S F3 75I Hntt fflallege nf Agricttlturc At QJarnell UtttUEraitB ffitbtacij 1i.ll' ■l .^:'si ORIGIN AND fiRnWTff SHEUP HUSBANDRY UNITED STATES. WITH SOME EEMAKKS ANGORA FLEECE. WASHINGTO^SI: hOVEBNMENT FEINTING OPPIOE 1880. Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book 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/cu31924002946915 ORIGIN AND GEOWTH OP SHEEP HUSBANDRY UNITED STATES. WITH SOME REMAKES ON ANGORA FLEECE. WASHINGTON": CfOTEENMENT PEIWTIWG- OPFIOE. 1880. (Si as 45th Congeess, ) SBKATE. ( Ex Doc. 3d Session, J ( No. 25. MESSAGE FROM THB PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, COMMUNICATESG, In cmswer to a Senate resolution of June Yl, 1878, information on the sub- ject of sheep-husbandtry. Jauuabt 14, 1879. — Bead, referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and ordered to be printed. To the Senate of the United States: In answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 17th of June last, re- questing the Commissionej- of Agriculture to send to the Senate certain reports on sheep-husbandry, copies of the same with accompanying papers, received from the Commissioner of Agriculture for this purpose, are herewith transmitted. E. B. HATES. Executive Mansion, Jamuary 13, 1879. Fnited States Department oe Agrictjlttjee, Washington, January 9, 1879. SiE : In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 17th of June, 1878, 1 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 Na- tional Association of Wool Manufacturers. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, WM. Q. Le duo. Commissioner of Agriculture. The President. SHEEP-HUSBANDET IK THE UlSITED STATES. its origin and growth. The early settlers of America brought with them the domesticated sheep of their respective nationalities; Spanish sheep were introduced in Mexico, English into Virginia and Massachusetts, and Dutch races into New York. The Spanish were evidently not Merinos, but producers of coarse wools suitable for carpets, probably the Chaurros; The Eng- 55 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. lish were long-legged, narrow-chested, light-quartered, coarse-wooled animals, by no means the highly-bred stock of English coarse-wools of the present day. The lowland sheep of HoUand bore many of the char- acteristics of the English, The compact, short-limbed, heavy-fleeced animal of recent improvement was not then in existence, whether Eng- lish or Spanish. They were smaU, agile, wild, slow in maturing, and their flesh was not highly esteemed as food. While sheep have been bred in this country for more than two hun- dred and fifty years,* it is only within the present century that improved breeds have Ijeen introduced, with the exception of isolated cases of par- tially-improved animals, as the 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 United States by M. Dupont de Nemours, chief of a French commission to select sheep in Spain under the treaty of Basle, and a banker named Delesaert, but only one lived to reach New York. It went to Delaware, and was used effectively in producing valuable grades. Yet the found- ing of the improvement which ultimately produced the American Merino bears the date of 1802, when our minister to France, Mr. Livingston, sent home two pairs of French Merinos (originally Spanish Merinos which had been modified by a course of breeding) from the imperial 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 fine- 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 country, changing the natives or scrubs of different origiu into Merino grades, doubling the weight and value per pound of their fleeces, and transmuting fibers little better than the carpet-wools of nomadic sheep-husbandry into the fine and soft material for clothing fabrics and the longer staple of Merino combing- 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 weight was 8 pounds 12 ounces, while the first cross made an improvement amounting to fully 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, and the necessity for worsted wool, gave impulse to progress in another direction, upon a foundation of original Leicesters 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 8,609,368 pounds, these countries sent respectively 6,062,824, and 1,731,934 poimds, while Germany sent 412,394 pounds, and the Netherlands 141,739 pounds. Such is the growthtof the wool manufacture in Great Britain, that in 1877 no less * Slieep were brought to Jamestown, Va., in 1609. t The heaviest were made by Consul William Jarvis, in 1809, amounting to nearly 4,000 in number. t The Spanish Merino was brought into Saxony by the Elector in 1765 ; iato Hun- gary, by Maria Theresa, in 1775 : into France in 1776. George III introduced them into JEngland.in 1785. The Eambouillet or imperial flock of France was established ipa786. SHEEP-HUSBAKDKY. 3 than 405,949,161 pounds of wool were imported — ^forty-seven times the receipts of seventy-five years ago. As late as 1820 the value of British exports of wools and manufactures of wool was only £5,989,622 ; in fifty-two years such exports reached the sum of £32,383,273 ; of which worsted contributed £20,905,163, and cloths, formerly the main lines of exports, only £6,991,718. This ex- plains the necessity for England's adherence to combing-wool races, while her crowded factory population equally necessitate the mutton product which is the concomitant of these worsted works. EBOIPEOOITT OF (JEOVP^TH AJ5CD lIAJSTIPACTXrEE. 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 stongle 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 greater wonder than its progress in Britain. During ten years prior to tide war with that countrjr there was no industrial interest so prominent m the public eye as this manufecture. Domestic manufacture in the famUy 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 rams 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 wool manufactures of the value of $25,608,788. After the war, iq a gush of conciliation, the bars of the customs were let down, importations became excessive, prices were prostrated, panic ensued, the nulls were stopped, and this magnificent beginning was quenched in failure, so that the product of 1820, years after, ha^ become only $4,413,068. Its rate of increase 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 LQ manufacture and variety of fabric. An advance was made that ren- dered possible the magnificent display of native woolens at the Cen- tennial Exhibition, wMch astonished our European competitors, and opened the eyes of thousands in our own country to an advance in skill in workmanship and excellence of goods of which tew had any concep- tion. This progress is radicated in part by the census returns of 1870, show- ing a product of woolen goods of $155,405,358, and of worsteds 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 woolen goods was from 83,608,468 to 154,769,095 pounds domestic and 17,311,824 pounds foreign for worsteds, 3,000,000 pounds domestic in 1860 to 13,317,319 domestic and 3,836,982 foreign in 1870. The product of car- pets was $7,857,636 in 1860, and $21,761,573, with an increase in wool used from 8,843,691 to 25,139,999 pounds. The value of hosiery was $7,280,266 in 1860 and $18,411,561 in 1870, with an increase in pounds of wool from 2,927,626 to 5^04,655. 4 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. Since 1870 the increase has been about 25 per cent. We now manu- facture about five times as much as in 1840, and more than three times as much as in 1860. Oui- recent importations of wool are less than 50,000,000 pounds per annum, and our home production four times as much. In brief, we manufacture four-flfths of all goods made of wool which enter into consumption, and what is better, we use home-grown wools for four-fifths of that manufacture. Instead of increasing the cost of clothing and carpets, by the national poUcy of producing them at home, prices are lower than in 1860. Instead of wearing the shoddy of cast-off European clothing, our goods are firmer and stronger and more durable than foreign Importations. Had our factories no existence, the extra demand of 46,000,000 of wool- wear- ing people would advance the price of clothing throughout the world. Had they no existence, wool-growing would hkewise have no status, as the history of this industry, the tendencies of our rural economy, and the genius of our people all show that the success of wool-raising and wool-manufacturing is correlative and inseparable. If manufacturing declines in this country, wool-growing wiU retrograde^ if wool-growing recedes, the prosperity of manufactures will be impaired. The^fi never will he an export ofxmolfrom this country under any probable circumstances. The superiority of American wools, in soundness, strength, and length of staple, gives our manufactures an advantage of great value. The in- ventive genius of our people has already obviated much of the competi- tion of European rates of labor. Our factories are rapidly acquiring the secrets of peculiar and popular foreign styles and fabrics, and even im- proving upon them, and inventing new processes and textures. Fancy cassimeres were until recently entirely of foreign production. Now the world-famous establishments of Sedan and Elboeuf are equaled or distanced. A bit of M. Boujeon's goods, taken from the inside of a collar of an overcoat worn by a gentleman ftom Paris, was the inspira- tion of the Orampton loom, on which fancy cassimeres are now woven, 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. Carl Amberg, a practical wool manufacturer, was compelled in his admiration to say to Mr. Hayes, the secretary of the Wool Manufacturers' Association, "You know that the best fancy cassimeres in the world have been made at Sedan and Elbceuf in France. If these goods were placed by the side of the Elboeuf cassimeres, yon could not tell one from the other, and the goods could not be bought -at Elboeuf for the prices marked here." These goods were made from American wool. The worsted coatings, differing from the fancy cassimeres in being made from combed instead of carded wool, are a recent triumph of our manufacturing skiU. These goods obtained notoriety in the Paris Exhi- bition of 1867, and have since been produced successfully here ; and as an incidental result another industry has been created, the combing and spinning of worsted yarns, of which an exhibition was made at Philadel- phia by companies representing $1,500,000 of annual production, which obtained an award showing them to be superior to yarns from the best Aiistralian wools, being " kinder, more elastic, and stronger." Inventions for producing felt fabrics, by two Americans, WiUiams and Wells, after repeated failures 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. F'or twenty years European flannels have been driven from our markets, and we now ex- port them to. Canada, and may soon be able to make a market for them SHEEP-HtrSBANDEY. in Europe. The yams from these flannels are more closely twisted, the goods shrink less, and are more highly finished -mid smoother in face. Even the opera flannels are now made here, from American wools, which produce a softer fabric than Australian fleece. Commendable progress has been made in competition with France in the finer styles of ladies' dress goods, such as delaiues, serges, and me- rinos. There is a single corporation — ^the Pacific Mils — ^in Massachu- setts with a flooring area larger than a forty-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 pay-roll of $160,000. But the greatest of American inventions and progress in the manu- facture of wools is in the production of carpets. Even Brussels, WU- ton, and Axminster, of home production, 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 importation. A few years more of success will perfect processes, reduce prices of manufactured goods, and open the markets of the world to the surplus of manufacture, without reducing either the value of labor or of wool to the level of foreign rates, or to the point of abandonment as unprofita- ble in competition with other labor. As the manufacture has advanced or declined, so has the production of wool. If prices have fallen rapidly, as in 1868, when in consequence of decline and panic in the markets of the world, and the sale of an ava- lanche of military goods, our markets were glutted, the immediate result has been a sacrifice of sheep by millions, not less than four millions 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. Slowly recuperation began the retrieving of this national loss, until in 1836 there may have been seventeen millions of sheep in the country, mostly in the N'orthem States. In that year a canvassing of the flocks of the country was made, with all attainable official data from the States, by Messrs. C. Benton and S. E. Barry, the ultimate result of whose labors is given in the following table; states. Kiunter of sheep. ' Pounds of -. "WOOL Value of wool. Maine Ifew Hampshire. . Vermont Massachusetts ... Hhode Island C onnecticut Kew York New Jersey Pennsylvania Delaware , Mar;^land . *-. Virginia Ohio , Eehtacky 622, 619 465, 179 099, Oil 373, 328 81, 619 256, 169 299,879 250, 000 714, 640 150, 000- 275, 000 000, 000 711, 200 600, 000 2, 023, 512 1, 511, 832 3,571,786 1, 213, 297 265, 262 • 829,299 13, 974, 606 812, 600 5, 572, 580 487,600 893, 750 3, 260, 000 S, 561, 400 1, 950, 000 021, 873 763, 475 803, 751 612, 715 133, 957 418, 796 057, 176 410, 313 814, 163 246, 187 451, 343 641,250 808, 500 984, 760 Total. 33,897,638 41, 917, 324 21, 168, 246 b SHEEP-HTTSBANDET. In 1836 the imports of wool slightly exceeded 12,000,000 pounds. Kumbers 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 22,163,105. These figures were not quite up to the actual numbers, as is now known, but much nearer the reality than the returns of wool, which were quite too low, averaging butvl.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 aggregate value $74,035,837. The present numbers, assumed to be about 36,000,000*, exhibit wonderful improvement in quality and 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 200,000,000 pounds. It has not been estimated annually in this department, but the commercial estimates, possibly a little high^ da not greatly exaggerate the quantity. * The estimates from returns in. Jaauary, 1876, are as follows : States. Ifmnber, Average price. Value. Maine New Hampshire. . Vermont .- Massachnsetts . . . Khode Island Connecticut HewXork New Jersey Pennsylvania I>elaware Maryland Virginia ITorth Carolina . . , Soutli Carolina . . . G-eoT^a Florida Alabama — Mississippi . _ Louisiana Texas Arlransas Tennessee West Virginia — Kentucky Ohio. Michigan Indiana niinois Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa Missouri Kansas Nebraska California Oregon Nevada Colorado The Territories.. 525, 800 239, 900 461,400 60, 300 24,600 92,500 518, 100 128, 300 607, 600 35, 000 151, 200 422, 000 490, 000 175, 000 382, 300 56, 500 270, 000 250, 000 125, 000 674, 700 285, 000 850, 000 549, 800 900,000 783, 000 780,000 092, 700 268, 500 323, 700 300, 000 560, 000 271, 000 150, 600 62, 400 061, 000 074, 600 72, 000 600, 000 600, 000 $2 78 2 60 2 82 3 60 3 75 3 70 3 30 4 46 3 09 4 00 3 65 2 58 1 54 1 80 1 57 1 90 175 I 75 1 80 2 09 1 85 1 92 2 17 2 97 2 78 2 53 2 14 2 48 2 44 2 20 2 30 1 82 2 31 2 77 1 53 1 76 2 00 2 00 2 30 $1, 461, 724 623, 740 1, 301, 148 217, 080 91, 875 342, 250 5, 009, 730 672, 218 4, 967, 484 140, 000 551,880 1, 088, 760 754, COO 315, 000 600, 211 107, 350 472, 500 437, 500 225, 000 7, 680, 123 5a7, 260 1, 632, 000 1,193,283 2, 673, 000 10, 516, 740 4, 427, 600 2, 338, 378 3, 121, 080 3, 229, 828 060, OOO 1, 288, 000 2, 313, 220 301, 746 172, 848 10, 732, 720 1, 891, 296 144, 000 1, 200, 000 5, 980, 000 Total Grand average of prices. 36, 240, 500 2 25 81, 363, 062 SHEEP-HUSBANDBY. 7 The following table has been prepared from estimates of Mr. James Lynde, of New Yorkj Seara. ■Washed. Booty Motm- taiiiH.* lex^ Spnthem. Aggregate. 1807 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, 000 8,000,000 9, 000, 000 9, 000, 000 10, 000, 000 12. 000, 000 13,000,000 14,000,000 2,000,000 8,000,000 3, 000, 000 3,000,000 3,000,000 4,000,000 3, 500, 000 3,500,000 4, 000, 000 5,000,000 7, 000, 000 160,000,000 177, OOO, 000 162, 250, 000 163, 000, 000 146, 000, 000 160,000,000 174, 70O, 000 178,000,000 193, 000, 000 198,250,000 208,250,000 1808 1869 1870 1871 ^ 1872 „ 1873 , 1874 1875 1870 _ 1877 ' Inolading Pacific Blop& The following record of the quarterly average prices of Ohio clothing wool (the best average product of American merino grades), as sold in the Boston market duriug the last seventeen years, is furnished by Mr. George William Bond, of Boston : Tears. JSunaiy. ApriL July. October. 1860 - 1861 $0-60 43 $0 60 40 $0 40 37 $0 52 45 $0 45 37 $0 40 32 *50 *76 •79 75 48 50 45 48 46 47 7fl 48 47 46 40 $0 55 40 $0 50 35 $0 40 32 *47 •73i *83 65 60 46 43 47 43 66 66 44 46 46 31 $0 50 47 $0 45 47 $0 40 62 1852 i 1863 , *62 1? 5.0 50 38 48 44 43 i 47 47 42 *70 1864 ♦1031 65 66 1865 _ 1868 1 02 70 68 48 50 48 47 70 70 58 55 48 1 00 65 63 43 50 46 46 67 68 64 56 52 80 65 60 50 50 48 50 80 56 56 54 46 80 60 55 48 60 47 52 80 63 49 76 70 65 46 48 46 62 72 50 53 62 38 73 67 49 45 48 46 60 70 48 53 49 35 75 63 48 48 48 48 63 66 54 54 48 46 75 60 46 48 48 48 62. 60 53 64 50 40 1867. . -- 40 1868 - --1 ; 45 1869 46 1870.., 1871 1872 ., 45 58 57 1873 ^ 1874 _ 1875 - 47 47 42 1876, _ 38 price. The Boston record of Ohio wool prices, from the same source, is, from 1840 to 1861, as follows : Tears. Fifle. Middle. Long. Tears. rine. Middle. Long. 1840» 1841' $0 45 50 $0 36 45 $0 31 40 1861 _ 1852 $0 41 49 65 41 SO 55 56 53 58 64 45 $0 38 45 50 36 42 47 47 46 47 47 46. $0 32 40 1853 43 1843 41 42 3^ 34 47 32 41 47 36 37 30 30 40 28 37 42 30 32i 26 i 32 38: 1854 — k 32i 34 1844 1855 , ... ... 1843 1856 _ 1867 , 67 41 1847 1858 _ 1859 36 1848. S5 1840^ ^ 1860. .._ ^ 37 1850^ 60 *Price aXL aconnd, 33^ to 35 centat White the prices of fine wools have declined all over the world, those of"coarse and long wools have appreciated, and th© great increase of weight makes a much higher average value per fleece and gives a better profit to the farmei thaa could the former style and piice-of wool. SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. TEAUSITION EST SHEEP-HUSBAWDEY. There are those, who jump hastily at conqlTisions, from insufficient premises, who point to the undoubted fact that numbers of sheep are of late decreasing in the region west of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio, and assume boldly that sheep-husbandry is unsuitable to that region and destined to be displaced. It is asserted that on lands worth $50 per acre sheep cannot be profitably kept. On the other hand, it is In England declared, from long experience on land worth $200 to $500 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 wool-growing. It is undoubtedly true that wool can be produced more cheaply on government land, or on rich prairies obtainable for $1.25 to $2.50 per acre, than on high-priced lands near to markets. The competition of fruits and dairy products tends to drive wool-growing to the wall. "Wool- growing" has been driven from England ; it has been expeUed from every department in France except the mountain districts, and mutton and wool production has taken its place. The predominance of Merinoes has m ade the transition from wool to mutton 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 Eambouillet the Merino itself has become substantially a mutton sheep, very 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 ; tiie English Leicester and Cotswold have been employed to facilitate the process. The government, which for ninety-four years has kept a Merino- breeding establishment,* with tendencies and results as above, has also a national fter^me at Haut-Tingry (Pas-de-OalaiSj on the English Chan^ nel), established in 1859, for the purpose 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 plains of the north. Then there are native coarse- wooled sheep, also cross-bred with Meri- noes, abundant in Brie, Bergundy, Champagne, Provence, Eeussilon, and other districts, that are among the most profitable flocks of France. It is even claimed that some flocks have equaled the Leicester and South- down in fatness and earliness of maturing, while theic flfieces are scarcely- less valuable than that of the Merino. The French have thus yielded to the necessity of making meat the first consideration, and in doing so have been wise in their refusal to *T]i6 importance attached to slieep-lDreedmg hy the French Government is further shown in L'Eeole de iergera located at the national iergerie de Bamiouillet. This insti- tution is intended to train young men in the management of flocka. It is open to pupils from all parts of France. Every applicant for admission as an apprentice must pass examination in his own commune, and must show that he was sixteen years old on the previous 1st day of January ; some moral and sanitary requirements are de- manded as in the other schools. All the pupils are hoarded gratuitously, receiving the same fare as tlie rural population of the country. They sleep near the sheep-folds in regular turn. Their course of inatrnotion lasts two years, and no charge of tuition is made> , The chief shepherd exercises them in the management of aU. operations of sheep-husbandry, lambing, weaning, castrating, pairing, gestation, parturition, shear- ing, folding, feeding, slaughtering, preparation for market, &o. They are taught tha best treatment of sick animals. They also cultivate tha land. If their primary in- struction is defective, it is supplied by special teaching, Theli instruction is tested and completed by the subdiieotor. After two years of pupilage, if they pass a satis- factory examination, thej; rejoeiv« a certificate, with, a premium of 300 francs. SHEEP-HtJSBAOT)E"Z. 9 sacrifice the wool required by tlieir peculiar styles of manufacture, and have thereby gained, not the coarse fiber of great length produced by the mutton breeds, but that having much of the fineness of Merino woo], with a material increase in length. Theii- breeders have demon- strated, perhaps more successfully than any other nation, that improve- ment in intrinsic value of fleece and increase in meat production may keep pace with each other. The climate, soils, and agronomic conditions of, this country have 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- nrate, soils, status of agriculture, and home demand for meat and wool, in the formation of types of sheep suited to existing reqnirements of our njral and manufactiuring economy. In the Ohio Valley and Middle and Eastern States the idea of keeping fOieep year after year for wool alone is antiquated and fossUiferous. It is like raising calves in New England to be fed four winters for beef- making in competition 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 maturity, rapid conversions of forage into meat, quick returns, are a necessity of sheep-husbandry in fertile and cultivated districts, which is diiving 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 reced- ing, and the latter is so disproportionate to the former in numbers that tbfi present effect is to decrease the aggregate of flocks. 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 difBcult to keep the hog from dying before he is ready for the knife), and the increasing de- mand for good mutton, all tend powerfully in this dkection. The flesh of the sheep is the best meat in the world ; it is also the poorest. A lean, thin sheep, Merino 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, affords 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 work a wonderful improvement in the quality of the flesh. Among the prime results of cross-breeding are increase of size, fecun- dity, early maturity, and early &ttening. A greatly desired resulfri 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 mutton have advanced more rapidly in England than those of beef. Prices in this country have also greatly advanced. Another consideration is the increase of price of worsted wools, which has been advancing, as compared with fine wools, for many years. The great demand of our manufacturers at the present time is for such woola, which they have been forced to meet in some degree by new machinery suited to the xise qf the comparatively long fibers of half and three- 10 SHEEP'HUSBANDET. fourths grade MerinoSj by which 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 flocks, 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. While dairying, and the shipment of its products, with^ draws rapidly from the soil its needed phosphates and other valuable dements, and reduces its fertility, the feeding of sheep tends directly to the enrichment of the soil. As the 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 28 bushels per acre are produced- The turnip, which feeds the sheep 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 wiU yield more without the aid of meat production as a permanent element of farm economy. The superiority of sheep to other animals in this connection, even upon the feiirming lands of highest price, is thus attested by Mr. William Brown^ «(f Scotland: Not only in quality and variety, but proportionately to any other country in the ■world, Britain feeds the largest number of sheep. IrrespeetiTe of adaptability of physical characteristics, the mere fact that of all animals this is easiest fed, gives per- haps the largest returns in the shortest time, and is a first-class fertilizer of the soil, is sufficient reason for such prominence. Mr. George Geddes, of E"ew York, than whom no man in the country is better acquainted with the practical aspects of this question, writes concerning it: It is not easy to see any good reason why the older sections of our country, hav- ing great cities and manufacturing centers for markets, should not follow the example of England in this matter. It has been proved by the best of tests, that of actual trial, that our soils and climate are well adapted to these heavy sheep. Nothing of uncertainty on this subject remains but the uncertainty of our national legislation^ A policy of free trade in wool and woolen goods would for a while destroy our puif- ehasers of wool, and ruin both branches of the business. If the existing revenue laws can be allowed to remain, we may reasonably hope that at least the presen± prices of our wool will be continued to us ; and, if so, we can continue to expand the production. The business will, in the older parts of the country, be a close one, yielding very small direct profits, but indirectly so very valuable, as the means of making manure to raise grain crops, that it will go on; and more economy in food, housing, and general management will come in due time as skill increases, and the mutton-producing sheep and the growing of grain will go hand in hand. He gives an example which may be taken as a test of the capabilities of the best farming districts for profitable sheep-husbandry. In 1840, Mr. WiUiam Chamberlain, of Eed Hook, Dutchess County, New Tork, bought a worn-out hay-farm of 380 acres. It yielded but 17 loads of hay the nest season ; 40 acres of rye produced 400 bushels ; from 25 acres of corn were harvested but 500 bushels ; and the remaining land pastured only a span of horses, two pairs of oxen, and a cow. It was too poor to produce red clover. The commercial manures were compac- atively useless, wood ashes were better, but no means of recuperation were successful till sheep were tried, which converted corn, hay, straw, leaves, and weeds into manure, untD, in 1866, the farm produced 800 loads of hay (600 tons), 40 acres of corn yielding 50 bushels per acre, 30 acres of wheat averaging 15 bushels per acre, 30 acres of oats, 8 acres ofjoots, the pasturage of 300 sheep and oxen and, cows required for SHEEe-HUSBAMDEY. 11 work, and milk and butter on the fann, In aid of tMs resnlt he had the manure of 300 sheep, fattened the previous winter^ on which he made $300 dear profit, besides the fertilizer. He used the manure at first, spread- ing it thinly to make it go the further, to render possible the growth of clover. Similar statemehts 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 incsreasing the fertility of the soil. An important branch of this industry, and one that many have found quite profitable on lands 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 prices 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 thriftiness 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 clips 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 oflf- 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. lamps are disposed of promptly. 'No feed is wasted In keep ing the vital machinery in working order, and losses from old age and espizootics are avoided. This is the prominent feature in New Jersey sheep-farming ; it yields a present 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 a gross increase of 200 per cent, upon original cost, within twelve months. A flock of 68 ewes, in the summer of 1868, was turned upon Virginia wheat stubble, seeded witii 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 Southdown; sells an -average of 80 lambs annually, at $4 each, and obtains enough for wool to pay all expenses of keeping, while the ben^t 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, whUe tiie. Merino lambs brought $2 each, the Cotswolda were worth $4, and the prolificacy of the Cotswolds was far greats. ^e circumstances which envelop this industry In the United States axe rather like those obtaining in France than those influencing British breeding, in the feet tJiat our improved sheep are high-bred Merinoes and our common stock largely modified by Merino blood. Our manu- factures, also, our tending toward the Frenck type, and our hope of commanding the fiiture 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 prpviding the wool requisite fi>E. such, work there is no 12 SHEEP-HUSBAHDEY. better foundation than tlie Merino. As we liave inventive geniusj and the predominance of this style of flocks, all that is needed is skill in cross-breeding with combing-wool rams to produce any kind of wool desired for tasteful and high-priced goods. With practical judgment in feeding, with reference first to quick production of meat and incidentr ally to the best results in wool, the business of sheep -husbandry should become far more profitable than as at present conducted, and more gen^ erally extended throughout the densely-settled districts of the United States. EOOKY-MOUNTAIN SHEEP-WAI^S. Prom Mexico to the British Possessions, from the Missouri Eiver to the Pacific Ocean, an area of more than a thousand million of acres • (not including Alaska) has been for ages the home of countless niim- bers of the buffalo, of the antelope, and on the higher elevations the Erocky-Mountain sheep and the Eocky-Mountain goat. Eelatively, few are the acres that do not supply some form of vegetation for herbiv- orous animals. Their bones lie bleaching on plain and mountain slope, flecking with white the landscape at every view, from the lowest levels up to the timber line. While Mount Washhigton, at an elev^ tion of 5,000 feet, is barren rock, with scarcely a vestige of vegetable life, the scores or peaks of the Sierra Madre, up to 10,000 and 12,000 feet, abound with grassy slopes and shady nooks, dense with a luxu. riant growth of grass. At 7,000 feet the climate and herbage combine to furnish the advantages of the dairy region of USTorthern New York. At so high a latitude as the plains of Laramie the pasturage is a wonder of freshness and abundance. Like an inland sea of emerald, the range stretches from horizon to horizon, relieved only by stragghng patches of motley color of bovine herds, or white specks of scarcely distinguish- able flocks.t * Little more than two perx^nt. of this area is land now in farms, as the following table shows : States and Territories. Jfo. acres in farms. No. acres not No. acres in in farms. total area. Kansas Nebrasta California — Oregon Nevada C(5l»rado trtah Now Mexico . Washington . Dakota Montana .■ Idabo Arizona Wyoming — Tnflin.T^ 5, 656, 879 2, 073, 781 U, 427, 105 2, 389, 252 208, 510 S20, 346 148, 361 833, 549 649, 139 302, 376 129, 537 77,139 21, 807 4,341 46, 386, 681 46, 563, 019 100, 520, 735 68, 586, 108 71, 520, 090 66, 559, 654 53, 916, 682 76, 735, 091 44, 147, 021 96, 293, 752 91, 877, 103 65, 151, 021 72, 864, 433 62, 640, 727 44, 154, 240 62, 48, 120, 60, 71 66, 64, 77, 44, 96, 92, 55, 72, 62, 44, 043,520 636, 800 947, 840 975, 360 737, 600 880, 000 065, 043 568,640 796, 160 596, 128 016, 640 228, 160 906, 240 645, 068 154, 240 Total. 24, 252, 122 996, 946, 317 1, 021, 197, 439 tProf. Cyrus Thomas, the topographer of Hayden's survey, in a communicatian to this department, has said: " There is probably no finer grazing region in Wyoming than this. The southeastern part is literally carpeted with a compact growth of rich and nutritions grasses, kept constantly fresh by the water of the numerous mountain streams. The rainfaE is also greater than in any'other part of the Territory, and it seems to be on the increase. Notwithstanding the elevation of these plains, the winters are comparatively mild and open, the fall of snow being light, and stock is wintered without shelter, and with very little feeding. Large Hocks of sheep and cattle have passed the winter here with no other feed than the uncut grass of the valleys and plains. Hay in abun» dance and of the best quality can be obtained along. the creek bottoms at nominal expense." SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 13 Here are moTintain basins, parks large enough for a principality, and plains carpeted -with herbage that stretch eastward five hundred miles. The valleys of countless rivers, meandering for hundred of mUes, are in many cases miles in width, with taller growths, offering to the first mower that appears thousands of tons of wild hay. Even the bluff's 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 roUing mountain prairies. In a small section of this great domain, the Iforth Platte VaUey, flow tributary streams, draining and watering a pastoral region that has been estimated at 40,000,000 acres. Some of the larger are, on the north, the Blue Water, Cold WatCT, HUl Creek, Eaw Hide, Muddy, WiUow, Shawnee, State, and Sweet "Water ; and, on the south, the Ash, Pump- kin, Larran's, Dog, Horse, Cherry, Chugwater, Sybeile, Big Laramie, Caster, Cottonwood, Horseshoe, Elk Horn, La Prele, Boisee, Deer Creek, Medicine Bow, Rock Creek, Douglas, North, South and Middle Porks, These streams and their feeders would make a formidable Mst ; 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 mUlions of dollars, have survey^ed 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 course, there is much that is thin and sparse, much that is covered with sage, and among the mountains bare and frowning surfaces of rock. A competent practical authority, Mr. Ehhn Hall, of Illinois, has fur- nished tlie department a list of fifty-seven genera and one hundred and forty-three species of grasses growing on the eastern side of the princi- pal range, of which fifty-two are not found east of the Missouri, 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: Plains. MrniTitATTia. Fer cent PercerU. 40 16 20 10 20 12 12 1 5 5 10 2 2 20 S 8 8 5 Andropogon furcatns - - Andropogon scoparius . Sorghum nutans Sporobolas lieterolepis . Buchloj dactyloides BoutGlona oligostachya Spartina CTTiiosiiroides . PestucaoTina Festuca macros tachya . Bromus kalmii Poa serotina Sti^a Tmdnla J/ndropogonfurcatus, Andropogon seoparius, and SorgJmm nutans, by their alrandanee m all the eastern portions of the district, are the leading species, and at present com- prise at least three-fourths of the grazing resources of that portion of the country. Next in importance follows Sporobolua heterolepis. This species is pecuUarily palatable to cattle, and they are seen roving over rich pasture of other species in search of it. This is aJso said to be the winter forage species of Kansas, where it abounds, afiford- ing the rich winter pasturage of the fiimers and herders of that State. It flourishes chiefly on the moister portions of the plains, and many local areas are almost exclu- sirely 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 amount of wool that 14 SHEEP^HUSBAHDRY. was clipped from all the flocks of the country in 186(X California alone produces as much as the census reported in 1850 for the United States entire. In ten years, from 1867, the year of the enactment of the 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 Mountams, has been popularly 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- prietors. It is safe to say that the field for sheep-husbandry here is continental, pasturage free to the first comers in the unoccupied 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 magnitude, 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 Eiver and the Gulf of Mexico had a population in 1870 of 13,877,615 ; and two-thirds of aU engaged in occupations — ^industrial, meiv cantile, professional, or other — ^were in some rural avocation.* They 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. K^early half of this acreage, amounting to more than two hundred mOlion acres, is in wild pasturage of more or less value for subsistence of farm stock, and much of this herbage is unutilized to-day. Sheep do weU in this region, which comprises aU the climates and soils of the temperate zone. There is no portion of it unsuited to sheep-husbandry. Some of the finest sam- pies of Saxon wool have 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 ; Washr ington, Jefferson, Oustis, and other eminent citizens felt a personal iur terest in it, and took a prominent part in the introduction of improved breeds of sheep. John Eandolph did not represent public opinion when he said he would at any time go a mile out of his way to kick a sheep. 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 ? Many, perhaps, but one wiU sufl3.ce ; the preponderance of cotton and the' absorbing in- terest in 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 considerables 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 with beef production the labors and profits of its rural econoH^y. The other fifteen States give this industry much less prominence, but together they support nearly twice as many sheep as Texas. The numbers in these States, as reported in the census of 1850, * In 1870, the proporticme of persons in agriculture to those in all occupations wae as follows : states^ In aUoccn- pations. In agrioul- t&e. States. Ill all occu- pations. In agricoL tore. Delaware Mar;^land Virginia West Virginia . Iforth Carolina. SontU Carolina . Georgia Plorida , .Alabama 40, 313 258, 543 412, 665 115, 229 351, 299 263, 301 444,678 60, 703 365,258 15,973 80,449 244, 550 73, 960 269, 238 206, 654 336, 145 42,492 291,628 IiOuisiana Texas Arkansas — Tennessee... ^Seatniikj ... MiBsoiiti Total..!, 318, 850 256, 452 237, 126 135, 949 867, 987 414, 593 605, 656 259, 199 141, 467 166, 753 109, 310 267, 020 261, 080 263, 918 4,648,502 3,029,836 15 16 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. •were 6,635,076; in 1860, 7,050,834; in 1870, 6,703,221. At the present time the aggregate is assumed to be aboat ten miUions. There is another element in the extension of wool-growing which fe 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 1850 it has nearly doubled during each decade. At this rate of progress consumption will soon be upon the heels of production^ and the future of the wool industry in both branches wiU be assured. The worsted industry has not yet obtained a footing in the South, but the manufacture of "woolens" has made satisfactory advances since 1850, as shown by the following arrangement of figures of the national census: Number of estdbliahmenis, of hands etrvployect^ and of sets of cards. _ EstabUshm.ents. Hands employed. K'limber of seta of cards. 1870. 186a 1850. 1870. I860. 1850. 1870. 186D. 11 31 68 74 52 ,15 46 ' 1 14 11 2 20. 13 148 125 156 4 27 45 8 38 121 399 337 278 316 249 53 683 1 41 116 29 100 31 428 683 718 114 381 494 140 362 668 30 60 116 132 78 25 72 1 24 17 12 29 17 177 208 258 8 Maryland 44 Virginia . ..... .. . - 50 West Virffinia 7 • 1 11 1 253 92 383 30 re' 23 10 3 30 6 4 1 2 i 198 235 60 43 8' 14 13 4 4 1 37 11 4 26 1 10 437 70 17 318 25 1 83 15 Total - 787 157 202 4,332 2,770 1,646 1,256 299 Aggregate of the TJiiited States 2,891 1,260 1,559 80,053 41,360 39, 252 8,336 3,209 QwinUtff amd value of wool and other vmteriai used. States. Wooliised. Domestio, 1870. ^o^eigIl^ 1870. Value of all material. 185(ti «•»- Delaware Maryland Virginia West Virginia-, Korth Carolina South Carolina Georgia Horida ALihama , Mississippi Louisiana Texas Arkansas Tennessee Kentucky , Missouri .. Total.. A^regate of the United States. Pounds. 533, 732 500, 291 741, 000 673, 003 265, 693 55, 696 620, 937 650 196, 600 154, 790 50, 325 278, 045 115, 330 1, 030, 163 1, 639, 367" 1, 979, 671 Founds. 12,455 450 1,200 Fo%ind3. 140, 000 1, 055, 272 1, 131, 000 PounM^. 393, 000 430, BOO 1, 654, 110 504, 500 250, 000 1, 008, 600 80, 000 "i53,'8i6 264, 436 270, 597 69, 160 81,900 ""io.'ooo' 1, 452, 500 191, 400 6,200 673, 900 80, 000 Dollars^ 392, 614 233, 924 317, 800 807, 051 166, 497 22, 238 268,176 150 67,338 70, 566 19, 047 86, 817 55, 782 503, 737 831, 628 849, 813 Dollars. 75, 807 267, 355 389, 204 151, 005 80, 000 260, 475 80, 790 119, 849 . 31,300 25, 980 6,225 510, 902 56, 745 8, 825, 088 14, 105 6, 429, 354 3, 351, 320 4, 182, 678 2,034,637 154,767,095 17,311,824 83,608,468 70, 86?, 829 90,432,601 36, 586, 287 DoUat^.i^ 204, 172 165, 669 488,899 13,850 "so,"^ ----..A-.. 10,.00ft 1,675 205,287 16,000 1,135,943 25,753iTOB SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 17 Qwmtiti/ amd value of all products of woolens manufactured. Proinots. Value of all products. States. Cloth, oas- simeres, and doeskins. Flannels. Jeans. Yarn. 1870. 1860. 1850. Delaware Maryland Tirginia West Virginia.. Tarda. 276, 332 64,490 276, 610 59, 623 100, 000 Yards. 760 31, 327 19, 235 135, 445 1,690 Tarda. 590, 000 4,610 8,000 89, 306 153, 452 13, 000 177, 155 Pounds. 20, 500 72, 100 5,800 116, 382 Dollart. 676, 067 427, 596 488, 352 475, 763 298, 638 34,459 471, 623 500 89, 998 147, 323 ' 30,795 152, 968 78, 699 696,844 1,312,458 1,256,213 Dollara. 163, 035 605, 992 717, 827 DoUmre. 261, 000 295, 140 841, 013 291, 000 80, 000 464, 420 23,750 119, 574 40, 000 88,750 Horiaa . ... 107, 800 2,087 191, 474 158, 507 45,200 38, 796 io, 666 400 15,000 Tennessee Kentucky IMissonri 4,158 41, 586 94,610 3,919 63, 232 171, 200 145, 692 1, 244, 678 137, 920 79, 662 21,440 289, 626 8,100 846, 226 143, 026 6,310 318, 819 56, 000 Total 1, 046, 983 426, 798 2, 568, 713 756, 036 6, 538, 187 3, 742, 602 1, 896, 782 Aggregate of the United States . 63, 340, 612 58, 965, 286 24,489,985 14,156,237 165, 406, 358 61, 894, 986 43, 207, 605 In tlie cliange in agricultural iudustry 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 aud destroy much that occupies the place of nutri- tious grasses, and will subsist upon a much 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 unequaled. 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 fertil- ization 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 PEEFJEKED, The common or scrub stock of Texas is of Mexican origin ; in the other States a mixture of stocks derived originally from England aud France, and modified since by chance crosses with improved individuals 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. When it is found that by two or three crosses the yield (^ be doubled in quantity and greatly en- hanced in price, nothing but indifference and neglect will prevent the improvement. S. Ex. "25 2 18 SHBEP-'HlTSBfANBEY. Where sheep husbamdry is condacted 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 Suffolk 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 ia Virginia. Washington, in his time,. had collected a variety of fine animals at Mount Yernon from the sheep of England and other countries, 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 whieh a claim was finally made to be considered a distinct breed, known as the Arlington. It was bred and owned by Mr. Custis. Hon. Eobert R. Livingston, who shared with Mr. Jar vis the honor of being the first im- porters of Spanish Merinoes, 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 admirably calcu- lated for hose, camblets, serges, and other fine 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 Rambouillet 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 come now to speak of Smith's Island -wool, a discovery from -wMcli -will arise the happiest effects to my country, 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 herhage, which supports the stock at all seasons. About one-half of the island is in wood, which is pierced with glades running parallel with the sea, and of several 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-coast are also abundant scopes of pasturage, producing a short grass in summer, 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 with great relish, paxticiilarly 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 wonderfiiil 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 ||pith'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 .nllll(ll,MiMjil,j\l . ■-■'■ . >.-: "^,3 ^|^i*»*^ f***^*- jS^^ SHEEP-HU3BANDEY. Id up compaiisQit, being iighjiy iuifavor of the SmiibU's Island. Thjs only.rejaaining ques- tion is the textmre. If thi^ Merino is finer in grain, the Smith's Island is so fine as t|0. answer every purpose to which the other can he appropriated, and so much larger in- qnantrty as to yield a better profit to the breeders. No cloth which the Merino man- waclJiMes will be disgraced by -the introduction of the Smith's Island ; and many fab- ries mannfaotured by the one at a great pripe can be manufactured of the Smith's Isl- and at much less. The Smith's Island is as white as snow, and perfectly silky aftd 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 regiop, are very marked and confined to a few breeds. Eor the prairies of Texas, the wire-grass pastures of the coast, and the paistures 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 seveaty-six years ago, a little later than the initiation of the improvement resulting in the now famous French, Saxon, and Bilesian Merinoes. It is only about on^ 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 cooapactness of fi?am«, 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 accomplishm:ent scarcely attained even in the days of Hammond. The improvement of the Mexi- can 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 Amcirican Merino. A good type of the latter is presented in the accompanying cd graving. 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 amelioration. 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 tiU 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 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. progress lias been unavoidably in one direction, and not by violent and radical changes. It has doubtless been carried on solely by selection. In the production of the Hampshires and Shropshires, members of the Down race, there has been an infusion of Leicester and other blood to give greater size and aptitude 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 5 J per cent, per annum. The wool is of good quality, but short staple, weighing 4^ pounds fine fleece. February lambs at English fairs in summer realize 55 to 72 shillings per head, say $16 to $18. The accompanying engrav- ing represents an imported Hampshire ram. The improved Kentucky. — Not only have the established English mut- ton-breeds been disseminated through the South and bred successfully, but sooie 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 Mr. 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 were at a year old bred to an imported Leicester of large size, symmetrical form, and heavy fleece of long wool. To insure activity and hardiness, and flnely-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 delight of the epicure, while the value of the fleece was not diminished, as liiuch 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 Ootswold and one-fourth Southdown, a large sheep with a thick fleece. Theli followed two pure-blood Ootswold 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 multifarious, adverse to uniformity in, transmission of the desired qualities, and fixity of type requisite to the establishment of a perma- 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 leiigraving of the sheep is here presented. The multiplication of animals of pure breeds, preferably those above namfed, 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 County, Tennessee : Cultivated grasses do well on all lauds. All stock well sheltered will do better on oue-tlilrd, less feed. Not one farmer in seventy-five provides protection for sheep. Where there is suitable grazing slaeep do well. Ewes pay two dividends a year, one ill wool and one in lambsi 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' improyed breeds of all kinds of stock than in the inferior breeds ; this has been my fifty years' experience and observation. SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 21 The following 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 concomitant 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 one-fourth 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 difficult it is to keep " new wine in old bottles."' Mr. J. J. Thompson, of West Yirginia, hints at this difficulty: We have been trying to improve our bi;eed 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 them more attention might be fw- lowed by better success. The experiment of clearing a large area of our land and laying 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- position that could be made of our hills and hoUows. When our hills are cleared of timber and immediately sown in grass, without being plowed, they produce fine pastures. THE STATISTICAL, INVESTIGATION. 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 this 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 ver pound, which 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 land, 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, tending to illustrate practical points more accurately than by a few in- dividual estimates. The principal of these points are as follows : 1. Proportion (percentage) of surface, exclusive of area actually culti- vated, 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. Fumber of months in winter in which some extra feed is required.. 6. 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-lIUSBAlsrDET. 9. Percentage of sheep (exclusive of lambs) lost annually by disease, theft, dogs, wolves, or other causes. 10. Perceirtage of sheep destroyed by dogs alone. These returns, carefully tabulated, after the correction of obvious etrors and'the enmination of estimates not bearing the impress Of accu- racy 6f 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. 1. 2. 3. 4, «. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10 50 ' 20 4 3.9 28 92 19 8 25 47 19 4 3.7 28 95 20 10 42 55 22 3.5 3.3 27 95 19 12 50 60 20 4 3.7 32 90 16 10 52 53 23 3 3 26 90 20 13 50 50 22 3 2.9 25 91 21 15 55 65 26 3 2.9 27 93 20 14 60 50 22 2.5 2.7 23 89 22 18 57 55 24 3 2.8 26 96 23 13 50 60 25 3 2.9 25 92 22 14 45 70 30 2.5 3.2 22 95 20 11 75 70 33 2.5 3.5 21 90 15 9 65 60 30 3.2 3 27 94 18 12 45 62 27 4 2.9 31 90 20 13 40 90 29 4.2 4 31 97 21 9 42 80 28 4.2 3.5 28 95 23 11 Delaware Har^lted...... Virginia •W^at Vlrgidia . 'M'ortli Oarbliaa -South Oai:oliaia. G-eojigia Florida AUbama HiaslsBippi Loidsiaiia Texas Arkansas Tennessee Kentucky Missouri 4 7 6.5 4.5 Area of wild pasture. — The area of the States south of the line of Penn- sylvania and the Ohio Eiver 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- ion 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, comparatively free from undergrowth inter- ferring with 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 Prance ; 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 fifteen degrees of latitude and 6,000 feet of elevation. Making liberal deductions for cultivated lands, water, town-sites, and wastes, the uncultivated lands wUl 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 land«, and old fields, some very good, and much comparatively poor — amounts to 233 million 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 suflcient 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-HCSBAJTDEiY. 23 states. Delaware ^Mibryland Tirginia "West Virginia, ,j!rortli;Oaroliiija SoTttb CaroUna ■®eoreia Florida Alabama Hississippi — Lonisiana Jllexaa At^wniwa ..... Twn^see jtentnoty Missouri Total.... Total ar«». A,or«f. 1, m», 800 7, 118, 3flO 24, MS, 280 11,^0,000 32, 4e0, 560 21, 780, 000 37, 120, 000 37,S31,520 ^2,462,080 30, 179, 840 28, 481, 440 176,587,840 33, 406, 720 29, 184, 000 24, 115, 200 41, 824, 000 570,^^640 UnonltiTated 700,000 4,«00, 000 16„300, 000 10,600)000 22, 500, 000 14, 300, 000 26,000,1000 17, OOO, 000 19, 400, 000 18, MO, 000 13, 775, 000 145,000,000 23,980,000 18, 000, 000 16, 330, 000 28, 000, 000 393, 385, 000 Wild pastoT- Aeret. 70.090 l,OSO,iOOO 6, 846, 000 5, 250, 000 11, 700, 000 ■7,180,000 14,300,000 10, m 9po 11, 058, 000 9[ 000, 000 6, 198, 750 108,750,000 15,3i27,q00 8, IdlO, OOO 6,>632,000 11,1280,000 233^241,750 Tulue of this pasturage. — ^^An impression has prevailed that this section is not suited to grass-lowing. It is a great mistake. The most exaict- ing labor and greatest expense in all the processes of cotton-culture are incident to the destruction of grasses. Every year a portion of thCiCot- ton acreage is abandoned to the aU-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 raUroad 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, North Carolina, Mr. L. W. Parker, writes that " our farmers are spending all their time, talent, and money in killing the gr9,ss 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 wUd- ^rass 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 this is the 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 &ee of cost, or the land can be bought for $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 adjipted to sheep pastures, and yet there is not a flock of «heep 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 a,ny shee)p from aruy 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-nUSBANDEY. Mr. E. L. Walker, Stephens, Texas : The mesquite grass is not killed by frost.. In August and September tbe drought 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 mesquite," growing all winter, with shrubs and herbs, which sheep prefer. Mr. William P. 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. Cochran, Union, Arkansas : Thousands of acres and 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 on 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 during 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 burned 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 amply sufBcient. I have tried land that we had ceased to cultivate (which is immediately set with wild grass) and found one acre sufficient 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. WiUiam P. Rice, jr., Lowndes, Alabama : There are old prairie farms here, that have become almost entirely worthless for ordi- nary farming purposes, which would be valuable for sheep pasturage if properly 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 county 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 clover, 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. Land can be bought at |10 to |12 per acre. Mr. 0. B. Davis, Lawrence, Tennessee : , Such is the peculiar character of the soil that it affords a bountiful supply of forage 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 hiUs are cleared of timber, and immediately sown in grass without being j lowed, they make fine pasturage. SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 25 Mr. J. W. Perrin, Abbeville, South Carolina : Le»pedeza striata has sprung up on uncultivated lands, driving out all other grasses, and affording excellent pasturage for sheep from April to Novemher. Mr. S. H. Davidson, Sharpe, Arkansas, writes concerning " barren grass " : Its full value as pasturage has never been tested with regard to the number of ani" mals of any one kind it is capable of supporting. It is a fact, however, that notwith- standing it has been used to some extent in certain localities tor 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, Yirginia : 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 mount- ain 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. P. 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, weU 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 bum 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 geologist. Prof. W. C. 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, pr 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 enow, which does not happen more than once in eight or ten years. The new Japan clover, as it is called (Lespeieza 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. BaUard, 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 SHBEP-HUSBANDEY. Mr. S. W. Cochran, Fulton, Arkansas : Niue-tenthsof this OBonutyia one vast pastere of rich, and luMBaant grass thioaghout the summer, and weeds and fihuubheny that sheep are very fond of about for eight months in the year. Thousand 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 havB, - sheep would do wiell heie. Mr. L. Orto, White, Arkansas : All' the county not in cultivation is covered with a luxuriant growth of lall kiijds 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. F. Sellers, Perry, Arkansas : Piseases among sheep almost unknown. The wild range here is excellent, both in winter »ud summer, and if sheep were herded they would need no feed except what n^tufe 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 aaid quantity the more it is grazed upon. Dr. A. Harris, Dyer, Tennessee : Our river and 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 of it. Thousands of sheep might be grazed on these bottom lands, winter and summer. Sheep do well here, need very little feeding, not much Bubpect 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 cared for, iu 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 well 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. F. 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 live 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 successful 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 and 97,205 acres of unimproved land, all of which grows 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 and 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, and would be in splendid condition to be kept through the winter. They might be made the most profitable stock kept by thrifty farmers. SHEEP-HUSBANDRT. 21 Dr. J. E. LaEiaie, Bwtler, Kentucky : fhe natural pasforage is very poor on account -of the dense forests.; ^lienoe, mnder ieK&tiag oircomBtanceB, sbeep^are^ept ata loss. Mr. J. A. Brents, Clinton, Kentucky: ShBBp, when oared for, 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 12^ to 15 cents per rpoond; thus, far, however, farmers have not been incliued 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. Ruark, Kewton, Missouri: We have but a few thousand sheep, though there are over 400,000 acres of unim- proved land in the county, yielding a supply of rich grass sufficient to pasture at least 1,000,000 sheep irom 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, -Eebru- ary, March, and part of April. Mr. H. Fresenriter, Pemiscot, Missouri : Our unimproved lands 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, Vernon, Missouri: Our present stock of sheep and cattle do not consume one thousandth part of the growth of grass. Three-fourths of a ton of good hayfroman acre is lost every year. How many sheep will this natural pasturage carry ? 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 difflcult 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. Returns 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- travagant 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-HUSBANDEY. chooses, to suit his own views. Upon this estimate the wild pasturage alone would support four times as many sheep 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. Acres. Sheep in eummer. Sheep in winter. 70, 000 1, 000, 000 6, 846, 000 5, 250, 000 11. 700, 000 7, 150, 000 14, 300, 000 10, 200, 000 11, 058, 000 9, 000, 000 6, 198, 750 108, 750, 000 16, 327, 000 8, 100, 000 6, 532, 000 11, 700, 000 35, 000 470. 000 3, 765; 300 3, 150, 000 6, 201, 000 3, 575, 000 7, 865, 000 5, 100, 000 6, 081, 000 5, 400, 000 4, 339, 125 76, 125, 000 9, 196, 200 5, 022, 000 5, 878, 800 9,408,000 14, 000 Maryland. 190,000 1, 506, 120 WestYirginia 1, 005, 000 2, 691, 000 Soutli Carolina 1, 573, 000 3, 575, 000 Florida 2, 244, 000 2, 653, 920 ■VTif^aisftippi ..,., ... 2, 250, 000 1, 859, 625 Texas 35, 887, 500 4, 598, 100 2, 187, 000 Kentucky . ... 1, 894, 280 3, 292, 000 Total 233,241,750 151, 612, 325 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 supplies of hay and straw, but 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. Wingfleld, 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 insufl- 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 would 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 months ; 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. Oorley, of Lexington, S. C, says : "" Sbeep do not need much provision as to stabling 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 Ms sheep are now in good condition in 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 months is necessary for flocks not convenient to good ranges, but, excepting when the ground is covered with snow, they are generally wintered on fields 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. Korthington, 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, and 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 and fall they have the run of the olorer-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 bams, and consequently they d > not cost much. They are not raised for money, but merely for convenience or domestic uses. A very small proportion of 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 Crutohfield, near Chat- tanooga, Tenn., who claims a profit of 60 per cent, per annum on mutton sheep of the Cotswold style. Of sourse 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 halance of the flock runs upon the winter-grazing oats all the winter and until the 30 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. midflle-of Maroli or first of April. This spring they were not taken off the oats xmtil the let day of Afpril. If, dniing the time they are grazing on the winter oats, there is a great deal of rain, and the ground becomes soft, they 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 grain, they are turned to orchard or blue-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 spell freezing up everything. InFeb- mary 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, thfiy 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 uuable to bring forth their lambs. My entire herd have access to open shelter and salt at all times. There are indications that the importance 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 gire 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 iieeces of different periods. It is certain that there has been considerable increase of weight 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 sufll- 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 sheep that returned no wool. In Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Yirginia there were omissions to report wool in counties returning sheep. There were repeated instances of underreturns 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 with 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. Yirginia 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 belief, 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. Wool, average per sheep. 1870. 1860, 1850. Delaware Maryland Virginia West Virginia . North Carolina South Carolina. Georgia Florida 2.67 3.36 2.37 2.89 1.73 1.25 2.02 1.41 2.66 3.16 2.41 1.62 1.S3 1.85 1.96 2.10 2.51 2.20 1.63 1.70 1.70 1.00 States. Alabama .. Mississippi Louisiana . . Texas Arkansas . - Tennessee . Kentucky . Missouri... Wool, average per sheep. 1870. 1860. 1850. 1.58 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 The retrmns of 1870 ftom Texas evidently include ©nly the sheep of settled farnaing disfcrfefis,- Uhe great floote of Western and Southern Texas mostly eseapinfg oibservaftion. Nueces returns 82,368; "WeM>, 71,730; Zapata, 34,960; and Duval, 34,325; and no otliers asioailiy as 20,000. The total was only 714,351, a small proportion of the acttial number then in the State. The wool reported was buit 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 weights 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-fburth of a pound in Oomal to eight and a fourth in Calhouu. The counties reporting a less number of pounds of wool than there are sheep are Bexar, Caldwell, Cherokee, Comal, Cook, Ellis, Payette, Free- stone, GrOnzales, Harris, Harrison, Henderson, Jefferson, Lamar, McMhil- len, Montgomery, Navarro, Newton, Robertson, San Augustine, Shelby, Stephens, Travis, Upshur, Uvalde, Walker, and Woods ; on the pther hand, Calhoun averages 8.25, La Salle 5.25, and seven othexs 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, De Kalb, Dough- erty, Early, Hancock, Mitchell, Eichmond, Screven, and Upson, and none under three pounds per fleece, the latter above four. Bat no prac- tical man can believe that there are sheep that yield less than one pound 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 Eentucky, 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 im- provement 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. Burry. 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 Merino flocks ; with mutton sheep of 100 to 130. Mr. Crutchfleld, of Ten- nessee, obtained 120 to 130 from his flock. Column 8 gives the estimated proportion of the lambs lost by exposure and disease. Coming in winter 32 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. or early spring, with very little care to prevent dropping in the severity of winter, and often none at all to save the tender creatures 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 loss, 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 figure 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 raised a lamb for eyery ewe in tlie flock when 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 miUion 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. Delaware Maryland Virginia West Virginia . North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Horida Alabama Hississippi IJDuisiana Texas Arkansas Tennessee Kentucky Missouri Total.... B ^00 ■gpO 35, 000 151, 200 422, 000 649, 900 490, 000 175, 000 382, 300 56, 500 270, 000 250, 000 125, 000 I, 674, 700 285, 000 850, 000 900, 000 '., 271, 000 I 2,800 15, 120 50, 640 54, 990 63, 700 26, 250 53, 522 10, 170 86, 100 35, 000 13, 750 330, 723 34, 200 110, 500 81, 000 139, 810 1, 057, 276 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, 260 518, 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 husbandry 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 : The most serious loss of old sheep is from dogs ; probably 20 per cent, of all kinds of sheep are lost annually by dogs, ■wolves, foxes, and bad keep. Mr. James 0. 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. Hanimett, 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 la^w 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, worthless curs as he wishes. The dogs are obliged to Uve, 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 five 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. Ehodes, Cross, Arkansas : Our legislature of 1874 p assed a dog-tax law, but the people generally were so much opposed to it that the next .legislature repealed the act. Mr. L. W. Hampton, Cocke, Tennessee : Our legislature, two years since, passed an act for the protection of sheep, by mak- ing it a pri^vilege to keep a dog for which the owner had to pay |1 per head. This had the effect of killing a great many worthless ours, and oonseq^nently farmers were tak- ing an interest in improving the stock of their sheep by crossing with improved breeds. Out supreme court has, however, decided the law unconstitutional; therefore, 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 are turned out on the woods and commons get but a meager subsistence, and are eaten up by dogs that straggle over the commons. I have found by thirty-seven years' exiperience one can raise sheep profitably if he will attend to them and keep them in inclosures. Mr. John M. Hine, of Carroll, Georgia, started about thirty years agb with 15 sheep, mostly ewes. Several times his flock had increased 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-hearted 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. As the dogs have killed so many sheep, the attention is turned t o cattle. S. Ex. 25 3 34 SHEEP-HUSBANDBY. Mr. H. B. Williams, Mecklenburg, l^orth Carolina: Sheep-raising might as well he ahandoned until legislative protection from the dog can be secured. Mr. J. M. Barnett, Person, ISTorth 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. Shaffer, Wake, S'ortli CaroHna : Sheep-raising virtually has been abandoned. If the expected'dog-law be enacted, sheep and wool will become the leading articles of production. Mr. J. Eobinson, Wayne, N^orth Carolina: The raising of sheep might be made most profitable if it received but half the attention the raising of dogs does. Mr. L. Harrill, Wilkes, I^Tortli 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. Eose, Upson, Georgia : The only barrier to a most successful sheep-raising is the dog. Mr. J. T. White, Taylor, Georgia u The only cost is shearing and putting the wool in the market. But few sheep'are kejit, as sheep husbandry is under the control of the dog. Mr. E. M. Thompson, Jackson, Georgia : But for the dogs the profits from sheep 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 boiiutiful pasturage and good climate are more than can- celed by the ravages 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 causes. Mr. William T. Lewis, Winston, Mississippi : Many farmers are abandoning sheep-raising, as it will not pay |on acoount'of the great losses from dogs, wolves, and thieves. ' ' Eev. D. A. Campbell, Eichland, Louisiana : Sheep would do well if undistu.rbed by dogs and given proper^atteution. Mr. H. Arrington, Newton, Arkansas : A fine wool-growing country. Dogs are the only disadvantage. Diseases ."ire rare. Cotton culture is declining and sheep-raising attracting attention. SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 35 Dr. T. 0. Miller, Sebastian, Arkansas : This is a natural sheep country. Require hut little feed winter or summer. Dogs troiiblesome occasionally. Mr. J. H. Earle, Ballard, Kentucky : The 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. E. 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 sheep-killing 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, iuore than one to each tax -payer, has perceptibly diminished the number of worthless ours. 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 in- nocent, 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 m 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 without, 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- bom dog. DISTEIBUTION OF GRASSES. The returns of the varieties of forage plants for wintering rarely give botanical names, and many faU 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 returned by the same name. The most abundant are, in abandoned fields, Broom-sedge, Andropogon Virginious; in the tide- water lands, the country of the Pinus Australis, or long-leafed pine. Wire-grass; in the cultivated fields, Crab-grass {Meusine Indica), Crowfoot {Dactyloctenium Ugyptianmn), and Leptochloa mucronata. 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 gr^at rapidity. It is reported from 36 SHEEP-HUSBANDKY. K"orth Carolina to Mississippi, but not from beyond the Mississippi, the most western locality, as reported, being the southwest corner of Mis- sissippi. It is generally deemed a cause of congratulation that it has limited the range of the Broom-sedge. The Bermuda grass is also spreading very rapidly, much to the regret of cotton-planters, because so persistent in its staying qualities, yet to the positive delight of others more interested in stock-growing than in cotton. The cultivated forage-plants, Bed Clover [Trifolium pratense), Lucerne {Medicago sativa), Orchard-grass {Dactylus glomerata), Timothy (Phlewn pratense), Bed-top {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 the 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 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 friable 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 : Crab-grass, blue-grass, wire- grass, Bermuda-grasst, prairie-grasst, white clover, mesquite, nimble will, red-top, Japan 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 : Maeyland. — Blue, sedge, white clover, crab, red-top, poverty, fox- tail, June, salt marsh. YlEGiNiA. — Blue, crab, white clover, sedge, wire, red-top, broom-straw, greensward, swamp, herds, fox-tail, June, sheep-clover, pea-vine, hen's nest, bullrush, flag, sheep-sorrel, water, poverty, cross-weed, woolly- headed clover, marsh, plantain, hog-weed, chickweed, lawn, evergreen, ox-grass, aromatic shrubs, rib-wort. West Viegdmia. — Blue, white clover, red-top, timothy, pea- vine, fox- tail, wire, swamp, rich weed. ISToETH Oaeolina. — Sedge, crab, wire, herds, blue, white clover, Ber- muda, greensward, Japan clover, bull, pea- vine, fox-tail, crow-foot, wild onion, wiUow, brown, sheep- clover, water, crooked, old-field, burr, Egyp- tian clover, wild rye, winter, orchard, evergreen, mountain fern, rich weed, beggar lice. * states. 1870. 1860. states. 1870. 1860. Tons. 41, 890 223, 119 199, 883 224, 164 83, 640 10, 665 10, 618 17 10, 613 Tons. 36, 973 191, 744 446, 133 Tons. 8,324 8,776 18, 982 6,839 116, 682 204, 399 616, 611 Tons. 32, 901 52, 721 11, 865 9,366 143, 499 168, 476 401, 070 Maryland West Virginia ItSTortii CaroUna 181, 365 87, 687 46, 448 11, 478 62, 211 Georgia Florida Total 1, 783, 922 1, 872, 827 t Indefinite, but in most returns probably tbe blue-stem or other Audropogon. SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 37 South Oaeodina. — Crab, sedge, wire, Bermuda, Japan, clover, crow- foot, brown sedge, wild clover, nut, mountain, sedge, yellow clover, wild rye, water, deer, silver. GrEOEGiA. — 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. Elorida. — ^Wire, wild oats, sedge, crab.^ smut, water, pond, swamp, palmetto, broom-sedge, negro head, prairie. Alabama. — Sedge, crab, wUd clover, Bermuda, mountain, winter, nimble will, reed woods, marsh, wUd oats, herds, hedge, piney woods, beggar lice, swamp, glade, broom-sedge, crow-foot, Johnson's (Bermuda), barren, ox millet. Mississippi. — Sedge, crab, Bermuda, wire, nimble will, white clover, pine woods, water, broom-sedge, Lespeaeza 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, turf, 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. Kentucky. — Sedge, blue, crab, red-top, pea- 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 {Alopecurua geniculatus), some species of bent grass (Agrosiia), drop-seed grass (Mahleiibergia), wire-grass {Aristida), Bermuda grass {Cynodon dactylon), crow- foot (JDacfyloctenmm Egyptiaoum, Elensine Indica, Leptooliloa mucronata), the last three very common in cultivated fields. Cane or reed (^Arundinaria gigantea) and A. teota are both very abundant in a large portion of the county ; some of the inferior Poas, sev- eral Panicums and Letarias; gama grass (Tripiocum dactyloi'dM) is not abundant. Several Andropogons ox broom-grasses are very abundant ; some inferior Sorghums are found sparingly. A species called smut-grass is common and valuable ; I am not sure as to botanical name, perhaps Momiowrus granulans. In some localities white clover (Trifolium repens) and other inferior species abound. Japan clover {Lespedeza striata) is becoming common in some places ; also some interior Lespedezas are common, and some valuable and inferior Desmodiums. Mr. J. M. Sherman, Elizabeth City County, Virginia : Some fifty varieties of vrild 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 pastare grass {Poa annua), sweet vernal grass (Anthoxanthetim odor- atum), chess {Bromus seoalinus), wild oats (Avena prxcox), wild rye (Elymus Virginicus), 'bioom-giBss [Bromus ciliatus), timothy (Trifolium repens), red top (Agrostis vulgaris), crab-grass {Pa,spalum wnduXatum), perennial bent grass {Agrostis scahra), spike-grass * Japan clover reported in Choctaw, Lee, Newton, Smith, Clark, and Wilkinson Counties. 38 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. {Trizopyrum spicatum), broom grass {Andropogon scoparius), pasture-grass {Agrosiis purshii), barn-yard grass {Oplismemia panicum eras galU), -wire-grass {Triticum repens), dog-grass {Tritiaim caninum), blue grass (Poa compressa), marsh, grass {Spartina jlmcea), Bermuda grass ( Cynodon dactylon). Bermuda grass is deemed one of the best grasses of the iSouih. An analysis by Dr. St. Julian Eavenel, of Charleston, S. C, makes it nearly equal in value to timothy {Phleum pretense). It has been denounced a pest by cotton-planters, as it- is from their point of view ; yet it would seem to be a special Luterposition 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 acres well set in Bermuda grass in the middle counties of Georgia, and it is extending its area in all the Gulf States. The late Mr. C. 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 propor- 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 suflicient grass underneath to feed stock during the winter. The following statement is from his article in the Report of Agriculture for 1867 : In Middle Georgia, Bermuda grass makes the best pasture. Probably no grass in the -world gives an 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 difficulty of extirpating it, and there are entire plantations in Middle Georgia overrun -with it. These have been abandoned by the cotton-planters, and can be bought as low as $1 per acre in 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 tall 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 neighbor 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, gf South Carolina. Bermuda grasps 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 teet or more in a single season on rich lands, each joint putting out roots. An agricultural journal of Alabama recom- mends the following mode of planting this grass : Break the land well and harrow up fine ; then cut your Bermuda sod into small lots, say one inch square. Drop these bits over the ground, 3 or 4 feet apart, and roll down level with a heavy roller. If your sod is scarce you may make your 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 ^tart 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 plow 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 been cultivated, though of course with less rapidity. Bermuda grass cannot stand any great amount of shading, hence the pasture should be kept pretty 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 sus- tain 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 cottoircrop of the State." He says : The most valuable and reliable grass, and one which is destined to aid largely in revolutionizing 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 in the world, surpassing in nutritive properties and compactness of sod the famous Bine grass of Kentucky, having, according to the analysis of Dr. Eavenel, 14 per cent, of the albuminoids. A Bermuda-grass sod properly managed will afford an excellent pasture for cattle for nine months, and for sheep an entire year. There will be but little de- mand 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 smaU 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 further that it far exceeds that of any other grass within my knowledge, in abundant yield, in sweetness, and in 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 cov- ers the common ; 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 inj ury, and d oes not impoverish the soil ; on the contrary, land set in it will steadily become more fertile. It is highly nutritious and much relished 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 prob- ably 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 local- ities where the land has been "thrown out" for fifteen to twenty years, and is grown up in pines 6 to 8 inches in diameter. But for being a pest in||ultivated fields, Ber- muda grass would be beyond value. ' Guinea grass [JSorghum halapense). It is claimed that this plant was brought from the West Indies to South Oaroliua. It is 'i^j^&g^ted 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 foar tiimes i%the Reason. It is relished by the stock when green, and sope make' hay of it, by exer- cising care to cut it in a green state. In the Agri(jultural Eeport for 1849, Mr. M. D. Smith writes from Washin^tdn, A^^k.: ' ' ' r , ^ To obtain a grass suited to our wants has long bfeertJa li09iderai/ui(b,f ^PlLf l^elieve, from an experience of seven years, that it has at lasftrbeeti.4iscoAr^red. This is the Guinea grass. It is a native of Africa, and was fir^t 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 ^inil, of sto6¥, coksidered sec- ond in value only to sugar-cane. It was introduced tWcf yea!r^,ago into Louisiana, where it was highly valued for soiling and for hay. On Maih., dry'grtiund it grows to the height of 8 feet, and may be out 4 feet high four times in isj, season, yielding two tons per acre at each cutting. I consider it equal to the best cured corn-blades oi 40 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. equal weight. It is best propagated by the roots, which resemble those of the cala- mus, each joint sending up a tuft of blades. The roots extend deep and wide, occupy- ing all the ground as deep as the soil is loosened, and are equal to artichokes as food for hogs. In 1873, the 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 buffalo-grass, and is propagated either by sets or by the seed. It spreads rapidly, and will soon cover thickly the surface of a field in which 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-fields 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 dSbris 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 iii the same sense as Bermuda grass, possessing, lite the latter, underground stems by 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 down. It comes up early in the season, and if cut down continues to shoot up during the sammer with great rapidity. A few years ago we thought it valueless for stock- feed, our horses seeming not to relish it, but we have since dicovered that if cut 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 quite as nutritious ae other grasses. For summer soiling we therefore recommend it ; for grazing purposes we have no experience. Our correspondent in Hillsborough County, Plorida, 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 summer." A correspondent writing from Green sborough, Alabama, says " that it is largely grown in that section, and is best liked by those who have had the most expepence with it." Bush clover (Jjespedeza striata) has come into notice within a few years. It is spreading naturally, encroaching upon the broom-sedge of the abandoned fields, and occupying 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 ^oils. B. D^^I^imsdon, of Batonton, Georgia, is of the opin- ion that " where the LespeSem striata shall cover worn-out lands and pine thickets and rooted jput our broom-sedge, which it is fast doing, and legislative actidn 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, and finds no hay more rel- ished by stock, none commanding a more ready sale, and that it is sought after especially by keepers of milch cows, as it produces a rich milk and butter that " looks as if the cows had b^-en running upon a. SHEEP-HUSEANDEY. 41 barley-lot." He says he has cured this hay at a cost of 10 cents per hun- dred-weight, and sold it at $1 and f 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 com, 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 in 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 fi-om 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 r " 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 not 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 Northjresteru and Eastern States regard one ton of mesquite-grass as equal to five of their common coarse grasses, and it is esteemed much more iiutritioua than Kentucky blue-grass. Wlien completely browned and dried by drought, -which, usually occurs from tlie 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. James 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 " is popularly applied to several different grasses, it is not altogether certain that this was the bearded mesquite. Gama- grass {Tripsacum daetyloides). 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 in Texas. If one did not grub it up every year it would over- run our black prairie farms in a few seasons. 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. 1 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 tough 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 (JlfM/ifejifter^'m^i^Msa) is distributed throughout the South,, and is favorably mentioned as a pasture-grass. Cattle and sheep eat it readily. Water- grass {Glyoeria 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 (Panicum crusgalK). This grass, which has so poor a reputation in the I^orth, 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 generally meant; some speak of several varieties. It occupies millions of acres of old fields, which are taken possession of by it as soon as aban- doned by the cultivator for fresh lands, according to the prevalent cus- tom 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 or Andropogon is meant. In Barbour County, Alabama, Garex cyperoidea is reported, and G. umhellata in Wilkes County, North Carolina. It is sometimes known as Virginia beard-grass, and is a perennial of a pur- plish-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 utility for spring feeding. Mr. Thomas Affleck, of Texas, once reported to this department as to winter grasses : ThePoa annua liere at times is almost rauk in its growth, 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. Phalaris Amerioana, a beautiful Southern grass, depicted in Celleste's work.- Hordeum puaellum, of Nutt, a dwarf barley, or, as here called, "Texas rye," forming sweet grazing before the blos- som drops. Alopecurus geniculatus, floating fox-tail of the English, almost as valuable as winter grass. Trichodium laxiflorum, hair-grass, also springs up. These are nearly all annual winter and early spnng 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 creep- ing grass, somewhat in its habits like the Bermuda, has spread to a considerable ex- tent over the open pastures. It is known by some as " Cuba grass," and is a paspalum or digitaria, I know not which ; the sheep find sweet picking from it. On the sea- coast, 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. ^^ ^ a n ouuds good mutton at one and two years old. I have about 50 in my flock of the Cotswolds and grades which I have taken as a sample for the above statement. They have not eaten a single poiuid 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 been more or less through eight States, and have always counted that this portion of Missouri is the best and most profitable place to raise sheep that I have ever seen. The surface of the land is roll- ing, making it sufficiently dry to be very healthy for sheep, with springs and running^ brooks to afford sufficient water. There'has been but little done, however, 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 views held by corresi)ondents, as nearly as jDOSsible 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. Washington : Few raised ; farmers buy from Pennsylvania, in order to fatten for the market in the spring. ViKGiNiA. — Prince Edward : Formerly every planter had his flock of sheep to raise wool for his own family and for sale. The obstacles are want of suitable inclosures, and thieves, biped and quadruped. Our lands are well adapted to sheep-raising, but at present not one farmer in ten has sheep. Sussex : Sheep live and thrive here with- out any care winter or summer, and would doubtless do much better if cared for in winter. Buekimjliam : From the present prices of wheat, tobacco, &c., I think sheep- raising will become more extensive and profitable than tillage. Goochland : 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. Nai\semond: Sheep- 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-wooled Cotswold and Leicester, and 30 cents per head for a flock of 80 Merinoes. The profit of one of the long-wooled flocks was $6.75 per head ; of the other, |5.90 per head ; the Merinoes $6.20. These results may be 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 hy 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 ; $736. Forty ewes will produce 50 lambs, which sell readily at $4 each, $200 ; 294 poimds of wool, unwashed, at 25 cents, $73.50 ; total, $273.50. The profit on the investment can be easily seen. King William : It needs no argument or statistical average to convince people that sheep- raising is the most profitable pursuit that can be followed. Drawback, half-starved dogs. Our climate is mild and pasture land abundant. West Virginia. — Greenbrier: Great portion of the county yet in timher. Sheep could not be wintered without inclosing land 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 laud. Payette: Very little provision made for sheltering sheep. They are fed on hay and corn fodder ; sometimes a little corn. North CAROU^A.—Jlleghan!/: Cost of keeping sheep, 25 cents; profit, 75 cents. Anson : Until sonje means are devised by which tihieving and the ravages of dogs are SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 57 checked, slieep-lausbandrjr will not prosper. AsJie : This county is well adapted to sheep-raising, and there is a general tendency to improve the breeds and to devote more special attention to sheep. Bertie : Reporter's flock of 60 head last year yielded 200 pounds of wool, which sold for $72 ; 32 lambs, for $96. The cost of shearing and one bushel of salt was $5.75 ; leaving a net profit of $162.25. Buncombe : Pasturage good; dogs destructive; hence no more sheep are raised than absolutely necessary for domestic use. Cabarrus : The manure alone dropped by the sheep pays for their keep. Duplin : Reporter's flock numbers 20 head (15 ewes). Cost of keep, 25 cents per head ; CO pounds of wool, at 25 cents, $15 ; 12 lambs, worth $24 ; making the re- turns $39. Deducting from this the cost of feeding and loss of one ewe, there remains a profit of $31. Edgecombe : 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 freatest value to the cotton-lauds, so that the wool may be regarded as net profit. lenderaon: The Southdown thrives best. Hertford: Sheep are not profitable, whieh is due to neglect, thieves, and dogs. Iredell: O wi ng to the utter neglect of the sheep, sheep-husbandry has thus far proved unprofitable, though this county offers a mild climate and most extensive ranges. Mitcliell : One flock of 80 is reported, which 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 ; wool is a secondary consideration . The most se- rious losses are sustained from high water. A flock of 18 Cotswold costs annually about $5 ; profit about $10. Nash : There is an encouraging interest taken in sheep-raising. Some farmers have light, movable fences, which inclose the land to be manured. The grazing plots are changed after every second night. The most popular breed is a cross of the Cotswold and the native stock. The Merino is fast coming into favor- able notice. The sheep are healthy, receive no attention, and have but one enemy — the dog. Bockingliam : Sheep-raising would do well here, with only the slightest at- tention. Transylvania: A growing interest is taken in sheep-raising. Tyrrell: Ef- forts 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 undertaken and pursued. Watauga : There are between 8,000 and 9,000 sheep in this county, which shift entirely for themselves, not the least attention being paid to them. South Carolina. — Abbeville: An individual experience of twenty-five years has proved that the increase will pay all expenses of keep, leaving fleece and manure as profit. Georgetown: There are but two successful wool-growers in this county ; their flocks are under control of experienced herdsmen ; too many hungry dogs. Laurens : Reporter's flock cost 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 without anything but 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 sh^ep-raising to any person who will devote his time to it ; profit is according to attention. Georgia. — Calhoun : The only expense attached to the raising of sheep is that in- curred in gathering, marking, and shearing ; a flock of 16 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 ten- dency to give more attention to sheep-raising. Lincoln : The few special efforts made with sheep have not been attended by profitable results. MeDuffie : There are sev- eral 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 could be sheared semi-annual.yl Murray: Bnt few flocks in this county, yet the most ordinary attention to the sheep will pay 100 per cent, on the capital invested. Oglethorpe: Though not suited to sheep-raising in all parts, with a little care and an enforced dog-law, might be made to pay well. • Whitfield : Doubtless sheep-raising might easily be made a paying busi- ness. Worth: The only expense in raising sheep is shearing — 2 J cents per head. Ter- rell : Sheep-raising is fast gaining favor among the farmers, and would soon flourish if the dogs could be kept under control. Florida. — Clay : The profits realized on sheep amount to 50 per cent. Jackson : The number of sheep is about 5,000. The product of wool might, with proper man- agement, 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. Samta Bosa : Cost of keep, 5 per cent ; profit from 25 to 40 per cent. Alabama. — Barbour : Sheep-raising is steadily gaining ground. Lately some 58 SHEEI'-HUSBAKDEY. fino Ituclts from Kentucky liave been introduced. The only drawback is want of good grazing-lands. Blount : The cost, labor, and care 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 profit 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 very large number was lost, stolen, and killed, from time to time. They no w' yield wool worth $50, besides supplying an occasional mutton. Dale : Sheep-raising is ni aking great progress and is favored by land -pine woods fit for noth- ing else. Lowndes : More dogs than sheep in this county. The many worn-out old fields might be most profitably utilized by being set with Bermuda grass, thus making fine 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 jiassiug 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. Mississippi. — Amite : There is a good prospect that shoep-raising will soon become popular. Sheep can be kept for 10 to 15 cents per head on such lands as this county aftords. Bolivar : This county is not dry enough for successful sheep-raising, Choc- taw : Most excellent grazing-lands ard 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 per cent, is realized on sheep. Grenada : An encouraging change in favor of sheep is gradually taking place. The principal drawback to an otherwise profitable business is neglect of the lambs. Lowndes : Not much natural pasturage, but with a little expense the many worn-out fields might be converted into most excellent sheep- pastures. Even now the profits on sheep are from 50 to 75 per cent. Bankin : Thus far, on account of pasturage, cattle have been more profitable than sheep, but of late the latter are introduced on worn-out farms. Hinds : Reported experiments show that a cross of the Cotswold and the native ewe is not so good as that of the Southdown and the native ewe. Profits at least 50 per cent. Benton : Two flocks in this county have doubled their numbers annually. Cost, about 25 cents per head per annum, which was more than returned in fleece. Louisiana. — La Fourche : Little adapted to sheep-husbandry. What few we have are healthy, and live on native grasses. East Baton Rouge : Could no doubt be made profitable. A^ery little of it done except for home use. Sheep healthy, and require but little extra care. Claitorne : A profitable investment when intelligently managed. It is a growing industry. Flocks with care should increase 75 per cent, annually. Bossier : There is no doubt that sheep-husbandry is the most profitable as well as most Ijleasant labor of the husbandman. 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. — Palo Finto: 1,000 sheep will cost about $300 per annum; extra help in lambing time, $30; salt, .^15; shearing, |50; feed during winter, $200. Small herds here will pay better than large ones when they are,so large as to require a herder. Navarro : 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 pounds prairie hay, and 1 bushel cottou-seed to the sheep. Have 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- Vall : A flock of 1,000 head increased 369 in one year (counting losses) ; sheared 5,832 pounds of wool (worth $1,135), the increase of sheep worth $900 ; expenses, giving good attention, |240. Goliad: Without crediting increase with more than enough to maintain the flock equal to its primitive condition, a practical estimate for cost, con- sidering every kind of item, might be from 10 to 12 cents per pound of unwashed wool, averaging 17 cents in market. This gives a broad margin for contingencies. Bandera : Lands suitable for sheep-raising can be located on note certificates for 20 to 30 cents per acre, in surveys of 640 acres each, one for the owner of the certificate, the other for the school-fund. Expense of surveys about $12. Mlis : 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 same 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. Every year that I looked after them they paid me full measure ; when I neglected them they neglected me. Titits : We are wearing down our lands and muscles at ruinous rates, raising cotton at 6 to 8 SHEEP-IIUSBANDEY. 59 cents per pound. Some few farmers have picted up some sheep and ai-c making it pay handsomely. Stephens : Admirably adapted to sheep-raihing. Any amount of for- age can he saved, and the only shelter is a long shed for the protection from " northers," ■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. Eockwall : Cannot be made profitable in this county. Soil, black and waxy; grassesooajse and rank. Fewer sheej) 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 surface. Pasture should be subdivided so as to occasionally give them a fresh one. Should have a dry shelter at night in winter. Sunt ; Heretofore regarded as of little importance, now attracting much attention and considered profitable. Fort Bend : Ex- periments at sheep-raising have been very successful, but cattle and cotton only re- coivp attention. Bowie : No loss except from wolves. Fine sheep country. Whole • county is a complete pasture. There are a few sheep-breeders in the South who hare demonstrated the profit of high-bred sheep, Uberal 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 — Forewes $130 00 For bucks 220 00 Total 350 00 Since 1866, I have sold — For breeding and mutton, over $1 , 800 00 Forwool 1,500 00 |3, 300 00 I have on hand 78 sheep — 73 ewes and wethers, muttou price, $10 ,... 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 p each, about one-half of which are buck lambs, and will be sold at from |15 to $25 each (fidfteen 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 50 Deduct for keeping, &c - f 1 ^0 Deduct 10 per cent, loss 1 00 '■ 2 50 And they will pay 7 75 I have 78 sheep — Ewes, 68; wethers, 8— 76, at $10 each $760 00 Bucks, 2, at cost 75 00 835 00 60 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. Cost of keeping tirelve months, |1. 50 each - 6117 00 Ten per cent, losses '^•5 50 One per cent, taxes ^ 35 1, 04.3 8.5 I have from them in wool — Shipped to Boston, pounds 6G2 Gave to the servants three fleeces, pounds 26 688, at 35 cents.. 1240 80 Sixty lambs, at $7 each 420 00 m 80 Or over 60 per cent, upon the investment. In my former estimates I have allowed $2 per head per annum for keep, &c., when I had not the grazing oats ; now I, have allowed |1.50 per annum for keep, &c., while I am satisfied that the droppings of the sheep and cleansing of the meadows would pay 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 are taken to the grazing oats, and the tame grasses in the meadows and pasture lots put forth- with every mild season during the fall and winter, to he grazed only when the oat-field is too soft to allow the sheep to he on it. A committee appointed to consider the adaptability of Smith County, Tennessee, to profitable sheep-husbandry, arrives at the following con- clusions : 1. That one acre of average pasture will keep three sheep in good condition the year round, with only an addition of a little feed in winter for the few days that the ground is covered with snow. 2. That the net profits on sheep in Smith County, as elsewhere, are large, amount- ing to more than 50 per cent. 3. That the hest hreeds are the Leicester, Cotswold, a cross of the Leicester and Cots- wold, and the Southdown. One of our correspondents, 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, weigh from 75 to tOO pounds at four or five months, his preference is justified by the result. 4. That here in Smith County sheep need scarce any feed the year round. 5. That what are known as the common scrubs are not worth keeping. They yield too little wool, and make too little mutton, and of too poor a quality to pay for rais- ing them. 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 $2-1, the account of which is as follows : In 1869 I sold my wool for I|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 wool for 153 17 In 1873 I sold mv wool (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 1 sold 38 sheep for 277 85 Total 1,017 03 Have on hand 95 ewes and 100 lambs worth 500 00 Making total wool and sheep sold, and sheep on hand 1, 517 03 besides the unknown number consumed at the table. The general adds : My sheep have been raised entirely on grass, winter and summer. When the ground is covered with snow, which is only a few days each winter, I have given them a few feeds of sheaf oats. This spring, after the ewes commenced lambing, during the ex- cessive wet weather, I fed 70 ewes one-half bushel shelled corn daily, for thirty days, which is all the corn ever fed them. Arkajtsas. — Baxter : This is a mountainous country aud well adapted to sheep-rais- ing, aud farmers are beginning to see the profit in it. Drew : Pay no attention to SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 61 sheep, only to mark and sheer them. Do not need feeding or sheltering. Franklin : It is an industry to -which people pay little attention, although it would pay larger dividends 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 be folded every night. Iziard : Need feeding from January to April. Diseases rare ; very few destroyed Dy dogs or wolves. Tennessee. — Lewis : During the war I had a iiock 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 sheep in August, 1876; cost of wintering, $40. Sold 12 sheep at |2 per head; wool, for |32.75; value of sheep on hand, |149; net profit, 132.7.5. Summer pasturing balanced by improvement of laud 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. Graves: The general impression is that sheep-raising would be more profitable than tobacco-growing. Ha/rt : Pasturage most excellent, but sheep- raising has not been sufBciently 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. Owen : Cost of keep, $1.80 per year; returns, $2.25 to $3. Shelby : Sheep-raising is recognized as a remunerative business, and is fast grow- ing in favor. Simpson : .M)out 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. MissouKl. — 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 ujiderstood. Ca^s : 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. Crawford: Have been more or less over eight States, and believe this is the best and most profitable 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, ikolt : 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 must 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 : Sh§ep do extremely well here, as they always have access to the grounds. We have only the coarse breeds. Be Kalb : Good sheep of every breed can be found in this county — Merinos for wool, coarse-wooled for fattening. Many coarse-wooled are purchased in the fall from Now Mexico and Colorado for fattening. SHEEP-HUSBANDEY IN THE SOUTH. PEEP ABED AT THE EEQtTEST 01" HON. ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS, OF GEORGIA , AND OTHEES. BY JOHN L. HAYES, SECRETARY OF TUB NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOOL MANUFACTURERS. Eefeisted from the Bulletin of the National Association op Wool Manufacturers, CONTENTS. Page. Letter of Hon. Alexander H. Stephens, Gen. J. B. Gordon, and others 65 TYPICAL SOUTHERN STATES. Climate 68 Health of sheep at the South 68 Effect of climate on the -vrool-producing qualities of sheep 68 The culture of electoral shee-precommended 71 EesouTces 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 recommended for the South 80 Sheep for mixed husbandry 82 The culture of long-wooled sheep and other lanigerous animals 87 Kentucky sheep 88 The Angora goat 92 TEXAS. Statements of Mr. Shaoffor 99 Advice to emigrants 105 Obstacles to sheep-growing in Texas 106 Number of sheep in Southern States 107 Niunber of sheep in Northern and Western States 107 •GEXEBAL COXSIDEEATIOSrS. Relations of wool production to customs duties 108 Adjustment of duties on manufactures to duties on wool 109 American mills the only market for domestic wool 109 Wool-growers' associations 109 Sheep-husbandry by the colored population Ill Question of overproduction of wool 112 APPENDIX. Letter of Gen. John A. Young, of North Carolina 115 Letter of Col. J. Wash Watts, of South Carolina 118 Letter of Col. Eichard 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 Keceut notes on the Angora goat 126 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY m THE SOUTH. The appreciative request by -whioli 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 preparing 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 nnmbers 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 Hvisbandry" The interest called forth in us by the perusal of these papers has been deepened by the reading of the Eeport upon Wool and Wool Fabrics, made by you as one of the group of judges in the late International Exposition, which you were ofBcially re- quested to prepare. While Yery much has been written upon this question relative to the advantages of the North, the West, and the Pacific slope, we feel that the special inducements of "the South*' have not been recently preselited 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 prepare a paper upon "Sheep Husbandry and Wool Production in the South," for publication in your jour- nal, and also for general distribution. . Being residents of, andWherefore specially interested in, that section of the country, xe believe that an authoritative setting forth of the great advantages it presents for this industry, by your association, will give a great impulse to aU interests there ; vrhile it ■will also be of much aid and value to the reader and capitalist from any 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 fnitherance of that result, we are very truly vours, &c., 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. LAMAU, U. S. S. WADE HAMPTON, Governor of South Carolina. I have not had the pleasure of reading the articles referred to ; but, as Texas is ihost largely interested in wool-growing, I trust the articles suggested will be pre- pared. S. B. MAXEY, U. S. S. With aieat 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., ' Secretary of the National Association of Wool Manufaotwrers, Boston, Mass. S. Ex. 25 5 65 66 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. bandry in the older States of the Korth and Bast; and that what the far West gains, Yermont 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 people as a whole. Above all things it abhors monopolies of indi- viduals. 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 the side of the cotton-fields in Georgia and Mississippi. It would light furnace fires in Michigan, Ohio, and Alabama, as well as in Pennsylvania. Statesmanship would have our na^ tional 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 up on its route may be 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 compelled to divide her trade with Chicago. To say that the production of the new State will compete with that of the old, and that new indus- tries wiU vie with those long established, is to state the principal object of the national system. .Domestic competition, with its accruing cheapness, excellence, and abun- dance of protection, neutralizes the apparent taxation imposed under the protective system. Domestic competition, gradual, equable, and healthful — and not, like for- eign competition, spasmodic, irregular, and incapable of being guarded against, and hence disastrous — lifts the industries from their old ruts, introduces economies, labor- saving machines and processes, compels a constant watchfulness for the popular tastes and 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 of a section. StiU, while fl:ee 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 pointing 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, and 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 progeny of the Merinoes presented to him by Mr. Jarvis 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 remark attributed to the statesman of Eoanoke. This prejudice, accord- ing to Colonel Skiimer, 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 which sectional pride gave a regal title. At all events, sheep- husbandry became generally unpopular throughout the South — except, near the great cities, for a supply of mutton and lambs — and was sup- posed to be attended with difficulties peculiar to the Southern climate and soil. This remark does not apply to Western Virginia, where Merino- sheep husbandry has been pursued since the iirst importation of SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 67 the race, with a success unsurpassed in any Northern State; nor to Texas, where the pursuit was attaining a great importance until checked by the war ; neither to a limited number of individuals, like Mr. Oock- 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 upwards of 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. Eandall, LL. D., since so celebrated as the author of the " Practical Shepherd," who published in the Parmer's Li- brary, at the request of Col. J. S. Skinner, a series of letters addressed to Col. E. P. AUston, of South Carolina, on sheep-husbandry in the South. These letters were collected 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 under- 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 change 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 in the history of the State. The question whether the prevailing popular opinion atthe 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 in 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 preseht 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-HUSBANDET. husbandry being subject to different conditions, which 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 the 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 : States. ^r^,1??ir.'^'^' ?f partial feed- mg. Maine .- 6 1^ New Hampsliire 6 l\ Termont 6 1| New York PennsylTania Ohio 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 diminishes in both re- spects as we 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 the sheep. The effect of the climate of the North in these respects is admitted to be favorable. Health of she^ at the South. — Dr. Eandall 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 : N"o portion of the Unitecl States is lo-wer, hotter, or more unliealtliy than muoli of the prooi'ding; and none, aooonling to commonly-receiTed notions, would he more un- suited to thf, he.iltliy proilnction of sheep. Yet that they are healthy in these situa- tions is a laattiiT f>f perfect notoriety to all conversant with the facts. So far as Iiealth is concerned, tlicn, we are assuredly authorized to assume the position that no portion of the United States is too warm for sheep. Effect of cUmaie on the icool-producing qualities of the animal. — Upon this point Dr. Eandall thus sums up his conclusions : My convictions ure decided, and the facts reported appear to fully sustain them, that warmth of temperature, at least to a point equaling the highest mean tempera- ture in the United States, is not injurious, hut ahsolutely conducive, to the production of wool. The causes of this are involved in no mystery. Warm climates afford green and su wool produced,. enlarges the fiber, making the wool coarser. This was the opinion of Dr. Eandall, 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 activity those secretions which form wool, and that increase the quantity and weight of the fleece. The weight, he thinks, is increased by increasing the length and thickness of the separate fibers ; just as plants put forthionger 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 iato 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 fieece 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 zootechnist in Prance, published in the Comptes rendus of the French Academy — such a publication by that body being in itself a sufficient indorsement of Professor Sanson's scientific authority. The importance of the observations justifies us in giving at lengi^ a large part of Pro- fessor Sanson's note to his table of experiments, given by him in detail. His researches were made upon twenty specimens of wool. The animals from which the wool-fibers examined were derived he calls "precocious" Merinos; that is, animals so bred and highly fed as to produce the ut- most weight of fleece and flesh; the race having, besides, the quality of maturing early. He says : It is generally admitted, from reasoning a xjriori, that the rapidity of growth in pre- cocious Meriuoes, due to the abundance and special qualities of nourishment, cannot fail to increase the size of the hairs of the same wool. I have proposed to determine seientificaUy the truth of this induction. After stating his experiments and manner of conducting them, he con- siders certain propositions demonstrated, among which are the following : 1. The precocious development of Merino sheep, having the effect to caixytheir aptitude to produce flesh to the highest degree that sheep can attain, exercises no in- fluence on 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 influence exercised by the precocious development upon the hair of the wool exhibits itself by an augmentation of the length of the same hair; its growth, result- ing from the formation of epidermic cellules in the hair-bulb, being more active. There is, therefore, more woolly substance produced in the same time. 3. The precocious 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 tasse (density of staple). The modifications which the staple of wool presents in this respect are only apparent. By increasing the length of the hairs the precocity necessarily increases that of the looks of wo.ol 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 warm 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 Tennessee, 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. Oockerill, in a letter published in the American Parmer, says : I have about 1,000 head of fine sheep. * * * My Saxon sheep were imported in 1824 or 1826 — I cannot say which— and I find as yet no falling off in the quantity or quality of their fleeces ; on the contrary, I believe a little improvement in both points, and a little more yolk when well provided for; which you know does not much abound in the Saxon breed. In addition, the fleeces are a little more compact than formerly, hence more weight ; and Irom our mild climate the staple has become longer. I assert that the cotton region I am now in (Madison County, Mississippi), in about 32° north, is better than any country north of it to grow wool, as the sheep can be kept all the time grazuig, by sowing small grain ; for, if grazed off, it quickly grows again in a few days. And the wool of the fine Saxon sheep in this climate is softer and more cotton-like than any I have ever seen, .nlthough I have samples from all parts of the world. I have traveled from this very place to Boston, sampling all the sheep of note SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 71 on the ■way, and I have found nothing on my journey or at Boston as good as the wool I have grown ; and so said all the wool-stapleis whom I met with, and they were not a few. I presume, in reality, that the blood of my sheep was no hotter than many I saw ; Jmt the superiority of my wool I aamle to our climate, and the provision f6r the sheep of succulent food the year round. Having examined the volume of awards of the Exhibition at London of 1851, commonly called the World's Fair, we find that the reports of the juries recognize the German 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 ot the fieece, which calls for the award of the prize medal." The report 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 character of German wools.'" Mr. Howard, of Kingston, Georgia, writing to the Department of Agri- culture, 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 Meriuoes, which took the premium 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 in 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 ovir manufacturers advance to the production of the higher quahties of dress goods, such as the French Merinoes 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 qualities, 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 in 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 in use 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 to. vogue. The electoral wools wUl secure prices, as they have never yet done, proportionate to then- high cost of production. On account of the delicacy of the animals pro- ducing them, these wools cannot be successfully grown at the ISTorth; 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 proved by the letter last quoted. Mr. Watts, of South Carolina, in his communication elsewhere given at length, says : I have now on my table a Silesian 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 (neaj Nashville), has 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 noMe wools. Their suc- cessM culture was deemed a fit employment 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 nohle 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 climate, but also the influences of physical geography, soil, and hygroscopic conditions. As it would be impossible, in our limited space, to consider these conditions in each of the Southern States, we wUl select a typical district, such as that composed by the States of Georgia and North 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 country, hUl country, and mountain country, the characteristic features of these divisions extending through l!forth Carolina to Yirginia. The lower division, sometimes called the tide-water zone, consists, in Georgia, of a belt of country with an area of about 35,000 square miles, much rising as high as 300 feet above the ocean. Geologically, it consists of the three divisions, Eocene, Miocene, and PUocene of the Tertiary period. The soils on the dry lands are gen- erally light, 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 for min g the line upon which the great interior cities are situated. The middle, or hill country, having an area of about 15,000 square miles, rises first into gentle hUls, and finally, as it approaches the mountains, into high and often broken elevations. The geological formation underlying this country consists of the primary and metamorphic rocks, and the soil in its natural state is generally fertile. In this division is comprised 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 Appalachian Eange. For further details as to a portion of this district, North Carolina, the reader is referred to the 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 order to determine the resources of the country in question for supply- ing pasturage and forage for sheep, we must consider certain atmospheric conditions, 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-HUSBANDRY. 73 Texas, wliich is far 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 rainfaU has on this cult- ure, are very instructive in this connection : The cotton plant, in its period of growth, reqtdres albundant rain ; its succulent foliage, if duly supplied with moisture, appearing fresh under a sun that shrinks the leaYes 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 estahlishment 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 the sun retires, the tropical conditions give way ; the comparatively dry, serene, 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 hygroBoopio moisture of the atmosphere for the perfect development of its peculiar product. It l^ves the influences of the 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 atmosphere charged 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 must have an equally beneficial effect upon the plants required for the pasturage and forage of sheep, provided they are adapted to the climate ; especially upon the grasses, grass of all vegetation being soon- est affected by drought on the one hand, and an overabundance 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 compel the trans- Mmance 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 only market crop, and grass as the deadliest enemy of cotton, and where but few animals were, required for labor, it could not be supposed that there should exist the rich, thick-swarded pastures or meadows of many portions of the North. But grass culture is now attracting large attention at the South, and, happily, from persons of science and practical knowledge. Conspicuous among them was Mr. 0. W. 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 year^ he does " not hesitate to say, if ground be made sufficiently rich and is well prepared; that if judgment be exercised in sowing and in adapta- tion of species to particular 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 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- cessful growth of the valuable grasses." Omitting all that he says upon the culture of grasses for hay— as the winter gra?iing at the South is a substitute, except in exceptional periods, for this indispensable fodder for sheep at the North— we will condense his observations npon the grasses for pasturage. 74 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. One of the most marked advantages of the South is the ability to grow grasses which may be pastured 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 year. By the aid of winter grasses, it is perfectly prac- ticable, throughout a large portion of the South, to raise sheep without other cost than the interest on land 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 frequently done; but they must be sown annually, and are inferior to permanent grass pastures. 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 springs up everywhere at the South in the stubble where small grains had been harvested, making a summer pasture which cannot be surpassed. 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 obser\'es, " has nothing 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 the fresh bite of the newly sprung crab-grass." Mr. Howard does not men- tion the Japan clover {Lespedizea striata). This exotic, as we learn from reports to the Department of Agriculture, is rapidly taking possession of uncultivated places in South 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, par excellence for summer pastures at the South, is the Bermuda grass,* and would seem to surpass any known at the North. This species, chiefly found at present in Middle Georgia, though abundant in Louisiana, was introduced from the West Indies, and is be- lieved to be identical with the celebrated daub, or sacred grass, of East India. Being stolonifcrous in its habit, it clings so closely to the soil that it is eradicated with great difflculty ; and, rapidly propagating itself by means of its runners, it was regarded as the worst pest of the cotton- plantation. "Fighting General Green" became a proverb which illus- * This grass is known in India by tlie various names of dauh, doob, darbia, or darva. Sir William Jones, in his Botanical Observations of Select Indian Plants, published in Asiatic Researches, vol. iv, p. 520, speaks thus of the darUba or daub grass: "Every law-book and almost every poem in Sanscrit contains frequent allusions to the holiness of this plant ; and, in the fourth Veda, we have the following address to it, at the close of a terrible incantation: 'Thee, Darbba! the learned pronounce a divinity, not subject to age or death; Thee they call the armor otindra, the preserver of regions, the destroyer of enemies, a giver that gives increase to the field. At the time when the ocean resounded, when the clouds murmured and lightnings flashed, then was Darbba produced, pure as a drop of gold.'" Capt. David Richardson, in the seventh volume of the Asiatic Researches, says of this grass, which he calls " doob grass " : " This is probably one of the most useful and beautiful grasses in this or any other country; and, like the cow which feeds on it, is held in high religious veneration by many tribes of Hindoos. A natural velvet carpet, if the expression be admissible here, may at any time be formed of this elegant grass, in the space of two or three weeks, merely, by cutting it in pieces, and sprinkling them on prepared ground mixed with earth. In this way, the beauty of rivers, public roads, fortifications, garden walks, and marginal borders is frequently secured in In- dia, npon principles which unite expedition, elegance, and strength in one verdant sward, which, to those unacquainted with the rapidity of vegetation in these climes, has almost the appearance of enchantment." It is curious to observe that the same mode of propagating this grass is followed in India as in our States at the South. SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 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 iadeflnitely. Its nutritive power is said to surpass that of blue grass, it contaiaing, according to the analysis of Dr. Eavenel, 14 per cent, of the albuminoids. Its yield in weight far surpasses that of clover. Although it produces no seed, it is easily propagated by sowing broadcast pieces of the roots obtained from the turf, washed free from the dirt, and chopped iine 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 weU set with this grass are thus stated by Colonel Lane :' First crop: Cotton, half stand, 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 hushels per acre. The average product of this land, without the sod, would have heen not more than 100 pounds of seed-cotton, 15 to 20 hushels 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 must 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 pasture 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 farmers and the thin and waste portions of their farms are clothed with it, which seems to have been intended especially for sheep, Georgia will sustain a sheep to every acre of territory, and 37,000,000 of sheep would bs worth to their owners in the aggregate $37,000,000, net, per annum, nearly double the present gross value of the cotton crop of the State. Forage plants. — There are exceptional periods when winter pastures will prove insufficient. These periods, short at the extreme South, 76 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. become longer with the ascending latitudes. Some supply of cured forage is indispensable for these periods. The field 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 Korth. It is highly recommended by Mr. Howard and Dr. Eandall as a winter forage for the South, as its haulm, or straw, when cut partially green, makes a rich fodder relished by aU stock. Dr. Eandall says that " for sheep and breeding ewes there is probably no feed in the world equal to nicely cured pea haulm, with a portion of the seed left unthrashed. It gives them condition and vigor, and prepares them to supply a bountiful sup- ply of milk for their young." To this may be added the sweet potato, another peculiar product of the South. It is estimated that from two to three bushels of sweet potatoes are equal in value to one bushel of corn. More than three times as many bushels of sweet potatoes can be raised on an acre as can be raised of corn on the most fertile lands of the West. WeU-cured pea- vines and sweet potatoes afford as cheap and valuable food for fat- tening sheep as can be found in any country whatever. A still more important product, pecuhar to the South, must not be overlooked — the abundant cotton-seed, more mitritious than any grain, and so cheap that it is afforded in Georgia for fifteen cents a bushel. Alfalfa. — California has recently brought into prominence a plant of foreign origin, which is destined to replace all others at the South for soUing or hay. This is the alfalfa, ChiU clover or lucerne, Medicago sa- tiva. Although introduced into California from Chili — whence its Span- 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 ISTorth on account of the winter's cold, it has been thoroughly tested at the South, and found to thrive from Texas to Virginia. Its requirements are very rich light and dry land, such as will be permeable to its long tap-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 year, 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 Agricultural Sodety of California for 1871 says that the alfalfa is the only plant which will grow through the dry summers of that State, and keep green all summer. He is assured, by those that have pastured sheep upon it, that one acre of good land will keep forty sheep in good condition all the year round. The " Pacific Eural Press," of March, 1878, describing a ranch having 7,000 sheep, and other stock in propor- tion, says that 1,300 acres, 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 acres in California were seeded with this clover in 1876. Its culture is regarded as the only hope for preserving the sheep-husbandry in the drier portions of the State. It flourishes ad- mirably in Texas ; keeping green all winter, and affording feed to all kinds of stock. In upper portions of Georgia, the alfalfa does not keep green through the months of December and January, and is used only for seeding and hay. It would probably keep green through the winter in the lower parts of the State, and might be pastured. Turnips. — An important 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 WUliam of Orange of the turnip culture, at the end of SHEEP-HUSBANDKY. 77 the seventeenth 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-field system, and are the basis of English agriculture. This system cannot be adopted at the Korth, on account of the turnips freezing 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 dieposited by the sheep in that time will suflace for four years' rotation. Mr. Harwo6d, 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 turnips is twofold. It is by fax the cheapest method of maniiring land. Ko hauling manure is required, as the sheep haul their own manure, hoth solid and liquid, to precisely the spot on which it is desired to apply it. It is evenly spread without labor, no part being excessively manured at the .expense of another part. The effect of this manuring will be felt for years. Land 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 highest price. When land is put into sufficiently good order to bring 500 bushels of turnips to the acre, the gain in mntton is equivalent to the cost of. the crop. The heavy manuriug of the land is, then, clear gain! Present condition of Southern sheep-Jiusbandry. 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 very painful. The reports of the very able statistician of the Department 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 fol- lows, in January, 1878: states. Area in acres. Kortt Carolina Soutli Carolina. G-eorgia norida Alabama Lotiisiana Arkansas Tennessee Hississlppi Total .... 49D, 000 175, ftOO 382, 300 66, 500 270, 000 125, 000 ,285,000 850, 000 250, 000 450, 560 7611, 000 120, 000 931, 620 462, 080 461, 440 184, 000 720, 000 179, 840 2, 883, 800 262, 269, 440 The area of the States named is derived from the reports of the Land Oflce. Thus there are in these States not far from one sheep to every 100 acres. Ohio, with an area of 25,766,960 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 circulars, with minute inquiries as to the present condition and possibilities of this industry, with blank returns, to his assistants in each county of the Southern States. The original returns to these cir- culars, received in January, we have been kindly permitted to examine, and have carefully read every one received. The general impression made upon our mind by these 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 I^orth ; although it Is known that there are ex- ceptional cases of such flocks. As a rule, the variety kept is the native breed, 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 the animals obtain their entire subsistence from the swamps and range. Those which have some what better care during the winter months, receive alittle cotton-seed and afew turnips andstraw from the thrashing- 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 destruction by dogs, popular opinion having hitherto prevented the enactment of suitable dog-laws. One return says : " There are but two successful wool-growers in this county, and their ranges are in constant supervision, a stock-minder iu each constantly patrolling." There is now and then a hopeful gleam in the returns. A farmer in Georgia says " his 'herd' of 104 sheep produced $132.50." It cost only $10 to feed them on cotton-seed. " What my sheep make," he says, "is just like picking it up." Maj. E. A. Griffln,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 the increase will pay all expenses of keep, leaving fleeces and manure as profit." Thomas M. Bealy, of South Carolina, says : Oats and rye are the only small grains, except rice, that will grow here. For every plow animal on the farm, the farmer should sow down, sod well prepared iu Septem- ber, six acres of oats. Upon these oats he should turn in three to five head of sheep the middle of December. It will give them the best of pasture until 1st of March, when they should be turned out, and the oats left to head up. Each six acres of these oats should yield feed for one horse or mule twelve iQpnths, 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 North, and have been here four years. I believe this is the making of a good agricultural country, if it was properly cultivated by an improved system of farming, particularly sowing grasses and clover, having a rotation of crops, keep- ing more stock, and letting the fields Ue three years in grass, and sowing down yearly as much as is taken up. By this means the farmers would be better off and the land vastly improved. 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-manufacturer, has been led to give par- ticular attention to the wool resources of his State. He says : SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 79 Twenty years' experience in manufacturing the wools grown in this State has famihanzed the writer with the manner in which this valuable animal (the sheep) has been cared for; and has convinced him that, without great natural 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, intended to be only sufficient 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 owners' estimate of his valuable property, and they were never so treated. In the spring they were shorn of their fleeces,, and turned outside their owpers' inclosure to seek their summer'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 iuhospitalities in the winter, would be admitted within the gates and permitted 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 corn 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 the flocks being such as their instinct leads them to seek, by hovering on the sheltering sides of bams and outbuildings that may be ac- cessible. Yet, under this treatment, the flocks of the farmers kept their numbers full, and occasionally multiply beyond their wants. The facility 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; but wherever an effort has been made to improve the stock by crossing on Merino or other approved blood, the effect 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 neighborhoods. 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 Pennsylvaniai 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 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. 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 fingers, 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 now taking 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 fature in 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 form from the report of the commissioner of agriculture of the State of 80 SHEEP -HUSBANDEY. Georgia upon the sheep-husbandry of that State. He says that " the average annual profit on the capital invested in sheep in Georgia is 63 per cent. The average 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 unwashed wool sells is 33J cents, or 27J 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 wiU quote : 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 native grass, says his sheep — 3,500 in 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 in sheep. Mr. Ayers does not feed his sheep at any time during the year ; neither has he introduced the improved hreeds, using only what is called the native sheep. Mr. Robert C. Humber, of Putnam County, 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 eat ; while they pay 100 per cent, on the investment, in mutton, lamha, 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, emhraoing the fields from which crops have been gathered, and the cane bottoms, in winter. We are not disposed to deny that the estimate of profits made by the commissioner, or given in the particular cases cited, are literally correct. But we are compelled to state that some of the returns from the above- named State, at the United States Department 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 profits 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 63 per cent, must be fallacious. While it may be true that a particular owaer, havnng a vast range very favorably situated, in which two or three thousand can pick up their sustenance, may find them very profit- able, a competing owner in his neighborhood would limit the range, and the profits would diminish. It may be true that small flocks will cost so little to their owner that the profit from them wiU be "just like pick- ing it up"; but this may not be the case with flocks of two or three hundred animals. It is erroneous to consider sheep-farming, as it must he ordinarily conducted, as a matter of direct profit from the investment of capital. The amount of money which can ordinarily be put into Kheep-husbandry with advantage by one person is so small that it can- not be properly called an investment of capital. The consideration in growing sheep, except under the purely pastoral system, is not one of direct 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. Tlie course recommended for the South. — There are two very distinct branches of the wool-growing industry. One is purely pastoral, having 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 million acres, now practically unoccupied, constitutes a SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 81 natural pasture upou which a inilliou sheep could be raised at a trifling •expense. This is the opinion of the coinulissioner of agriculture of the State. Col. Eichard Peters, of Atlanta, Gra., admitted to be the highest au- thority on sheep-husbandry in the State, in his original communication, elsewhere given at length, speaks of this district as follows : Across the entire width of the State there is a belt of country of an extent, north- ward from the coast and the Florida line, say from 100 to 130 iniles. It is the laud 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 raised there. 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 California. I do not subscribe 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 ex- periment in sheep-raising, uniting good attention, selection, .ind 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 for one or two months in winter, for the ewes and lambs, I think the results would prove of the most satisfactory and profitable character. General Young, of IsTorth 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 independent of their owners, they keep m uniform good flesh, grow to better maturity, and fur- 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 lands can be obtained at from 50 cents to $ 1 an acre. Having been burned over in former times by the Indians, they are free &om 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- growing 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 light, 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, they 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 in 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 mixed 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 auxilary to a mixed husbadnry. The highest advantage of this system is the improvement 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 repeat 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 the county 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 peculiar nutritiousness 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 the land. By the combination of sheep-husbandry with wheat- culture, lands in England, which, in the time of Elizabeth, produced, on an average, 6| bushels of wheat per acre, produce now over 30 bushels. For these reasons, the recent practical writers in the Journal of the Eoyal Agricultural Society of England pronounce that, while there is no proiit 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 sheep-farmers have been compelled to abandon one farm after another, as they became too fertile for profitable sheep-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 with 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 by the sheep. JMr. William Chamberlain, of Eed Hook, Dutchess Countj', New Tork, celebrated as a grower of Silesian sheep, purchased in 1840 a farm iu that palce 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 10 bushels to the acre ; '25 acres of corn averaged 20 bushels to the acre ; tlie 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 manufactures of manure, he made this worn-out farm so productive that its crops would be satisfactory even in Ohio. The product in 1806 was 600 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 families 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 go to over all the surface he could and make clover grass ; and he said that, when he had brought SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 83 his land to where 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 maniire-producing power. ITow, 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 regen- erating 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 por- tion 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 planter is compelled to take any labor that offers, whether good, bad, or indifferent ; and thus the exclusive cotton-jjlanter belongs to the negro as the negro once belonged to Mm ; 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 improving 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 smaU 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 difflcult 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 theii- 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 other 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 testify. 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 lingers that sheep culture is a less dignified occupation than that of cotton -planting, it should be dispelled. The nobility of 8-1 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. sheep-growiug, and especially of slieep-breeding, is recognized by all tlie advanced nations. The Empress Eugenie took the flock of Eambouillet 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 values the prizes for his perfected Southdowns or Lincolns above all the honors of the turf; and, at a dinner of the landed gentry, the topic of sht'<'p 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. Precisely how sheep-farming, in connection with the cotton culture, is to be carried on we would not presume to indicate. Fortunately, we have a Southern man — Mr. Howard, before quoted, and whose high au- tliority as a scientific and practical farmer is well recognized in Georgia — to illustrate the application of diversified husbandry to the cotton cul- ture. 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 arable purposes and the rest to grazing. The rotation might he as follo-srs : 1. Cotton and com, in the same field, in suitable proportions; 2. Oats, sown in Au- gust, on the cotton and corn land ; 3. Kye, or rye and wheat, sown in September, the land having been twice plowed, in order to kill the permanent oats ; 4 and 5. Clover, if the land is in sufficient hi'art to produce it; if not, the fourth year rest ungrazed, and the fifth year sheep and cattle penned upon it every night during the year, using a portable fence. An ordinary farm of 500 acres will support 500 sheep, besides the crops in the above rotation. The oats and rye will feed them during the winter nearly or entirely, without injury to the grain. Five hands would be sufficient to work such a farm and lake 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 25 acres in corn, 250 bushels, atijl 250 00 50 acres in oats, 500 bushels, at 80 cents 400 00 25 acres in rye, 200 bushels, at $1 200 00 25 acres in wheat, 150 bushels, at $1.50 225 00 Increase and mutton sales of 500 sheep 500 00 "Wool, 3 jiounds per head, at 33 cents per pound 500 00 Manure, at &1 per head , . . .500 00 3,475 00 Sojjaratrly, each of these products is small ; still the agyrcgate result is more than ?;i)00 ppT hand. Tet this is nearly three times the average jn'oduct per hand in the Cdttou states. The farm products 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 double liy pen- ning 500 sheep at night on 50 acres. It is the writer's experience that 10 sheep, regu- larly jicuued, will manure 50 acres. Two hundred would therefore manuie well 50 acres. The appeiuance of the ground would not indicate this high mannriiiLt, but it should be n.'membered that liquid manure (which is equal in value to the solid) is not visible. * * * At tlie end of the fifth year of this rotation the change in the farm would bo equal almost to a transformation, the crops having doubled or trebled with- out (which is a most important point)-nny material increase of labor or other 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 do hardly anything niore than suggest and excite the reader to apply his own intelligence to the particular problem which he SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 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- ployment in connection with the culture of cotton. He says : In the middle part of the State of Geoigia the Bermuda grass prevails ; and, under the cotton system of culture, it was the di-ead and bane of the planter ; but now, for its nutritious qualities and compactness of sod, it is considered by our people as valua- Ble and reliable as any grass, not excepting the Kentucky blue-grass. It will offer sheep the very best of pasturage for six months of the year in this section of the State ; and, if managed as on the pastures of Keutuety, 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 con- ducted, and combined with cotton culture, the result must prove highly remunerative — far surpassing anything in the past history of this induistry in New England or the Middle States. Ill regard to the general culture of sheep at the South, independently of its relation to any particular locality, he observes : In reference to the whole matter of sheep-husbandry at the South, 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 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, offers unequaled facilities for this industry. 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 cultivated, the orchard-grass, red and white clover on the upland, and red-top on low land, succeed admirably. Lu- cerne and German miUet are never-failing sources of an ample supply of hay. The former afford from four to fi.ve cuttings in a season. Eed rust-proof oats— a variety reliable in winter, if sown in September — 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 IMerinoes, Southdowns, Ox- fordshiredown, Leicester, Asiatic broad-tail or Tunisian, improved Kentucky Cots- wold, and native sheep. I have also crossed nearly all of these varieties. Those be- tween the Spanish Merinoes and native, and the Cotswold and native, have proved most profitable. My present varieties are the thorough-bred Merinoes and Cotswolds and crosses between these two. For general purposes of wool and mutton, I recommend most decidedly the cross from the native ewes and Spanish Merino bucks, the progeny 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 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. In all well-selected and well-managed 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 accordance 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 (with 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, "ir. Y., president of the B'ew York State Wool-Grrowers' 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. Dbab Sir: You 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 Meriaoes in Western New York, though I have bred Cotswolds and other long- wool varieties to some extent. In ray immediate vicinity are some of the most stillfal and successful breeders of American Merinoes in this country. I have at all times been quite familiar with their flocks, and watched with greatest care and interest the results of the different experi- ments in 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- wood of Connecticut, Hammond of Vermont, and others, into a type of sheep so far superior, in constitution, form, and weight of fleece, and altogether bo widely differ- ent from the original importation, as to be regarded a distinct variety ; and, in justice to our breeders, the word Spanish was dropped, and the term American Merinoes applied to them. To continue this improvement in our stud flocks a system for identifying and indi- vidualizing the sheep has been inaugurated, by placing a perma.nent metallic medal in the ear of each sheep, containino; its flock number, and an accurate record is made of the general characteristics of each sheep, giving weight of fleece, length and quality of staple, form, and breeding qualities, &c., and preserving the pedigree of each indi- vidual for a pubUc register. This additional care has enabled our breeders to attain neater 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 clip of which will, in some instances, average upwards of 15 pounds each, while selections of ewes Hot in breeding often shear as high as 18 to 22 pounds, nnwashed, which sconr from 6 to 7-J pounds. The live weight of these ewes reaches 90 to 130 pounds. The stock rams produce from 26 pounds to 36 pounds, yielding about the same proportion of scoured wool, weight 150 pounds to 190 pounds. And these sheep are the direct descendants, without admixture of other blood, of the importations fi-om Spain prior to 1813, which give 3 to 5 pounds unwashed wool from ewes and 7 to 9 pounds from rams. Our market for these sheep of late has been in the South and West, principally Cal- ifornia, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. It has been the especial study of our breeders to produce such rams as, when crossed upon the connnou or native sheep of these sections, wiU 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 unquestionably true, that cultivating the ^nesf quality of wool has a tendency to produce efl'eminacy, resulting in a flue-bound, delicate 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 staple, we do so at a sacrifice of density, which, of all characteristics, is most difficult to secure and retain. In no other way can so much he 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 implies abroad, deep chest, strong heavy- boned legs, large feet, broad short head and nose after the bull-dog pattern, and car- cass modeled as nearly after a short-horn bull as possible. In fleece, one of the most important considerations is density, which better protects the sheep from storms and the wool from dirt, gives greater weight of fleece, and In hot climates better protects the yolk necessary for a healthy growth of wool. It is the impression of our sheep-men that Northern sheep, when taken South, shear nmch lighter fleeces than at home, and that to keep up the weight of their flocks' fleeces, rams must be bred North. The fleece should be even over the entire body, covering well the head, legs, and belly, and of medium quality, suitable for clothing wools. It is the aim of our breeders to furnish rams which will soonest produce this type of sheep when crossed upon the light, dry, thin-fleeced native Mexican and Texas sheep. Much has liecn said by wool merchants, and even wool-growers who are ignorant of the true theory of our breeding, against the wrinkly, greasy, dirty-looking modern American Jlerinocs. Even Dr. Eandall, 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 sheep as " an unmitigated nuisance " ; and yet the experience of the doctor subsequently convinced him that he was in error, and that in no other way could radical defects in a flock be remedied so a,r for se vcrai year8 says : Say for 1.000 head it will cost §300 for herdinn- • extra helii in lambing time, iJliO ; salt, |15 ; cost of shearing, .ipuO ; feed duriuo- winter' $200. We imagine the Georgia bureau of agriculture knows but little about laro-e herds of sheep, as they are grown on prairie grass. They are accustomed to herds of from 10 to 100 head. Such flocks are not necessary to he herded, and yield a fine profit If we make it a specialty, and put 500 to 1,000 in a herd, which is common here they will not pay so well. The figures made on paper will show them 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 large as to require a herder. Navnn-o OowM.«y.— "I have been engaged," says the correspondent, " in sheep-raising for fourteen years. In this and all the old settled prairie counties, 300 to 400 sheep do well. One hundred per cent, gross profit is a fair statement. The profit dimin- ishes 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 one bushel of cotton seed to the sheep, and have good shelter provided." Goliad County. — 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 he estimated in two ways. Crediting increase of sheep as equal to all cost, the wool would be net profit, aud this, at least, is claimed by many persons. With- out crediting increase for more than enough to maintain the flock equal to its primi- tive 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: "One flock or 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 CoM»ty.—" 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 &- preciation of price of wool. A reaction has now taken place ; extensive pastures are now being inclosed; improved breeds are introduced." Kendall County. — "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 200 ewes, three years ago ; and have sold sufficient 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 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 aud 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 wiU average 800 head ; which, at $1.50 per lamb, in spring, makes lambs $1,200 00 Deduct from this $1,200, one-quarter to herder 300 00 900 00 Which leaves Leavinga'balance as net profit, on one flock, of 1, 700 00 or about ,jl.l3 per head on the entire flock." ,,.,,,:,. Nueces County.— Theve are several reports from this, the leading wool-producmg county in the State. .,,,,■ . , ^ -, ,., One 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 : ,-, j. a.^ 1 two-year-old ewe cost $5. Dk. Ck- To interest, one year, at 12 per cent- $0 60 To cost of feed, herding, salt, &c . . 1 UU To buck service 40 To insurance ^'^ To shrinkage in value '" Total S. Ex. 25- By 5J pounds wool, at 20 cents $1 10 By 75 per cent, of lajnb, at $4 3 00 Total 4 10 Less cost of keep 2 80 .... 2 80 Per cent, of profit, 35. 1 30 98 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. "My own flock, now numbering 1,700, started 460 in 1873 (Merinoes and Cotswold grade), has paid above per cent, of profit, 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 shear the best and most desirable clips of wool handle their sheep in mod- erately large flocks of 1,000 to 1,200 head. Provision is only made for select sheep, such as rams. Average weight of fleece, 5 pounds. Average cost of keeping, 25 to as 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 other preparations 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 keeping, 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 Bumber of sheep in this county, according to the returns of assess- ors, is 656,000 ; and the remarkable fact is presented to us, that very nearly the most southerly county 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 — jSTew 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, McLellan Cousty, 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 land ; the soil, black, -waxy, and, in sections, quite sandy, and an excellent grazing country. The natural grasses are the sedge and mesquite ; 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 shepherd ; but he should have not less than the 10 cents profit added, to make a paying investment. If there is no change in our duties, I am confident that there is no more promising industry in the country than wool-growing ; but, if we are to have reduced duties or free -wools, the occupation will have to be abandoned. There is no objection to sheep from any 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 Cotswold with pure-blood Merinoes. The country is uniformly healthy for sheep 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 have said, if the farmers are to keep the protection they now nave against the producers of foreign wools there is no more profitable industry that any one who will put his attention to the business can be engaged in. Yours truly, W. E. KELLUM. Another of our own correspondents writes as follows : Houston, Tex., January 9, 1878. Dear Sir: I have had long experience in eheep-hnsbandry in the San Joaquin and Santa Barbara country, and also in Los Angeles, Cal. I know well Colonel HoUister, Mr. Dibbles, of California, and other prominent 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 acquainted, if life and property 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 sustaiu the large flocks which, from various causes, are being broken up in California. 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 vis there, the life of the shepherd and his flocks are in constant jeopardy from SIIEEP-HU&BANDEY. 99 the MMicauB. These thieves and marauders c^erate in a regularly systematic way, Deing fitted out and encouraged by the wealthy Mexicans living on or near the border, who for years have been at the bottom of all the border troubles, from their desire for annexation to this country. Their purpose constantly is to provoke a war, believing the result will be annexation, when they will then have a stable governmeut, which they know they never will have under any Mexoan 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. Maeffer,— After the above notes had been put in press, the writer enjoyed the privilege of several personal interviews at Washington with Mr. F. 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 G. 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 Kueces 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 IjlOa 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 constantl^f^ nioving for a mile or two, the shepherd continually moving aroundtMfldtfk,,^ which is guided by his voice. They snatch their bites of grass as they go slowly along. They return i n the same way, slowly ffedin^ p/t}i e * Mr Shaeffer gives a satisfactory reason for the fact, often s^t^'witS^ut explana- tion, that the English race of sheep— the Cotswolds, Leiceste^ &c.-f-caiDriot bfj kept in large flocks. The reason he gives is, that the Cotswolds -^.11 pot t^herd." or ttra together like the Merinoes. While feeding, they invariably sca»er|pve]^ wide dtjmam. ' A Cotswold, if tired, wiU lie down and cannot he driven upbytte ^epBerd, gaid whfeB it recovers is liable to wander off and join another flock. Mr. S&aeCfer thmks tb&t the Cotswold blood should never be introduced into large flocks of Merlpo shfe^p. With- out greater care in breeding than the ordinary flock-master Cill^exexoise, tljey iwJU make the wool of the flocks uneven, and ultimately ruin them. / , 100 SHEEP-HUSBA-NDEY. camping-ground, generally selected on the southerly side of some creek or under the shelter of the prairie timber. In rainy or cold weather, the sheep travel much more briskly than in warm. In very 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 discai'ded, be- cause it was found that when they drove the sheep they caused them to huddle together, thus making a great loss of feeding 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 pasturage, 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 apparently 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 grain) 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 acre, weighing 37 pounds to the bushel instead of 32. Through its intro- duction, the price of oats has been reduced from about 70 or 75 cents to 22 cents. It is sown in November and fed off during the winter, which increases the crop of grain. This variety would be admirably adapted to the Georgia pine-lands for a winter forage for sheep. Although the orignal stock upon which Mr. Shaeffer's flocks were en- grafted was principally the native Mexican sheep, improved by 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 thaii from 50 to 55 i)ouuds, gross weight, and produce fleeces of poor wool, weighing about 2 pounds. The imprQved sheep of Mr. Sliaeffer average for the whole flock seven pounds of unwashed fine wool. His wethers — or " muttons," to adopt the Texan term — will weigh, at four years old, 100 pounds gross weight. These sheep, which are of the best improved American Merino stock, make excellent mutton. The mutton fed upon the mesquite grass never has any of the rankness or muttony flavor peculiar to those sheep at the North. A great number are now sent from Nueces and other counties in Texas, to Saint Louis and Chicago, where they bring good prices. Tliey, 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 loa^ling of ttjn dquble-decked cars, carrying 160 animals each, with sheep, at San. Antonio, degtiaed for the Chicago market, at a distance of 1,500 miles. jOneflock c^ three-year-old 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 in New Or- SHEEP-HUSBANDKY. lOHt 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 mutton until he visited England, where he found that it was agre, the best mutton being five 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 sheep till full maturity is the interest of the capital, while the sheep are all the time producing their semi-annual returns of wool. The flocks in this country are kept up by the constant purchase qf 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 Tery large number of ]S'orthern rams are sold in Texas. Mr. Shaeffer has himself purchased over 800 at the North, many of them from Dr. Eandall. 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 iare 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. Shaeffer early saw that he could benefit his country better, and do as well for himself, by chan^ng 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 effect 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. Shaeffer found that contests were constantly occurring between the cattle-herders and the shepherds. He therefore began gradually to purchase aUthe lands he required ; his example was followed by others j 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 experience 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 leairned 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 apair of horses for his supplies ; of course he will have a saddle- horse. The well-arranged ranche is an after luxury, to be earned by the |>rofits of the enterprise. The aim is to have flocks of at least l,000or 1,100 itiead, for each of which one shepherd — invariably a native Mexican, called a pastore — ^is required. It is desirable that the proprietor should have at least 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 eamp, where the bacoierro, or sheep-overseer, also a native Mexican, is established. This overseer is necessary, in all cases, to relieve the 102 SHEEP-HUSBANBEY. shepherds in case of accident, and to cook their rations. The baccierros, as a class, are remarkable for their fidelity. The impedimenta of the camp, if they may be called by this name, consist only of the rudest cooking utensils and the stores of provisions, no shelter being required, and the bed of the shepherd being a sheep-skin. The food or rations ot the shepherd are corn for tortillas, or, sometimes, flour, coffee, and fresh meat, no pork or bacon being used. The fresh meat is almost invariably supplied by goats, which are pastured with the sheep for this purpose. 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 jaastore will consume is enormous; the consumption being about one goat a week 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, depends the future character of the flocks ; and the tying up of the 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 September 16. The shearings continue from three to four weeks, accord- ing to the weather. The practice of two shearings a year has been 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 course 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 full 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 checks 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 1 per cent, a month. The double shearing is especially 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. Shaeffer beUeves 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. The advice was followed, and all were saved. One of these lambs (a ram), when grown, was afterward sold for $150. 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 price being $3.50 per hundred for fine sheep. The shearers average about thirty head a day. The shearing is performed on a floor or platform, espec- ially constructed for this purpose. 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 Mexicans tie down the sheep upon the floor, usually about ten at a time. This time the flock-master improves for examining his sheep and the character of their fleeces. He selects those which are to be culled out on account of age or defects of fleece, or those which are to be preserved for special uses in breeding ; makes the proper marks upon the animals, duly en- tering them into his sheep-book. The wool from the spring shearing is SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 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 cannot 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 growers, 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, inclosed 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 proportion of bucks required for the 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 main lambing takes place from February 20 to April 1. It is an interesting observation in regard to lambing, that it is attended with much less danger and difl- 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 dropped 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 turned 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 personal 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. BXPENSBS. Shepherds and wages, at $11 per month and rations $250 00 Shearing and sundry expenses at shearing-time 77 00 Dipping for scab, four cents per head 44 00 Sheep dip for worms ^ 5« Extra labor.. — 20 00 396 00 Salt is not required near the coast or with mesquite grass. 104 SHEEP-HUSBANDKT. RECEIPTS. 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 $396 00 Interest on |5,000, at 12 per cent 600 00 Kent of place 100 00 1, 096 00 3,740 00 1, 096 00 2, 644 00 In this statement the 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 lambs, with an expense of but one baocierro and one camp, and three shepherds. At the end of five months the lambs are weaned and taken from their mothers. Then, untn 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 flock-master commences — October, 1876, with ewes 1,600 March, 1877, the ewes produce 80 per cent, of lamhs 1,280 September, 1877, weans the lambs ; places them in one flock, and the ewes in another, making only two flocks. March, 1878, there are ewes 1,600 March, 1878, there are yearlings ; one-half ewes and the other half wethers 1, 280 March, 1878, there are lambs, as 1877 1,380 Making four flocks ; three of ewes and lambs, and one 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 2,240 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 are wethers, three years old 640 Mareh, 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 froia a distance, seeking to in- vest in sheep-husbandry in Tex^^s, is advised to proceed directly either to Corpus Christi or San Antoiuo, 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 ior 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 expense 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 adventurer, if he has a family, must place them in some of the towns or villages most convenient to his range. His personal presence on his range will be indispensable for his success, and he will find ample occupation. But he can safely trust the Mexican baccierros 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 JTueces and Duval Counties with flocks of ten 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 disturb 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 4-ustralia. Mr. Shaelfer 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 I^Tueces and the neighboring counties i» shipped from Corpus 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 Thomas 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 m sheep-hu^ bandry i bought ranch and buildings about sixty miles northwest from Laredo, Webb Ccranty, Texas, the land, ahout 13,000, acres and the sheep well improved. At the end of live years L>r. Kearney sold out his interest to Carr, that is, one-half mteresi;, tor 820 000. In August, 1877, Carr refused a |60,000 offer, which he had from WiUiam Votaus, for his sheep ranch with the sheep ; the exact facts being that Votaus o™red 830 000 in cash and one of the best-improved places on the San Antonio Kiver, which had cost him about $60,000. Mr. Shaeffer says that Carr ought to have taken the offer. 106 SHEEP-HUSBANDET. 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 any one who will read the exhaustive reports prepared by Mr. Schleicher, of the Texas delegation, in Congress. Colonel Ford says that the Mexicans do not ran the sheep off, because the sheep cannot be made to travel fast enough ; but they kill the shepherds. Obstacles to sheep growing in Texas. — Conversations with many intelli- gent Texans, and the persual of many 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 e\4- 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 the 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 which 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 population, production, 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; vsith 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 pre-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.f Add to this its capacity 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 required to establish peace upon its borders. *No such thorougli and satisfactory mode of settling Indian troubles has been dis- covered as the construction of a railroad througli the Indian country. The war-whoop of the savage is never heard within sound of the locomotive whistle. The civilization that is represented by the church, the school-house, and the farm the Indian regards as his legitimate prey; but when it comes clothed with the thunder of the advancing railroad train, he retires from the contest. — Speech of Hon. William Windom, of Minne- sota, in the United, States Senate, on the Northern Pacific Bailroad. 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 more modest demand for government patronage, is the proposal for a government survey of a rail- road route from Austin, Tex., to the Eio 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. tEeport of Mr. Edward Atkinson on cotton at the International Exhibition. SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 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, with its splendid sheep-hus bandry, including the Panhandle, where thebest fine wool in the United btatesis grown; because this country, from its contiguity, really be- longs to the Ohio and Western Pennsylvania wool-producing region, ^either 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 :Sew 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 : Number of sheep in Sonfhern, States, Januai-y, 1878. No. of sheep. Delaware 35 OOO Maryland 151,200 Virgmia. 422,000 JN ortn Carolina 49O qqq South Carolina I75' qoo gforgia '..'.'!!!!!.'".!];!;[;]!!''.; 382I300 fjorida 56,500 Alabama 270,000 Misaissippi 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 Number of sheep in the Northern and Western States, January, 1878. No. of sheep. Maine 528,800 New Hampshire 239,900 Vermont 461,400 Massachusetts 60,300 Rhode Island 24,500 Connecticut 92,500 New York 1,518,100 STew Jersey 128,300 Pennsylvania 1,607,600 Ohio 3,783,000 Michigan ". 1,7,50,000 Indiana i 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 72,000 Colorado 600,000 The Territories 2,600,000 Total 25,852,300 108 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. GENERAIi CONSIDERATIONS. Relation of wool-production to customs duties.— This paper, intended for cir- culation at the South, where theoretical opinions on questions of political economy differing from our own largely ijrevaU, 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 dependence 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 principally obtained from duties on foreign imports. All, independently of their theoretical opinions, will admit that these duties should be so imposed as 1o 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 manipulation of wool, or to which national encouragement can 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-lands 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 mauyfold the alleged increased cost of clothing to our people caused by the protective 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 department 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 higb 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 revenue. 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 procure labor for the wages of the Indian shepherds of the Pampas ; while, like all other producers m 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 inpouring of foreign sur- SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 109* pluses which, without defensive barriers, are liable at any moment to break down our markets. Adjustment of duties on manufactures to duties oniwool. — 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 which the cotton, linen, and silk manufacturers are free ; all the raw material for the first two 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 thi> country pay upon the foreign wool which they consume, or the amount 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 far more Importance than the amount of the protective duty he may receiA'e. 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 avooI manufacturers should be placed in the same position as if, like the European manufacturers, their wool were exempt ftom 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 protection, if it is adopted, it should be applied to all domestic industries. Our tariff laws therefore provide, in addition to the specific duty on fkbrics, neutralizing the wool duty^ an ad volorem duty for the protection of the manufacturer. This system of 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 manufacture, because the prosperity of wool production and sheep-husbandry at the South, and its further extension, absolutely 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 it doubt fill if the South will ever be able to export wools to foreign countries in competition with Australia, the Argentine Eepublic, Southern Eussia, and the Cape of Good Hope. The wool-growers of the South wiU, there- fore, best advance their own interests by favoring the national policy which promotes, by reasonable and just provisions, the iaterests 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 woolen-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-HUSBANDBT. West, and enter into that community of sentiment and purpose required to make a great national wool industry. For this purpose, as well as for general improvement, wool-growers' and sheep-breeders' associations 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 stand- ards of excellence secured by these associations, we give in a note the programme of the Annual Fair of the Sheep- Breeders' and Wool-G-row- ers' Association of the State qjf New York.* * Annual fair of the New Tork State Sheep-Breeders' and Wool-Growers' Association at Hemlock Lake, N. T., May 1 and 2, 1878. CLASSIFICATION. Prizes are offered on each division of three classes of sheep, as follows : First class. — .^EKiCAsr Merinoes. Div. 1.— Bred for constitution, form, weight of fleece, quality aSapted to manufacture of domestic -woolens. Div. 2. — Bred for constitution, form, fineness of fleece, quality adapted to manufacture of broadcloths and similar fabrl-cs. Div. 3. — Bred for constitution, form, length of staple (2^ inches at one year's growth being required), quality adapted to manufacture of delaines and similar fabrics. Sec- ond class. Div. 4. — COTSWOLDS. Div. 5. — Lincolns. Die. 6. — Leicesteks. Third class. Div. 7. — Downs, or Middle-wooled. PRIZES. Prizes are offered in each of the above 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 and under three, diploma ; second best, $10 ; third best, $5. For the best ram, one year old, diploma ; second best, $10; third best, $5. For the best pen of three ewes, three years old and over, diploma ; second best, $10 ; third best, $5. Foi the best pen of three ewes, twoyeaxs old and under three, diploma; second best, $10; third best, $5. For the best pen of three ewes, one year old, diploma; second best, $10; third best, $5. SWEEPSTAKES. Th^ following sweepstakes premiums are offered in each of the seven divisions: For the best ram of any age, 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 pen of three ewes, of any age, diploma. Entrance-fee for sweepstakes premium, $2 in addition to membership. No sheep competing for the above prizes are required to be shorn. SHEAKING AND SCOUKING TEST. For the best ram's fleece, $5 ; for the best ewe's fleece, $5. For the best ram's fleece,, scoured, $5; for the best ewe's fleece, scoui-ed, $5. For the best fleece of scoured wool, in proportion to weight of carcass, $5. Sheep competing for the above prizes must be shorn on the grounds, and weighed before and after being shorn. Age of fleece to be given in each case. The committee in making their awards shall make weight and quality combined the leading consid- eration, and shall withhold the award entirely where there is not sufSoient merit. Entrance-fee, |1, in addition to membership, for each sheep. Exhibitors to furnish, their own shearers. Prizes of $5, $3, and $2 will be awarded to the first, second, and third best shearers^ REGULATIONS OP 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 be allotted to exhibitors until the first morning of the fair and then in the order of application. (The allotment of pens will be under the direction of the general superintendent. ) 3. Sheep competing 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-HU8BANDEY. Ill; Sheep-husbandry by the colored population "We must not ignore a pres- eni; serious obstacle to sheep-husbandry in the South, which is constantly- referred to m 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 public 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 industry here" (South Carolina), saj's Colonel Watts, "are dogs, thieving negroes, indolence and ignorance. The presence of the shep- herd and the Spanish sheep- dog 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 Few England and Europe; and that the most hearty co-oper- ation exists between the great educators of the North and the South. Let there be added to this influenee the education which is effected 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 aU 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 many thousand country boys at the North have got their first notions of economy and accumulation from having for their own the products and increase of a single sheep ! The colored race, from their natural gentleness, take most kmdly to the care of ani- the general superintendent, be removed therefrom before the second day ; nor, on tbe second day^ tmtil the general superintendent shall, by direction of the executive board, make public proclamation that all exhibitors are at liberty to withdraw their sheep. 4. Exhibitors will be required to answer, under oath, according to theii best knowl- edge and belief, the questions of the examining committee toucliing the age of their sheep, the age of their fleeces, the manner in which they were last shorn, the 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 ia 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 viewing 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 premiums in full, if the receipts are suf- ficient after paying expenses; otherwise, to pay^ro 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 m 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 disappear 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 overproduction 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? To the question proposed in this form no other than a negative answer could be given. Bat 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 ? And to this question we un- hesitatingly answer, Ko. 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 reached its limit in wool production by occupying all its pasture- grounds or by converting them from the domain of the crook to that of the plow. Lands in Vermont, Ohio, New York, and Michigan, first improved by sheep, have become too valuable for growing sheep for wool maiuly; 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. While Australia has increased the numbers of her sheep so wonderfully, Germany has fallen off from 60,000,000 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 production 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 ceat. 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 well informed in the trade in articles of this description have 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 not wear stockings ; leaving 27,000,000 who will use at least 3 pairs per annum, requiring 81,000,000 pairs, or 6,750,000 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, 1,000,500 dozen will he required, at $12 per dozen, of the value of $18,000,000. Estimating that there are 17,000,000 females, one-quarter of whom will wear undervests and drawers, and allowing only one garment to each, 375,000 dozen, at $12 per dozen, of a total value of $4,500,000, will be required; making the whole value of the above 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 wool manufacture, SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 113 and to create a home deinatid for the raw material such as never ex- sited. 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 multicauKs 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 bonanmas 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 that found in Greece, Which venturous Jason on Ms Argo bore From the lulled dragon and Colchian shore. But we would allure them to an indsutry 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 North Carolina, and Mr. Shaeffer 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 the material embodied in this paper. S. Ex. 25 8 ' APPENDIX. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN NORTH CAROLINA. Tlie developments of science and practical experience have revolntionized 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 iutelligence 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 laeyond any period in his history. This progress is not destined to be 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. Looting 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 South favored its cultivation, while the soil and 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 remunerative 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, firee from the severities of blighting cold as well as from the debilitating and parching heat from equatorial influences. Thus relieved from the extremes of climate, North Carolina possesses that equable temperature whichis peculiarly healthful and invigorat- ing to man as well as to all animated nature. This 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 embrace^ the towering heights of the Blue Mountains. From the exhanstless fountains of this mountain region flow the thousand streamlets which form her Catawba and her Tadkin Rivers ; and from her table-lands, which gently soften down toward the coast, a. thousand other never-failing brooks and rivulets are gathered into her noble Cape Fear, her Neuse, her Tar, and her Roanoke Rivers, all flowing eastward, watering abundantly every district of the State, and emptying their waters into the Atlantic. The mountain portion of North Carolina, embracing some twenty counties, possesses a soil unsurpassed for fertility by any similar extent of mountain country on our con- 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 and 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 hill and dale plateau, embracing as many more counties, and this is suc- ceeded by a lovely champaigp 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 toba,coo, 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 improirement, 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 feom 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, latitudinally, 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 highways of travel and freight open up every portion of it, and make connections at Wilmington, Morehead City, and New Berne, on its own seahoard, and the ports of Charleston, S. C, Norfolk, Va., and the cities and markets of the North. This portraiture of the State of North Carolina presents an area of 45,500 square miles, and embraces all the varieties of soil and climate to he found in the most favored latitudes and most desirable localities on the earth. Nature has not distributed her gifts here with a partial hand, by bestowing lavishly upon one section and withhold- ing to impoverishment from another, but, by an even and uniform meting out, ren- ders every portion desirable. From the sharp frost-line of its moimtains to the sunny bays and lakes upon its coast, where ice is rarely seen, a uniform, equable tempera- ture pervades the State. The radical change in labor in the last dozen years renders necessary a correspond- ing change in the system of agriculture, which must in future be pursued by the people. He who will present a proper direction for the enterprise 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 future of North Carolina, as the leading occupation of its people, did he not feel satisiied that an intelligent examination of the subject must lead tlio investigat- ing mind to sustain his conclusions. If the preceding description of the temperature, topography, and general charac- teristics of the State be correct, the reader who is familiar with 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 years' 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 natural 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, intended 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 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 for the winter, would be admitted within the gates, and per- mitted 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 corn-fodder, which the compassionate and appreciative ovraer 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 sueh as their instincts lead them to seek by hovering on the sheltering sides of barns and out-buildings that may be accessible. A tumble-down or a 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 nraltiply 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 effect is satisfactory and lasting. From the universal custom of turning the entire stocks into the common "range," the impression of a Merino, SoiTthdown, or other importation would manifest itself upon the flocks of entire neighborhoods. So apparent is the improvement thus made that in purchasing the surplus brought to market there would be no difficulty in recogniz- ing the wool from a neighborhood that had been favored by some enterprizing farmer having imported from Virginia or Pennsvlvania a pair ef 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, " wnere the snow spirit never comes, and where spring flings her flowers into the lap of winter," these generoiis animals find a sustaining pasturage the eutfre year upon the wire-grass which grows spontaneously throitgh 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. Though 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 Mount Mitchell, on tlie 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 an area of 45,500 square miles, embraced within the State lines, watered by thousands of trib- utaries to noble rivers, which gush feom the mountain battlements stretched across the western border of the State, whose waters, flowing eastward, tumble over innu- merable falls, as though nature had given them not only to beautify the landscape but to invite the enterprise of man to their utilization. Prom the broad plateau below a thousand other never-failing fountains send 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 produce 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 would not ordinarily 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 uutU sheep were introduced upon them, by which they have been con- verted 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-fourths of the State no other winter provision would be neces- sary than the sowing of grasses and smaU grain for their pasturage, 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 contributes 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 North 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-hearing 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 year, spend their hard 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 month 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 Carohua caUs for a change in their aericulture MiUions of wealth have been realized in less favored cormtries by the ffTOwth 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 adantation of the State to its successful pursuit, and to caU attention to its natural advantages over countries where it is profitably pursued. It is hoped that the intelli- o-ent oeoole 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 nrofits of sheep-husbandry are not now, as heretofore, dependent mainly upon the fleeces • but the discoveries of science in this our enlightened da^r enable the grow- ers to ofl'er 'their mutton in the markets of Europe as sweet and as fresh as it is found in our own city shambles. ^^^ ^ ^^^^ Chaklotte, N.' C, January 8, 1878. 118 SHEEP- HUSBAKDEY. Martin's Depot, Laurens County, South Carolina, December 22, 1877. Dear Sir : I am requested by my friend, Governor Hampton, to send you some de-, tails of my experience in sheeij-liusliandry, in whicli I have all my life been engaged, in this State, Georgia, and Texas. From my early manhood I have personally known, and visited in their homes, the most intelligent wool-growers and sheep-breeders of the North and South— such men as George Campbell and others, of New England, and Kichard Peters and others, of the South. Dr. Eandall, of Cortland Village, N. Y., was for thirty years my friend, and an authority to whom I always had recourse; and ■whose most valuable work, "Sheej) Husbandry at the South, "was written at the special request of the late Governor ADston 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 examples of the various breeds. In fact, sheep-husbandry has been the one occupation I have prefeiTed above all others; and I have no hesita- tion whatever, after long experience, in atHrming 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 me, and you can arrange and use them as you choose. We are not far from the central portions of the State. The country is a rolling upland, Avith a light-gray soil and heavy clay subsoil. The prevailing grasses are the oral) and Bermuda and wild clover. The breeds of slieep I have had and tested are the common native, Bakewell or New Leicester, New Oxfordshire, Southdowns, French and Spanish Merinoes, and the African Broad-tails. With 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 inclined to thinlj that good uatiAe 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 all means raise the Merino. They do not mature so early as the other breeds; but, i\hen matured, make as good mutton as any breed I have ever raised. But if the principal object should be to raise mutton for the markets, I would certainly recommend the African Broad- tailed sheep, beeanse they mature earlier; but, in my husbandry, I make the wool the first, the mutton the secondary, consideration. But, were the question one of long- combing wool for this locality, I would cross the Cotswold ewe with the African Broad- tail ram, for all the range of country here, this side the Blue Eidge. The annual cost of keeping my sheep, I charge up at f 1 per head. The actual cost I have found to be not over 60 cents per head. As to the per cent, of profit my sheep pay. If they are full-blooded, they will aver- age not far from $10; and, making that, they give about 20 per cent., allowing the lambs to pay expenses; but if they are only half-breeds, they will not average more than $1.50 per fleece. My average annual clip of unwashed wool, per sheep, from full-blood Merinoes, is ' pounds, the average price of which last season was 22.cents; this season, 28 net to me here. I think the cost per pound of wool gives it to you as net gain, for it must be a very poor and very badly managed flock in which the lambs and manure will not pay ah expenses. The average number of my lambs raised is, from my Merinoes, aboat 80 per cent. Compared with tlie ewes kept, they ari' not, as a rule, as good nurses as most of the other breeds, some of which will rear nearly 100 per cent, of their lambs, I have always sold my lambs tor heiding, stock sheep, &c,, not to the butcher. Our common sheep c;in be had here for t^2 per 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 Japan clover (Lespedizea siriata), until after harvest; then we gi\e them the rnu of the grain-fields. For winter pasturage, I usually sow rye lots for the ewes and lambs, and give all the flock the ruu of oats sown in August and September; also, allow tliem the range of the corn-field and the cottou-lields. As a mixed tbod, cotton-seed is wholesome, economical, and profitable. My sliPcp aie v<'iy fond of it ; after t'eeding on green barley all day, they will eat cot- ton-seed with g)-eat relish. Some feed is needed in this section for three months, as Ujcre are few cultivated grasses; with herdsgrass and clover cultivated, much less time for feeding would be needed. SLeep are usually very healthy in this section ; there are no epidemics nor prevail- ing complaints here .auiOiig thoni. The main obstacles to the industry here are dogs, thieving negroes, indolence, and ignorance. The iiresence of a shepherd and the Spanish sheep-dog will remedy the first, and education the latter. SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. % 119 We utilize the manure from the sheep — housing them in winter, and littering the stalls frequently— throwing it broadcast for rutabagas, in July or August, or in drills, as the ease may bp. In summer I use John H. Euchmau's portable fenoe, 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 severel years. My belief, from careful experimenting, is, that 52 acres of land can be so well fertilized in twelve mouths 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 green. In fact, there are few plants with us they will not eat. I think all varieties of sheep can be successfully and profitably raised in our State. On 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 ridge 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 Ridge Mountains, car, with mod- erate care and expense, most successfully furnish all the facilties 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 earful 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 offer, which in the mountains beyond would be most valuable. In a cross I have made with a pure Angora buck aud a Maltese ewe-goat, I have raised a ewe-goat that will give four quarts per day of as good milk as any cow on my plantation. The feed (if 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, aud do well ; and with this advantage, also, that their milk and butter are not in any way aifected by their diet. It is not, therefore, at all an open 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 Silesian wool, measuring say 1,800 ha irs to the iuch, and which cost the consumer here $1.50 in gold per pound. With none nf 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 iuch, and could sell it at a handsome profit at |1 per pouuil. In fact Mr. Cookerell claims there is more margin of profit in it than in the growth of a mere ordi- nary wool. 3'iliflO Our country's enterprise, demand, climate, soils, and constantly uiprovmg animals, if present encouragement in wool-growing is not interfered with in any way, can sup- ply any call that can be made upon it ; aud, 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 thau my native State of South Carolina. J. WASH. WATTS. John L. Hayes, Esq., Secretary of the National Association of Wool Manufacturers, Boston. Executive Chamber, Columhia, S. C, December 24, 1877, I fully concur with the views expressed by Colonel Watts in the witliiu paper. He is a gentleman of great experience, intelligence, and iutegxity. I doubt if he has his superior as a shepherd in the South. I lieartiiy couuueud his sentiments, as hereby expressed, to all who are interested in wool growing and its manufacture ; which industries I believe to be most vitally coii llPR^e'l with the future development and prosperity of the South. i 1 . WADE HAMPTON. 120 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. ATLAijTA, 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 oifer in sheep-hushandry, grow- ing out of my thirty years' experieuce 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 he at zero on the northern herders, j'ou 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, Lower, and Upper Georgia ; the altitude rising with the latitude. Each of these sections has its own special advan- tage for wool-growing, and it can he profitably pursued in either section. I 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 hut 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 he relied on. A fair experiment in sheep-raising, uniting good atten- tion, selection, and crossing, with a determination to secure the best developement 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 summer pasture, and red winter oats for one or two mouths in winter, for the ewes and lambs, I think the results would prove of the most satisfactory and profitable character. In the middle portion of the State the Bermuda grass prevails, and, nnder 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 >aud as reliable as any grass, not excepting the Kentucky blue-grass. It is undoubtedly the sacred or " donb " grass of the Hindoos. It will afford sheep the very best past- Tirage 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. lu 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, Ted and white clover, on ujiland, and red-top, on lowland, succeed admirably. Lu- rCem 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 September — can be pastured during the winter and early !sp-ring, and then jacld a full crop of grain. The same may be said of barley, rye, and ■%vheat. The breeds I have tested arc the Spanish and French Merinoes, Southdown, Oxford- shire Down, Leicestershire, Asiatic broad-tail or Tunisian, improved Kentucky Cots- wold, aud native sheep. I have also crossed nearly all of these varieties. Those between the Spanish Merinoes and native and the Cotswold and native have proved 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 inarkey. It is said, by those experienced in sheep-rais- ing on these mountains, that the higher the grazing-grounds the better the wool. On the other hand, carcasses iuerease iu sizi- as the gi-azing-grouuds approach the valley, until the largest, size of carcase is met with iu the mauy long, straight, and beautiful valleys that characterize the great valley of East Teuncsste. It may be well to mention here that the grasses which flourish upon the slopes and tops of the Unaka Mountains are exceedingly luxuriaut and nutritious, and form a SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 123 thick mat all over the surface. Blue-grass herd's-grass, white clover, mountain meadow, Randall grass, and many wild but valuable Tsinds, are so intermixed as to supply constant grazing throughout the summer months. But these grasses are con- fined to the soils ofmetamorphic origin. The Sandstone Mountains are naked and bare, producing only greenish briars, lichens, mosses, and ferns. Though cool, the climate of these mountains 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, aud snows in winter. The frequent rains keep the grasses in a growing condition, and an equal acreage of pasture upon the rich, black, fields- pathic soils of the mountain will probably supply double the grazing that it would in the valleys below. In no part of the celebrated 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 iu 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. CUMBEKLAND MOUNTAIN FOR SHKKP. The Cumberland table-land is 2,000 feet above tide-water, with a dry sandstone soil and an exceedingly cool and pleasant climate in summer, the mean temperature being about 71 degrees. The air is dry and bracing. During the summer mouths the sur- fece of the earth is covered with tussocks of fine nutritious mountain grass, giving ample sustenance for sheep for eight months in the year. In addition to the wild grasses herd's-grass, clover, and orchard grass, with slight attention to manuring, will grow well. Wild pease also furnish a nutritious 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-laud, 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 winter, and the keen northern and north- western blasts will speedily impair the health of the improved 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 may be raised wherever industrious men and good breeders live, and that the best flocks will degenerate where inattention and neglect are practiced. The advantages offered by this mountain region for the economical raising of sheep are: 1. The cheapness of the lands. Lands 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 price for wild, highway-pasture lands varies from 50 cents to $3 per acre, depending mainly 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 past legislation was the opening of a land-office, and allowing every one to make his own surveys, and receive a grant for lands based upon such surveys. Oftentimes it happened that the same land had been entered in wTiole 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 lirst. Let strangers beware of purchasing mountain 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 land-grants. There is no difficulty about securing good titles to valley lands; but there is danger that a person may buy land 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 Insurant growth of nutritious heibs and grasses throughout the summer, and will subsist millions of sheep for eight months in the year without any other care than salting. 3. A third 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 impaiied 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 tlie lower plains. There are also some disadvantages attending the rasing 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 points at a smal 124 SHEEP-HUSBANDKY. cost, mutton sheep would suffer mucli in flesh hy being diiveu 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 keep the bucks from the ewes until about the middle of November, so that the lambs would come after the rigorous winter weather is over. ADDITIONAL FACTS BEARING UPON THE CULTURE OF ELECTOEAL WOOLS IN THE SOUTH. An address delivered before the National Agricultural Congress, in New Haven, Conn., August 29, 1878, the writer, the compiler of the preceding 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 cUmate 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 jiner than the interest of the sheep- breeder on a lar^e scale requires." After the publication of the paper referred to, I pursued 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 Merino sheep, partially descended from Colonel Humphreys' flock, and, subsequently, Saxon sheep, had been 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, claims 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 Saxon 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 flne-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 irom 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 may be 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 Centetnnial, from the Silesian flock of the late W. H. Chamberlain, ot Eed Hook. He shears eleven pounds of beautiful unwashed wool, very compact, j'et 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 wiiich 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. Boall'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 exliibit of Saxony fleeces, two bucks and two ewes, of fineness char- acteristic of the race." SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 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 might mention Mr. James Eidgeley, of the same dis- trict; Mr. John Baird, of Triadelphia; and Dr. J. C. Campbell, of Richland district. rhese men claim to have 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 appearance 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 pays 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, without 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 twentytwo 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 ray 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 finer 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 MulhoUand 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 considerations.' " I will add' that I also remember the wool of this same Mr. Croskey at the Centen- nial, and that the judges gave hira 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 taibaceo culture, &c., profitably pursued in 126 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. tliat valley. For the purpose of obtaining definite information, I addressed inquiries to several practical farmers engaged in this pursuit in that region. Among others, to Mr. J. F. C. Allis, of East Whately, Mass., whose statement is so instructive that I give it at length, 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 five years of age, are the land we select, as they take on fat easily, and their mutton is preferred in New York and Brighton 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 eat 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 them 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- gar Merinoes crossed with long-wooled sheep are considered the best feeders. "During those years sheep for feeders found a readj' sale, and agents from tobacco- growers would take from one to two months in marketing flocks, and would car them here 1,000 to 2,000 at a time, "Since 1873, owing to financial causes and their effect, and almost always lower markets for the same class of mutton in the spring than in the fall, the number fed has gradually decreased, till last year only about 2,000 were fatted. Farmers were satis- fied 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 cause for feeding so many sheep for their mutton in this valley is the high value of sheep-manure for tobacco-growers, it having the effect on our light soil to pro- duce dark-colored silky leaf, of good burning quality, suitable for wrapping fine 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 that 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, called pine-lands, after raising crops of tobacco, 2,000 pounds to the acre, we have sown wheat, yielding 30 bushels, plump berry, and heavy weight of straw, on land 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 our corn one-third cotton-seed meal. By so feeding our 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 hiU towns, and some in the valley, are Iseeping 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 worry and destruction 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 oar 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. [Prom tile Bulletin of the KatioBal Afiaociation of "Wool Mannfacturera.] We have to thank our friend Prof. Spencer F. Baird, the distinguished naturalist, and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, for calling our 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 miletm. The paper given below is the most important of the recent contnbutations. It 18 important to those desiring to import these animals from their native habitats, as It gives a precise description of the localities where the different varieties prevail. Ihere are two points, 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 the high and dry plateaus whore these goats flourish in Asia Minor have an "abund- ant growth of oaks, either in the form of trees or scrub bush, the leaves of which fur- nish the goats with their favorite food, not only while green in summer, but dried for winter use." This suggests the fitness of regions in the South,. where oaks abound, lor 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. lu 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 found the most profitable ; that is, a small flock, consisting of say ninety 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 owes 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, in suitable localities, can be successfully and profitably conducted in this country. In our original pajier 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 Europe." As we stated in a recent article on sheep-husbaudi-y in the South, later observations of experiments in Australia, and especially in the Cape of Good Hope, have 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 1865, consisted of but 6,804 pounds. In 1876 the quantity reached 1 398,455 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 animals is proved 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 pro/luctive 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 North 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 wiU 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 expoi-ted. Professor Baird informs us that inquiries were made of him, by practical manufao- urers, in relation to the "Van" mohair. This question is partially answered in the article quoted below, and further by the following statement : "Some 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-HUSIUNDRY. settled in Virginia; but, becoming discontented, trent 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 one million pounds of an inferior mohair, of four or five colors. The goats there shear about three pounds per head, worth about half as much per pound as the fleece 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 Angora or Mohair Goat ; Us Naturalization in British Colonies. — At the last meet- ing of the British Colonial Institute, Jlr. Gavin Catheral, 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 the central plateaus and mountains of Asiatic Turkey. From a very early period, efforts have been made to introduce them into Europe. In 1554, specimens were imported into Holland, but with little success, the climate being unsuitable, the humidity de- stroying the length and luster of the Hefce, which makes this staple estecuied as next in value to silk. "The climate 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 favorite food, not only while 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 up ; 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 sexes have flat, corrugated horns, from eighteen to twenty-four inches long (according to age), that diverge 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 unclonded 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 about. 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 mouths, the shepherds feed them with chopped straw or dried leaves. There is little expense in grazing them, as one goatherd with a dog — ^to keep off wolves, which abound — BuflJces for a thousand head. But in early spring, when the kids are bom, they require attention, as the jrouug are singularly helpless during the first week of their lives, and the ewes show little maternal instinct ; and if the kids are bom during cold or wintry weather, they require to be sheltered and nourished indoors after night- fall. A running stream or good well is iudespensable, 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 destruct- ive that cultivated plants in their vicinity have to he 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 nf 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 profit- able ; 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 the fleece, both quality and price vary much: but fair aver- age mohair is worth from 8s. 9d. to Ss. 9d. per pound, the average yield being five to SLx 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 accumulate 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 sHghtly-aoid curd called 'yort' in Turkish, so highly praised by Captain Buruaby in his recent work. On Horseback Across Asia Minor.' The skin is soft and 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 iu Great Britain. Taking the last few years of depressed trade as a minimum, 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 ; bat the total value at present prices will 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. Even 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 mehair 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 feciUties 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 ditferent varieties from as many districts, each of them equal in area to the largest English county. Yabanova (or Strangerfield) produces a heavy lustrous fleece ; TcEorba, a mohair so soft and fine that it falls to pieces as soon as shorn from the goat's back ; Tchiboukova (or the Reedy "Valley) is remarkable for its length and fine- ness of fiber ; Ayash (the Mountain Pass) produces a white but lusterless fleece. The rams of the three first-named districts are undoubtedly thoroughbred. 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 needed 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 Kear 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 ditference. 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 are Sivrihissar (or the Tm-reted Castle) and Etkisheir (or the Old City). Both suffered severely from the two years of successive drought in 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. Tlie fleece of the Koniah goat is a reddish brown ; and, thongh this reduces its value as mohair, it is sought after for certain special manufact- ures. 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 colonies. In former years it was as difScolt 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 loss during transit is small. "Mr. Gatheral gave the following information respecting the cost of Angora goats: "Rams, thoroughbred, young bucks from the best districts, two to. three years old, with certificate of health and condition, fitness for breeding purposes, £6. Ewes, same age and breed, £3 to £4. Expenses beyond Constantinople depend on freight, which varies much. Delivered in London, Liverpool, or Southampton, for transenip- 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 have had much experience. "In the course of the conversation which ensued, Dr. Bennett, the Australian nat- niaJist, exhibited magnificent specimens of soft, silky mohair, of a beautiful lustrous white color, the produce of Angora goats naturalized in New South Wales." ANGORA FLEECE. The attention of the department having been lately called to the production and manufacture of Angora fleece, the Commissioner ordered an investigation, through inquiries addressed first to wool dealers and then to manufacturers, the results of which are herewith presented. It is thought best to preface this summary by referring to what the department has previously done in the same line of inquiry. In the annual report of the department for 1863, Hon. Israel Diehl, who had previously been United States consul at Batavia, in Java, in an article entitled " The Goat," gave a very interesting account of two Asiatic varieties of the goat, the Cashmere and the Angora. THE CASHMERE GOAT. The Cashmere goat inhabits the range of country from off the Caspian Sea, eastward through Thibet and Northern India. It is somewhat smaller than the common goat, or the Angora goat. Its horns are comparatively straight and round, and its ears pendent. Its fleece is fine, straight, flat pendent hair 6f sUky fineness, and of silver whiteness. Underneath the hair is a coating of greenish wool of very delicate fiber, of which less than a quarter of a pound is found upon each animal. This is the fiber from which Cashmere shawls are made. Ten goats, on an average, will furnish the wool necessary for a shawl a yard and a half square. As there is considerable diversity in the wool from' different animals of the same flock, it is not always easy to find material enough for a shawl of perfectly homogeneous texture. Thibet is on the northern and Cashmere on the southern slope of the Himalayas ; hence the latter enjoys a somewhat more genial climate than the former. But the soil of both slopes is sterile, yielding a scanty and precarious vegetation. The goats find for food only buds, aromatic plants, rue, and heather. They are salted once a week, which constitutes about the sum total of actual expense in feeding them. It is doubt- ful if any goats of this breed have ever been brought to America, though, through some confusion, the name Cashmere has been applied to some of our Angora importations. Mr. S. S. Davis, of Granville, Ohio, in 1863, had 100 goats which he had purchased as Cashmeres. A careful comparison with Rees' description of the Angora goat, con- vinced him that his animals were of that breed, and not Cashmeres. Very probably other flock owners have been laboring under the same mistake. THB ANGORA GOAT. The original habitat of this animal is Angora, a district of Asia Minor, deriving its modern name from the city of Angora. This district is mostly a table-land of 3,000 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 131 feet average elevation, lying between the Taurus audtlie Anti-Taurus Mountains. It sometimes rises to eminences within the line of perpetual snow, and again sinks ipto yalleys 1,000 to 1,500 feet deep. The soil of the hills is dry and chalky ; the climate is arid, and the herbage scant. Some roving tribes are said to keep their flocks on pasture night and day, driving them up the mountain side in summer and down in the valleys during winter. The flocks of some localities show a marked superiority, wiiioh is attributed by the natives to the fact that they are constantly kept on the hills and mountain side where the atmosphere is rarer and more salubrious than on the lower levels, and where a wider range of exercise is afforded. These and other conditions are said to produce healthier animals, and a better kind of fleece. The Angora goat in Asia Minor presents two leading varieties. The white Angora, the only one wnich has, to any extent, been imported into America, has large horns and erect ears. Its fleece is called by the natives "flick." It embraces two elements. The outside covering is a long silky hair of silver whiteness, disposed in pendent spiral ringlets over the surface of the body. It is from 5 to 12 inches long, and often sweeps the ground. The fleece of the buck loses fineness with age, and shears from 5 to 9 pounds ; the female fleece is finer, shearing from 3 to 5 pounds. The fleece of the ewes and kids is in special request for the more delicate fabrics of ladies' wear. Next the skin is a small quantity of fine, downy wool. Another variety of the Angora is dis- tinguished by coarse hair of darker and variant hues, ^ ith an undercoat of downy wool. The natives of Angora were very sure that their goats would deteriorate if removed from their native habitat : but an experience of a quarter century shows that they thrive in various parts of the United States. Reports from numerous flock owners, representing all the leading sections of the country, were embodied in Mr. Diehl's article. These reports showed that these animals were in thriving condition, produc- ing fleece of superior quality and in large quantities. MAjSDFACTURB. Mr. Diehl was commissioned by the department in 1867 to visit Europe and to in- vestigate the manufacture of the Angora fleece. To test the comparative value of fleece raised in the United States, he secured specimens from flocks in all parts of the coiintry, from Massachusetts to California, and compared thsm with the foreign fleeces at the Paris Exposition of 1867, and found them fully equal to the best products of Asia Minor, an opinion fully sustained by the European mianufaoturers to whom he showed them. The latter were delighted to learn of the growth of this fiber in the United States. The supply from Asia Minor was represented as precarious, owing to the barbarous bigotry of the joeople and the jealousy of the government. The annual supply in the British markets from Asia Minor averages about 3,000,000 pounds. A much greater amount could be used. Formerly the fleece was spun into yarn at several points in England and at Eoubaix, France, and distributed over Europe for manufacture into cloth. The excellency of the French and English yarn was attributed to skilled labor, to improved machinery, and to natural and artificial humidity. From very transparent motives European spin- ners represented the process of spinning aa very difficult and expensive. But this was flatly contradicted by the exhibition at Paris of a great variety of machinery for card- ing, scrubbing, spinning, and weaving the fleece. Mr. Diehl was astonished and delighted at the extent, variety, delicacy, and beauty of the fabrics shown at Paris by different nations of Europe and Asia Minor. Shawls, camlets, mohairs, poplins, velvets, delaines, hosiery, yarns, gowns, robes, rugs, tassels, trimmings, &c,, were made of this material. Frequently graded fleeces were used, but in most cases the pure-blooded fleece was employed. Returning to America, Mr. Diehl found but little machinery adapted to this branch of manufacture. He was satisfled, however, of the practicability of its extensive in- troduction. Our late inquiries show that very little progress has been made since Mr. Diehl's investigations in the manipulation of the Angora fleece. In no case have we found entire fabrics made of this material, yet European fabrics are shown rivaling even silk manufactures in delicacy and beauty and far surpassing them in serviceable- ness. There is no valid reason why this branch of manufacture should not at once be naturalized among us and made a lucrative employment. Oui inquiries among wool dealers developed but a small portion of the traffic in Angora fleece. It is marketed in the Eastern cities. But few dealers, however, have had anything to do with it. The prices reported ranged ftom 15 cents per pound for low grade cross-breed fleece to $1.25 for pure blood, marketed in good order. Our corre- spondence with the dealers showed only the following manufacturing establishments east of the Rooky Mountaius as using it, viz : iEtna Mills, Watertown, Mass., Arlington Mills, Lawrence Mass., Washington Mills, Lawrence, Mass., Farr Alpaca Mills, Holyoke, Mass., Sawyer Woolen MiUs, Dover, N. H., Providence (E, L) Worsted Company, Oswego Falls (N. Y.) Manufacturing Co., WUliam Brodhed and Sons, and William Hale & Co., both of Jamestown, N. Y., James Turner & Sons, Kent, Ohio. 132 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. Letters of inquiry were addressed to the managers of these establishments, from which we learned that this fleece was not used in making homogeneous fahrics, but in connection with wool or cotton to manufacture mixed fabrics. In some instances the fleece is imported from Europe, but in most cases it is the product of American flocks. The ^tna Mills, Watertown, Mass., had used 50,000 pounds in two years, constitut- ing about 10 per cent, by weight of the fabrics into wMch it entered. They preferred pure-blood fleece, but in some cases that of cross-bred animals was used. Some of the stock was imported from Europe but most of it was from California. The extreme range of prices was from 40 to 80 cents per pound, but most of it was from o5 to 65. The Arlington Mills, Lawrence, Mass., formerly used this fleece, but not lately, on account of the decline in the demand for mohair goods. It was combined with wool to make the filling or weft and woven with fine cotton warp to make the class of foods called mohair, luster, and brilliantines for ladies' dresses. Only thoroughbred eece from Bradford, England, was used ; it was produced in Asia Minor. The latest quotation in the Liverpool market for average Turkish fleece was about 60 cents. The Farr Alpaca Mills, Holyoke. Mass., use Angora fleece in combination with luster wools for coat linings, &c. Only graded fleece is used, and the supply comes from the Pacific coast with a small quantity from the South. For low grade fleeces the prices have been as low as 10 cents per pound ; the highest grades in good condi- tion have brought 75 cents. Some of the fleece was so short in staple and so " kempy " a,s to be useless in combing. The value of the material is entirely in itj luster, but as lustrous goods have passed out of fashion the demand has become quite limited. Charles Fletcher, esq. , proprietor of Providence (R. I. ) Worsted Mills, uses Angora fleece raised in Oregon from a cross of Angora goats with Rocky Mountain goats and llamas. The Rooky Mountain goat has coarser hair than the Angora, and the graded fleece has too much kemp in it. The fabrics into which this fiber enters are braids for bindings, dress goods, oloakings, coatings, and lusters. The pure-blood Angora is also used with the bright luster wools from Canada and Kentucky, and manufactured into dress goods and bindings. Some of the raw material came from Turkey, Cape of •Good Hope, and South America. The prices for good Asia hair are 60 ® 90 cents; Cape of Good Hope and South Amerca, 70 ® 80 cents; California and Oregon, 20 <© 60 cents. It is stated that the winters of Oregon are too long for the pure-blood Angora goat tending to deteriorate the character of the fleece .and to make it kempy. Of the supplies from that State 60 per cent, must be assigned to coarse fabrics, such as car- riage-robes, horse-blankets, &c. Mr. Fletcher defines the Angora goat of this country as a cross between the goats from Angora and the llama. This definition will take the flock owners of the country somewhat by surprise. C. H. Sawyer, esq., of the Sawyer Woolen Mills, Dover, N. H., uses about 1,000 pounds of Angora fleece per annum, at the rate of 5 <2) 15 pounds per 100 pounds of wool in the manuf actiire of certain styles of cloth suited to men's wear. Only thorough- bred fleece is used. The sujiply comes from London ; prices 75 1.25 per pound. This fiber lacks felting properties, which renders it difficult to use with carded wool. William Brodhead & Sons, ofthe Alpaca Mills, Jamestown, N. Y., use the Angora fleece prinoipally in combination with combing wools in the manufacture of lusters, serges, braids, and fringes. Their supplies come from Kentucky and California ; prices, 50 75 cents. The California clip is largely shipped to England, as the demand for the goods into which it enters in this country is limited. William Hall & Co., Jamestown (N. Y.) Alpaca Mills, use Angora fleece to give luster to fabrics. Much of it is made into coatings. The material is from California, Ken- tucky, and Georgia, and is thoroughbred or of high grade. There is so great lack of system in the preparation of the fleece for market that it is discouraging to buy it. The class of manufactures into which it enters requires soft medium wool, to which only the higher grades of Angora fleece, in good condition, can be adapted. Messrs. D. Gon'& Sons, Pawtucket, E. I., use Cottswold and Leicester wools. The Angora fleece requires special machinery. If it could be i)ut upon the market iu suffi- cient quantities and iu good condition for manufacturing, machinery specially adapted to its fabrication would be introduced and the demand would become active. The above facts show tliat the producers and manufacturers of Angora fleece have not yet arrived at a sufficiently clear understanding between themselves. That a vast amount of the fleece is produced in the country, and especially on the Pacific coast, we are assured not only by facts on record but also by parties who have ample means of knowing ihe fact. The high price of the fleece compared with sheep's wool and the fact of its importation from abroad shows that it possesses a permanent value for tab- rication even iu the subordinate role allowed it by our manufacturers. In the report of 1867 there is shown a large amount of looms and other machinery for the weaving of this fiber into cloth. It appears from the preceding statements tjiat if manufactur- ers could be assured of a full supply of the article in good merchantable condition they would import this machinery and enlarge their manufacturing operations. On the Pacific coast there is a grand development of fleece production. C. P. Bailey, SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 133 esq., president of tlie Augora Robe and Glove Company, of San JosiS, Cal., estimates the number of Angora goats and their crosses wltli the common goat on the Pacific Slope at 200,000. Of this number the pure bloods do not much exceed 5 or 6 per cent. Mr. Bailey has a flock of over 4,000 goats, including crosses. He regards the mountain region of the Pacific coast as presenting special analogies of climate and topography to the district of Angora, and consequently presenting the natural conditions which have given this breed of goats such a splendid development in Asia Minor. He esti- mates the average annual increase of a well-kept flock at 100 per cent. The goats are hardier than the sheep and thrive upon a much smaller subsistence. There is a profit in raising grade goats even for fleece. Grade wethers have sheared as high as 9J pounds per head . Messrs. Stockton and Buffam, of Mariposa County, California, a great authority on this question on the Pacific Slope, state the average clip of their thorough- breds at 5 pounds per head. For their whole flock, from thoroughbreds to seven-eights of pure blood, the average is 4 pounds. Their clips of 1674 and 1875, amounting to 1,483 pounds, were sold in New York at 85 cents ; in 1876 the best pure-blood fleece brought 90 cents. Mr. Bailey is president of a company engaged in the manufacture of robes, gloves, &c., of Angora skins. They do not use the fleece to any extent separate from the skin. They manufacture robes, overcoats, parlor and carriage mats, &c. The poorer quali- ties are made into gloves which, in strength and durability, surpass buck-skin gloves. They make a large variety of whip-lashes, lace, leather belting, &c., from the lower grade skins. The belting is very strong and serviceable. The company uses about 20,000 pelts per annum, and could use double that number if they were accessible. The number of hands employed is between 60 and 70. Thus it will be seen that this single manufactory requires the slaughter of 20,000 goats per annum, or 10 per cent, of the estimated number in the flocks of the Pacific Slope. This shows the value of home manufacture. ' The production of Augora fleece on the Pacific coast has been very remunerative. Mr. Bailey, who has been fourteen years in the business of raising these goats, gets $1.50 for a thoroughbred buck. He originally paid $1,000 per pair for thoroughbreds, and stibsequently |900 for six wether^ of the Brown and Diehl importation. In view of the forthcoming census now in progress it was not thought best to make any efforts to ascertain the number of Angora goats in the different States. We are satisfied that the results of that inquiry will develop very remarkable and decisive facts in regard to this industry. It offers a grand opening for capital and enterprise, both in the production of raw material and in its fabrication. To a very considerable extent it will supersede silk as a fiber. When the business becomes fuUy established its products will be cheaper, but even now it has a great advantage over silk in cheaper production. A pound of high grade averages 60 ® 75 cents, while the purest blood will bring less than $1. Silk cocoons average |2.50 per poimd. S. Ex. 25 10 Cornell University Library SF 375.U5 Origin and growth of sheep husbandry in 3 1924 002 946 915 Mi»