AN'UARY 14, 1879. — Read, referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and ordered to 
 
 be printed. 
 
 "t To tJie-Senafe of the Ignited States : 
 
 In answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 17th of June last, re- 
 questing the Commissioner of Agriculture to send to the Senate certain 
 i-eporte on sheep-husbandry, copies of the same with accompanying 
 papers, received from the Commissioner of Agi-iculture for this purpose, 
 are herewith transmitted. 
 
 E. B. HAYES. 
 Executive Mansiotst, January 13, 1879. 
 
 United States Depaktmejvt of A&ricultuee, 
 
 Washington, January 9, 1879. 
 
 Sir: In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of tlic 17th of 
 
 ■June, 1878, I transmit herewith a report upon sheep-husbandry in the 
 
 South, prepared in this department, and likewise a copy of a published 
 
 document on the same subject, by John L. Hayes, secretary of the ^a- 
 
 tional Association of Wool Manufacturers. 
 
 I have'the honor to be, very resijectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 WM. G. Lb duo, 
 Commissioner of Agriculture. 
 The Peesident. 
 
 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 its oeigin and gkowth. 
 
 The early settlers of America brought "with them the domesticated 
 sheep of their respective nationalities ; Spanish sheep were introduced 
 in Mexitjo, English into Virginia and Massachusetts, and Dutch races 
 into New York. The Spanisli were. evidently not Merinos, but producers 
 of coarse wools suitable for carpets, probably the Chaurros. The Eng- 
 
2 SHEEP-HUSBAKDRY. 
 
 lish -were long-legged, narrow- cliested, light-quartered, coarse-woolert 
 animals, by no means the highly bred stock of English coarse- wools of 
 the present day. The lowland sheep of Holland bore man,\- of the char- 
 acteristics of the English. The compact, short-hmbed, heavy-tieeced 
 animal of recent improvement was not then in existence, whether Eng- 
 lish or Spanish. Tliey were small, agile, wild, slow in maturing, and, 
 their flesh was not highlj' esteemed as food. 
 
 While sheep have been bred in tliis country for more than two hun- 
 dred and litty years,* it is only within the present century that improved 
 breeds Iiave been introduced, with the exception of isolated cases of par- 
 tially-improved animals, as tlie original Leicesters (Bakewells) of Presi- 
 dent Washington, and the Merinos imported by Mr. William Foster, of 
 Boston, who gave them to a gentleman to keep, by whom they were 
 "kept" and eaten! In 1801 four Spanish rams were embarked for the 
 "Dinted States by M. Dupont de Nemaurs, chief of a Frencli commission 
 to select sheep in Spain under the treaty of Basle, and a banker named 
 Delessert, but only one lived to reach Xew York. It went to IJelaware, 
 and was used effectively in producing valuable grades. Yet the found- 
 ing of the improvement whicli ultimately produced tlie jlmerican Merino 
 bears tlie date of 1802, when our minister to France, Mr. Livingston, 
 sent home two i^airs of French Merinos (originally Spanish Merinos 
 which had been modified by a course of breeding) from tlie iniperial 
 flock at Chalons. In the same year our minister to Spain, Colonel Hum- 
 phreys, brought home with him 21 rams and 70 ewes from the best flocks 
 of the hue- wools of Spain. From these and subsequent importations,! 
 aided by three-fourths of a^ century of skillful breeding, came the best 
 race of Merinos now extant, which has modified, in greater or less degree, 
 more than nine-tenths of the flocks of the countiy, changing the natives 
 or scrubs of different origin into Jlerino grades, doubling the weight and 
 value j)er pound of their .fleeces, and transmittiug fibers little better than 
 the carpet-wools of nomadic sheep-husbandry into the fine and soft 
 material for clathii>g fabrics and tJie longer staple of Merino-combing 
 fleeces. 
 
 The improvement was rapid. In 1810 one of Mr. Livingston's year- 
 ling rams weighed 145 pounds and bore a fleece of 11 pounds 11 ounces^ 
 and his full-blood ewes averaged fleeces of 5 pounds 13 ounces, 60 per, 
 cent, more than his best common ewes, and the maximum wciglit was § 
 j)Ounds 12 ounces, while the first cross made au improvement ;unounting 
 to I'ully 50 per cent. 
 
 Eecent as is the improvement in this country, it is nearly as old. as in 
 Europe.:]: Great Britain tried the Spanish sheep, but the demand for 
 mutton, the necessity for worsted wool, gave impulse to progress in 
 another direction, upon a foundation of original I>eicestevs and Lincoln 
 and Southdown blood. The first year of the present century found that 
 country dependent on Spain and Portugal for foreign wool; and of the 
 meager importation, amounting to only 8,009,308 pounds, these countries 
 sent respectively 0,002,82-1, and 1,731,934 ])0unds, wliile Germany sent 
 412,394 pounds, and the jSTethcrlands 141,739 jiounds. Such is the 
 growth of the wool manufacture in Great Biitain, that in 1877 no less 
 
 * Slii'cp were 1)rou5!;ht t(i .Jamestown, Va., in 1609. 
 
 tTlic lioaviest were niado by Consul William Jarvis, in 1809, amouniing to nearly 
 4,000 in number. 
 
 t The Spanish Merino was brought into Saxony by the Elector in 1765; into Hun- 
 gary, l)y Maria Theresa, in 1775; into France in 1776. George III introduced them 
 iuto England in 1785. The Rambouillet or imi)erial flock of France \Ya8 established 
 
 (3.16 794 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 6 
 
 than 405,949,161 pounds of wool were imported — forty-seven times the 
 receipts of seventy-live years ago. 
 
 As late as 1820 the value of British exports of wools and manufactures 
 of wool M'aw only £5,989,022 ; in fift-s-two years such exports reached 
 the sum of £;J2,383,273, of which worsted contributed £20,905,163, and 
 cloths, formerly the main lines of exports, only £0,991,718. This ex- 
 , plains the necessity for Eng^land's adherence to comhing-wool races, 
 Avhile her crowded factory population equally necessitate the mutton 
 product which is the concomitant of these worsted-works. 
 
 RECIPROCITY OF GROWTH AXD MANTJPACTURE. 
 
 In this country, rapid growth of the manufactures of wool has been 
 concurrent in point of time with the principal development of such in- 
 dustry in the mother country ; and considering the fact that this mater- 
 nal ancestor attempted to strangle the infant industry — and nearly suc- 
 ceeded in accomplishing the infanticide after the war of 1812 — and the 
 additional fact that hostile legislation at home, as well as frequent 
 changes of such legislation, has at times crippled its energies and re- 
 tarded its progress, the growth of wool manufacturing in America is a 
 1 greater wonder than its progress in Britain. During ten years prior to 
 ,.the war with that country there was no industrial interest so prominent 
 in the public eye as this manufacture. Domestic manufacture in the 
 family by the hand-loom began to give place to the associated effort and 
 improved machinery of the factory. The fame of the new merinos flew 
 from farm to farm, and as fleeces grew heavier and prices advanced, the 
 finest rSims of this stock commanded in some cases a thousand dollars 
 each ; factories were built and surplus farm labor was diverted to the mill, 
 raising the price of rural labor, making a market for superabundant pro- 
 duce and inspiring hope and confidence, resulting in 1810 in a product of 
 Avool manufactures of the value of $25,608,788. After the war, in a gush of 
 conciliation, the bars of the customs were let down, importations became 
 excessive, prices were prostrated, panic ensued, the mills were stopped, 
 and this magnificent beginning was quenched in failure, so that the 
 product of 1820, years after, had become only $4,413,068. Its rate of 
 incr ease has since been variable as tariff-legislation has fluctuated. The 
 figures for 1830 are $14,528,166 ; for 1840, $20,696,999 ; 1850, $43,207,545 ; 
 1860, $61,894,986. Then comes a period of magnificent progress. In 
 seventeen years twofold more was accomplished than in sixty preceding, 
 whether in value of product, quantity of wool used, or increase in skill 
 iu manufacture and Aariety of fabric. An advance Avas made that ren- 
 dered possible the magnificent display of native Avoolens at the Cen- 
 tennial Exhibition, Avhich astonished our European competitors, and 
 opened the eyes of thousands in our own country to an advance in skill 
 in Avorkmanship and excellence of goods of Avhich few had any i oncep- 
 
 tion. 
 
 This progress is indicated in part by the census returns of 1870, show- 
 ino- a product of woolen goods of $155,405,358, and of Avorsteds a total 
 of*'$22,090,331. In 1860 these totals were respectively $61,894,986 and 
 $3 701,378. The increase in quantity of wool used for Avoolen goods 
 Avas^oift 83,608,408 to '154,769,095 pounds domestic and 17,311,824 
 
 pets . , ... 
 
 used from 8,843,691 to 25,139,999 pounds. The value of hosiery Avas 
 $7 280,266 in 1860 and $18,411,561 in 1870, with an increase in pounds 
 of 'avooI from 2,927,626 to 5,304,655. 
 
4 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 Since 1870 tho increase has been about 25 jter cent. Wc now inann- 
 factnre about iive times as inucli as in 1840, and more than three times 
 as nrach as in 1S(;(». Our recent importations of ayooI are less than 
 50.000,000 pounds ])er annum, and our home production four times as 
 much. In brief, we manufacture four-fiftlis of all goods made of wool 
 which enter into ctinMumi)tion, and what is better, we use home-grown 
 wools for four-flfths of that maiuifacture. 
 
 Instead of increasini;- the cost of clothing and carpets, by the national 
 ])olicy of producing them at home, ])rices are hiwcr than in 18IJ0. Instead 
 of wearing the shoddy of cast-off European clothing, our goods are 
 firmer and stronger and more durable than foreign imi)ortations. Had 
 our factories no existence, the extra demand of 40,000,000 of wool-wear- 
 ing peojjle would advance the price of clothing throughout the world. 
 Had they no existence, wool-growing would likewise have no status, as 
 the histo)'y of this industry, the tendencies of our rural economy, and 
 the genius of our jjcople all show that the success of wool-raising and 
 wool-manufacturing is correlative and inseparable. If manufacturing 
 declines in this country, wool-growing will retrograde; if wool-growing 
 recedi's, the prosperity of maiuifactures will be impaired. There never 
 will be (1)1 export of wool from thin country under ainj probable circumntances. 
 
 The superiority of American wools, in soundness, strength, and length 
 of staple, gives our manufactures an advantage of great value. Tlie in- 
 ventive genius of our people has already obviated much of the competi- 
 tion of European rates of labor. Our factories are rapidly ac<juiring tlie 
 seci'ets of peculiar and popular finvign styles and fabrics, and even im- 
 proving upon them and inventing new processes and textures. 
 
 Fancy cassimeres were ujitil recently entirely of foreign production. 
 ZSTow the world-famous establishments of Sedan and Ellxeuf are equaled 
 or distanced. A bit of 31. Bonjeon's goods, taken from the inside of a 
 collar of an overcoat worn by a gentleman from Paris, was the inspira- 
 tion of the Crampton loom, on whi(!h fancy cassimeres are now wo\ en, 
 not only in the United States but also in several countries of Europe. 
 These goods were at the Centennial Exhibition, and the Swedish judge, 
 Mr. Oarl Amberg, a ])ractical wool marmfacturer, was compelled in his 
 admiration to say to 3Ir. Hayes, the .secretary of the >Vool Manufactni-ei's' 
 Association, " You know that the best fancy cassimeres in the world 
 liave been made at Sedan and Elbceuf in France. If these goods were 
 ])laced by the side of the Elbteuf cassimeres, you could not tell one from 
 the other, and the g(jods could not be bought at Elbceuf for the prices 
 marked here." These goods were made from American wool. 
 
 The'worsted coatings, dift'ering from the fancy cassimeres in being 
 made from combed instead of caided wool, are a recent triumph of our 
 nmnufactnriug skill. These goods obtained notoriety in the Paris Exhi- 
 bition of 1807, and have since been produced successfully here; and as 
 an incidental result another industry has been created, the com Mngand 
 spinning of worsted yarns, of Avhich an exhibition was made at Philadel- 
 phia liy companies representing $1,500,000 of annual production, which 
 obtained an award showing them to be superior to yarns from the best 
 Australian wools, being "kinder, moi'e elastic, and stronger." 
 
 Inventions for producing felt fabrics, by two Americans, ^Yilliams and 
 Wells, after reported failui-es of the French in the same direction, are 
 used on both continents for almost innumerable forms of goods. 
 
 In flannels, America has already surpassed Europe, making goods of 
 a better quality, because as well made of better wool. For twenty years 
 European flannels have been driven from our maikets, and we now ex- 
 l)ort tiiem to Canada, and may soon be able to make a market for them 
 
SHEEP-HUSIUNDEY. 5 
 
 in Europe. The yarns from tliese flannels are more closely twisted, the 
 j^oods shrink less, and are more highly ilnished and smoother in face. 
 Even the opei'a flannels are now made here, from American wools, which 
 l>roduce a softer fabric than Australian fleece. 
 
 Commendable progress lias been made in comi^etition with France in 
 the ttuer styles of ladies' dress goods, such as delaines, serges, and me- 
 rinos. There is a single corporation — the Pacific Mills — in Massachu- 
 setts with a flooring area larger than a foi't^-acre farm, with facilities for 
 manufacturing a million yards of these goods per month, giving employ- 
 ment to more than five thousand laborers, largely women and children, 
 with a monthly ])ay-roll of $100,000. 
 
 But the greatest of Ameri(;an inventions and i:)rogress in the manu- 
 facture of wools is in the production of carpets. Even Brussels, Wil- 
 ton, and Axminster, of home i»roduction, are taking the place of foreign 
 goods. The imports of carpets in 1875 amounted to but $2,643,932, 
 while the production of mills of the United States during that year 
 amounted to $32,316,168 — the monthly manufacture equal to the yearly 
 im])ortation. 
 
 A few years more of success will jierfect processes, reduce prices of 
 manufactured goods, and open the maikets of the world to the surjilus 
 of manufacture, without reducing either the value of labor or of wool to 
 the level of foreign rates, or to the point of abandonment tis uni)rotita- 
 ble in comiietitiou with other labor. 
 
 As the manufacture has advanced or declined, so has the production 
 of wool. If i^rices have fallen rapidly, as in 1868, when in consequence 
 of decline and panic in the markets of tbe world, and the sale of an a\a- 
 lanche of military goods, our markct.s weie glutted, the immediate result 
 has been a sacrifice of sheej) by millions, not less than four milliens in 
 the year named, mainly for hide and tallow. It may have been unwise, 
 but the American people are impulsive, and prone to change a business 
 at whatever loss that does not assure a present profit. There are a few 
 wiser operators who act on the principle of buying when others are sell- 
 ing out. 
 
 After the first era of rapid increase, from 1802 to 1812, succeeded the 
 fall of manufactures, and as a result the destruction of sheep-husbandry. 
 Sh)«'l.\' recuj)eration began the retrieving of this national loss, until in 
 1836 there may have been seventeen millions of sheep in the country, 
 mostly in the Northern States. In that year a (janvassiug of the flocks 
 of the country was made, with all attainable ofUcial data from the States, 
 by ]\Iessrs. C. Bentoji and S. r..Barry, the ultimate result of whose labors 
 is given in the following table : 
 
 states. 
 
 Number of 
 sheep. 
 
 Pounds (if 
 wooL 
 
 Value of 
 wool. 
 
 
 622, 619 
 
 465, 179 
 1, 099, Oil 
 
 373, 322 
 81, 619 
 
 255, 169 
 4, 299, W9 
 
 250, 000 
 1 714, 040 
 
 1.50, 000 
 
 275, 000 
 ], 000, 000 
 1, 711, 200 
 
 600, 000 
 
 2, 023, 512 
 1, 511, H33 
 
 3, 571, 786 
 1, 213, 297 
 
 265, 262 
 
 829, 299 
 
 13, 974, 600 
 
 812, 500 
 
 6, 572, 680 
 
 487, .500 
 
 893, 750 
 
 3, 2.50, 000 
 
 5, 561, 400 
 
 1, 950, 000 
 
 $1, 021, 873 
 
 
 763, 475 
 
 
 1, 803, 751 
 
 
 612, 715 
 
 
 133, 957 
 
 
 418, 796 
 
 
 7, 067, 176 
 
 K ew Jersey 
 
 410, 313 
 2, 814, 153 
 
 
 246, 187 
 
 
 451, 343 
 
 
 1, 641, 250 
 
 Ohio 
 
 2, 808, 600 
 
 Kentucky ■ 
 
 984, 750 
 
 Total 
 
 12, 897, 638 
 
 41, 917, 324 
 
 21, 168, 246 
 
 
 
b SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 Ill 1836 tlie imports of wool slightly exceeded 12,000,000 poimds. 
 
 jS^umbers of sheep had increased in 1840, according to the census re- 
 turn, to 19,311,374; in 1850, to 21,723,220; in 1860, to 22,103,105. These 
 figures were not quite up to the actual numbers, as is now known, but 
 ninch nearer the reality than the returns of wool, which were quite too 
 low, averaging but 1.84 pounds per head in 1840, 2.42 in 1850, and 2.73 
 in 1860. In 1870 the census returned 28,477,951 upon farms; while the 
 estimates of this department for all sheep in the country was 31,851,000, 
 and their aggragate value $74,035,837. The present numbers, assumed 
 to bo about 36,000,000*, exhibit wonderful improvement in quality and 
 
 state 
 
 Maine 
 
 New Hampshire , 
 
 Veiinont 
 
 jVIassachnsetta .- 
 
 Khoile Island 
 
 Oonneeticut 
 
 M'ew Yorlt 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 Delaware 
 
 Maryland 
 
 Virginia 
 
 North Carolina. . . 
 South Carolina- . . 
 
 Nnmber. 
 
 Ge(>r<Tia. 
 
 Florida 
 
 Alabama 
 
 jVIississippi . 
 Louisiana. . . 
 To 
 
 Arkan.sas 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 West Virr;inia . 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Ohio . 
 
 Miclngan i 1 
 
 Indiana ■ 1 
 
 Illinois ' 1 
 
 Wisconsin ., 1 
 
 Minnesota - | 
 
 Iowa. 
 Missouri. .. 
 Kansas . . 
 Nebraska . 
 California. . 
 Oregon . 
 
 Nevada 
 
 ('(dorado 
 
 The Territories . 
 
 Total 
 
 Grand average of prices . 
 
 525. 800 
 239, 900 
 461, 400 
 
 60, 300 
 24, 600 
 !I2, 500 
 .'•,1,\]00 
 r2H, 300 
 COY, 000 
 
 ;).-, 000 
 
 ].')], 200 
 422, 000 
 400, 000 
 175, 000 
 383, 300 
 66, 500 
 
 270, 000 
 260, 000 
 ]2,->, 000 
 074, 700 
 2K6, 000 
 860, 000 t 
 640, 900 
 900, 000 
 
 78:i. 000 
 
 760.000 ! 
 002.700 ' 
 26S, 500 i 
 323, 700 
 300, 000 
 560, 000 
 
 271, 000 
 1.60, 600 
 
 02, 400 
 061, 000 
 074, BOO 
 
 72, 000 
 600, 000 
 000, 000 
 
 Average 
 price. 
 
 ,$2 78 
 2 00 
 
 2 82 
 
 3 60 
 3 75 
 3 70 
 
 3 30 
 
 4 46 
 
 3 09 
 
 4 00 
 3 65 
 2 58 
 1 64 
 1 80 
 1 57 
 1 90 
 1 75 
 1 75 
 
 1 80 
 
 2 09 
 1 85 
 
 1 92 
 
 2 17 
 2 07 
 2 78 
 2 53 
 2 34 
 2 48 
 2 44 
 2 20 
 2 30 
 
 1 82 
 
 2 31 
 
 1 52 
 
 1 76 
 
 2 00 
 2 00 
 2 30 
 
 Value. 
 
 36, 240, 500 
 
 $1, 4-1, 724 
 623, 740 
 
 1, 301, 148 
 
 217, 080 
 
 91, 875 
 
 342, 250 
 
 5, 009, 730 
 572, 218 
 
 4, 967, 484 
 140, 000 
 551, 880 
 
 1, 088, 760 
 754, 600 
 315, 000 
 600, 211 
 107, 350 
 472, 500 
 437, 600 
 225, 000 
 
 7, 680, 123 
 527, 250 
 
 1, 632, 000 
 1, 193, 283 
 
 2, 673, 000 
 10, 616, 740 
 
 4, 427, 500 
 
 2, 338, 378 
 3,121,080 
 
 3, 229, 828 
 660, 000 
 
 1, 288, 000 
 
 2, 313, 220 
 361. 746 
 172, 848 
 
 10, 732, 720 
 
 1, 891, 296 
 
 144, 000 
 
 1, 200, 000 
 
 5, 980, 000 
 
 81, 363, 062 
 
 quantity of wool by a strong infusion of blood of the American Merino, 
 aided in a very limited degree by breeding from the best English mutton 
 breeds. 
 
 Taking into account with the fleece wool of annual shearing the wool 
 of the yearly increasing numbers of lambs killed and sheep butchered 
 for mutton, the supply of United States wools approximates 20t),000,000 
 l)ounds. It has not been estimated annually in this department, but tlie 
 commercial estimates, possibly a little high, do not greatly exaggerate 
 tlie quantity. 
 
 ' The estimates from returns in J.auuary, 1870, are as follows : 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 7 
 
 Tlie following table has been prepared from estimates of Mr. James 
 Lynde, of New York: 
 
 Tear. 
 
 Washed. 
 
 Rocky Moun- 
 tains.* 
 
 Texas. 
 
 Southern. 
 
 Aggregate. 
 
 wm 
 
 140, 000, 000 
 150,000,000 
 134, 000, 000 
 130, 000, 000 
 110, 000, 000 
 120, 000, 000 
 125, 000, 000 
 120, 000, 000 
 125, 000, 000 
 110, 000, 000 
 117, 000, 000 
 
 11,000,000 
 
 16, 000, 000 
 
 17, 250, 000 
 23, 000, 000 
 25, 000, 000 
 27, 000, 000 
 37, 200, 000 
 44, 500, 000 
 52, 000, 000 
 70, 250, 000 
 70, 250, 000 
 
 7, 000, 000 
 
 8, 000, 000 
 7, 000, 000 
 
 7, 000, OOO 
 
 8, 000, 000 
 
 9, 000, 000 
 0, 000, 000 
 
 10, 000, 000 
 12,000,000 
 
 13, 000, 000 
 
 14, 000, 000 
 
 2, 000, 000 
 3, 000, 000 
 3, 000, 000 
 
 3, 000, 000 
 ' 3, 000, 000 
 
 4, 000, 000 
 3, 500, 000 
 
 3, 600, 000 
 
 4, 000, 000 
 
 5, 000, 000 
 7, OUO, 000 
 
 100, 000, 000 
 177, 000, OOO 
 
 162, 250, 000 
 
 163, 000, 000 
 140, 000, 000 
 
 1868 
 
 J8H9 
 
 1«70 
 
 1871 
 
 1872 
 
 1873 
 
 174, 7U0, 000 
 178, 000, OOO 
 103,000,000 
 198, 250, 000 
 208, 250, 000 
 
 1874 : ... 
 
 187.5 
 
 1876 
 
 1877 
 
 
 * Including Pacific slope. 
 
 The following record of the quarterly average prices of Ohio clothing 
 wool (the best average jjroduct of American merino grades), as sold in 
 the Boston market during the last seventeen years, is furnished by Mr. 
 George William Bond, of Boston: 
 
 Tear. 
 
 January. 
 
 April. 
 
 July. 
 
 October. 
 
 i860 
 
 $0 00 
 45 
 
 .$0 50 
 40 
 
 ,$0 40 
 37 
 
 $0 52 
 43 
 
 $0 43 
 37 
 
 $0 40 
 32 
 *50 
 *76 
 •79 
 75 
 48 
 50 
 45 
 48 
 40 
 47 
 76 
 48 
 47 
 46 
 40 
 
 $0 35 
 40 
 
 $0 50 
 35 
 
 $0 40 
 32 
 •47 
 *lS>s 
 •831 
 65 
 60 
 46 
 43 
 47 
 43 
 55 
 65 
 41 
 46 
 46 
 31 
 
 iO 50 
 47 
 
 $0 45 
 47 
 
 $0 40 
 52 
 
 1861 
 
 1862 
 
 *.58 
 
 ] 863 
 
 
 
 •63 
 *74} 
 
 96 
 
 60 
 
 SO 
 
 38 
 
 48 
 
 44 
 
 43 
 
 66 
 
 65 
 
 47 
 
 47 
 
 42 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 •70 
 
 1864 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 -103J 
 65 
 
 1805 
 
 1 02 
 70 
 68 
 48 
 50 
 48 
 47 
 70 
 70 
 58 
 65 
 48 
 
 1 00 
 65 
 33 
 43 
 60 
 46 
 46 
 67 
 68 
 64 
 66 
 52 
 
 80 
 63 
 60 
 50 
 50 
 48 
 50 
 80 
 66 
 56 
 54 
 46 
 
 80 
 00 
 .55 
 48 
 50 
 
 S 
 80 
 53 
 56 
 62 
 49 
 
 75 
 70 
 53 
 46 
 4« 
 46 
 62 
 72 
 50 
 53 
 62 
 38 
 
 73 
 67 
 49 
 45 
 48 
 45 
 60 
 70 
 48 
 63 
 49 
 35 
 
 75 
 03 
 48 
 48 
 48 
 48 
 63 
 66 
 64 
 64 
 48 
 45 
 
 76 
 60 
 46 
 48 
 48 
 48 
 62 
 60 
 3.1 
 54 
 50 
 40 
 
 1806 ... 
 
 66 
 
 1867 
 
 40 
 
 3868 .. 
 
 45 
 
 1869 
 
 46 
 
 1870 
 
 45 
 
 1871 
 
 58 
 
 1872 
 
 57 
 
 
 47 
 
 1874 
 
 187.> 
 
 47 
 42 
 
 1876 
 
 38 
 
 
 
 •Average price. 
 
 The Boston record of Ohio wool prices, from the same source, is, from 
 1810 to 1861, as follows : 
 
 Tears. 
 
 Fine. 
 
 Middle. 
 
 long. 
 
 Tears. 
 
 Fine. 
 
 Middle. 
 
 Long. 
 
 
 $0 45 
 60 
 
 $0,36 
 '45 
 
 $0 31 
 
 40 
 
 1851 
 
 $0 41 
 49 
 65 
 41 
 50 
 55 
 66 
 53 
 58 
 54 
 45 
 
 $0 38 
 45 
 60 
 30 
 42 
 47 
 47 
 46 
 47 
 47 
 45 
 
 $0 32 
 40 
 
 1841 
 
 1852 
 
 1842* • 
 
 1863 
 
 43 
 
 
 41 
 
 42 
 
 36i 
 
 34 
 
 47 
 
 32 
 
 41 
 
 47 
 
 35 
 37 
 30 
 30 
 40 
 28 
 37 
 42 
 
 30 
 
 32i 
 
 26 
 
 m 
 
 30 
 24 
 32 
 36 
 
 1854 
 
 32} 
 34 
 
 1H44 
 
 18,53 
 
 
 1866 
 
 87 
 
 1846 
 
 18.57 
 
 41 
 
 1847 
 
 1858 
 
 30 
 
 1848 
 
 1859 
 
 33 
 
 1849 
 
 1800 
 
 37 
 
 
 1861 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 
 * Price all round, 33^ to 35 cents. 
 
 While the prices of fine wools have declined all over the world, those 
 of coarse and long wools have appreciated, and the great increase of 
 weight makes a much higher average value per fleece and gives a better 
 profit to the farmer than could the former style and price of wool. 
 
O SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 TRANSITION IN SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 
 
 There are tliose atIio jump hastily at conclusions, from insufficient 
 jiremises, who point to the undoubted fact tliat numbers of slu'cp are of 
 late decreasing in the region west of the Mississippi and nortli of the 
 Ohio, and assume boldly that sheep husbandy is unsuitable to that 
 region and destined to be displaced. It is asserted that on lauds worth 
 $50 per acre sheep cannot be profital>ly kept. On the other hand, it 
 is in England declared, from long experience on land worth SliOO 
 to 8500 per acre, that fertility cannot be profitably sustained without 
 sheep. 
 
 There is always a grain of truth in popular impressions, even though 
 ill-founded. The explanation of the difficulty is found in the fact that 
 sheep husbandry is not limited to tcooJ-gyoiciiu/. It is un<loubted]y true 
 that woul can be produced more cheaply on government land, or on rich 
 l)rairies obtainable for $1.25 to 8-. 50 i)er acre, than on higli-]iriced lands 
 near to markets. The competition of fruits and dairy products tends to 
 dri\'e Avool-growing to the Avail. "Wool-growing" has lieeu driven from 
 England; it has been expelled from every department in France except 
 the mountain districts, and mutton and avooI production has taken its 
 l)lace. The predoiuinance of Merinoes has made the transition from wool 
 to nuitton slower in France than in England, yet, under the necessities 
 of the case, none the less sure ; and, strange to say, under the breed- 
 ing of Eainbo'uillet the Merino itself has become substantially a mutton 
 sheep, A'ery large in size, very coarse and long in fiber for a ]Merino, 
 heavy in carcass, with an increased aptitude for taking on flesh, and an 
 earlier maturity. But this process of muttonizing a Merino has not been 
 fast enough; the English Leicester and Gotswold have been employed 
 to facilitate the process. 
 
 The government, which for uinety-four years has kept a 3Ierino- 
 breeding establishment,* with tendencies and results as above, has also 
 anational ticrjfer/V; at Haut-Tingry(ras-de-Calais, on the English Channel), 
 established in 1850, for the ])urpose of breeding Leicesters and their 
 crosses upon Merinoes; and large numbers of these cross-bred flocks 
 are now found in the regions of the northwest and i)lains of the north. 
 Then tliere are native coarse-wooled sheep, also cross-bred Avith ^leri- 
 uoes, abundant in Brie, Bergundy, (Jliampagne, I'rovence, Ivcussilon, and 
 other districts, that are among the most profitable flocks of France. It 
 is e\eu claimed that some flocks have equaled the Leicester and South- 
 down in fatness and earUness of maturing, Avhile their fleeces are scarcely 
 less A'aluable than that of the Merino. 
 
 The French have thiis yielded to the necessity of making meat the 
 first consideration, and in doing so have been Avise in their refusal to 
 
 *Tlic imiiortumo ntt.ulicil to slieep-ljiiM-ilinn' by the Firucli Odvi-i-imii'ut, is fiirtlier 
 shown ill IJ ICcole de bergers located .it the iiafioiwil hcriieric ile Jfamhoiiillci. This insti- 
 tution is intended to train youufj; men in the managrnu-ut ot Hocks. It is ojien to 
 pupils tvoni all parts of France. E%'ery ap])licant for admission as an apprentice, must 
 ]iass exandnation in his own commune, and must show that he was sixti'cn years old 
 on the previous 1st day of .Tanuary ; some moral and sanitary rcciuirenicnl's are de- 
 manded as in the other schools. All the jjupils are boarded grat>iit(uisly, receiving 
 tlui same fare, as the rural population of the country. They sleep near tlie sheep-folds 
 in regular turn. Their course of instruction lasts two years, and no charge of tuition 
 is made. The chief shepherd exercises them in the management of all (Operations of 
 sheep husbandry, lambing, weaning, castrating, pairing, gestation, parturition, shear- 
 ing, folding, feeding, slaughtering, preparation for maket, &c. Tliey are tauglit the 
 best treatment of sick animals. They also cultivate the land. If their primary instruc- 
 tion is defective, it is supplied by special teaching. Their iustructiou is tested and com- 
 pleted by the subdirector. After two yciirs of pupilage, if tliey pass a satisfactory 
 examination, they receive a certlttcate, with a premium of 300 frimcs. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 9 
 
 sacrifice tlie wool required by tlieii; peculiar styles of manufacture, and 
 liave thereby gained, not tlie coarse fiber of great lengtli i)roduced by 
 the mvittou breeds, but that having much of the fineness of Merino 
 wool, with a material increase in length. Their breeders liave demon- 
 strated, perhaps more successfully than any other nation, that improve- 
 ment in intrinsic value of fleece and increase in meat iiroduction may 
 keep pace witli each other. The climate, soils, and agronomic conditions 
 of this country liave contributed to this result. 
 
 Sheep husbandry in this country is now undergoing the transition 
 "which has produced the changes indicated above in foreign countries. 
 It is beginning to yield to the governing force of circumstances, of cli- 
 mate, soils, status of agriculture, and home demand for meat and wool, 
 in the formation of types of sheep suited to existing requirements of our 
 rural and manufacturing economy. 
 
 In the Ohio Valley and Middleand Eastern States the idea of keeping 
 sheep year after year for wool alone is antiquated and fossiliferous. It 
 is like raising calves in New England to be fed four winters for beef- 
 making in comi)etition with the winter feeding with the boundless plains 
 of the Southwest. It is a logical sequence from blue grass and Short 
 Horns that Kentuckians discard or modify the Merino. Early matu- 
 rity, rapid conversions of forage into meat, quick returns, are a necessity 
 of sheep husbandry in fertile and cultivated districts, which is driving 
 to the distant West the business of producing wool without regard to 
 meat. Mutton breeds are increasing in all this region, and the Merino 
 is receding, and the latter is so dispro])ortionate to the foimer in num- 
 bers that the present effect is to decrease the aggregate of llocks. 
 
 There are several considerations tending to such a change. The rapid 
 increase of population, the increasing price of beef, the inferiority of pork 
 in healthfulness and nutrition (it has been found ditficult to keep the 
 hog from dying before he is ready for the knife), and the increjisiug de- 
 mand for good mutton, all tend powerfully in tins direction. The flesh 
 of the sheep is the best meat in the world ; it is also the poorest. A lean, 
 thin sheep, Mei-ino or scrub, that has outlived its usefulness as a wool- 
 bearer, and been cut down by the relentless knife as a cumberer of the 
 pasture-ground, and consigned to the pot in the vain hope of macerating 
 its toughened fibers, aftbrds an unsavory and unpalatable meat, which 
 has taught many to loathe the very name of mutton and abominate its 
 very smell. On the contrary, not the aromatic flavors of venison, the 
 gamy richness of wild fowl, or the sweet juices of a Short-Horn sirloin 
 can surpass the virtues of Southdown marrow and fatness. It is sweeter 
 to the palate, digestible with greater facility, and more nutritious than 
 any other variety of food. Even the first crosses of such animals upon 
 Merinoes Avork a w^onderful improvement in the quality of the flesh. 
 Among the prime results of cross-breeding are increase of size, fecun- 
 dity, early maturity, and early fattening. A greatly desired result is 
 thus easily attained. 
 
 The increase of mutton-eating is indicated by the rapid extension of 
 sales in all our large markets. The British, presumed to be a nation of 
 beef-eaters, rather deserve to be regarded as pre-eminently mutton- 
 eaters. The prices of mittton have advanced more rapidly in England 
 than those of beef. Prices in this country have also greatly advanced. 
 
 Another consideration is the increase of jirice of worsted wools, which 
 has been advancing, as compared with fine wools, for many years. The 
 great demand of our manufacturers at thei^resent time is for such wools, 
 which thej^ have been forced to meet in some degree by new umchinery 
 suited to the use of the comparatively long fibers of half and three- 
 
10 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 fourths grade Merinoes, by wliich a large portion of the wool of Ohio 
 and Michigan is substituted for real combing wool. Carpets, blankets, 
 flannels, and ladies' dress goods, and much of the wear of gentlemen, 
 require the wool of mutton breeds and cross-bred tiocks, of which more 
 can be used, with the present tastes of consumers and tendencies of 
 manufacture, than of the short cloth wool of the pure Merino. 
 
 There is a necessity of sheep husbandry for meat production, now 
 beginning to be acknowledged in the Central States, as an ameliorator 
 of the soil. AVhile dairying, and the shipment of its products, with- 
 draws rapidly from the feoil its needed phospha^tes and other valuable 
 elements, and reduces its fertility, the feeding of sheep tends directly to 
 the enrichment of the soil. As tlie numbers of sheep diminish, in dis- 
 tricts oldest and most systematic in their agriculture, the yield of wheat 
 declines. As sheep became a more prominent element of English farm- 
 ing, the yield of wheat increased, until 2S bushels per acre are produced. 
 The turnip, Avhich feeds the sheei) that manures the field that yields this 
 wheat, is deemed "the sheet-anchor of British husbandry." Our wheat 
 yield averages but 12 bushels, and never will yield more without the 
 aid of meat jn'oduction as a permanent element of farm economy. The 
 superiority of sheep to other animals in this connection, even u])on the 
 farming lands of highest price, is thus attested by Mr. William Brown, 
 of Scotland: 
 
 Not only iu quality and variety, but proportiouatply to any other country in the 
 world, Britain feeds the largest nund)er of sheep. Irrespective of adaptability of 
 physical chaiacteristies, the mere fact that of all animals this is easiest fed, jjivesper- 
 liaps the largest retnrus in the shortest time, and is a lirst-class fertilizer of the soil, 
 is sufficient reason for such a prominence. 
 
 ;Mr. George Geddes, of Kew York, than whom no man in tlie country 
 is better acquainted with the i)ractical aspects of this question, writes 
 concerning it : 
 
 It is not easy to see any good reason why the older sections of onr country, having 
 great cities and manufacturing centers for markets, should not follow the example of 
 England in this matter. It has been ]a-(ived by the best of tests, that of actual trial, 
 that our soils and climate arc well adapled to these heavy sbee]). Nothing of uncer- 
 tainty on this subject renuiins but the luioertainty of our national legislation. A 
 policy of frec^ traile in wool and woolen goods would for a while destroy onr pur- 
 (diasers of wool, and ruin both branches of the business. If the existing revenujs laws 
 <'.au be allowed to remain, we may rea.souably hope that at least the present prices of 
 our wool will be continued to us ; and, if so, we can continue to exjiaud the produc- 
 tion. The business will, in the 4dder jjarts of the country, be a close one, yielding 
 very small direct profits, but indirectly so very valnahle, as the means of making ma- 
 nure to raise grain crops, that it will go on ; and more economy in food, liousing, and 
 general management Avill come iir due time as skill increases, and the mutton-produc- 
 ing sheep and the growing of grain will go hand in hand. 
 
 He gives an example which may be taken as a test of the capabili- 
 ties of the best farming districts for profitable sheep husbandry. In 
 IStO, jMr. William Chamberlain, of lied Hook, Dutciiess County, l^ew 
 York, bought a worn-out hay lavm of 380 acres. Ityieldedbut 17 loads 
 of hay the next season ; 40 acres of rye produced 400 bushels ; from 25 
 acres of corn were harvested but 500 bushels; and the remaining land 
 l')asture<l only a span of horses, two pairs of oxen, and a cow. It was 
 too poor to produce red clover. The commercial manures were comjiar- 
 atively useless, wood ashes were better, but no means of recuperation 
 were successful till sheep were tried, which converted corn, liay. straw, 
 leaves, and weeds into manure, until, in 18GG, tlie farm produced 800 
 loads of hay (COO tons), 40 acres of corn yielding 50 bushels per acre, 30 
 acres of wheat averaging 15 busliels per acre, 30 acres of oats, S acres 
 of roots, the i)asturage of 300 sheep and oxen and cows required for 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 11 
 
 work, and milk and butter on tile farm. In aid of this result lie had the 
 manure of 300 sheep, fattened the previous winter, on which he made $300 
 clear profit, besides the fertilizer. He used the manure at first, spread- 
 ing it thinly to make it go the further, to render possible tlie. growth of 
 clover. Similar statements are among the records of this department, 
 with similar results, which show that the sheep is as valuable in this 
 country as in Europe for sustaining and increasing the fertility of the 
 soil. 
 
 An imi)ortant branch of this industry, and one that many have found 
 quite profitable on lauds worth $100 per acre, is the raising of early 
 lambs. 
 
 New Jersey, lying between the two largest markets in the country, 
 which feed a population of 2,000,000, is famed for the high ijrices of all 
 feeding material ; and yet this branch of sheep husbandry flourishes there 
 as in no other State in the country. Her flocks, consisting mainly of 
 ewes, are yearly changed. Selected in August for their thiiftiness and 
 adaptation to breeding, from flocks driven from Pennsylvania or Ohio, 
 and costing from $3 to $6 per head, they are pastured in early autumn ; 
 usually served by Southdown rams ; fed well during winter ; their chps 
 sold early in spring ; their lambs turned off in May and June, at $4 to $8 
 each; and the mothers, in the mean time, fattened to follow their off- 
 spring early in summer. Thus, within twelve months, fleece, lamb, and 
 mutton are converted into cash, and from $6 to $10 per head received 
 for feed and care, besides a supply of valuable manure. Here are quick 
 returns and good profits. The breed is the common grade Merino stock 
 of the country, selected with reference to size, thrift, and constitution ; 
 the lambs are cross-bred, partaking largely of the Southdown superiority 
 in quality, and of the aptitude of cross-breds for fattening readily. Both 
 sheep and lambs are disi)osed of promptly. No feed is wasted in keep- 
 ing the vital machinery in working order, and losses from old age and 
 epizootics are avoided. This is the prominent feature in New Jersey 
 sheep-farming ; it yields a i>resent profit, and insures future fertility. 
 
 Some counties in Southern New York and Eastern Pennsylvania pur- 
 sue a similar course, to some extent, with similar results; some flocks 
 yielding g, gross increase of 200 per cent, upon original cost, within 
 twelve "months. A flock of 08 ewes, in the summer of 1868, was turned 
 upon Virginia wheat stubble, seeded with clover, and, without other 
 feed or care, over 100 lambs were sold in May, 1869, at $5 per head, 
 realizing nearly $300 above the cost of the ewes, in addition to the original 
 stock and wool on hand. A gentleman in New Kent County, Virginia, 
 writes me that he keeps 100 common ewes; breeds to Southdowns; sells 
 an average of 80 lambs annually, at $4 each, and obtains enough for 
 wool to pay all expenses of keeping, while the benefit received by his 
 land is equal to the interest on its value, leaving the receipts for lambs 
 as interest and profits on investment. Another, in Clarke County, Vir- 
 ginia, tried Merinoes and Cotswolds. Both breeds did well, but, while 
 the Merino lambs brought $2 each, the Cotswolds Avere worth $4, and 
 the prolificacy of the Cotswolds was far greater. 
 
 The circumstances which envelop this industry in the United States 
 are rather like those obtaining in France than those influencing British 
 breeding, in the fact that' our improved sheep are high-bred Merinoes 
 and our common stock largely modified by Merino blood. Our manu- 
 factures, also, are tending toward the French type, and our hope of 
 commanding the future markets of the world depends upon our quick 
 invention, facile skill, and deft manipulation, so necessary to the 
 lighter fabrics of taste and fancy, in which excellence has already been 
 attained. For providing the wool requisite for such work there is no 
 
12 
 
 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 better foundation than the Merino. As we have inventi\'e genius, and 
 the ])redoinlnaiice of this style of flocks, all that is needed is skill in 
 cross breeding with combing-wool lams to produce any kind of avooI 
 desired for tasteful and high-priced goods. AVith practical judgment in 
 feeding, with reference first to quick production of meat, and incident- 
 ally to the best results in wool, the business of sheep-husbandry should 
 become far more profitable than as ati)resent conducted, and moi'C gen- 
 erally extended throughout the densely-settled districts of the United 
 States. 
 
 EOCKY-5IOUI\'TAIN SHEEP-WALKS. 
 
 From ]\Iexico to tlio British Possessions, from the Missouri Eiver to 
 the Pacific Ocean, an area of more than a thousand million of acres* 
 
 states and Territories. 
 
 No. acros in 
 
 fill'lUS. 
 
 Xo. acn snot 
 in faims. 
 
 Kansas ."., Kr,(\, 879 ; 46, 380, 681 
 
 l<(-liraf.ka '.', I)7:i, 781 ( 46, .563, (110 
 
 Califoniia 11 , 4:^7, 105 | 109, .5iO, 7:;.'. 
 
 Oregon 1', ;i.sii, a.vj : 58, .wi;, Kix 
 
 Is''eva<la 'J{jK, 51 I 71, 529, IHIII 
 
 Colorado 320, :146 | 06, 559, (i.54 
 
 Utah 148,301 53, 916, U.'ii; 
 
 New Mcxii'O 833, .'49 ■ 76, 735, 1)91 
 
 Wa.sIiington - 049,139 44,147,11:^1 
 
 Dakota 30L', 370 , 06, 293, 752 
 
 Montaiiii 129, .'.37 01.^77. 103 
 
 Idalio - - . 77, 139 ! 5.5. 151, U21 
 
 Arizona -- 21,.SII7 72.884,433 
 
 Wyoniin,';' 4, 341 ' 02. 640, 727 
 
 Indian 44, 154, 240 
 
 Total 24, 252, 122 j 096, 945, 317 
 
 No. acres . in 
 total area. 
 
 52 
 
 043 
 
 .520 
 
 4.« 
 
 li3H 
 
 800 
 
 120 
 
 947 
 
 840 
 
 00 
 
 975 
 
 300 
 
 71 
 
 737 
 
 0(10 
 
 06 
 
 88(1 
 
 000 
 
 54 
 
 Ofi'i 
 
 043 
 
 77 
 
 508 
 
 640 
 
 44 
 
 790 
 
 160 
 
 96 
 
 59(i 
 
 128 
 
 92 
 
 010 
 
 040 
 
 55 
 
 228 
 
 160 
 
 72 
 
 900 
 
 240 
 
 02 
 
 (i45 
 
 008 
 
 44 
 
 154 
 
 240 
 
 1,021 
 
 197 
 
 439 
 
 (not including Alaska) has been for ages the home of countless num- 
 bers of the buffalo, of the antelope, and on the higher elevations the 
 Kocky-j'\[ountain sheep and the Pocky-3Iountain goat, llelatively, few 
 are the acres that do not supply Some form of vegetation for lierbi- 
 vorous animals. Their bones lie bleachiii,a' on plain and mountain 
 slope, tleclung with white the landscape at every view, from the lowest 
 levels up to the timber-line. \\']iile Mount Washington, at an eleva- 
 tion of 5,000 feet, is barren rock, with scarcely a vestige of vegetable 
 life, tlie scores of peaks of the Sieira Madre, up to 10,000 aii(.l"lL:,000 
 feet, abound with gras.sy slopes and shady nooks, dense with a luxu- 
 riant growth of grass. At 7,000 feet the climate and herbage coinbiuo 
 to furnisli the advantages of the dairy region of Northern Xew York. 
 At so high a latitude as the plains of Laramie the pasturage is a wonder 
 of freshness and abundaiice. Like an inland sea of emerald, the range 
 stretclu's from horizon to horizon, relieved only by straggling pattdies 
 of motley color of bovine herds, or white specks of scarcely distinguish- 
 able flocks.* 
 
 * Little iiKire than two pci- (jeut. of this areti is land now in farms, as tlie following 
 talil(^ shows : 
 
 * Prof. Cyrus Thomas, the topographer of Haydcn's .survey, in a communication to 
 this (lepartiueiit, has said : 
 
 "There is probably no finer grazing region in ^Vyonling than this. The southeastern 
 part is literally earpeted with a compact growth of rich and nutritious grasses, kept 
 eouslantly fnish by the water of the nuiiu^rous mountain streams. The rainfall is 
 also gii-ater than in !(.ny other part of the Territory, and it seems to be on the ii!erei(se. 
 Kotwitlistandiiig the elevation of thes(! plains, the winters are comparatively mild 
 and open, the fall of snow being light, and stock is wintered without sheltcjr, and 
 with very little feeding. Large tiooks of .sheep and cattle liave passed th(^ winter 
 here with no other feed than the uncut grass of the vaUeys and plains. Hay in abun- 
 dance and of the best quality can be obtained along tin.- creek bottoms at nominal 
 expense." 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 13 
 
 Here are mountain basins, parks lar^e enough for a principality, and 
 plains carpeted with lierbage that stretch eastward five hnndred'miles. 
 Tlie valleys of countless rivers, meandering- for hundreds of miles, are 
 in many cases miles in width, with taller growths, offering to the first 
 mower that appears thonsands of tons of wild hay. Even the bluffs of 
 many of these streams are rounded and grass-grown, and many of the 
 long slopes, especially of the more northern portion of the mother range, 
 are simply rolling mountain prairies. 
 
 In a small section of this great domain, the North Platte Valley, flow 
 tributary streams, draining and watering a pastoral region that has 
 been estimated at 40,000,000 acres. Some of the larger are, on theiiorth, 
 the Blue Water, Gold Water, Hill Greek, Raw Hide, Mnddy, Willow, 
 Shawnee, State, and Sweet Water ; and, on the south, the Ash, Pump- 
 kin, Larran's, Dog, Horse, Cherry, Chugwater, Sybelle, Big Laramie, 
 Caster, Cottonwood, Horseshoe, Elk Horn, La Prele, Boisee, Deer Creek, 
 Medicine Bow, Eock Creek, Douglas, North, South and Middle Forks. 
 These streams and their feeders would make a formidable list ; but similar 
 lists would be required for the Arkansas, the Canadian, the Colorado, 
 Columbia, Sacramento, and many others. Ten years of exploration, by 
 three separate expeditions, at a cost of one to two millions of dollars, 
 have surveyed and mapped but a small portion of this Territory. Much 
 has been written of these resources, and more is still unknown of the 
 details of the wealth of pasturage yet unutilized. Of cour.s(>, there is 
 nuich that is thin and sparse, much that is covered with sage, and among 
 the mountains bare and frowning surtaeesbf rock. 
 
 A competent practical authority, Mr. Elihu Hall, of Illinois, has far- 
 nished the department a list of iifty-seven genera and one hundred and 
 forty-three species of grasses growing on the eastern side of the iirinci- 
 j)al range, of which fifty-two are not found east of the Mlssoui!, belong- 
 ing exclusively to the plain and mountain region. The relative distri- 
 bution of the twelve more important species is thus presented, with their 
 habitat: 
 
 Andropogon furcatus.. 
 Andrnpogoii sooparias . 
 
 Siirgblim 11 titans 
 
 Spoi'oliolus hetiTolepis 
 
 BuchlfE flactyloitles 
 
 IJoiiteloiia oUffostachya 
 Spartiua cyuosuroides . . 
 
 Pi-stuca ovina . . . : 
 
 !I?>stiu',a iiiacroatachya. 
 
 iliromua Kalraii 
 
 Poa serotina - 
 
 Stipa viridula .'. . . 
 
 Plains, Mountains. 
 
 Per cent. 
 40 
 
 Per cent. 
 
 10 
 10 
 12 
 1 
 S 
 10 
 2 
 
 20 
 5 
 
 Andropoijon fiircatm, Andropogon scopariun, and Sorfihiim vutani, by thuir abuurlance 
 in all the eastern portions of tlie district, are the leading species, and at j)reseut com- 
 prise at least tliree-fourtlis of tlio grazing resources of tliat portion of the country. 
 Next in importance follows 5poraftotes heleroUpis. Tliis species is pecnliarily palatable 
 to cattle, and they are seen roving over ricli pasture of other species in search of it. 
 This is also said to be the winter forage species of Kansas, where it abounds, afford- 
 ing the rich winter pasturage of the farmers and herders of that State. It flourishes 
 chiefly on the moister portions of the plains, and many local areas are almost exclu- 
 sively occupied by it. 
 
 The increase of sheep-husbandry in sections of this great area has been 
 more rapid during the past ten years than in any other era or portion 
 of the country. It produces now about the same ameunt of wool that 
 
14 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 was clipped from all tlio flocks of the country in 1860. California alone 
 produces as much as the census reported in 1S50 for the United States 
 entire. In ten years, from 1867, the year of the enactment of tlie pres- 
 ent tariff, the increase in wool of the Eocky Mountain areas has been 
 fourfold, and the product can still be immensely enlarged. 
 
 The cost of keeping sheep per head, under judicious management, in 
 the main range of the Eocky Mountains, has been populaily estimated 
 for several years past at thirty cents. Estimates of cost of products 
 must be received with caution, as results vary with the incidents and 
 accidents of pastoral experience and the judgment and energy of pro- 
 l)rietors. It is safe to say that the field for sheep-husbandry here is 
 continental, pasturage free to the first comers in the unoccui)ied and un- 
 surveyed public domain, and the cost includes only the original stock, 
 a small stock of fixtures and material, representing a "plant" of incon- 
 siderable nuignitude, and a minimum amount of labor and care. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 
 
 The sixteen States lying between Delaware and Missouri and between 
 the Ohio River and the Gnlf of Mexico had a poi)ulation in 1870 of 
 1 3,877,615 ; and two-thu'ds of all engaged in occupations — iudustrial, mer- 
 cantile, professional, or other — wei'e in some rural avocation.* Thej- 
 
 * In 1870, the proportions of persons in agriculture to those in all occupations was as 
 follows : 
 
 Stat63. 
 
 Delaware 
 
 Maryland 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Weat Virginia. 
 !North Carolina 
 South Carolina 
 
 Georma 
 
 Morida 
 
 Alabama 
 
 In all occu- 
 pationa. 
 
 In agricul- 
 ture. 
 
 40, 313 
 258, 543 
 412, 6ti5 
 115, 229 
 351, 299 
 263, 301 
 444, 678 
 
 60, 703 
 366, 258 
 
 15, 973 
 
 80, 440 
 244, 550 
 
 73, 960 
 269, 238 
 206,(151 
 336, 145 
 
 42, 492 
 291, 628 
 
 States. 
 
 ■Mississippi 
 Louisiana. . 
 
 Texas 
 
 Arkansas . . 
 Tennessee . 
 Kentucky . 
 Missouri . . 
 
 Total . 
 
 In all occu- 
 patiuna. 
 
 31S, 850 
 256, 462 
 287, 120 
 13,-1, 949 
 867, 987 
 414, .593 
 605, 566 
 
 4 548, 502 
 
 In a^-icul- 
 ture. 
 
 269, 199 
 141, 467 
 166, 753 
 109, 310 
 267, 0-20 
 
 261, oeo 
 
 263, 918 
 
 3, 029, 830 
 
 have an area more than twice as large as that of the original thirteen 
 States, larger than the actual area in farms in the United States, and 
 almost a fourth of the entire area of the national domain. Nearly half of 
 this acreage, amounting to more than two hundi-ed million acres, is in 
 wild pasturage of more or less value for subsistence of faiiu stock, and 
 much of this herbage is unutilized to-day. Sheep do well in this region, 
 which comprises all the climates and soils of the temperate zone. There 
 is no portion of it unsuited to sheep-husbandry. Some of the finest sam- 
 ples of Saxon wool ha\e been' produced, even in its lower latitudes, 
 ■without sensible deterioration of fiber from excessive heat. 
 
 The business of wool-growing was initiated at a very early day; Wash- 
 ington, Jefferson, Ciistis, and other eminent citizens felt a personal in- 
 terest in it, and took a , prominent part in the introduction of improved 
 breeds of sheep. John Randolph did not represent public opinion when 
 he said he would at any time go a mile out of his way to kick a sheej). 
 Yet the increase of numbers and advancement in breeding have not 
 been commensurate with these resources and successful beginnings. 
 
 What reasons can be assigned for progress so slow? M an j', perhaps, 
 but one will suffice: the preponderance of cotton and the absorbing in- 
 terest m its culture. With an agricultural system so limited it is not 
 strange that sheep-husbandry has assumed so little importance. Under 
 the circumstances, with the prevalent aversion to diversity of rural pro- 
 duction, progress has been considerable, demonstrating the dominating 
 force of great natural resources in rural industries. The peculiar advan- 
 tages of Texas long since attracted the attention of the world, and wool- 
 growing has divided witli beef production the labors and ^jroflts of its 
 lural economy. The other fifteen States give this industry much less 
 I)rominence, but together they support nearly twice as many sheep as 
 Texas. The numbers in these States, as reported in the census of 1850, 
 
16 
 
 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 were 6,635,070 ; in 1860, 7,050,834 ; in 1870, 0,703,221. At the present time 
 tLe aggie.nutc i.s aj-sunied to be about ten millions. 
 
 There is another element in the extension of wool-growing which is 
 beginning to be active and influential — the advance in the manufacture 
 of wool. It should act more powerfully in the future. With a small 
 beginning in 1851) it has nearly doubled during eai-h decade. At this 
 rate of progress consumption will soon be upon the heels of i)rodnction, 
 and the future of the wool industry in botli branches will be assured. 
 The worsted industry has not yet obtained a footing in the South, but 
 the manufarture of " woolens" has made satisfactory advances snice 
 1850, as shown by the following arrangement of figures of the national 
 census : 
 
 Niimher of estaUishmentx, of hands cmployeil, and of sets of cards. 
 
 
 EstaLlishnients. 
 
 Hanila employed. 
 
 XuilllnTofSOtS 
 
 ot cauls. 
 
 States. 
 
 1870. 
 
 1800. 1S50. 
 
 4 8 
 27 ■ 38 
 J.J ■ 121 
 
 1870. : 1800. 
 
 1850. 
 
 1870. 
 
 1800. 
 
 
 11 
 
 31 
 
 74 
 53 
 1.-) 
 46 
 1 
 14 
 11 
 
 20 
 
 T.i 
 
 US 
 
 )2:'> 
 
 1."jO 
 
 309 
 337 
 278 
 310 
 240 
 
 53 
 
 503 
 
 1 
 
 41 
 
 114 
 381 
 404 
 
 140 
 362 
 GJ8 
 
 30 
 
 60 
 116 
 
 132 
 7S 
 
 1 
 24 
 17 
 12 
 20 
 17 
 177 
 208 
 2.jS 
 
 8 
 
 
 44 
 
 Vii-iiiia -- 
 
 \Y<-st Vir^iiiiii. 
 
 50 
 
 7 ' 1 
 1 
 
 11 j 3 
 
 6 \'.\'.'..'.'. 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 2 1 
 
 1 ■" 4" 
 
 37 2."i 
 11 ■ 1 
 
 2.-3 ■ 30 
 
 23 
 
 HiMltli (.■;ircjlilKL 
 
 3t3 
 
 """ins 
 
 7S 
 
 10 
 30 
 
 l-'lciiiila 
 
 14 
 
 
 116 1 23.5 
 
 8" 
 
 17 
 318 
 
 13 
 
 J^uiiiMiimii 
 
 Ti."Ciis 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 IViiuessoc 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 20 
 100 
 
 31 
 428 
 683 
 718 
 
 00 
 43 
 
 10 
 437 
 
 70 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 83 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 7^7 1 ]."i7 202 
 
 4, 332 1 2, 770 j 1, 040 
 
 1,250 
 
 299 
 
 A[;Mi(-giil.: of till' United States 
 
 2, 801 
 
 1, 200 1, JM 
 
 se, 0.-)3 
 
 41, 300 
 
 30, 2.52 
 
 .•i, 336 
 
 3, 209 
 
 Quantili/ (tnd value of wool and oilier nialerial u-ted. 
 
 States. 
 
 Delaware 
 
 Mai ylaiid 
 
 Viririuia 
 Wfsl Virgmia . 
 Is'orth Carolina. 
 South Carolina. 
 
 Georffia 
 
 IHorida 
 
 Alabama ...... 
 
 M,..4s.ssi|ipi 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 Texas 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 Keutuclc.v -- — 
 I^lissuuri 
 
 Total . . 
 
 Duiur.stie, 
 1870. 
 
 Pvinnh 
 
 m:',. 7:12 
 
 511(1,201 
 
 741,000 
 
 073, 003 
 
 2.'i.5, 003 
 
 .5.5, 006 
 
 620, 037 
 
 .'.,5(1 
 
 106, 500 
 
 154, 700 
 
 50, 325 
 
 27.S, 045 
 
 1 15, 330 
 
 1, o:i(i, 153 
 
 1, 0:10, 307 
 
 1,979,071 
 
 Wool used. 
 
 Value, of all material. 
 
 Pounds. ' P(y^md»^ 
 
 12,4.55 , 140,0(10 
 
 4.50 I 1, 055. 272 
 
 1,200 ' 1,131,000 
 
 504, .5110 
 
 2.50, 000 
 
 1, 008, 600 
 
 00, l.-)0 
 81, 900 
 
 10, 000 
 1, 452, 500 
 
 191, 400 
 
 :4, 105 0,420,3.54 
 
 A<r'rj.(.rr;iteofl!(e 
 
 llliitiil Stales 1.54,767,005 
 
 17,311,824 ' 83,008.408 
 
 Pmnidf. 
 303, 000 
 430, 300 
 
 1, 554, 1)0 
 
 30. 000 
 
 153, 816 
 
 30, 000 
 
 6,200 
 673, 900 
 
 K(l, 000 
 
 Dollars. 
 392,6)4 
 233, 024 
 317, SOO 
 3(17, 051 
 100,407 
 
 20s! 1 70 
 1.50 
 57, 33S 
 70, 501; 
 19,(147 
 80, S17 
 
 503! 737 
 83), 02s 
 849,313 
 
 1800. 
 
 1850. 
 
 IfoUnrs. 
 75, ,K(17 
 
 3,S9| 204 
 
 Dollars. 
 204, 172 
 105, 568 
 488, 890 
 
 151,005 
 
 13, 950 
 
 260, 475 
 
 80,700 
 
 110 840 
 
 30, 392 
 
 31,300 
 25, 080 
 
 lo^obb 
 
 51oi 002 
 
 50, 745 
 
 1, 675 
 
 20.5, 2S7 
 16, 000 
 
 331,320 4,182,078] 2,034,637 1,13.5,943 
 
 90, 432, 001 I 36, 580, 2S7 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 Quantity and value of all products of woolens manufactured. 
 
 17 
 
 
 Products. 
 
 Yalue of all products. 
 
 states. 
 
 Cloth, oas- 
 
 simeres, and 
 
 doeskins. 
 
 Flannels. 
 
 Joans. 
 
 Yam. 
 
 1870. 
 
 1860. 
 
 1850. 
 
 Delaware 
 
 Maryland 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Weic Vii' cliU 
 I^"ortli Carolina. . 
 
 Yards. 
 
 276, 332 
 
 64,490 
 
 276, 610 
 
 59, 623 
 
 100, 000 
 
 Yards. 
 
 750 
 
 31, 327 
 
 19, 235 
 
 135,445 
 
 1,690 
 
 Yards. 
 
 590, 000 
 
 4,610 
 
 3,000 
 
 89, 306 
 
 153, 462 
 
 13, 000 
 
 177, 155 
 
 Founds. 
 
 20, 500 
 
 72, 100 
 
 6,800 
 
 116, 382 
 
 '" 40,000 
 
 Dollars. 
 
 576, 067 
 
 427, 696 
 
 488, 352 
 
 475, 763 
 
 298, 638 
 
 34, 459 
 
 471, 523 
 
 500 
 
 89, 998 
 
 147, 323 
 
 30, 795 
 
 152, 968 
 
 78, 690 
 
 696, 844 
 
 1,312,468 
 
 1, 266, 213 
 
 Dollars. 
 153, 035 
 606, 992 
 717, 827 
 
 '"'291,600' 
 80, 000 
 464, 420 
 
 '"'191,474 
 
 158, 507 
 
 45, 200 
 
 38, 796 
 
 DoUars. 
 251, 000 
 295, 140 
 841, 013 
 
 23,'750 
 
 Georgia 
 
 119, 574 
 
 88, 750 
 
 Korida 
 
 
 
 Alabama . - 
 
 
 
 
 107, 800 
 2,087 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10, 000 
 
 
 
 400 
 
 15, 000 
 
 
 
 
 
 Teunessee 
 
 Kentucliy 
 
 Missouri 
 
 4,158 
 41, 586 
 94, 610 
 
 3,919 
 63, 232 
 171, 200 
 
 145, 692 
 
 1, 244, 678 
 
 137, 920 
 
 79, 002 
 21,440 
 289, 525 
 
 8,100 
 
 846, 226 
 
 " 143, 025 
 
 6,310 
 
 318, 819 
 
 56, 000 
 
 Total 
 
 1, 046, 982 
 
 426, 798 
 
 2, 668, 713 
 
 765, 036 
 
 6, 538, 187 
 
 3, 742, 602 
 
 1, 895, 782 
 
 tfnited States 
 
 63, 340, 612 
 
 58, 966, 286 
 
 24, 489, 985 
 
 14, 156, 237 
 
 155, 405, 368 
 
 61, 894, 986 
 
 43, 307, 506 
 
 In the change in agricultural industry so long heralded, from an ab- 
 sorbing specialty to varied culture, from an extensive and exhausting 
 to an intensive and enriching system of husbandry, which change is 
 slowly but it is hoped surely in operation, farm animals have an impor- 
 tant part to act, and sheep especially. Even as an initial movement in 
 this direction, as a pioneer in recuperative agriculture, the sheep will be 
 found useful on the outskirts of the farm, among the weeds of neglected 
 pasture, in the wastes overgrown with blackberry and other vines. The 
 sheep will feed down and destroy much that occupies the place of nutri- 
 tious grasses, and will subsist upon a mucli larger variety of plants than 
 the horse or the ox. As a fertilizer the manure of sheep in its intrinsic 
 quality and its distribution and prompt utilization among the roots of 
 grasses is u^equaled. This has been so long and so notably manifest 
 that the sobriquet of "goldenhoof" for the ovine animal has become 
 proverbial. In England the sheep is the main dependence in the fertili- 
 zation of the soil for the wheat crop. If the mutton returns barely 
 suffice to pay the field value of the turnip crop, the manure is deemed a 
 liberal profit. Good farmers in this country understand the value of 
 the sheep as a means of soil improvement. 
 
 BREEDS PREFERRED. 
 
 The common or scrub stock of Texas is of Mexican origin ; in the 
 other States a mixture of stocks derived originally from England and 
 France, and modified since by chance crosses with improved individ- 
 uals of all the existing breeds. There has long been a tendency among 
 the more enterprising wool-growers to improvement of wool by the use 
 of Merino rams of good quality. It has of late been most active in 
 Texas, and has increased both weight and fineness of fleeces. There 
 is still great opportunity for such improvement. Wben it is found that 
 by two or three crosses the yield can be doubled in quantity and 
 greatly enhanced in price, nothing but indifference and neglect will 
 prevent the improvement. 
 S. Ex. 25 2 
 
18 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 Where sheep husbandry is conducted on farms as a regular element 
 of the farm economy by enterprising cultivators, the preference is gen- 
 erally for the mutton breeds — the Cotswold, or the Kentucky sheep, 
 which is a modified Cotswold, taking the first place, and the Downs 
 coming next, either the true Suftblk or Southdown or the families modi- 
 fled by Leicester blood, such as the Hampshires or Shropshires. 
 
 As early as in the beginning of the present century some of the best 
 sheep in the country were found in Virginia. Washington, in his time, 
 had collected a_ variety of fine animals at Mount Vernon from the sh«ep 
 of England and other countiies, and among them was a Persian ram, 
 large and symmetrical in form, and bearing coarse wool of great length 
 of fiber. Combined with Leicester blood, a flock was formed for which 
 a claim was finally made to be considered a distinct breed, known as the 
 Arlington. It was bred and owned by Mr. Gustis. Hon. Robert E. 
 Livingston, who shared with Mr. Jarvis the honor of being the first im- 
 porters of Spanish Merinos, expressed the opinion that this wool "pos- 
 sessed every ingredient which is esteemed in combing wool. It was fine 
 for the sort, soft, silky, and beautifully white. It is admirablj^ calcu- 
 lated for hose, camblets, serges, and other tine worsted fabrics." Mr. 
 Custis claimed that some of these fleeces carried wool fourteen inches in 
 length. 
 
 Mr. Custis owned another flock for which he claimed wonderful char- 
 acteristics, and gave a specific name, the Smith's Island sheep. He 
 sheared twice a year, and got from his best sheep four pounds at each 
 clip. He described this flock with great enthusiasm, but the Merino 
 breeders of the time took exception to his comparison with that breed, 
 which in Livingston's flocks yielded eight pounds, while the French 
 Merinoes of the national flock of Eambouillet sheared twelve or thirteen. 
 What was the origin and what the end of this Smith's Island flock is 
 unknown to the writer, but the account of it given by its owner is in- 
 teresting : 
 
 I Cdirie now to speak of Smitli's Island wool, a discovery from which will arise the 
 happiest effects to my conntry, and yield the most grateful sensations to myself. This 
 island [the property of Mr. Custis] lies in the Atlantic Ocean, immediately at the 
 eastern cape of Virginia, and contains between three and four thousand acres. The 
 soil, though sandy, is in many parts extremely rich and productive of a succulent herh- 
 age, which supports the stock at all seasons. About one-half ot the isfend is in wood, 
 which is pierced with glades running parallel with the sea, and of se\eral miles in 
 extent. . These glades are generally wet, and being completely sheltered by the wood 
 on either side, preserve their vegetation in a great measure through the winter, and 
 thereby yield a support to the stock. Along the sea-eoast are also abundant scopes of 
 pasturage, producing a short grass in sunmier, which is peculiarly grateful to the pal- 
 ate of most animals, and particularly to the sheep. The length of this island is esti- 
 mated at fourteen miles, which gives that variety and change of pasture so necessary 
 to the system of sheep-farming. Within it are various shrubs and plants which the 
 animal appears to browse on witli great relish, particularly the myrtle bushes, with 
 which the island abounds. The access to salt also forms a material feature in the 
 many attributes which Smith's Island possesses. 
 
 The origin of the Smith's Island sheep cannot be precisely ascertained, but they are 
 supposed to be the indigenal race of the country, put thereon about twenty years since, 
 and improved by the hand of nature. When we compare Smith's Island wool with 
 the native wool of the country at large we are lost in astonishment at the wonderful 
 interposition of Providence in our behalf, which serves to show what benefits we enjoy, 
 and how little we have estimated the gifts. The Smith's Island wool is, without 
 question, one of the finest in the world, and has excited the praise and astonishment 
 of all who have seen it. To recapitulate the various opinions given of its merits is 
 unnecessary. It only remains to be judged in Europe, whither a specimen has been 
 sent, to determine its value when compared with the famous Merino, hitherto the un- 
 rivaled material in the woolen manufacture. The Smith's Island is a great deal longer 
 than the Spanish, being in full growth five to nine inches in length, and in some in- 
 stances more. In quantity it is also vastly 'superior, as the sheep yield twice as much 
 and in some instances more; and, lastly, the size and figure of the animal admits of 
 
SHEEP -HUSBANDEY. 19 
 
 110 comparison, being highly in fayor of the Smith's Island. The only remaining ques- 
 tion is the texture. If the Merino is finer in grain, the Smith's Island is so fine as to 
 answer every purpose to which the other can he appropriated, and so much larger in 
 quantity as to yield a better profit to the breeders. No cloth which the Merino man- 
 ufactures -will be disgraced by the introduction of the Smith's Island; and many fab- 
 rics manufactured by the oue at a great jjrioe can be manufactured of the Smith's 
 Island at much less. The Smith's Island is as white as snow, and perfectly silky and 
 soft to the touch, and of delicate grain. 
 
 The present preferences for improved sheep, which should soon breed 
 out of existence by judicious crosses the scrub stock of all this region, 
 are very marked and confined to a few breeds. For the prairies of 
 Texas, the wire-grass pastures of the coast, and the pastures of the 
 mountain glades, including by far the greatest proportion of the pasture 
 area described, the breed required is undoubtedly — 
 
 The American Merino. — The original of this breed, the best fine-wool 
 sheep for this country in the world, was imported seventy-six years ago, 
 a little later than the initiation of the improvement resulting in the now 
 famous French, Saxon, and Silesian Merinoes. It is only about one hun- 
 dred years since the beginning of the dispersion of Spanish sheep. The 
 best Spanish flocks of that day would be discarded to-day by sheep- 
 breeders in this country, or in France or Germany. The improvement 
 has been great in each country, and the tendency invariably in the same 
 direction — compactness of carcass, greater size and weight; and fleece of 
 longer but not finer fiber. The French is the heaviest, with fleece of 
 longer and coarser fiber. The American is bred for compactness of 
 frame, hardiness, a dense and heavy fleece of medium length and fine- 
 ness, and has been improving constantly for the past twenty years. The 
 advance of the past ten has added materially to the weight of fleece, 
 both in the grease and when scoured. It is not uncommon for a ram 
 fleece to weigh thirty pounds and scour eight, an accomplishment scarcely 
 attained even in the days of Hammond. The improvement of the Mex- 
 ican and other common coarse wools of Texas and the Eocky Mountains, 
 and the consequent increase in weight and value of the wool of those 
 regions, has been very rapid of late, the result of infusion of pure blood 
 of the American Merino. A good type of the latter is presented iu the 
 accompanying engxaving. 
 
 The Cotswold. — This breed is a favorite in the South on account of its 
 size and hardiness, though few flocks there are up to the present stand- 
 ard of perfection. In its purity it is one of the largest of the English 
 breeds, though the improved race is smaller than the originals, on ac- 
 count of the influence of the Leicester element in its ameUoration. As 
 a breed it is of great antiquity. It has gained in fleece and form, and 
 comes to maturity earlier, is more prolific than the Leicester, and has 
 greater strength of constitution ; is often fattened at fourteen months, 
 yielding fifteen to twenty pounds per quarter, and twenty to thirty if 
 kept till two years old. The fiber is 6 to 8 inches in length, and some- 
 times much longer ; is strong, somewhat coarse, and of good color. The 
 mutton is superior to that of the Leicester, with a smaller proportion of 
 fat, and the sheep are also superior to that popular breed in weight of 
 wool, size, hardiness, and vitality. They are possessed of good figure, 
 have a large head, well set on, a broad chest, a well-rounded barrel, and 
 a straight back. They are often used for crossing upon other breeds, 
 and for obtaining early market-lambs, both in this country and in Europe. 
 
 The Southdown. — For early lambs, in the vicinity of cities, this breed 
 is generally preferred. Some prefer the larger Hampshire Downs to the 
 true Sussex, the original Southdowns, which have probably the purest 
 blood of any British race. While they have been greatly improved. 
 
20 SIIEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 progress has been unavoidably in one direction, and not bj^ violent and 
 radical changes. It has doubtless been carried on solely by selection. 
 In the ijroduction of the Hampshires and Shropshires, meinbers of the 
 Down race, there has been an infusion of Leicester and other blood to 
 give greater size and aiDtitude for fattening. This is in harmony with 
 the idea dominating in the Shorthorn improvement in cattle, of the most 
 meat in the shortest time. This breed has displaced the old flocks in 
 Berkshire, Hants, Wilts, and Dorset, in England. The statistics of 
 10,000 Hampshires during three successive years showed the average 
 yield of lambs to be 91 per cent., and the mortality of ewes 5J per cent. 
 l)er annum. The ^\ool is of good quality, but short staple, weighing 4J 
 pounds tine fleece. February lambs at English fairs in summer realize 
 65 to 72 shillings per head, say $16 to $18. The accompanying engrav- 
 ing represents an imported Hampshire ram.' 
 
 The Improved Kentucky. — l^Tot only have the established English mut- 
 ton-breeds been disseminated through the South and bred successfully, 
 but some claims are made for the establishment of new breeds, having 
 the characteristics of mutton-sheep. Perhaps the most prominent result 
 of such mixing of blood is the " improved Kentucky sheep," originated 
 by IMr. Eobert W. Scott, of Frankfort, Ky., which have had a good de- 
 gree of popularity for many years. 
 
 The base of this improvement was a flock of thirty common ewes, 
 known as "natives." To give fineness of fiber and thickness of fleece, 
 as a first requirement, a Merino ram was used. The cross-bred ewe 
 lambs we;'e at a year old bred to an imported Leicester of large size, 
 symmetrical form, and heavy fleece of long wool. To insure activity 
 and liardiness, and finely-marbled mutton of high flavor an imported 
 Southdown was used upon the ewes of this class with satisfactory re- 
 sults, the originator claiming that the wethers of this cross were " the 
 deliglit of the epicure, while the value of the fleece was not diminished, 
 as mirch being gained by increasing the fiber to the square inch as was 
 lost in the length of them." The next ram used was a three-fourths 
 Cotswold and one-fourth Southdown, a large sheep \Aith a thick fleece. 
 Then followed two pure-blood Ootswolds, and a full-blood Oxfordshire 
 of remarkable softness and silkiness of fleece. With such a history up 
 to 1853 a fine mutton-sheep was an inevitable result, and equally inevi- 
 table a tendency to variation and out-cropping of ancestral characteris- 
 tics so mrdtifarious, adverse to uniformity in transmission of the desired 
 qualities, and fixity of type requisite to the establishment of a penna- 
 nent breed. Mr. Scott then bent his efforts to this object, and claimed 
 in 1869 that he had secured essential uniformity through the means used. 
 An engraving of these sheep is here presented. 
 
 The multiplication of animals of pure breeds, preferably those above 
 named, for breeding purposes, and of flocks of high grades for the pro- 
 duction of mutton, will be coincident with the cultivation of grasses and 
 other forage plants, and -with the improvement of farms. There is much 
 testimony in official correspondence to the practicability and profit of 
 grass culture, of which the following is- an example from G-. T. Allman, 
 of Giles Coirnty, Tennessee : 
 
 Cultivated grasses do well on all lands. All stock well sheltered will do better ou 
 one-third less feed. Not one farmer in seventy-five provides protection for sheep. 
 "Where there is suitable grazing sheep do well. Ewes pay two dividends a year, one 
 in wool and one in lambs. Practical men tell me that sheep pay 25 per cent, more 
 profit than any other stock on the farm. There is more pleasure and profit in hand- 
 ling improved l)roeds of all kinds of stock than in the inferior breeds; this has been 
 my fifty years' experience and observation. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 2 1 
 
 The follo-«ang is from W. S. Dodson, of Jackson County, Mississippi, 
 on the Gulf coast : 
 
 Grass culture is growing in importance to our farmers, and as a eouoomitaut sheep- 
 raising will receive more attention than has hitherto been bestowed upon it. The 
 reporter pays taxes on 2,000 sheep, and his experience shows that the best sheep for 
 the Gulf coast are the one-half and ouefourth grade Merino, produced by the cross 
 of the pure Merino buck and the native scrub ewe. 
 
 There is an inclination to attempt improvement in many quarters, 
 without accurate knowledge of the elements of success by persons who 
 have not yet learned how difScult it is to keep "new wine in old bot- 
 tles." Mr. J. J. Thompson, of West Virginia, hints at this difficulty : 
 
 _ We have been trying to improve our breed by crossing some of the imported varie- 
 ties on the common stock of the country ; results are, however, not very encouraging. 
 Perhaps housing the flocks in winter and giving theui more attention miglit be fol- 
 lowed by better success. The experiment of clearing a large area of our land and lay- 
 ing it under pasture, made of the tame grasses, has never been made. I have no 
 doubt such an enterprise would prove profitable. I think it would be the best dis- 
 liositiou that could be made of our hills and hollows. When our hills are cleared of 
 timber and immediately sown in grass, without being plowed, they produce fine 
 pastures. 
 
 THE STATISTICAL INTESTIGATION. 
 
 A circular was sent to correspondents in January last, by the Com- 
 missioner of Agriculture, of which the following is an extract : 
 
 The loss of the South by the waste of unpastured grass is immense. The value of 
 one textile, cotton, is fully understood in tliis section ; there is another, wool, com- 
 manding a much higher price, and produced almost as cheaply, pound for pound, 
 which is not appreciated as its importance deserves. The Georgia Bureau of Agri- 
 culture makes the net cost of growing wool in Georgia but six cents per pound, wliich 
 is less than the cost of producing cotton in that commonwealth. Millions of dollars 
 could be added to the aggregate industry of the South by the general extension of 
 wool-growing. 
 
 A prominent aim in the investigation was to show the immense area 
 of unoccupied laud, covered mostly by more or less open forest-growth, 
 comparatively clear of underbrush through the agency of annual fires, 
 and green with vigorous growth of wild summer grasses, not of the 
 highest nutritive value, yet capable of sustaining millions of sheep and 
 producing millions of annual revenue. Other large areas of so-called 
 worn-out lands thrown out of cultivation are capable of utilization to 
 some extent as pasture-ground. 
 
 The comparative value of these grasses, the kinds prevailing in differ- 
 ent sections, the changes'by which superior genera are displacing those 
 less valuable, suggested a further inquiry. 
 
 Statements of individual flocks were also solicited, showing manner 
 and cost of keeping and resulting profits. 
 
 ■ Other returns were sought upon which averages might be based tend- 
 ing to illustrate practical points more accurately than by a few individ- 
 ual estimates. The principal of these points are as follows : 
 
 1. Proportion (percentage) of surface, exclusive of area actually cul- 
 tivated, yielding grasses suitable for pasturage for sheep. 
 
 2. Average number of sheep such pasturage is capable of sustaining 
 during the summer months. 
 
 3. Average number 100 acres would sustain in winter. 
 
 4. ^Number of months in winter in which some extra feed is required. 
 
 5. Average weight of fleece in annual shearing. 
 
 6. Average value of fleece per pound. 
 
 7. Average number of lambs from 100 ewes. 
 
 8. Average percentage of lambs lost by disowning, exposure, or other 
 causes. 
 
22 
 
 SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 
 
 9. Percentage of sheep (exclusive of lambs) lost annually by disease, 
 theft, dogs, wolves, or other causes. 
 
 10. Percentage of sheep destroyed by dogs alone. 
 
 These returns, carefully tabulated, after the correction of obvious 
 errors and the elimination of estimates not bearing the impress of accu- 
 racy of judgment — inevitable blemishes of general returns upon indus- 
 tries that are either new or of minor magnitude — present the following 
 average results in tabulation : 
 
 states. 
 
 Delawaie 
 
 Maryland 
 
 Virginia 
 
 West Virginia 
 K"ortli Carolina 
 South Carolina 
 
 Georgia 
 
 Florida 
 
 Alabama 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 Texas 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Missouri 
 
 20 
 19 
 22 
 20 
 23 
 22 
 25 
 22 
 24 
 25 
 30 
 33 
 30 
 27 
 29 
 28 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 8 5 
 4 
 
 2.5 
 
 2.5 
 2.5 
 3.2 
 
 4 
 
 4.2 
 
 4.2 
 
 3.9 
 3.7 
 
 2.9 
 
 2.9 
 
 2.7 
 
 2.8 
 
 2.9 
 
 3.2 
 
 3.5 
 
 3 
 
 2.9 
 
 4 
 
 3.5 
 
 4 
 7 
 
 6.6 
 4.5 
 
 Area of wild pasture. — The area of the States south of the line of Penn- 
 sylvania and the Ohio River includes 570 million acres, of which three- 
 eighths are in farms, or 211 million acres, and little more than one- 
 fourth the farm area is actually cultivated. About one-tenth the entire 
 area may be considered in use agriculturally ; the remainder, after de- 
 ducting lakes and rivers, roads, and town-sites, and a very small area 
 of sand or rock wastes, is productive of plant-growths in great variety. 
 The forest-lands of this broad belt are estimated to aggregate 270 mill- 
 -on acres, or 47 per cent, of the whole area A large proportion of these 
 forests are pine, notably those of the belt of 100 to 200 miles from the 
 coast, open to sun and air, comjaaratively free from undergrowth inter- 
 fering v.'ith the natural grasses which abound in variety and quantity 
 according to the degree of fertility of the soil. 
 
 This southern country is four times as large as France; it is ten times, 
 the size of Great Britain ; it includes soils varying from the granitic to 
 the latest alluvial ; it is favored with variety in climate resulting from a 
 range of iifteen degrees of latitude and 6,000 feet of elevation. Making 
 liberal deductions for cultivated lands, water, town-sites, and wastes, the 
 uncultivated lands will reach an aggregate of not less than 393,000,000 
 acres, nearly sixty-nine per cent, of the area ; and of this, after throw- 
 ing out of consideration dense forests of deciduous trees yielding no pas- 
 turage worthy of note, the area of wild pasturage — a portion in the west 
 of prairie, a part on the mountains of glades, the pine lands and old 
 tields, some very good, and much comparatively poor — amounts to 233 
 miUiou acres, or forty-one per cent, of the whole southern area. This is 
 equal to the area of France and Prussia together, with a better climate 
 and more fertile soil, producing grasses that are unused suflQcient to 
 produce more than all the wools that Americans can wear. On the 
 basis of these returns, excluding all extravagant views, the following 
 estimates are presented, the reasonableness and moderation of which in- 
 telligent readers can judge. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 23 
 
 States. 
 
 Total area. 
 
 ■Uncultivated 
 lands. 
 
 "Wild pastur- 
 age. 
 
 Delaware 
 
 Mai-yland 
 
 Virginia 
 
 "West Virginia. 
 North Carolina 
 Soutti Carolina 
 
 G-eorffia 
 
 Florida 
 
 Alabama 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 Texas 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Total.... 
 
 1, 356, 800 
 7, 119, 360 
 24, 545, 280 
 14, 720, 000 
 32, 450, 560 
 21, 760, 000 
 37, 120, 000 
 37, 931, 620 
 32, 462, 080 
 30, 179, 840 
 26, 461, 440 
 175, 687, 840 
 33, 406, 720 
 29, 184, 000 
 24, 115, 200 
 41, 824, 000 
 
 670, 224, 640 
 
 A(yres. 
 
 700, 000 
 4, 000, 000 
 
 16, 300, 000 
 10, 500, 000 
 
 22, 500, 000 
 14, 300, 000 
 26, 000, 000 
 
 17, 000, 000 
 19, 400, 000 
 
 18, 000, 000 
 13, 775, 000 
 
 145, 000, 000 
 
 23, 580, 000 
 18, 000, 000 
 16, 330. 000 
 28, 000, 000 
 
 393, 385, 000 
 
 Acres. 
 
 70, 000 
 1, 000, 000 
 6, 846, 000 
 
 5, 250, 000 
 11, 700, 000 
 
 7, 160, 000 
 
 14, 300, 000 
 
 10, 200, 000 
 
 11, 058, 000 
 9, 000. 000 
 6, 198, 760 
 
 108, 750, 000 
 
 15, 327, 000 
 8, 100, 000 
 
 6, 532, 009 
 11, 760, 000 
 
 233, 241, 750 
 
 Value of this pasturage. — An impression has prevailed that this section 
 is not suited to grass-growiag. It is a great mistake. The most exact- 
 ing labor and greatest expense in all the processes of cotton-culture are 
 incident to the destruction of grasses. Every year a portion of the cot- 
 ton acreage is abandoned to the all-conquering " General Green," after 
 a desperate defense, in which every plow and hoe is brought into requi- 
 sition. Many a cotton-planter is destroying grass all summer, and feed- 
 ing his mules and horses with baled hay brought from the West in 
 winter ; but such dependence is very exceptional now, and never has 
 been general. Away from railroad lines, if hay is not cured, corn forage 
 and winter grazing of small grains constitute the only reliance for 
 feeding. 
 
 A correspondent in Chowan County, IS'orth Carolina, Mr. L. W. Parker, 
 writes that " our farmers are spending all their time, talent, and money 
 in killing the grass that would make them rich if properly cured." Cat- 
 tle and sheep get little other forage than that of "wild grasses as a rule, 
 and work-horses in many districts are wintered mainly upon the wild- 
 grass hay." Mr. J. A. Kimbrough, of Tippah, Mississippi, says that 
 in his vicinity such summer luxuriance exists that " enough wild grass, 
 swamp and crab grass could be mown every summer to winter large 
 numbers of sheep." 
 
 Mr. J. M. D. Miller, of Tishemingo, Mississippi, says : 
 
 I have been in nearly every State, and know tHs is tlie best sheep country I have 
 ever seen anywhere. Sheep are always in good condition, and nearly always fat 
 enough for the table. During the winter there are grasses enough on the small 
 streams to support them without any feed. There are 50,000 acres in this county that 
 can be used free of cost, or the land can be bought for f 2 per acre. The county is un- 
 dulating and well watered, perennial springs abound, and sites for manufacturing are 
 numerous. 
 
 Mr. W. E. Kendall, Fort Bend, Texas, writes : 
 
 About one-fourth the area of our county is cultivated. The remaining three-fourths 
 produce fine grasses, "well adapted to sheep pastures, and yet there is not a flock of 
 sheep in the county worth mentioning, and but three or four citizens own sheep at all. 
 
 Mr. H. I. H. Bensing, Bowie, Texas : 
 
 Sheep-raisers say that this is the best sheep country they ever saw. None of them 
 have ever lost any sUeep from any causes whatever, except from the ravages of wolves. 
 An almost ever-green pasture gives more than abundance of food, and there is plenty 
 of water. The whole county, except what is under cultivation (about one acre in 
 fifty), is one complete pasture. 
 
24 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 Mr. E. L. Walker, Stephens, Texas : 
 
 The mesquito grass is not killed by frost. In August and September tbe drouglit 
 stops the growth, but the grass is cured by the sun, retaining its nutriment. In this 
 State it is considered most valuable by stock-men, the cattle getting more nutriment 
 in the same weight of feed. There is also a "winter mestiuite," growing all winter, 
 with shrubs and herbs, which sheep prefer. 
 
 Mr. William F. Hicks, Lonoke, Arkansas : 
 
 Our county is level prairie, timbered, and well adapted to sheep-walks, with an 
 abundance of nutritious grasses ; but we have never tried sheep-raising as a business, 
 which I believe could be made very profitable. 
 
 Mr. S. W. Cocliran, Union, Arkansas : 
 
 Thousands of acres, aud thousands of tons of valuable forage are wasted annually for 
 want of being utilized in this county. Horses, mules, cattle, and sheep are healthy, 
 and keep sleek and fat for eight months in the year ou our range, and thousands more 
 might. 
 
 Mr. L. Orto, Bradford, Arkansas: 
 
 All this county not in cultivation is covered with a luxuriant growth of all kinds of 
 wild grasses that grow in the Southern States, with the exception of the mesquite. 
 The river bottoms are covered with dense cane-brakes capable of sustaining thousands 
 of horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs diiring the winter months without any cost except 
 salt and the herding. 
 
 Mr. A. M. Gibson, Blount, Alabama : 
 
 This county consists of alternate valleys and mountain table-land (dry and rolling), 
 elevation from 400 to 1,000 feet above the Gulf. The table-land has miles of unbroken 
 forest, woods open, very little undergrowth, and affords unlimited and excellent pas- 
 ture. It is annually burued over. Where the undergrowth is dense it would take 
 about 400 acres to support 100 sheep ; out in the open woods 100 acres would be amjily 
 snfific^ient. I have tried land that we had ceased to cultivate (which is immediately 
 set with wild grass) and fonnd one acre sufScient for one cow, or three sheep in sum- 
 mer. I have seen many sheep-producing regions both in Europe and America, and I 
 consider this as the best country for sheep-raising within my knowledge. 
 
 Mr. William P. Eice, jr., Lowndes, Alabama : 
 
 There are old prairie farms here, that have Ijecome almost entirely worthless for ordi- 
 nary farming purposes, which would be valuable for sheep pasturage if proijerly set 
 with Bermuda grass, which seems to thrive on such lands. 
 
 Mr. H. Hawkins, Barbour, Alabama : 
 
 We have no winter or meadow grass. We have plenty of grass in the cultivated 
 fields, but the fields must be plowed more than once to produce a good crop, which 
 will be either the " crab-grass" or the " crow-foot," common all over the countj- where 
 the land Is cultivated. 
 
 Mr. 0. F. Sherrod, Lowndes, Mississippi: 
 
 Lands are generally cleared and in cultivation, but any one can do well, who has a 
 taste for such a pursuit, if he will take 400 acres of land, put one-fourth in Lucerne, 
 one-fourth in Bermuda grass, one-fourth in closer, and one-fourth in small grain (wheat 
 and oats), and alternate the clover and small grain. Lucerne will yield three cuttings 
 of one and a half to two tons each. Clover two cuttings of about one to one and a half 
 tons each. Bermuda grass will allow constant grazing from the middle of April to the 
 middle of November, and the small grain will furnish all that is required for feed. 
 Laud can be bought at $10 to .fl2 per acre. 
 
 Mr. 0. B. Davis, Lawrence, Tennessee : 
 
 Such is the peculiar character of the soil that it affords a bountiful supply of forao-e 
 all the year, except about one month or two at the most for sheep, and these lands can 
 be bought for from 50 cents to ,$1.50 per acre; title good. A man with a small capital 
 could get rich here in a few years. 
 
 Mr. J. J. Thompson, Putnam, Virginia: 
 
 The experiment of clearing a large area of our land and laying it under pasture, 
 made of the tame grasses, has never been tried. I have no doubt such an enterprise 
 would prove profitable. I think it would be the best disposition that could be made 
 of our hills and hollows. When our hills are cleared of timber, and immediately sown 
 in grass without being plowed, they make fine pasturage. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 25 
 
 Mr. J. W. Perrin, Abbeville, South Carolina: 
 
 Lespedeza striata has sprung up on nncultivated lands, driving out all other grasses, 
 and affording excellent pasturage for sheep from April to November. 
 
 Mr. S. H. Davidson, Sharpe, Arkansas, writes concerning "barren 
 
 grass": 
 
 Its full value as pasturage has never heen tested with regard to the numher of ani- . 
 mals of any one kind it is capable of su])porting. It is a fact, however, that notwith- 
 standing it has been used to some extent in certain localities for grazing and fattening 
 large numbers of beeves annually, there is no perceptible diminution but rather an 
 increase in the quantity of the growth, and a corresponding improvement in the 
 quality. 
 
 Mr. W. M. Barnitz, Eoanoke, Virginia : 
 
 There are not over 1,500 sheep in our county, according to the report of the State 
 commissioner of agriculture, and this is a county with thousands of acres of mountain 
 and upland eminently suitable for sheep-walks, where 200,000 sheep might be raised 
 without any extra amount of feed being made, and this source of wealth would leave 
 us comparatively free from debt and taxation. 
 
 Mr. J. F. P. Kruise, Menard, Texas : 
 
 The proportionate area of grass land is very large and well adapted to sheep. It 
 comprises fully 97 per cent, of the whole breadth of the county, which embraces 1,200 
 square miles. Only about 60,000 acres of this area can ever be made available for 
 culture. The remainder is hilly, of a stony, gravelly character, well covered with 
 wild grasses, and eminently fitted for the healthful keeping of sheep. 
 
 Mr. Ozias Euark, Newton, Mississippi : 
 
 We have but a few thousand sheep, yet we have over 400,000 acres of unimproved 
 land in this county, yielding a supply of rich grass sufficient to pasture at least 
 1,000,000 sheep from early spring until late in the fall, without money and without 
 price. Do you ask what use we make of this grass ? Why, set it on fire and burn 
 it up. 
 
 The mountains of Western North Carolina, at elevations that would 
 be barren in the White Mountains, yield luxuriant burdens of grass, of 
 which the State Greologist, Prof. W. 0. Kerr, says : 
 
 These grasses escape from cultivation and propagate themselves everywhere. I 
 have seen a field near 5,000 feet high that was seeded some twenty years ago with 
 timothy, and has not been under fence in fifteen years, which has still a good " set " 
 of grass. Oats grown at this place weighed forty-two pounds to the bushel. In the 
 higher parts of the mountains (above 4,500 feet) there are three species of perennial 
 grasses, which send up their new shoots, or stools, in November, and remain green all 
 the year : so that cattle and sheep require little care even in winter, except in case of 
 a deep fall of snow, which does not happen more than once in eight or ten years. The 
 new Japan clover, as it is called (Lespedeza striata), has spread over the whole of this 
 region. I have found it in a few cases on the tops of mountains four to five thousand 
 feet high. 
 
 Dr. J. M. Brome, Saint Mary's, Maryland : 
 
 There is one section of this county, eight or ten miles square, abounding in fine 
 natural pasturage, where sheep-husbandry has been abandoned in consequence of the 
 dogs. 
 
 Mr. J. R. Bryan, Fluvanna, Virginia: 
 
 Our broom-straw fields afford passable pasturage. The climate is favorable, and my 
 own flock, though small in number, is really a fine one. 
 
 Mr. L. Ballard, Monroe, West Virginia : 
 
 Cannot say how many sheep can be kept on the acre, but 100 acres of ordinary good 
 blue-grass sod will fatten 30 to 35 three-years old cattle. 
 
 Mr. M. M. Benbow, Clarendon, South Carolina : 
 
 It would be difficult to find a better range, yet there are not more than 100 sheep in 
 this county. 
 
 Mr. M. Kemp, Marion, Georgia : 
 
 With proper attention sheep might be made profitable, as the grazing lands are very 
 fine for the purpose. 
 
26 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 Mr. S. W. Cochran, Fulton, Arkansas : 
 
 Niue-tenths of this county is one vast pasture of ricli and luxuriant grass throughout 
 the summer, and weeds and shrubbery that sheep are very fond of about for eight 
 months in the year. Thousands of tons of valuable forage is wasted annually for 
 want of being utilized. Horses, cattle, and sheep are healthy and keep sleek and fat 
 for two-thirds of the year on our ranges. Judging from the small flocks we have, 
 sheep would do well here. 
 
 Mr. L. Orto, White, Arkansas : 
 
 All the county not in cultivation is covered with a luxuriant growth of all kinds of 
 wild grasses. The river bottoms are covered with dense cane-brakes, capable of sus- 
 taining thousands of cattle, horses, and sheep. They cost nothing in the way of feed, 
 winter or summer. 
 
 Mr. J. P. Sellers, Perry, Arkansas : 
 
 Diseases among sheep almost unknown. The wild range here is excellent, both in 
 winter and summer, and if sheep were herded they would need no feed except what 
 nature furnished. 
 
 Mr. S. H. Davidson, Sharp, Arkansas : 
 
 Very little attention paid to stock-raising and wool-growing. We have a grass 
 called ' ' barren grass," which has not yet been tested, but appears to improve in quality 
 and quautity the more it is grazed upon. 
 
 Dr. A. Harris, Dyer, Tennessee : 
 
 Our river aud creek bottoms are covered with a hardy grass that affords fair grazing 
 summer and winter. There is also a great deal of switch-cane that keeps green all 
 winter. Sheep are very fond it. Thousands of sheep might be grazed on these bottom 
 lands, winter and summer. Sheep do well here, need very little feeding, not much 
 subject to disease of any kind, and breed well. 
 
 Mr. E. McNeilly, Dickson, Tennessee : 
 
 In mild winters sheep can live here without feed, and require but very little, if 
 properly oared for, in our average winters. Sheep grow very fat on wild pasturage, 
 and are ready for the butcher in early spring. With proper attention this county is 
 well adapted to sheep-culture. 
 
 Mr. J. E. Martin, Eoane, Tennessee : 
 
 There is no country better adapted to the raising of sheep than East Tennessee. 
 Orchard-grass grows finely, and is considered as equal to blue-grass; I believe it will 
 yield one-third more pasturage, and will do weU on any soil. There is not a finer 
 stock-growing country in the United States, none possessing finer water or a more 
 healthy climate. All we want is plenty of orchard-grass. 
 
 Mr. O. P. Young, White, Tennessee : 
 
 The eastern portion of our county is on the Cumberland Mountains, where sheep- 
 growing could be made profitable. The pasturage (a mountain grass I do not know 
 the name of) is abundant from the 1st of April to the 1st of December. There is 
 also a swamp grass on which they can li^'e during mild winters. 
 
 Mr. J. Stewart, Shelby, Tennessee : 
 
 The best of all grasses, though not a winter grass, is the Bermuda. Too much can- 
 not be said of it as a pasture. For sucoesaful sheep-raising in the South, we want this 
 grass alone. We have no winter grass. 
 
 Dr. A. W. Hunt, Perry, Tennessee : 
 
 In this county there are about 5,328 head of sheep, when we should have at least 
 300.000. There are 40,000 acres of improved aud 97,205 acres of unimproved land, all 
 of which gi'ows wild grasses and forage plants in abundance. 
 
 Mr. J. W. Bowen, Smith, Tennessee: 
 
 No better grass county in the State. Every hill and valley can be covered with a 
 rich blue-grass pasture. Always plenty of pasture for sheep in summer aud for feed 
 in winter. 
 
 Mr. J. W. Boyd, Knox, Tennessee : 
 
 An immense number of sheep could be kept on our hills from April to December, 
 aud would be in splendid condition to be kept through the winter. They might be 
 made the most profitable stock kept by thrifty farmers. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 27 
 
 Dr. J. E. LaRue, Butler, Kentucky : 
 
 The natural pasturage is very poor ou account of the dense forests ; hence, under 
 existing circumstaDoes, sheep are kept at a loss. 
 
 Mr. J. A. Brents, Clinton, Kentucky : 
 
 Sheep, when oared foi', do well, and are profitable. Many flocks are not fed the 
 year round. 
 
 Mr. W. T. Pace, Metcalfe, Kentucky : 
 
 The natural pasturage is very fine, and might be grown for 12J to 15 cents per 
 pound ; thus far, however, farmers have not been inclined to go into this business. 
 
 Mr. J, B. Evans, Monroe, Kentucky : 
 
 With attention, sheep could be raised profitably. Immense ranges and no particu- 
 lar use for them. 
 
 Mr. 0. B. Combs, Barton, Missouri : 
 
 The top of the Ozark Range is well suited for grazing purposes. Ten head of sheep 
 would not be a large number per acre. 
 
 Mr. O. Euark, Newton, Missouri : 
 
 We have but a few thousand sheep, though there are over 400,000 ac^es of unim- 
 proved land in the county, yielding a supply of rich grass sufficient to pasture at least 
 1,000,000 sheep from early spring till late in the fall. Sheep should be fed and at- 
 tended to in this county during the months of November, December, January, Febru- 
 ary, March, and part of April. 
 
 Mr. H. Fresenriter, Pemiscot, Missouri : 
 
 Our unimproved lauds are mostly covered with cane, which affords good pasturage 
 for sheep, and the same lands furnish a good grass for winter pasture for cattle as 
 well as sheep. Our people are taking more interest in sheep-raising than formerly. 
 
 Mr. J. W. Steele, Platte, Missouri: 
 
 Some of our woodlands are beautifully set with blue grass, which grows as luxu- 
 riantly as in Kentucky. Some fine flocks of sheep have been introduced into this 
 county, the fleeces of some weighing from 8 to 12 pounds. 
 
 Mr. A. Badger, Yernon, Missouri : 
 
 Our present stock of sheep and cattle do not consume one-thousandth part of the 
 growth of grass. Three-fourths of a tou of good hay fi'om an acre is lost every year. 
 
 How ruany sheep will this natural pasturage carry 1 This may not be 
 a very practical question, as the economy of advanced agriculture re- 
 quires a proper balance in the distribution of farm animals, and renders 
 it certain that all this waste of herbage will never be utilized by sheep 
 alone. It is difficult to answer practically, because of the vast difference 
 not only in the capacity of different areas, but in the value of pasturage 
 in different seasons of the year. Most of the natural grasses are succu- 
 lent and abundant only in spring and early summer; others afford a 
 scanty winter pasturage; hence the number of sheep, if unprovided with 
 cultivated forage in winter, would be limited to the winter capacity of 
 the range. Eeturns on this subject, of course, exhibit great differences, 
 due to the widely differing character and abundance of food-yielding 
 plants of the districts reported, and also in a measure to the judgment 
 of the reporters, whose views on this point must be largely theoretic, 
 though based upon such experience and observation as they could bring- 
 to bear upon it. On this account it is deemed best to exclude all ex- 
 traA'agant estimates, and err upon the side of moderation, if at all, mak- 
 ing due allowance for unreported areas, and in Texas a very liberal dis- 
 count for the wide expanse of dry plains in the northwest. Taking, 
 therefore, the figures of the preceding table, averages so low as to chal- 
 lenge the criticism of the enthusiastic, the reader will be able to realize 
 the wasted resources of this pasturage, and change the estimates, if he 
 
28 
 
 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 chooses, to suit his own views 
 
 Upon this estimate the wild pasturage 
 alone would support four times as many sheej) in summer as are now to 
 be found in the United States, and in winter about twice the number of 
 flocks of the country. 
 
 states. 
 
 Delaware 
 
 Maryland 
 
 Yii'ginia 
 
 West Virginia . 
 Nortli Carolina 
 S(mth Carolina. 
 
 Georgia 
 
 Florida 
 
 Alabama 
 
 Mississippi . . . . 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 Texas 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Total . . . . 
 
 Acres. 
 
 70, 
 1,000, 
 0, 846, 
 
 5, 250, 
 11, 700, 
 
 7, 150, 
 
 14, 800, 
 
 10, 200, 
 
 11, 058, 
 9, 000, 
 
 6, 198, 
 108, 750, 
 
 15, 327, 
 8, 100, 
 6, 63L', 
 
 11, 760, 
 
 Sheep 
 in Slimmer. 
 
 3.5, 000 
 470, 000 
 765, 300 
 150, 000 
 201, 000 
 675, 000 
 865, 000 
 100, 000 
 081, 900 
 400, 000 
 339, 125 
 125, 000 
 196, 200 
 022, 000 
 878, 800 
 408, 000 
 
 Sheep 
 in "winter. 
 
 14, 000 
 
 190, 000 
 
 1,506,120 
 
 1, 005, 000 
 
 2, 691, 000 
 
 1, 573, 000 
 
 3, 575, 000 
 
 2, 244, 000 
 2, 653, 920 
 
 2, 250, 000 
 1, 859, 625 
 
 35, 887, 500 
 
 4, 598, 100 
 2, 187, 000 
 1,894,280 
 
 3, 292, 000 
 
 67, 420, 545 
 
 In this calculation no reference is had to the feeding resources derived 
 from cultivated forage crops, or sheep-breeding as an adjunct of inten- 
 sive culture. In England there are sixty sheep upon every one hundred 
 acres of the total area, even including the sites of towns and the hunting 
 preserves of the aristocracy, while the production of beef, milk, cheese, 
 and cereals upon a large proportion of the whole area is almost a neces- 
 sity of national existence. The same proportion of sheep upon these 
 southern lands would exceed 300,000,000. These figures, if never real- 
 ized here either in pasture or farm sheep husbandry, afford a hint of 
 the great capabilities of this region in mutton and wool production. 
 
 Necessity of winter-feeding. — The fourth column in the table gives the 
 average number of months in which feeding is required. It does not 
 mean that sheep must be fed continuously or exclusively, as in the North, 
 during the time indicated. On the contrary, there are few of the flocks 
 of this region that are now, as a matter of fact, fed at all. When some 
 provision for winter forage is made it is not in barns, as in the North, 
 with suppUes of hay and straw, rarely with any shelter whatever, being 
 simply a provision for winter-grazing upon wheat, rye, or oats, or fields 
 of cultivated grasses, and sometimes in lambing time a little corn or a 
 feed occasionally of pease. Cotton seed is used to some extent, and other 
 products peculiar to these latitudes, among them " China berries," the 
 fruit of the China tree, Melia azederach, which Mr. John T. Wingtield, of 
 Wilkes, Ga., claims to be equal in value to corn for feeding sheep in 
 winter. 
 
 There can be no doubt of the advantage of much supplementary feed- 
 ing facilities in the winter months. The profits of sheep-husbandry de- 
 pend upon uninterrupted and equal alimentation ; irregular or insuffi- 
 cient feeding causes loss in both flesh and wool that cannot be repaired 
 by subsequent care. In the wool it produces unevenness of fiber that 
 reduces its value more than the loss in quantity. 
 
 In Florida, Louisiana, and Texas, the period during which some ad- 
 ditional provision for winter-feeding wouhl be desirable, is placed at two 
 and a half months ; in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Missis- 
 sippi, three months ; in Arkansas, a week longer ; and in the western 
 portion of North Carolina and Virginia, three and a half; in Delaware, 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 29 
 
 Maryland, and West Virginia, four montlis ; in Kentucky and Missouri, 
 a little more than four. But in all this region the cost of all needed pro- 
 vision, mainly furnished by winter-grazing, is far less than half that of 
 northern feeding for the same length of time. 
 
 ■The writer has seen flocks of sheep on the northern border of this vast 
 sheep-range in West Virginia browsing in fair condition through the 
 sheltering thickets in the depths of winter, when the ground was cov- 
 ered with snow. Farther south, many a flock is turned out to receive 
 no attention, and perhaps scarcely to be seen, until the following spring. 
 From the testimony that abounds upon the non-attention to winter-feed- 
 ing a few extracts are given. Mr. S.Corley, of Lexington, S. C., says: 
 
 Sheep do not need much provision as to stahling during the winter. A good shelter 
 in the early spring to protect the young lambs when dropped would save many that 
 otherwise die from exposure. A farmer tells me his sheep are now in good condition 
 ill the woods, feeding on silver grass (which is not killed by cold), and that they have 
 not eaten a quart of pease or other solid food this winter, showing that the small 
 cost of growing wool, in this case at least, is equal to that of Georgia. 
 
 Mr. M. D. Sanford, Catoosa, Georgia: 
 
 Extra forage for three mouths is necessary for flocks not convenient to good ranges, 
 but, excepting when the ground is covered with snow, they are generally wintered on 
 tiolds of grazing or winter oats, not wintered at large. 
 
 Mr. S. P. Odom, Dooly, Georgia: 
 
 Those that have from 400 to 1,500 head allow them to run at large until about the 
 middle of March, at which time they are penned for the purpose of marking the 
 lambs. 
 
 Mr. John W. Curry, Manatee, Florida: 
 
 About four months in the year sheep would do very well (from March 1 to .July 1) ; 
 then the rainy season sets in, and sheep would have to be driven to some place for 
 shelter. This season lasts until the latter part of September, and the water remains 
 on the ground until the last of November. 
 
 Mr. G. A. Northington, Autauga, Alabama: 
 
 I do not think sheep are ever fed in this county at all. If they are, it is only for a 
 short time in the latter part of February and first of March. 
 
 Mr. J. B. Wilbanks, De Kalb, Alabama: 
 
 I asked one man what it cost him during the winter to keep a flock of seventy head. 
 The answer was, "Not over five dollars. , Sheep do better running at large than if 
 kept penned and fed. 
 
 Mr. J. H. Kraudier, Austin, Texas : 
 
 Most sheep-raisers provide some shelter in winter, and some provision is made for 
 feed, such as hay, cotton-seed, &c., some corn, aud of late years sorghum-seed. Semi- 
 annual shearing, except with long-fleeced sheep, is not considered profitable. 
 
 Mr. George W. Walker, Robertson, Tennessee : 
 
 Farmers who raise sheep keep them up, and during the summer aud fall they have 
 the run of the clover-fields, herds-grass, and blue-grass lots. In the winter they graze 
 upon the wheat and rye meadows, with a little corn, say one ear a day for about 100 
 days. They are sheltered under sheds around old tobacco barns, and consequently 
 they do not cost much. They are not raised for money, but merely for convenience or 
 domestic uses. 
 
 A very small proportion oi flock-owners give adequate care and im- 
 proved pasturage, and obtain results liberal in proportion. One of the 
 most notable and successful of these is Mr. Tom Crutchfleld, near Chat- 
 tanooga, Tenn., who claims a proiit of 60 per cent, per annum on mutton 
 sheep of the Cotswold style. Of course a liberal supply of forage is 
 essential to profit with such stock. As a type of the improved sheep 
 husbandry of the future, having in view the joint production of mutton 
 and wool,' his winter treatment of his flock is given: 
 
 ' My bucks are taken from the ewes about the 1st of December, and are lotted to them- 
 selves, getting extra attention, going back to the ewes about the middle of August ; 
 the balance of the flock runs upon the winter grazing oats all the winter and until the 
 
30 
 
 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 )iiitldle of March or first of April. This spring tliey were not taken o£f tlie oats until 
 tlie 1st day of April. If, during the time they are grazing on the winter oats, there is 
 a great deal of rain, and the ground becorae.s soft, tliey are removed to the meadow or 
 grass-lot, where there is sod, and taken hack to the oats as soon as dry enough. When 
 taken from the grazing oats in March or April, in order that it may mature its crop of 
 gTaiu, they are turned to orchard or hlue-grass lots until June or July, when they go 
 either to the meadow or oats fields after harvest, where they remain until turned into 
 the grazing oats again in October or November. They are fed no grain or hay unless the 
 ground is covered with snow or an extremely cold siiell freezing up everything. In Feb- 
 ruary or March, when the ewes are lambing, I take them close to the house, where I 
 can watch and care for their lambs. When lambing, if they are limited in pasture, 
 they receive an occasional feed of shelled oats or corn, as it may be needed. I have had 
 trouble this season from my ewes being too fat, and being unable to bring forth their 
 lambs. My entire herd have access to open shelter and salt at all times. 
 
 There, are iucUcations that the imijortance of shelter is beginning to 
 be appreciated. In Texas there are stock-owners who provide sheds for 
 protection against storms. In some sections of North Carolina the most 
 enterprising proprietors give increased attention to shelter in inclement 
 weather. About one-third of the Kentucky counties report some prepa- 
 ration for shelter against extreme cold ; in Maryland, and in the Pan- 
 handle counties of West Virginia, such care is not uncommon; and in 
 Tennessee and Missouri its necessity is beginning to be seen. 
 
 Average weight of fleece. — It is useless to attempt a close comparison of 
 the weight of fleeces of diiferent periods. It is certaui that there has 
 been considerable increase of Aveight as a result of the use of Merino 
 rams of pure blood upon the coarse-wooled ewes of Mexican origin in 
 Texas and the mixed races of the other States. The census returns are 
 not quite complete in the enumeration of sheep, and in the returns 
 of wool the deficiency is still greater. Whether the omissions are suffi- 
 ciently uniform to allow of comparison with trustworthy results, or 
 whether errors may be eliminated, is somewhat questionable. In the 
 census of 1840 there were returned from Louisiana fewer pounds of wool 
 than of numbers of sheep, but there were fourteen counties with 30,261 
 sheej) that returned no ivool. In Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, G-eorgia, 
 and Virginia there were omissions to report wool in counties returning 
 sheep. There were repeated instances of under returns of wool, and in 
 a few instances others obviously too large for the number of sheep. This 
 failure to report is very injurious to the reputation of the South for wool- 
 growing, giving a false impression of the average weight of fleece as 
 compared Avith Northern States in which the greater prevalence and in- 
 terest in wool-growing secure a nearer approach to accuracy in returns. 
 In 1840 the census gave no Southern State an average of two pounds of 
 wool. Virginia and Kentucky approached that average, and none of the 
 others reached one and a half pounds. 
 
 A comparison of the averages deduced from the census returns in- 
 duces the behef, in view of the irregularities presented, that- in several 
 of the Southern States the wool was very incompletely reported. The 
 averages were as follows : 
 
 states. 
 
 Delaware 
 
 Mar;yland 
 
 Virginia 
 
 West Virginia 
 
 Nortli Carolina 
 
 Soutli Carolina 
 
 Georgia 
 
 Florida 
 
 Wool, average per 
 
 1870. 1860. 1850, 
 
 2.57 
 3.36 
 2.37 
 2.89 
 1.73 
 1.25 
 2.02 
 1.41 
 
 2.66 
 3.16 
 2.41 
 
 1.62 
 1.83 
 1.85 
 1.96 
 
 2.10 
 3.61 
 2.20 
 
 1.63 
 1.70 
 1.70 
 1.00 
 
 States. 
 
 Alal)ama . 
 Mississippi 
 Louisiana. . 
 
 Texas 
 
 Arkansas . . 
 Tennessee . 
 Kentucky . 
 Missouri . . . 
 
 Wool, average per 
 sheep. 
 
 1870. 1860. 1850. 
 
 1.68 
 1.24 
 1.18 
 1.75 
 1.33 
 1.68 
 2.39 
 2.70 
 
 2.09 
 1.89 
 1.60 
 1.98 
 2.02 
 1.82 
 2.48 
 2.21 
 
 1.80 
 1.80 
 1.00 
 1.30 
 2.00 
 1.70 
 2.00 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 31 
 
 The returns of 1870 from Texas evidently include only the sheep of 
 settled farming districts, the great flocks of Western and Southern 
 Texas mostly escaping observation. Nueces returns 82,368; Webb, 
 71,730 J Zapata, 34,960; and Duval, 34,325, and no others as many as 
 20,000. The total was only 714,351, a small proportion of the actual 
 number then in the State. The wool reported was but 1,251,328 pounds, 
 or 1.75 pounds to each sheep, while the commercial estimate of Texas 
 wool at the same date was 7,000,000 pounds. A comparison of these re- 
 turns by counties presents an impossible difference in tveights of fleece. 
 While there are no less than twelve counties reporting sheep without 
 returning a pound of wool, one of which had eleven thousand sheep and 
 another five, the range of average weights in other counties runs from 
 one-fourth of a pound in Comal to eight and a fourth in Calhoun. 
 
 The counties reporting a less number of pounds of wool than there are 
 sheep, are Bexar, Caldwell, Cherokee, Comal, Cook, ElUs, Fayette, Free- 
 stone, Gonzales, Harris, Harrison, Henderson, Jefferson, Lamar, McMul- 
 len, Montgomery, Navarro, Newton, Eobertson, San Augustine, Shelby, 
 Stephens, Travis, Upshur, Uvalde, Walker, and Woods; on the other 
 hand Calhoun averages 8.25, La Salle, 5.25, and seven others between 
 three and four pounds. Of course there are no sheep yielding but one 
 pound of wool in Texas or any other State, and of the forty-five counties 
 returning not less than one or more than two pounds, there may not be 
 one of them that does not actually exceed an average of two pounds. 
 
 In Georgia several counties in 1870 make returns of wool that are ev- 
 idently very nearly accurate, viz : Chatham, Columbia, DeKalb, Dough- 
 erty, Early, Hancock, Mitchell, Eichmond, Screven, and Upson, and 
 none under three pounds per fleece, the latter above four. But no prac- 
 tical man can believe that there are sheep that yield less than one i)ound 
 each in Brooks, Burke, Camden, Glynn, and Houston. The estimated 
 real average weight of fleece, as found in the fourth column of the table, 
 gives a far more accurate idea of the yield of wool than can be gathered 
 from the census figures. The heaviest fleeces at present are those of 
 Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware, where mutton sheep of mixed blood 
 are numerous. The average in these States compares well with those 
 of the prominent wool-growing States of the North ; and a little improve- 
 ment of blood and increase of skill and attention in management may 
 make the average of the entire South as good. 
 
 Value of wool. — Column 6 gives the estimates of average value of wool. 
 It ranges from 21 cents in Texas to 32 cents in West Virginia. With 
 the exception of Texas and a few districts which produce a surplus, the 
 wool of this region is mainly consumed by local factories, which in some 
 cases slightly increase the price otherwise obtainable. Exchanges of 
 cloth for wool are often made at these factories. The New York quota- 
 tions for Texas wools in January of the present year were : 
 
 Free of burs. Buixy. 
 
 Fine and medium 24 ® 26 16® 21 
 
 Coarse 18 ® 22 14 ® 16 
 
 Kentucky and Tennessee come next to West Virginia in. price. 
 
 Proportion of lambs raised. — The number of lambs produced show that 
 there is no loss of fecundity, even if flocks are left to take care of them- 
 selves. The range of averages (column 7) is from 89 lambs to 100 ewes in 
 Florida to 97 in Kentucky. With superior care one lamb to each ewe 
 may be depended upon, as in other wool-growing regions, among grade 
 Meiino flocks ; with mutton sheep of 100 to 130. Mr. Crutchfield, of Ten- 
 nessee, obtained 120 to 130 from his flock. Column 8 gives the estimated 
 
32 
 
 SHEEP-HUSBANDKY. 
 
 proportion of tlie lambs lost by exposure and disease. Coming in winter 
 or early spring, with very little care to prevent dropping in the severity 
 of winter, and often none at aU to save the tender creatnres from fatal 
 exposure, the wonder is that so large a proportion is saved. Nothing 
 but the extreme mildness of the climate prevents a much greater lo.ss, 
 which is still too great and much of it preventable. Except in Texas, 
 Arkansas, and West Virginia, no percentage is less than 19, ranging from 
 that tigare to 23. It is smallest in States in which exist large flocks un- 
 der systematic management. Mr. L. M. Allen, Coryell, Texas, says: 
 
 I have raifBed a lamb for every ewe in the flock wlien I had 600 mixed sheep. A 
 small flock will raise more lambs than a large one in proportion, and all ewes do better 
 than the same number in a lot of mixed sheep. 
 
 Proportion of sheep lost. — The percentage of loss of sheep by disease, 
 dogs, or thieves is large enough in all wool-growing countries to reduce 
 materially the possible profits of sheep-husbandry. Column 10 gives the 
 estimates of States, showing the smallest loss in Delaware and Texas, 
 and the largest in Florida and the Carolinas. Upon the estimated present 
 number of sheep, 9,887,600, the average loss is 10.7 per cent., or 1,057,275. 
 The loss from dogs is about half of this, or 5.2 per cent, representing 
 half a million sheep per annum, with a value of about $1,000,000 — a tax 
 paid by a few promoters of a useful infant industry to encourage the 
 extension of a race of mangy curs too worthless for valuation, yet cost- 
 ing other millions to feed, taking bread from the mouths of the half-fed 
 children of the poor. The numbers of sheep in the several States, with 
 the number annually lost, on the bases of these returns, is as follows : 
 
 states. 
 
 ■s.a 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 Delaware 
 
 Marylaud 
 
 VirgiDia 
 
 Weat Virginia 
 Nortli Carolina 
 Soutli Carolina 
 
 Georgia 
 
 Florida 
 
 Alabama 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 Louisiana ■ 
 
 Texas 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 Missouri 
 
 Total..-. 
 
 35, 000 
 
 2, 800 
 
 151, 200 
 
 15, 120 
 
 422, 000 
 
 60,640 
 
 649, 900 
 
 54, 990 
 
 490, 000 
 
 63, 700 
 
 175, 000 
 
 26, 250 
 
 382, 300 
 
 53, 522 
 
 56, 5U0 
 
 10, 170 
 
 270, OOO 
 
 35, 100 
 
 250, 000 
 
 35, 000 
 
 125, 000 
 
 13, 750 
 
 3, 674, 700 
 
 330, 723 
 
 285, 000 
 
 34, 200 
 
 850, 000 
 
 110, 500 
 
 900, 000 
 
 81, 000 
 
 1, 271, 000 
 
 139, 810 
 
 1,400 
 10,584 
 27, 430 
 24, 745 
 
 29, 400 
 14, 000 
 
 30, 584 
 4,520 
 
 18, 900 
 20, 000 
 
 6,250 
 146, 988 
 
 19, 950 
 51, 000 
 36, 000 
 76, 200 
 
 518, Oil 
 
 There is probably no obstacle to the rapid extension of this industry 
 so serious as the risk of loss by dogs. It is nearly universal, and every- 
 where deprecated by wool-growers. Legislatures have been appealed 
 to in vain, and in an instance or two of restriction of the evil by taxation, 
 cowardly legislators have yielded to the howl of popular clamor for re- 
 peal. A few of the many references to this subject by correspondents 
 are appended : 
 
 Mr. Irving Spence, Worcester, Maryland : 
 
 Sheep hnsbandiy is profitable in our county, and would be very much so were it not 
 for the destruction by dogs, which makes the experiment precarious, and sometimes 
 disastrous. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 33 
 
 Mr. Lewis Ballard, Monroe, "West Virginia : 
 
 Tlie most serious loss of old slieep is from dogs ; probably 20 per cent, of nil kinds of 
 sheep are lost annually by dogs, wolves, foxes, and bad keep. 
 
 Mr. James C. Brown, Barnwell, South Carolina : 
 
 Were it not for dogs your correspondent could have 200 sheep well kept in his farm, 
 without any extra forage except the natural pasturage. And thousands could be kept 
 in this county. 
 
 Mr. H. M. Hammett, Cobb, Georgia : 
 
 Sheep-raising has but little attention from our farmers, from the fact that if a man 
 gets a good flock started, he does not know what night some cur or hound will kill 
 them all. Sheep-raising can never be successful until we get rid of the dogs. 
 
 Mr. E. H. Springer, Carroll, Georgia : 
 
 It is a lamentable fact that the legislature of the State of Georgia has expended 
 more money in trying to pass a dog law than all the sheep in the State are worth. Our 
 county presents more valuable and numerous resources for this branch of industry than 
 any other in my knowledge. No farmer, however, will venture on the expense of sheep 
 husbandry as long as every man in the county is allowed to have as many starved, 
 warihless eurs as he wishes. The dogs are obliged to live, and will kill and eat all stock 
 they can find, hogs and cows not excepted. 
 
 Mr. W. W. Abney, Jasper, Mississippi : 
 
 We generally lose one-half. Three-fourths of these are killed by dogs. I have about 
 25 dogs and no sheep, but would have 100 head of sheep soon if dogs were kept down. 
 
 Dr. Joseph A. Leech, Lee, Mississippi : 
 
 The people think more of dogs than of sheep ; every family, black and white, have 
 from iive to six dogs. I have four, and no sheep. If it was not for dogs I could have 
 1,000 sheep at a cost of about $10 per year. 
 
 Mr. L. !N". Rhodes, Cross, Arkansas : 
 
 Our legislature of 1874 passed a dog-tax law, but the people generally were' somncU. 
 opposed to it that the next legislature repealed the act. 
 
 Mr. L. W. Hampton, Cocke, Tennessee : 
 
 Our legislature, two years since, passed au act for the protection of shieepj.by mak- 
 ing it a privilege to keep a dog for which the owner had to pay $1 per head.. This had 
 the effect of killing a great many worthless eurs, and conser[uently farmers were tak- 
 ing an interest in improving the stock of their sheep by crossing with improved breeds. 
 Our supreme court has, however, decided the law unconstitutional ;. tkere&re, sheep- 
 raising will be greatly retarded, if not entirely destroyed. 
 
 Mr. J. T. Eichardson, Montgomery, Tennessee: 
 
 There is no use trying to raise sheep on wild pasturage. Sheep, that axe turned out 
 on the woods and commons get but a meager subsistence, and are eaten up by digs 
 , that straggle over the commons. I have found by thirty-seven years' experienuce one 
 can raise sheep profitably if he will attend to them and keep them in inolosures.. 
 
 Mr. John M. Hine, of Carroll, Georgia, started about thirty years ago 
 with 15 sheep, mostly ewes. Several times his flock had injcreased to 
 40 or 50 head, and as often was nearly swept away by dogs'; at one time 
 but one solitary wether was left. He finds the cost of keeping sheep 
 very little. The profit of the flock he estimates at between $25 and $30 
 per annum. 
 
 Mr. M. Chapman, Charles, Maryland : 
 
 Our farmers are powerless against dogs and tender-hearte-d legislators. The only 
 , hope we have is in the general government. 
 
 Mr. P. S. Early, Carroll, Virginia : 
 
 Sheep-culture is very poor for the farmers here. A» the dogs- have killed so many 
 sheep, the attention is turned to cattle. 
 
 S. Ex. 25 3 
 
34 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 Mr. H. B. Williams, Mecklenburg, North Carolina : 
 
 Sheep-raising might as well be abandoned until legislative protection from the dog 
 can be secured. 
 
 Mr. J. M. Barnett, Person, North Carolina : 
 
 If there were any protection from dogs, sheep-raising would improve fast, as there 
 would be many farmers to engage in it. 
 
 Mr. J. K. Simpson, Polk, North Carolina : 
 
 As long as there is no good dog-law, sheep husbandry cannot flourish. 
 
 Col. A. W. Shatter, Wake, North Carolina : 
 
 Sheep-raising yirtually has been abandoned. If the expected dog-law be enacted, 
 sheep and wool will become the leading articles of production. 
 
 Mr. J. Eobinson, Wayne, North Carolina : 
 
 The raising of sheep miglit be made most profitable if it received but half the 
 attention the raising of dogs does. 
 
 Mr. L. Harrill, Wilkes, North Carolina : 
 
 Sheep are an unprofitable investment. The annual increase is canceled by the loss 
 from dogs. Farmers do not provide properly for their sheep. 
 
 Dr. T. Long, Yadkin, North Carolina : 
 
 The dog eats up the profits of sheep-raising. 
 
 Mr. J. M. Hine, Clayton, Georgia : 
 
 The dog is the only hinderance to sheep-raising. 
 
 Mr. J. Simmons, Pickens, Georgia : 
 
 Good county for sheep-raising, but dogs and utter neglect are the drawbacks.. 
 
 Mr. E. W. Rose, Upson, Georgia : 
 
 The only barrier to a most successful sheep-raising is the dog. 
 
 Mr. J. T. White, Taylor, Georgia : 
 
 The only cost is shearinn; and putting the wool in the market. But few sheep are 
 kept, as sheep husbandry is under the control of the dog. 
 
 Mr. E. M. Thompson, Jackson, Georgia : 
 
 But for the dogs the profits from sheeii would be very large. 
 
 Mr. Kenneth Clarke, Chickasaw, Mississippi : 
 
 Since the war sheep-raising has been discouraged by thieves and dogs. This county 
 affords excellent natural advantages for wool-growing. 
 
 Mr. J. A. Kimbrough, Tippah, Mississippi : 
 
 The advantages of a most bountiful pasturage and good climate are more than can- 
 celed l)y the rav.ages of the dog. 
 
 Mr. S. G. French, Washington, Mississippi : 
 
 Sheep husbandry is discouraged by dogs and thieves, as nearly half the sheep are 
 lost from these canses. 
 
 Mr. William T. Lewis, Winston, Mississippi : 
 
 Many farmers are abandoning sheep-raising, as it will not pay on account of the 
 great losses from dogs, wolves, and thieves. 
 
 lEev. D. A. Campbell, Richland, Louisiana : , 
 
 Sheop would do well if undisturbed by dogs and given proper attention. 
 
 Mr. H. Arrington, Newton, Arkansas : 
 
 A fine wool-growing country. Dogs are the only disadvantage. Diseases are rare. 
 Cotton culture is declining and sheep-raising attracting attention. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. , 35 
 
 Dr. T. C. Miller, Sebastian, Arkansas : 
 
 This is a natural sheep country. Require but little feed snmmer or winter. Dogs 
 troublesome occasionally. 
 
 Mr. J. H. Earle, Ballard, Kentucky : 
 
 Tlie dogs have so discouraged sheep-raisers that at present scarcely enough wool is 
 raised to supply the county with knitting-yarn. 
 
 Mr. Wm. H. Tolman, Bracken, Kentucky : 
 
 Sheep-raising has been almost abandoned on account of the dogs. A ripe experience 
 teaches that the Cotswold crossed with the Southdown produces the hardiest and most 
 profitable sheep for this climate. 
 
 Mr. R. Waters, Oldham, Kentucky : 
 
 Three times as many sheep as are now in this county could be profitably kept. Yet 
 notwithstanding a dog-law, the farmers cannot prevail against the 8heep-killiiig»dogs. 
 
 Mr. J. J. Gilbert, Owsley, Kentucky : 
 
 Sheep-raising has become unpopular — the losses from destruction by dogs make it 
 unprofitable. Not half the usual number are now in this county. 
 
 Mr. W. L. Scroggs, Dade, Missouri : 
 
 The tax on all dogs, more than one to each tax-payer, has perceptibly diminished the 
 number of worthless curs. 
 
 Mr. W. S. Goodman, Lawrence, Missouri : 
 
 Sheep-raising is very much neglected on account of heavy losses caused by dogs. 
 
 Mr. A. K. Denny, of Boyle County, Missouri, has the courage to tell 
 the plain truth upon the dog question, as follows : 
 
 It is a humiliating confession to make, yet it is true, that as a State we have not 
 reached that advanced civilization which will promptly give to the. sheep, that inno- 
 cent, defenseless, most useful animal, that protection which its position as a food and 
 clothes producing animal demands. Our legislature very readily passes most stringent 
 laws for the protection of the fish in our waters, the squirrels of our forests, the rabbits 
 in our fields, and all kinds of birds of the forest and field and those that soar above 
 the earth, but when it comes to their best friend, one they cannot possibly do with- 
 out, they become paralyzed with fear, and proceed with a politician's caution and are 
 careful to pass no law that would wound a voter's feelings or hurt a high-born dog. 
 
 DISTRIBUTION OP GRASSES. 
 
 The returns of the varieties of forage plants for wintering rarely give 
 botanical names, and many fail to give the common names. The diffi- 
 culty with popular names is the confusion caused by synonyms. This is 
 especially troublesome with such names as crop-grass, crab-grass, wire- 
 grass, and sedge, which in some cases are so Identified by description or 
 scientific name as to show that several different plants are retitrned by 
 the same name. 
 
 The most abundant are, in abandoned fields, Broom-sedge, Andropo- 
 gon Virginicus; in the tide-water lands, the country of the Pinus Au- 
 straiis, or long-leafed pine, Wire-grass ; in the cultivated fields, Crab-grass 
 {Illeusifie Indica), Crowfoot {Bactyloctenium Ugyptianum), and Leptochloa 
 muoronata. 
 
 In Texas the Mesquite prevails (the bearded, curly, and running vari- 
 eties), and the Game-grass, Tripsacum dactyloides. 
 
 The Japan clover, Lespedeza striata, is encroaching upon the old-field 
 domain of the Broom-sedge with great rapidity. It is reported from 
 :N^orth Carolina to Mississippi, but not from beyond the Mississippi, the 
 most western locality, as reported, being the southwest comer of Mis- 
 sissippi. It is generally deemed a cause of congratulation that it has 
 
36 
 
 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 limited the range of tlie Broom-sedge. The Bermuda grass is also 
 spreading verj- rapidly, much to the regret of cottonijlanters, because 
 so persistent in its slaying qualities, yet to the positive delight of others 
 moi'e interested in stock-growing than in cotton. 
 
 The cultivated forage-plants, Eed Clover {Trifolium pratense), Lucerne 
 [Medicago mtiva), Orchard-grass {Dactylus glomerata), Timothy {Phleum 
 pratense), lied-toj) {Agrostis vulgaris), and many others, are successfully 
 experimented with, rather than generally grown, as the South has given 
 little attention to hay production. The entire amount of hay reported 
 in sixteen States in tlie census of 1860 was 1,872,827 tons ; in 1870, 
 1,783,922 tons. The State of New York in 1870 returned 5,614,205 tons, 
 more than three times as much as these sixteen States.* There is at 
 
 *States. 
 
 Delaware 
 
 Maryland 
 
 Virginia 
 
 AVest Virginia . 
 North Carolina 
 South Carolina 
 
 G-eorma 
 
 i'^lorida 
 
 Alabama 
 
 Tons. 
 
 41, f 90 
 
 S23, 119 
 
 199, 883 
 
 224, 164 
 
 83, 540 
 
 10, 665 
 
 10, 518 
 
 17 
 
 10, 613 
 
 Tons. 
 36, 973 
 191, 744 
 445, 133 
 
 181, 365 
 87,587 
 46, 448 
 11, 478 
 62, 211 
 
 States. 
 
 Mississippi 
 Louisiana . . 
 
 Texas 
 
 Arlcansas . 
 Tennessee. 
 Kentucky . 
 Missouri" . . . 
 
 Total 
 
 Tons. 
 
 8,324 
 
 8,776 
 
 18, 982 
 
 6,839 
 
 116, 582 
 
 204, 399 
 
 615, 611 
 
 1, 783, 922 
 
 Tons. 
 
 32, 901 
 
 52, 721 
 
 11, 865 
 
 9, 356 
 
 143, 499 
 
 158, 476 
 
 401, 070 
 
 1, 872, 827 
 
 present an apparent tendency to a more general cultivation of these 
 plants for hay-making. There is no difficulty in growing red clover in 
 the more tenacious soils, and lucerne does well in the better class of 
 more fiiable soils. Orchard-grass is in high repute, and is already well 
 established in many dairy-farms of the slopes and plateaus of the mount- 
 ain system, which has never had its proper agricultural prominence under 
 the cotton regime. 
 
 Sedge is mentioned in returns from 197 counties. The mention of other 
 plants is numerically in the following order : Orab-grass, blue-grass, wire- 
 grass, Bermuda grass, prairie-grass*, white clover, mesquite, Nimble 
 Will, red-top, Jaiian clover. Were all the principal grasses of all coun- 
 ties fully reported, it is quite probable that some change in this order 
 might be produced. 
 
 Partial lists of the plants occupying the wild pasturage reported are 
 herewith given in the order of their numerical prominence in county re- 
 turns, by common local names: 
 
 ^VlAEYLAWD. — Blue, sedge, white clover, crab, red-top, poverty, fox- 
 tail, June, salt marsh. 
 
 YiRG-iNiA. — Blue, crab, white clover, sedge, ■wire, red-top, broom-stra-w, 
 greensward, swamp, herds, fox-tail, June, sheep-clover, pea- vine, hen's 
 nest, bullrush, flag, sheep-sorrel, water, i^overty, cross-Aveed, woolly- 
 headed clover, marsh, plantain, hog-weed, chickweed, lawn, evergreen, 
 ox-grass, aromatic shrubs, rib-wort. 
 
 West Vieginia. — Blue, white clover, red-top, timothy, pea- vine, fox- 
 tail, Avire, swamp, rich weed. 
 
 North Carolina. — Sedge, crab, wire, herds, blue, white clover, Ber- 
 muda, greensward, Japan cloA'er, bull, pea-A'ine, fox-tail, crow-foot, Avild 
 onion, Avillow, brown, sheep-cloAcr, water, crooked, old-field, burr, Egyp- 
 tian clover, wild rye, winter, orchard, evergreen, mountain fern, rich 
 weed, beggar lice. 
 
 * ludefiuite, but in moat leturiis probably the blue-stem or other Aiidropogon. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 37 
 
 South Carolina. — Crab, sedge, wire, Bermuda, Japan clover, crow- 
 foot, brown sedge, wild clover, nut, mountain, sedge, yellow clover, wild 
 rye, water, deer, silver. , 
 
 Georgia. — Sedge, Bermuda, crab, crow's-foot, Japan clover, swamp, 
 wild oats, broom, wild goose, universal, cane, gopher, water, nimble will, 
 gama, meadow, blue, pea-vine, colt's-foot, wild clover, herds, mountain. 
 
 Florida. — Wire, wild oats, sedge, crab, smut, water, pond, swamp, 
 palmetto, broom-sedge, negro head, prairie. 
 
 Alabama. — Sedge, crab, wild clover, Bermuda, mountain, winter, 
 nimble will, reed woods, marsh, wild oats, herds, hedge, piney woods, 
 beggar lice, swamp, glade, broom-sedge, crow-foot, Johnson's (Bermuda), 
 barren, ox miUet. 
 
 Mississippi. — Sedge, crab, Bermuda, wire, nimble will, white clover, 
 pine woods, water, broom-sedge, Lespedeza striata,* fox-tail, crow-foot, 
 wild oats, wild pea, yellow clover, swamp, switch, cane, winter, sheep- 
 sorrel, bent, drop-seed, barren, bull. 
 
 Louisiana. — Crab, white and red clover, Bermuda, sedge, swamp, 
 goose, broom -sedge, woods, nimble will, crow-foot. May, rye, sweet- 
 scented vernal, summer. 
 
 Texas. — Mesquite (bearded, curly, and running), sedge, prairie, Ber- 
 muda, carpet, salt, crow-foot, wire, bunch, evergreen, buffalo, tuxf, ver- 
 ene, Yazoo, gama, blue, nimble will, calamus, wild clover, broom-sedge. 
 
 Arkansas. — Sedge, prairie, crab, nimble will, wire, barren, pea-vine, 
 fox-tail, crow-foot, wild rye, white clover, feather, winter, bunch, swamp, 
 woods. 
 
 Tennessee. — Sedge, nimble will, crab, ' blue, swamp, white clover, 
 mountain, barren, wire, beggar lice, winter fern, fox-tail, pea-vine, sor- 
 rel, switch, bull, bear, herds, buffalo, orchard, velvet, spear. 
 
 ELbntuoky. — Sedge, blue, crab, red-top, i)ea-vine, barren, nimble will, 
 fox-tail, white clover, broom-sedge, white-top. 
 
 Missouri. — Prairie, blue, sedge, nimble will, wire, buffalo, barren, 
 June, blue-stem, rush, joint, red-top, bunch, fox-tail, white clover, gama, 
 seed-tick, dog-hair. 
 
 Some correspondents give botanical names. The following is an ex- 
 tract from the return of Wilkinson County, Mississippi, sent by Mr. D. 
 L. Phares, of Woodville : 
 
 Fox-tail (Alopeeurus geniculaim), some species of bent grass (Agrostis), drop-seed 
 grass (Muhleniergia), wire-grass (Aristida), Bermuda grass {Cynodon da-ctylou), crow- 
 foot (Dactyloctmium Egyptiacum, Mleusine Indica, Leptochloa miuroiiaia), the last three 
 very common in cultivated fields. Cane or reed {Arimdinaria gigante,") and A. tecta are 
 both very abundant in a large portion of the county ; some of the inferior Poas, sev- 
 eral Panicums and Letarias; gama grass (Tripsaeiim dactyloldes) is not abundant. 
 Several Andropogons or broom-grasses are very abundant ; some inferior Sorghums are 
 found sparingly. A species called smut-graas is common and valuable ; I am not sure 
 as to botanical name, perhaps Maniciirus granularis. In some localities white clover 
 iTrifolium repens) and other inferior species abound. Japan clover {Lespedeza striata) 
 is becoming common in some places ; also some inferior Lespedezas are common, and 
 some valuable and inferior De'smodiums. 
 
 Mr. J. M. Sherman, Elizabeth City County, Virginia: 
 
 Sorae fifty varieties of wild grasses and forage plants have been collected and 
 classified in this county, of which the most common and useful for pasturage are the 
 following: Early pasture grass (Poa annua), sweet vernal ^raaa {AntlwxantMiim odor- 
 atum), Gheas(Bromus seealinus), wild oats (Aoena prceoox), wild rye (Elymus Virghiiciis), 
 broom-grass (Bromus clliatus), timothy {Trifolium repens), red top {Agroatis vulgaris), 
 crab-grass {Paspalum imdulatum), perennial bent grass {Agrostia svabra), spike-grass 
 
 * Japan clover reported in Choctaw, Lee, Newton, Smith, Clark, and Wilkinson 
 Counties. 
 
38 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 {Trizopyrum sjAcatum), broom grass, {Andropogon scoparius), pasture-grass {AgrosUs 
 purshii), bam-yard grass (Oplismenus panieam crus galli), wire-grass (Triticum repens), 
 dog-grass (Triticum caniHJim), blue grass (Poa conipressa), maiah-grass (S2>artina juncea), 
 Bermuda grass {Cijnodon dactylon)'. 
 
 Bermuda grass is deemed one of the best grasses of the South. An 
 analysis by Dr St. Julian Eaveuel, of Charleston, S. C, makes it nearly 
 equal in value to timothy {Phleum pretense). It has been denoiinced a 
 pest by cotton-planters, as it is from their point of view; yet it would 
 seem to be a special interposition of nature, seizing upon cotton-culture 
 farms needing recuperation, taking forcible and complete possession of 
 them, and forcing the owner either to raise live stock or abandon the 
 soil. Many a dilapidated estate, now being overrun by this grass, may 
 with the aid of sheep be restored to higher fertility and greater net 
 profit to the owner than ever. There are thousands of >cres well set in 
 Bermuda gTass in the middle counties of Georgia, and it is extending its 
 area in all the Gulf States. The late Mr. 0. W. Howard, of Georgia, an 
 eminent authority on southern grasses, and a long time correspondent 
 of this department, once said it would live on land so poor as to be 
 incapable of supporting valuable grasses ; though its value is in projjor- 
 tion to the fertility of the soil. He held that if stock be kept away from 
 it during the summer and autumn, although it might be nipped with 
 frost, there would be sufficient grass underneath to feed stock during 
 the winter. The following statement is from his article in the Eeport 
 of Agriculture for 1867 : 
 
 In Middle Georgia, Bermuda grass makes the best pasture. Probably no grass in 
 the world gives au equal amount of grazing, winter and summer, as the Bermuda 
 on good land. It is the dread of the cotton-planter, however, from the rapidity with 
 which it spreads and the difflculty of extirpating it, and there are entire plantations 
 in Middle Georgia overrnn with it. Thi'se have been abandoned by the cotton-planters, 
 and can be bought as low as $1 per acre iu some cases. Many of these plantations 
 have comfortable dwellings and out-buildings upon them, are healthy and within 
 easy reach of railroads. On land well manured or otherwise, rich Bermuda grass 
 grows t.all enough to mow, and makes an abundant and nutritious hay. 
 
 Mr. B. D. Lumsden, of Bibb, Georgia, in an address before the State 
 Agricultural Society, in which he declared it the best grass grown there 
 for pasturage or hay, and one of the best renovators of the soil, reported 
 the price of Bermuda hay at Macon at $18 to $20 per ton, and claimed 
 to have cut upon an acre and a half, at two cuttings, 10,000 pounds of 
 hay. A neiglibor sold the yield of thirteen acres for $399. He refers 
 to the product of one acre in Greene County, on the farm of Dr. Moody, 
 amounting to 13,393 pounds, costing 9 cents per hundred- weight ; and 
 to the product of eight tons per acre, with the aid of superphosphates, 
 by Dr. Eavenel, of South Carolina. 
 
 Bermuda grass is propagated by roots and not by seeds. The smallest 
 fragment of root will grow with the slightest covering of earth. A single 
 shoot will sometimes run 10 feet or more in a single season on rich lands, 
 each joint putting out roots. An agricultural journal of Alabama 
 recommends the following mode of planting this grass : 
 
 Break the land well nnd harrow up fine; then cut your Bermuda sod into small lots, 
 say one inch square. Drop those bits over the ground, 3 or 4 feet apart, and roll down 
 level Avith a heavy roller. If your sod is scarce, you may make yoar pieces much 
 smaller than an inch square ; every root with an eye in it will grow if put in the 
 ground. In cases where no roller is at hand, the dropper of the sod may make it all 
 right by treading upon each bit as he drops it. It is always best to start Bermuda in 
 land not too poor ; if in good condition, the grass will keep it so, and it spreads and 
 covers the ground much more rapidly. If you cannot p\ov,' your pasture-land, you 
 may still seed it to Bermuda by simply digging small holes (a blow with a grub-hoe 
 will answer) and dropping the seed into them. It will spread over land that has 
 never lieeu cultivated, though of course with less rapidity. Bermuda grass cannot 
 stand any great amount of shading, hence the pasture should be kept j)r6tty clear of 
 trees. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 39 
 
 Dr. Janes, commissioner of agriculture for Georgia, claims that where 
 Bermuda grass is properly appreciated by farmers, and the thin and 
 rolling portions of their farms are covered with it "Georgia will sustain 
 a sheep for every acre of territory ; and 37,000,000 of sheep will be 
 worth to the owners in the aggregate $37,000,000 net per annum, or 
 nearly double the present gross value of the cottou crop of the State." 
 He says : 
 
 The most valuable and reliable grass, and one wliioli is destined to aid largely in 
 revolntiouizing the system of agriculture in the cotton belt of Georgia, as well as to 
 renovate the worn hills, is the Bermuda, perhaps the most valuable pasture-grass 
 iu the world, surpassing in nutritive properties and compactness of sod the famous 
 Blue grass of Kentucky, having, according to the analysis of Doctor Ravenel, 14 per 
 cent, of the albuminoids. A Bermuda-grass sod properly managed will afford an ex- 
 cellent pasture for cattle for nine months, and for sheep an entire year. There will be 
 but little demand for dry forage in Middle and Lower Georgia, such is the mildness of 
 the climate and the character of the spontaneous growth. But there is no difficulty 
 in supplying excellent dry forage in any desired quantity and at a very small cost. 
 
 The well-known authority, Mr. Thomas Affleck, of Texas, after expe- 
 rience in importing over forty kinds of foreign grasses, ten or more from 
 the far West, and test of the qualities of Texas grasses, found nothing 
 to compare, for hay or pasture, with the Bermuda grass. " Of its value 
 for growing," he says, " I must state furtherthat it far exceeds that of any 
 other grass within my knowledge, in abundant yield, in sweetness, and iia 
 nutritive qualities. On the common around this village there are cattle, 
 horses, sheep, mules, hogs, goats, and geese innumerable, all the year 
 round, from the first evidence of renewed vegetation in the spring, and 
 yet they are not all able to keep down this grass which covers the com- 
 mon ; and during the summer, when it flourishes, much of the stock is 
 in fair order." 
 
 The editor of the Southern Cultivator, Mr. W. L. Jones, thus alludes 
 to this plant for summer pasture : 
 
 For strictly summer grazing, no grass compares with the Bermuda. It combines 
 every quality that can be desired ; will grow in any kind and quality of land, poor or 
 rich (better of course on rich) ; is never killed out by drought or by close grazing ; 
 bears the hoof without injury, and does not impoverish the soil ; on the contrary, 
 land set in it will steadily become more fertile. It is highly nutritious and much rel- 
 ished by stock of all kinds. It furnishes pasture from May till November, and when 
 on rich land and not close-grazed in summer and autumn, will furnish fair grazing 
 through the early winter, the lower portions of the dense growth being protected from 
 frost by the upper ; and even the dead grass is eaten to some extent by cows, and is 
 probably as nutritious as wheat straw. We said it was never killed by drought. It is 
 of course checked in growth by long dry spells, but is ever ready to push again as soon as 
 rain falls. Once set, it is perpetual; no reseeding ; no replanting ; no crowding out with 
 other growth. We have often seen the ground well covered with it in localities where 
 the land has been "thrown out" for fifteen to twenty years, and is grown up in pines 
 6 to 8 inches iu diameter. But for being a pest in cultivated iields, Bermuda grass 
 would be beyond value. 
 
 Guinea gTass {iSorghnm halapense). It is claimed that tliis plant was 
 brought from the West Indies to South Carolina. It is propagated by 
 roots. It is sometimes grown on good land to the height of 8 to 10 feet. 
 It grows very rapidly, and is cut three or four times in the season. It 
 is relished by the stock when green, and some make hay of it, by exer- 
 cising care to cut it in a green state. In the Agricultural Eeport for 
 1849, Mr. M. D. Smith writes from Washington, Arkansas : 
 
 To obtain a grass suited to our wants has loug been a desideratum, and I believe, 
 from an experience of seven years, that it has at last been discovered. This is the 
 Guinea grass. It is a native of Africa, and was first imported into the island of Ja- 
 maica by the governor, as a bird-seed. It was there propagated and became a very 
 important article of provender, and pasture for every kind of stock, considered sec- 
 ond in value only to sugar-caue. It was introduced two years ago into Louisiana, 
 where it was highly valued for soiling and for hay. On rich, dry ground it grows to 
 the height of 8 feet, and may be cut 4 feet high four times iu a season, yielding two 
 tons per acre at each cutting. I consider it equal to the best cured corn-blades of 
 
-40 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 uqnal weight. It is best propagated by the roots, which resemble those of the cala- 
 mas, each joint seucling up a tuft of blades. The roots extend deep and wide, occupy- 
 ing all the gjround as deep as the soil is loosened, and are equal to artichokes as food 
 for hogs. 
 
 In 1873, tlie department procured from Jamaica about five bushels of 
 the seed of this grass, which was distributed in the spring of 1874. It 
 grows tall and rank, attaining the height of 8 or 10 feet, and when ma- 
 ture yields a coarse seed resembling millet. It grows throughout the 
 island, from the sea to the summit of the mountain, and is the most 
 abundant where the rainfall is heaviest. It is grown in bunches, like 
 our buft'alo-grass, and is propagated either by sets or by the seed. It 
 spreads rapidly, and will soon cover thickly the surface of a iield in 
 Avhich it is set. All kinds of domestic animals live and thrive upon it. 
 
 A correspondent of the Southern Cultivator, in 1873, referred to its 
 former reputation as a pest of the cotton-flelds and to a trial of it by 
 livery stables of the vicinity, where it proved to be quite as satisfactory 
 as any hay to be obtained. " One stable-keeper agreed to take all brought 
 in, if it were 500 bales, asserting that it was not only the very best hay, 
 but acted finely upon the bowels, keeping them in a much healthier 
 condition than the ordinary hay. It sold readily at $30 per ton." It 
 makes there a fine pasture by the middle of April, and on good lands a 
 ton per acre can be cut by the middle of May, and about the same quan- 
 tity at each monthly cutting through the season. "Though the grass 
 dies down in winter, cattle and sheep do finely upon it; far down under 
 the debris of the summer growth it remains sweet and tender all winter, 
 and you often find a cow buried to her shoulders hunting it." The edi- 
 tor thus refers to his own experience with the Sorghum halapense : 
 
 It is certainly a pest in the same sense as Bermuda grass, possessing, like the latter, 
 underground stems l>y which it is rapidly scattered if the land is plowed, and from 
 which stems spring up above ground very rapidly when the previous growth is cut 
 do\Yn. It comes up early in the season, and if cut down c<mtinue8 to shoot up during 
 the sunuuer with great rajiidity. A few years ago we thought it valueless for stock- 
 feed, our horses seeming not to relish it^ but we have since discovered that if cnt before 
 the stems are fully formed, or rather just as the latter begin to shoot up, stock relish it 
 very much, and, judging from the condition of those fed upon it, this grass must be 
 (]uite as nutritious as other grasses. For summer soiling we therefore reconunend it ; 
 for grazing purposes we have no experience. 
 
 Our correspondent in Hillsborough County, Florida, Mr. W. F. White, 
 after referring to the unsatisfactory character of native winter grasses, 
 says : " We are planting guinea-grass and expect to make good pastures, 
 after which they will be as good in winter as in sumniea:'." 
 
 A correspondent writing from Greensborough, Alabama, says "that it 
 is largely grown in that section, and is best liked by those who have 
 had the most experience with it." 
 
 Bush clover [Lesjjedeza striata) has come into notice within a few 
 years. It is spreading naturally, encroaching upon the broom-sedge of 
 the abandoned fields, and occu})yiug the fence corners ; and one corre- 
 spondent in Georgia says it is successfully contesting the field with Ber- 
 muda grass. Yet it is not hard to destroy. It is relished by all kinds 
 of stock, and its hay is eaten readily. It grows in the shade and upon 
 the thinnest soils. B. D. Lamsdon, of Batonton, Georgia, is of the opin- 
 ion that " where the Lespedeza striata shall cover worn-out lands and 
 pine thickets and rooted out our broom-sedge, which it is fast doing, and 
 legislative action shall be taken in regard to the sheep's worst enemy, 
 dogs, Middle Georgia will become a wool- growing section." He has been 
 saving this Lespedeza hay for several years, ancl finds no hay more rel- 
 ished by stock, none commanding a more ready sale, and that it is 
 sought after specially by keepers of milch cows, as it produces a rich 
 milk and butter that " looks as if the cows had been running upon a 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 41 
 
 barley lot." He says lie has cured this hay at a cost of 10 cents per hun- 
 dred-weight, and sold it at $1 and $1.10. He thinks land that will make 
 18 bushels of corn per acre will yield 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of hay, and 
 that every hundred- weight will command the price of a bushel of corn, 
 while costing much less. It is reported from different sections of each 
 of the States from North Carolina to the Mississippi, and it appears to 
 be everywhere enlarging its area. 
 
 Mesquite-grass [Stipa spartea), the bearded mesquite of Texas, is a 
 wonderfully productive and nutritious plant. It flourishes on level 
 plains of black prairie soil, on river bottoms, and invades the hard-trod- 
 den cow lots, where no other grass can flourish. It grows from 2 to 3 
 feet high, and matures in June. It is a valuable winter grass, resem- 
 bling the famous blue-grass in that season. Mr. Affleck has said of it : 
 " It is greedily devoured by the graminivorous animals generally in the 
 winter season, but toward the 1st of March, or as soon as the spring sap. 
 rises in it, if there is any other grass to be had, they will Jiot eat the 
 mesquite, and it is suffered to mature its large crops of seed unmolested 
 every year, which accounts for its rapid increase and migratory habits." 
 Forty years ago it was stated that it would not be found east of the 
 Colorado ; now our correspondents report it nearly up to the Trinity, and 
 it is possibly found east of that river. 
 
 Col. E. S. Graham, of Young County, Texas, reports : 
 
 Stock-raisers from Northwestern and Eastern States regard one ton of mesquite grass 
 as equal to five of their common coarse grasses, and it is esteemed much more nutritious 
 than Kentucky blue-grass. When completely hrowned and dried by drought, which 
 usually occurs from the 15th of July to the 1st of September, the blades become green 
 again from branches to tips in a few days after a heavy rain. 
 
 Three-fourths of the county reports from Texas include the mesquite 
 in their list of grasses, and most of them give it the first place. 
 
 Mr. Jameg A. Lewis, of Kanawha, West Virginia, once procured seed 
 of the mesquite from Texas, and claimed that it did well in that climate, 
 comparing favorably for pasture with Kentucky blue-grass, orchard- 
 grass, clover, &c. As the term "mesquite"i8 popularly applied to several 
 different grasses, it is hot altogether certain that this was the bearded 
 mesquite. 
 
 Gama-grass {Tripsacum dactyloides). This is very common in Texas, 
 in black prairie and bottom lands. Mr. G. Lincocum, a correspondent, 
 has said of it: 
 
 It grows very strong iu Texas. If one did not grub it up every year it would over- 
 run our black prairie farms in a few seasrans. It produces good cow-fodder. Horses 
 do not like it unless mowed while quite young. A meadow properly set with this 
 grass will not require renewing in a century. I have a meadow of 35 acres on black 
 prairie soil, which consists principally of two grasses, being densely jammed on the 
 ground. The gama-grass is not near so toug-h if mowed in June or September, at 
 which season it is nice and tender, producing a quality of hay to which horses do not 
 object, but eat it freely and thrive well on it. It produces immense quantities — I mean 
 the mixed meadow — and is so easily procured that we have given up fodder-pulling 
 altogether. Our horses eat it freely winter and summer. 
 
 Mmble Will (Muhlenbergia diffusa) is distributed throughoutthe South, 
 and is favorably mentioned as a pasture-grass. Cattle and sheep eat it 
 readily. 
 
 Water-grass (Glyceria aquatica ?) is found growing in moist places in 
 plowed fields, where it attains a height of 5 or 6 feet. The seed-stem is 
 often a foot in length, heavy with rich seeds which stock devour with 
 avidity. Three heavy crops of hay can be made from it, if cut in season, 
 a ton or two per acre at a cutting. Some claim that horses prefer it to 
 crab-grass or timothy. 
 
 Barnyard-grass {Pcmicum crusgalU). This grass, which has so poor a 
 reputation in the North, is frequently mentioned in the South as a for- 
 
42 
 
 SHEEP- HUSBANDEY. 
 
 age-plant of commendable value. It is also deemed valuable and util- 
 ized for hay in some portions of the West. 
 
 Broom-sedge {Andropogon Virginicus). The most frequently mentioned 
 plant in these returns is the " sedge." The A. Virginicus is doubtless gen- 
 erally meant ; some speak of several varieties. It occupies millions of acres 
 of old fields, which are taken possession of by it as soon as abandoned 
 by the cultivator for fresh lands, according to the prevalent custom of the 
 agriculture of this section. It is not a true sedge, but a grass of the 
 family so abundant in the Missouri Valley region. As botanical names 
 are rarely given, it is impossible to know whether a Garex ot Andropogon 
 is meant. In Barbour County, Alabama, Garex cyperoidea is reported, 
 a,nd G. umbellata in Wilkes County, IsTorth Carolina. It is sometimes 
 known as Virginia beard-grass, and is a perennial of a purplish-brown 
 color in flowering time, with stiff, branching stems 2 or 3 feet high in 
 good land, surmounted by flower-spikes, which, according to Professor 
 Thurber, are " sometimes nearly concealed beneath sheaths, and often 
 upon slender stems, are about an inch long, in pairs, and so clothed with 
 very soft, dull-white hairs as to conceal the flowers." It is a common 
 custom, when depended upon for spring forage, to burn the dead straw 
 in winter ; and, as it starts early, it makes abundant and early pasture. 
 Many of our correspondents speak favorably of its utUity for spring 
 feeding. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Affleck, of Texas, once reported to this department as to 
 
 The Poa annua here at times is almost rank in ifs growtli, reaching a height of from 
 4 to 8 inches. Chickweed {Stellaria media), of which cows are very fond, as also 
 sheep, covering the hill lands where rich with quite a heavy growth. PJialaris Amer- 
 icana, a beautiful Southern grass, depicted in Celleste's work. Sordeum pusellum, of 
 Nutt, a dwarf barley, or, as here called, "Texas rye," forming sweet grazing before 
 the blossom drops. Alopecurus genicul-atus, floating fox- tail of the English, almost as 
 valuable as winter grass. Trichodium laxiflorum, hair-grass, also springs up. These arc 
 nearly all annual innter and early spring grasses. In the fence corners may be found 
 a good bite of nimble will, and on poor spots of fox- tail. Within the last few years a 
 creeping grass, somewhat in its habits like the Bermuda, has spread to a considerable 
 extent over the open pastures. It is known by some as " Cuba grass," find is a pas- 
 palmn or digitaria, I know not which ; the sheep find sweet picking from it. On the 
 seacoast, about Pass Christian and Pascagoula, I find a close good sod of another grass, 
 of similar habit to the last named, of which I have not been able to determine the 
 name; it makes a very pretty pasture, and grows well even in partial shade. 
 
 For the purpose of comparison, and to aid in the selection of grass 
 found by experiment to be suitable to local soils and condition of cul- 
 ture, the following standard analyses, which are those of Professor Way, 
 are given : 
 
 Grass. 
 
 I 
 
 ■=1 ^ 
 
 re fl 
 
 o ft 
 
 ■9S 
 
 ^1 
 
 
 Sweet-acented vernal 
 
 Meadow fox-tail 
 
 Tall rat-grass 
 
 Crested dog's-tail 
 
 Orchard-grass 
 
 Orchard-grass (seed ripe) 
 
 Barley-^asa 
 
 Pereimial rye-grasa 
 
 Italian rye-grass 
 
 Timothy- grass 
 
 Annual spear-grass 
 
 80.35 
 80.20 
 72.65 
 62.73 
 70.00 
 52.57 
 58.85 
 71.43 
 75.61 
 67.21 
 79.14 
 
 2.05 
 2.44 
 8.54 
 4.13 
 4.06 
 10.93 
 4.59 
 3.37 
 2.45 
 4.86 
 2.47 
 
 .67 
 .52 
 .87 
 1.32 
 .94 
 .74 
 
 1.60 
 .71 
 
 8.64 
 8.59 
 11.21 
 19.64 
 13.30 
 12.61 
 20.05 
 12.08 
 14.11 
 22. 86 
 10.79 
 
 7.15 
 6.70 
 9.37 
 9.80 
 10.11 
 20.54 
 13.03 
 10. 06 
 4.82 
 11.32 
 6.30 
 
 1.24 
 1.55 
 2.36 
 2.38 
 1.59 
 2.61 
 2.54 
 2.15 
 2.21 
 2.26 
 .69 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 43 
 
 These plants, cut at the proper time and air-dried, are analyzed with 
 results as follows : 
 
 Hay. 
 
 Meadow hay, medium quality 
 
 Eed clover full blossom 
 
 Red clover, ripe 
 
 "White clover, fall blossom 
 
 Lucerne, young 
 
 Yellow clover m blossom {Medieago lupuUna) 
 
 Vetches iu blossom 
 
 Pease in blossom 
 
 Italian rye-ffrass {SoHwrn Italicwm) 
 
 Timothy {Phleum pratense) 
 
 Early meadow-g^ass (Poa Annua) 
 
 ' Crested dog's-tail {Oynosurus cristatus) 
 
 Orchard-grass (Dac^lis glom&rata) 
 
 Barley-grass (Sordeum pratense) 
 
 Meadow fox- tail (Alopetntrus pratensis] 
 
 Oat-grass, French rye-grass {Arrhenatherutn avena- 
 
 ceum) 
 
 Sweet-scented vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odera- 
 
 turn) - 
 
 Spear-grass, Kentucky blue-grass (Poa prai&nsU) . . . 
 
 Average of all the grasses 
 
 14.3 
 16.7 
 16.7 
 16.7 
 16.7 
 16.7 
 16.7 
 16.7 
 14.3 
 14.3 
 14.3 
 14.3 
 14.3 
 14.3 
 14.3 
 
 14.3 
 
 14.3 
 14.3 
 
 79.5 
 77.1 
 77.7 
 74.8 
 74.6 
 77.3 
 75.0 
 76.3 
 77.9 
 81.2 
 83.3 
 80.2 
 81.1 
 80.4 
 79.0 
 
 75.8 
 
 79.9 
 
 6.2 
 8.2 
 5.6 
 8.5 
 8.7 
 6.0 
 8.3 
 7.0 
 7.8 
 4.5 
 2.4 
 6.5 
 4.6 
 5.3 
 6.7 
 
 5.4 
 6.1 
 
 5.8 
 
 8.2 
 13.4 
 
 9.4 
 14.9 
 19.7 
 14.6 
 14.2 
 14.3 
 
 8.7 
 
 9.7 
 10.1 
 
 9.5 
 11.6 
 
 9.6 
 10.6 
 
 Id 
 1^ 
 
 41.3 
 29.9 
 20.3 
 34.3 
 32.9 
 36.5 
 35.3 
 36.8 
 51.4 
 48.8 
 47.2 
 48.0 
 40.7 
 42.0 
 39.5 
 
 11. 1 35. 3 
 
 8. 9 40. 2 
 - " 19.1 
 
 9. 5 I 41. 7 
 
 30.0 
 35.8 
 48.0 
 25.6 
 22.0 
 26.2 
 25.5 
 25.2 
 16.9 
 22.7 
 26.9 
 22.6 
 28.9 
 27.2 
 29.0 
 
 31.2 
 32.6 
 
 28.7 
 
 2.0 
 3.2 
 2.0 
 3.5 
 3.3 
 3.3 
 2.6 
 2.6 
 2.8 
 3.0 
 2.9 
 2.8 
 2.7 
 2.0 
 2.5 
 
 2.7 
 
 2.9 
 2.3 
 
 2.6* 
 
 Experiments with the cultivated grasses, during a long period and in 
 all the States, have demonstrated their practical success and high value 
 in southern farm economy. 
 
 Tall meadow oat-grass (Arrhenatherum avenaceum). — This grass, known 
 and appreciated in this country and in Europe, has been introduced into 
 Georgia under different names. Its winter growth is scarcely excelled, 
 unless by Italian rye-grass. It is said to do well under winter grazing. 
 Mr. George H. Waring, of Habersham County, Georgia, from an experi- 
 mental patch 10 feet by 90, obtained 210 pounds of dried hay, or at the 
 rate of 5 tons per acre. It is not presumed to be equal in quantity to 
 orchard grass by practical cultivators there. 
 
 Orchard-grass (Daotylis glomerata). — This grass, which is held in so 
 high esteem in the best dairy districts of the country, is well suited to 
 extreme districts of the South, and especially to the table lands and 
 valleys of the mountain system. Mr. C. W. Howard has reported the 
 conclusions, from his experience in Georgia, with regard to it : 
 
 This grass succeeds at the South on lands having a clay subsoil as low down as the 
 oak and hickory rolling country extends. Iu the flat sandy lands it is said not to per- 
 fect its seeds, and quickly dies out. It is of little use at the South as a hay grass, hut 
 possesses great value as a winter pasture. It grows hest iu the shade, which result its 
 name would indicate. It should not he grazed during the summer. All stock should 
 he taken from it in June and not allowed to return to it imtil Christmas. It is not 
 among the most permanent of artificial grasses. Hence it is proper to sow it with red 
 and white clover, when these are used in a rotation, for the improvement of the soil. 
 Orchard grass is proper to be mixed with clover, when the latter is to he cut for hay, 
 as both blossom at the same time. Herds grass and timothy are much later than red 
 clover, and therefore unsuited to he sown with it. 
 
 It is beginning to be recommended in that region as a soiling crop, 
 sown with red clover, sowing 20 pounds to 12 of the clover per acre. 
 Dr. L. D. Morse recommends this grass for Missouri as " the most abid- 
 ing of aU grasses"; it is sown to advantage with clover, grows quickly 
 when cropped by cows and sheep, and makes good pasturage after a rest 
 of five days from being fed close. It has been admitted in Kentucky 
 
44 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 that, wlien grazed down by stock, it will be ready for grazing again in 
 half the time required by blue-grass ; and some have claimed that in 
 summer it will grow more in a day than blue grass-grows in a week. A 
 correspondent in Cobb County, G-eorgia, deems it the best cultivable 
 grass for that part of the State (northwestern), which is of granite, claim- 
 ing that it endures equally well hot and cold weather, wet and dry. 
 
 Lucerne (Alfalfa of California), Medicago sativa. — This is a most val- 
 uable forage plant for Southern culture. It is not very generally intro- 
 duced except in an experimental way, and will not be until more atten- 
 tion is given to stock-growing. Mr. C. W. Howard declared that it 
 grew as well in Georgia as in Prance, and deemed it the most valuable 
 of all the forage plants for that region. He held that no forage-crop 
 tested in Georgia could equal it in quantity, and none in the North could 
 produce as much hay as lucerne in the South. His practice was to sow 
 either in autumn or in February, harrowing in and rolling the surface, 
 using about two pounds of seed to the acre. 
 
 If the future of sheep-husbandry in this latitude shall be character-' 
 ized by skill and enterprise, combined with economy of management 
 and wise forecast in avoiding risks of unequal and insufficient natural 
 pasturage, lucerne will fiU a prominent place in the necessary provision 
 for regular and abundant feed, increasing many fold the possibilities of 
 the business, .enlarging immensely the numbers that can be supported 
 ;,on a given area. Bermuda and other grasses especially suited to high 
 temperatures and capable of resisting droughts may share the attention 
 of wool-growers ; yet there must be large tracts in the Gulf States, and 
 on the line of the Texas Pacific road through to the ocean, in which this 
 forage plant may fill a place of high utility in the economy of wool- 
 growing. 
 
 It is a deep and rich soil, into which the roots can readily penetrate. 
 An Irish-potato patch, or a field of wheat stubble with a soft and friable 
 soil, is frequentlj^ selected by careful cultivators. The richer it is made 
 with manure the better (if the soil is not of the "inexhaustible" kind 
 that is presumed never to need manure) ; it is plowed thoroughly, and 
 if seeds of weeds abound, again and again, to turn under successive 
 crops of troublesome plants. Those who covet the highest success thus 
 obtain a deep and clean seed-bed, and sow in August 10 pounds of seed, 
 and if the young plants are attacked by grasshoppers, a dressing of 
 ashes or guano is given. It should neither be cut nor grazed until the 
 next season, when three to five cuttings should be made. 
 
 PEOFIT OP SOUTHEKN SHEEP HXJSBANDET. 
 
 The profits of wool-growing in the Atlantic States, Delaware, Mary- 
 land, and Virginia, are derived largely from production of lambs for 
 the neighboring markets of Washington and Baltimore, not to mention 
 Philadelphia and New York, which are also quite accessible. The 
 thrifty and enterprising farmer who keeps few sheep prefers the quick 
 returns coming from lambs sold at four months old for higher prices 
 than full-grown Merino grades. 
 
 The unenterprising farmer, who will not provide the requisite care 
 and feed, had much better stick to wool-growing alone, for the mutton 
 will be worthless. The broad acres of mountain ranges are also better 
 suited to the exclusive production of wool. It is the testimony of many 
 that half-breed Southdowns or Ootswold lambs, wfeU cared for, will pay 
 all expenses of the flock with meat, lea^'ing• the wool for profit. This 
 section is peculiarly suitable for lamb-raising, not alone on account of 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 45 
 
 proximity to great cities, but from the cheapness of fertile lauds and 
 healthfulness of the climate. The Piedmont region, the Blue Eidge, 
 and the valley of Virginia are remarkably well adapted to the pro- 
 duction of the cultivated forage plants necessary for winter feeding, and 
 the blue-grass and white-clover pasturage in summer is abundant and 
 enduring. 
 
 It has not yet become an important industry. Much fine pasturage 
 in the mountain is as yet unutilized. The largest numbers of sheep are 
 at present to be found in Culpeper and Fauquier, in the Blue Eidge 
 region, and on the limestone soils of Southern Virginia, especially Scott, 
 Eussell, Washington, and Grayson. 
 
 Mr. John Carmichael, of Loudoim County, reports the value of spring 
 lambs sent to Washingtqn at $2.50 to $5, according to quality ; that 
 western ewes, bought in the autumn for breeding, cost $2.75; their 
 lambs average $2.30, and their wool $1 more. The ewes are fattened 
 and sold in the fall for $4 to $5. This makes the gross returns of the 
 year about $8, or $5.20 above the cost of the ewe for feed and profits. 
 
 Mr. Thomas F. Eives reports for Dinwiddie County: 
 
 Captain Shelton has a tine flock of grade Southdowns. He sows rye and winter 
 oats, thus supplying good winter pasture. His lambs are dropped in the early part of 
 January and some in December. He generally has a lot of fat lambs in market by 
 the middle of April, and always commands a good price for them, from |5 to |6 per 
 head. Mr. Burgess is breeding up a fine flock of Cotswolds. He has provided good 
 shelter for his flock, and his sheep are well cared for in all respects. Both of the ■ 
 gentlemen say that it pays them well. 
 
 Some of the difficulties in the way of extensive sheep-husbandry are 
 given by Mr. WiUiam F. Jackson, of Amelia County, Virginia : 
 
 The large land-owner will tell you it ijays 100 per cent, and beats farming to death, 
 but says : " I have no fences ; it would bankrupt me to fence my lands, and if I did, 
 in ten days the dogs would kill all my sheep. I cannot go into the speculation ; it 
 might ruin me at once." There is some force in this, but it seems to me the venture 
 might be more profitable and less hazardous by employing a herdsman without fences, 
 except for inclosing them at night. 
 
 Mr. E. Turnbxill, of Brunswick, Virginia : 
 
 Believing that there is money in sheep, I have determined to go into the business on 
 a farm of 2,400 acres, in this couuty, in which I am interested. I have now on the 
 farm a flock of 46 (which is the largest flock in the county) in fine condition, and I ex- 
 pect to increase the flock to 500 or 1,000. 
 
 Examples of small flocks which have been a success are numerous. 
 In Northumberland County, Virginia, according to a former return of 
 our correspondent, a flock of 68 ewes, costing $3 each, produced 100 
 lambs the first year, which brought $5 each in May, netting nearly $300 
 above original cost, with the original flock and the wool on hand. They 
 were turned into a wheat stubble seeded with clover, and had no other 
 food and little attention. 
 
 Mr. William P. Austin, of Lunenburg, Va., reports a flock of 48 kept 
 on a cost of $10 per annum for shearing and feed, exclusive of pasture- 
 age and care, yielding an average of $93 per annum. 
 
 Mr. Wmiam B. Chalkley, of Chesterfield, has a flock of 40 worth $100, 
 and has sold 24 for $60, and 150 pounds of wool for $34.50. The cost of 
 the original 18 was $42, and the cost of keeping two years is estimated at 
 $30. The gain is equivalent to $122.50, paying well for care and invest- 
 ment. 
 
 The following testimony to the profit of mutton production and lamb- 
 raising is from department records: 
 
 Clarlc County, Virginia. — It is far more profitable to keep the different varieties of 
 the mutton breeds than the fine wool or Merino breed in this portion of Virginia. I 
 
46 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 say this from my own experience and that of many intelligent gentlemen with whom 
 I have conversed. The Cotswold sheep and its crosses with the Southdown are less 
 liable to lose their lambs than the Merino. The lambs are more vigorous and hardy ; 
 then add their early maturity, their fitness for market at eighteen months old, and 
 their almost double value when in market, and you have advantages which far out- 
 weigh the additional amount of food which the mutton sheep may consume in propor- 
 tion to his size. I have said nothing about the diiference in the value of the wool, 
 because I believe there is very little diiference ; if there is any, it is in favor of the 
 mutton breed in this county. In January, 1839, 1 agreed to take from a gentleman in 
 this county 100 Spanish Merino ewes to keep on the shares ; he giving me one-half the 
 lambs and one-half of the wool for keeping them until the fall of 1869. They were 
 put in a field of 75 acres sod with 45 acres of woodland attached; the pasture was 
 good, and they fattened upon it. At the same time 25 ewes of Cotswold and South- 
 down were put in the field; the Merinos in the spring produced 56 lambs; the 25 Cots- 
 wold and Southdown ewes raised 24 lambs. The feed was the same, and the same 
 care was bestowed upon each flock, for they were together all the time. All the 
 Merino lambs were sold in October, 1869, at $2 per haad except five, which had the 
 foot-rot so badly they could not be driven to market; the Cotswold and Southdown 
 would have brought double the money per head. These views apply to this county, 
 which is only fifty miles from Washington, D. C, and about eighty-five miles from 
 Baltimore. 
 
 Princn Georges County, Maryland. — Sheep need no shelter here except what woods or 
 open sheds or tobacco houses afford. Seldom any grain is given them. My flock is 
 small but choice. They have had this winter no grain, no hay, and no shelter, and 
 are fat aud healthy, with well-grown fat lambs of different ages, from ten days to two 
 weeks old. They have run all the time on an old clover and timothy pasture, grazed 
 close last autumn, except when the ground was frozen or covered with snow, when 
 they had access to the rye field where the fodder shocks stand. Most of them are 
 Southdowns, a few are a Cotswold cross. They will shear an average of over six 
 pounds of wool, and have lambs living now in the proportion of six lambs to eight 
 ewes, although some have been killed by dogs. 
 
 In the more Southern States wool-growing commands more attention 
 than mutton [)roduction, and liue-wooled sheep are preferred. This must 
 continue to be the case, except that an abundant supply of better qual- 
 ity of mutton is required for town consumption, aiud the demand would 
 soon be doubled by such improvement in quality. Owners of small iiocks 
 will rejKjrt a profit of 50 to 100 per cent. Still flocks increase slowly, 
 and few give the business any attention. Some will say that wool costs 
 nothing except the shearing, because sheep are allowed to run from one 
 shearing to another without care. Such examples afford no criterion to 
 judge of the actual profits of the business on a large scale. It will not 
 do to say that grass costs nothing because it is wasted. The land that 
 produces it costs money, and pays taxes, even if without fencing or the 
 supervision of the proprietor. With such utter neglect of the business, 
 there are no recorded data on which to base an accurate calculation of 
 profits. It is much like the housewife's estimate of gains from her poultry- 
 yard, which she confidently assumes to be all profit. She rarely extends 
 itier operations, however, beyond the requirements of a moderate store 
 of pin-money. Thus, while one reports a doubling of capital yearly, 
 another estimates a gain of 50 per cent., and a third no profit. One of 
 the latter, our correspondent in Wilkes County, Mr. L. Harrill, declares 
 that there is no profit in sheepi; that the few there are small, degenerate 
 animals, unprovided with clover or cultivated grasses, allowed to roam 
 at large, the lambs left to live or die, and to the tender mercies of dogs 
 if they live. And yet he thinks that with proper attention wool might 
 be produced at a cost of 10 cents per pound instead of 20. Allowing for 
 a little looseness of calculation, for a little enthusiasm on one side and 
 disgust on the other, all these widely varying statements may be founded 
 on fact, and yet it scarcely touches the real question of profit of sheep- 
 husbandry as a business of such magnitude as to command the attention 
 of an enterprising man. And yet these examples are instructive. If a. 
 flock, even a small one, can maintain itself summer and winter in aban- 
 
SHEEP-ltUSBANDEY. 47 
 
 cloned fields and forests outside of farm inspection and observation, and 
 ravenous dogs, hungry negroes, as well as equally hungry white men, 
 and raise lambs enough to make good inevitable losses, giving the owner 
 their fleeces each spring for the shearing, it is evidence that, with a busi- 
 ness-like management, a larger flock might be expected to yield a hand- 
 some dividend. 
 
 A few extracts from correspondents will illustrate more fully the 
 status of the business. Mr. Thomas W. Beatty, of Horry County, South 
 Carolina, says: 
 
 A practical man assures me that three years ago he bought a flock of 30 head of 
 sheep ; that since that time they have yielded nim an annual profit, in increase, 
 ■nool and mutton, of 50 per cent. He has given them but little attention, except to 
 pnt them in his field during winter, to protect the Iambs from getting into low, flat 
 woods during rainy seasons, and giving the old sheep a little forage at night, to make 
 theu\ seek the lot for protection against the depredation of the wildcat, which ani- 
 mal is very destructive of young lambs in the woods and near swamps. Most persons 
 in this county give their sheep no attention except to drive tliem np in the latter 
 part, of May, clip the wool from the old ones, mark and castrate the lambs, turn them 
 out for another twelve months (unless to drive them up in June and July to kill a 
 mutton or two), and yet, with this treatment, a flock of 20 to 40 head will actually 
 increase in numbers, unless dogs get among them, or they range so far from any hab- 
 itation that it makes good picking for thieves. I am satisfied that nothing would 
 be more profitable iu this county than sheep-husbandry with proper attention. 
 
 A correspondent in Union County, South Carolina, reported an in- 
 come of 158.40 (80 pounds of wool at 28 cents, 300 pounds of mutton at 
 8 cents, and an increase of 6 sheep at $2), from a flock of 26 common 
 sheep, costing $52, and $7 for salt and cotton-seed. 
 
 E. D. Winn, Gwinnett, Georgia : 
 
 This climate and our natural pasturage is well adapted to sheep-raising. In some 
 parts of the county, where it is broken and sparsely settled, sheep require but little 
 feeding, even during the winter months. These are only special localities and but 
 few of them; I dissent from the commissioner of agriculture of Georgia in his esti- 
 mate of the cost of raising wool in this State. His figures are too low for my county 
 and too low for the State. A somewhat extensive acquaintance with the larger por- 
 tion of the State authorizes the opinion I have given. 
 
 Dr. J. T. Chappell, Laurens, Georgia, says : 
 
 On paper it looks as though sheep-raising would be profitable, and doubtless it 
 would be as a business perse. But it cannot be carried on in connection with cotton- 
 planting. As all who own land and stock are in the cotton business, I do not think 
 any one will risk a change. The risk is great, and the greatest risk is iu dogs. Some 
 parties that lost heavily in sheep put out strychnine and killed the dogs. The dog 
 men retaliated by driving 60 head of sheep into a stream and drowning them. People 
 here are poor, ignorant, and selfish. All own dogs and but few feed tliem. A hungry 
 dog will eat sheep, kids, pigs, chickens, eggs, &c. They are of no use, but are kept on 
 places where children suffer for bread. For seven years after the war I tried to raise 
 sheep, kept them inclosed all the time. I used powder, lead, and strychnine, and 
 after receiving much abuse for loss of dogs by neighbors, I left off in disgust and lost 
 all. While you can give a bright picture in figures on sheep-raising, do not fail to 
 give the dark one on dogs. I see no prospect of a change. 
 
 Mr. Eobert Hester, of Elbert: 
 
 Pastures are very Insecure, and sheep roam at large in the woods and old-field pas- 
 tures without shepherds, and without the personal care of their owners even in winter. 
 A small proportion of old farmers still keep up flocks and give some attention to them, 
 but for the most part the losses from neglect are heavy, and they are laid on thieves 
 and dogs. The great trouble is that sheep-owners expect their sheep to take care of 
 themselves and bring their fleeces home at shearing time entire and free from burs 
 and filth. 
 
 Mr. A. J. Cheves, Macon County: 
 
 Our county is not well adapted to sheep-husbandry. The wire-grass section is south ■ 
 and east of us. Nearly all of our open lands are cultivated every year. Our woods 
 are pine, with a very thick undergrowth of oak bushes excluding the grasses almost 
 entirely. 
 
48 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 Mr. Timothy Fussell, Coffee : 
 
 Stoclc-raisers are inclosing large wood pastures, producing wild grasses. These 
 woods are also of great secvice in saving lambs and keepiag them from hogs, &c. 
 
 Mr. C. H. Sutton, Habersham: 
 
 Any of our uncultivated upland soils are capable of producing grass. Fine pastnrage 
 may be had by removing the undergrowtli, leaving the larger trees for shade, and 
 sowing in blue-grass, thus producing a fine range for sheep. 
 
 Mr. A. Davenport, of Fannin: 
 
 We have, as you will see, a vast territory of forest, all of which affords good sum- 
 mer range for sheep. The common sedge, springing up spontaneously all over the 
 county, is of early growth, tender and nutritious until other and later grasses come in. 
 Sheep are exceedingly fond of the seed of "beggar lice," which also grows abundantly 
 in this hill country. Upon this wild range, from a state of poverty in the spring they 
 are fat enough for market in July. They need shelter and tame pasture in winter; 
 but I have known them to winter in the woods without any attention. They ciin be 
 well wintered at small cost upon a pasture of early-sown jye, cost not exceeding 15 
 cents per head, thus placing them in advance of any other stock raised in this county ; 
 but, strange to say, no man in all this county is engaged in this highly lucrative 
 enteri^rise. 
 
 Mr. C. J. Wellborn, Union County : 
 
 Sheep-raising up to this time in this county has been regarded as a mere incident 
 of farm life, and not looked to as a business. Most farmers have a small flock which 
 are sheared and turned out about the first of April, and receive no further attention 
 until they are hunted up in the fall to be sheared again. About one-half of them are 
 then sold to drovers to be slaughtered for mutton, which is of the natural increase of 
 the flock. This is a healthy climate for sheeii. 
 
 Mr. J. S. Lavender, Pike : 
 
 The main profit in sheep is raising lambs in the spring, shearing them in the fall, 
 and killing them before winter and using their flesh for mutton. There is no profit in 
 keeping sheep in this county when you have to keep over in winter. 
 
 Mr. James E. Brown, Cherokee : 
 
 I do not think wool can be produced in this ijart of Georgia at 6 cents per pound, as 
 stated by our commissioner of agriculture. In the wire-grass part of Lower Georgia 
 it might. This section of the State has grown up in such thickets that the bushes kill 
 or shade out a large portion of the grass and other pasturage. 
 
 Dr. Wm. li. Bruce, Decatur : 
 
 In 1866 I had a flock of 40 sheep, somewhat improved by having a Merino buck with 
 them. With great vigilance in their care tliey decreased, and in 1H77 we sheared 
 eleven ewes, every wether missing. I propose to try again. Several individuals have 
 bought up hundreds, and after a trial lasting for a year or two abandoned them. 
 
 Mr. M. D. Sanforcl, Catoosa : 
 
 One hundred sheep cost ijilOO ; product in lambs, 75 = $75. Cost of keeping equal to 
 manure and increase. Therefore the profit is equal to the wool=:3i pounds to each 
 sheep, or 350 pounds of wool, worth 25 cents per pound =^$37.50 profit. 
 
 Mr. Freeman Walker, of Stewart County, Georgia, has 105 head that 
 make him 5 pounds of wool per year e'ach, for which he gets $132.50. 
 It costs him only $10 to feed them on cotton-seed during the months that 
 it is necessary to feed, and they average 75 lambs per year. The actual 
 exi3ense of keeping is about $10 per year. What his sheep make is just 
 like picking it up. 
 
 The following paragraph is from Dr. Janes' Manual of Sheep Hus- 
 bandry in Georgia : 
 
 Mr. David Ayers, of Camilla, Mitchell County, in Southwestern Georgia, where snow 
 never falls and the ground seldom freezes, and where the original pine forest is car- 
 peted with the native grass, says his sheep, 3,500 in number, cost him annually 14 
 cents per head, clip three pounds of unwashed wool which sells at 30 cents per pound, 
 giving a clear profit of 90 per cent, on the money and labor invested in sheep. Lands 
 suited to sheep-raising can be purchased in this section of the State for from SI. 50 
 to $10 per acre, according to location. Mr. Ayers does not feed his sheeji at any timedur- 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 49 
 
 iiig the year, neither has he iutrodiTced the improved breeds, using only what is known 
 as the native sheep. Of course, the oroas of the Spanisli Mei-ino on this stock would 
 give better results in both quantity and quality of wool. These sheep receive little 
 care except to be gathered up once a year to be sheared and marked. Mr. Ayers com- 
 Ijlains of the ravages of dogs ou the sheep and of hogs and eagles on the lambs. 
 
 Mr. Eobert C. Humber, of Putnam County, in Middle Georgia, fur- 
 nishes some interesting facts from his experience in sheep-raising as a 
 factor of mixed husbandry, in which the famous and much-dreaded Ber- 
 muda grass is utilized. He keeps 138 sheep of the cross between the 
 Merino and the common stock. He says the cost is " nothing except the 
 salt they eat," while they pay 100 ])er cent, on the investment in mutton, 
 lambs, and wool. They yield an average of 3 pounds of wool per head, 
 which he sells at the very low price of 25 cents, less than the market 
 price. It costs him nothing except the shearing. His sheep range on 
 Bermuda grass, old fields in summer, and the plantation at large, em- 
 bracing the fields from which crops have been gathered and the cane- 
 bottoms, in winter. They are never fed at any season. 
 
 The records of this department furnish the following illustration of 
 profit for Pulaski County, Georgia. Mr. A. bought 800 head of sheep in 
 1868, of which the following statement is made : 
 
 Dk. 
 
 Cost $750 00 
 
 Cost of hand to care for them, $12 and |15 per month 180 00 
 
 Cost of salting and incidental expense 20 00 
 
 $950 00 
 
 Ck. 
 
 2,000 pounds wool, at 30 cents 600 00 
 
 Increase, 225 lambs, at $1 225 00 
 
 15 acres of land well manured, $10 per acre 150 00 
 
 700 sheep on hand, at $1.50 per head 1,050 00 
 
 2.025 00 
 
 Profit 1,075 00 
 
 This was the scrub stock of the piny wood counties of Georgia, but 
 serves to illustrate the profits of sheep-raising, even in Georgia. Pastur- 
 age costs nothing. Good stock would pay better. 
 
 Mr. John Bradford, Leon County, Florida, says : 
 
 Ten years ago the writer began with 25 ewes and 2 bucks, common stock. Four 
 years ago I procured a Merino buck. Have butchered about 130 mutton, lost heavily 
 in not looking after lambs in January and February, and very heavily (some years as 
 much as 30 per cent.) by roguish negroes, and have now 130 in my flock. The manure 
 has more than paid for the actual cost of keeping. Have only had good attention one 
 winter, then with the very best results, as the wool-clij) and increase of flock amounted 
 to about 90 per cent, of the value of the flock. 
 
 Mr. William E. Woodruff, Duval : 
 
 Sheep husbandry has been about the best paying thing here, but since the negroes 
 have given up work and become the proprietors of about four dogs each on an average 
 it has become worthless. The fleece, although light, is fine and clean, and the mutton 
 is, I think, liner in flavor than at the North. 
 
 Mr. A. M. Beardsley, Bradford: 
 
 I hear of but three persons in this county who have attempted sheep-raising. Of 
 these, two have abandoned the enterprise, mainly in consequence of ravages by dogs, 
 and the other is compelled to provide quarters for the flock in order to save them from 
 these enemies. 
 
 Mr. C. S. Coe, Liberty : 
 
 There is little or no attention paid to sheep in this county; they range the woods 
 from one shearing time to the next, often without the owner knowing anything about 
 
 S. Ex. 25 4= 
 
50 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 them, only as lie may happen upon them in hunting game or gathering up his cattle. 
 At shearing time they are gathered, and turned into the woods again to ramble at 
 their pleasure until next shearing time. 
 
 Mr. Henry J. Stewart, Hainilton : 
 
 About three or four years ago one farmer increased his flock (by purchase) to 400 
 head. He allowed them to roam at will, taking no pains with them, and the result is 
 a loss of at least 50 percent, per year, not by disease, but by dogs mostly, some few by 
 drowning. Ours is a fine sheep country, and were the farmers to try they could make 
 it exceedingly profitable ; much more so than raising cotton. I scarcely hear of sheep 
 dying of disease of any kind. They get very fat running in the woods. 
 
 Mr. William Thompson, Putnam County, Florida, refers to the extent 
 of wire-grass range, valuable only for spring pasturage, and the spread- 
 ing of the more valuable Bermuda grass, and says : 
 
 One flock of sheep, numbering about 1,000, is doing very well, having thousands of 
 acres to roam over and pick grasses suited to them for food. Sheep husbandry would 
 be profitable if the sheep were attended by a shepherd, and moved from place to place 
 on the unoccupied lands, as exhaustion of range would require. 
 
 Mr. John H. Martin, Lauderdale, Alabama: 
 
 There are manj^ instances of small flocks paying over 100 per cent, on investment, 
 the manure not taken into consideration. AVe are getting some grade sheep now that 
 will average from 7 to 9 pounds, and a few tliat will go 10 to 15 pounds. The north- 
 ern portion of our country is especially adapted to sheep husbandry. 
 
 Mr. William S. Earnest, Jefferson : 
 
 I am satisfied that we have in this county as good lands for sheep-raising as can he 
 found ou the continent. We have in this county a plat of land 18 miles long by about 
 6 wide, nearly all wild mountain land, that would feed and raise 10,000 shee]i. 
 
 Mr. E. H. Powell, of Bullock County, reports a small floclv of Maj. J. 
 P. Culver, which has received care and shelter, which it well repays. 
 He bought 25 common sheep in 1873, costing f 55 ; supplied himself with 
 ■mutton, sold some to his neighbors, and now has 206, worth $575. He 
 gets 28 cents per pound for wool, and derives an annual prolit of $180 
 from his flock. His loss from disease was but IJ per cent, last year. 
 During two months in winter extra feed is provided. 
 
 Mr. John Eobinson, Wayne County : 
 
 Sheep-farming might be profitably engaged in in this region, three-fourths of our 
 land being unredeemed or uncultivated, and yielding a fair pasturage during eight 
 months ot the year. I could fill folios with animadversions ou our idiosyncrasies on 
 farming, stock-raising, &c., but enough. Unless some philanthropic exemplar comes 
 to us and lets us see, it wUl be some generations ere we get out of our old rats. 
 
 Mr. J. W. Councell, Watauga County : 
 
 There are 8,625 sheep in my county, valued for taxation at $8,629. Sheep never 
 need feeding in this county unless the ground is covered with snow. A flock of sheep 
 will winter and raise about as many lambs without feeding as with it. 
 
 Mr. J. B. Oliver, Duplin County : 
 
 Can only give yon results for 1876 of my flock of 20 head — 15 ewes. They were fed 
 two mouths, January and February. Daily fed one bushel pea hulls, worth perhaps 
 5 cents, and two ears of com. The whole cost of feeding did not exceed 25 cents each. 
 They had seven acres in winter oats as pasturage. The oats were none the worse for 
 it, as they made a good crop. They also had the run of a forty-acre field in small 
 grain the previous year. From these sheep I raised 12 lambs, for which I was offered 
 $2 each by a butcher the middle of June. I sheared 60 pounds of wool, a part of which 
 was sold at 25 cents per pound. I lost one ewe during the winter. Net profit, $31. 
 
 Mr. W. D. Sprott, Claiborne, Mississippi : 
 
 One flock in this county numbers 100 ewes. They were bred from the native ewe 
 crossed with the Southdown. Average, about one-sixth Southdown. Such sheep are 
 worth to-day in the market $3 per head. This flock looks well ; has received during 
 the past twelve months attention — salt, that is all. They have a large corral with a 
 big shed made dog-proof into which they are driven every night. I saw this flock 
 turned out this morning ; they had following them 102 lambs from one day to three 
 weeks old, looking well. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBAND EY. 51 
 
 Mr. W. W. Dedrick, Hinds, Mississippi : 
 
 Mr. M. C. Cannada purchased in DeoemlDer, 1875, 225 sheep, mostly ewes. He has 
 sold |110 in mutton and $260 in wool. He has on hand 250 grown sheep and 150 
 lambs. Cost of keeping, shearing, attendance, &o., |75 per annum. 
 
 Mr. T. S. Ford, Marion : 
 
 Eleven years ago Mr. E. invested $575, gold, in sheep at, $1.75 per head. He has 
 since kept an accurate account of his income from these sheep, and states that he has 
 realized in cash from wool and mutton during the eleven years over $10,000. He has 
 now a flock of 1,500. The annual expense, inchiding taxes, is not ten cents per head. 
 He sees them but once a year. They run in the woods like deer and are not even 
 salted. This, however, is an exceptional locality, there being few dogs. Sheep do 
 not subsist on the woods' grass, but entirely on herbs, mainly upon one small perennial 
 herb, growing flat on the ground, with broad and rounded leaves, resembling very 
 much the deer-tongue (vanilla). 
 
 Mr- F. A. Wolfe, Hinds County: 
 
 I have only been experimenting three years, and during that time have tested the 
 Cotswold on the native ewe, and have found the cross of good size, but not so easily 
 fattened. After fattening they are much more easily reduced in flesh than the cross 
 of the Southdown on the common ewe. I have only my original imported Cotswolds, 
 two years having lost all their increase, i. e., the full-bloods. I feel very much en- 
 couraged in sheep-husbandry and will continue to increase my flock, but cannot have 
 over 200 in one flock, as penning more than this number in one inclosuie at night will 
 not do in this climate. 
 
 Mr. W. H. Jacobs, Queen Anne, Maryland, thus writes of the sheep- 
 range of Southern Mississippi : 
 
 A long residence in Southwestern Mississippi has convinced me that in that portion 
 of the South sheep-raising, if properly prosecuted, might be made more profitable 
 than cotton-planting. At that time (thirty years ago) much of the Gulf Hill lands 
 had become by incessant cotton-planting exhausted of their original fertility, but 
 when thrown out as unprofitable for cultivation would in a few years become covered 
 with a dense mass of Bermuda grass, affording the finest perennial pasture for sheep 
 that I have ever seen. As editor at that time of the Port Gibson Herald, I endeavored 
 through the columns of my own paper, and through those of the Plough, Loom and 
 Anvil, a magazine then published by the venerable John S. Skinner, to urge this 
 branch of industry upon the planters of that region. I had the hearty co-operation 
 of Mr. Skinner, but we labored in vain. The owners of these lands admitted the jus- 
 tice of our arguments, that while these "wornout" lands were incapable of producing 
 crops of cotton, they were almost unequaled as sheep pastures ; that a few years of 
 such pasturage would restore their original fertility, when a crop of corn and cow 
 pease would kill out the grass and prepare the ground for greatly increased crops of 
 the greater staple (cotton.) 
 
 Mr. B. F. Dane, Kendall, Texas : 
 
 Although most of our county is adapted to sheep-husbandry, I find these to thrive 
 the best under fence on account of its mountainous surface. Unless very carefully 
 herded, losses will occur when the flock is spread sufficiently for them to graze. 
 Under fence they run at will and graze and eat at their leisure. The pasture should 
 be subdivided so as to occasionally give them a fresh run. For the winter they 
 should have a dry shelter at night. I find by this system that the flock will yield 
 about a third more wool, sustain fewer losses, require less acres to graze on, save the 
 wages of a shepherd, and in every respect do better. 
 
 Mr. J. T. Hester, of Navarro County, says : 
 
 I have been engaged in sheep-raising for fourteen years. In this and all the old 
 prairie counties, from 300 to 400 sheep do well; 100 per cent, gross profit is a fair state- 
 ment. The profit diminishes 10 per cent, per 100 head as you go over 400, My flock has 
 ranged from 300 to 1,000. I put annually 100 pounds of prairie hay and one bushel of 
 cotton-seed to each sheep ; have good shelters ; permit no ewes to have lambs until 
 fully grown ; do not herd close ; give my sheep close attention, and realize about 50 
 per cent, clear profit on 400 head, at a valuation of $1,000. 
 
 Mr. James Walker, Lavaca : 
 
 Mr. S. B. Moore has a flock of 1,500 head let out to a herder on shares, and there- 
 fore furnishes a pretty safe sample of annual profits. He gives the herder one-fourth of 
 the wool, and one-fourth of the annual increase ; that is, the actual increase. Mr. Moore 
 furnishes the salt, sheep-dip, &c., and the herder pays all other expenses, and one- 
 
52 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 fonrtli of tlie wliearing oxpensea. This makes the net yield to Mr. Moore for wool |300. 
 The iucrease of tlock will average 800 head, which, at $1.50 per lamb in spring, makes 
 $1,200, one-fonrth of which to herder, leaves $900 to Mr. Moore; thus giving a net 
 annual profit of $1,700 or about $1.33J pierhead on entire flock. 
 
 Mr. Pryor Lea, Goliad : 
 
 Cost and profit of growing wool may be estimated in two ways. Crediting increase 
 of sheep as equal to all cost, the wool would be net profit, and this is claimed by many 
 producci's. Without crediting' increase with more than enotigh to maintain the flock 
 e([nal to its primitive coudition, a practical estimate for cost, considering every kind 
 of an item, might be from 10 to 12 cents per pound of unwashed wool, averaging 17 
 ceuts iu market. This latter mode gives broad margin for contingencies. 
 
 Mr. M. J. Denman, Kimble County, Texas, thus writes of the flock of 
 Messrs. Burton and Lemons : 
 
 They purchased 1,000 head of grade sheep, three-fourths Spanish Merino and one- 
 fourth Mexican sheep ; this purchase was made in 1876, in January. The total weight 
 of spring fleeces was 3,100 pounds, and sold at San Antonio at 19 cents per pound, 
 bringing $.589. The fall clip of 1876 weighed 2,732 pounds, and sold in Austin at 20 
 cents per pound, bringing $.546.40. He lost 58 head of the number purchased up to 
 January, 1877, and the increase was 369 to the same date, showing an increase in the 
 flock of 311 head; the cost of attention, including all expense, was $240, leaving the 
 h.'indsome profit on the wool of .^89.5.40, saying nothing of the 311 increase, which 
 is worth at least $900 in our home market. The flock above mentioned has been well 
 cared for, and shows the result of ])roper attention to sheep in this immediate neigh- 
 l)orhood; other flocks well attended show the same result. Mexican sheep yield 
 only 2 pounds of wool annually, which is worth only from 9 to 13 cents per pound, 
 bringing only enough to pay the expenses of attendance. 
 
 Mr. E. L. Walker, Stephens : 
 
 ilr. 6. "\V. Gore owns about 600 sheep, and during last year lost but one sheep from 
 his flock ; cause nattu'al death. Others have lost from " scab" contracted elsewhere. 
 The yield of fleece depends u]ion the stock. We are breeding up from common "Mex- 
 ican sheep." Sheep-husbandry is a new industry iu this county. Until the last 
 eighteen months attention was paid to nothing but cattle. Stephens County is admi- 
 rably adapted to sheep-raising, being diversified in surface, plains (flats), rolling, hiUy, 
 and many high creek bottoms. 
 
 Mr. P. S.Clarke, Waller: 
 
 Every year I looked after the flock they paid me full measure, and when I neglected 
 them they neglected me. 
 
 Mr. II. Chamberlain, Xueces, a county which sustains more sheep than 
 some States, thus writes of the condition of wool-growing : 
 
 The last ten years have wrought favorable changes in the sheeii interests and sheep 
 management in this oounlry. Since the range began to be eaten close, and waste grasses 
 ceased to lie ou the surface, those diseases which had threatened many flocks have 
 gradually, if not entirely, disappeared. Foot-rot is now unknown in this county. 
 Lumbres, a complaint which up to 1868 had carried oft' many thousands of spring 
 lambs auunally, commencing in July or August and operating upon them through the 
 fall anrl winter, until the flock 'frequently became exhausted. This disease follo^is 
 overflows, and a superabuudance of rank grasses. It consists of something like aknob 
 of long, small worms, resembling hair, in the stomach, the lungs invariably becoming 
 aft'ected ; the outward symptoms resembling consumption in the human race. Semi- 
 auuual lambing is also very generally adopted in the county, the February or si)ring 
 crop being always preferable; one set of ewes lamb in sj)ring, and another set in the 
 fall. Flocks are sheltered from No\-ember 15 to February 1 by selecting their range 
 and night camp on the south side of some creek or prairie timber. 
 
 Mr. G. A. Kirklaud, Shackelford: 
 
 Myself and partner bought 900 head of Mexican ewes last July, |1.50 per head, 18 
 Merino bucks, at |15 per head. For all of our half-breed ewes, lihe first cross on the 
 Mexican ewes with the Merino bucks, we could get $3 per head. The first cross will 
 also add ime pound more of wool. Four crosses would make fifteen-sixteenths Merino, 
 and would be equal in value to any Merino wool. It costs per mouth, for herding, $15; 
 saltj $2; provision herders, $7; total, $24. 
 
 The following is from a successful sheep-raiser in Texas : 
 
 There is quite a difference in quality of sheep as well as manner of keeping. Th 
 climate is best adapted to the tiue-wool sheep. I have 625 high-grade and full-bloo 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 53 
 
 Meriuo (American). I sliolter well, keep dry under foot, and in common winters feed 
 hay only in storms, wliioli generally do not exceed twenty days' duration any winter. 
 I have lambs dropped from February 1 to April 1. The breodmg-ewes need feed — hay, 
 grain, or cotton-seed — until March 1, when grass is usually abundant. This attention 
 is necessary to the growth of the lambs. My lambs can be taken from the ewes in 
 time for them to get well recuperated by winter. The lambs getting the henefit of 
 the tender grass in spring get in fine condition for winter. I commenced with '<20 
 ewes three years ago, and have sold suflScient of the flock to make an increase of 100 
 per cent, per year, average ; and the wool has averaged for that time from 75 cents to 
 $1 per head annually. 
 
 Slieep-husbaudry in Tennessee has long been a successful pursuit. In 
 tlie hands of those who have been personally interested and persistent 
 in it, it has always been profitable. Mr. Mark E. Coclirell, of Nashville, 
 imported Saxon sheep more than flftj' years ago. About twenty years 
 ago he wrote the following, in a letter published in the American Shep- 
 herd: 
 
 I have about 1,000 head of fine sheep and from 400 to 500 long-wooled or mutton 
 sheep. My Saxon sheep were imported in 18 i4 orlttili, I caiyiot sa.y which, and I find 
 as yet no falling oif in iiuantity or quality of their fleeces ; on the contrary, I liclieve a 
 little improvement on both points, aud a little more yolk, when well provided for, which, 
 you know, does not abound much in the Saxon breed. In addition, the fleeces are a 
 little more compact than formerly, hence more weight ; and, from our mild climate, 
 the staple has become longer. I assert it to bo a fact that the cotton region I am now in 
 (Mr. Cockrell dates from Madison County, Mississippi, where a part of his sheep are 
 kept), in about latitude 32° north, is better than any country north of it to grow wool, 
 as the sheep can be kept all the time grazing, by sowing small grain ; for if grazed off, 
 it ([uickly grows again -in a few days; and the wool of the flue Saxon sheep in this 
 climate is softer and more cotton-like than any I have ever seen, although I have 
 samples from all parts of the world. I have traveled from this very place to Boston , 
 samijling all the sheep of note on the way, and I found nothing on my journey or at 
 Boston as good as the wool I had grown, and so said all the wool-staplers whom I met 
 with, and they were not a few. I presumed, in ruiiUty, that the blood of my sheep 
 was no better than many I saw, but the superiority of my wool I ascribed to our cli- 
 mate, and the provision for the sheep of succulent food the year round. 
 
 Mr. Mark S. Cockrill, of Davidson County, Tennessee, writes to this 
 department as follows : 
 
 I have lived on a sheep-farm all my life (forty years), aud assert from close practi- 
 cal observation aud experience, that 100 per centum per annum can be made on money 
 actually invested in sheep in Middle and East Tennessee. But it requires a knowledge 
 of the natural enemies of the sheep in this latitude and how to prevent or avoid them. 
 The greatest enemy is the sheep gad-fly. The habits of this fly are pretty generally 
 known by all sheep-breeders, but there is one peculiarity about it that I have never 
 seen in print, and that is that it lays living worms instead of eggs, as Dr. Randall de- 
 clares. Any one wishing to test this can catch a fly, and by pressure upon the abdo- 
 men force out living worms, when they will immediately begin to crawl. Pine tar and 
 pulverized suljihur put upon the noses of the sheep is the preventive, and ambeer 
 injected into the nostrils of the sheep the remedy. By proper troughs the sheep can 
 be made to tar their own noses, and the ambeer shoiild be used very carefully. The 
 sheep should be placed upon his back and held in a position to prevent the ambeer 
 from being swallowed, as it will sicken, and if taken in sufficient quantities will kill 
 the sheep. 
 
 Mr. G-eorge W. Morley, of McNairy, Tennessee, had in 1877 a flock of 59 
 native sheep, of which 39 ewes produced 55 half-breed (Southdown and 
 Merino) lambs. He received $159.50 for sheep and mutton sold or used, 
 $92.75 for wool. Deducting $25 paid for Southdown ram and $4 for two 
 sheep less on hand, his net receipts were $223.25. They receive as win- 
 ter feed five bushels of cotton-seed each, and have the run of winter 
 grain fields. 
 
 Mr. Henry C. Evans, Jefferson County, West Virginia, says : 
 Mr. J. M. Vanmetre, of Berkeley County, kept 270 ewes last year, which raised 257 
 lambs that were sold at $3.50 per head, and the fleeces were estimated at |il each, 
 making $912.50 income, and the cost of feed, pasturage, and care did not exceed $420, 
 valuing the pasture at what it was worth for pasturing cattle. This leaves a profit of 
 $1.71 per head on the flock kept. 
 
54 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 Mr. Henry ISTeff, G-ilraer, West Virginia : 
 
 The improved breeds (and their cost is no more than the common) the cost of keep- 
 ing one year is estimated at i$2 and the profits |1.85 per head. A cross between the 
 Lincoln and Leicester is preferred. 
 
 Mr. J. D. Gitthrie, Shelby, Kentucky, says that sheep husbandry is 
 largely on the increase, and farmers are finding it very remunerative ; that 
 improved long-wools pay the best, while those who keep common or short- 
 wool ewes and propagate from rams of the long-wooled or mutton breeds 
 for butcher's use, or to grade up for quality and price of both wool and 
 mutton, are satisfied with the result. Below is an approximate result 
 of the ro fits from both breeds, as presented by Mr. Guthrie: 
 
 To 100 common ewes, cost |300 CO 
 
 To 2 Cotswold bucks , 50 00 
 
 To feeding, &c 50 00 
 
 Total cost 400 00 
 
 By 100 iambs to butcher |400 00 
 
 By 400 pounds wool, at 25 cents per pound 100 00 
 
 By value of ewes and bucks after lambing 300 00 
 
 800 00 
 Net profit 400 00 
 
 800 00 
 
 To 100 Cotswold ewes, cost i $1,200 00 
 
 To2 bncks ■ 50 00 
 
 To feed, &c... 50 00 
 
 1,300 00 
 
 Bv 100 lambs, $10 each $1,000 00 
 
 By 1,000 pounds of wool, at 36 cents 360 00 
 
 Value of ewes and bucks after lambing 1.200 00 
 
 2,560 00 
 Net profit 1,260 00 
 
 2 560 00 
 
 Mr. Silas Gatewood, of Trimble, Kentucky, reports the expenses and 
 income of a fiock of 50 Cotswold ewes costing 8S each. The items are 
 pasturage, at $1 per head, $50 ; 3 tons of hay in winter, $24 ; salt, $1 
 shearing, $6 ; care of flock, $20. Returns, 600 pounds of wool, $180 
 C8 lambs sold, $232 ; manure, $30. Profit, $341. 
 
 The following cases of liberal feeding and careful breeding for improve- 
 ment of other flocks found in existing records of this department, show 
 that this branch of sheep-husbandry has been made profitable in the 
 South. 
 
 Mr. A. T. Drane, who was engaged in breeding Cotswold from 1850 to 
 1866, without intermixture, has been crossing them with Lincolns, and 
 as yet has had no occasion to regret his action. It is a fine grass region, 
 such as the heavy breeds delight in, and the climate appears to be con- 
 genial, sheep being proverbially healthy. They thrive upon grass ex- 
 clusively, appearing to desire jio other food when it can be had, and 
 getting no grain except at yeaning time. Mr. D. thus writes concern- 
 ing them : 
 
 They usually have one lamb at a birth, but have twins about often enough to make 
 lip for loisses, and save about one lamb to the ewe bred. They are remarkably good 
 nurses. Their fleeces are heavy, long, and lustrous, and command the best prices for 
 combing. I sell rams chiefly, seldom sell ewes, and without attempting to state what 
 it will cost to keep a sheep a year, or tell how many may be kept on an acre of grass, 
 
SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 55 
 
 I win merely give a glimpse of tlie record of my flock in 1869, and let the reader make 
 his own deductions : 
 
 From 80 sheep sold 848 pounds of wool in grease for $364 62 
 
 Sold sheep during the year 638 00 
 
 Kent of one ram 100 GO 
 
 1, 102 62 
 
 I now have on hand 83 head of sheep, and my iiock has yielded a gross return of 
 113.78 each, with a gain of three sheep. 
 
 Mr. Isaac Shelby, of Boyle County, Kentucky, reports a flock of 50 
 ewes, of Southdown and Cotswold blood, valued at $500 in the begin- 
 ning of 1877. The account of last year is thus presented : 
 
 Dr. 
 
 50 ewes, at $10 each $500 00 
 
 Cost of pasturage, salt, and shearing 62 00 
 
 Interest on value 41 00 
 
 603 00 
 Cr. 
 
 50 ewes, present value |350 00 
 
 48 lambs, sold at $4 192 00 
 
 220 pounds wool, sold at 28 cents ' 61 60 
 
 603 60 
 
 He thus figures a profit of $3 per head, which is offset by an equai 
 loss in reduced valuation, resulting from a want of stability in market 
 prices. Though the sheep have lost no intrinsic value, they could not 
 realize so much money by $150. 
 
 Mr. A. K.Denny says that great numbers of mountain ewes are brought 
 into Boyle County, Kentucky, from Tennessee and Virginia, for the pur- 
 pose of raising market lambs, and that the business has proved profit- 
 able, the lambs selling for $3 to $4 during May and June. He bred 25 
 ewes in 1876 ; the lambs came in February, 1877 ; lost 15 per cent., but 
 raised 35. He thus reports the result : 
 
 25 ewes clipped 162^ pounds ; &| pounds each, at 34 cents $55 25 
 
 35 lambs oliijped, 15tli July, 117| pounds ; 3-^ pounds each, at 25 cents 29 37 
 
 Value of 35 lambs, September 10, 1877, at $5 each 175 00 
 
 259 62 
 
 Cost of keeping 25 ewes for 12 months, at $3 per head $75 00 
 
 Cost of keeping 35 lambs from July 10 to September 10, 20 cents 7 00 
 
 82 00 
 
 Profit 177 62 
 
 The ewes were old, and I sold them in December for $7 per head for the market. I 
 gave miue no feed during the winter, except during a deep snow in January, 1877 ; 
 ihen only some hay for two weeks. 
 
 Mr. George S. Baber, of Scott County, has a flock of pure-bred Cots- 
 wolds — keeping about 40 for breeding. They have grass the whole year, 
 and in cold or stormy weather are fed some corn and oats, and are housed 
 in very bad stormy weather, and cost in keeping the year about $10 per 
 head, ha\ang extra care and attention; this flock clips on an average 
 10 pounds combing wool, and raises on an average one lamb to the ewe. 
 He sells his entire surplus to breeders, in this and other States, at prices 
 ranging from $25 to $100 per head, according to age and selection. He 
 procures every two years an imported or Canada buck at a cost of about 
 
56 SHEEP-IIUSBANDRY. 
 
 $100, for his own breeding. He breeds his lambs at eighteen months 
 okl. 
 
 Common Ootswold flocks, kept simply for the mutton and wool, also 
 pay well in Kentucky, as the following record from Carroll County 
 shows : 
 
 The sheep most profitable in our county are the Cotswold and their grades. They 
 "will consume jjroljably one-fonrth more food than the fine wool sheep, but are hardy, 
 needing no shelter, and generally live the entire -winter on our blue-grass pastures 
 ■without otlier food, produce from 6 to 10 pounds of wool per head, and from 60 to 100 
 pounds good mutton at one and two yearn old. I have about 50 in my flocli of the 
 Cotswolds and grades which I have tal<en as a samjile for the above statement. They 
 have not oaten a single pound of hay or anything but what they have gathered for 
 themselves in the pasture, winter or summer, for the last two years. This wool is 
 worth, just as it comes from the sheep, unwashed, 35 cents per pound ; mutton is 
 worth 10 cents. 
 
 Mr. M. O. Taylor, Crawford County, Missouri: 
 
 I came from Ohio to this place eight years ago; have beenmoreorless through eight 
 States, and have always counted that this portion of jMiHsouri is tlie best and most 
 jirofitable place to raise sheep that I have ever seen. The surface of the land is roll- 
 ing, mating it sufficiently dry to be very healthy for sheep, with springs and running 
 brooks to att'ord sufficient water. There has been but little done, howe\-er, to improve 
 the breed or for their care in winter, which last accounts for so many lambs being lost. 
 
 It is impracticable and unnecessary to produce the returns in detail. 
 All are important as constituents of the tabular consolidations ; still it 
 has been deemed proper to present in considerable fullness the variety 
 of ^iews held by correspondents, as nearly as possible in their own 
 language. In addition to the quotations heretofore given, the following 
 additional notes bearing upon the profits of sheep husbandry are given : 
 
 Maryland. — Cecil : The hay raised in this county commands a higher price in Balti- 
 more than any other. The old sedge lands have nearly all been brought under culti- 
 vation and improved so as to yield profitable grass and other crops. IVashingtoii : Few 
 raised ; farmers buy from Pennsylvania, in order to fatten for the market in the si)ring. 
 
 Virginia. — Prince Edu-urd: Formerly every planter had his flock of sheep to raise 
 ■wool for his own family and for sale. The obstacles arc want of suitable inclosures, 
 and thieves, biped and quadruped. Our lands are ^\ ell adapted to sheep-raising, but 
 at present not one farmer in ten has sheep. iSusnex : (Sheep live and thri^'e here with- 
 out any care winter or summer, and would doubtless do much better if cared for in 
 ■winter. Biiclinf/liam : From the present prices of wheat, tobacco, &c., I think sheep- 
 raising will become more extensive and profitable than tillage. Goocldaiid : Land and 
 grasses well adapted to the raising of sheep. Sheep-culture could be made profitable 
 if well managed; they seem to do well -without any attention. Nansemo-nd : Slieep- 
 husbandry is not and cannot be made profitable In the tide-water, southeast section of 
 Virginia. When many are herded together they become diseased and die. Orange : 
 The cost of keeping is about 50 cents a head in two flocks of long- wooledCotswold and 
 Leicester, and :iO cents per head for a flock of 80 Merinoes. The profit of one of the 
 long-wooled flocks was $6.75 jier head ; of the other, l|5.90 per head ; the Merinoes, 
 $6.20. These results may bi' largely augmented by increased attention. The variety 
 of grasses and herbage render this county a paradise for sheep and sheep-husbandry. 
 Middlesex : One hundred acres will graze 40 sheep, and by adding one dollar to each 
 sheep for winter feeding, we have as follows: For 100 acres, $600 ; interest on money, 
 $30; 40 ewes and 2 bucks, $100; interest on same, .$6; $7'.ifi. Forty ewes will pro- 
 duce 50 lambs, which sell readily at $4 each, $200; 294 pounds of wool, unwashed, at 
 25 cents, $7H.5II ; total, $273.50. The profit on the investment can be easily seen. 
 King WiUiam : It needs no argument or statistical average to convince people that 
 sheep-raising is the most profitable pursuit that can be followed. Dra^wback, half- 
 starved dogs. Our climate is mild and pasture land abTindant. 
 
 West A'lUGiNiA. — Oreeniricr: Cireat iJortion of the county yet in timber. Sheep 
 could not be wintered without inclosing laud and making preparation. Forty-seven 
 ewes had 67 lambs (5 died), and gave a net profit of $113.92. Pendleton: It is difficult 
 to imagine why we have not turned our attention to sheep-husbandry. Sheep would 
 be much more remunerative than cattle, and enable us to get a profit from a great 
 deal of unproductive land. Fayette: Very little provision made for sheltering sheep. 
 They are fed on hay and com fodder ; sometimes a little corn. 
 
 North Carolina. — AUciihany: Cost of keeping sheej), 25 cents; profit, 75 cents. 
 Anson: Until some means is devised by which thieving and the ravages of dogs are 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 57 
 
 checked, sheep-husbaudry will not prosper. AsU: This comity is well adapted to 
 sheep-raising, and there is a general tendency to improve the breeds and to devote 
 more special attention to sheep. Beriie: Reporter's flock of 50 head last year yielded 
 aOO pounds of wool, which sold for $72 ; 32 lambs, for $36. The cost of shearing and 
 one bushel of salt was $5.75; leaving a net profit of |;162.25. Buncombe: Pasturage 
 j!Ood; dogs destructive; hence no more sheep are raised than absolutely necessary tor 
 domestic use. Cabarrus : The manure alone dropped by the sheep pays for their kee]). 
 Duplin : Reporter's flock numbers 20 head (15 ewes). Cost of keep, 25 cents per head ; 
 60 pounds of wool, at 25 cents, $15 ; 12 lambs, worth $24 ; making the returns $39. De- 
 ducting from this the cost of feeding and loss of one ewe, there remains a profit of $;n. 
 Edfieconibe: Intelligently managed, sheep-raising is a most profitable business, as wool 
 can be raised for less than two cents per pound. The manure is of greatest value to 
 the cotton-lauds, so that the wool may be regarded as net profit. Henderson : The 
 Southdown thrives best. Hertford : Sheep are not profitable, which is due to neglect, 
 thieves, and dogs. IredfU : Owing to the utter neglect of the sheep, sheep-husbandry 
 has thus far proved unprofitable, though this county oifers a mild climate and mos't 
 extensive ranges. Mitchtll: Oue flock of 80 is reported, -nliich costs 30 cents per head 
 for keep ; the fleece— 4 pounds per head— at 35 cents, amounts to $1.40, from which, 
 if the cost is deducted, a net profit of $1.10 per head is obtained. Orange : Sheep are 
 raised for the table ; avooI is a secondary consideration. The most serious losses are 
 sustained from high water. A flock of 18 Cotswold costs annually about $5; profit 
 .about $10. Nash: Tliere is an encouraging interest taken in sheep-raising. Some 
 farmers have light, moveable fences, which inclose the land to be manured. The 
 grazing plots are changed after every second night. The most popular breed is a press 
 of the Cotswold and the native stock. The Merino is fast coming into favorable 
 notice. The sheep are healthy, receive no attention, aud have but one enemy — the 
 dog. Mockhujham : Sheep-raising would do well here, with only the slightest attention. 
 Transijh-((nia : A growing interest is taken in sheep-raising. Tyrrell: Efforts are made 
 now greatly to improve sheep-husbandry in this county. Union : This is a sheep 
 county by nature, and sheep-raising would be a most profitable business rightly un- 
 dertaken and pursued. Watauga : There are between 8,000 aud 9,000 sheep iii this 
 county, which shift entirely for themselves, not the least attention being paid to them. 
 
 South Cakolixa. — Abbeville: An individu,il experience of twcnty-fiA'e years has 
 proved that the increase will pay all expenses of keep, leaving fleece and manure as 
 pi'ofit. Gem'getown : There are but two successful wool-growers in this county ; their 
 flocks are uuiier control of experienced herdsmen ; too many hungry dogs. Laurens : 
 Reporter's flock costs for keep 50 cents per head; profit, 50 per cent. ; neglect and dogs 
 are the drawbacks to sheep-husbandry. Oconee : With proper care improved sheep 
 would be the best paying of all stock; sheep live and do well ^Wthout anything Imt 
 their pasture the year round. Orangeburg : Sheep-raisers are discouraged ; everybody 
 is trying to sell out ; half the sheep are annually lost. Spartanburg : There is a for- 
 tune in shoexi-raising to any person who will devote his time to it ; profit is according 
 to attention. 
 
 Geokgia. — Calhoun: The only expense attached to the raising of sheep is that in- 
 curred in gathering, marking, and shearing ; a flock of 18 head increased to 200 in four 
 years, with only average attendance ; the money realized from the sale of wool each 
 year was invested in sheep ; this flock in the mean time supplied a large family with 
 mutton. Camden : Few sheep raised, but of all stock are the most profitable ; the 
 wool and mutton are net profit. Johnson : Beyond shearing, the cost of sheep-raising 
 is small ; profit, 80 cents per head per annum. Jones : There is a general tendency to 
 give more attention to sheep-raising. JAncoln : The few special eiforts made with 
 sheep have not been attended by profitable results. McDuffie : There are several 
 planters giving attention to sheep-raising ; their flocks yield from 25 to — per cent, 
 upon the investment ; to this climate the Southdown and Cotswold, crossed with the 
 Merino, are best adapted, and if properly housed coilld be sheared semi-annually. Mur- 
 ray : But few flocks in this county, yet the most ordinary attention to the sheep will 
 jiay 100 per cent, on the capital invested. Oglethorpe: Though not suited to sheep- 
 raising in all parts, with a Uttle care and an enforced dog-law, might be made to pay 
 well. Whitfield: Doubtless sheep-raising might easily be made a paying business. 
 }rorth: The only expense in raising sheep is shearing — 2i cents per head. Terrell: 
 Sheep-raising is fast gaining favor among the farmers, and would soon flourish if tlie 
 dogs could be kept under control. 
 
 Florida. — Clay : The profits realized on sheep amount to 50 per cent. Jaclcson : The 
 number of sheep is about 5,000. The product of wool might, with proper manage- 
 ment, be very greatly increased, and the only drawback to raising mutton for the 
 market is the want of facilities of transportation. Orange: Several years ago an 
 attempt was made to raise sheep, but the experiment was a failure. Now there is not 
 a single sheep in the county. Suwannee: Cost of raising sheep nominal; profit 100 per 
 cent. Santa Bosa: Cost of keep, 5 per cent; profit from 25 to 40 per cent. 
 
 Alabama. — Barbour: Sheep-husbandry is steadily gaining ground. Lately some 
 
58 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 fiue bucks from Kentucky have been introduced. The only drawback is Tvant of good 
 grazing-lands. Blount: The cost, labor, and cure expended on sheep is so little, that 
 the cost of -wool is not more than that of cotton, pound for pound. If sheep received 
 the proper care and attention the cost of wool would not be materially increased, as 
 the natural increase of the flocks would fully compensate for extra care and labor. 
 Colbert : Sheep are raised only for domestic use, though they pay, with a nominal cost, 
 a prolit of 30 per cent. Calhoun : With all the natural advantages of the best sheep 
 country in the world, sheep-raising in this county will be a failure until the dog can 
 be brought under control. Coffee: In 1868 a farmer began with a flock of 14 head ; it 
 now numbers 53. In the mean time no other attention was given than feeding on salt 
 once or twice a year. A Aery large number was lost, stolen, and killed, from time to 
 time. They now yield wool worth .fi-iO, besides sujiplying an occasional mutton. Dale : 
 Sheep- raising is making great progress and is favored by laud-]>ine woods fit for noth- 
 iug else. Lowndes; More dogK than sheep in this couiitv. The many worn-out old 
 fields might be most profitably utilized by being set with Bermuda grass, thus making 
 fiue sheep-pastures; but cotton is the all-engaging subject. Morgan: In the mountain 
 belt of this county the farmers are becoming alive to the wool-growing business. Thus 
 far but the most passing attention has been given to this subject. Winston: But few 
 sheep raised, the flocks averaging about 15 in number. With an outlay of 30 cents 
 per head there is a return of 85 cents. 
 
 Mi.'iSissiPPi. — Amite: There is a good prospect that sheep raising will soon become 
 popiilar. Sheep can be ke]it for 10 to 15 cents per head on such lands as this county 
 affords. Bolirar : This county is not dry enough for suceessfnl sheep-raising. Choc- 
 taw:, Most excellent grazing-lands and many old fields that might be used for sheep- 
 pasture, but thus far sheep-husbandry has received no attention. Greene : A net profit 
 of 20 ]ier cent, is realized on sheep. Grenada: An encouraging change in favor of 
 sheeiJ is gradually taking place. The principal drawback to an otherwise profitable 
 liusiness is neglect of the lambs. Lowndes: Sot much natural pasturage, but with a 
 little expense the many worn-out fields might be converted into most excellent sheep- 
 ]>astures. Even now f lie profits on sheep are fi'om 50 to 75 per cent, liankin : Thus 
 far, on ticcount of pasturage, cattle have been more profitable than sheep, but of late 
 the latter are introduced ou worn-out farms. Minds: Eeported experiments show that 
 a cross of the Cotswold and the native ewe is uot so good as that of the Southdown 
 and tile native ewe. Profits at least 50 per cent. Benton: Two flocks in this county 
 have douliled their numbers annually. Cost, about 25 cents per head per annum, 
 which was more than returned in fleece. 
 
 Louisi.vxA. — La Fourche : Little adapted to sheep-husbandry. What few we have 
 are healtliy, and live on native grasses. East Baton Eouge: Could no doubt be made 
 profitable. Very little of it done exceiit for home use. Shi'cp healthy, and require 
 but little extra care. Claiborne: A profitable investment when intelligently managed. 
 It is a growing industry. Flocks with car(! should increase 75 per cent, annually. 
 Bossier : There is no doubt that sheep-husbandry is the most profitable as well as most 
 pleasant laljor of the hnsbandman. The number of fine sheep brought to this county 
 lately is considerable, and may be regarded as an earnest of what the future of sheep 
 husbandry may be. In the near future it will be our chief source of revenue. 
 
 Texas. — Balo I'into: 1,000 sheep will cost about $300 per annum; extra helj) in 
 lambing time, $30; salt, §15; shearing, |50 ; feed during winter, $-200. Small herds 
 here will jiay better than large ones when they are so large as to recjuire a herder. 
 Nararro : In this and all the old settled prairie counties from 300 to 400 sheep do 
 well. One hundred per cent, gross profit is a fair statement. The profit diminishes 
 10 per cent, per 100 head as you go over 400. Put up 100 )iounds prairie hay, and 1 
 bushel cotton-seed to the sheep. HaAc good shelter, and give my sheep close atten- 
 tion. Realize a clear profit of 50 per cent, on 400 head at a valuation of $1,000. Kim- 
 hall: A flock of 1,000 head increased 369 in oue year (counting lo.sses); sheared 5,832 
 jiounds of Avool (worth .1111,135), the increase of sheep worth $900; expenses, giving 
 good attention, $"240. Goliad: Without crediting increase with more than enough to 
 maintain the tlook equal to its primitive condition, a practical estimate for cost, con- 
 sidering every kind of item, might be from 10 to 12 cents per porind of unwashed wool, 
 averaging 17 cents in marki-t. This gives a broad margin for contingencies. Bandera : 
 Lands suitable for sheei>-raisiug can be located on note certificates for 20 to 30 cents 
 jier acre, in surveys of 640 acres each, one for tlie owner of the certificate, the other 
 for the school-fund. Expense of surveys about $12. Ellis: There are over 500,000 
 acres of pasture land in the county well adapted to sheep-raising. It is claimed that 
 there are 75 different kinds of grasses grown here that are valuable for sheep. Farmers 
 still continue to raise cotton at from 6 to 7 cents per pound and sell it at from 4 to 10 
 cents, when wool can be raised at the saujo price and sold at 15 to 25 cents per 
 pound. Bosque: Very few sheep, but one of the best sheep counties in the State. 
 Waller : A few years ago I sent the facts of my flock. E\'ery year that I looked after 
 them they paid me full measure; when I neglected them they neglected me. Titus : 
 AVe are wearing down our lauds and muscles at ruinous rates, raising cotton at 6 to 8 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 59 
 
 cents per pound. Some few farmers liave picked np some sheep and are making it 
 pay handsomely. Stephmis : Admirably adapted to sheep-raising. Any amount of for- 
 age can be saved, and the only shelter is a. long shedforthe protection from "iiorthcrK," 
 ■which are greatly exaggerated as to severity. Sheep are exempt from "rot " and foot 
 diseases incident to the level portions of the State. Flocks gain about 85 per.cent. for 
 every 100 ewes. Boclcwall : Cannot be made profitable in this county. Soil, black and 
 waxy; grasses coarse and rank. Fewer sheep in county now than 15 years ago. Menard: 
 Indian raids operate against wool-growing. They kill the shepherd for his scalp and 
 the sheep for sport. Kennard : Thrive best under fence on account of mountainous sur- 
 face. Pasture should be subdivided so as to occasionally give them a fresh one. Should 
 have a dry shelter at night in winter. Hunt : Heretofore regarded as of little impor- 
 tance, now attracting much attention and considered profitable. Fort Bend : Experi- 
 ments at sheep-raising have been very successful, but cattle and cotton only receive 
 attention. Bowie : No loss except froni wolves. Fine sheep country. Whole county 
 is a complete pasture. 
 
 There are a few slieep-breeders in the South who have demonstrated 
 the ])rotit of high-bred sheep, liberal feeding, and constant attention. 
 Mr. Crutchfleld, near Chattanooga, Tenn., has a flock of modified Cots- 
 wolds, yielding a fleece of soft, long fiber, which was produced by crosses 
 upon native ewes, first by a Merino ram, next by an improved Ken- 
 tucky, and finally Cotswolds. He does not pamper his flocks, but fur- 
 nishes an abundant supply of winter pasture, and ample but not expen- 
 sive shelter. He makes the following statement of profits : 
 
 Since 1864, I have invested — 
 
 For ewes |130 00 
 
 For bucks 220 00 
 
 Total 350 00 
 
 Since 1866, I have sold — 
 
 For breeding and mutton, over $1,800 00 
 
 For wool 1,.500 00 
 
 |3, 300 00 
 
 I have on hand 78 sheep — 
 
 76 ewes and wethers, mutton price, $10.00 760 00 
 
 2 bucks, cost 75 00 
 
 60 lambs, at |7 420 00 
 
 4, 555 00 
 Deduct original cost 350 00 
 
 4,205 00 
 Deduct cost of keeping an average of 75 head for ten years, at $2 each 1, 500 00 
 
 2,705 00 
 Or a net profit on the amount originally invested in 1864 of over 60 per cent, per 
 annum. 
 
 The ewes and wethers are valued at about what they would bring for their wool 
 and mutton ; the lambs at |7 each, about one-half of which are buck lambs, and will 
 be sold at from $15 to $25 each (fifteen of them are now engaged). But suppose they 
 are not sold for breeding purposes, and are kept simply for wool and mutton, next 
 April or May they will clip an average of ten pounds of wool each, which — ■ 
 
 If sold at 35 cents $3 50 
 
 And weigh from 125 to 150 pounds — say 135, at 5 cents 6 75 
 
 10 25 
 
 Deduct for keeping, &c. $1 50 
 
 Deduct 10 percent, loss 1 00 
 
 2 £0 
 
 And they will pay 7 75 
 
 I have 78 sheep — 
 
 Ewes, 68; wethers, 8—76, at $10 each $760 00 
 
 Bucks, 2, at coat 75 00 
 
 835 00 
 
60 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 Cost of kocpiug twelve months, 11.50 each $117 00 
 
 Ten per cent, losses . 83 50 
 
 One per cent. taxe.s 8 35 
 
 1,043 C5 
 
 I have from them in wool — 
 Shipped to Boston, pounds 662 
 
 (fa ve to tlie servants three fleeces, pounds 26 
 
 688, at 35 cents.. |240 80 
 Sixty lamhs, at |7 each 420 00 
 
 660 80 
 
 Or over 60 per cent, upon the investment. 
 
 In my former estimates I have allowed |i2 per head per annum for keep, &c., when 
 I had not the grazing oats; now I have allo-n-cd :Jil.50 per annum for keep, &i'., while 
 I am satisiied that the droppings of the sliec^p and cleansing of the meadows wonld 
 ])ay their way. They graze the meadows in the summer after mowing, keep down 
 noxious weeds, trumpet vine, sedge, &c., until frost, when these pests cease to grow; 
 then they arc talceu to the grazing oats, and the tame grasses in the meadows and 
 ]iasture idts lint forth with every mild season during the fall and winter, to be grazed 
 only when the oat-lield is too soft to allow the sheep to he on it. 
 
 A committee appointed to consider the adaptability of Smitli County; 
 Tennessee, to profitable sheep-liusbaudry, arrives at tlie following con- 
 clusions : 
 
 1. That one acre of average pasture will keep three sheep in good condition the 
 year round, witli only an addition of a little feed in winter for the few days that the 
 ground is co\ cred witli snow. 
 
 a. That the net profits on sheep in Smith County, as elsewhere, are large, amount- 
 ing to more than 50 per cent. 
 
 3. That the best breeds are theLeu'Cster, Cotswold, a cross of the Leicester and Cots- 
 wold, and tlie Southdown. One of our coiTcspondents, we have seen, prefers a cross 
 of the Leicester upon the Merino, and certainly if the lambs, as he claims they do 
 from that cross, weigli from 75 to 100 pounds at four or ti\"e months, his preference is 
 justitied by the result. 
 
 4. That here in Snuth County sheep need scarce any feed the year round. 
 
 5. That wliat are known as tlie common scrubs are not worth keeping. They yield 
 too little wool, and make too little mutton, and of too poor a quality to jiay for rais- 
 ing tliem. 
 
 The committee thus report a statement of the experience of General B. F. Cheat- 
 ham, who in the spring of 1866 bought 12 sheep for .*;24, the account of which is as 
 follows : 
 
 In 1839 I sold my wool for ,$37 80 
 
 In 1870 I sold my wool for 46 48 
 
 In 1871 I sold my wool for 77 73 
 
 In 1872 I sold my wo(d for 1.53 17 
 
 In 1873 I sold my wo(d (in Philadelphia) for 201 00 
 
 In 1874 I sold my wool for. 223 00 
 
 Total amount of wool sold in six years 739 18 
 
 In 1874 I sold 58 sh<'cp for '. 277 85 
 
 Total 1,017 03 
 
 Have on hand 95 ewes and 100 lambs worth 500 00 
 
 JIaking total wool and shee]! sold, and sheeji on hand 1, 517 03 
 
 besides the nnkn(i\su number consumed at the table. 
 
 The general adds : 
 
 Mj- sheep ha.ve been raised entirely on grass, winter ami summer. AVheu the ground 
 is covered with suo\\', which is only a few days each winter, I have given them a few 
 feeds of slieaf oats. This spring, after the ewes commenc<'d lamliing, during the ex- 
 cessive wet weatlu'r, I fed 70 ewes one-half bushel shelled corn daily, for thirty days, 
 A\]iich is all the corn ever fed them. 
 
 Arkansas. — Baxter: Tliis is a mountainous country and well adapted to sheep-rais- 
 ing, and farmers are beginning to see the profit in it. Drew: Pay no attention to 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 61 
 
 slieep, only to mark and shear them. Do not need feeding or sheltering. Franl-liii : 
 It is an industry to which peojjle pay little attention, although it would pay larger 
 di vidends than cotton . Soward : Do not require any labor but marking and shearing. 
 Will live in the woods from March 1st to November 1st, and afterwards will require 
 but little attention, except in case of snow storms, which only last a few days at a 
 time. Independence: Think sheep should lie folded every night. Izard: Need feeding 
 from January to April. Diseases rare ; very few destroyed by dogs or wolves. 
 
 Tennessee. — Leioia : During the war I had a flock of sheep that was left for two 
 •years without any attention, except that I had them sheared once a year. They did 
 as well as ever, although they lived two winters without being fed. Warren: Wool 
 can be grown in this county at a cost not exceeding 10 cents per pound, and, were it 
 not for worthless dogs, this branch of husbandry would yield more profit than any 
 other. Wayne: Invested $133 in sheei) in August, 1876 ; cost of wintering, $40. Sold 
 12 sheep at |2 per head ; wool, for $32.76 ; value of sheep on hand, $149 ; net profit, 
 $.32.7.5. Slimmer pasturing balanced by improvement of land from droppings. Win- 
 ter cost of keeping averaged a little too high perhaps. 
 
 Kentucky. — Cumberland: But few sheep, though it is generally conceded that they 
 pay better than tobacco. Grares : The general impression is that sheep-raising would 
 be more profitable than tobacco-growing. Bart : Pasturage most excellent, but sheep- 
 raising has not been sufficiently followed to develop its profits. Harrison: The fleece 
 will nearly pay cost of keep, leaving a profit of 25 per cent. Johnson: Sheep-raising 
 IS not popular with the farmers, though they have all possible advantage of making 
 it a most profitable business. Lewis : Those persons making sheep-raising a specialty 
 report a profit of $2 per head. Oieen : Cost of keep, %l.i-0 per year ; returns, $2.25 to 
 $3. Shelby: Sheep-raising is recognized as a remunerative business, and is fast grow- 
 ing in favor. Simpson : About one-fourth the farmers have flocks, numbering from 10 
 to 20 head, for home use. Trimble: A flock of 60 Cotswolds was kept for $111, and the 
 returns were $442, leaving a clear gain of $331. This county is very well adapted to 
 sheep-raising. The land is cheap, and the sheep require but little winter feed. 
 
 Missouri. — Bates: I have been in consultation with some of our largest sheep- 
 growers, and all acknowledge that there is no more profitable business connected with 
 farming. The cost of keeping will not exceed 65 cents per head. Benton : Splendid 
 county for sheep, but not extensively carried on, as it is not generally well enough 
 understood. Cass : Eight years ago I bought eight ewes, and from them have raised 
 about 200. Have had less attention than any other stock on the farm, and I think 
 sheep-growing could be made profitable in this part of the county. Craieford: Have 
 been more or less over eight States, and believe this is the best and most jirofitable 
 place to raise sheep that I have ever seen. The surface is rolling, making it dry 
 and healthy for sheep, with streams and running brooks. Little done to improve 
 breeds, or for their care in winter. Many lambs are lost, but dogs are our worst ene- 
 mies. Tame grasses are easily raised. Bolt : Increased about 30 per cent, since 1876. 
 Jefferson : More are lost by keeping a ram of the same kind too long ; they degenerate. 
 Laclede : From my experience I nrast say that this -is the best sheep country I ever 
 saw. Sheep do well with scarcely any attention. Every farmer has enough for his 
 own use. Lawrence : Very much neglected on account of heavy losses. Mississippi : 
 Have found sheep more profitable than anything else in proportion to capital invested. 
 Stoddard : Sheep do extremely well here, as they always have access to the grounds. 
 We have only the coarse breeds. De Kalb : Good sheep of every breed can lie found 
 in this county — Merinoes for wool, coarse-wooled for fattening. Many coarse-wooled 
 are purchased in the fall from New Mexico and Colorado for fattening. 
 
SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 
 
 PKEPABED AT THE EBQUB8T OF HON. ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS, OF GEORGIA 
 
 AND OTHEKS. 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHK L. HAYES, 
 
 SECRETAIIY OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOOL MANUFACTURERS. 
 
 Eei'kisted fbom this BullEtw of THB National Ajbsociatios o» Wool MASuFACTununs. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Letter of Hou. Alexander H. Stepliens, General J. B. Gordon, and otliers 65 
 
 TYPICAL SOUTHERN STATES. 
 
 Climate 68 
 
 Health of sheep at the South 68 
 
 Etlect of elimate on the "wool-produciug qualities of sheep 6^ 
 
 The culture of electoral sheep recommended 71 
 
 Eesources in the South for the nutrition of sheep 72 
 
 The grasses — Bermuda, &c 73 
 
 Forage plants — Alfalfa, pease, turnips, &.c 75 
 
 Present condition of Southern sheep husbandry 77 
 
 The course reccmimended for the South 80 
 
 Sheep for mixed husbandry 82 
 
 The culture of long-wooled sheep and other lauigerous animals 87 
 
 Kentucky sheep 88 
 
 The Angora goat 92 
 
 TEXAS. 
 
 Statements of Mr. Shaeifer 99 
 
 Advice to emigrants 105 
 
 Obstacles to »heep-gro\ving in Texas 10(5 
 
 Number of sheep in Southern States 107 
 
 Number of sheep In Noi'thern and Western States 107 
 
 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 
 
 Eelations of -wool production to customs duties 108 
 
 Adjustmejit of duties on manufactures to duties on wool 109 
 
 Aiuerican mills the only market for domestic wool 109 
 
 Wool-growers' associations 109 
 
 Sheep luisbnndry by the colored population Ill 
 
 Question of overproduction of wool 112 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Letter of General John A. Young, of North Carolina 115 
 
 Letter of Col. J. Wash Watts, of South Carolina 118 
 
 Letter of Col. Richard Peters, of Georgia 120 
 
 Letter of Charles N. Jenks, of Texas 122 
 
 Extract from forthcoming report of the commissioner of agriculture of Tennes- 
 see 122 
 
 Additional facts bearing upon the culture of electoral wools in the South 124 
 
 Sheep husbandry in connection with the culture of tobacco 125 
 
 Eeceut notes on the Angora goat 126 
 
SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 
 
 The appreciative request by which the -writer of this paper has been 
 honored* has only hastened the execution of a work which he has for a 
 long time contemplated, and is but a continuation of an inquiry as to 
 our national wool resources already pursued in regard to the Pacific and 
 trans-Missouri sections of the country. In ijreparing an article on wool- 
 growing in the last-named region, we had to meet, at the outset, the 
 objection that the encouragement of wool-production on the cheap- 
 grazing lands in the far West involves the abandonment of sheep hus- 
 
 *Washington, D. C, December 10, 1877. 
 Sir : In the numbers of the Bulletin, published as the organ of your association, for 
 December, 1876, and September, 1877, appear two articles from your pen, entitled 
 "The Part of the Wool Industry in our National Economy," and " Wool Production 
 and Sheep Husbandry." 
 
 The interest called forth in ns by the perusal of these papers has been deepened by 
 the reading of tlie Report upon Wool and Wool Fabrics, made by you as one of ihe 
 group of judges in the late International Exposition, which yon were officially re- 
 quested to prefiare. 
 
 While very much has been written upon this question relative to the advantages of 
 the North, tlie West, and the Paciiic slope, we feel that the special inducements of 
 " the South" have not been recently presented by any influential authority, like that 
 you represent. 
 
 As the objects of your association are national in their character, we believe the 
 proposition will meet your approval, if we suggest that you prejjare a paper upon 
 " Sheep Husbandry and Wool Production in the South," for publication in your jour^ 
 nal, and also for general distribixtion. 
 
 Being residents of, and therefore specially interested in, that section of the country', 
 we believe that an authoritative setting forth of the great advantages it presents for 
 this intlustry, by your association, will give a great impulse to all interests there : 
 while it will also be of much aid and value to the rea<lcr and capitalist from auy 
 quarter. 
 
 In the hope you may be induced to render the service we desire, and assuring you of 
 any aid we may be able to give you in furtherance of that result, we are very truly 
 yours, (fee, 
 
 ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS, M. C, of Georgia. 
 
 J. B. GORDON, U. S. S. 
 
 BENJ. H. HILL, U. S. S. 
 
 JOHN T. MORGAN, U. S. S. 
 
 M. W. RANSOM, U. S. S. 
 
 JOHN W. JOHNSTON, U. S. S. 
 
 RICHARD COKE, U. S. S. 
 
 L. Q. C. LAMAR, IT. S. S. 
 
 WADE HAMPTON, Governor of South Carolina. 
 
 I have not had the pleasure of reading the articles referred to ; b)it, as Texas is 
 most largely interested in wool-growing, I trust the articles suggested will be pre- 
 pared. 
 
 S. B. MAXEY, U. S. S. 
 
 With great interest in the subject, and beg to add my signature. 
 
 T. F. BAYARD, U. S. S. 
 R. L. GIBSON, M. C, of Louisiana. 
 
 I join in the above. Wool-growing is one of the leading interests of my district — 
 Western Texas. 
 
 G. SCHLEICHER, M. C. 
 
 John L. Hayes, Esq., 
 
 Seeretary of the J^atlonal Association of Wool Manufacturers, Boston, Mass. 
 S. E. 25 5 
 
66 SHEEP- HUSBANDRY. 
 
 bandry in the older States of the North and East; and that what the far 
 West gains, Vermont and Ohio would lose. This objection, we said, if 
 it were true, is a local, not a national, one. 
 
 The aim of a national industrial system is the wealth, grandeur, and independence 
 of the nation as a whole; and of the comfort, elevation, and well-compensated labor 
 of the American peopie as a whole. Above all things it abhors moiioijolies of indivi<i- 
 uals, States, or sections. It does not favor the exclusive occupation of the cotton 
 manufacture by Massachusetts or Rhode Island, but would plant it also by th(! 
 side of the cotton-iields in Georgia and Mississippi. It would light furnace fires 
 in Michigan, Ohio, and Alabama, as well as in Pennsylvania. Statesmanship 
 would have our national industrial system advance in its march like one of our 
 grand national railroads; which must not stop for fear that the town which has 
 sprung ny) on its route may bo eclipsed by another, and yet another, which springs up 
 as it advances. It must march on until it spans the continent; although, when it 
 reaches its western verge, San Francisco may be couijielled to divide lier trade with 
 Chicago. To say that the production of the new State will compete with that of the 
 old, and that new industries will vie -with those long established, is to state the prin- 
 cipal object of the national system. Domestic competition, with its accruing cliea])- 
 ness, excellence, and abundance of protection, neutralizes the apparent taxation iiu- 
 posed under the pi'otective system. Domestic competition, gradual, equable, and 
 healthful — and not, lilie foreign competition, spasmodic, irregular, and incapable of 
 being guarded against, and hence disastrous — lifts the industries from their old rn1s, 
 introduces economies, labor-saving machines and processes, compels a constant watch- 
 fulness for the popular tastes aud necessities, and an incessant activity for superior 
 cheapness or excellence, and thus converts protection from a tax to a boon. It is only 
 when the nation blushes to own each new star which she adds to her banner, that she 
 will regret the competition in industry which each new State makes with the old. 
 
 As then at the East writing of the far West, so now at the East writ- 
 ing of the South, we pursue the subject in the interest of the national 
 wool industry, and not ot a section. Still, while free from sectional 
 predilections, we cannot divest ourselves of sympathy for a people 
 emerging from the overthrow of a cherished social system, and strug- 
 gling for the higher and broader industrial life to which recent events 
 have forced them ; and cannot but take pleasure in pointijtg out some 
 •of the means which offer for settling their waste and restoring their 
 impoverished lands, for employing their labor and diversifying their 
 industries. 
 
 Although sheep were early introduced into Georgia, and flourished to 
 such a degree, during the colonial period, that their wool was commended 
 by British travelers to the English clothiers as " equal to the Spanish, 
 aud superior to that grown in England " ; although General Washington 
 introduced the New Leicesters at Mount Vernon, the influence of whose 
 progeny is still seen in the excellent mutton of that section of Virginia, 
 and, further, so inspired Colonel Humphreys, who resided for a time at 
 Mount Vernon, with a love of sheep, that he subsequently, while minister 
 to Spain, became the introducer of the Merino to this country ; and although 
 Mr. Jefferson sent the jirogeny of the Merinos presented to him, by Mr. 
 Ja.rvis, to the counties adjoining Monticello, as the choicest boon he could 
 offer to the agriculture of Virginia, the breeding of sheep fell at length 
 into general disrepute at the South, as is evinced by the contemptuous 
 reiuark attributed to the statesman of Roanoke. This prejudice, accord- 
 ing to Colonel Skinner, was nourished by the popular essays of "Arator," 
 the celebrated Col. John Taylor. It was more probably due to a jeal- 
 ousy of any product which might vie with the exclusive monopoly of 
 cotton, to whicih sectional pride gave a regal title. At all events, sheej) 
 husbandry became generally unpopular throughout the South — except, 
 near the great cities, for a supjjly of mutton and lambs — and was sup- 
 posed to be attended with difticulties peculiar to the southern climate 
 and soil. This remark does not apply to Western Virginia, where 
 Merino-sheep husbandiw has been pursued since the first im].>ortation of 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 67 
 
 the race, with a success unsurpassed in any Northern States ; nor to 
 Texas, where the pursuit was attaining a great iiuportance until cliecked 
 by the war; neither to a limited number of individuals, like Mr. Cock- 
 rell, of Tennessee, Mr. Peters, of Georgia, and Colonel Watts, of South 
 Carolina, who have exhibited unusual energy and intelligence in the 
 pursuit. Neither is it to be supposed that the number of sheep was by 
 any means inconsiderable, for there were ujjwards o'f six hundred thou- 
 sand sheep in the five most southerly States in 1839, but the sheep were 
 poor in quality and but little cared for. 
 
 The first systematic attempt to remove this prejudice was made about 
 1847, by Hon. Henry S. Randall, LL. D., since so celebrated as the 
 author ot the " Practical Shepherd," who published in the Farmer's Li- 
 brary, at the request of Col. J. S. Skinner, a series of letters addressed 
 to Col. E. F. AUstou, of South Carolina} on sheep husbandry in the 
 South. These letters were colle(;ted and published in a separate book, 
 in 1860, by Orange Judd & Co., of New York. This work, by so high 
 an authority and a writer so accomplished, makes us hesitate to imder- 
 take our task. It seems presumptuous to attempt to glean from a field 
 which has been so thoroughly reaped and garnered. But as the prece- 
 dence of Dr. Eandall, and the short space to which our pages limit us, 
 reduce our work to scarcely more than one of annotation and condensa- 
 tion, we have less diffidence in attempting it, especially since we shall 
 be at least the means of introducing some fresh and original matter from 
 high authorities on sheep-breeding at the South. 
 
 That a new field for sheep husbandry is about to be opened at the 
 South, is shown less by what has been as yet accomplished, than by a 
 complete change in popular opinion in that section as to the desirability 
 of extending this industry within its borders. No stronger evidence of 
 that change could be presented than the request of so many distin- 
 guished statesmen of the 'South that the claims of Southern sheep hus- 
 bandry should receive the special consideration of the National Associ- 
 ation of Wool Manufacturers. Personal interviews with many of these 
 gentlemen have assured us that it is their earnest conviction that no 
 industry at present offers for their section such advantages in return for 
 capital invested, and general improvement of the country in question, as 
 sheep husbandry. As other indications of the chan ge in popular opinion , 
 we may state that the commissioner of agriculture of the State of 
 Georgia, holding an office recently created, presented, as his first official 
 document, a report on the sheep husbandry of the State ; and that the 
 State Agricultural Association of Georgia has recently addressed a 
 memorial to Congress, protesting against any reduction of the existing 
 duties protective of the wool production of the country — the first in- 
 stance, it is said, of similar action iu the history of the State. The 
 question whether the prevailing popular opinion at the South in relation 
 to the advantages of wool production of and sheep husbandry in that 
 section is well founded, is the direct object of our inquiry. 
 
 This question is one of comparison. If sheep husbandry may be 
 pursued more cheaply, and as advantageously in other respects, at the 
 South, as iu the present principal seats of the industry, it is merely a 
 question of time, or of the diffusion of knowledge, when the fields of the 
 South will compete with the flock pastures of the North and West ; or, 
 rather, when capital and animals will be transferred from their present 
 seats to others at the South, where wool production is cheaper and more 
 advantageous. The comparison must be first made in respect to only 
 one branch of sheep husbandry, that of the pastoral or Merino sheep 
 husbandry— that designed for wool production chiefly ; mutton-sheep 
 
68 SHEEP-HUSBANDRT. 
 
 husbandry being subject to different conditions, wLioh must be consid- 
 ered separately. 
 
 Climate. — The most important relation of the climate of the North to 
 sheep-growing is exhibited by the following table, drawn from th(- re- 
 ports of the Department of Agriculture, exhibiting the number of months 
 of full and partial feeding in the States named, made necessary by the 
 severity of the climate : 
 
 Q. . Kumber of months 
 
 °*''"'^- of full feeding. 
 
 N'umber of niontht* 
 of partial feed- 
 
 Maine 
 
 New Hampsliire . 
 
 Vermont 
 
 New York 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 •Ohio-'. 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 li 
 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 
 A much greater range in the requirements for winter feeding is found 
 at the South. The months for full feeding in Virginia are set down at 
 four, and for partial feeding at two. The time dindnishes in both re- 
 spects as Ave go South, until in Southern Georgia full feeding is required 
 only during occasional storms, and partial feeding from two to three 
 months. 
 
 The next point of inquiry is the relation of climate to the health and 
 wool-producing capacity of tlie sheep. The effect of the climate of the 
 North in these respects is admitted to be favorable. 
 
 Health of slice}) at the South. — Dr. Eaiidall has given this branch of 
 the subject minute attention. After enumerating the many thousand 
 sheep existing in 1839 in districts of the extreme South, on the borders 
 of the Okefenokee Swamp and the borders of the Gulf, and even the 
 delta of the Mississippi, he says : 
 
 No portion of tlie United States is lower, hotter, or more unhealthy than much of 
 the preceding; and none, according to comniouly-rcceived notions, would be more nn- 
 Buited to the healthy production of sheep. Yet that they are healthy in these situa- 
 tions is a niattia- of perfect notoriety to all conversant with the facts. So far as health 
 is concerned, then, we are assuredly authorized to assume the position that no portion 
 of the United States is too warm for sheep. 
 
 Effect of dimate on the wool-producing qualities of the animal. — Upon 
 ihis point, Dr. Eandall thus sums up his conclusions: 
 
 My convictions are decided, and the facts reported appear to fully sustain them, 
 that warmth of temperature, at least to a point ociualing the highest mean tempera- 
 ture in the United States, is not injurious, but absolutely conducive, to the production 
 of wool. The causes of this are involved in no mystery. Warm climates atford green 
 and sneculeiit herbage during a greater portion of the year than cold ones. Sheep 
 plentifully supi)lied with green herbage keep in a higher condition than when con- 
 lined to that which is dry. High condition promotes those secretions which form 
 wool. Every one at all conversant with sheep well knows that, if kept fleshy all the 
 year round, th<'y produce far more wool th.an if kept poor. A half a pound dift'eronee 
 per head is readily made in this way. Within the maximum and minimum of the 
 product of a sheep or a flock, the ratio of production always coincides with that con- 
 dition. 
 
 Some other facts, not referred to by the author, illustrative of the ben- 
 eficial influence of warm climates upon the Merino-sheep husbandry, 
 which we have now specially in view, may be here stated. M. Moll, 
 the distinguished scientific reporter on wool at the Paris Exposition of 
 1867, says: "We observe that it is the vine and mulberry which best 
 suits the ovine species in general, and the flne-wooled races in partic- 
 ular." It need not be remarked that the more southerly States emphat- 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 69 
 
 ically belong to the vine-bearing zone. The great Merino wool-clip, of 
 the world is produced in even warmer latitudes. The Argentine Re- 
 public, standing second in the world in the supply of the wools of com- 
 merce — having 57,501,200 sheep, produchig 210,000,000 pounds — has a 
 climate where the cold of wiuter is so moderate as to produce no more 
 severe eHects than slight hoar-frosts, which disappear with the morning's 
 sun. Its wools, chiefly Merino, are line and soft ; .having, as their prin- 
 cipal defect, the burr clinging to the fleece, derived from the white medoc 
 or clover, on which the sheep feed, unfortunately in that country insep- 
 arably connected with the productive lands and best pasturage. The 
 most productive Merino-wool regions in Europe are the southern prov- 
 inces of the Russian Empire, where the climate is so mUd that the sheep 
 require shelter and fodder only about six weeks in wiuter. Single flocks 
 in that country reach to fifty, seventy-five, a hundred thousand, and 
 even four hundred thousand head. Specimens of Merino wools from this 
 region, shown at the Centennial Exhibition, in fineness and extreme 
 length of staple surpassed any exhibited. Mr. Graham, author of the 
 most accepted hand-book of the sheep husbandry of Australia, asserts 
 that — 
 
 The "Salt-bush" country in New South Wales, a region of excessive heat, can and 
 does in some instances produce as heavy and valuable wool as do any other portions of 
 the Australian colonies. It was the received dictum, in 1845, tliat the climate of the 
 Dai'ling Downs, within the tropics, was too hot for the growth of wool. The superin- 
 tendent of the Clyde Company thought otherwise, and adopted a careful and judicious 
 system of selection. In eight or nine years, the Darling Downs produced as good wool 
 as any grown in Australia, although it still bore the name of hoi-country wool. 
 
 To the Iforthern farmer, accustomed to see his sheep and cattle suffer- 
 ing and refusing nourishment during periods of excessi\'e heat in the 
 Northern summers, it may seem inconceivable that slieep should not be 
 unfavorably aifected by the hot summers of the South. But it should 
 be remembered that the summer heat of the South is tempered by the 
 breezes blowing from the Gulf; and that at New York, in midsummer, 
 the days are very nearly one hour longer than at Savannah, and the 
 nights correspondingly shorter ; consequently, at New York there is one 
 hour longer for the heat to accumulate from the direct rays of the sun, 
 and one hour less time in the night for the accumulated heat to be carried 
 oft' by radiation. From these two causes, the summer heat is never so 
 excessive in southern as in northern latitudes. 
 
 But it is asserted that warmth of climate, while promoting the quantity 
 of wool produced, enlarges the fiber, making the wool coarser. This was 
 the opinion of Dr. Randall, and is still generally adopted. He says : 
 "There can be but little doubt that the pelage of the sheep becomes finer 
 in cold climates, and coarser in warm ones." He sees the causes of this 
 phenomenon in the greater amount and quality of the nutriment received 
 by the animal in warm climates, which maintain in greater activit,y those 
 secretions which form wool, and that increase the quantity and weight 
 of the fleece. The weight, he thinks, is increased by increasing tlie 
 length and thickness of the separate fibers ; just as plants put forth longer 
 and thicker stems on rich soils than poor ones. 
 
 The popular belief that wool becomes coarser in warm climates is 
 strengthened by the admitted fact that sheep originally covered with 
 hair and an undergrowth of wool, when introduced into very hot climates 
 within the tropics in time become covered with hair alone; the wool, as is 
 supposed, being converted into hair. This supposition is not correct. 
 The wool part of the fleece is not changed ; it is lost. Mr. George W. 
 Bond, an eminent expert in wool, has recently exhibited to a scientific 
 
70 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 society skins of Arabian sheep, some of them covered with hair alone, 
 and others having similar hair, but with a thick undergrowth of wool. 
 The fiber of the wool proved by test to be equal to that of the very finest 
 Saxony wool. The fiber of the wool proper, then, is not changed or en- 
 larged by climate. 
 
 But this question, it would seem, has been finally put at rest by the 
 carefully conducted experiments of Professor Sanson, the most eminent 
 zooteclmist in France, published in the Gomptes roidus of the French 
 Academy — such a pxiblication by that body being in itself a sufficient 
 indorsement of Professor Sanson's scientific authority. The important-e 
 of the observations justifies us in giving at length a large part of Pro- 
 fessor Sanson's note to his table of experiments, given by him in detail. 
 His resiiarclies were made upon twenty specimens of wool. The animals 
 from AVJiicli the wool-fibers examined were derived he calls "precocious" 
 Merinoes ; that is, animals so bred and highly fed as to produce the ut- 
 most ^^(■ight of fleece and flesh ; the race having, besides, the (quality of 
 maturing early. He says: 
 
 It is generally admitted, from re.Tsoiiiug a priori, that the rapidity of groAvtli in pre- 
 cocious Jlcrinoes, due to the abundance and special qualities of nourishuieut, cannot 
 fail to iiicreaHO the size of the hairs of the same wool. I have proposed to determine 
 Bcientilically the truth of this inductiou. 
 
 After stating his experiments and manner of conducting them, he con- 
 siders certain xjropositions demonstrated, among Avhicli are the following : 
 
 1. The precocious development of Merino sheep, having the eft'ect to carry their 
 aptitude to ]iroduce Hesli to the highest degree that shee]i can attain, exercises no in- 
 fluence ou the fineness of their wool. This preserves the diameter which it would 
 have had it developed in normal conditions, for the reason that this diameter depends 
 upon the individual and hereditary aptitudes. 
 
 2. The intlnence exercised by the precocious development upmi the hair of the wo(d 
 exhibiis itself by an augmentation of the length of the same hair; its growth, result- 
 ing from the I'orni.atiou of epidermic cellules in the hair-bulb, being more active. 
 There is, therefore, more woolly substance )iroduced in the same time. 
 
 3. The ijrecocious development does not vary the number of hair or wool bulbs ex- 
 isting for a determinate extent of the surface of the skin. It produces, therefore, no 
 change in what is vulgarly called the taase (density of staple). The nioditictations 
 which the staple of wool presents in this rejiect are oulj' aiii)arent. By increasing the 
 length of the hairs the precocity necessaril.y increases that of the locks of wool which 
 they form, which makes the fleece appear less dense. 
 
 The views here presented, we admit, would not be accepted by the 
 majority of our breeders. But all will admit that any tendency of Mann 
 climates (if such exists) to make wool coarser can be easily counteracted 
 by judicious breeding. 
 
 In connection with the question of the effect of climate on the fineness 
 of wool fiber, we may appropriately quote a breeder of great reputation 
 in Tennes.see, but whose flocks were in Mississippi. His statement is 
 old, but the more valuable since the culture of fine Saxon sheep has now 
 almost wholly ceased in this country. Mr. Mark E. Cockerill, in a letter 
 published in the American Farmer, says: 
 
 I have about 1,000 head of fine sheep. * * » My Saxon sheep were imported in 
 1824 or lH'.'li — I cannot say Avhich — and I find as yet no falling off in the quantity or qual- 
 ity of their fleeces ; on this contrary, I believe a little improvement in both points, and 
 a little more yolk when well provided for ; ■« hicb you know does not much abound in 
 the Saxon lireed. In addition, the tleeci's are a Utile more compact than lin-merly, 
 hence more weight; and from our mild climate the staple has become longer. I asser 
 that the'cott(m region I am now in (Madison County, Mississippi), in about 32° north, 
 18 better than any country north of it to grow wool, as the sheep can Ik; kept all the 
 time grazing, by sowing small grain ; for, if grazed off, it quickly grows again in a 
 few days. And tin; wool of the fine .Saxon sheep in this climate is softer and more 
 cottcm-like that any I have ever seen, although I have sanqiles from all parts of the 
 world. I have traveled from this very place to Boston, sampling all the sheep of note 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 71 
 
 on tlie way, and I have founrl nothing on my journey or at Boston as good as thrs wool 
 I have grown ; and so said all the wool-staploi's whom I met with, and thiw were not 
 a few. I presnme, in reality, that the blood of n\y sheap was no better than many I 
 saw; bat the superiority of m\i wool 1 ascribe to our climaiu, and the provision for the shieep 
 of succulent food the year round. 
 
 Having examined the volume of awards of tlie Exhibition at London 
 of 18i31, commonly called the World's Pair, we find that the reports of 
 the juries recognize the Cxerman wools as the finest and longest. Two 
 prize medals of the same grade given to the German exhibitors were 
 awarded to exhibitors from the United States. The awards are arranged 
 in the order of merit. The first is given ;to Mr. Cockerill. It says : 
 '' The wool transmitted by the exhibitor from ISTashville is well got up 
 and exhibits, like the preceding specimens (the German), a quality of 
 fiber indicative of care and skill in the development and improvement 
 of the fleece, which calls for the award of the prize medal." The repor 
 further says: "One of the able experts, whose valuable aid the jury 
 have already acknowledged, reports, 'Those shown by America (United 
 States) as most approximating to the chai-acter of German wools.'" 
 
 Mr. Howard, of Kingston, Georgia, writing to tlie Department of Ag- 
 riculture, in 1874, says : 
 
 It is objected that wool degenerates in warm climates, and becomes coarse and val- 
 ueless. This is an error. The writer, whose flock is of the Cockerill Merinoea, which 
 took the preininm at the World's Fair in London, many years ago, the sheep being 
 reared in Mississippi, after this lapse of time is now ready to compete with any wool 
 in the United States iu fineness of staple. 
 
 The quality of extreme fineness in wool is much less regarded now 
 than formerly, on account of the changes in fashion of fabrics. The 
 great bulk of wools at present consumed is of medium grades. Length 
 of staple, however, has become a very desirable attribute, on account of 
 the increased demand throughout the world for wools for combing pur- 
 poses, which enter into worsted coatings and a great variety of dress 
 goods. This quality of length of fiber, it is seen, is greatly favored by 
 the propitious climate of the South. As oni' manufacturers advance to 
 the production of tlie higher (]ualities of dress goods, such as the French 
 merinos and the very finest grades of worsted coatings, which are now 
 coming into demand, fineness no less than length of staple would be 
 demanded for merino combing wools ; and, for both of these quahties, 
 it is shown that the climate of the South is favorable. 
 
 Culture of electoral wools recommended. — There is likely to be no more 
 appropriate place than iu this connection to speak of a class of wools 
 whose culture has almost ceased in this country, and has greatly de- 
 clined throughout the world. We refer to the exceedingly fine electoral 
 wools, such as were formerly produced by the old Saxon sheep, and at 
 present by the Silesian sheep of the same or a very similar race. They 
 are still cultivated, to a limited extent, in Silesia, Hungary, and Poland, 
 which countries produce all the superfine wools used in Europe. The 
 few 'wools of this class used here are imported from these countries, at. 
 enormous prices. Fashion, invariably revolving in great cycles, always 
 repeats herself in time. Superfine broadcloths, and other tissues de- 
 manding the finest fiber, will again be in vogue. The electoral wools 
 will secure prices, as they have never yet done, proportionate to their 
 high cost of production. On account of the delicacy of the animals pro- 
 ducing them, these wools cannot be successfully grown at the I!5"orth; as 
 we know personally from observation on the paternal farm in Maine, 
 where their culture was formerly attempted with the utmost energy, but 
 with such poor results as to cause its abandonment. In the mild 
 climate of the South their successful culture is assured beyond all ques- 
 
72 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 tion. This is prored by the letter last quoted. Mr. Watts, of South 
 Carolina, in his communication elsewhere given at length, says : 
 
 I have now on ray table a Silesiaii wool measuring, say, 1,800 hairs to the inch, which 
 cost the consumer here |1.50 in gold per pound. With none of the ridiculously ex- 
 treme care which the European growers of the electoral wool exercise in their flocks, 
 Mark Cockerill, of Tennessee (near Nashville), lias raised Saxony wools of a fineness of 
 2,000 hairs to the inch, and could sell it at a handsome profit at $1 per pound. In fact, 
 Mr. Cockerill claims that there is more margin of profit in it than in the growth of 
 more ordinary wool. 
 
 These wools are designated in Germany as nohle wools. Their suc- 
 cessful culture was deemed a tit emi)lo,yment for noblemen of high birth; 
 and the princes of Hungary, we are informed, now the principal growers 
 there, continue the production from motives of pride. Two Hungarian 
 princes competed with each other on exhibits of noble wools at our Cen- 
 tennial Exhibition. The patrician element of the South would be not 
 uncongenial to a similar industrial competition. 
 
 Asking pardon of our readers for this digression, we proceed to con- 
 sider other important conditions of successful sheep husbandry. 
 
 Resources for the nutrition of sheep. — The next point of inquiry is as to 
 the resources, natural or artificial, for the nutrition of sheep in the South. 
 This involves not only further consideration as to cUmate, but also the 
 influences of physical geograjjhy, soil, and hygroscopic conditions. As 
 it would be impossible, in our limited .spa(;e, to consider these conditions 
 in each of the Southern States, we will select a typical district, such as 
 tluit composed by the States of (Jeorgia and Xorth and South Carolina. 
 The physical geography in this district is very distinctly marked, and is 
 illustrated by the natural divisions in Georgia known as Lower, Middle, 
 and Upper Georgia, or low countiy, hill couutiy, and mountain country ; 
 the characteristic features of these divisions extending through North 
 Carolina to Virginia. Thelower division, sometimes called the tide water 
 zone, consists, in Georgia, of a belt of country, w'itli an area of about 
 35,000 square miles, much rising as liigh as 300 feet above the ocean. 
 <Teologically, it consists of the three divisions, Eocene, Miocene, and 
 Pliocene of the Tertiary jjeriod. The soils on the dry lands are gen- 
 f-rally Ught, and sometimes too sterile to admit of profitable cultivation ; 
 that of the swamps and river bottoms is often exceedingly fertile. This 
 is the land of the long-leaved or famous Georgia pine, and wire grass. 
 The middle region commences at the head of navigation of the rivers, 
 the line of junction of the two regions forming the line upon which the 
 gieat interior cities arc situated. The middle, or hill country, ha-sing 
 an area of about 15,000 square miles, rises, first, into gentle hills, and 
 finally, as it approaches the mountains, into high and often broken 
 elevations. The geological formation underlying this country con- 
 sists of the primary and metamorphio rocks, and the soil in its nat- 
 ural state is generally fertile. In this division is com]irised what was 
 formerly regarded as the el dorado cotton country of the State. The 
 mountain country above this, with an area of about 10,000 square miles, 
 is formed by the different chains of the great Appala(ihian Eange. For 
 further details as to a portion of tliis district, JSTorth Carolina, the reader 
 is referred to tlie valuable paper of our correspondent, General John A. 
 Young, published in the appendix. 
 
 With the indications as to natural soils given in the above sketch, in 
 orde\' to determine the resources of the country in question for supj)ly- 
 ing pasturage and forage for sheep, we must consider certain atmospheric, 
 ctmditions, which apply not only to the immediate sections under con- 
 sideration, but to the whole of the vast country lying south of the thirty- 
 fifth parallel, and between the Atlantic and the meridian of San Antonio, 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRT. 73 
 
 Texas, which is "par excellence the cotton belt of America. The remarks 
 of Mr. Walter Wells, in his admirable paper on cotton culture in the 
 United States, and on the influence which the raiufall has on this cul- 
 ture, are very instructive in this connection : 
 
 The cotton plant, in its period of growth, requires ahnndant rain ; its succulent 
 foliage, if duly supplied with moisture, appearing fresh under a sun that shrinks the 
 leaves of a majority of other crops. In the cotton-growing district surrounding the 
 Gulf of Mexico, the fall of rain is so profuse through the midsummer as to suggest very 
 distinctly the temporary establishment of true tropical conditions — the lapping over 
 of torrid- zone rains upon this portion of the temperate zone while the sun is at its 
 northernmost declination. As tlie sun retires, the tropical conditions give way ; the 
 comparatively dry, seren(!, and temperate autumn of the mid-latitudes succeeds, se- 
 curing most favorable conditions for the maturing and gathering of the cotton harvest. 
 
 The cotton plant seems to be, in a peculiar manner, dependent upon the latent or 
 Inigvoncop'w moisture of the atmosphere for the jjerfect development of its jjeculiar 
 product. It lc)\es the influences of tlie sea. The great volumes of vapor raised from 
 that immense evaporating caldron, the Gulf of Mexico, drawn inland by the draught 
 of summer heat, not only supply to all the surrounding country profuse rain, with 
 numerous, and at certain seasons almost daily, showers, but immerse all vegetation in 
 an atmospheri' oliarged to repletion with liquid and bland solution ; hence the long, 
 trailing, moisture-loving mosses of the Southern forests, and hence a vigor of the cot- 
 ton plant and softness of its staple elsewhere hardly paralleled. 
 
 It need not be said that the influences which affect the cotton plant so 
 favorably nuist have an equally beneficial effect upon the plants required 
 for the pasturage and forage of sheep, provided they are adapted to the 
 climate ; especiall.y upon the grasses, grass of all vegetation being soon- 
 est affected by drought on the one hand, and an overabundau(;e of rain 
 on the other. " It is," says a recent writer on British sheep-farming, 
 •' the regularly distributed rain — the fine weekly or biweekly showers — 
 that the grazier can alone build upon for success in raising wool and 
 mutton." The very existence of the American cotton belt proves at 
 least that within it no such droughts can prevail as comi)el the trans- 
 Jmmance of the Merinoes of Spain and Upper California, and in Lower 
 California destroyed during the last year millions of sheep. 
 
 The grasses. — In a country where cotton was, until very recently, 
 looked to as the onlj^ market crop, and grass as the deadliest enemy of 
 cotton, and where but few animals were required for labor, it could not 
 be su])posed that there should exist the rich, thick-swarded pastures or 
 meadows of many portions of the North. But grass culture is now at- 
 tracting large attention at the South, and, happily, from persons of 
 science and practical knowledge. Conspicuous among them was Mr. C. 
 AV. Howard, recently deceased, whose extremely well- written manual on 
 the cultivation of grasses and forage plants at the South is the principal 
 source of the notes which follow. Mr. Howard, speaking generally but 
 carefully, says, that, after an observation of more than twenty years, he 
 does "not hesitate to say, if ground be made sufficiently rich and as 
 well i)repared ; that if judgment be exercised in sowing, and in adapta- 
 tion of species to particuluir localities, and proper subsequent manage- 
 ment be observed, that, so far as soil and climate are concerned, the 
 South has unusual fitness for the successful cultivation of the valuable 
 grasses." 
 
 While admitting that there are portions of the South (as is the case 
 in all countries) where the grasses will not grow, he declares unhesitat- 
 ingly, "There is nothing in the climate of the South to prevent the suc- 
 cessM growth of the valuable grasses." Omitting all that he says upon 
 the culture of grasses for hay — as the Minter grazing at the South is a 
 substitute, except in exceptional periods, for this indispensable fodder 
 for sheep at the North — we will condense his observations upon the 
 grasses for pasturage. 
 
74 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 One of the most marked advantages of the South is the ability to 
 grow grasses wliich may be jjastiired in winter. Thus the cost of cut- 
 ting the grass, and saving the hire of barn for storing it, and the cost of 
 feeding it out, are dispensed with; while succulent food, which, at the 
 North, must be provided for by storing roots and vegetables, is afforded 
 throughout the >'ear. By the aid of winter grasses, it is perfectly i>rac- 
 ticaljle, throughout a large i>ortion of tin; South, to raise sheep without 
 other cost than the interest on laud and the value of the salt. Oats, 
 barley, and rye, sown in the fall, may be grazed during the winter with- 
 out injury to the crop of grain, as is frecjnently done; but they must be 
 sown annuallj', and are inferior to permanent grass jiastuves. The 
 meadow oat, orchard and blue grass, with wild rye or Tyrrell grass, are 
 chiefly relied upon for permanent winter-grass pasture. 
 
 Spring pasturage is afforded by the broom sedge; and the summer 
 pasture, by the native crab grass — an annual peculiar to the South, 
 which s])rings up e'sei'ywhere at the S<mth in the stubble where small 
 grains had been harvested, making a summer pasture which cannot be 
 smpassed. Very sensible farmers at the South have estimated the crab- 
 grass pastures of a fair season, on stubble land, as being nearly equal 
 in value to the preceding small-grain crop. "The Northern farmer," as 
 Mr. Howard ohseives, "has notliing to correspond with our crab-grass. 
 His stock are eating, without appetite or relish, in August and Septem- 
 ber, the old grass of the spring; while our stock are luxuriating on tlie 
 fresh bite of the newly sprung crab grass." Mr. Howard does not men- 
 tion the Japan clover (Lespedizca striata). This exotic, as we learu 
 from rei)orts to the Department of Agriculture, is rapidly taking pos- 
 sessiou of uncultivated places in Scmth Carolina, and even in Tennessee. 
 It is highly relished by sheep, and, although short, furnishes a good 
 pasture from May till frost. 
 
 The grass, however, jpar excellence for summer ])astures at the South, 
 is the Bernuida grass,* and would seem to surpass any known at the 
 North. This s])ecies, chiefly found at present in Middle Georniji, though 
 abundant in Louisiana, was introduced from the AVest Indies, and is be- 
 lieved to be identical with the celebrated dcivb, or sacred grass, of East 
 India. Being stoloniferous in its habit, it clings so closely to the, soil 
 that it is eradicated w ith great ditticultj' ; and, rapidly propagating itself 
 by means of its runners, it was regarded as the worst pest of tlie cotton- 
 plantation. "Fighting General (xreen" became a proverb which illus- 
 
 * This uniss is known in India by the various uamos of daiih, dooJ),duibbu, or durm. 
 Sir WilUtira Jones, in his Botanical Oli.smvations of Si^lcct Indian Plants, pnblislied 
 in Asiatic Ei'soarchcs, vol. iv, ]). S'^JO, spoaks thns of the. darliha -or daub grahs : " Kvery 
 law-book and almost overy pooiii iu Saiiscrit contains freiiiicnt allusions to tlio hoiinrss 
 of this jda.nt ; and, in the fonith Veda., we liavc tlie following address to it. at the 
 close of a teirible. incantation: 'Thee, O Darblia ! the learned pron<nine<' a divinity, 
 not snbjeet to agi- or death ; Thee they call the armor of Indra, the preserver of regions, 
 the destroyer of eneniies, a giver tliat gives increase to the tield. At the time when 
 the i>cean resoniided, when the clouds murmured and lightnings flashed, then was 
 Darbba produced, pure as a drop of gold.'" 
 
 Capt. David Kiehardson, in the seventh volunu' of the Asiatic Kesearclies, says 
 of this grass, which he calls " doob grass": "This is jirobably one of the most useful 
 a.ud bca.utiful grasses in tliis or any other country; and, like the cow which feeds on 
 iti, is held in higli religious veneration by many tribes of Hindoos. A natural velvet 
 carpet, if the ex|iicssion be admissible here, nniy at any time lie formed of this elegant 
 grass, iuthe space of two or three weeks, merely liy cutting it iu pieces and sprinkling 
 them on iire|iare(l ground mixed with earth. In this way, the beauty of rivers, pub- 
 lic roads, foi'tilicafcioiis, garden walks, and marginal borders is frequently seoimid in 
 India, upon iiriiiciples which unite expedition, elegance, and strength, in one verdant 
 sward, whicli, to those unacquainted with the rapidity of \egetation in tliese climes, 
 has almost 1 he appearance of enchantment." It is curious to observe that the same 
 mode of propagating this grass is followed iu India as iu our Sl^ates at the South. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 75 
 
 trated the perpetual warfare which the planter had to wage with the 
 Bermuda grass. Not unfrequently the grass was the victor, and many 
 considerable districts were completely abandoned to its sway. It is now 
 thoroughly appreciated by the best cultivators of the South. "I think 
 it," says Col. A. J. Lane, a successful cotton-planter, " very doubtful 
 whether there is an acre of land thoroughly set in Bermuda grass (if the 
 proper use is made of it) that is not worth more than any crop that can 
 be grown upon it." It will flourish on dry and almost barren lands. It 
 will hold its place indefinitely. Its nutritive power is said to surjiass 
 that of blue grass, it containing, according to the analysis of Dr. Eavenel, 
 14 per cent, of the albuminoids. Its yield in weight far siu'passes that 
 of clover. Although it ])roduces no seed, it is easily propagated by 
 sowing broadcast pieces of the roots obtained from the turf, washed free 
 from the dirt, and chopped fine by a cutting-machine. The grass, when 
 grazed, forms a very compact sod, which, turned in by the plow, has 
 extraordinary manurial value. The results of cultivating thirty acres of 
 land well set with this grass are thus stated by Colonel Lane: 
 
 First crop : Cotton, half stamT, owing to the mass of undecomposed sod ; 1,800 pounds 
 of seed-cotton per acre. 
 
 Second crop: Cotton, 2,800 pounds seed-cotton per acre. 
 
 Third crop: Corn, 65 bushels per acre; corn manured with cotton seed. 
 
 Fourth crop: Wheat, 42 bushels per acre. 
 
 The aA'erage product of this land, Avitliouttho sod, •would have becu not more than 
 100 pounds of seed-cotton, 15 to 20 bushels of corn, and 8 to 10 of -wheat. 
 
 According to Mr. Howard, by turning up Bermuda grass land by the 
 plow, and sowing blue grass and white clover, a pasture can be produced 
 capable of sustaining stock summer and winter. As the Bermuda grass 
 dies down in autumn, the blue grass and white clover appear; the 
 reverse occurring in the heat of summer. 
 
 We will conclude our extracts from this writer with one more directly 
 pertinent to our subject. 
 
 More than thirty years ago the writer, walking with a gentleman of far-reaching 
 mind, and observing the gullied and excoriated condition of the' soil near Milledge- 
 ville, inquired : " What is to restore its fertility to the worn-out portion of Georgia?" 
 The answer was promptly given : " Sheep and Bermuda grass." There was profound 
 wisdom in the reply. A large portion of old Georgia nmst become a sheep-walk before 
 it can be restored to fertility and the land-owners can become independent of the 
 negro. 
 
 A correspondent from Memphis, Tenn., writing to the Department of 
 Agriculture in January of the present year, says: 
 
 The best of all our grasses, though not a winter grass, is the Bermuda. Too much 
 cannot be said about it as a pasture grass ; and, if the South were half covered with 
 it, we could then have fat sheep and plenty. For successful sheep-raising at the South 
 we want this grass alone. Turnips — plenty of them, not patches — large fields of them, 
 and fields of rye or wheat or oats to jjasture' on in winter, will make up for the rest of 
 the year. 
 
 To this testimony as to the relations of Bermuda grass to Southern 
 sheep husbandry may be added — although his enthusiastic deductions 
 need some qualification — that of Dr. George Little, the State geologist 
 of Georgia, who says : 
 
 When the value of Bermuda grass is appreciated by faxmers and the thin and waste 
 portions of their faTms are clothed with it, which seems to have been intended 
 especially for sheep, Georgia will sustain a sheep to every acre of ten-itory, and 
 :i7,000,00b of sheep would be worth to their owners in the aggregate $37,000,000, net, 
 per auuum, nearly double the present gross value of the cotton crop of the State. 
 
 Forafje plants. — There are exceptional periods when winter pastures 
 will prove insufScient. These periods, short at the extreme South, 
 
76 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 become longer with the ascending latitudes. Some supply of cured 
 forage is indispensable for these periods. The iield pea, which grows 
 luxuriantly on all the sandy soils of the Tertiary formations of the 
 South, is for that country what the clover is to the Forth. It is highly 
 recommended by Mr. Howard and Dr. Ea;ndall as a winter forage for 
 the Soutli, as its haulm, or straw, when cut partially green, makes a 
 rich fodder relished by all stock. Dr. Eandall says that " for sheej) 
 and breeding ewes there is probably no feed in the world equal to nicely 
 cured pea haiilm, with a portion of the seed left unthrashed. It gives 
 tliem condition and vigor, and prepares them to supply a bountiful sup- 
 ply of inilk for their young." 
 
 To this may be added thi^ sweet potato, another peculiar product 
 of the South. It is estimated that from two to three bushels of sweet 
 ])otatoes are equal in value to one bushel of corn. Moie than three 
 times as many bushels of sweet potatoes can be raised on an acre as can 
 be raised of coin on the most fertile lands of the West. Well-cured 
 pea-^dnes and sweet potatoes afford as cheap and valuable food foi' fat- 
 tening sheep as can be found in any country whatever. A still more im- 
 portant product, j)eculiar to the South, must not be overlooked — the 
 abundant cotton-seed, more nutritious than any grain, and so cheap that 
 it is afforded in Georgia for fifteen cents a bushel. 
 
 Alfalfa. — California has recentlj' brought into prominence a plant of 
 foreign origin, wliich is destined to re])lace all others at the South for 
 soiling or liay. This is the alfalfa, Cliili clover or lucerne, Medicago sa- 
 tim. Although introduced into California from Chili — whence its S])an- 
 ish name — it has long been the chief reliance of the French farmers. 
 While it will not succeed in England for want of sun, nor at the North 
 on account of the winter's cold, it has been thoroughly tested at the 
 South, and found to thri\e from Texas to Virginia. Its requirements 
 are vciy rich light and dry land, such as will be permeable to its long 
 tai)-root, which penetrates the ground, sometimes as deep as seventeen 
 feet, for the moisture which enables it to resist any degree of superficial 
 dryness. These requirements being met, it will, after the first yeai', yield 
 from six even to eight tons of hay, which is preferred by cattle and 
 sheep to any hay whatever. A writer in the Transactions of the State 
 Agiicultural Society of Califorina for 1871 says that the alfalfa is the 
 only plant wliicli will grow through the dry summers of that State, and 
 keep green all summer. He is assured, by those that have pastured 
 sheep u])on it, that one acre of good land will keep forty sheep in good 
 condition all the year round. The " Pacific Rural Press," of March, 
 1S78, describing a ranch having 7,000 sheep, and other stock in pro- 
 jjortion, says that 1,300 aeies, sown to alfalfa, were cut last year five 
 times, yielding about one and a half tons of hay to the acre to each 
 cutting. From 35,000 to 40,000 aci(\s in California were seeded with 
 this clover in 1870. Its culture is regarded as the only hope for pre- 
 serving the shee]>-husbandry in the dryer portions of the State. It 
 flourishes admirablj" in Texas ; keeping green all winter, and afford- 
 ing feed to all kinds of stock. In upper portions of Georgia, the alfalfa 
 does not k(^ep green through the months of December and January, and 
 is used only for seeding and hay. It would probably keep gieen through 
 the winter in the lower parts of the State, and might be pastured. 
 
 Titniips. — An imi)ortant feature of the climate of the South is that 
 the wool-grower of that region can adopt the English practice of folding 
 sheep on turnips. It is well known that the first great step in the im- 
 provement of the sheep-husbandry of England was the introduction 
 from Holland by William of Orange of the turnip culture, at the end of 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 77 
 
 the seyenteenth century. They were fed to sheep; and it was found 
 that by this system the same land would support treble the number of 
 sheep. Turnips and sheep form the foundation of the English four-held 
 system, and are the basis of English agriculture. Tliis system cannot 
 be adopted at the North, on account of the turuips freeziag in the ground. 
 The folding system is especially fitted for the sandy lands on the coast, 
 both as the cheapest means of ameliorating them, and because such soils 
 are favorable to the growth of the turnip. 
 
 The mode of procedure is this: After turnips are grown on land which 
 has been suitably fertilized and cultivated — say in December or Jan- 
 uary — a fold is made of hurdles or a portable fence, inclosing as many 
 turnips as the flock of sheep will eat in twenty-four hours. One thou- 
 sand sheep will consume the turnips on an acre in that time; one hun- 
 dred, a tenth of an acre in the same time. The manure deposited by 
 the sheep in that time will suffice for four years' rotation. Mr. Harwood, 
 in his admirable paper on the condition of agriculture in the cotton 
 States, says of this system, which he has practically tested on Georgia 
 lands: 
 
 The advantage of folding tnriiips is twofold. It Is by far the cheapest method of 
 manuring laud. No hauling manure is required, as the sheep haul their own manure, 
 both solid and liquid, to precisely the spot on -nhieli it is desired to apply it. It is 
 evenly spread without labor, no part being excessively manured at the expense of 
 another part. The eifeet of this manuring will be felt for years. Laud so manured 
 is good for two bags of cotton to the acre the following year. The other advantage 
 is the fine condition into which the sheep are put at a .season of the year when mut- 
 ton brings the high(i8t price. When land is put into sufficiently good order to bring 
 500 bushels of turnips to the acre, the gain in mutton is equivalent to the cost of the crop. 
 The heavy manuring of the land is, then, clear gain. 
 
 Pre.^ent condition of Southern sheep-husbandrjj. — When we turn from 
 this picture of the possibility of sheep-husbandry at the South to its 
 actual condition at the present time, the contrast is veiy painful. The 
 reports of the very able statistician of the Dejjartment of Agriculture, 
 which, from a careful examination of the system adopted by him in ar- 
 riving at results, we regard as very reliable, show the numbers of sheep 
 in the States of the cotton belt, excluding Texas, to have been as follows, 
 in January, 1878: 
 
 States. 
 
 N"umber of 
 sbeep. 
 
 Area in 
 acres. 
 
 ICortli Carolina 
 
 490, 000 
 175, 000 
 382, 300 
 56, 500 
 270, 000 
 125, 000 
 285, 000 
 850, 000 
 250, 000 
 
 32, 450, 560 
 
 
 
 37, 120, 000 
 
 
 
 32, 462, 080 
 26,461,440 
 29, 184, 000 
 14, 720, 000 
 30, 179, 840 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 2, 883, 800 
 
 262, 209, 440 
 
 
 The area of the States named is derived from the reports of the Land 
 OfQce. 
 
 Thus there are in these States not far from one sheep to every 100 
 acres. Ohio, with an area of 25,766,900 acres, has 3,783,000 sheep, or a 
 sheep to about every seven acres. 
 
 One county in Pennsylvania., Washington, has over 400,000 sheep, 
 producing as good merino wool as there is in the world, while the whole 
 of Georgia has not that number. 
 
78 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 The United States Commissioner of Agriculture, with a due appreci- 
 ation of the importance of sheep-husbandry to the South, has recently 
 sent ciiciilars, with miiuite inquiries as to the present condition and 
 possibilities of tliis industry, with blank returns, to his assistants in 
 each county of the Southern States. The original returns to these cir- 
 culars, rccei\'ed in January, we ha\'e been kindly permitted to examine, 
 and have carefully read e^ery one leceived. The general impression 
 made upon our mind by thes<^ returns, as to the actual condition of 
 sheep-husbandry in most of the States, was far from agreeable. The 
 returns did not show a single case of a well-bred and carefully-kept flock, 
 such as we found in the North; although it is known that there are ex- 
 ceptional cases of such flocks. As a rule, the variety kept is the native 
 • bieed, producing about two pounds of wool, selling from 25 to 30 cents. 
 Very few flocks, as would be seen, reach a hundred in number. Fre- 
 quently tlic aiumals obtain their entire subsistence from the swamps and 
 range. Tliose which h ave somewhat better care duriii g the winter months, 
 receive a little cotton-seed and a fewturnips and strawfrom thethrashing- 
 floor. But no provision seems to be made of hay or other forage. All 
 the returns agree in declaring that the great obstacle to sheep-raising is 
 the dcstructit)n l)y dogs, popular opinion having hitherto prevented the 
 enactment of suitable dog-laws. One return says: "There are but two 
 successfid wool-growers in tliis county, and their ranges are in constant 
 supervision, a stt)ck-miuder in each constantly iiatrolling." 
 
 Tliere is now and then a hopeful gleam in the returns. A farmer in 
 Georgia says "his 'herd' of 10-1 sheep produced $132.50." It cost on]y 
 $10 to feed them ou cotton-seed. "What my sheep make," he says, "is 
 just like picking it up." 
 
 Maj. E. A. Grif&n, of Horry County, South Carolina, stated by the re- 
 porter to be a person of acknowledged skill and success in sheep-hus 
 bandry, says : "An individual experience of twenty-five years has proven 
 that tlie increase will pay all exxjense of Iceej), leaving fleeces and manure 
 as profit." 
 
 Thomas M. Bealy, of South Carolina, says : 
 
 Oats niid rye are the only small grains, except rice, tliat will grow here. For every 
 plow aniiual on tlie farm, the farmer should sow ilown, sod well prepared In Septem- 
 ber, six acres of oats. Upon those oats he should turn in three to live head of shee]) 
 the middle of Deeeiiilier. It will give them the best of pasture until Ist of Ma.reli, 
 when they sliould be turned out, and the oats left to liead up. Each six acres of these 
 oats should yield iced for one horse or mule twelve months, and kept in order at con- 
 stant work without a grain of corn. Such farming would make a man rich in a short 
 time. 
 
 E. C. Ethridge, of Colerain, S. C, says : " When sheep-culture receives 
 the attention that cotton now does in this section, it will be the most 
 prosperous country in the world." 
 
 Andrew A. Spaulding, of Eockingham County, North Carolina, born 
 a Scotchman, says : 
 
 I am from the Xorth, and have been here four years. I believe this is the making 
 of a good agricultural i;euntry, if it was properly culti\'ated by an improved systein 
 of farming, ]iarticularly sowing grasses and clover, having a rotation of ero))s, keep- 
 ing more stock, and letting the fields lie three years in grass, aud sowing down yearly 
 as much ns is taken up. By this means the farmers would be better oft' and the land 
 vastly improv('d. 
 
 A more exact picture of the sheep-husbandry of the South, as hitherto 
 pursued, is given by our intelligent correspondent. General Young, of 
 North Carolina, who, as a wool-manul'acturer, has been led to give par- 
 ticular attention to the wool resources of his State. He says : 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 79 
 
 Twenty years' experience iu mauufaoturing the wools grown in thin State has 
 familiarized the writer with the manner in which this valuable animal (the sheep) 
 has been cared for; and has convinced him that, without jfrcat natural advantafji's, 
 their utter neglect would long since have exterminated thetu from thesoil. There are 
 but few plantations in the State upon wliich there was not to be found a flock of 
 sheep, iatended to be onli/ sufficient 1o furnish the wool necessary to clothe the family, 
 and furnish an occasional mutton. These sheep were generally the "native" l)reed, 
 rarely improved by crosses upon foreign blood. As a general rule, these small flocks 
 never entered into their owner's estimate of his valuable property, and they were 
 never so treated. In the spring thi^y were shorn of their fleeces, and turned outside 
 their owners' inclosures to seek their sununer's support in the forests and waste lands, 
 over which they chose to roam and to run the gauntlet for life among hungry hounds 
 and gaunt curs almost as numerous as themselves. All that might escape, and were 
 able to find their homes in the fall season, and would seek its inhospitalities in the 
 winter, would be admitted within the gates and pernutted to eke out a scanty living 
 in the denuded fields and comers of worm-fences, which is supplemented by a morning 
 and evening allowance of coru fodder, which the compassionate and ai>preciative 
 owner allows to he fed to them by a boy who has not yet attained sufficient size to be 
 otherwise useful. The only protection against the rains and occasional storms of 
 winter, afforded to a majority of the flocks, being such as their instinct leads them to 
 seei, by hovering on tlie sheltering sides of barns and outbuildings that may he ac- 
 cessible. Yet, under this treatment, the flocks of the farmers kept their numbers full, 
 and occasionally multiply heyond their wants. 
 
 The focility with which these flocks may be improved is well illus- 
 trated by General Young. He says : 
 
 Of necessity, the fleeces of these sheep are light and inferior ; hut wherever an efi^ort 
 has been made to improve the stock by crossing on Merino or other approved blood, 
 the ette'ct is satisfactory and lastijig. From the universal custom of turning Ihe entire 
 stocks into the common "range," the impression of a Merino, Southdown, or otln^r 
 importation, would manifest itself upon the flocks of entire neighborhoodK.' So appar- 
 ent is the improvement thus made that, in purchasing the surplus brought to market, 
 there would be no difficulty in recognizing the wool from a neighborhood that had been 
 favored by some enterprising farmer having imported from Virginia or Pennsylvania 
 a pair of blooded animals. Without any change in the mode of treatment, these im- 
 provements are known to be distinctly manifest in neighborhoods thirty years after 
 their introduction. Being able to withstand all the hardship and neglec^t, and 
 promptly to respond to every effort to improve their quality or condition, it is e\'ident 
 that there is in North Carolina an adaptation of natural gifts to thei^ peculiar wants. 
 
 The returns to the Department of Agriculture before referred to make 
 no mention of the large flocks — reaching as high, in some cases, as 3,500 — 
 which are spoken of by the commissioner of agriculture of the State of 
 Georgia, as occurring on the pine-lands of that State. "We learn from 
 General Abbott, of North Carolina, that flocks reaching up to 1,000 
 head are found on the pine-lands of the State. These flocks, if they 
 can be called flocks, are never fed; the care of the owners being 
 limited to marking and gathering them up for shearing. This can 
 scarcely be called sheep-husbandry; for husbandry implies care, and pro- 
 vision for sustenance. Indeed, of the large portion of the South— espe- 
 cially the lower South, excluding Texas — with exceptions which almost 
 could be counted on the Angers, taking into view the general want of 
 care and provision for sustenance, it may be said that sheep-husbandry, 
 in the proper acceptation of the term, does not exist in that country. 
 This cannot be considered a reproach. The exclusive devotion to cotton 
 accounts for it. And the interest noAv taken in sheep-culture by the most 
 intelligent men of the South, and the general interest recently manifested 
 by the numerous letters received by the Department of Agriculture, ask- 
 ing for information on the subject, are guarantees of a brighter future iu 
 . this industry at the South. 
 
 Our view of the actual condition of this industry at the South, we ad- 
 mit, does not correspond with the impression readers would be apt to 
 foi'm from the report of the commissioner of agriculture of the State of 
 
80 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 Georgia upon the sheep-liusbandry of that State. He says that "the 
 average annual profit on the capital invested in sheep in Georgia is 63 
 per cent. The a-\'erage annual cost of keeping sheep is only 54 cents. 
 The average cost of raising a pound of wool is only 6 cents ; while the 
 average price for which the unwaislicd wool sells is 33^ cents, or 27^ 
 cents net." These results are alleged to have been,, and undoubtedly 
 were, derived from returns addressed to those engaged in the business. 
 Particulars are given of only two cases, which we will quote: 
 
 Mr. David Ayers, of Camilla, Mildred Couuty, in Southwestern Georgia, where sno-w 
 never falls and the };riiund seldom freezes, and where the original pine forest is car- 
 peted with native grass, says his sheep — 3,500 iu number — cost him annually 14 cents 
 per head, clip 3 pounds of unwashed wool, which sells at 30 cents per pound, giving a 
 clear profit of 90 per cent, on the money and labor invested m sheep. Mr. Ayers does 
 not fee<l his shee]i at any time during the year ; neither has he introduced the improved 
 breeds, using only what is called the native sheep. 
 
 Mr. Robert C. Humher, of Putnam Couuty, in Middle Georgia, keeps 138 sheep, of 
 the cross between the Merino and the common sheep. He says they cost nothing, ex- 
 cept the salt they <'at ; while they pay 100 per cent, on the investment, in mutton, 
 lambs, and wool. They yield an average of 3 pounds of wool per head, which he sells 
 at the very low price of 25 eeuts — less than the market-price. It costs him nothing, 
 except the shearing. His sheep range on Bermuda grass — old fields iu summer, and 
 the plantation at large, embiacing the fields from which crops have been gathered, 
 and the cane bottoms, in winter. 
 
 We are not disposed to deny that the estimates of profits made by the 
 commissioner, or given in the particular cases cited are literally correct. 
 But we arc compelled to state that some of the returns from the above- 
 named State, at the United States Dei)artment of Agriculture, express 
 dissent from the commissioner. One return says: " His figures are too 
 low for my county, and too low for almost the entire State." Indeed it 
 may be generally said that no particular estimates of the cost of raising 
 sheep and the pi'oflts resulting therefrom can be relied on as induce- 
 ments for others to embark in the business. The broad proposition that 
 the annual profits from raising sheep throughout an entire State are 
 (!3 per cent, mjast be fallacious. AVhile it may be true tliat a particular 
 owner, having a vast range very fa\'orably situated, in which two or 
 three thousand can pick up their sustenance, may find them very i)rofit- 
 able, a competing owner in his neighborhood would limit the range, and 
 1 he profits would diminish. It may be true that small flocks will cost 
 so little to their owner that the profit from them will be "just like pick- 
 ing it up " ; but this may not be the case Avith flocks of two or three 
 hundred animals. It is erroneous to consider sheep-farming, as it must 
 be ordinarily conducted, as a matter of direct profit from the investment 
 of capital. The amount of money which can ordinarily be pat into 
 sheep-husbandry with advantage by one person is so small that it can- 
 not be properly called an investment of cajrital. The consideration in 
 growing sheep, except under the purely pastoral system, is not one of di- 
 rect profit, to be calculated like the dividends from bank stock ; but it is 
 the general advantage of combining it with other industries on the farm, 
 of adding to its resources, and of making the whole more productive. 
 
 The course recommended for the tiouth. — There are two very distinct 
 branches of the wool-growing industry. One is purely pastoral; hav- 
 ing regard only to wool, taking but little account of the value of mutton , 
 and none of the improvement of the land. It is conducted as an ex- 
 clusive business in large flocks. The sheep-husbandry of Texas, Cali- 
 fornia, and Australia belongs to the purely pastoral system. It is be- 
 lieved by many that the vast region of pine-lands in Southeastern and 
 Southern Georgia, extending from Savannah to the Chattahoochee, com- 
 prising about ten milhon acres, now practically unoccupied, constitutes a 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 81 
 
 natural pasture upon which a million sheep could be raised at a trifling 
 expense. This is the oiiinion of the commissioner of agriculture of 
 the State. 
 
 Col. Richard Peters, of Atlanta, Ga., admitted to be the highest au- 
 thority on sheep-husbandry in the State, in his original communication, 
 elsewhere given at leugth, speaks of this district as follows : 
 
 Across the entire width of tlie State tliere is a belt of country of an extent, 
 northward from the coast and the Florida line, say from 100 to 150 miles. It is the 
 land of the long-leaf ])ine and the Avire-grass. Flocks of native sheep, as high as 
 SjIiOO ill number, are found here and there scattered over the surface, receiving 
 but little care or attention, except at the annual gathering forshearing and mark- 
 ing. Very little can be said either for the quantity or ciiiality of the wool raised 
 there. I am aware that it has been claimed for this section that its present advan- 
 tages are iis groat for large flocks as the ranges in Texas and California. I do not sub- 
 scribe to this opinion. The pasturage of this section, called wire-grass, offers fine 
 grazing for sheep in the spring ; but, for permanent and continuous food, it cannot be 
 relied on. A fair experiment m sheep-raising, uniting good attention, selection, and 
 crossing, with a determination to secure the best development in frame and fleece, has 
 not been made in this section for many years. If it were properly attempted, by 
 combining Bermuda with the wire grass for spring and summer pasture, and red winter 
 oats foi- one or two months in winter, for the ewes and lambs, I think the results 
 \\ould prove of the most satisfactory and profitable character. 
 
 General Young, of JS'orth Carolina, who, as a practical wool manu- 
 facturer, speaks with much weight, is more sanguine than Mr. Peters as 
 to the capacity of the lower region for sheep-husbandry. He says that, 
 in the tide-water regions — 
 
 The sheep find a sustaining pasturage the entire year upon the wire-grass which 
 grows spontaneously through the otherwise barren forests. Being thus iiiriepeudeut of 
 their owners, they keep in uniform good flesh, grow to better maturity, and fiu'nish 
 better fleeces than in the upper portions of the State. 
 
 By the statements of General Gordon and others, it appears that im- 
 mense tracts of these lauds can be obtained at from 50 cents to $1 an 
 acre. Having been burned over in former times by the Indians, they 
 are free from underbrush. There is no necessity of clearing the land, 
 as the pines may be destroyed by girdling. The land can be prepared 
 for the required pasturage of winter oats, simply by harrowing. A great 
 advantage of these more southerly localities is the, facility for supplying 
 early lambs for the Northern markets. Even Texan flock-masters with 
 whom we have conversed admit the advantages of these lands for sheep- 
 gTowing on a large scale. 
 
 When intelligent sheep-farming is practiced on these now waste pine 
 lands, it is believed that it will develop a value in them never yet con- 
 ceived of Sheep-farming has made the chalky downs of England, once 
 arid wastes, gardens of verdure. There are no soils so responsive to 
 manure as those of a hght, sandy character. The most productive lands 
 in all the United States are in Cambridge, Mass., where the writer re- 
 sides. Originally sandy plains, bearing a few pitch-pines, they have 
 been converted into market-gardens. Covered with glass, or hot-beds,, 
 in the winter, and heaped up with manure when the glass is removed, 
 thev bear successive crops through the whole year, and yield as high as 
 $4,000 per acre in a year. The Tertiary lands of the South contain many 
 elements wanting iji our Northern pine plains (especially in the subsoil);, 
 as they contain organic remains. A scientific farmer in Louisiana re- 
 gards the pine lands, when made rich as they can be with pine straw,, 
 folding sheep, and plowing in green crops to supply organic matter,, as 
 the most pleasant lands to cultivate, and the best lands in the State. 
 
 It is of such land as this that Longfellow speaks in "Evangeline" — 
 
 Here no stony ground provokes the wrath of farmer, 
 
 Smoothly the ploughshare runs through the soil, like a keel through the water. 
 
 S. Ex. 25 6 
 
82 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 Sheep for mired husbandry. — The other and more important branch of 
 sheep husbandry, in its relations to the improvement of a country, is 
 that where the culture of sheep is made auxiliary to a mixed husbandry. 
 The highest advantage of this system is the imx)rovement of the land. 
 As this paper may come under the eye of persons less familiar with the 
 subject than our habitual readers, we may be allowed to lepeat facts 
 before stated in our pages. 
 
 Sheep are the only animals which do not exhaust the, land upon which 
 they feed, but permanently improve it. Horned cattle, especially cows 
 in milk, by continued grazing, ultimately exhaust the pastures of their 
 phosphates. In England, the pastures of theco\inty of Chester, famous 
 as a cheese district, are kept up only by the constant use of bone dust. 
 Sheep, on the other hand, through the j)eculiar nvitritiousness of their 
 manure, and the facility with which it is distributed, are found to be the 
 most economical and certain means of constantly renewing the product- 
 iveness of tlie land. By the combination of sheep husbandry with wlieat- 
 culture, lauds in England, which, in the time of Ehzabetli, produced, 
 on an average, (il bushels of wheat per acre, produce now over 30 bush ils. 
 For these reasons, the recent practical writers in the Journal of the 
 Royal Agricultural Society of England pronounce tliat, while there is 
 no profit in growing sheep in England simply for their mutton and wool, 
 sheep husbandry is still an indispensable necessity, as the sole means of 
 keeping up the land. 
 
 Experience in the United States leads to similar conclusions. Mr. 
 Stilson, of Wisconsin, by keeping sheep, is able to raise his 24 bushels 
 of wheat to the acre, while the average yield of wheat in Wisconsin is 
 but 10 bushels. There are cases in Vermont where sheei)-farmers have 
 been compelled to abandon one farm after auother, as they became too 
 fertile for profitable sheex)-growing. Mr. George Geddes, whom Horace 
 Greeley used to regard as the highest authority on agricultural matters 
 in the State of New York, and who has raised sheep for many years in 
 connection Avith wheat, says that with one sheep to the acre of culti- 
 vated land, pasture, and meadows he raises more bushels of grain on 
 the average than he did when he had no sheep to manufacture his coarse 
 forage into manure, and to enrich his pastures to prepare them for the 
 grain crop; that the land is constantly improving, and the crop increas- 
 ing in quantity ; and that, while producing crops on less acres and at 
 less cost than he did before he kept sheep, he has, in addition, the -wool 
 and the mutton produced hy the sheep. 
 
 ]Mr. William Chamberlain, of Bed Hook, Dutchess County, New York, 
 celebrated as a giower of Silesian sheep, purchased in 1840 a farm in 
 that place of 380 acres, which had been used so long for selling hay that 
 it was worn out. The hay crop in 1841 was 17 loads ; 40 acres of rye gave 
 ] bushels to the acre ; 25 acres of corn aAcraged 20 bushels to the acre ; 
 the rest of the farm pastured 2 horses, 4 oxen, and 1 cow. The land was 
 so poor that it would not raise red clover. By using sheep as the pro- 
 ducers and manufacturers of manure, he made this worn-out farm so 
 productive that its crops would be satisfactory even in Ohio. The 
 })roduct in 18G6 was COO tons of hay ; 40 acres of Indian corn, yielding 
 50 bushels to the acre; 30 acres of wheat, averaging 15 bushels; 30 
 acres of oats, 8 acres of roots, and the pasturage of 300 sheep, and of 
 the teams, cows, &c., necessary to carry on the farm and to supply the 
 famihes on it with milk and butter. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain's plan, when he first commenced making manure by 
 using sheep, was to spread it thinly, so as to go over all the surface he 
 could and make clo^^er grass; and he said that, when he had brought 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 83 
 
 his land to wlaere it would produce clover, improvement henceforth was 
 easy and rapid. The sheep not only gave the first impulse, but were 
 all the time depended upon as the great manure-producing power. 
 
 Now, all this can be done by sheep at the South. By their use even 
 red clover, the grand ameliorator of land (which it was once declared could 
 not be grown at the South), can be made to have the same regenerating 
 influence which it has at the North. Even in Mississippi, as Dr. Phares 
 has asserted and proved, red clover may be grown as promptly and as 
 luxuriantly, and yield as heavy crops of forage, as in any portion of 
 America. 
 
 Many of the most intelligent men of the South believe that the 
 exclusive cultivation of cotton has been a scourge, instead of a blessing, 
 to their country; that, with a crop of over 500,000 bales of cotton — 
 worth, at 15 cents a pound, $75 per bale — in one State, Georgia, its 
 agricultural population, as a whole, were poorer at the end than at the 
 beginning of the year; that labor on a cotton plantation where a fall 
 crop is planted is without intermission ; and that it is excessive in the 
 quantity required, often exceeding in cost the whole salable value of 
 the plantation ; that such is the demand for labor in those sections in 
 which exclusive cotton culture is practiced that the i)lanter is compelled 
 to take any labor that offers, whether good, bad, or indifferent; and 
 thus the exclusive cotton-planter belongs to the negro as the negro once 
 belonged to him; that if but half the usual quantity of cotton were 
 planted the value of the crop would be about the same, and but half 
 the labor would be required ; that by high farming, or cultivating with 
 the plow, fewer acres, and those only which can be heavily manured, 
 greater results may be obtained with diminished labor, the cost being 
 rather in the manure than in the cultivation ; and that high farming 
 would be remunerative in the cotton States, with the triple effect of 
 imiiro^nng the soil, increasing profits, and diminishing, and therefore 
 controlling and improving, the labor. None of the language in the above 
 paragraphs is our own; it is literally taken from Southern writers. 
 
 If they speak correctly, and the Southern land-holder must cultivate 
 only the small proportion of land which he can manure heavily, what is 
 to become of the rest of it? The only answer is, the rest may be de- 
 voted to small grains, to meadow and pasture. To utilize the meadow 
 and pasture, sheep can be more profitably used at the South than any 
 other stock. Cattle can be better raised at the West. Dairy and cheese 
 farming are more difficult and more laborious than sheep-farming. Sheep 
 culture has other advantages over cattle-raising. It gives annual divi- 
 dends in the fleeces. Indeed, the ewe gives two dividends — her fleeces 
 and her lambs. The beef-producing animals give no dividends; and the 
 grower must go on adding his expenses till the end of their lives, when 
 he must find his compensation (if he can) in one gross sum. The capi- 
 tal required for the purchase of sheep — enough stock for a fair trial — is 
 small. Large flocks are not required. 
 
 Sheep-growing is commended by oiher considerations, apparently 
 slight, but too important to be overlooked. Wool never has to seek a 
 purchaser. Poor or good, it is evidently the cash article on the farm. 
 The little addition from this source to the resources of the farm affords 
 a satisfaction to which every wool-growing farmer will testii^y. The 
 absolute enjoyment the farmer has in the care of his flocks is no little 
 consideration"; neither is the gentle and humanizing influence, which 
 a love for animals is well known to exert, to be overlooked. If the 
 prejudice still hngers that sheep culture is a less dignified occupation 
 than that of cotton-planting, it should be dispelled. The nobility of 
 
84 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 slieep-groAving, and especiallyof sheep -breeding, is recognized by all the 
 ad\anced nations. The Empress Eugenie took the flock of Eamboiiillet 
 under her special protection. France has recently erected a monument 
 to Daubenton, who first showed how the culture of the merino could be 
 made successful. The Queen of England takes pride in the choice flocks 
 which adorn her parks. The first exhibitor of wools at our Centennial 
 was an archduchess. The princes of Hungary are as proud of the fine- 
 ness of their wools as of their own descent. The English nobleman 
 ^•alues the prizes for his perfected Sovithdowns or Lincolns above all 
 the honors of the turf; and, at a dinner of tlie landed gentry, the topic 
 of sheep and turnips takes precedence of all other table-talk. With such 
 recognitions, sheep husbandry has no need of urging its claims to a place 
 of honor on the plantations of the South. 
 
 Pretnsely how sheep-farming, in connection with the cotton culture, is 
 to be cariied on we would not presume to indicate. Fortunately, we 
 liave a Southern man — Mr. Howard, before quoted, and wliose high au- 
 thority as a .scientific and practical farmer is well recognized in Georgia — 
 to illustiate the application of diveisitted husbandry to the cotton cult- 
 ure. He submits the following rotation of crops, in connection with 
 sheep-growing, as suited to the agricultural condition of the South : 
 
 We will suppose a farm of 500 acres of open land under fence. Let 250 acres be de- 
 voted to aral)le puri)oses and the rest to grazing. The rotation might be as follows : 
 1.' Cotton and corn, in the same field, in suitable proportions ; 2. Oats, sown in August, 
 on the cotton .and corn land; 3. Rye, or rye and wheat, sown in Sei)teniber, the land 
 having been twice plowed, in order to kill the permanent oats ; 4 and 5. Clover, if the 
 land is iu sutticient heart to produce it ; if not, the fourth year rest ungrazed, and the 
 fifth year slieep and cattle penned upon it every night during the year, using a porta- 
 ble fence. An ordinary farm of 500 acres will supi)ort 500 slieep, besides the crops in 
 the above rotation. The oats and rye will feed them during the winter nearly or en- 
 tirely, without injury to the grain. Fi^'e hands would be sufficient to work such a farm 
 and take care of the live stock. 
 
 During the first year, the following results might be expected from an ordinary farm 
 without manure : 
 
 25 acres in cotton, 12 bags, at 15 cents $900 00 
 
 2:> acres iu corn, 250 bushels, at .$1... 250 00 
 
 50 acres in oats, 500 bushels, at 80 cents 400 00 
 
 25 acres in rye, 200 bushels, at ijil 200 00 
 
 25 acres in Avheat, 150 bushels, at 81.50 225 00 
 
 Increase and mutton sales of 500 sheep 500 00 
 
 AVool, 3 pounds per head, at 33 cents per pound 500 00 
 
 Manure, at if 1 jier head 500 00 
 
 3, 475 00 
 
 .Separately, each of these jn'oducts is small; still the aggregate result is more than 
 .$1)00 per hand. Yet this is nearly three times the average jii'oduct per hand iu the 
 cotton .States. 
 
 The farm jiroducts given in the case above supposed are the result of the first year's 
 rotation. The next year the cotton and the corn would be more than doubh' by pen- 
 ning 500 sheep at niglit ou .50 acres. It is the writei's experience that 10 sheep,' regu- 
 larly })enued, will maimre 50 acres. Two hundred would theretore manure well 50 
 acres. The appearance of the ground would not indicate this high manuring, l)nt it 
 shoukl be remembered that liquid manure (which is equal in value to the solid) is not 
 visibl(\ * * * At the end of the fifth year of this rotation tlie change in the farm 
 would be equal almost to a transformation, the crops having doubled or tvelded with- 
 out (which is a most important iioint) any material increase of labor or otlier expense. 
 
 The accuracy of the estimates above given we do not vouch for. As 
 we have said before, all definite estimates of profits in any industry are 
 liable to be fallacious. They are submitted only for illustration. The best 
 hand-books of art can dohardly anything more than suggest and excite the 
 reader to apply his own intelligence to the particular problem which he 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 85 
 
 desires to solve. The more general statement of another (Mr. Peters) 
 may be more safe. He is experienced in sheep, and commends their em- 
 ploym,ent in comiectiou with the culture of cotton. He says. 
 
 In the middle part of the State of Georgia the Beraiuda grass prevails ; and, under 
 the cotton system of culture, it was the dread aud banc of tliu planter; liut now, lor 
 its nutritious qualities and compactness of sod, it is considered by our people as valua- 
 ble and reliable as any grass, not excepting the Keutacky blue-grass. It ■will ofter slieep 
 the veiy best of pasturage for six months of the year in this section of the State ; and, 
 if managed as on the pastures of Kentucky, for the entire year. In Putnam, Hancock, 
 Wilkes, aud adjoining counties (formerly the el dorado cotton country of Georgia), where 
 the Bermuda has taken possession,- there is a future for successful sheep-husbandry, 
 providing, of course, the supervision be iutelligent, and the business properly con- 
 ducted, and combined Avith cotton culture, the result must prove highly remunerative — 
 far surpassing anything in the past history of this industry in New England or the 
 Middle States. 
 
 In regard to the general culture of sheep at the South, independently 
 of its relation to any particular locality, he obserA^es : 
 
 In reference to the whole matter of sheep-husbandry at the South, in which neither 
 labor, care, nor expense has been spared by nie, I may say with safety I know of no 
 investment so likely to yield constant and profitable return to the farmer ; and cer- 
 tainly none so valuable to the acres he occupies. I think the State of Georgia, from 
 its varied climate, soil, and surface, oifers uueqnaled facilities for this indnstxy. 
 
 My own experience has been to a great extent in North or Upper Georgia, in Gordon 
 County. The country is hill and valley, the land changing very rapidly ; the pastur- 
 age, sedge, crab, and other native grasses. Of the culfi\ated, the orchard-grass, red 
 and white clover on the upland, and red-top on low land, succeed admirably. Lu- 
 cerne and German millet are never-failing sources of an ample supply of hay. The 
 former afford from four to five cuttings in a season. Red rust proof oats — a variety 
 reliable in winter, if sown in September — can be pastured during the wiuter and early 
 spring, and then yield a full crop of grain. The same may be said of barley, rye, and 
 whe.at. 
 
 The breeds I have tested are the Spanish aud French Merinoes, Southdowns, Ox- 
 fordshiredown, Leicester, Asiatic broad-tail or Tunisian, Improved Kentucky Cots- 
 wold, and native sheep. I have ulso crossed nearly all of these varieties. Those be- 
 tween the Spanish Merinos aud native, and the Cotswold and native, have proved 
 most profitable. My present varieties are the thorough-bred Jlerinoes and Cotswolds 
 and crosses between tliese two. 
 
 For general purposes of wool aud nmtton, I recommend most decidedly the cross 
 from the native ewes aud Spanish Merino bucks, the jjrogeuy showing marked im- 
 provement, having constitution, fattening properties, thriftiness, and a close, compact 
 fleece. 
 
 If the winters are mild, my flocks require feeding about thirty days; if cold aud 
 wet, twice that time. My Merino sheep are very healthy. They have had trouble 
 with the sheep bot-fly ; but I have found a liberal use of tar a perfect preventive. 
 
 In all well-selected and well-m,anaged flocks, the increase and manure will amply 
 pay all expenses, and leave the fleece clear profit. The fleeces of my flocks, not housed 
 at night, will give an average of seven pounds of wool to the head. 
 
 The future history of the sheep-husbandry of this State, if intelligently pursued in 
 accordant^p with its natural divisions, will show three distinct systems ; that of 
 Northern Georgia will somewhat resemble the industry in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New 
 York, and New England ; that of the middle of the State, Kentucky ; and that of the 
 southern portion (w^itli shepherds and dogs), Texas, Colorado, and California. 
 
 In order that Southern gentlemen who may see this paper should 
 have the views of a thoroughly practical farmer and expert in sheep- 
 husbandry at the North, we have requested Mr. William G. Markham, 
 of Avon, N. Y., president of the New York State Wool-G-rowers' Asso- 
 ciation, and secretary of the National Wool Growers' Association of the 
 United States (whom we have had the privilege of consulting daily 
 during the preparation of this paper), to give some suggestions in fur- 
 therance of the object of improving and extending sheep culture at the 
 South, and particularly as to the breed of sheep most desirable in that 
 section. He has replied to this request as follows : 
 
 Avon, N. Y., April 21, 1878. 
 
 Dear Sm : Yon ask my views of improved sheep husbandry and its adaptability to 
 the South. My personal experience as a breeder of sheep has been mainly with Ameri- 
 
86 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 can Meriiioes in Western New York, tliough I have bred Cotswolds and other long-wool 
 varieties to some extent. 
 
 In my immediate vicinity are some of the most skillful and successful breeders of 
 American Merinoes in tliis country. I have at all times been qnite familiar with their 
 floelfs, and watclied witli greatest care and interest the results of the dift'erent experi- 
 ments iu management and breeding. 
 
 The little, light-fleeced foreigners imported from Spain between A. D. 1800 and 1813, 
 by Colonel Humphreys, Consul Jarvis, and others, were transformed by Messrs. At- 
 wodd of Connecticut, Hammond of Vermont, and others, into a type of slieep so far 
 superior, in constitutiou, form, and weight of fleece, and altogether so widely dift'er- 
 ent from the original importation, as to be regarded a distinct variety ; and, in justice 
 to our breeders, the word Spanishnaa dropped, and the term American Mei-inoes applied 
 to them. 
 
 To continue this improvement in our stud flocks a system for identifying and indi- 
 vidualizing the sheeiJ has been inaugurated, by placing a pernument metallic medal iu 
 tile ear of each sheep, containing its flock number, and an accurate rcoird is made of 
 'the general characteristics of each sheep, giving Aveight of fleece, length and quality of 
 staple, form, and breeding qnalities, &c., and preserving the pedigree of each indi- 
 vidnal for a public register. This additional care has enabled our breeders to attain 
 greater and more valuable fleeces than ever before produced from this variety of sheep. 
 Our flocks are small, usually containing from 50 to 100 breeding ewes, the cliji of which 
 will, in some instances, average upwards of 15 pounds each, while selections of ewes 
 not in breeding often shear as high as 18 to 22 pounds, unwashed, which scour from 
 6 t<i 7J pounds. The live weight of these ewes reaches 90 to 130 pounds. The stock 
 rams piodnce from 26 pounds to 36 pounds, yielding about the same proportion of 
 hconrcd wool, weight 150 pounds to 190 pounds. 
 
 And these sheep are the direct descendants, without admixtiir(f of other blood, of 
 the importations from Spain prior to 1813, which gave 3 to 5 pounds unwashed wool 
 from ewes aud 7 to 9 pounds from rams. 
 
 Our niai'ket for these sheep of late has been in the South and West, principally Cal- 
 ifornia, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. It has been the csjiccial study of our 
 breeders to jji'odnce such rams as, when crossed upon the common or native sheep of 
 those sections, will produce the most valuable results in wool and mutton. 
 
 The great bulk of all wool used is Merino clothing-wool, requiring strong fiber, of 
 medium length and fineness. 
 
 It is unciucstionably true, that cultivating the/«est quality of wool has a tendency 
 to produce ett'eminacy, resulting in a fine-boned, deli«'ate sheep. 
 
 It is also the experience of our breeders that great length of staple is incompatible 
 
 with density of fleece. In breeding for great length of stajile, we do so at a sacrifice 
 
 of density, which, of all characteristics, is most dilficult to secure and retain. In no 
 
 other way can so much be accomplished in this direction as by the use of wrinkly 
 
 . rams. 
 
 The most desirable type of sheep for the wool-growing sections of the South and 
 West must possess, first, constitution. This imjilies a broad, deep chest, strong heavy- 
 boned legs, large feet, broad short head and nose after the bull-dog pattern, aud car- 
 cass modeled as nearly after a short-h<un bull as ]iossiljlB. 
 
 In fleece, one of the most imjiortant considerations is density, which better protects 
 the sheep from storms and the wool from dirt, gives greater weight of fleece, and iu 
 hot climates better protects the yolk necessary for a healthy growth of wool. 
 
 It is the impression of our sheep-men that Northern she<'p, when taken South, shear 
 much lighter fleeces than at home, and that to keep up the weight of their flocks' ileeces, 
 rams must ))e bred North. 
 
 The fleece should be even over the entire body, covering well the head, legs, aud 
 belly, and of medium quality, suitable for clothing wools. 
 
 It is the aim of our breeders to furnish rams which will soonest ])roduec this tyi)eof 
 sheep when crossed upon the light, dry, thin-fleeced native Jlexican and Texas sheep. 
 
 Much has been said by wool merchants, and even wool-gro\vers who are ignorant of 
 the true theory of our breeding, against the wrinkly, greasy, dirty-looking modern 
 American Merinoes. 
 
 l';\en Dr. Randall, who in his day was the highest known authority on sheep mat- 
 ters, in his "Practical Shepherd" denounced these exaggerated types of this class of 
 sliei'|i as "an unmitigated nuisance" ; andyettheex]ierienoeof the doctcn- subsequently 
 convineed him that he was in error, and that in no other way could radical defects in 
 a Jiock be remedied so advantageously as by the use of a ram possessiiig the desired 
 characteristics in an exaggerated form. This he freely admitted, and he used upon 
 his own flock of choice-breeding ewes one of the most -wrinkly and greasy rams it has 
 ever been my good fortune to see ; and this to retrieve what lie had lost iu density and 
 weight of lleece by the use of long-stajiled, idain, fine-fleeced rams. 
 
 Breeding improved sheep in Western New York is quite unlike wool-growing in the 
 Southern States. To succeed in either, a uniform supply of nutritious ibodand drink 
 must be supplied, aud sheep kept thriving every day in the year. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 87 
 
 In introducing sheep Imsbaiidry in the South, where wool is the main object and 
 mutton an auxiliary, the most profitable sheep to breed is unquestionably the type I 
 have described, resulting from a cross of American Merino upon the native sheep of 
 the land. 
 
 In the vicinity of large towns, where early lambs or mutton may be more profitably 
 grown, the Cotswold sliould be used iipon the second or third cross of Merinoes upon 
 natives; the Cotswold being more hardy than any other of our mutton-sheep, and yet 
 not as hardy as the resultant cross with Moriuoes. In whatever line one is breeding, 
 the SHiSEP is of first consideration ; second, take care of the 'sheep, and you make a 
 success. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 WILLIAM G. MARKHAM. 
 
 The culture of long-wooled sheep and of other lanigerous animals. — The 
 formation of flocks of Merino slieep, by grading them up from a founda- 
 tion of the native stock, is recommended for the greater part of the 
 South, as tlie chief product will be wool ; which, being so easily trans- 
 portable, can be grown profitably without reference to accessibility to 
 markets. The vicinity to large cities, usually raih-oad facilities, or the 
 command of permanent pastures of unusual richness, admit of another 
 branch of sheep husbandry in which the principal object is large and early 
 lambs. For this class of sheep husbandry, the English races of sheep — the 
 Leicesters, Lincolns, Cots wolds, and Downs, and varieties of the Cheviot — 
 are specially fitted. An important incident to the culture of these varie- 
 ties is the production of the long combing- wools now in so great demand 
 for the worsted manufactixre. The worsted manufacture of this country, 
 ten years ago of a value not exceeding $10,000,000, now annually exceeds 
 $20,000,000. Our principal supply of these wools formerly came from 
 Canada. Now the production is declining in Canada, and rapidly in- 
 creasing in the United States. The successful production of the long 
 combing- wools is limited to the populous districts, where there is a de- 
 mand for mutton, and where- there is an improved agriculture. There- 
 fore, while the production of tine merino wools in this country is liable 
 to be affected by the competition of the vast pastoral regions of the 
 Southern Hemisphere, and, without defensive duties, would be certainly 
 overwhelmed, there is no probability of overproduction in the growth of 
 combing-wool. As a general rule, the English long-wooled races are 
 adapted only for situations where the lands are rich, not subject to 
 drought, fitted for root-culture, and where good city markets are easily 
 accessible. It would seem, then, that there are but few situations at 
 the South, or that portion of the Southern country which we have hith- 
 erto in view, where the English races cotild be cultivated to advantage. 
 Mr. Peters is of opinion that the more elevated country of the Southern 
 States is well adapted to these sheep ; as, he saj''S that the influx of 
 the English combing-wools "would keep, for many generations, the 
 fair Blue Ridge of the South without sheepwalks, though it is by 
 nature one of the most favored spots in America for this class of wools." 
 A milder climate than that of the North is required for the successful 
 culture of the most important of the long-wooled English races— the 
 Leicester. The universal testimony at the North is that the climate, 
 generally, is too severe for the Leicesters, and therefore the hardier 
 Cotswolds are preferred. Leicester wools, pronounced to be equal to 
 the best English, have been produced in Ohio, on the southern border of 
 Lake Erie. But the climate is niodifled by the lake, and this is pecu- 
 liarly a region of the vine. The wool of the Cotswold is too coarse for 
 many worsted fabrics, and has neither the fineness nor the luster of the 
 Leicester. Greater fineness in the Cotswold fleece may be produced, as 
 has been done in Kentucky and Tennessee^ by a slight infusion of Merino 
 
88 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 blood; but the liiglily important quality of luster, such as is wanted for 
 the so-called black mohair and brilliantine fabrics, can be imparted only 
 by Leicester or Lincoln blood. Besides, the Leicester is the most valua- 
 ble of all mutton-sheep for crossing, and imparts its precocity — that is, 
 its ca])acity of fattening in one year, and of reaching fall growth in two 
 years — and therefore its mutton-producing capacity, to all other races. 
 Where there are rich, sweet i^astures, Avith quantity in a small siiace, 
 and a^ moderate climate, the Leicester will thrive. Such localities must 
 exist at least in Kentucky or Tennessee, and there the Leicester should 
 be introduced. 
 
 Kenfuclcy sheep. — Whatever may be tlie possibilities of the Blue Eidge 
 region for growing the long-wooled races, the ultra-montane regions of 
 Tennessee, and especially Kentucky-, are the only fields at the South 
 where actual success has been achie\e(l on any considerable scale. This 
 may be due to geological formations existing in th(jse States. It has 
 been observed that the geological map of England exhibits an exact 
 chart of the distribution of British sheep ; and Professor Shalei', the able 
 professor of Geology at Harvard College, has observed to the writer that 
 the capacity of Kentucky for mutton-sheep husbandry is strictly limited 
 by the geological features of that State. Kentucky mutton, produced 
 by her long-wooled slice]), invariably appears in the choice w(e»».sof city 
 hotels at tlie North. Its consumption is enormous. There are .sralls at 
 the Faneuil Hall Market, in Boston, where nothing is sold but Kentucky 
 mutton. 
 
 We have obtained the following statement from an intelligent gentle- 
 man in Boston* : 
 
 Boston, April 19, 1878. 
 
 I hare not forgotten yoiir request in regard to Kentucky sheep. Through an iutro- 
 diution from Mr. Terry, the inspector of pro\isions, I have been phiced in cojmnuni- 
 c.ation witli the two hirgest dealers in mutton in this city. 
 
 Yesterday afternodu I \;cnt to the aliattoir in Brigliton, and saw both of these 
 gentlemen, from whom I obtained the following facts : 
 
 During the year ending May 1, 1877, 272,000 sliee]! and lambs were sl.aughtered at 
 tile Brighton aliattoir. This sujjplies the Boston market, the neighboring towns, and 
 many of them are sent to the surrounding cities — Portsmouth, Concord, Fall River, 
 and Manchester. There are, of course, a large number of dressed sheep sent to the 
 Boston market from other places, not included in this number. 
 
 In regard to Kentucky 8hee];i, my informant — one of the gentlemen referTed to, who 
 does not desire his name to be ]iublislied — tells me that about '20,000 are annually sent 
 to this market. This iniludes, as I understand, all the sheep from Kentucky. Before 
 the war, the shci'p sent from this State, though less in number, were superior to those 
 now sent, being almost all full-blooded Leicester, L'otswolds, or Soutlidowiis. Lately, 
 many of these long-wooled sheep have been crossed with the nati\e mountain or 
 "Tennessee ewes," which are of an iirferior grade. The principal supply of sheep for 
 this market, from Kentucky, comes from four counties [of course, the blue-grass coun- 
 ties. — jBd, ]. 
 
 The first-class Kentucky sheep will weigh a-bout 150 pounds. Lots will average from 
 1S5 to 150 pounds. Kentucky sheep, dressed, bring $2 per hundred more than ordinary 
 sheep. 
 
 The price of Kentucky lambs is ,as follows: from .Tune 1 to .Tuly 1, about eight cents; 
 from July 1 to August 1, about 7 cents. The sheep average about 6 cents, live weight. 
 Ordinary New England sheep average about 4^ cents, live weight. 
 
 My informant sa,\s tha.t many of his best sheep come from Ohio and Canada. 
 
 I saw in the pens at Brighton some very fine Kimtueky sheep, just received, and 
 some excellent she<-p from Michigan. In the latter State, the Merino is crossed with 
 a long-wooh-d sheep, whic'li increases the size of the animal and improves the mutton. 
 
 My informant has agents in \-arious parts of the country — in Covington, Saint Louis, 
 Ohio, and other jilaccs — and does an immense busines.s, amounting in one year as high 
 as 245,000 sheep. He thinks that the national encouragement of sheep and wool pro- 
 duction will lead to an immense export of mutton, and that we shall supply England 
 and the rest of Europe Avith all that they can take. Since December 1 he has killed 
 
 •William A. Hayes, jr., counselor at law, No. 41 Sears Building, Boston. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 89 
 
 and exported from New York 2,500 sheep per week. He predicts that, in the course 
 of a few years, the character of the business will change in Boston, and will become 
 like that of Chicago, th(i "tail end" only of the snpjily remaining here, the best ani- 
 mals being exported to Europe. He also, without any suggestion from mi;, stattd that 
 the South is to become a great sheep-prodnoing country, and that there slicep could 
 be produced more cheaply than in Ohio and the West. 
 
 Connected with the slaughter-houses at Brighton are immense refrigerators, where 
 the animals slaughtered can be kept for a lonjj time. The same system is now intro- 
 . duced on board ship, rendering the transportation of fresh meat a very easy matter. 
 
 I was astonished at the extent of the abattoir, and the system which pervades the 
 establishment. There is nothing lost, and the greatest cleanliness prevails. The hoofs 
 and shin-bones, aifter having the oil extracted from them, areaeut to Europe, and used 
 in the manufaiture of buttons, &c. The fat is fried out in larger boilers, and converted 
 into tallow. The blood and scraps of meat are dried, and the heads ground into bone- 
 dust; the whole beinjf converted into the Stockbridge fertilizers, which.are manufact- 
 ured in a large building near the abattoir. All disagreeable fumes arising from the 
 rendering process are conducted into a large chimney, and there consumed. Nothing 
 goes into the river but j)ure water. 
 
 I may mention that I saw two or three sheej) wandering about the yards apparently 
 quite at home and very tame. These, I was informed, were "flock leaders," and used 
 to lead the flocks of slieep which come by the cars to any desired place. They are 
 thoroughly trained, and are considered very valuable. 
 
 The peculiar capacity for growing mutton-shepiJ in certain parts of 
 Kentucky is given by the limestone soils, which produce permanent pas- 
 tures of the nutritious bine grass. Indeed, large size in all animals is a 
 characteristic of this country. This has been attributed to the calca- 
 reous character of the soil, which, supplying material for bone, favors 
 the enlargement of the skeletons of all animals. The reports to the 
 Agricultural Department say that no property in Kentucky pays better 
 than sheep. One correspondent says that "the best results "are from 
 grades of the native with the full-blooded Cotswold breed. Three crosses 
 will make a good flock. Full-bloods do not herd well. Only a small 
 number can be kept together — say, thirty. If large, the flocks of fnll- 
 bloods deteriorate." This corresponds with the experience in Canada. 
 The enormous production of Canada long combing- wools is furnished by 
 flocks of from 20 to 50 head, very rarely equaling that number. The 
 most profitable mutton-sheep is said by another correspondent to be the 
 Cotswold crossed with the Southdown. 
 
 A correspondent from Trimble County, Ky., makes the following state- 
 ment: 
 
 We feed only when the snow is deep ; the balance of the winter sheep do well on blue- 
 grass. There are no wild grasses in the county. 
 The following are the results with a flock of fiO good sheep : 
 
 Fifty-nine Cotswold ewes, which cost |8 per head $472 00 
 
 One'buck cost $25 25 00 
 
 Feed in winter, 3 tons of hay 24 00 
 
 Pasturage in summer. |1 per head 60 00 
 
 Salt ■ 1 00 
 
 Shearing per head, 10 cents 6 00 
 
 For attending to flock -. 20 00 
 
 Total cost 608 00 
 
 Clip per head, 6 pounds at 30 cents 180 00 
 
 Fifty-eight lambs, at $4 per head 232 00 
 
 Manure from 60 head of sheep 30 00 
 
 442 00 
 By deducting the cost of keeping the sheep 136 00 
 
 Leaves 300 00 
 
 The net profit on an investment of $497. 
 
90 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 The most eminent breeder in Kentucky of the long-wooled sheep is 
 Mr. Robert W. Scott, of Kentucky, who claims to have created a new- 
 permanent race, which bears the name of " improved Kentucky." From 
 the published accounts which Mr. Scott has given of his procedure in 
 creating this breed, it appears that the object lie had in view was to ob- 
 tain the form and delicacy of mutton of the Southdown, and the weight 
 and length of fleece of the Cotswold, with the thickness and softness of . 
 the Merino. His method was the infusion, from time to time, of the blood 
 of each of these races, according to the quality which he desired to have 
 liredominate. Although it is not in accordance with the generally recog- 
 idzed princii)lcs of zootechny that a permanent race could be thus created, 
 having the best attributes of all its ancestors, as there is constant tend- 
 ency to reversion to the strongest race, Mr. Scott claims that his breed 
 has become permanent, constantly reproducing itself; that, in 1866, the 
 sheep had become essentially alike and uniform, maintaining their iden- 
 tity and imparting their qualities as surely as any other breed. So 
 highly are they esteemed that he has found ready sale for all he could 
 produce from a flock of a hundred ewes, at the uniform price of thirty 
 dollars. He claims that they are peculiarly adapted to the South, as 
 they need no housing. They are able to face the bleakest winter in 
 Kentiicky, without any protection. 
 
 The great Silurian limestone basin of Middle Tennessee would seem 
 to possess equal advantages with the last-named State for growing the 
 long-wooled sheep. Mr. Killebrew, commissioner of agriculture of the 
 State of Tennessee, in the ad\'ance sheets from a work on sheep-hus- 
 bandry, just published by him, thus describes this district : 
 
 There the meailows are Inxiiriaiit, the pastures are green, tlie soil is fertile, the 
 water abundant. * * * There all the grasses flourish ; even the loftiest hills are 
 set in hlue-gras.s, and countless floeks fleuk the laudscape on every side. The highest 
 e\idenee that can be adduced as to the value of this basin for sheep-raising lies in the 
 fact that shee]i ar(i grown upon nearly every farm, and, up to a certain number, are 
 universally held to be jirofitable. Sheep reiiuire no feeding in this division during 
 AN inter, when upon goo(l grass, barley, wheat, or rye fields, exce) it when there is a fall 
 of snow. Then some oats, fodder, or corn Is fed. They are very liealthy ; and, indeed, 
 when attended to, prove a most profitable investment, up to a certain number — say one 
 sheep for every five acres of o]ien laud, or two sheep on every acre of permanent pasture, 
 presuming that tin? farmer will have other stock in proportion to the size of his farm. 
 
 The cost of kee])iug shee]! per annuiu is about i^l.25. The wool of one sheep of high 
 grade Avill about jiay for the keeping of two. Lambs are a clear profit, and the esti- 
 mated cost of wool is below 10 cents per pound. The average yield of wool for im- 
 proved lands in this basin is between 7 and 8 pounds. Nearly all the natives have 
 disappeared from this loealit.\-, and high grades have taken their place. Mutton 
 sheep, near Nashville, good grades, bring in the market 5 cents jier p(mnd, gross; 
 lambs, grade, .|3.o0 to $4.50. A large trade in lambs has been built up within a few 
 years past. Hundreds of car-loads are shipped every spring from this basin to points 
 North, and good prices realized. Good sheep-farms can be bought in the basin for 
 $20 to |i40 per acre, varying according to the situation and soil. 
 
 Mr. Killebrew publishes a letter addressed to him by Mr. Tom Crutch- 
 field, of East Teuuessee, a successful sheep farmer, from which we quote 
 the following : 
 
 111 1864, I purchased a lot of native ewes; ami was fortunate in getting the use of a 
 superior Spanish Merino ram, bred by R. Peters, of Atlanta, Georgia, to cross upon 
 them; which cross gave great improvement in carcass, form, and fleece; covering the 
 naked places of the natives, and making the ileece much more dense, and the fiber 
 finer and stronger. 
 
 I saved the ewe lambs of the cross, and bred them to an improved Kentucky buck, 
 bred by Robert W, Scott, of Frankfort, Ky., which increased the size of carcass, and 
 gave greater length and yield of wool. 
 
 The ewe lambs of her get were bred to the best Cotswold buck I could procure, 
 American breed and imported ; never using one buck longer than two years, and never 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 91 
 
 breeding in and in. In the mean time, I have added to my flock, American bred and 
 imported Cotswold ewes, at heavy cost, breeding them to the same bucks. 
 
 The imported and American-bred Cotswolds, and tlieir offspring, are not superior, 
 either in carcass or fleece, to those of my own breeding. I clipped samples of wool 
 from Prince of Wales, an imported English-bred buck, and also from.a ewe of my owu 
 breeding, which, through several generations, could be traced back throiigli the Me- 
 rino cross to the native. I sent these samples to my wool- merchants in Boston, Mass., 
 with history, and requested theiropinioii of the wool, on its merits. They pronounced 
 the ewe's wool superior to the buck's. It was equally as good combing wool, 18 inches 
 long ; was of finer aud stronger fiber, soft to the touch, attributable to the shade of 
 Merino in it. 
 
 The effects of cross to the Spanish Merino, in fineness aud softness of fiber, and den- 
 sity of fleece, and strength of staple, remain for many generations. I cull my ewes 
 annually, at shearing time, marking all that are deficient in form or fleece, or tliat are 
 becoming aged ; and set them apart with the wethers for mutton, which are sold the 
 following spring, often takiug a better price than ordinary sheep, because they gross 
 less and are better mutton. 
 
 I sold a lot last spriug (fattened principally on grass) to the butchers of Chattanoo- 
 ga, that averaged 166J pounds gross ; having clipped an average of lOf pounds of nice 
 combing wool, which sold at 37^ cents per pound. The price for them was (i cents per 
 pound gross, netting me $14 per head; while the market for ordinary mutton was 4 
 cents. They grossed less than one-third, aud were sold for 15 cents per pound net. 
 
 Mr. John W. Bowen, of Smith County, Tennessee, a blue-glass district, 
 in a report to the Patrons of Husbandry, published in the Rural Sun, 
 gives the experience of farmers of the county in i-uisiug long-wooled 
 sheep. One farmer says: "My experience is that one acre of average 
 pasture will feed three sheep. My sheep net me always 50 per cent. I 
 like the Leicester and Cotswold crossed ; I should prefer the Leicester." 
 Another says : " Two dollars on the sheep, alter deducting all expenses 
 of every kind, is the least any one ought to expect as the annual ])roflt. 
 As to breeds, I like the Leicester best, the Cotswold next, and the Soutti 
 down next." 
 
 Even in countries so favorably situated as Tennessee and Kentucky, 
 the culture of the long-wooled sheep can be profltablj' carried on only 
 as an adjunct to other husbandry. The agricultural commissioner of 
 Tennessee gives this sensible advice : 
 
 Farmers, as a rule, should not go into sheep-husbaudry to the neglect of other things. 
 Let sheep be one of the products of the farm, not the ortly pi'odnct. A few slieep, well 
 cared for, will prove jirofitable to every farmer; while a large flock would become, in 
 nine cases ou*; of ten, a source of annoyance and expense. 'The object of this paper is 
 to show the profitableness of sheep-raising on a small scale. I do not advise the keep- 
 ing of large flocks by the generality of farmers. If every farmer should carry a small 
 flock, breeding up the natives to high grades, the profits would be very much increased. 
 
 We agree so heartily with this opinion that we hesitate to recommend, 
 at present, the introduction on a large scale, even in districts favorably 
 situated, of another race producing combing wool and mutton, the 
 Cheviot, which has received scarcely any attention in this country. The 
 exceeding hardiness of this race, which, according to British writers, 
 " is certainly the most convenient sheep, as he will thrive anywhere, on 
 much or little, in mountain storm or by di^eamy mansion" ; the acknowl- 
 edged fact that, of all English races, "the Cheviot has the best general 
 mutton and wool"; the fact that the county of Northumberland, the 
 home of the race, containing 1,250,000 acres, and having one sheep to 
 every one and a quarter acres, ha.s a physical asiject corresponding to 
 regions in the Blue Eidge and Tennessee, being largely occupied with 
 mountains rising to a height of 2,000 feet, has led to the opinion that 
 the Cheviots are peculiarly adapted to the slopes and plateaus, or table- 
 lands, of the Blue Eidge and the Cumberland Mountains. One intelli- 
 gent correspondent, Colonel Watts, of South Carolina, speaking of sheep 
 adapted to the Blue Ridge region, says : " I should also strongly recom- 
 
92 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 mend the Cheviot, so successful in the districts of England and S<;ot- 
 land, of similar altitude and climate." We know nothing to oppose this 
 opinion, which appears quite reasonable. But no experiments have yet 
 been m;ide with the Cheviots in these localities ; nor have any judiciously 
 conducted experiments with the native or Merino sheep, in large ilocks, 
 been made. There have been several attempts at sheep-growing on a 
 large scale, ou the Cumberland table-land, at an elevation of 2,000 feet, 
 wliere, in the summer months, the land is covered with tussocks of nu- 
 tritious mountain grass, furnishing a sufficient sustenance for eight 
 months in the year. As no attention was given to providing forage in 
 the wintei- for these flocks, the enterprise, of course, ignoininiously failed. 
 
 For the benetit of tliose wlio may possibly contemi)late a trial of the 
 Cheviots, it may be said that, in the counties in England and Scotland 
 producing these sheep, the sheep-farms are commonly about 1^,000 acres 
 in extent. In general, only a small i^art of the farm is cultivated (rarely 
 more than 50 to 100 acres), and that only for winter food for tlie sheep. 
 Although bred in purely pastoral regions, they are grown primarily for 
 mutton, wliich, when fattened, is held in the higliest estimation. The 
 breeder in the mountains, however, rarely fattens his sheei) or Iambs for 
 market. They are turned over, at different ages in dittereut districts, 
 to be fattened by the farmer of the arable lands and lower and richer 
 pastures. In tlie more southerly counties the increase of a flock of a 
 thousand sheep is sold as Iambs. The^ir sale, with the fleeces, makes the 
 whole leturn of the flock. But the culture of flocks of this or any other 
 race, on a large scale, upon the elevated regions of the South, cannot be 
 reconnnended at present. It must lie the outgrowth of a general and 
 more modest system of sheep husbandry. 
 
 We must iiot pass from the mutton-sheep -nnthout reference to a race 
 which seems to be peculiarly adapted to the South, and is hardly 
 known at the Xorth : we refer to the broad-tailed sheep of Africa and 
 Asia Minor. Colonel Watts, of South Carolina, the most experienced 
 flock-master of that State, recommends the culture on the rich bottom- 
 lands of the southern coast of the African broad-tail, or a (tross with the 
 Cotswold. After speaking of the actual tests which he had made of all 
 the principal wool and mutton breeds, including the one last mentioned, 
 he says: "If the principal object sliould be to raise mutton for the mar- 
 ket, I would certainly recommend the African broad-tailed sheep, be- 
 cause they mature earlier. * * * Were the question one of long- 
 combing wool, I would cross the Cotswold ewes with the African broad- 
 tailed ram, for all the range of country this side of the Blue Ridge." 
 These statements are exceedingly interesting. They show the possession 
 of a resource for mutton and wool at the South not generally supposed 
 to exist in this country. This race is the oldest known. It is the sheep 
 of Syria and the Bible, the race to whirli belonged the Paschal lamb, 
 and should be cherished for its associations, if for nothing else. But 
 travelers speak of the flesh of the animal, when well bred and fed, as 
 " superior to that of any breetl on the face of the earth." Its wool fur- 
 nishes that strong and bright fiber found in the rich Persian and Turk- 
 ish carpets. It is a natural combing wool; and the cross referred to 
 might impart brightness and streTigth of staple to the Cotswold fleece. 
 
 The Angora goat. — Our Southern correspondents, Mr. Peters and Mr. 
 Watts, give us some original contributions in relation to the culture of 
 the Angora goat, derived from their own experience, which show that 
 the mountain range of the Blue Kidge is peculiarly adapted to this inter- 
 esting lanigeroiis animal. Before quoting from these gentlemen, we may 
 appropriately show the uses to which the fleeces of the Angora goat may 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 93 
 
 be applied, as stated in tlie report of the judges on wool at the Interna- 
 tional Exhibition of 187G : 
 
 Mohair, the fleece of the Ani^ora goat, is not a mere Bubstitute for wool, hut occu- 
 pies its own placn in the textile fabrics.- It has the aspect, feel, and luster of silk, 
 without its suppleness. It diifers materially from wool in the want of the felting 
 quality, so that the stuff's made of it have the tibers distinctly separated, iind are 
 always bril]ia.nt. On account of the stiffness of the fiber it is rarely woven alone ; 
 that is, when it is used for the filling, the warp is iisually of cotton, silk, or wool, or 
 the reverse. The distinguishing qualities of the fiber are luster, elasticity, and won- 
 derful durability. The qualities of luster and durability particularly fit this material 
 for its chief use — the manufacture of Utrecht velvets, commonly called "furniture 
 plush," the finest qualities of which are composed principally of mohair, the pile being 
 formed of mohair warps, which are cut in the same manner as silk warps in velvets. 
 Ui)on passing the finger lightly over the best Urrecht velvets, the rigidity and elas- 
 ticity of the fiber will be distinctly perceived. The fiber springs back to its original 
 uprightness when the pressure is removed. The best mohair plushes are almost in- 
 destructible, and are now in general use by all principal railroads as the luost endur- 
 ing of all coverings for railroad seats. The English liav e attained the greatest success 
 in spinning mohair, and the French and Gerruan manufacturers use English yarns. 
 
 * * * Another analogous application of mohair is for forming the pile of imitation 
 seal-skins. Some of these fabrics, exhibited by manufacturers of Huddersfield, En- 
 gland, were of striking beauty, the resemblance to seal-fur being quite striking. 
 
 * * ' Mohair forms an essential material for the best carriage and lap robes, with 
 a long and lustrous pile. Some exhibited were made to resemble the skins of tigers, 
 leopards, and other animals. • * * Another application of mohair is for the fabri- 
 cation of braids for binding, which have the luster of silk, but far greater duraliility. 
 
 * * * Still another important application of this material is the fabrication of black 
 dress goods, resembling alpacas, the mohair being woven with cotton warps. They 
 are called mohair lusters or brilliantines. Beautiful exhibits of this admirable fabric 
 were made by the Arlington Mills and the Farr Alpaca Company of Massachusetts. 
 Mohair is also used in France in the manufacture of laces, which are substituted for 
 the silk laces of Valenciennes and Chautilly. 
 
 So numerous are the applications of this material, that, so soon as a 
 sufficient domestic supply is assured, the manufacture "will have a great 
 extension in this country, furnishing a home market for all that can be 
 produced ; although it must be admitted that its use at present is com- 
 paratively small. The total production of mohair in the world, as shown 
 by the imports into Europe (a very little as yet being imported into this 
 country) in 1876, was, according to the Messrs. Burnes, four and three- 
 fourths millions. Formerly it was all produced in Asia Minor. Ee- 
 cently the Angora, goat has been acclimatized in the colony of the Cai)e 
 of Good Hope, which exported in 1876 one and a quarter million pounds : 
 a fact which stimulates growers here. The average i)rice last year was 
 37 pence, about twice that of the best Lincoln hogget wool. That of 
 ali)aca fell as low as 20J pence. The Angora, therefore, is by far the 
 most valuable of all lanigerous animals ; not even excepting the famous 
 Cashmere goat, which produces only two or three ounces, to the animal, 
 of theptishm, or fine M^ool'used for making India shawls. 
 
 As to the adaptability of the culture of this invaluable animal to the 
 elevated regions of the South, Mr. Peters says : 
 
 I have owned these animals (Angora goats) from six distinct importations ; those 
 brought over by Dr. J. B. Davis, in 1848, proving to be superior in many respects to 
 any of the more recent importations. One of the most valuable, interesting, and re- 
 markable traits of the Angoras is the rapidity with which fleece-bearing goats can be 
 obtained by using thorough-bred bucks to cross on the common short-horned ewe- 
 goats of the country. The second cross produces a goat with a skiji valued for rugs, 
 mats, and gloves. The fifth cross (known by many breeders as full blood) will yield 
 a fleece not inferior to much of the mohair imported from Asia Minor. The fifth cross 
 can be readily obtained in five or six years. Thorough-bred bucks .should always be 
 used, because the progeny of the so-called "full-blood" bucks vary greatly, and the 
 upward progress is by no means satisfactory. The Angora is a hardy, industrious, and 
 self-sustaining animal, and can be classed as herbivorous. Being active and vigorous, 
 they roam over wide ranges of country, giving value to worthless vegetation refused 
 
94 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 ■fay most other animals ; n.nrl will feed and fatten at double the distance from water 
 that sheep can, as they travel faster and endure more. I have for twenty years bred 
 them largely, and lia-\c observed the following rules in my selection of stock bucks: 
 
 In pedigree, dating back to Asiatic importation. 
 
 In fleece, weight aud length of the long, silky, ringleted, white fleece, and its free- 
 dom from kemp, and mane on the back and neck. 
 
 In form, size and vigor, long, pendant ears, and upright, spiral horns. 
 
 If that point has not been already reached, I believe it will be, when (as in the his- 
 tory of the Merino sheep) finer specimens of the Angora, American bred, may be seen 
 here than can be found in their haunts in Asia Minor. 
 
 I have had great success with the Angoras, and regard them as one of the most val- 
 uable acquisitions to the resources of our husbandry. They have yielded me more 
 substantial pecuniary benefit than any branch of my extended stock investments. In 
 1861, 1 sent out to William M. Landrum, of California, the first Angoras that went there ; 
 where they liave laid the foundation of what, I am confident, will be a very extensive 
 and profitable husbandry. There can be no doubt that, in the range of the Blue Ridge, 
 extending from Alabama to Virginia, they would find all the re(iuiremenfs of their 
 natiire, utilize a vast country, and prove a source of great benefit and profit to all 
 interested. 
 
 Colonel Watts, on the same subject, uses these words : 
 
 Let me say, iu view of the industrial wants of the country, I think this last-named 
 section of our State [South Carolina], the Bine Ridge Mountains, can, with moderate 
 care aud exi)ense, most successfullj' jrnd all the facilities needed for the best combing 
 wools and the Alpaca and Angora goat. In fact, I have no doubt on this point. Even 
 here, 7.5 miles from the mountains, I have, for six years, grown most successfully the 
 Angora goat; whose flesh I regard as superior to any mutton, and whose fleece, prop- 
 erly handled, could there b(^ made more profitable than any wool-growing. Thislcau 
 say from actual, careful experience with Angoras of the Asia Minor stock, meeting here 
 few obstacles to their profitable breeding; and which, in the Blue Ridge beyond me, 
 would find an exact counterpart of their iiative soil and climate. 
 
 Aside from their flesh aud wool, there is another advantage which they offer, which, 
 in the mountains beyond, would be most valuable. In a cross I have made with a 
 pure Angora buck and a Maltese ewe-go.at, I have raised a ewe-goat that will give 
 four quarts of as good milk as any cow on ray plantation. The feed of one of my cows 
 ■will keep twelve goats. My cows must have certain food, or they will not thrive. 
 My goats will eat anything almost, and do well; and with this advantage, also, that 
 their milk and butter are not in any way affected by their diet. 
 
 It is not, therefore, at all an open question with me, after years of practical expe- 
 rience, whether the Angora, and kindred races of the goat tribe would thrive on our 
 Blue Ridge. They would be more profitable in that locality than any other hus- 
 bandry. 
 
 In confirmation of the value of one fact, among many others, men- 
 tioned by Colonel Watts, it may be remarked that the reports of the 
 Society of Acclimation of France, upon this aiumal, dwell specially upon 
 the importance of giving milk-producing qualities to the Angora; as, 
 with this quality, and the value of its fleece, the Angora would wholly 
 replace the common goat. 
 
 Mr. F. S. Fulmer, of Spring Mills, Appomatox County, Yirginia, 
 writes us : 
 
 My Angora goats, fifty in number, pure bred, got their living all last summer in a 
 pasture wlu're grass (other than broom-straw) aud clover never grows. So far this 
 winter I ha\'e fed them nothing but coarse corn-stalk. In fact, up to this time, they 
 have kept in a thriving condition almost entirely on acorns, of which they seem very 
 fond. I treat them as to shelter, &c., just as I would sheep, except I am rather more 
 careful to keep them out of cold rains [an important observation]. From my expe- 
 rience, I am led to conclude that the Angora goat, aside from first cost, can be made 
 to pay better than sheep, especially in the Southern States, where they can have large 
 ranges over poor land. 
 
 The culture of this animal is now receiving much attention in the 
 Australian colonies. Mr. Samuel Wilson, who is said to have had ex- 
 ceptional opportunities for observation, in a paper read before the Vic- 
 torian Zoological Society, says : 
 
 Some think the preferable plan of starting a flock of Angoras 1s to commence with 
 n tew pnre goats, and trust solely to their increase. By this process, considerable 
 time must elai)se before a large number could be raised ; while, hy commencing with 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 95 
 
 the coirnnon goats, you cau obtain, lay crossing, iu six years, a valuable flock, only 
 limited by the number of common goats procured at the commencement of the opera- 
 tions. It is urged, as an objection to this system, that you can never reach absolute 
 purity. Theoretically this is self-evident; livit practically you can eliminate every 
 trace of base blood. By constant use of pure sexes, and by judicious selection, a 
 standard would be reached at least as i)ure and as certain to breed pure to type as that 
 of the improved Leicester sheep, the modern fox-houud, or what we call the "thor- 
 oughbred" horse. 
 
 The writer of this paper has, for a long time, made a special study 
 of the Angora goat. In 1869 he prepared an elaborate essay on the 
 subject, which was published in the Proceedings of the Boston Society 
 of Natural History, and subsequently was translated and published in 
 the Transactions of the Eoyal Agriciiltural Society of France. In that 
 essay he held the view that the characteristic qualities of the fleece 
 could not be secured by breeding the Angora on the common goat. 
 This opinion he has been compelled to modify. While believing, with 
 Mr. Peters and Mr. Wilson, that a pure-blooded sire should be always 
 used, he mvist admit that good fleece- producing animals may be founded 
 on the common goat. The conclusive fact establishing this is the state- 
 ment of the Messrs. Bowes, in their statistics of wool for 1878 — a very 
 high authority. Thej' say : 
 
 We may refer to the acclimatization, in the Cape of Good Hope, of the Angora 
 goat, on -which mohair is grown. The progress made during the last dozen years has 
 been very satisfactory, not only as regards the quantity produced, but the quality, 
 which has been very much improved. The first shipment made was in 1865, and con- 
 sisted of 6,804 pounds ; in 1869, 245,000 pounds were shipped, and in 1876 the quantity 
 reached 1,298,455 nounds. 
 
 This great quantity could not have been grown upon pure animals, 
 as they could not have been procured. It must have been the product 
 of graded animals. The best test of the value of thi.s i)roduct is that it 
 has become a regular commercial article. These facts, and the experi- 
 ence of the Southern gentlemen whom we have quoted, place it beyond 
 doubt that the culture of the Angora goat can be made a most remuner- 
 ative industry at the South. 
 
 TEXAS. 
 
 The sheep husbandry of this State is so distinct in its character from 
 that pursued or feasible in the older States of the South, and is of such 
 high importance, that it demands a separate consideration. The esti- 
 mated number of sheep in this State, in January, 1878, was 3,074,700. 
 It ranks at present as the third wool-producing State in the Union, 
 although having but about a hundred thousand head less than Ohio, 
 which has 3,783,000, and about half the number of California, which 
 has 6,561,000 head. 
 
 In its adaptation for sheep husbandry on a large scale, Texas pos- 
 sesses decided advantages over our other Southern States, enormous 
 ones over the ISTortheru and Eastern States, and many over California 
 and the trans-Missouri regions. The cheapness of land, its natural fer- 
 tility, its genial climate and exemption from tempestuo^is weather, ex- 
 cept in the northers, whose severity is generally much exaggerated; the 
 absence of seasons of continuous drought, owing to the influence of the 
 Gulf before referred to ; the possession of permanent winter grasses, 
 making the pasturage perennial, are advantages which will make Texas 
 one of the great wool-producing countries of the world. Dr. Eandall 
 said, in 1859, of regions of Texas which he had thoroughly studied : 
 
 I do not entertain a particle of doubt that wool can be raised more cheaply in those 
 regions than in any other portion of the globe where good government prevails, to 
 
96 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 make life tolerabk' aucl secure, and such property as sheep safe from frequent and ex- 
 tensive dejiredations. In no such portion are lands furnishing perennial pasturage, 
 or the use of such lands, so cheap. In none are general circumstances more favorable, 
 the accidental and occasional disadvantages so few. 
 
 Upon its aTinexatioii to the United States, in 1845, Texas retained, as 
 tlie most \'alnable, though then little ai^preciated, relic of the former 
 ^Mexican proinietors, scattered here and there, flocks of the so-called 
 "native" sheep of Mexico, of which large flocks still abound in that 
 country, and M'hicli still furnishes an easy supjjly of all that are needed. 
 This race, greatly deteriorated by neglect, small in size, and bearing 
 about two pounds of coarse wool, is supposed by many to be degenerated 
 Merinoes. It is now well established tliat they are descendants from the 
 Ohourni race of Spain, even at present distributed in all parts of that 
 kingdom — a race distinguished for its robust temperament, the facility 
 with ^\hich it is nourished, and its resistance to hunger and temiiestu- 
 ous seasons. When the animals are properly fed and bred, they may be 
 made to pioduce a long and very white, though coarse, wool, well 
 adapted for carpets. This is the stock which was the original founda- 
 tion of the ]iresent Texas flocks. 
 
 The first recognized improver of these sheep, and therefore the founder 
 of the iiresent slieep husbandry of Texas, was G. W. Kendall, who had 
 been an editor of a leading paper in New Oileans. He was the first to 
 conceive the idea of ingrafting the Merino stock upon the native Mex- 
 ican sheep. His experiments were attended witli extraordinary success. 
 He was, in his time, the largest wool-grower in the State. "Bi'aunfels" 
 (his establishment), about twenty miles northeast from San Antonio, 
 will take its place in the history of sheep husbandry with "Camden," 
 the initial i)oint from which the sheep husbandry of Australia, spread. 
 Ml'. Kendall did for Texas what Captain McArthur did for Australia. 
 They were the great benefactors of their respective countries. The 
 journalism of America can cite no better example of the influence of 
 that great profession than the results achieved by the journalist, Ken- 
 dall. 
 
 W^Q regret that, with all our efibrts, we have been unable to obtain 
 condensed original statements in regard to the shee]) husbandry of 
 Texas, like those so kindly furnished us by ]\Ir. Peters and Colonel Watts 
 in relation to (xeorgia and South Carolina. In their absence we must 
 content ourselves mainly with giving extracts fi-om the Texas corre- 
 spondents with the Department of Agriculture. Altliougli fragmentary 
 in their character, they will, perhaps, present a more exact picture of 
 the general sheep husbandry of the State than could be given by more 
 elaboiate and better-arranged statements. 
 
 AVe give the extracts at hazard, and without reference to the geo- 
 graphical position of the counties, or their bearing upon any paiticular 
 question in sheep husbandry. In order to preserve the piquancy of the 
 statements, the exact language of the correspondents is given in all 
 cases. The correspondents, it will be remend)eied, are selected by the 
 department fiom the most intelligent agriculturists residing in the sev- 
 eral counties. 
 
 A correspondent from Palo Pinto County writes : 
 
 A slicc])-niiser for several years says : Say for 1,000 head it will cost $300 for herding ; 
 extra hc^lp in lambing time, $30; salt, |15; cost of shearing, $50; feed during winter, 
 $200. We, imagine the Georgia bureau of agriculture knows but little about large 
 herds of sheep, as they are grown on prairie grass. They arc accustomed to herds of 
 from 10 to 100 liead. Such flocks are not ueccssa.Ty to be herded, and yield a line profit. 
 If we make it a specialty, and put .".OO to 1,000 in a herd, which is common here, they 
 will not pay so well. The figures made on paper will show tlu'ui to pay better than 
 anything else, but a very little experience shows the figures quite an error. Small 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 97 
 
 herds here will pay very well, aud much better than large, when they are so largo as 
 to require a herder. 
 
 NavaiTO County. — "I have been engaged," says the correspondent, "in sheep-raising 
 I'or fourteen years. In this and all the old settled prairie counties, 300 to 400 slieep 
 do well. One hundred per cent, gross profit is a fair statement. The profit dimiuishes 
 10 per cent, per 100 head as you go over 100. My flock has ranged from 300 to 1,000. 
 I put up annually 100 pounds of prairie hay and oue bushel of cotton seed to the sheep, 
 and have good shelter provided." 
 
 Goliad Comity. — This correspondent, Hon. Prior Lea, the writer has the pleasure of 
 knowing personally to be entitled to great confidence "Cost and profit of growing 
 wool may be estimated in two ways. Crediting increase of sheep as equal to all cost, 
 the wool would be net profit, and this, at least, is claimed by many persons. Without 
 crediting increase for more than enough to maintain the flock equal to its primitive 
 condition, a practical estimate for cost, considering every kind of item, might be from 
 10 to 12 cents per pound of unwashed wool, averaging 17 cents in market. This latter 
 mode gives broad margin for contingencies." 
 
 Brandon County. — " Cost of keeping sheep, about 25 cents per head; profit, 30 cents 
 to $1, exclusive of increase." 
 
 Another, same county: "Oue flock of 800 cost, for shepherd and salt, |275; net 
 profit, including wool and increase, 31 per cent." 
 
 Aransas County. — ^"Cost of keep, 10 per cent. ; profit, 50 to 60 per cent, on capital.- 
 Mr. P.'s flock average 50 per cent, of its total value as profit. About 100,000 sheep in 
 the county, mostly improved Merinoes." 
 
 Bexar County. — " One-half in farms under cultivation ; all the rest a complete past- 
 ure. Sheep-raisers say this is the best county they ever saw." 
 
 Callahan County. — " Flock of 2,000; 20 cents per head cost. Profit by wool, 40 cents 
 per head." 
 
 Fort Bend County. — "250,000 sheep could be raised in this county. One-quarter in 
 cultivation. All the rest adapted for sheep-pasture, yet no sheep worth mentioning ; 
 all cattle and cotton. At close of war sheep-raising began to decline, owing to de- 
 preciation of price of wool. A reaction has now taken place ; extensive pastures are 
 now being inclosed; improved breeds are introduced." 
 
 Kendall Count)/. — ^"Mr. B. has 1,000 head of sheep. Shears 5,000 pounds of wool; 
 at 28 cents, $1,400; cost of keep, $325; profit, $1,075." 
 
 Another, same county: "A successful sheep-raiser says: 'I commenced with 220 
 ewes, three years ago ; aud have sold sufficient of the flock to make an increase of 100 
 per cent, per year, average; aud the wool has averaged for that time from 75 cents to 
 |1, annually.'" 
 
 Lavaca County. — "Mr. S. B. M. has a flock of 1,500 head, let out to a herder on 
 shares ; and, therefore, furnishes a pretty fair sample as to profits. He gives the 
 herder one-quarter of the wool and one-quarter of the annual increase, that is, the 
 actual increase. He furnishes the salt, sheep dip, &c. The herder pays all other 
 expenses, except shearing ; and pays one-quarter of this amount. This makes the 
 yield to the owner — 
 
 For wool $800 00 
 
 The increase of the flock will average 800 head ; which, at $1.50 
 
 per lamb, in spring, makes lambs $1, 200 00 
 
 Beduct from this $1,200, one-quarter to herder 300 00 
 
 Which leaves 
 
 900 00 
 
 Leaving a balance as net profit, on one flock, of 1, 700 00 
 
 or about $l.li per head on the entire flock." 
 
 Nueces County. — There are several reports from this, the leading wool-producing 
 county in the State. 
 
 'Oue correspondent says: "Sheep husbandry is the leading industry; and a higher 
 degree of intelligence is devoted to it than to any other enterprise in the county." 
 
 Another says : " I would estimate the cost of keep and profits on the sheep (Spanish 
 Merino) as follows : 
 
 1 two-year-old e*e cost $5. 
 
 Dr. 
 To interest, one year, at 12 percent. $0 60 
 To cost of feed, herding, salt, (fcc. . 1 00 
 
 To buck service 40 
 
 To insurance 10 
 
 To shrinkage in value 70 
 
 Cr. 
 
 By 5i pounds wool, at 20 cents $1 10 
 
 By 75 per cent, of lamb, at $4 3 00 
 
 Total 4 10 
 
 Less cost of keep 2 80 
 
 Total 2 80 
 
 Per cent, of profit, 25. 
 S. Ex. 25 7 
 
 1 30. 
 
98 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 "My own flock, iio-w nnmberiiig 1,700, started 460 in 1873 (Merinoes and Cotswold 
 grade), has paid above per cent, of proiit, or more." 
 
 Another careful correspondent from the county of Nueces says: "Earns have been 
 imported in large numbers. Improvement is already far advanced. Flocks are shel- 
 tered from November 15 to February 1, by .selecting their range and night-camp on 
 the south side of some creek or prairie timber. There is no foot-rot. Semi-annual 
 lambing is generally adopted in this county ; the February or spring crop being always 
 the most preferable. One set of ewes lamb in the spring, and another set in the fall. 
 Those who sh(!ar the best and most desirable clips of wool handle their sheep in mod- 
 erately large flocks of 1,000 to l,i!O0 head. Provi.sion is only made for select sheep, 
 such as rams. Average weight of fleece, .5 pounds. Average cost of keeping, 25 to 28 
 cents. Profit, 72 to 75 cents. Where dipping has to be added, the general expenses 
 will be 3 to 4 cents per head. Good tobacco, liberally used, invariably cures the scab ; 
 all otherpreparations have failed.in this county. Profits on wool only given, as profits 
 from increase are rarely turned into cash. Ewe lambs of high grade sell readily for 
 $2.50 to $4 per head. The cost of kei']iiug, where the shepherd cares for only 1,000 
 sheep, is the cost given ; where he cares for 1,500 to 2,000, as many do the year round, 
 the real cost is proportionably less." 
 
 The number of sheep in this county, according to the retnirns of assess- 
 ors, is 656,000 ; and the remarkable fact is presented to us, that very 
 nearly the most southerly country of the whole United States is the 
 banner sheep county of the Union. The adjoining county, Starr, has 
 184,000 sheep. And these two counties have more sheep than the four 
 States of the South — Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana — 
 together; or the conjoined States of the North — New Hampshire, Ver- 
 mont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. 
 
 One of our own correspondents, certified to as one of the oldest and 
 best citizens of Texas, writes us as follows : 
 
 Waco, McLeixan County, Tex., January 12, 1878- 
 Sir : I have been directly or indirectly interested in wool-growing in this State and 
 section for many years. The country is rolling prairie laud; the soil, black, waxy, 
 and, in sections, quite sandy, and an excellent grazing country. The natural grasses 
 are the sedge and mescpiite : of the latter, three varieties — the best, the bearded 
 variety. My flocks have been French and Spanish Merinoes, mixed; the average pro- 
 duct of fleece being six pounds, at an average valuation, for five years, of 25 cents per 
 pound. This can be produced under favorable circumstances for 16 cents net cost to 
 the sheiJherd; but he should ha^ e not less than the 10 cents profit addeit, to make a 
 l)aying investment. If there is no change in our duties, I am cojifident that there is 
 no more promising industry in the country than Avool-growiiig ; but, if we are to have 
 reduced duties, or free wools, the occupation will have to lie abandoned. 
 
 There is no objection to sheep from ajiy section of the North or West, if free from 
 disease. For the ordinary wools, I would prefer the Merino; for mutton or combing- 
 wools, a cross of the t'otswold with pure-blood Merinoes. The country is uniformly 
 healthy for sheeji here. In three months of the winter the sheep should have some 
 feed — say one-third of their consumption. I would say that 65 cents a head would 
 cover every possible contingency or cost in sheep husbandry, per annum, in this sec- 
 tion. As I ha\'e said, if the farmers are to keep the protection they now have against 
 the producers of foreign -wools, there is no more pi'ofituble industry that any one who 
 ■will put his attention to the business can be engaged in. 
 Yours, truly, 
 
 AV. E. KELLUM. 
 
 Another of our own correspondents writes as follows : 
 
 Houston, Tex., Jamtary 9, 1878. 
 
 Dear Sir: I have had long experience in sheep husbandry in the San Joaquin 
 and Santa Barbara country, and also in Los Angeles, Cal. I know well Colonel 
 Hollistcr, Mr. Diljbles, of California., and other jirominent wool-growers there. I was 
 also for a time in Utah ; also, in Western Texas, which I regard as the best country 
 for the industry with which I am aciiuainted, if life and ]iroperty were only secure 
 against Mexican depredations. The climate, for man and beast, is unrivaled ; the feed 
 rich and unfailing all the year round. No country I know of could so well sustain the 
 large flocks which, from various causes, are being broken up in Csiliforuia. 
 
 In a parallel drawn north from Laredo to the Indian Territory, there is the best loca- 
 tion for the industry, in my judgment, in the country. But, until Uncle Sam will 
 protect us there, the life of the shej)herd and his flocks are in constant jeopardy from 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 99 
 
 the Mexicans. Tliese tliU'ves and inaranders operate in a regnlarly systematic way, 
 being fitted out and encouraged by the wealthy Mi^xicans living on or near the border, 
 ■who for yeais have been at the bottom of all the liorder troubles, from their desire for 
 annexation to this country. Their puqjose constantly is to provoke a war, believing 
 the result will be annexation, when they will then have a stable government, which 
 they know they never will have under any Mexican leader. » » » 
 
 There are other very fine fields for this industry near Corpus Christi, San Antonio, 
 north and south of Dallas ; but the finest section in this country, in my judgment, 
 must remain idle, unless, as I have said, the government will give protection. 
 
 S. W. PIPKIN. 
 
 Statements of Mr. Shaeffer. — After the above notes had been put in 
 press, the writer enjoyed the privilege of several personal interviews at 
 Washington with Mr. P. W. Shaeffer, of San Diego, Tex., commended 
 by members of the delegation in Congress from Texas as the highest 
 authority on sheep-growing in that State. The following notes, which 
 this gentleman permitted us to take at these interviews, will serve to 
 give a much more exact idea of the present condition and resources for 
 sheep husbandry in Texas than the notes before given. 
 
 Our informant, born in Ohio, was early in life engaged in mercantile 
 pursuits in the city of Kew York. Finding them uncongenial, he em- 
 barked in sheep husbandry in Texas, about the year 1857, settling in 
 the higher region of the State, north of San Antonio. The foundation 
 of his flocks, which now number 15,000 head, was sheep purchased be- 
 fore the war from a brother of General Beauregard, supplemented since 
 the war by 1,500 breeding ewes, obtained from the estates of Gr. W. 
 Kendall, identified with the introduction of improved sheep husbandry 
 into Texas. Finding the climate in the high region where he was first 
 established not as mild as he desired, he purchased lands in the more 
 southerly region of the State, about fifty miles from Corpus Christi, in 
 Nueces County, obtaining gradually about 80,000 acres ; the whole of 
 this great tract being inclosed in one vast pasture by a wire fence, which 
 cost upward of $16,000. Here he found the climate so mild that the 
 sheep thrive absolutely without shelter. He regards it as necessary 
 only to keep the sheep fat and in good condition, to enable them to 
 resist without inconvenience the cold wind and rain of that climate. 
 Even the shepherds have no shelter, except such as they may make 
 with their blankets, and no means of warming themselves but a fire on 
 the open ground. They suffer no inconvenience, however, from this 
 exposure, and are always on hand to take care of their sheep. 
 
 The sheep in this district are divided into single flocks of from 1,100 
 to 1,300 in number — usually about 1,100 — this being about the number 
 which can be advantageously kept together under the care of one shep- 
 herd. The ewes, with their lambs, are kept separate from the dry ewes 
 and the wethers, or muttons, as they are generally called. A thousand 
 or eleven hundred sheep will "herd" or keep nearly together* within a 
 space which the shepherd can easily move around. When driven out 
 on the range from the camping-ground, they are kept constantly moving 
 for a mile or two, the shepherd continually moving around the flock, 
 which is guided by his voice. They snatch their bites of grass as they 
 go slowly along. They return in the same way, slowly feeding, to the 
 
 * Mr. Shaeffer gives a satisfactory reason for the fact, often stated without explana- 
 tion, that the English races of sheep — the Cotswolds, Leicesters, &o. — cannot be kept 
 in large flocks. The reason he gives is, that the Cotswolds will not "herd" or keep 
 together like the Merinoes. While feeding, they invariably scatter over a wide domain. 
 A Cotswold, if tired, will lie down and cannot be driven up by the shepherd, and when 
 it recovers is liable to wander off and join another.flock. Mr. Shaeffer thinks that the 
 Cotswold blood should never be introduced into large flocks of Merino sheep. With- 
 out greater care in breeding than the ordinary flock-master can exercise, they wiU 
 make the wool of the flocks uneven, and ultimately ruin them. 
 
100 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 camping-ground, generally selected on the southerly side of some creek 
 or under the shelter of the i)rairie timber. In rainy or cold weather, the 
 sheep travel much more briskly than in warm. In A'ery hot, dry weather, 
 they often will not feed by day, making up for it by feeding late in the 
 night. Thoroughbred shepherd-dogs have been tried, but have been 
 found useless, except to relieve lazy shepherds, who can do the necessary 
 guiding much better than the dog. The flocks, however, are usually 
 attended by cur dogs, which are useful for frightening away wild animals. 
 These curs having been suckled when young upon goats, continue to 
 attach themselves to the flock. The shepherd-dogs were discarded, be- 
 cause it was found that when they drove the sheep they caused them to 
 huddle together, thus making a great loss of teeding time. It is of the 
 first importance to keep the animal fat. Its fat condition not only makes 
 the fiber strong, but enables the sheep to resist the storms and cold. If 
 sheep are fat, they are also better able to endure' occasional droughts. 
 All the sustenance in the country in question is supplied by the natural 
 ])asturage, which consists of different varieties of the mesquite grass. 
 A great superiority of these grasses over the annual grasses of California 
 consists in their being perennial, and having long and stout roots which 
 cannot be pulled up by the sheep nor trodden down. Although the 
 grass may be apx^arently dry during a drought, after a rain it becomes 
 perfectly green in a week or ten days. The rams, it may be observed, 
 except when they range with the ewes, are confined in inclosed pastures. 
 They receive in winter extra forage, either cotton-seed (which is consid- 
 ered more nourishing than giain) or, more generally, oats. A new vari- 
 ety of oats has recently been grown in Texas, called the "anti-rust." 
 This variety has been known to produce as high as 100 bushels to the 
 a<;re, weighing ."iT pounds to the bushel instead of 32. Througli its intro- 
 duction, the price of oats has beeji reduced from about 70 or 75 cents to 
 22 cents. It is sown in ]Sro\ ember and fed off during tlie M'inter, which 
 increases the crop of grain. This variety would be admirablj- adajited 
 to the Georgia iniie-lands for a winter forage for sheep. 
 
 Althoiigh the original stock upon which ivir. Shaeffer's flocks were en- 
 grafted was principally the native Mexican sheep, improved liy Merino 
 bucks, the Mexican blood has been so completely eradicated as to show 
 no trace of its existence. The native Mexicans would weigh scarcely 
 more than from .50 to 55 i^ounds, gross weight, and produce fleeces of 
 ])oor wool, weighing about 2 pounds. Theimproved sheep of 31r. Shaeffer 
 average for the whole flock seven pounds of unwashed fine wool. His 
 wethers — or "muttons," to adopt the Texan term — will weigh, at foiu' 
 years old, 100 pounds gross weight. • 
 
 These sheep, which are of the best inqjroved American ^Merino stock, 
 make excellent mutton. Tlie mutton fed upon the niesqirite grass never 
 has any of the rankuess or muttony flavor i)eculiar to those sheep at the 
 North. A great luimber are now sent from Nvreces and other counties 
 in Texas to Saint Louis and Chicago, wliere they bring good prices. 
 They reach these markets before the Western sheep are sheared and 
 ready for the butcher; and they form an important source of supply for 
 these markets in the spring, coming in like the Southern vegetables to 
 our Northern markets. A notice has recently been published of the 
 loading of ten double-decked cars, carrying 100 animals each, with sheej), 
 at San Antonio, destined for the Chicago market, at a distance of 1,500 
 miles. One flock of three-yearold wethers was sold by Mr. Shaeffer for 
 $3 a head, to a party who pastured them for two years in Texas, receiv- 
 ing their wool for this period ; and who sent them to market iu New Or- 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 101 
 
 leans, at five years old, where their fatness and the excellence of their 
 meat was the subject of general comment. Mr. Webster used often to 
 say, at his dinner-table, that he never knew the secret of making good 
 nmtton until he visited England, where he found that it was age, the 
 best mutton being dve years old. While the sheep increase but little in 
 weight after the third year, the meat constantly improves in quality. 
 It may be readily seen how easy it is to obtain good mutton where the 
 food costs absolutely nothing,- and almost the only cost of keeping the 
 sljeep till full maturity is the interest of the capital, while the sheej) 
 are all the time producing their- semi-annual returns of wool. 
 
 The flocks in this country are kept up by the constant purchase of 
 regenerators. These are the rams raised in New York, Vermont, and 
 Ohio by skilled breeders, who find this much more profitable than grow- 
 ing large numbers of sheep for wool or mutton. A very large number 
 of Northern rams are sold in Texas. Mr. Shaeffer has himself purchased 
 over 800 at the North, many of them from Dr. Randall. There are at 
 present five hundred rams in Corpus Christi; all which will be sold at 
 prices ranging from $30 to $50, and very choice animals for $100. The 
 Texas sheep-husbandry is thus the means of keeping up the most profit- 
 able branch of sheep culture at the North — a branch which may be car- 
 ried on upon the highest-priced lands. The high-priced rams are kept 
 in Texas two or three years, and sold at a less price to persons com- 
 mencing the sheep business with but little capital. 
 
 It had been the custom for the Texan flock-masters to sell the high- 
 bred rams produced from their own flocks only at the high prices de- 
 manded by the Northern breeders. Mr. Shaefter early saw that he could 
 benefit his country better, and do as well for himself, by changing this 
 system. He found that the young men of his country going into the 
 sheep business could not pay these high prices and make a living. He 
 therefore reduced the prices of the high-bred rams which he had raised 
 in Texas to from five to ten dollars, and sold a great many more by so 
 doing. This had the eft'ect of greatly extending the improvement of the 
 flocks in the country. Another step taken by him was important for 
 the development of the country in the direction of sheep-growing. Mr. 
 Shaefier found that contests were constantly occurring between the 
 cattle-herders and the shepherds. He therefore began gradually to 
 purchase all the lands he required; his example was followed by others; 
 and at present the greater part of the land in the sheep region is held in 
 freehold by the respective flock-masters. 
 
 There has now been so long and extensive an exijerience in this 
 country as to reduce the methods of the peculiar pastoral sheep-hus- 
 bandry to a well-established system, which is so simple that it may be 
 easily learned by any intelligent person. The plant required for the 
 business, except the first stock of ewes and rams, is exceedingly small. 
 No buildings are required, if we except the covered platform for shear- 
 ing. A rude camp is all that is necessary for the flock-master, and a 
 wagon with a pair of horses for his supplies ; of course he will have a saddle- 
 horse. The well-arranged ranohe is an after luxury, to be earned by the 
 profits of the enterprise. The aim is to have flocks of at least 1,000 or 1,100 
 head, for each of which one shepherd — invariably a native Mexican, 
 caUed a pastore — is required. It is desirable that the proprietor shouhl 
 have at 16ast three flocks of this number. The separate flocks, each with 
 its shepherd, are so located that they can be brought at night to a cen- 
 tral camp, where the baccierro, or sheep-overseer, also a native Mexican, 
 is established. This overseer is necessary, in aU cases, to relieve the 
 
102 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 ■shepherds in case of accident, and to cook their rations. The haccierros, 
 as a class, are remarkable for their fidelity. The impedimenta of the 
 camp, if tliej' may be called by this name, consist only of the I'udest 
 cooking- utensils and the stores of provisions, no shelter being required, 
 and the bed of the shepherd being a sheejj-skin. The food or rations of 
 the sheidierd are corn for ^or^i^as, or, sometimes, flour, coffee, and fresli 
 meat, no pork or bacon being used. The fresh meat is almost invariably 
 supplied by goats, which are pastured with the sheep for this ijui-pose. 
 They cost about a dollar a head. Their flesh is excellent, and preferred 
 by the Mexicans to any other. The quantity of goats' meat which the 
 jmstore will consume is enormous ; the consumption being about one goat 
 a weelv to the shepherd. 
 
 The shearing seasons are the busiest times for the Texan flock-master, 
 not only on account of the number of extra hands to be overlooked, but 
 because upon the care exercised at these periods, in culling, dej)ends the 
 future character of the flocks ; and the tying up of tlie wool nicely is 
 important for its sale. The shearings take place twice a year. The spring 
 shearing commences about April 15, and the fall shearing about Sep- 
 tember 15. The shearings continue from three to four weeks, according 
 to the weather. The practice of two shearings a year has beeu adopted, 
 from the experience that it is most advantageous for the warm climate 
 of Texas. It has been a mooted question whether there is more profit 
 in shearing twice a year than once. By shearing twice, the wool, of 
 coarse, is shorter; is fitted for only one purpose, that of clothing; and 
 brings a less price per pound. The high prices of wools for combing 
 purposes, for which many of the improved wools of Texas, if suffered 
 to grow to their fall length, are well adapted, is lost, and there is the 
 additional expense of the extra shearing. But, on the other hand, the 
 sheep sheared twice a year are healthier and keep fatter, and the shear- 
 ing cthecks the scab, if there is any tendency to this disease. The flock- 
 master gets the money for his wool twice a year instead of once — an im- 
 portant consideration where the least rate of interest is one per cent, a 
 month. The double shearing is espc cially advantageous to the lambs. 
 By giving them their first shearing in August, to be repeated in the next 
 spring, their health and growth are greatly promoted, and consequently 
 the general increase of the flock. Mr. Shaeifer believes it would be ad- 
 vantageous to shear the lambs twice, even at the North. Seeing the 
 lambs in the flock of an eminent breeder in Missouri failing, Mr. Shaeffer 
 recommended immediate shearing. Tlie advice was followed, and all 
 were saved ; one of these lambs (a ram), when grown, was afterward 
 sold for 8150. 
 
 The shearing in Texas is all performed by Mexicans, from both sides 
 of the river Eio Grande ; many coming in, for this purpose, even from 
 as far as Monterey. They shear by the head ; the usual j)rice being 
 $3.50 per hundied for fine sheei:). The shearers average about thirty 
 head a day. The shciiring is performed on a floor or platform, esi)ec- 
 ially constructed for tlus purjiose. The most careful flock-masters have 
 this floor protected by a roof. The barn floors of the North, it must be 
 remembered, are not known in Texas. In shearing, the Mexicais tie 
 down the sheep upon the floor, usually about ten at a time. This time 
 tlie flock-master improves for examining his sheep and the character of 
 their fleeces. He selects those which are to be culled out on Etccount of 
 age or defects of fleece, or those which are to be jjreserved for special 
 uses in breeding ; makes the pioper marks upon the animals, duly en- 
 tering them into his sheep-book. The wool from the spring shearing is 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 103 
 
 tied up in fleeces ; the fall shearing, being light, is put in sacks, without 
 being tied. The packing the wool in sacks, although it cauuot be dis- 
 pensed with, is considered disadvantageous to the grower of the wools ; 
 as wool from inferior fleeces, or an inferior part of the body, is liable to 
 be mixed with better wool, and to prejudice the whole lot to the buyer. 
 It is believed that a profitable enterprise, and one very advantageous 
 to the Texan gTowers, would be the establishment in that country of ex- 
 tensive wool-scouring establishments, like those in Belgium and France. 
 The facility of obtaining scoured wool would be advantageous to man- 
 ufacturers with small capital and establishments, and in saving of 
 freight. The sheep in Texas, it must be observed, are never washed. 
 The water is calcareous ; and perhaps contains iron, because it makes 
 the wool black. 
 
 Even with the rich pastures of Texas, it is deemed desirable to have 
 at least two acres to every sheep. It is of the first importance that 
 the range should not be overstocked. A much larger range is required 
 than in regular, in^^losed pastures, over which the sheep scatter as soon 
 as they are driven to them ; while in the open range, under the care of 
 the herder, much of the grass is trodden down by the sheep passing 
 from one point to another in compact flocks from their sleeping grounds. 
 The pi'oportion of bucks required for tlie ewes is larger than in the 
 North, as the bucks run with the ewes on the range about five weeks. 
 Three bucks are required for every hundred ewes. The mam lambing 
 takes place from February 20 to April 1. It is an interesting observation 
 iu regard to lambing, that it is attended with mtich less danger and diffi- 
 culty where the sheep live in the natural state of wild animals, than under 
 a more artificial system. This applies, also, to the general health of the 
 animals. During the lambing season, in the evening or next morning, 
 after the flock of ewes, with the lambs drojjped during the day — say 
 from fifty to one hundred — are driven into the camping- ground, the 
 ewes with the newly dropped lambs are separated from the flock, and 
 suffered to rest until the middle of the day, near the camping-ground. 
 The next day, they are moved to another camp-ground, to give place to 
 those which come on that day; the last comers to join those which came 
 on the previous day. This continues until a flock of about 500 ewes and 
 500 lambs is made up, which is kept separate. It is not safe to calcu- 
 late, one year with another, that the number of lambs raised will be 
 more than eighty per cent, of the ewes. 
 
 All the ewes which lose their lambs for any cause are tui-ned in with 
 bucks by the first of June, to lamb in November. 
 
 Our informant has but little faith in estimates of profits, as the cir- 
 cumstances vary so much in the situation of the establishment, and the 
 liersonal and economical habits of the flock-master. He has consented, ' 
 however, to make a statement of the necessary expenses and results, 
 with one flock of 1,100 sheep, in one year. 
 
 EXPENSES. 
 
 Shepherds and wages, at $11 per month and rations $250 00 
 
 Sliearing and sundry expenses at shearing-time 77 00 
 
 Dipping for scab, four cents per head 44 00 
 
 Sheep dip for worm& 5 00 
 
 Extra labor - 20 00 
 
 396 00 
 
 Salt is not required near the coast or with mesquite grass. 
 
104 SIIEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 EBCEIPTS. 
 
 1,100 sheep, at 5 pounds per head, equals 5,500 pounds 'wool; 
 at 20 cents per pound .20 
 
 Cash receipts $1,100.00 
 
 $1, 100 00 
 
 80 per cent, increase, 880 head, at $3 2,640 00 
 
 Less expenses $398 00 
 
 Interest on $5,000, at 12 per cent j 600 00 
 
 Rent of place 100 00 
 
 3,740 00 
 
 1,096 00 
 
 1,096 00 
 2,644 00 
 
 In this statement tlie expenses of the overseer are not included. One 
 is required, in all cases ; but one will suffice for three or four flocks. It 
 is best to start with 1,600 head of ewes, because after lambing they can 
 be divided into three flocks of ewes with their Iambs, with an expense 
 of but one haccierro and one camp, and three shepherds. At the end of 
 five months the lambs are weaned and taken from their mothers. Then, 
 until the next lambing' time, which will take place in the succeeding 
 March, the sheep can be well cared for by only two shepherds and one 
 overseer, the ewes being in one flock and the lambs in another. 
 
 The procedure and increase may be illustrated as follows : 
 
 We will suppose the new floci-master commences — 
 
 October, 1876, with ewes 1,600 
 
 March, 1877, the ewes produce 80 per cent, of lambs 1, 280 
 
 September, 1877, weans the lambs; places them in one flock, and the ewes in 
 another, making only two flocks. 
 
 March, 1873, there are'ewes-. 1,600 
 
 March, 1878, there are yearlings; one-half ewes and the other half wethers .. -. 1,2811 
 March, 1878, there are iambs^ as 1877 1,280 
 
 Ma-king four flocks; three of ewes and lambs, and oue of yearlings 4, 160 
 
 October, 1878, there are breeding ewes 1, 600 
 
 October, 1878, there are young ewes 640 
 
 Total to go to ram in October 2,240 
 
 March, 1879, there are wethers, two years old 640 
 
 March, 1879, there are yearlings (ewes and wethers) 1,280 
 
 March, 1879, there are breeding ewes 2, 240 
 
 March, 1879, there are lambs 2,240 
 
 6,400 
 
 October, 1879, there are breeding ewes 2,2411 
 
 October, 1879, there are yearling ewes 640 
 
 Making number of ewes to go to ram 2, 880 
 
 March, 1880, there are breeding ewes 2, 880 
 
 March, 1880, there are lambs 2, 880 
 
 March, 1880, there arc wethers, three years old 640 
 
 March, 1880, there are wethers, two years old : 640 
 
 March, 1880, there are yearlings, ewes, and wethers 2, 240 
 
 Total number March^ 1880 9, 280 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 105 
 
 Advice to emigrants. — The adventurer from a distance, seeking to in- 
 vest in slieep-husbandry in Texas, is advised to proceed directly either 
 to Corpus Christi or San Antonio, from each of which points he can 
 make observations with convenience, and obtain information as to de- 
 sirable locations. He should spend three or four months looking around 
 for a range. The ewes may be carried from the West or bought in Texas. 
 Mexican ewes can be purchased at 75 cents per head, and improved 
 sheep for from $1.50 to $4. Texas raised rams can be bought for $10, 
 and imported rams for from $30 to $50. It would be more safe to rent 
 a tract of land, which he can probably obtain at a very cheap rate — say 
 $100 per year for enough land to feed two flocks of sheep of 1,100 each. 
 As he may not like the business or the locality, it would be more prudent 
 at first not to purchase a range. If he is willing to incur greater risks 
 to secure the proprietorship of an extensive range at a moderate price, 
 he may go higher into the country, where the land belongs to the State. 
 A 640-acre certificate of State land can be bought for about $200, or a 
 certificate of the alternate lands granted to railroads as low as $100. 
 Generally the exjiense to secure a patent, including certificate and cost 
 of surveying,would amount to about 50 cents to the acre. As two acres 
 are required for a sheep, it wiU be seen, from the statement of increase 
 before given, that the command of a very broad range is required to 
 make the increase available ; and that, with such a command, there are 
 chances for very large profits. The ad^-enturer, if he has a family, must 
 place them in some of the towns or tillages most convenient to his range. 
 His personal presence on his range will be indispensable for his success, 
 and he will find ample occupation. Bat he can safely trust the Mexican 
 haccierros when making occasional visits to his family. 
 
 The advantages of Texas for sheep-growing are now attracting persons 
 of experience in Australia and English and Scotch emigrants with capi- 
 tal. Besides our informant with his 15,000 sheep, there are others in 
 !Nueces and Duval Counties with flocks often to twenty thousand head. 
 The Callahan flock, in Star County, the proprietor living at Laredo, 
 numbers sixty thousand head. When we see how rapid the increase is, 
 and that there are 80,000,000 acres of land still unlocated in Texas, we 
 can see that, if there is no legislation to distuxb the wool business of the 
 country, and the Mexican and the Indian depredations are checked, it 
 will not be many years before Texas will rival Australia. Mr. Shaeiier 
 states, as an illustration of the rapidity with which sheep-husbandry is 
 advancing in this State, that in 1876 San Antonio received but 600,000 
 pounds of wool, which is sent through Galveston. In 1877 she received 
 2,000,000 pounds. The wool of Ifueces and the neighboring counties is 
 whipped from Corjjus Christi. In 1866 there were shipped only 600,000 
 pounds. This year there will be shipped 6,500,000 pounds. 
 
 The following statement, illustrative of the profits which may be de- 
 rived from sheep-growing in Texas, was made to us by Col. John S. 
 Ford, a State senator, and formerly a member of the congress of Texas 
 before annexation. We give it exactly in the language of Colonel Ford, 
 as noted by us and subsequently read to him : 
 
 Dr. Tliomas Kearney, formerly collector of customs of the port of Corpus Christi, 
 and Major James Carr, made in 1870 or 1872 an investment of $5,000 in sheep-hus- 
 bandry ; bought ranch and buildings about sixty miles northwest from Laredo, Webb 
 County, Texas, the land about 13,000 acres and the sheep well improved. At the end 
 of five years Dr. Kearney sold out his interest to Carr, that is, one-half interest, for 
 $20,000. In August, 1877, Carr refused a $60,000 otter, which he had from William 
 Votaus, for his sheep ranch with the sheep ; the exact facts being that Votaus offered 
 $30,000 in cash and one of the best-improved places on the San Antonio River, which 
 had cost Mm about $60,000. 
 
 Mr. Shaeffer says that Carr ought to have taken the offier. 
 
106 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 Colonel Ford fully confirms the statements about the Mexican and 
 Indian depredations, before made, which extend as far as a hundred miles 
 from the Eio Grande. There is no necessity for this confirmation, how- 
 ever, to anj" one who will read the exhaustive reports prepai'ed by Mr. 
 Schleicher, of the Texas delegation, in Congress. Colonel Ford says 
 that the Jlexicans do not run the sheep off, because the sheep cannot be 
 made to travel fast enough ; but they kill the shei^herds. 
 
 Obstacles to sheep growing in Texas. — Conversations with many intelli- 
 gent Texans, and the perusal of manj^ documents relative to Mexican 
 outrages, have led us to fully adopt the opinion expressed by one of our 
 correspondents, that the most formidable obstacle to the almost indefinite 
 extension of sheep-husbandry in Texas is the liability of the territory 
 to Mexican and Indian depredations. The opinion widely prevails at 
 the North that the border troubles in Texas have been exaggerated for 
 the purpose of provoking a, war with Mexico. In our belief there is no 
 foundation for this opinion. The extent of the depredations, and their 
 ruinous effects upon settlements, are proved by incontestable evi- 
 dence. A peaceful and comparatively inexpensive remedy for the 
 border troubles is strongly urged by influential citizens of Texas. It 
 is the granting a moderate subsidy ($6,000 per mile) to a railroad 
 projected from Galveston to Camargo, in Mexico, near the Eio Grande, 
 a distance of 352 miles.* It is reasonably urged that this road to Ca- 
 margo — the key to the commerce of Mexico by a land route — would es- 
 tablish friendly commercial relations with Mexico, and heal the irritation 
 Avhich keeps up the border troubles, and thus prevent war ; while, in 
 case of war, it would furnish the means of quickly transporting troops 
 and supplies to the most important point of defense. If the proposed 
 road will accomplish this, it will directly promote the interests of the 
 cotton and wool manufacturers of the North.t To Texas, more than 
 any other State, do the textile manufacturers of the North look for the 
 supply of their mills. No other State is making such rapid progress in 
 l)Opulation, i>roduction, and wealth. With an area which exceeds that 
 of the German Empire by about 60,000 miles ; with a capacity to produce 
 almost all the products of the temperate zone ; with sugar lands on the 
 southern border which could yield double the quantity of sugar and 
 molasses required for our whole consumption, Texas is above all i)re-emi- 
 nent for its resources in textile material. On less than one-half of 1 per 
 cent, of its area it produced, in 1875, one-half of all the cotton consumed 
 in the United States ; and 4 per cent, of its area would be capable of 
 producing all the cotton now consumed in Europe and the United States, 
 over 6,000,000 bales.| Add to this its cai^acity for wool-production, and 
 we have a State without parallel in the extent of its natural resources. 
 Such a State should not be grudged the trivial sum i-equired to establish 
 peace upon its borders. 
 
 * No such thorough and satlsfactoiy mode of settling Indian troubU'S has heen dis- 
 covered as the construction of a railroad through the Indian country. The war-whoop 
 of the savage is never heard within sound of tlie locomotive Avhistle. The civilization 
 that is represented by the church, the school-luuise, and the farm the Indian regards 
 as his legitimate xirey ; but when it conies clothed with the thunder of the advancing 
 railroad train, he retires from the contest. — Speech of Hon. W'lUiam irindoin, of Minne- 
 sota, in the United States Senate, on the Northern Faeific liallroad. 
 
 t We refer to this scheme as only one of the means of peacefully solving the border 
 troubles. A still broader scheme in the same direction, but with even a nuire modest 
 demand for government patronage, is the proposal for a government survey of a rail- 
 road route from Austin, Tex., to the Rio Grande, and from thence to the port of Topo- 
 lovampo, on the Pacific ; the distance from San Antonio to the western ocean being 
 less than 700 miles. A railroad in this direction would be a peaceful solution of the 
 Mexican question. 
 
 X Report of Mr. Edward Atkinson ou cotton at the International Exhibition. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDE Y. 107 
 
 We are compelled to omit much in this paper which is demanded to 
 give a full description of the sheep-husbandry of the South. But 
 neither our object nor our space would permit us to make this paper a 
 gazetteer of the South in its sheep resources and production. We have 
 made no reference to Western Virginia, wjth its splendid sheep-hus- 
 bandry, including the Panhandle, where the best fine wool in the United 
 States is grown ; because this country, from its contiguity, really be- 
 longs to the Ohio and Western Pennsylvania wool-producing region. 
 Neither have we made reference to the mutton and combing-wool pro- 
 duction of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware, although it is a very im- 
 portant feature of the husbandry of these States, because there is noth- 
 ing characteristic and peculiar to distinguish it from the industry of 
 New Jersey. Missouri, as a wool-producing State, belongs rather to the 
 West than the South. We ought not, however, to omit an enumeration 
 of the sheep in the States south of Mason and Dixon's line. On the 
 first of January their numbers were as follows, according to the Depart- 
 ment of Agriculture : 
 
 Nuniber of sheep in Southern States, January, 1878. 
 
 iNo. of sheep. 
 
 Delaware 35,000 
 
 Marylaud .j 151,200 
 
 Virginia 422,000 
 
 North Carolina 490,000 
 
 South Carolina 175,000 
 
 Georgia 382,300 
 
 Florida 56,500 
 
 Alabama 270, 000 
 
 Mississippi 250,000 
 
 Louisiana 125, 000 
 
 Texas 3,674,700 
 
 Arkansas 285,000 
 
 Tennessee 850,000 
 
 West Virginia 549,900 
 
 Kentucky 900,000 
 
 Missouri 1,271,000 
 
 Total 9,887,600 
 
 IXumier of sheep in the Northern and Western States, January, 1878. 
 
 Ko. of aheep. 
 
 Maine 528,800 
 
 New Hampshire 239,900 
 
 Vermont 461,400 
 
 Massachusetts 60, 300 
 
 Ehode Island 24,500 
 
 Connecticut 92, 500 
 
 New York 1,518,100 
 
 New .Jersey 128,300 
 
 Pennsylvania 1,607,600 
 
 Oliio 3,783,000 
 
 Michigan 1,750,000 
 
 Indiana 1 1,092,700 
 
 Illinois 1,258,500 
 
 Wisconsin 1,323,700 
 
 Minnesota 300,000 
 
 Iowa 560,000 
 
 Kansas , 156,000 
 
 Nebraska 62,400 
 
 California 6,-561,000 
 
 Oregon 1,074,600 
 
 Nevada 1 72,000 
 
 Colorado 600,000 
 
 The Territories 2,600,000 
 
 Total 25,852,300 
 
108 SHEEP-HUSBANDKY. 
 
 GEJ^ERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 
 
 Relationof wool-product lont.o customs duties. — This paper, intended for cir- 
 culation at the South, where tlieoretical opinions on questions of political 
 economy, differing from our own, largely prevail, is no place for the discus- 
 sion of the vexed questions of free trade and protection. But it would be 
 a false delicacy on our part wholly to ignore the absolute deiiendence of 
 the sheep-husbandry of the United States upon a wise revenue legislation. 
 The practical fact exists that the revenue of the United States, for a long 
 time to come, must be principall.y obtained from duties on foreign imports. 
 All, independently of their theoretical oi)inions, will admit that these 
 duties should be so imposed as to least injure the national industries. 
 Many, who are not theoretically protectionists, will go even further, 
 and admit that the encouragement of a national wool industry rises 
 above all questions of economical theory, and that it comes within those 
 exceptions to the theory of free-trade which even Chevalier, Mill, and 
 Bright are compelled to concede, for the necessities of a nation's exist- 
 ence. Wool-growing, unlike the production of any other textile mate- 
 rial, can be advantageously pursued in every State of our territory. 
 No single industry can be mentioned so cosmopolitan in its character as 
 that of the production and maniijulation of wool, or to which national 
 encouragement caji be given with less risk of rousing sectional jealousies. 
 The wool- industry is eminently national in its character, because it sub- 
 serves the two great primal necessities of a people— those of food and 
 clothing. Sheep, by their manure, are capable of doubling the product 
 of the wheat-lauds on which they are raised. Their flesh is the most 
 nourishing of all animal food. A sheep-husbandry, made abundant by 
 legislative encouragement of wool-production, is the most effectual means 
 of diminishing the cost of all animal food to our whole population, and 
 thus may be truly said to reimburse manifold the alleged increased cost 
 of clothing to our people caused by the xJrotective duties on wool. The 
 wool-industry is a necessity for the highest national development; be- 
 cause it promotes the highest arts of stock-breeding, is an indispensable 
 adjunct to the most advanced form of agriculture, a mixed husbandry, 
 and its pastoral form is the pioneer to new settlements. In its manu- 
 facturing dei^artment it more than any other industry promotes the 
 highest mechanical, chemical, and decorative arts; and is the invariable 
 precursor of a diversified manufacture, with its attendant results of 
 wealth and culture. 
 
 These considerations are suggested, not as claims for high protective 
 duties on wool or manufactures of wool, but as reasons for deliberation 
 and wisdom in fixing the duties on those articles which are required for 
 the national reveiuie. The most intelligent wool manufacturers admit 
 the justice and propriety of reasonably protective duties on wool, the 
 only means of affording national encouragement to the sheep-industry 
 of the country, which we must have for food as well as clothing. It is 
 doubtful if even Texas, w^ith its wonderful pastoral advantages, could 
 ever compete, without the aid of protective duties, with the Pampas of 
 South America in the production of wool. The cost of transporting 
 wool is so slight, but two cents per pound even from Australia to New 
 York, that distance is no protection ; and the Texan flock-master cannot 
 I)rocure labor for the wages of the Indian shepherds of the Pampas ; 
 while, like all other producers in this country, he is subject to the de- 
 mands imposed by American civilization and our high local taxation. 
 Even if the American flock-master could produce his wool as cheaply as 
 the foreigner, he must be defended against the inpouriug of foreign sur- 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 109 
 
 pluses which, without defensive barriers, are liable at any moment to 
 break down our markets. 
 
 Adjustment of ditties on manufactures to duties on wool. — All the duties 
 imposed for the protection of wool-growers, it need not be said, are paid 
 by- the wool manufacturers, who thus labor under a burden from whicli 
 the cotton, linen, and silk manufacturers are free ; all the raw material 
 for the two first being produced at home, and raw silk being free from 
 duty. Notwithstanding the apparently high duty imposed upon fabrics 
 of wool, it is a fact capable of demonstration that, after deducting the 
 duty which the wool manufacturers of this country pay upon the foreign 
 wool which they consume, or the amoxmt by which the domestic wool 
 they consume is enhanced by the wool-duty, the wool manufacture of 
 this country, under the existing laws, receives less protection than any 
 branch of the textile industry. The fact that the wool manufacturer 
 must pay the wool duty makes it of the highest importance to him that 
 the relations of the duties on the wool manufactures should be accu- 
 rately adjusted to the duties on wool. The proper relations of these 
 duties is to him of lar more importance than the amount of the protective 
 duty he may receive. 
 
 The American wool manufacturer has to compete with European man- 
 ufacturers, who invariably have their wool free of duty. Since 1861 our 
 tariff laws have recognized that our wool manufacturers should be 
 placed in the same position as if, like the European manufacturers, their 
 wool were exempt from duty. A specific duty is placed upon the cloth, 
 .intended to exactly reimburse the duty paid on the wool. But this 
 specific duty gives the manufacturer no protection, and he has at least 
 equal claims to protection with the wool-grower; for, irrespectively of 
 the wisdom of the policy of any ijrotection, if it is adopted, it should be 
 applied to all domestic industries. Our tariff laws therefore provide, in 
 addition to the specific duty on fabrics, neutralizing the wool-duty, an 
 ad valorem duty for the protection of the manufacturer. This system ot 
 compound duties is the only one which will permit protection to the 
 grower without injury to the manufacturer. It was adopted after great 
 deliberation, has proved highly advantageous to both interests, is at- 
 tended with no difficulty in its administration, and should be retained. 
 
 American mills the only market for domestic wool. — We have deemed it 
 proper to refer to these highly important relations of a wisely-adjusted 
 tariff to the wool maiuifacture, because the prosperity of wool production 
 and sheep husbandry at the South, and its further extension, absolute]/ 
 depend upon the prosperity of the American wool manufacturers. It 
 has been shown elsewhere that the value of all the wool exported from 
 this country does not equal the value of the playing-cards which we 
 have imported. For many years to come the sole market for the wools 
 of the South must be her own mills and those of the North. It is doubt- 
 ful if the South will ever be able to export wools to foreign countries in 
 competition with Australia, the Argentine Republic, Southern Russia, 
 and the Oai)e of Good Hope. The wool-growers of the South will, there- 
 fore, best advance their own interests by fav^oring the national policy 
 which promotes, by reasonable and just provisions, the interests of their 
 consumers, the manufacturers. 
 
 Wool-growers' associations. — The Southern wool-growers, should, be- 
 sides, establish direct relations with their consumers, the manufacturers, 
 and consult them in regard to the character of wools required for fab- 
 rics ; but, above all, should encourage the erection of woollen-mills in 
 their own country, that their market may be at their own doors. They 
 should also cultivate relations with the wool-growers of the North and 
 
110 SHEEP-HUSB ANDEY. 
 
 West, and enter into that community of sentiment and iinrpose required 
 to make a great national wool industry. For this purpose, as well as 
 for general improvement, wool-growers' and slieep-breedcrs' associa- 
 tions should be formed in each of the Southern States, as has been done 
 in many States at the North and West. Nothing has contributed so 
 much to the marvellous improvements which have been made of late 
 years in this country as these associations. As an illustration of the 
 high standards of excellence secured by these associations, we give in a 
 note the i^rogramme of the Annual Fair of the Sheep I?reeders' and 
 Wool-Growers' Association of the State of New York.* 
 
 * Annual Fair of the Xeir Yorl: State Sheep-Breeders' and Tl'ool-Growers' Association, at 
 Hemlock Lake, if. T., May 1 and 2, 1878. 
 
 CLASSIFICATIOT. 
 
 Prizes are offered on each dirision of three classes of sheep, as follows: First class. — 
 Americax Merinoks. Dir. 1. — Bved for constitutiou, form, A-seij^ht of fleece, ijnality 
 artaptecl to mauufactnre of doniestic woolens. l>ir. 2. — Bred for constitution, form, 
 fineness of fleece, quality adapted to manufacture of hroadcloths and similar fabrics. 
 Dir. 3. — Bred for constitution, form, length of staple (2| inches at one year's growth 
 lieing required), quality adapted to manufacture of delaines and similar falirics. 
 Second class. Dir. 4. — Cotswolds. Dir. 5. — LixcOLSS. Dir. 6. — Leicesters. Third 
 class. Dir. 7. — Dowxs, or Middle-wooled. 
 
 PRIZES. 
 
 Prizen are offered in each of the aliove divisions as follows : For the best ram, three 
 years old and over, diploma; second best, $10; third best, $5. 
 
 For the best ram, two years old aud under three, diploma ; second best, .flO ; third 
 best, $5. 
 
 For the best ram, one year old, diploma ; second best, |10 ; third best, $5. 
 
 For the best peu of three ewes, three years old and over, diploma; second best, $10; 
 thir<l best, $5. 
 
 For the best pen of three ewes, two years old and under three, diploma; second 
 best, $10 ; third best, $5. 
 
 Fortliebestpenof three ewes, one year old, diploma; .second best, $10; third best, .$,5. 
 
 SWl'.EPSTAKE.S. 
 
 The following sweepstakes preminms are offered in each of the seren dicisions : 
 For the best ram of any iig<', diploma. 
 
 For the best flock of not less than fifteen, including at least one ram, owned by ex- 
 hibitor sixty days next preceding the fair, diploma. 
 
 For the best stock ram, and ten of his progeny, diploma. 
 
 For the best ])en of three (^wes, of any age, diploma. 
 
 Entrance-fee for sweepstakes prenunm, $2 in addition to membership. 
 
 Ko sheep competing for the aliove prizes are required to be shorn. 
 
 SHEARING AND SCOURING TEST. 
 
 For the best ram's fleece, $5 ; for the best ewe's fleece, $5. For the best ram's fleece, 
 scoured, ,f,5 ; for the best ewe's fleece, scoured, $5. For the best fleece of scoured wool, 
 in proportion to weight of carcass, $.5, 
 
 Slieep competing for the above prizes must be shorn on the grounds, and weighed 
 before and after being shorn. Age of fleece to lie given in each case. The committee 
 in making their awards shall make weight and quality combined the leadin" consid- 
 eration, and shall withhold the award entirely where there is not sufiicieiTt merit. 
 Entrance-fee, $1, in addition to mendjership, for each sheep. Exhibitors to furnish 
 their own shearers. 
 
 Prizes of $.5, .|3, aud |2 will be awarded to the first, second, and third best shearers. 
 
 REGULATIONS OF THE FAIR. 
 
 1. All premiums may be competed for by residents of the United States, or any other 
 country. Persons competing for premiums must be members of the association, by 
 the payment of $1 during the current year. 
 
 2. No pens shall he allotted to exhibitors until the first morning of the fair, and 
 then in the order of application. (The allotment of pens wiU be under the direction 
 of the general superintendent.) 
 
 3. Sheep comp(!ting for premiums must be entered and brought upon the show- 
 grounds on the first day of the fair; and they must not, without a special permit from 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. Ill 
 
 Sheep-hushandry hy the colored population. — We must not ignore a pres- 
 ent serious obstacle to slieep-husbandry in the South, which is constantly 
 referred to in the reports to the Department of Agriculture, viz., the de- 
 struction of sheep by dogs, and the depredations of lawless negroes. It 
 is said that i>ublic opinion among the masses of voters who at present 
 control the representatives in many of the State legislatures will not 
 permit the enactment of suitable laws to restrain the nuisance of dogs. 
 " Local laws," says Mr. Peters, " for the protection of our flocks from 
 man and beast, should be promptly enacted." " The main obstacles to 
 the indiistry here" (South Carolina), says Colonel Watts, "are dogs, 
 thieving negroes, indolence and ignorance. The presence of the shep- 
 herd and the Spanish sheepdog will remedy the first, and education 
 the latter." Happily the latter influence is now producing results in 
 the South such as the most sanguine friends of humanity could not have 
 dreamed of ten years ago. It was shown at the national convention of 
 the teachers of the United States, recently held in Washington, that 
 schools are being organized and conducted in the South after the best 
 systems' of New England and Europe ; and that the most- hearty co-oper- 
 ratiou exists between the great educators of the North and the Soath. 
 Let there be added to this influence the education which is etlected by 
 interest. Let the colored people of the South have the means pointed 
 out to them for their material improvement. What means so simple and 
 ready as the encouragement of sheep-growing among these people, on a 
 moderate scale, in the rural districts? Supposing, with a population of 
 4,000,000 colored persons in the Southern States, there are 400,000 fam- 
 ilies, and each family should have 6 sheep, there would be 2,400,000 ani- 
 mals producing wool and mutton — more than at present in all New 
 England. This great accession to the wealth of the country would be 
 nothing compared with the civilizing and humanizing influence of the 
 pastoral occupation upon the population and the habits of thrift which 
 it would engender. How manj' thousand country boys at the North 
 have got their flrst notions of economy and accumulation from having 
 for their oum the products and increase of a single sheep! The colored 
 -race, from their. natural gentleness, take most kindlj'_to the care of ani- 
 
 tlie general supermteudent, be removed therefrom before the second daj' ; nor, on the 
 second day, until the general enperintendent shall, liy direction of the execntive board, 
 make public proclamation that all exhibitors are at liberty to ■vs-ithdraw their sheep. 
 
 4. Exhibitors will be required to answer, under oath, according to their best knowl- 
 edge and belief, the questions of- the examining committee touching the age of their 
 sheep, the age of their tleeces, the manner in which they were last shorn, tiLe amount 
 and kind of feed during the year preceding the fair, their general treatment, and any 
 special treatment intended to affect their condition or appearance. 
 
 5. No person shall act as a member of a viewing committee who has any direct or 
 indirect pecuniary interest in any sheep submitted to the inspection of said committee 
 for a premium. 
 
 6. No premiums shall be awarded except on animals of superior merit, and then only 
 such of the premiums as the viewing committee shall consider them entitled to. (Thus 
 the third premium, or the second and third premiums, may be drawn, while the first 
 is una warded.) 
 
 7. All reports of viewing committee shall be made in writing and signed by the mem- 
 bers of the committee agreeing to them. ( Printed blank forms of reports, with in- 
 structions to viewing committees, will be delivered to the latter.) 
 
 8. The viewin" committee shall deliver their reports to the president or secretary at 
 or before 9 o'clock a. m. on the second day of the fair. 
 
 9. The society reserves the right to pay the pretuiums in fall, if the receipts are suf- 
 ficient after paying expenses ; otherwise, to pay pro rata, according to receipts of the 
 fair. 
 
 10. All sheep intended for exhibition must be upon the ground at 12 o'clock m., the 
 first day of the fair, at which time the entries will close. 
 
 11. All sheep over two years old competing for any prizes offered by the society must 
 have been closely and evenly shorn the previous year. 
 
112 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 mals. Negroes, it is well known, make excellent shepherds, as they 
 make capital hostlers. There are but few colored families which could not 
 afford to purchase two or three ewes. The profits in that favored coun- 
 try, though small at first, would be sure. The increase would be limited 
 only by the perseverance of the shepherd, and his command of land for 
 pasturage — probably the chief obstacle. Let sheep culture, upon ever so 
 modest a scale, generally prevail among the colored people of the South, 
 and dogs, and thieves, white or black, would quickly disapjjear under 
 the vigilance of a self-constituted police, more effective than any the 
 law could provide ; though laws would follow and would be enforced. 
 
 Question of overjyroduction of wool. — The question will naturally arise : 
 If the South grows wool according to her capacity, will she have a mar- 
 ket for her production f To the question proposed in this form, no other 
 than a negative answer could be given. But the practical inquiry is 
 this : Is there any reason in a probable glut of the market from an en- 
 largement of the area of production which should deter a Southern 
 farmer from embarking in wool-growing f And to this question we un- 
 hesitatingly answer, No. The fears of overproduction, which give the 
 disciples of Malthus and Eicardo so much apprehension, are rarely real- 
 ized. They are never realized, except temporarily, in the great staples 
 of manufacture. Production usually limits itself by its own operation. 
 Thus, California, it is said, has i-eached its limit in wool production by 
 occupying all its pasture-grounds, or by conveiting them from the domain 
 of the crook to that of the plow. Lands in Vermont, Ohio, New York, 
 and Michigan, first impro\'ed by sheep, have become too valuable for 
 growing sheep for wool mainly; and these States are becoming pro- 
 ducers of sheep for mutton and combing wool, and rams for breeding. 
 High production of wool in one quarter of the world is usually attended 
 by diminished production in another. TV'hile Australia ha,s increased 
 the numbers of her sheep so wonderfully, Germany has fallen off' from 
 50,000,000 in 1850 to 25,000,000 at present, and France from 32,000,000 
 in 1839 to 24,000,000 in 1872. Thus, with all the supposed rapidity with 
 which the pioduction of wool has been increased throughout the world 
 of late years, the actual consumption of raw wool in the United King- 
 dom, the continent of Europe, and North America, has increased at the 
 rate of but about 2 per cent, for each year of the last decade. The 
 consumption of clean wool in the United States is set down, for 1875, at 
 four and one-third pounds per head of our population. This is far short 
 of what we ought to consume for the required comfort of our whole 
 population ; and of what we would consume, if the producing and con- 
 suming power of our people were adequately developed. It is doubtful 
 if half of our population wear the woolen underclothing required for 
 health and comfort. Persons ^A^ell informed in the trade in articles of 
 this description ha\'e made the following curious estimate: 
 
 With a population of 35,000,000, we may suppose that there are 8,000,000 who, from 
 poverty, mildness of climate, or other causes, do uot wear stockings ; lea\ing 27,000,000 
 who will use at least 3 pairs per annum, requiring 81,000,000 pairs, or (5,7riO,000 dozen, 
 the value of which, at |3 per dozen, would be $20,250,000. Estimating that there are 
 18,000,000 males, one-half of whom will wear knit shirts and drawers, and allowing 
 one shirt and one pair of drawers to each of the 9,000,000 males per annum, 1,000,505 
 dozen will he required, at $12 per dozen, of the value of iji;18,000,000. Estimating that 
 there are 17,000,000 females, one^juarter of whom will wear undervests and dra^^ eis, 
 and allowing only one garment to each, 375,000 dozen, at $12 per dozen, of a total 
 value of $4,500,000, will he required, making the whole value of the abo\'e staple goods 
 alone required for American consumption $42,750,000. 
 
 This statement illustrates how slight an increase of the consuming 
 power of our population is required to expand the mooI manufactiu'e, 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 113 
 
 and to create a lioine demand for the raw material such as never ex- 
 isted. 
 
 But the production of wool at the South will be so gradual in its in- 
 crease that it will be a long time before it has any sensible effect upon 
 the markets. It should be gradual, to be healthy and natural. It 
 should spread through the example of intelligent and cautious farmers. 
 A sudden and general enthusiasm for sheep-husbandry at the South 
 would be as undesirable as the morus multicaulis and silk mania of 1839, 
 which stopped the silk culture in many of the Southern States, where 
 it might otherwise have been now successful. Despite the few brilliant 
 exceptions in Texas, the bonanzas in sheep-husbandry are as much 
 fictions of the imagination as the pastorals of the poets. We do not 
 tempt our Southern friends with the promise of — 
 
 A fleece more golden than tliat found in Greece, 
 Which venturous Jason on his Ar^o hore 
 From the lulled dragon and Colohian shore. 
 
 But we would allure them to an industry more certain of remuneration, 
 from a moderate investment, than any other which can so easily be in- 
 troduced upon their farms, and, what is far more important, an industry 
 which will be the precursor of that diversified culture through which 
 alone agriculture can be made permanently profitable. 
 
 In conclusion, we would express our obligations to Mr. Peters of 
 Georgia, Mr. Watts of South Carolina, Mr. Young of I^^orth Carolina, 
 and Mr. Shaeflfer of Texas for the valuable statements and information 
 furnished to us ; and to Mr. C. W. Jenks, of Boston, for the high intel- 
 ligence and zeal manifested by him in the collection of much of tlia 
 material embodied in this paper. 
 S. Ex. 25 8 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 SHEEP HUSBANDEY IN NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 The developments of science and practical experience have revolutionized public 
 opinion on many important subjects during the present generation. Man's cupidity, 
 as well as necessity, has urged him to important changes of sentiment, or, more prop- 
 erly speaking, has induced him to develop to our intelligence many errors under -which 
 our fathers labored, and has opened doors to new enterprises, through which the prog- 
 ress of this age has advanced his material prosperity far beyond any period in his 
 history. This progress is not destined to bo staid; but, on the contrary, as step by 
 step, new developments are unfolded, new fields will be presented for exploration, and 
 new enterprises opened for the employment of his energies. Looking back from the 
 ■ threshold of the last quarter of the nineteenth century to its commencement, we per- 
 .ceive that more has been accomplished, in scientific and practical development, than 
 is recorded in the history of combined centuries of man's preceding existence ; and 
 yet all that he has done has been simply to develop and turn to his use the blessings 
 given by his Creator in the beginning. 
 
 During this period, cotton has been introduced into the Southern States of our 
 Union, and become their great staple, and made one of the leading productions of our 
 country; and, entering largely into the channels of commerce, has contributed no 
 small share in building up that interest. The labor system of the Soutli favored its 
 cultivation, while the soil aud climate suited its growth and development. The profit 
 attending its production induced its cultivation in States too far north of the line of 
 latitude suiting the tender nature of the plant to render it a reliable and remuner- 
 ative staple to the planter. The recent change of labor in the Southern States renders 
 it important that those more northern States which border on the cotton belt should 
 turn their attention to productions that promise better remuneration. 
 
 The State of North Carolina, lying on the northern border of the cotton belt and 
 between the 34° and 37° of north latitude, possesses a medium temperature of climate, free 
 from the severities of blighting cold as well as from the debilitating and parching heat 
 from equator! al influences. Thus relieved from the extremes of climate, North Carolina 
 possesses that equable temperature which is peculiarly healthful and invigorating to 
 man as well as to all animated nature. Thi^ geographical advantage is enhanced by 
 its topographical formation. With a sea-coast of near three hundred miles' extent, 
 washed by the waves of the Atlantic, it reaches back westward until it embraces the 
 towering heights of the Blue Mountains. From the exhaustless fountains of this moun- 
 tain region flow the thousand streamlets which form her Catawba and her Yadkin Rivers ; 
 and from her table-lands, which gently soften down toward the coast, a thousand other 
 never-failing brooks and rivnlets are gathered into her noble Cape Fear, herNeuse, her 
 Tar, and her Roanoke Rivers, all flowing eastward, watering abundantly every district 
 of tile State, an-l emptying their waters into the Atlantic. 
 
 The mountain i^ortion of North Carolina, embracing some twenty counties, possesses 
 a soil unsurpassed for fertility by any similar extent of mountain country on our cou- 
 tinent. Here the celebrated blue-grass is an indigenous growth, and the mountain sides 
 and alluvial valleys alike make the finest meadows of this favorite aud never-failing 
 pasturage. The winters here are short, and free from that intensity which character- 
 izes more northern latitudes. This mountain portion of the State softens down east- 
 ward into a liill and dale plateau, embracing as many more counties, and this is suc- 
 ceeded by a lovely champaign country, extending to the Atlantic coast. The soil of 
 this extensive mountain and upland country, embracing some sixty of the ninety-one 
 counties in the State, is varied in character, a large proportion of it having a rich 
 clay subsoil, yields abundant crops of the cereals and of cotton and tobacco, and the 
 balance, having an admixture of sand, is more easily cultivated, and, with light fer- 
 tilization, yields quite as abundant harvests. All is susceptible of the highest degree of 
 improvement, and all produces native, as well as sown and cultivated, grasses to a 
 high degree of perfection. The remaining counties, embracing the tide-water district 
 of the State, have large districts of rich alluvial soil, which have long been an Egypt 
 from which thousands of our fellow-citizens north of us have been provisioned. Within 
 the limits of the State there are fifteen hundred miles of railroad, traversing it longi- 
 tudinally, latitndinally, and diagonally, penetrating its mountains at different points, 
 and now vigorously pressing through to a connection with the Mississippi and Ohio 
 
116 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 Valleys. These higliways of travel and freight open np every portion of it, and make 
 connections at Wilmington, Morehead City, and New Berne, on its own seaboard, and 
 the ports of CliarleKton, S. C, Norfolk, Va., and the cities and markets of the North. 
 
 This portraiture of the Htate of North Carolina presents an area of 45,.500 square 
 miles, and embraces alltlie varieties of soil and climate to be found in the most favored 
 latitudes and most desirable localities on the earth. Natirre has not distributed her 
 gifts here with a partial hand, by bestowing lavishly upon one section and withhold- 
 iuf; to impoverishment from another; but, by an even and uniform meting out, ren- 
 ders every portion desirable. From the sharp frost-line of its mountains to the sunny 
 bays .and lakes upon its coast, where ice is rarely seen, a uniform, equable temperature 
 pervades the .Stale. 
 
 The radical change in labor in the last dozen years renders necessary a correspond- 
 ing change in the system of agriculture, which must in fnture be pursued by the 
 people. He who will present a proper direction for the enterijrise of agriculturists 
 will be their benefactor. Our ideas on such matters are naturally influenced by our 
 business of life, our education, or other circumstances which bend the twig and fix 
 the inclination of the tree. Being sensible of these influences, the writer might feel 
 more diffidence in presenting sheep-husbandry to the consideration of those interested 
 in the fnture of North Carolina, as the leading occupiition of its i)eople, did he not 
 feel satisfied that an intelligent examination of the subject must lead the investigat- 
 ing mind to sustain his conclusions. 
 
 If the preceding description of the temperature, topography, and gener-al charac- 
 teristics of the State be correct, the reader who is familiar witli sheep-husbandry will 
 at once perceive its adaptation to that pursuit. Every one desiring to inform himself ' 
 more particularly in regard to the representations here given is invited to direct his 
 investigations with the view of scrutinizing its correctness and reliability. 
 
 Twenty yi>ays' experience in manufacturing the wools grown in the State has famil- 
 iarized the writer with the manner in which our sheep have been cared for ; and has 
 convinced him that, without great natura] advantages, their utter neglect would long 
 since have exterminated them from the soil. There are but few plantations in the 
 State upon which there was not to be found a flock of sheep, intendeil to be only suffi- 
 cient to furnish the wool necessary to clothe the family and furnish an occasional 
 mutton. These sheep were generally the "native" breed, rarely improved by crosses 
 upon foreign blood. 
 
 As a general rule, these small flocks never entered into their owner's estimate of his 
 valuable property, and they were never so treated. In the spring, they were shorn of 
 their fleeces, and turned outside their owner's inclosures to seek their summer support 
 in the forests and waste lauds over which they chose to roain, and to run the gauntlet 
 for life among hungry hOunds and gaunt curs, almost as numerous as themselves. All 
 that ndght escape, and Avere able to find their homes in the fall -season, and would 
 seek its inhospitalities for the winter, would be admitted within the gates, and per- 
 mitted to eke out a scanty living in the denuded fields and corners of worm-fences, 
 which is supplemented by a morning and evening allowance of cora-fodder, which the 
 compassionate and appreciative owner allows to be fed to them by a boy who has not 
 yet attained sufficient size to be otherwise useful. The only protection against the 
 rains and occasional storms of winter afforded to a majority of these flocks being such 
 as their instincts lead them to seek by hovering on the sheltering sides of barns and 
 outbuildings that may be accessible ; a tumble-down or waste-house on a plantation 
 is a perfect asylum for them. Yet, under this treatment, the flocks of the farmers keep 
 their numbers full, and occasionally multiply beyond their wants. Of necessity, their 
 fleeces are light and inferior. Whenever an effort has been made to improve the stock 
 by crossing upon Merino or other approved blood, the eftect is satisfactory and lasting. 
 From the universal custom of turning the entire stocks into the common " range," the 
 impression of a Merino, Southdown, or other importation would manifest itself upon 
 the flocks of entire neigliborhoods. So ay)parent is the improvement thus made that, 
 in purchasing the snrjdus brought to market, there would be no difficulty in recogniz- 
 ing the wool from a neighborhood that had lieen favored by some enterprising farmer 
 having imported from Virginia or Pennsylvania a pair of blooded animals. Without 
 any change in the mode of treatment, these improvements are known to be distinctly 
 manifest in neighborhoods thirty^ years after their introduction. Being able to with- 
 stand all this hardship and neglect, and promptly to respond to every effort to improve 
 their quality or condition, it is evident that there is in North Carolina an adaptation 
 of natural gifts to their peculiar wants. 
 
 In the tide-water and contiguous counties, where the influence of winter winds from 
 the mountains is not felt, " where the snow spirit never comes, and where spring flings 
 her flowers into the lap of winter," these generous animals find a sustaining pasturage 
 the entire year upon the wire-grass wliich grows spontaneously through the otherwise 
 barren pine forests. Being thus independent of their owners, they keep in uniform 
 good flesh, grow to better maturity, and furnish better fleeces than in the upper portion 
 of the State. Tho.ugh here they know neither their " owner nor their master's crib,' 
 they contribute largely to clothing and feeding his family. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 117 
 
 Standing on Monnt Mitchell, on the western border of the State, the most elevated 
 point between the Mississippi River and the Atlantic, looking eastward the mind's 
 eye reaches the waves of the Atlantic, 500 miles distant, and sweeps over aii area of 
 45,500 square miles, embraced within the State lines, watered by thousands of trib- 
 utaries to noble rivers, which gush from the mountain battlements stretched across 
 the western border of the State, whose waters, flowing eastward, tnmble over innn- 
 meral)le falls, as though nature had given them not only to beautify the landscape, but 
 to invite the enterprise of man to their utilization. From the broad plateau below a 
 thousand other never-failing fountains seud forth their pure waters, which mingle as 
 they flow onward to swell the grand arteries which convey them to their common res- 
 ervoir. Through, over, and across this grand prospect numerous railways stretch their 
 lengths, over which freighted trains are sweeping to and fro, bearing out the produc- 
 tions and bringing in the commerce of the country. 
 
 Of this immense territory it may be said there is not a square mile of soil which is 
 not susceptible of being made to produce a remunerative yield of tillage, and not one 
 upon which woiild not ordinarilly be found a good natural pasturage for sheep ; nor is 
 there a square mile of it upon which, when sheep were introduced and cared for, would 
 not, year by year^ be improved by their presence and pasturage upon it. There is no 
 part of the State which does not possess immense natural advantages in soil and cli- 
 mate over the Southdown hills of England, the sterility of which rendered them almost 
 uninhabitable until sheep were introduced upon them, by which they have been con- 
 \erted into the greenest meadows of the island. In the mountains and hill country 
 more winter provisions would be required than in the balance of the State ; but the 
 shortness of the season would not demand much expense nor render the care of flocks 
 burdensome. In three-fonrths of the State no other winter provision would bo neces- 
 sary than the sowing of grasses and small grain for their pa-sturage, and the providing 
 of cheap shelters from occasional seasons of inclemency. The farmers have practiced 
 the habit of grazing their sheep upon their fields of small grain during the winter, 
 which, when judiciously done, rather coutcibutes to than detracts from their yield at 
 harvest. In the pine lands and tide- water portion of the State, they do live independ- 
 ent of the care of man, but would certainly reward him for care and attention. 
 
 If climate and soil are adapted to sheep husbandry, Nature has furnished her share 
 of the requisites. Man must supply the flocks, and, in obedience to the divine com- 
 mand, till the earth for their subsistence. Sheep-growing in certain of the States of 
 New England, where pasture-lands are worth five or ten times as much as in Nortli 
 Carolina, is the staple business in its rural districts. Its people look to their flocks, as 
 the Southern planter does to his broad acres of cotton, for their income. There the 
 severities of a Northern winter lock up all Nature's supplies, and render all domestic 
 animals dependent upon the hand of man for protection and food for one-third of each 
 year; yet that enterprising people have converted these States into a vast sheep- 
 walk, and, subduing all obstacles, have developed the wool-bearing capability of sheep 
 to a degree heretofore unknown. A contrast between the advantages and disadvan- 
 tages of New England and North Carolina, in regard to this profitable enterprise, is 
 invited, and the advantages of the latter will be apparent. If, with the natural dis- 
 advantages under which they labor, they have developed so great a profit in this pur- 
 suit, why should not North Carolina become animated with the abounding presence of 
 this valuable animal ? Why should not her hills and dales be made vocal with bleat- 
 ing flocks, and the song of the shepherd awaken her echoes as they float over her fer- 
 tile vales and picturesque landscapes'? Why should our farmers, year after yeai-, 
 spend their liard earnings for commercial fertilizers, and wear out their physical en- 
 ergies in toil and labor to make money enough to buy more artificial manures, to 
 enable them to grow more cotton, when the presence of 100 sheep upon their lands would 
 enrich five acres every mouth in the year far better than their purchased fertilizers ; 
 and would, at the same time, pay them in wool and mutton a better per cent, upon 
 their value than their cotton does upon their labor and expense ? 
 
 The changed circumstances of the people of North Carolina calls for a change in 
 their agriculture. Millions of wealth have been realized in less favored countries by 
 the growth of sheep ; and it is an enterprise worthy the investigation of her people. 
 This article is not written with the view of presenting the profits of husbandry, or of 
 contrasting it with the present agricultural pursuits of her people, but to show the 
 adaptation of the State to its successful pursuit, and to call attention to its natural 
 advantages over countries where it is profitably pursued. It is hoped that the intelli- 
 gent people of the State will investigate the subject, and that those engaged in it else- 
 where may be induced to direct their attention and inquiries to the State ; and there 
 is no doubt of the facts presented being found to be as stated. 
 
 The profits of sheep husbandry are not now, as heretofore, dependent mainly upon 
 the fleeces; but the discoveries of science in this our enlightened day enable the grow- 
 ers to offer their mutton in the markets of Europe as sweet and as fresh as it is found 
 in our own city shambles. 
 
 JOHN A. YOUNG. 
 
 Charlotte, N. C, January 8, 1878. 
 
118 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 
 
 Maetix's Depot, Lai'eisns County, Sol-th Carolika, 
 
 December ti'2, 1877. 
 
 D-EAli Sir: I am requested liy my friend, Governor Hampton, to send yon some cle- 
 lails of uiy experience in sheep hnsbandry, in which I have all my life heen engaged, 
 in this State, Gciirgia, and Texas. From my earlymanhood I have personally known, 
 and visited in tlicir homes, the most intelligent wool-growers and sheep-breeders of 
 the North and S<iutli — such men as George Campbell and otliers, of New England, and 
 Elchard Peters and others, of the South. Dr. Eandall, of Cortland Village, N. Y., was 
 for thirty years my Iriend, and an authority to whom I always had recourse; and 
 whose most valuable work, "Sheep Husbandry at the South," was written at the 
 special request of the late Governor Allston of this State, to encourage wool-growing 
 in South Carolina. From all sources, at home and abroad, I have sought information, 
 and have obtained the best examplesof the various breeds. In fact, sheep husbandry 
 has been the one occupation I have preferred above all others; and I have no hesita- 
 tion whatever, after long expei-ience, in affirming it as my fixed belief that it might 
 be made the most valuable industry of the South, and for the successful pursuit of 
 which, in all its varieties, this section has more facilities than any other portion of our 
 country. I will note down facts in my experience as they occur to mc, and you can 
 arrange and use them as you choose. 
 
 AVc are not lar from the central portions of the State. 
 
 The country is a rolling upland, with a light-gray soil and heavy clay subsoil. 
 
 The prevailing grasses are the crab and Bermuda and wild clover. 
 
 The breeds of sheep I have had and tested are the common native, Bakewell or 
 New Leicester, New Oxfordshire, Southdowns, I'^rench and Spanish Merinoes, and the 
 African Broad-tails. 
 
 AA'itli me the Spanish Merinoes have proved the most profitable, the first of which I 
 had from the flocks of Dr. Eandall. 
 
 I have crossed the Merino with nearly all the above-named breeds. 
 
 I am inclin<d to think that good native ewes make the best cross with the Merino, 
 and make a more salable sheep than any of the above-named full-bloods. 
 
 I am now breeding the Merino and Broad-tailed. 
 
 If I were raising wool as the primary consideration, I would by aill means raise the 
 Merino. They do not mature so early. as the other breeds; but, \yheu matured, make 
 as good mutton as any breed I have ever raised. But, if the principal object should 
 be to raise nmttim for the markets, I would certainly recommend the African Broad- 
 tailed shei']i, because they mature earlier; but, in my husbandry, I make the wool the 
 first, the nnitton the secondary, consideration. But, were the question one of long- 
 eombing wool for this locality, I would cross the Cotswold ewe with the African Broad- 
 tail ram, for all the range of country liei'e, this side the Blue Eidge. 
 
 The annual cost of keeping my sheep, I charge Tip at §1 per head. The actual cost I 
 have found to be not over 60 cents per he.ad. 
 
 As to the per cent, of profit my sheep jiay. If they are full-blooded, they will aver- 
 age not fur from $10 ; and, making that, tliey give about '2d per cent., allowing the 
 lambs to pay expenses; but, if they are only half-bree,ds, they will not average more 
 than iJil.SO per fleece. 
 
 My average annual clip of unwa.shed wool, per sheep, from full-blood Merinoes, is 7 
 pounds, the average price of which last season was 22 cents; this season, 28 net to me 
 here. 
 
 1 tliiuk the cost per pound of wool gives it to yon as net gain, for it must be a very 
 poor and veiy badly managed flock in which the himbs and manure will not pay nil 
 expennes. 
 
 The average number of my lambs raised is, from my Merinoes, about 80 per cent. 
 Compared with the ewes kept, they are not, as a rule, as good nurses as most of the 
 oth(jr breeds, some of which will rear nearly 100 per cent, of their lambs. I have 
 always sold my lambs for herding, stock she<q), A-e., not to the butcher. 
 
 Our common sheep can be had here for $2 jier head ; Merinoes, from |10 to $20. The 
 price in market here for grown mutton-sheep would be from ^4 to §5. 
 
 My pasture has been broom-sedge and Jajian clover (^Lespedhm striata), until after 
 harvest ; then we give them the run of tlie grain-fields. For winter pasturage; I 
 usually sow lye lots for the ewes and lambs, and give all the flock the run of oats 
 sown in August and September; also, allow them the range of the corn-field and tlie 
 cotton-fields. As a mixed food, cotton-seed is wholesome, (■ecmomical, and profitable. 
 My sheep are \i'ry fond of it ; after feeding on green barley all day, they will eat cot- 
 ton-seed with great lelisli. Some feed is needed in this section for three mouths, as 
 there are few eullivated grasses; with herdsgrass and clover cultivated, much less 
 time for feeding would be needed. 
 
 Sheep ii re usually very healthy in this section ; there are no epidemics nor prevail- 
 ing complaints here among them. 
 
 The main obstacles to the industry here are dogs, thieving negroes, indolence, and 
 ignorance. The presence of a shepherd and the Spanish sheep-dog will remedy the 
 first ; and education, the latter. 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 119 
 
 We utilize tlie manure from tlie sheep — ^liousing them in winter, and littering the 
 stalls frequently— throwing it broadcast for rutabagas, in July or August, or in 
 drills, as the case may be. In summer, I use John H. Euchman's portable fence — the 
 best iron wire, and keep at the rate of 1,000 sheep to the acre a week ; the value of 
 which I regard as equal to about 400 pounds of guano, the first year ; and its effects 
 are perceptible for several years. My belief, from careful cxperiiiicnting, is, that iiS 
 acres of land can be so well fertilized in twelve months, with 1,000 sheep, as to be rich 
 soil for five years following. The effects of such manuring are wonderful. 
 
 The sheep are great helps to the farmer in eradicating useless weeds, such as the 
 cockle-brier, which they eat with avidity, either dry or greeu. In fact, there are few 
 plants with us they will not eat. 
 
 I think all varieties of shee}! can be successfully and profitably raised in our State. 
 Ou the rich bottom-lands of the coast, the African Broad-tails — or a cross, as I have 
 suggested, with the Cotswold — which would give a variety that would thrive in any 
 climate South. 
 
 In the middle district, near the lands under rich cultivation, the Bakewells and 
 other varieties of heavy sheep for mutton. In the section where I am, and up to the 
 line of the Blue Eidge, the Merinoes, and on the Blue Eidge itself, the Merino ; and I 
 should also strongly recommend the Cheviot, so successful in the districts of England 
 and Scotland of similar altitude and climate. 
 
 And here, in closing, let me say, in view of some of the industrial wants of the coun 
 try, I think this last section of our State, the Blue Eidge Mountains, can, with mod- 
 erate care and expense, most successfully furnish all the facilities needed for the best 
 combing wools, and the alpaca and Angora goat. In fact, I have no doubt on this 
 point. Even here, 75 miles from the mountains, I have for six years grown most suc- 
 cessfully the Angora goat, whose flesh I regard as superior to any mutton, and whose 
 fleece, properly handled, could there be made more profitable than any wool-growing. 
 This I can say from actual, careful experience with the Angoras, which are of Asia 
 Minor stock, meeting here few obstacles to their profitable breeding, and which, in 
 the Blue Eidge, just beyond me, would find an exact counterpoint of their native soil 
 and climate. Aside from their flesh and wool, there is another advantage they otfer, 
 which in the mountains beyond would be most valuable. In a cross I have made with 
 a pure Angora buck and a Maltese ewe-goat, I, have raised a ewe-goat that will give 
 four quarts per day of as good milk as any cow ou my plantation. The feed of one of my 
 cows will keep twelve goats. My cows must have certain food, or they will not thrive. 
 My goats will eat anything, almost, and do well : and with this advantage, also, that 
 their milk and butter are not iii any way aifectcd by their diet. 
 
 It is not, therefore, at all an oiien question with me, after years of practical experi- 
 ence, whether the Angora, alpaca, and kindred races of the goat tribes would thrive 
 in our Blue Eidge. They would be more profitable in that locality than any other 
 branch of husbandry. 
 
 If the present status of the wool-growing industry can be maintained, we can, in my 
 judgment, grow all the varieties and product needed for home consumption, from the 
 cheapest carpet wools to those needed for our extra-fine broadcloth, imitation cash- 
 meres, or the cloths for piano-manufacture consumption. 
 
 I have now on my table a Silesiau wool, measuring say 1,800 hairs to the inch, and 
 which cost the consumer here $1.50 in gold per pound. With none of that ridiculously 
 extreme care which the growers of electoral wool exercise in their flocks, Mark Cock- 
 erell, of Tennessee (near Nashville), has raised Saxony wools of a fineness of over 2,000 
 hairs to the inch, and could sell it at a handsome profit at |1 per pound. In fact, Mr. 
 Cockerell claims there is more margin of profit in it than in the growth of a mere ordi- 
 nary wool. 
 
 Our country's enterprise, demand, climate, soils, and constantly improving animals, 
 if present encouragement in wool-growing is not interfered with in anyway, can sup- 
 ply any call that can be made upon it ; and, from my knowledge of the South and its 
 resources, I believe no part of our country can furnish so many facilities in this direc- 
 tion, and no one section more than my native State of South Carolina. 
 
 J. WASH. WATTS. 
 
 John L. Hayes, Esq., 
 
 Seoretary of the National Association of Wool Manufacturers, Boston, 
 
 Executive Chamber, 
 Columbia, S. C, December 24, 1877. 
 I fully concur with the views expressed by Colonel Watts in the within paper. He 
 is a gentleman of great experience, intelligence, and iutegritj'. I doubt if he has his 
 superior as a shepherd in the South. 
 
 I heartily commend his sentiments, as hereby expressed, to all who are interested in 
 wool growing, and its manufacture; which industries I believe to be most vitally con- 
 nected with the future development and prosperity of the Soxith. 
 
 WADE HAMPTON. 
 
120 SHEEP -HUSBANDRY. 
 
 Atlanta, Ga., January 1, 1878. 
 
 Sir : Hon. Alex. H. Stephens, of this State, has expressed a wish that I furnish you 
 with facts as to the facilities the State of Georgia can offer in sheep husbandry, grow- 
 ing out of my thirty years' experience in that industry here. 
 
 If you will hear in mind that we can grow oranges in the gardens in the southern 
 part of the State while snow lies on the highlands, and the mercury may be at zero on 
 the northern borders, you can see that the diversity of soil and climate associated with 
 such extremes would give great variety to the products of the State. 
 
 Nature has given us three marked divisions — Middle, Lowei-, and Upper Georgia ; the 
 altitude rising with the latitude. Each of these sections has its own special advan- 
 tage for vifool-growing, and it can he profitably pursued in either section. 
 
 1 will begin with the lower part of the State, across the entire width of which there 
 is a belt of country of an extent northward from the coast and the Florida line, say, 
 from 100 to 150 miles. It is the land of the long-leaf pine and the wire-grass. Flocks 
 of native sheep, as high as 3,500 in number, are found here and there scattered over 
 the surface, receiving but little care or attention, except at the annual gathering for 
 shearing and marking. Very little can be said either for the quantity or quality of 
 the wool per head raised here. I am aware that it has been claimed for this section 
 that its present advantages are as great for large flocks as the ranges in Texas and Cal- 
 ifornia. I do not subscribe to this opinion. The pasturage of this section, called wire- 
 grass, affords fine grazing for sheep in the spring; but, for permanent and continuous 
 food, it cannot be relied on. A fair experiment in sheep-raising, uniting good atten- 
 tion, selection, and crossing, with a determination to secure the best development in 
 frame and fleece, has not been made in this section for many years. If it were prop- 
 erly attempted, by combining Bermuda with the wire grass for spring and snmmer 
 pasture, and red winter oats for one or two months in winter, for the ewes and lambs, 
 I think the results would jDrove of the most satisfactory and profitable character. 
 
 In the middle portion of the State the Bermuda grass prevails, and, under the cot- 
 ton system of culture, it was the dread and bane of the planter; but now, for its 
 nutritious qualities and compactness of sod, it is considered by our people as valuable 
 and as reliable as any grass,not excepting the Kentucky blue-grass. It is undoubtedly 
 the sacred or " doub" grass of the Hindoos. It will afford sheep the very best past- 
 urage for six months of the year, in this section of the State, and, if managed as on 
 the pastures in Kentucky, for the entire year. 
 
 In Putnam, Hancock, Wilkes, and adjoining counties (formerly the el dorado cotton 
 country of Georgia), where the Bermuda has taken possession, there is a future for 
 successful sheep husbandry, providing, of course, the supervision be intelligent and 
 the business properly conducted and combined with cotton culture. The result must 
 prove highly remunerative, far surpassing anything in the past history of this indus- 
 try in New England or the Middle States. 
 
 My own experience has been, to a great extent, in North or Upper Georgia, in Gor- 
 don County. The country is hill .and valley, the land changing very rapidly ; the 
 pasturage sedge, crab, and other native grasses. Of the cultivated, the orchard-grass, 
 red and white clover, on upland, and red-top, on low land, succeed admirably. Ln- 
 cern and German millet are never-failing sources of an ample supply of hay. The 
 former affords from four to five cuttings in a season. Red, rust proof oats — a reliable 
 winter variety, if sown in Septembei- — can be pastured during the winter and early 
 spring, and then yield a full crop of grain. The same may be said of barley, rye, and 
 wheat. 
 
 The breeds I have tested are the Spanish and French Merinoes, Southdown, Oxford- 
 shire Down, Leicestershire, Asiatic broad-tail or Timisian, improved Kentucky Cots- 
 wold, and native sheep. I have also crossed nearly all of those varieties. Those 
 between the Spanish Jlerinoes and native, and the Cotswold and native, have jn-oved 
 most profitable. My present varieties are the thoroughbred Merinoes and the Cotswold, 
 and crosses between the two. 
 
 For general purposes of wool and mutton I recommend most decidedly the cross 
 from native ewes and Spanish Merino bucks; the progeny showing marked improve- 
 ment, having constitution, fatten ing properties, thriftiness, and a close, compact fleece. 
 
 For long combing wools, the best combination flock can be built up on the natives 
 as a basis, using the Spanish Merino bucks for the first cross, and then the Cotswold 
 to give more size and longer staple. If the winters are mild, my flocks require feed- 
 ing about thirty days ; if cold and wet, twice that time. My Merino sheep are very 
 healthy. They have had trouble with the sheep bot-fly ; but I have found a liberal 
 use of tar a perfect preventive. By another winter a proper dog law will be enacted, 
 now guaranteed to us in the new constitution. 
 
 In all well-situated and well-managed flocks the increase .and manure will amply 
 repay all expenses, and leave the fleece clear profit. The fleeces of my flocks, not 
 housed at night, will give an average of seven pounds of wool to the lieail. 
 
 The future history of the sheep husbandry of this State, if intelligently pursued in 
 accordance with its natural divisions, will show three distinct systems : That of North- 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 121 
 
 em Georgia will somewhat resemble the industry in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Now York, 
 and New England ; that of the middle of the State, Kentucky ; arid tliat of the south- 
 ern portion (with shepherds and dogs), Texas, Colorado, and California. 
 
 In this connection I may say a few words al)out the Angora goat, very improperly 
 termed "Cashmere." 1 have owned these animals from six distinct importations, 
 those brought over by Dr. J. B. Davis, in 1848, proving to be superior in many respects 
 to any of the more recent importations. Oni' of the most valuable, interesting, and 
 remarkable traits of the Angoras is the rapidity with which Ueece-lSearing goats can 
 be obtained by using thoroughbred bucks to cross on the common short-haired ewe- 
 goats of the country. The second cross produces a goat with a skin valued for rugs, 
 mats, and gloves. The fifth cross (known by many breeders as "full blood") ■will 
 yield a fleece not inferior to much of the "mohair" imported from Asia. Tliis fifth 
 cross can be readily obtained in five or six years. Thoroughbred bucks should always 
 be used, because the progeny of the "full-blood" bucks vary greatly, and the upward 
 progress is by no means satisfactory. The Angora is a hardy, industrious, and self- 
 sustaining animal, and can be classed as herbivorous. Being active and vigorous, 
 they roam over wide ranges of country, giving value to worthless vegetation refused 
 by most other animals, and will feed and fatten at double the distance from water 
 that sheep can, as they travel faster and endure more. I have for twenty years bred 
 them largely, and have observed the following rules in my selection of stock bucks: 
 
 In pedigree. — Dating back to Asiatic importation. 
 
 In fleece. — Weight and length of the long, silky, ringleted, white fleece, and its free- 
 dom from kemp, and mane on the back and neck. 
 
 In frame. — Size and vigor, long pendant ears, and upright spiral homs. 
 
 If that point has not already been reached, I believe it soon will be, when (as in the 
 history of Merino sheep) finer specimens of the Angora, American-bred, may be seen 
 here than can be found in their haunts in Asia Minor. 
 
 Ihave had great success with the Angoras, and regard Ihem as one of the most val- 
 uable acquisitions to the resources of our husbandry. They have yielded me more 
 substantial pecuniary profit than any other branch of my extended stocli investments. 
 In 1861 I sent out to William M. Landrum, of California, the first Angoras that went 
 there, where they have laid the foundation of what I am confident will be a very ex- 
 tensive and profitable husbandry. There can be no doubt that in tlie range of the 
 Blue Ridge, extending from Alabama to Virginia, they would find all the requirements 
 of their nature, utilize a vast country, and .prove a source of great benefit and profit to 
 all interested. 
 
 Ill reference to the whole matter of sheep husbandry at the South, after a long ex- 
 perience, in which neither labor, care, nor expense has been spared by me, I may say 
 with safety I know of no investment so likely to yield constant and profitable returns 
 to the farmer, and certainly none so valuable to the acres he occupies. I think the 
 State of Georgia, from its varied climate, soil, and surface, oilers unequaled facilities 
 for this industry.. We shall need with this the paternal care of the State and national 
 governments for its growth and permanence. Local laws for the protection of our 
 flocks from man and beast should be promptly enacted ; while the general government 
 should by no unkindly legislation disturb existing advantages, retard our growing 
 progress, or throw any obstacle in our way. And I may here say that I learn with 
 great surprise and regret that an effort will probably be made in Congress this winter 
 to reduce the duties on wool, or even to give us free wool altogether. I greatly depre- 
 cate all such legislative action. Nothing could be more impolitic or disastrous to the 
 sheep husbandry of this county. No section of the Union — not even California and 
 Texas, with all their great natural facilities — could grow wool against the cheap 
 labor and the inexpensive ranges of Brazil and Australia, to say nothing of our 
 European competitors, the influx of whose combing wools would keep for many gen- 
 erations the fair Blue Ridge of the South without sheep-walks, though it is by nature 
 one of the most favored spots in America for tliis class of wools, and which also are 
 now so much in demand, at home and abroad, for the greai; and growing worsted indus- 
 tries of the world. 
 
 To us of the South especially (who are just waking up to the importance and value 
 every way of an intelligent sheep-husbandry as one of the most reliable and e£S(-ient 
 means to aid us in the restoration of our shattered fortunes), any such unkindly legis- 
 lation would be instantly and totally destructive. The capital of our farmers, now 
 invested to a limited extent hopefully and profitably in wool-growing, their calcula- 
 tions and expectations being based on the permanence of existing legislation, would 
 be annihilated ; while the present encom-aging outlook for investment in this industry 
 from outside capitalists would be at once shrouded in gloom and indefinitely postponed 
 Respectfully, yours, 
 
 RICHARD PETERS. 
 
 John L. Hayes, Esq., 
 
 Secretary of the Is'ational Association of Wool Manufacturers, Boston, Mass. 
 
122 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 Meeino Raxche, Morgan Mills, Eeatii Couxty, Texas, 
 
 November 13, 1877. 
 
 Sir: I trnst you ■will pardon tlie liberty I take in addressing you. My excuse must 
 be the obligation I am under to yourself and the association you represent for many 
 favors in the past, and very recently for the pleasure and profit atibrded me by the 
 perusal, in the July and September issue of The Bulletin, of your lecture on " Wool- 
 production and Sheep-husbandry." 
 
 My only regret in reading it has been that your audience had not been in Tex.as 
 rather than Maine; and here (will you allow me to say?) you are, in my judgment, 
 doing the joint interests of wool-groAviug and wool-manufacture great service by the 
 utterance of such sentiments as are contained in the paper referred to ; and, while 
 thus employed, I firmly believe you are engaged in an educational effort second to none 
 in importance in our country. 
 
 I have entered upon the business of sheep-husbandry in this section not iiloue for the 
 purpose of money-making, but also in the faith that I can, in this avocation, render 
 good service to my country in many ways. The field here is a wide and important 
 one. I believe it is destined to be the theater of most important developments in 
 sheep-husbandry. The facilities, in many directions, for the successful solution of 
 hitherto unsolved problems in this industry are unsurpassed anywhere ; and I think 
 ten years from now Texas wool will rank in all respects with the best of the world. 
 
 To accomplish this will require effort. I do not hesitate to say to our Avool-growers 
 .here that the intelligent wool-manufaofcurers of New England will watch with much 
 interest the future of this great territory; and that the knowledge of that fact, and 
 the sympathy and co-operation it insures, should nerve them not only to grow the most 
 in bulk, but the besjt in quality, of any wools on the continent. 
 
 I have recently brought out here one hundred head of Merino bucks from the cele- 
 brated flock of (ieorge Campbell, esq., of "West Westminster, Vt., and intend them as 
 but the forernnners of a system of sheep-husbandry unexcelled anywhere. If lean 
 be suciessfnl, I think I may be useful in no small degree in more firmly cementing 
 the bonds of our common country. For, while it may seem a strange thought to many, 
 I have the im])ression that no one influence in the industries of the Union can be made 
 more mighty for good in a moral, industrial, and political sense than an intelligent, 
 harmonious, co-operation of the interests reijresented by the wool-growers and wool- 
 manuf icturers of these United States. 
 Very respectfully, yours, 
 
 CHARLES N. JENKS. 
 
 Hon. John L. Hayes, 
 
 Secretarij of the National Association of Wool Manufacturers, Boston. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM FORTHCOMING REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF 
 AGRICULTURE OF TENNESSEE. 
 
 EAST TENNESSEE FOR SHEEP. 
 
 The climate embraced within the limits of Tennessee is peculiar, in the fact that it is 
 greatly modi lied by reason of mountain elevations, and is not what latitude alone would 
 determine. Take the toi)s of the Unaka Jlountains on the east, and throughout the 
 hottest summer mouths the average temperature on Roane Mountain does not exceed. 
 54 degrees. In the valley of East Tennessee we find the climate not so much nmdified 
 by elevation as by the direction of the winds, whiehrnshup the valleys from the south- 
 west laden with a fructifying moisture, and producing a highly genial, productive, 
 and healthy cliinate. The mean temperature here in sunmier is not 1 ar from 74 degrees. 
 
 Take these two divisions of the State, lying side ))y side, and the sheep will present 
 great constitutional differences. The Cotswold, Leicester, Southdown, ncu any heavy 
 breeds, would not do well upon the admirable grazing grounds found upon the bald 
 places on the mountain-tops; but the Merino, the Cheviot, and the native mountain 
 breeds would fiiid a home entirely congenial to their constitution and habits. The 
 natives found on these mountain heights are as fleet as the deer, and as healthy. The 
 wool is white, soft, firm, lustrous, and true; and the sheep show a beautiful adapta- 
 tion to the locality which they occupy. It is said, by those experienced in sheep-rai.s- 
 ing on these mountains, that the higher the grazing-gronnds the better the wool. On 
 the other hand, carcasses increase in size as the grazing-grounds approach the valley, 
 until the largest size of carcass is met with in the many long, straight, and beautiful 
 valleys that characterize the great valley of East Tennessee. 
 
 It may be avcU to mention here that llie grasses which flourish upon the slopes and 
 tops of the Unaka Mountains are exceedingly luxuriant and nutritious, alud form a 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 123 
 
 thick mat all over the surfoce. Bhie-wrass, herds' -^rass, white clover, moimtain 
 meadow, Randall grass, and many wild but valuable kimls, are so intermixed as to 
 supply constant grazing throughout the sunmior months. But these grasses are con- 
 fined to the soils of metaphoric origin. The Sandstone Mountains are naked ami bare, 
 producing ouly greenish briars, lichens, mosses, and ferns. 
 
 Though cool, the climate of tliese mountijiyis is exceedingly moist. For fully half 
 the time in summer the tops are wrapped in cloud and mist ; and rains are remark- 
 ably frequent in summer, and snows In winter. The frequent rains keep the grasses 
 in a growing condition, and an equal acreage of pasture upon the rich, black, felds- 
 pathic soils of the mountain will probably supply double the grazing that it would in 
 the valleys below. In no part of the celebr.ited blue-grass region of Kentucky is the 
 •sod better or thicker than upon the balds of some of these, mountains. For wool-pro- 
 ducing sheep, this region has no superior in this or any other country, if they could be 
 provided with suitable protection against the chilling rains. The cold blasts of winter 
 may be averted by the sheltering coves. The tropical heats of the valley in summer 
 are unknown upon these airy heights. 
 
 CU5IBEBLAKD MOUNTAIN FOR SHEEP. 
 
 The Cumberland table-land is 2,000 feet above tide-water, with a dry sandstone soil, 
 and an exceedingly cool and pleasant climate in siinmier, the mean temperature being 
 about 71 degrees. The air is dry and bracing. During the summer mon ths the sur- 
 face of the earth is covered with tussocks of nne, nutritious mountain grass, and fur- 
 nish ample sustenance for sheep for eight months in the year. In addition to the wild 
 grasses, herds'-grass, clover, and orchard-grass, with sligbt attention to manuring, will 
 grow well. Wild pease also furnish a nutritions herbage. The soil can easily be made 
 to yield sufficient supplies for winter feeding by sowing in stock pease — a food not only 
 healthful for sheep, but highly relished by cattle. 
 
 To be successful in sheep-raising on this table-land, the breeder must be careful to 
 build shelters for protecting his flocks from the middle of November until the middle 
 of March. The climate is very rigorous in wintei- ; and the keen northern and north- 
 western blasts will speedily impair the health of the imjiroved, though tender breeds. 
 The native sheep are very healthy, and rarely suffer from any disease ; though they 
 , are not profitable, the wool being coarse and short, and the carcass light and lean. 
 This arises, however, more from neglect than local cause. It should never be forgotten 
 that thrifty flocks maybe raised wherever industrious men and good breeders live, 
 and that the best flocks will degenerate where inattention and neglect are practiced. 
 
 The advantages oft'ered by this mountain region for the economical raising of sheep 
 are: 
 
 1. The cheapness of the lauds. Lauds may be bought at almost a nominal price on 
 the Cumberland Mountains. Though high and healthy, the soil in comparison with 
 that of the valleys is poor and unproductive. The j)rice for wild, higbway-iiasture 
 lands varies from 50 cents to $?> per acre, depending maiidy upon nearness to railroads 
 and markets. Care should be taken, though, to investigate the titles thoroughly ; for 
 one of the most unwise acts of our p.ast legislation was the opening of a land-office, 
 and allowing every one to make his own surveys, and receive a grant for lauds based 
 upon such surveys. Oftentimes it happened that the same land had been entered, in 
 whole or in part, by others. The possession of a land-grant does not carry with it in 
 this State a title ; but the title rests with the oldest grant, assuming it to have been 
 regularly entered at first. Let strangers beware of purchasing mountiiin lands with- 
 out a rigid investigation of title. ' I am led to make these remarks because complaints 
 have reached this office that persons have been swindled in purchasing laud-grants. 
 There is no difficulty about securing good titles to valley l.nnds; but there is danger 
 that a person may buy laud upon the mountain with a grant from the State, bearing 
 the great seal of authority, and have no title. 
 
 2. The second advantage these mountain lands offer for sheep-raising is in the wide 
 range of pasturage. The open woods permit the luxurant growth of .nutritious herbs 
 and grasses throughout the summer, and will subsist millions of sheep for eight months 
 in the year without any other care than salting. 
 
 3. Athird advantage may be found in the dryness of the sandstone soil, which in- 
 sures exemption from many of the diseases fatal to sheep. No foot-ail, no braxy, no 
 impaired organs of digestion, no blind staggers, and, indeed, no other disease than old 
 age, or starvation through want of care, has ever attacked them. Nor do flies annoy 
 or vex flocks as they do in the lower plains. 
 
 There are also some disadvantages attending the raising of sheep upon this mount- 
 ain. The pasturage is so extensive that they often stray off and are lost. There is 
 also the calycanthus, that on some of the slopes grows vigorously, bearing seed readily 
 eaten by sheep in winter, and which is a deadly poison. To guard against this, sheep 
 should be driven up and fed before the rigor of winter and the scarcity of grass com 
 .pel them to devour such fatal food. Another drawback will be found in the distance 
 from market. While the wool may be easily conveyed to shipping jioints at a small 
 
124 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 cost, mutton sheep ■would suffer mucli in flesh by being driven long distances. Of all 
 this region, embracing more than 3,000,000 acres, less than 500,000 acres are within 
 easy reach of railroads or navigable streams. 
 
 My own impression is that the Merino sheep, if properly cared for, would prove a 
 profitable investment on these mountain lands. One precaution would be necessary, 
 and that is to Iceep the bucks from the ewes until about the middle of November, so 
 that the lambs would come aftir the rigorous winter weather is over. 
 
 ADDITIONAL FACTS BEARING UPON THE CULTURE OF ELECTORAL WOOLS 
 
 IN THE SOUTH. 
 
 In an address delivered before the National Agricultural Congress, in New Haven, 
 Conn., August 29, 1878, the writer, the compiler of the jjreceding pages, says: 
 
 In a recent paper on sheep husbandry in the South, I very earnestly recommended 
 the culture of electoral wools at the South. I have recently received a letter from Dr. 
 Ollendorff, a gentleman before referred to, of the largest experience in the culture of 
 fine wools in South America and Germany, who says, referring to my paper : 
 
 " It is undoubtedly a mistake to suppose that a warm climate injuriously influences 
 the wool fiber in regard to fineness. On the contrary, I am of the opinion that the 
 fleece of the pure Merino, in a warm climate, with green, succulent grass nearly the 
 whole year round, has rather a tendency to run finer than the interest of the sheep- 
 breeder on a large scale requires." 
 
 After the publication of the paper referred to, I pursned inquiries as to the culture 
 of the electoral sheep in the district of the United States most famous for the growth 
 of superfine wool — the Panhandle region in Western Virginia, and the contiguous coun- 
 try in Ohio ; into which country Spanish Mereno sheep, partially descended from 
 Colonel Humphreys' flock, and, subsequently, Saxon sheep, had laeen imported by 
 Messrs. Wells & Dickerson. In answer to my inquiries, I obtained the following facts, 
 in an extended communication from Mr. J. D. Witham, of West Virginia, a practical 
 wool-grower and wool-dealer, from which I give some extracts in detail, as they fur- 
 nish entirely fresh and original information upon a too much neglected branch of sheep 
 husbandry ; 
 
 " The Messrs. Faris Brothers, of West Liberty, Ohio County, West Virginia, for- 
 merly owned flocks which were bred with particular regard to fineness ; and Mr. John 
 Faris, who has still a portion of the old flock, clairas to have bred the finest wooled 
 ram that ever was born, his fleece weighing but a pound and three-quarters. All who 
 saw him pronounced him the finest they had ever seen. Some of the progeny of this 
 ram is still to be found in two or three flocks in Ohio County. 
 
 '•It is claimed by the farmers of this county that they formerly bred from as pure 
 Saxony sheep as could be obtained. Many of them were purchased from a Mr. Pea- 
 body Atkinson, who came from New England, and was an enthusiast in his devotion 
 to fine-wooled sheep. 
 
 "Mr. Ninian Beall, near West Liberty, has a flock of about 500 sheep, 'not as many 
 as he would like,' he says, 'but enough for a sample.' He warrants all to be XXX and 
 picklock. The fleeces will average from three to three and a half pounds. He is now 
 breeding from Silesian rams. His flock, with two or three others, may be considered 
 the cream of the once famous Saxony flocks of West Virginia. Notwithstanding the 
 recent infusion of Silesian blood, they njay bo regarded as having a Saxony foundation ; 
 for the Silesian infusion is of comparatively late introduction. Mr. Beall is now 
 breeding from 'Beecher,' a ram purchased at the Centennial, from the Silesian flock 
 of the late W. H. Chamberlain, of Red Hook. He shears eleven pounds of beautiful 
 unwashed' wool, very compact, yet short in staple. Some persons think the Silesians 
 are lacking in constitution. Mr. Beall pronounces this animal to have as good a con-' 
 stitution as any sheep in the country, and to be an excellent breeder. He has not 
 found it necessary to nurse one of his lambs during the two years that he has been 
 breeding from him. Mr. Beall prides himself as much upon his fine wool as any 
 'electoral duke' can. It seems quite appropriate that he should grow 'noble' wools. 
 Residing on one of the richest and finest farms in any country, he is truly a lord in his 
 own realm ; with his help around him, his every motion a command, and the very soil 
 on which he treads seeming to know naught but to obey, as his well-filled barns and 
 waving corn will testify. 
 
 " It may be added that the same manufacturer has purchased his wool for the past 
 nine years. Yesterday he sold his wool for 48 cents a pound ; last year, for 60 cents." 
 
 I recollect distinctly and with great pleasure the exhibit of Mr. Beall's wool at the 
 Centennial. As one of the judges of wool, I examined it, in company with the eminent 
 Bradford manufacturer, Mr. Mitchell, and wrote his award with Mr. Mitchell's hearty 
 concurrence : "An exhibit of Saxony fleeces, two bucks and two ewes, of fineness char- 
 acteristic of the race." 
 
SHEEP-HUSBAND UY. 125 
 
 Mr. Witham adds: 
 
 "There are some three or four other clips which sold for as much, or -within a half- 
 cent as much, as Mr. Beall's. I miglit mention Mr. James Ridgcley, of the same dis- 
 trict; Mr. John Baird, of Philadelphia; and Dr. J. C. Campbell, of Richland district. 
 These men claim to liave never introduced Spanish Merino blood into their flocks, and 
 the products of their flocks are known as Saxony clips. Indeed, there are but few 
 flocks in this- country from which the Saxony blood has been entirely bred out." 
 
 Harrison County, adjoining the Panhandle, has been always famous for its superfine 
 wool. Mr. Witham writes : 
 
 "Mr. William Croskey, of Hopedale, has over a thousand fleeces, all grading XXX 
 and above. I had supposed there was not such a clip in the country, and certainly 
 there is not such another. It presents a very showy appearance, as it is 'rocked' up 
 on an elevated platform in the middle of his barn-floor. Snow-white in appearance, 
 a manufacturer could but say, ' I came, I saw, I bought.' He has his ram fleeces, some 
 fifteen or twenty, piled on the outside of his pile in the 'wall' in one place, and tells 
 you, 'Now, I will give you this pile if you will pick out the bucks' fleeces.' They are 
 washed, and present as showy and white an aiipeai-aiice as any of his fleeces. His 
 wool is longer in the staple than I expected to see it. Much of it has delaine length — 
 the very wool for French cashmeres and merinoes. 
 
 "Mr. Croskey considers his sheep the hardiest that are bred in the Ohio, Pennsyl- 
 vania, and West Virginia region. The wool x>ays as well as any other raised in that 
 region. His fleeces average three and three-quarters pounds. He sold last year for 
 sixty-five cents a pound, straight through, withont any deductions or dockings. I 
 said to him : 
 
 " ' What breed of sheep do you have, Mr. Croskey; is it Saxony?' 
 
 " 'I do not know. I have aimed to breed the best and finest sheep that I could get. 
 I do not like the Silesian ; bred them one year, but sold all the stock when two years 
 old. I do not think there is a drop of Silesian blood in my flock. The Silesians' may 
 be very good sheep, but not what I am breeding for. I have some of the best of 
 Thomas A. Wood's flock, acknowledged by all to have been the finest of that section, 
 but sold and scattered among other wool-men after his death. I had one of his rams, 
 which died last year at the age of tweni y-two years and which took the 'premium or 
 medal as the finest sheep at one of the world's fairs. I have now twenty better sheep 
 than him, in every respect.' 
 
 " ' Do you not think your breed of sheep, or the Saxony sheep, tender?' 
 
 '"I suppose my sheep are Saxony, if anything. They are not American Merino, 
 Spanish, Silesian, or any other breed of which I have heard. This ram, dying at the 
 age of twenty-two, would seem to indicate hardiness. I do not house my sheep. Some 
 of them have free access to sheds, but they are just as apt to select the highest knoll 
 of a cold night as any other place. I think there is no hardier sheep, no sheep better 
 adapted to this climate; and we have as hard a climate as anywhere, the thermometer 
 getting down as low as 25° below zero and up to 100° in the shade nearly every year. 
 I have not as much trouble with my lambs in dropping time as some of my neighbors 
 who raise Spanish or American Merinoes.' 
 
 " 'Do you think the tendency of your flock is to grow flner and lighter or not?' 
 
 "'My flock is finer than when I commenced breeding forty years ago; and the 
 fleeces will average one pound heavier, obviously because it has become longer, with 
 no more grease. I feed but little grain. I can raise two of my Saxon sheep where you 
 can raise one Merino. Neighbor Mulholland tried this and found the Saxon the hardi- 
 est, and much the easiest kept. With the same care it will raise nearly as much wool ; 
 and probably more, taking the grease into consideration.'" 
 
 I will add that I also remember the wool of this same Mr. Croskey at the Centen- 
 nial, and that the judges gave him an award in these terms: "An exhibit of twelve 
 samples of Saxony wool of the highest excellence." 
 
 The above extracts show that our Southern friends who desire to pursue the fasci- 
 nating pursuit of superfine sheep husbandry may find in our own country breeding 
 animals to start their flocks, thoroughly acclimated, having all the fineness of the 
 original Saxons without their tenderness of constitution, and producing heavier 
 fleeces without loss of fineness of fiber. Thus we find what will be to most of us an 
 unexpected addition to the American resources for sheep-husbandry. 
 
 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY IN CONNECTION WITH THE CULTURE OF TOBACCO. 
 
 In the address referred to, the writer presented the following facts, which will be 
 instructive to the tobacco-growers of the South : 
 
 The valley of the Connecticut furnishes an instructive illustration of the beneficial 
 influences of sheep-husbandry upon crops. I refer to the system of sheep-feeding for 
 mutton and manure, in connection with the tobacco culture, &c., profitably pursued in 
 
12G SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 tliat valley. For the purpose of obtaining definite information I addressed inquiries 
 to several practical farmers ciiffaged in this pursuit in that reo-ion. Among others, to 
 Mr. J. F. C. AUis, of East Whately, Mass., whose statement Is so instructive that I 
 give it at leno'th, in his own words : 
 
 " We feed from 200 to 600 .sheep ; huying in the fall, and selling in the spring. We 
 have bought, directly after shearing, of Michigan farmers, and had the sheep pastured 
 till November. By early .selecting and buying, we are more sure of getting the best 
 sheep, and more easily obtain all wethers, and usually at minimum cost. Merinoes 
 crossed with long- wool sheep weighing from 90 to 110 pounds, from three to Ave years 
 of age, are the kind we select, as they take on fat easily, and their mutton is preferred 
 in New York and Brifjhton markets. Long-wool sheep, as we think, are not good 
 feeders; they do not take on fat so easily; and, although they cost more, will not sell 
 higher when we are ready to market them. 
 
 "We keep our sheep under cover, and commence to feed lightly about December 1, 
 yarding them close, from 40 to 50 in a pen; always keeping them well bedded with 
 wheat and rye straw, or coarse hay. We commence to feed the sheep light with grain, 
 gradually increasing till they cat one quart each, daily ; we seldom give more ; the 
 object being to give them all they will eat, without cloying. 
 
 "In 1871 we fed 200 sheep from December 1, and 85 more from December 24, and 
 sent tlum to Brighton market April 10, 1872. We fed 725 bushels of corn, with 15 
 tons of hay. From 1865 to 1873 Massachusetts-Connecticut River Valley farmers fed 
 from 8,000 to 10,000 yearly, mostly coming from Michigan, some from Ohio; but Michi- 
 gan Merinoes crossed with long-wooled sheep are considereil the best feeders. 
 
 "During those years sheep for feeders found a ready sale; and agents from tobacco- 
 growers would take from one to tw^o months in marketing flocks, and would car them' 
 here 1,000 to 2,000 at a time. 
 
 "Since 1873, owing to iinancial causes and their effect, and almost always lower 
 markets for th<; same class of mutton in the spring than in the fall, the nTimber fed has 
 gradually decreased, till last year only about 2,000 were fatted. Farmers were satis- 
 tied to feed when they would receive pay for grain, considering the manure would pay 
 for hay and care of sheep. During the best year of feeding, sheep would sell in the 
 spring for double the price paid in fall; the average price one-third more. Since 1873 
 more caution has been taken, the pressure of time being too hard for profitable sheep- 
 feeding. 
 
 " The cauae for feeding so many sheep for theirnintton in this valley is the high 
 value of sheep-manure for tobacco-growers, it having the effect on onr light soil to pro- 
 duce dark-colored silky leaf, of good burning quality, suitable for wrapping tine 
 cigars; the tobacco burns white, and has a good, sweet flavor, perhaps owing to the 
 potash it derives from the manure. So valuable do we consider this sheep-manure 
 tliat we have shipped, since 1870, from West Albany, from 50 to 150 cords, costing from 
 $8 to $10 a cord, every spring. On our light soils, calleil pine-lands, after raising crops 
 of tobacco, 2,000 pounds to the acre, we have sown wheat; yielding 30 bushels, plnmp 
 berry, and heavy weight of straw, on laud which without this dressing of manure is 
 fit only for white beans. We of late years feed with our sweetest and finest hay, and 
 mix with ouv com one-third cotton-seed meal; by so feeding onr sheep fatten more 
 easily, being more hardy and better conditioned, besides increasing the value of the 
 manure and rendering it more full of plant food. 
 
 "Farmers in hill towns, and some in the valley, are keeping ewes for raising lamb 
 for early spring market; and those farmers who have good pasturage for fall market 
 realize for lambs, of from 40 to 70 pounds, from $8 to $10 each. 
 
 "This branch of sheep husbandry will undoubtedly increase among farmers, who 
 will keep from 15 to 30 head, notwithstanding the difficulty of good pasturage and the 
 Avorry and destiuction caused by dogs. 
 
 "Sheep invariably are the best that are penned in November and December .coming 
 direct from pastures. Having only had light feeding of grain, they car better and are 
 more hearty feeders. The Connecticut River fed sheep have a ready sale, at full 
 market rates, in early and late spring, both in Brighton and New York markets. 
 
 "Fattening wethers for market would rapidly increase if the spring market could 
 be more relied upon. Perhaps this reliance will come from the increasing foreign 
 demand for good mutton." 
 
 RECENT NOTES ON THE ANGORA GOAT. 
 [From the Bulletin of tlie l^ational Asdociation of "Wool Manufacturers.] 
 
 We have to thank our friend, Prof. Spencer F. Baird, the distinguished naturalist, 
 and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, for calling onr attention to the follow- 
 ing article, published in the celebrated English sporting paper, The Field, of June 8. 
 
 It has been our object since writing the first full monograph on the Angora goat, 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 127 
 
 published here or abroad, to publish all the later information upon this subject in our 
 BiiUetin. The paper given below is the most important of the recent contributions. 
 It is important to those desiring to import these animals from their native habitats, 
 as it gives a precise description of the localities where the diifereut varieties prevail. 
 There are two poiilts, dwelt upon by the writer, to which special attention should be 
 given by those proposing the culture of the Angora in this country. The first is that 
 tiie high and dry plateaus where these goats flourish in Asia. Minor have an "abund- 
 ant growth of oaks, either in the fortn of trees or scrub brush, the leaves of which fui'- 
 nish the goats with their favorite food, not only while green iu summer, but dried for 
 winter use." This suggests the fitness of regions in the South, where oaks abound, 
 for the culture of these animals ; and shows that where grasses do not abound, as in 
 many districts of the South, abundant forage can be supplied by the dried leaves, 
 gathered and cured, of course, when green. 
 
 The second point is the course adopted in Asia Minor to obtain an increase of the 
 flocks. The writer observes that, "with regard to the breeding of the mohair goat 
 and cross-breeding it with the common species, there are two different theories. One 
 is that the best mode of beginning a flock is to commence with a few thorough-bred 
 goats of both sexes, and trust entirely to the natural increase. • » * The alterna- 
 tive plan is to introduce a small but choice collection of thorough -bred rams, and cross 
 the common ewe-goat with these. In three to five years a large and valuable flock is 
 collected, only limited by the number of common goats procured at first." "Theo- 
 rists," he says, "object to this system, that perfect purity of breed cannot be reached; 
 but practically every trace of underbreeding can be eliminated, and the standard of 
 the pure goat reached. * * * In practice, a combination of the two methods has 
 been fomid the most profitable ; thiit is, a small flock, consisting of say uinety thor- 
 ough-bred ewes and ten pure Angora rams, kept carefully apart, and used as a feeder 
 for as many common ewe-goats as are procurable." 
 
 This is precisely the plan which we would recommend to breeders in this country, 
 only with the injunction that even the most perfected cross-bred ewes should be in- 
 variably crossed by an absolutely pure-bred ram, and that even the best cross-bred 
 rams should never be used or sold for breeding. Without the persistent use of pure 
 rams no good results can be obtained. By this plan we feel reassured that the Angora- 
 goat husbandry, iu suitable localities, can be successfully and profitably conducted in 
 this country. 
 
 In our original paper on the Angora goat we announced the following conclusion : 
 "The Angora goat, and the domestic goat of Europe and this country, having de- 
 scended from separate sources, the obtaining of good results from the crosses of the 
 two races is theoretically improbable, and is demonstrated to be so by the best experi- 
 ence in Eurojie." As we stated in a recent article on sheep-husbandry in the South, 
 later observations of experiments in Australia, and especially iu the Cape of Good 
 Hope, has led us to modify the conclusion above quoted. We must now admit that 
 good fleece-producing animals may be founded on the common goat. The conclusive 
 fact establishing this is the one stated by the Messrs. Bowes, in their wool statistics for 
 1878, that the first shipment of mohair from the Cape of Good Hope, made in 1805, 
 consisted of but 6,804 pounds. In 1876 the quantity reached 1,298,455 pounds, " and 
 the quality has been very much improved." It is not possible that this vast increase 
 could have been made except by breeding on the common goat. The excellence of the 
 product of the graded auimals is jiroved by the highest test : it has become a regular 
 article of commerce. 
 
 The greater part of the enterprise devoted to the Angora- goat culture in this coun- 
 try has been frittered away, and has been productive of no results. Breeders who 
 crossed pure animals upon common goats have sold the grade animals as if they had 
 all the excellences of the absolutely pure goats. The purchasers, in their turn, breed- 
 ing the grade bucks to common goats, have been naturally disappointed in the results, 
 and have let the breeds run entirely out. The failure has come from attempting to 
 derive profit from the sale of the graded animals, instead of from perfected fleeces. A 
 fair and intelligent experiment in Angora-goat husbandry on a large scale, such as is 
 made in sheep-husbandry, with the sole object of obtaining the largest product and 
 the utmost excellence of fleece, has hardly been made in this country. When the ex- 
 periment is fairly made on the mountains of Virginia or Nortli Carolina, with sufficient 
 capital, a foundation of absolutely pure animals, and with time enough allowed to 
 complete the improvement of the flock (five or six years), we feel confident that it will 
 be highly remunerative. Our manufactures will absorb all the fleece that can be 
 grown here for many years to come ; or, the fleece being worth about twice as much 
 abroad as the best Lincoln hoggett wool, it may be profitably exported. 
 
 Professor Baird informs us that inquiries were made of him, by practical manufact- 
 urers, in relation to the "Van" mohair. This question is partially answered in the 
 article quoted below, and further by the following statement : 
 
 '.' S|me years since, Mr. A. Eutichedes, a native of Asia Minor, came to this country, 
 bringing a flock of Angoras, of his own selection, from his native land. He finally 
 
128 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 settled in Vivginia; but, becoming discontented, went back to Smyrna. He sold his 
 goats to Mr. F. S. Fulmer, of Appomattox County, Va. In answer to a request for in- 
 formation as to a variety of Angora goat known as the ' Van,' Mr. Eutichedes writes 
 to Mr. Fulmer, under date of June last — 
 
 " ' Van is a province in Armenia, near Kars. The goats of the province produce 
 about on* million pounds of an inferior mohair, of four or live colors. The goats there 
 shear about three pounds per head, with about half as much per pound as the ileece of 
 Angora. On no account advise any friends of yours to go into Van goats ; for their 
 mohair is too coarse, and never sells for more than half what the true Angora mohair 
 brings.' " 
 
 " The Anqora or Mohair Goat ; its Naturalization in British Colonies. — At the last meet- 
 ing of the British Colonial Institute, Mr. Gavin Gatheral, vice-consul at Angora, read 
 a paper advocating the naturalization of the Angora goat in suitable parts of our Colo- 
 nial Empire. The Angora goat (the Capra hircus of naturalists) is a native of tlie 
 central plateaus and mountains of Asiatic Turkey. From a very early period, efforts 
 have been made to introduce them into Europe. In 1554, specimen.-)' were imported 
 into Holland, but with little success, the climate being unsuitable ; the humidity de- 
 stroying the length and luster of the fleece, which makes this staple esteemed as next 
 in value to silk. 
 
 " The clinuite and soil of Central Asia Minor are of extreme dryness, with an aver- 
 age elevation of 2,500 feet above the level of the sea, and an abundant growth of oak, 
 either in the form of trees or scrub brush, the leaves of which furnish the goats with 
 their fa\()rite food, not only wliile green in summer, but dried for winter fodder. In 
 addition to the varieties of oak mentioned, these plateaus grow a scant supply of the 
 short, tufted grass. During the intense heat of summer this meager herbage is burnt 
 np ; but the goats thrive and find sustenance where any other animal would perish. 
 
 "In appearance they are somewhat smaller than the common goat; the fleece, when 
 full-grown, hangs in natural ringlets, almost touching the ground; the head is small 
 and shapely ; and both sexe.s have flat, corrugated horns, from eigliteen to twenty-four 
 inches long (according to age), that <liverge from the top of the head. On the wide 
 plateaus and in deep gullies of Central Asia Minor, these goats are tended in flocks of 
 from 200 to 5,000 head, generally mixed with sheep. There are few more beautiful 
 objects than a large flock, in full fleece, scattered over some rugged mountain-side, 
 under the unclouded blue of an Asiatic sky ; their snowy fleeces glittering like silver 
 in the brilliant sunshine, and the small bronze bells hung on the necks of the rams 
 chiming as they move aboiit. They are very tame, and will readily approach when 
 called. 
 
 "The folds consist generally of a sheltered inclosure surrounded by a low wall, and 
 are little used except during continuous rain. The goats return to their evening shelter 
 at sunset. During the heavy snow which sometimes covers the ground for two or three 
 months, the shepherds feed them with chopped straw or dried leaves. There is little 
 expense in grazing them, as one goat-herd with a dog — to keeii off wolves, which 
 abound — sufiioes for a thousand head. But in early spring, when the kids are boi'n, 
 they require attention, as the young are singularly helpless during the first week of 
 their lives, and the ewes show little maternal instinct; and if the kids are born during 
 cold or wintry weather, they require to be sheltered and nourished indoors after night- 
 fall. A rnnning stream or good well is indispensable, as the goats drink a great quan- 
 tity of water ; and it is advisable to place pieces of rock-salt for them to lick. 
 
 "No ordinary fence will restrain them. They are so restless, energetic, and destruc- 
 tive that cultivated plants in their vicinity have to be carefully guarded, especially 
 ornamental shrubs or hawthorn hedges, and gorse and briers. They will not, there- 
 fore, supersede sheep on good grass-lands ; but there are immense tracts in many of our 
 Australian and American colonies, now practically idle and valueless, that, were these 
 goats introduced, might be taken up and utilized in the production of a very impor- 
 tant staple, both for local manufacture and export. 
 
 " With regard to the breeding of the mohair goat, and cross-breeding it with the 
 common species, there are two different theories. One is, that the best mode of begin- 
 ning a flock is to commence with a few thorough-bred goats of both sexes and trust 
 entirely to their natural increase. The objection to this is the outlay at the outset, 
 and the time that must elapse before a large number can be raised. The alternative 
 plan is to introduce a small but choice selection of thorough-bred rams, and cross the 
 common ewe-goat with these. In three to five years a large and valuable flock is col- 
 lected, only limited by the number of common goats procured at the outset. Theorists 
 object to this system, that perfect purity of breed cannot be reached ; but, practically, 
 every trace of underbreeding can be eliminated and the standard of the pure goat 
 reached ; the mohair being as fine, as long, though perhaps scarcely so abundant, as 
 in the thorough-bred, while the silky luster so much valued by spinners is undoubtedly- 
 greater. In practice, a combination of the two methods has been found the most prof- 
 itable ; that is, a small flock consisting of say ninety thorough-bred ewes and ten pure 
 
SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 129 
 
 Angora rams, kept carefully apart, and used as a feeder for as many common ewe- 
 goats as are procurable. 
 
 ' 'As regards the value of tlie fleece, both quality and price vary much : but fair aver- 
 age mohair is worth from iJs. 9d. to 3s. 9d. per pound, the average yield being five to 
 six pounds, or, say, 20s. per head per annum. The flesh of mohair goats in good con- 
 dition much resembles mutton. It is somewhat firmer in fiber, and quite as palata- 
 ble ; in fact, those accustomed to both prefer it, and it Is entirely free from the pecu- 
 liar odor that characterizes common goats' flesh. The wethers aooumulate large 
 quantities of internal fat, which is remarkably firm and white, and makes valuable 
 tallow. The ewe gives abundance of milk, and from it is made that slightly-acid curd 
 called 'yort' in Turkish, so highly praised by Captain Burnaby in his recent work, 
 'On Horseback Across Asia Minor.' The skin is soft iiud flexible, can be beautifully 
 cured and tanned, and from it in Turkey is made the best quality of what is known 
 in Europe as morocco leather. The skins, when taken off with the hair, are also val- 
 uable articles of merchandise. They command high prices for carriage and drawing- 
 room rugs. 
 
 ' ' The statistics of this industry show considerable fluctuations from year to year, 
 varying with the general condition of. the flocks and the demands of fashion in Great 
 Britain. Taking the last few years of depressed trade as a minimimi, the shipments 
 from Turkish ports to England average 40,000 bales, of 170 pounds each, of good or 
 fair, and 10,000 of inferior, mohair. With regard to skins, &c., there are no reliable sta- 
 tistics available; but the total value at present prices wiU be a little over £2,000,000 
 sterling annually. This represents the full producing power of the Asia Minor dis- 
 tricts ; and were returning peace to stimulate trade in England, the demand would far 
 exceed the supply. E ven as it is, the industry is frequently much hampered by the 
 delay and difficulty in procuring supplies ; and this fact should induce colonial graziers 
 and capitalists to turn their attention to it. The manufacture is entirely in British 
 hands. 
 
 "The mohair-producing district in Asia Minor lies between the large town called 
 Kastambol, near the Black Sea on the north, Koniah to the south, Sivas to the east, 
 and Eskisher to the westward. It yields more than twenty varieties, which are easily 
 recognizable by experts; but the following are the principal: 
 
 "The most northerly point at which the mohair goat thrives is Kastambol, a large 
 and fertile province, but too near the moist winds of the Black Sea for the mohair 
 goat to reach its highest development. The fleece, though lustrous, is harsh and 
 coarse. It is somewhat unfortunate that the first selections for export to the Cape 
 Colony, for naturalization there, were made from this district. The facilities for ship- 
 ment are great ; but had other varieties, to be noted further on, been preferred, the 
 result of the Cape experiment might have been more satisfactory. 
 
 "Two hundred miles inland and to the southward lies Angora. This province pro- 
 duces five different varieties from as many districts, each of them equal in area to the 
 largest English county. Yabanova (or Strangerfleld) produces a heavy lustrous fleece; 
 Tchorba, a mohair so soft and fine that it falls to pieces as soon as shorn from the 
 goat's back; Tohiboukova (or the Reedy Valley) is remarkable for its length and fine- 
 ness of fiber ; Ayash (the Mountain Pass) produces a white but Insterless fleece. The 
 rams of the three first-named districts are undoubted! y thorough-bred. Though smaller 
 in size than those of some other varieties, they have all the ' points ' that a practical 
 stock-breeder commends. Sheltered by oak forests during the short but severe winter, 
 and grazed on the valley grass during spring and summer, they seem to find in the 
 alternation everything needful for strength and vigor, as is proved by their being so 
 prolific, the ewes having frequently pairs, and sometimes even triplets, at a birth. 
 Jeevar (or Near Town) is bright and showy, but full of what is technically called 
 stick, or kempy hair. 
 
 "Beybazar (or Prince's Market) iS" so near Angora that the mohair it produces has 
 no marked points of difference. The rams are larger in size, very hardy, and stand a 
 sea voyage well. A few have been recently exported to Cape Colony and California, 
 the result being highly satisfactory. To the northeastward are Tcherkess (or Circas- 
 sian Village) and Geredeh (or Behind the Mountain), two districts where the mohair 
 goats have been introduced in comparatively recent times. They there develop dis- 
 tinct characteristics, owing to the difference of climate and elevation. The Geredeh 
 ram is a large and powerful animal, covered with a fleece that seems almost black, so 
 surcharged is it with grease ; but, when scoured, the mohair is found to be second to 
 none in quality and fineness. The difficulty of access to this mountain region has 
 hitherto prevented any of these goats being secured for export. 
 
 " To the eastward aire Sivrihissar (or the Turreted Castle) and Etkisheir (or the Old 
 City). Both suffered severely from the two years of successive drought m 1874-'75, 
 and' the consequent famine. Many of the goats perished ; but the graziers replaced 
 them with stock from other districts, the result being a marked improvement in qual- 
 ity and value. 
 
 "Due south lies Koniah, the ancient Iconium ; the soil there being of the color 
 
 S. Ex. 25 9 
 
130 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 
 
 and character of brick-dust. The fleece of the Koniah goat is a reddish hrown ; and, 
 though this reduces its value as mohair, it is sought after for certain special manufac- 
 tures. On the frontier of Armenia and Mesopotamia, far to the eastward, is a prov- 
 ince called Van, which has hitherto supplied a great weight of inferior mohair, more 
 resembling sheep's wool than goat's hair ; but this is the only part of the mohair-pro- 
 ducing territory that has been occupied by the Russian invading armies, and conse- 
 quently may be looked upon as lost to British commerce for many years to come. 
 
 "Recent events have greatly facilitated the means of purchasing and exporting 
 thoroughbred mohair goats from Asia Minor to British colonics. In former years it was 
 as difficult to induce a Turkish grazier to part with a ram as to get an Arab to sell his 
 favorite mare; but, war contributions increasing, he accepts the inevitable, and buys 
 and sells like other people. The goats thrive well on shipboard, when properly at- 
 tended to, so that the risk of lo,ss during transit is .small. 
 
 "Mi-. Gatheral ga\e the following information res])ecting the cost of Angora goats: 
 
 " Rams, thoroughbred, young bucks from the best districts, two to three years old, 
 with certiflcate of health and condition, fitness for breeding puriioses, £t). Ewes, 
 sanu'. age and breed, £3 to £4. Expenses beyond Constantinople depend on frt'iglit, 
 which varies much. Delivered in London, Liverpool, or Southam]iton, for transsliip- 
 ment, cost, freight, and insurance against all risk included, the rams cost from £9 to 
 £10 ; ewes about one-half. For the Australian colonies they could be transshipped at 
 Malta, thus saving time and expense. 
 
 " The animals are-always forwarded in pens made expressly, with every facility for 
 water, fodder, and cleanliness. They are sent under the care of shepherds who ha\(! 
 had much experience. 
 
 " In the course of the conversation which ensued, Dr. Bennett, the Australian nat- 
 uralist, exhibited magnificent specimens of soft, silky mohair, of a beautiful lustrous 
 white color, the produce of Angora goats naturalized in New South Wales."