LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. ^^^"^ /.US'- PRESENTED BY UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 5^315 .U5 45th Congress, ) SEXATE. ( Ex. Doc. ?yd Session. ( . (No. 25. MESSAGE, FROM TIIK PRESIDEIT OF THE UIITED STATES, COMMUXICATING, In answer to a Senate resolution of June 17, 1878, information on the sub- ject of shceii-hushandry. J.VNTARY 14, 1879. — Eead, referred to tlio Committee ou Agriculture, and ordered to be i^riuted. To the Senate of the United States : In answer to a resolntion of the Senate of the 17th of June last, re- (luesting- the Commissioner of Agriculture to send to the Senate certain reports on sheep-husbandry, copies of the same with accompanying" ])apers, received from tlie Commissioner of Agriculture for this purpose, are herewith transmitted. E. B. HAYES. Executive Mansion, January 13, 1879. *^| United States DEPART]vrENT of Agriculture, Washington, January 9, 1879. Sir : Tn compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 17th of June, 1878, I transmit herewith a report ujion sheep-husbandry in the South, prepared in this department, and likewise a copy of a publislied document on the same subjectj by John L. Hayes, secretary of the Na- tional Association of Wool Manufacturers. I have the honor to be, yejcg respectfully, your obedient servant, - Cl:, ' A -^-c:;)^<^(i^.' , Commissioner of Agriculture. The President. IStffk '^ SHEEP-HUSBANDRY IN THE UNITED STATES. ITS ORIGIN AND GROWTH. The early settlers of America brought with them the domesticated sheep of their respective nationalities ; Spanish sheep Avere introduced in Mexico, English into Virginia and Massachusetts, and Dutch races into New York. The Spanisli were evidently not Merinos, but producers of coarse^wools suitable for carpets, probably the Chaurros. The Eng- 2 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. lish were Iong-le.c:ge(l, narrow- chested, liglit-qiiartered, coarse-wooled animals, by no means the hi.i;lily bred stoi'k of English coarse- wools of the present day. The lowland sheep of Holland bore many of the char- acteristics of the English. The compact, short-limbed, heavy -tleeced animal of recent improvement was not then in existence, whether Eng- lish or Spanish. Tliey were small, agile, wild, slow in maturing, and their tlesh Avas not highly esteemed as food. While sheep have been bred in this country for more than two hnn- dred and tiity years,* it is only within the present century that improved breeds have been introduced, with the excei)tion of isolated cases of par- tially-improved animals, as the original Leicesters (Bake wells) 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 fonr Spanish rams were embarked for the United States by M. IJupont de Xemaurs, chief of a French commission to select sheep in Spain under the treaty of Basle, and a banker named Delessert, but ouly one lived to reach New York. It went to Delaware, and was used efiectively in i)roducing valual)le grades. Yet the found- ing of the improvement which ultiuuitely produced the American INIerino bears tlie date of 1,0()2,824, and 1,731,934 i)ounds, while Clcrmany sent 412,31)4 ])0unds, and the Netherlancls 141,730 pounds. Such is the growth of the wool manufacture in Great Britain, that in 1877 no less * Sheep were brought to .Tameatown, Vai.,in IGO!). t The heaviest were made by Consul William Jarvis, iu 1809, amoniiting to uearly 4,0(10 in inimber. tTIie Spanish Merino was bronght into Saxony by tlie Ehictor in 17Gr>; into Hini- }r,n.ry. by Maria Theresa, in 1775; into France in 1770. (Jeorge 111 intnxbieed tlie.m into England in 1785. The liambonillet or imperial tlock of France wa.s established in 1780.' SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 3 than 405,040,101 pounds of wool were imi^orted — forty-seven times tlie receipts of seventy-tive years ajio. As late as 1820 the value of liritisli exports of wools and manufactures of wool Avas only £5,0S0,(J22; in tifty-two years siu'li ex])orts reached the sum of £;)2,;j.S;3,273, of which worsted contributed £20,005,1()3, and cloths, formerly the main lines of exports, only £(»,001,71S. This ex- plains the necessity for England's adherence to cond)ing-wool races, while her crowded factory i)opulation equally necessitate the mutton product which is the concomitant of these worsted- works. RECIPROCITY OF GROWTH A^^D MANUFACTURE. 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 thefa(;t that this mater- nal ancestor attempted to strangle the infant industry — and nearly suc- ceeded in accomplishing the intanticide after the Avar of 1812 — and the additional fact tliat hostile legislation at home, as well as frequent (;hanges of such legislation, has at times crippled its energies and re- tarded its progress, the growth of wool manufacturing- in America is ,i greater wonder than its progress in Britain, During ten years prior to the war with that country there AA^as no industrial interest so prominent in the public eye as this manufacture. Bomestic manufacture in the family by the hand-loom began to give place to the associated etfort and improved machinery of the factory. The fame of the new merinos flcAv from farm to farm, and as fleeces grew heaA'ier and prices advanced, the finest rams of this stock commanded in some cases a thousand dollars each ; factories Avere built and surplus farm labor Avas diverted to the mill, raising the price of rural labor, making- a market for superabundant pro- duce and inspiring- hope and confidence, resulting in 1810 in a product of Avool manufactures of the value of $25,008,788. After the war, in a gush of conciliation, the bars of the customs AA^ere let down, imi)ortations became excessiA^e, prices were prostrated, panic ensued, the mills Avere stopped, and this magnificent beginning- Avas quenched in failure, so that the product of 1820, years after, had become only $4,41o,008. Its rate of increase has since been variable as taritt-legislation has fluctuated. The figures for 1830 are $14,528,1 0() ; for 1840, |20,000,9Ut); 1850, $43,207,545 ; 1800, $01,804,080. Then comes a period of m;;gnificent progress. In seYcnteen years twofold more Avas accomi>lished than in sixty preceding, Avhether in A^alue of product, quantity of ayooI used, or increase in skill in manufacture and variety of fabric. An advance Avas made that ren- dered possible the magnificent display of native Avoolens at the Cen- tennial Exhibition, Avhich astonished our European competitors, and oi)ened the eyes of thousands in our own country to an adA^ance in skill in Avorkmanship and excellence of goods of which few had any i oncep- tion. This progress is indicated in part by the census returns of 1870, show- ing- a product of Avoolen goods of $155,405,358, and of Avorsteds a total of $22,000,331. In 1800 these totals Avere respectively $01,804,080 and $3,701,378. The increase in quantity of wool used for Avoolen goods Avas from 83,008,408 to 154,700,005 pounds domestic and 17,311,824 pounds foreign ; for Avorsteds, 3,000,000 pounds domestic in 1800 to 13,317,310 domestic and 3,830,082 ioreign in 1870. The product of car- pets was $7,857,030 in 1800, and $21,701,573, with an increase in avooI used from 8,843,001 to 25,130,000 pounds. The value of hosiery Avas $7,280,200 in 1800 and $18,411,501 in 1870, with an increase in pounds of wool from 2,927,020 to 5,304,055. 4 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. Since 1870 tlie increase lias been abont 25 per cent. We now mann- tactnre about tive times as much as in 1840, and more than three times as much as in 1800. Our recent importations of avooI are less than 50,000,000 pounds per annum, and our home production four times as much. In brief, Ave manufacture four-fifths of all goods made of wool which enter into consumption, aiul what is better, we use home-grown Avools for four-fifths of that manufacture. Instead of increasing the cost of clothing and carpets, by the national ))olicy of lU'oducing them at home, prices are lower than in 1800. Instead «)f wearing the shoddy of cast-olf European clothing, our goods are firmer and stronger and more durable than foreign importations. Had our factories no existence, the extra demand of 40,000,000 of wool-wear- ing people would advance the price of clothing throughout the world. Had they no existence, wool-growing would like\yise have no status, as the history of this industry, the tendencies of our rural economy, and the genius of our i)eoi)le all show that the success of wool-raising and wool-manufacturing is correlative and inseparable. If manufacturing declines in this country, Avool-growing will retrograde; if Avool-growing recedes, the prosperity of manufactures will be imi)aired. There never will he an export of wool from this country vnder any probable circumstanoes. The superiorit;y of American wools, in soundness, strength, and length of staple, gives our manufactures an advantage of great value. The in- A'entive genius of our people has already obviated much of the competi- tion of European rates of labor. Our factories are rapidly acquii'ingthe secrets of ])eculiar and popular foreign styles and fabrics, and even im- proving upon them and inventing new in-ocesses and textures. Fancy cassimeres were until recently entirely of foreign production. Now the world-famous establishments of Sedan and Elboeuf are e(]ualed or distanced. A bit of M. Boujeon's goods, taken from the inside of a collar of an overcoat Avorn by a gentleman from Paris, Avas the inspira- tion of the Crampton loom, on Avliich fancy cassimeres are noAV avoa-'cu, not only in the United States but also in several countries of Europe. These goods Avere at the Centennial Exhibition, and the Swedish judge, Mr. Carl Amberg, a practical avooI manufacturer, Avas compelled in his admiration to say to ]Mr. Hayes, the secretary of the Wool Manufacturers' Association, " You knoAv that the best fancy cassimeres in the world liaA^e been made at Sedan and Elboeuf in France. If these goods AA'ere placed by the side of the Elbceuf cassimeres, you could not tell one from the other, and the goods could not be bought at Elboeuf for the prices marked here." These goods Avere made from American avooI. The Avorsted coatings, dilfering from the fancy cassimeres in being made from combed instead of carded avooI, are a recent triumph of our manufacturing skill. These goods obtained notoriety in the Paris Exhi- bition of 1807, and liaA^e since been produced successfully here ; and as an incidental result another industry has been created, the com Mngand s])inning of AAorsted yarns, of Avhich an exhibition was made at Philadel- phia by companies representing $1,500,000 of annual production, Avhich obtained an aAvard shoAving them to be superior to yarns from the best Australian avooIs, being " kinder, more elastic, and stronger." luA^entions for lU'oducing felt fabrics, by tAvo Americans, Williams and Wells, after reported 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 asAvell made of better avooI. For tAA'enty years Euro})ean flannels have been driven from our markets, and Ave uoav ex- port them to Canada, and may soon be able to make a market for them SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. O in Europe. The yarns from these flannels are more closely tuisteil, the j^oods shrink less, and are more highly finished and smoother in face. Even the opera flannels are now made here, from American wools, ■which produce a softer fabric than Australian fleece. Commendable ]irogres>s has been made in competition with France in the finer styles of ladies' dress g'oods, such as delaines, serg-es, and me- rinos. There is ai single corporation — the Pacific Mills — in Massachn- setts with a flooring area larger than a forty-acre farm, with facilities for nianufacturing a million yards of these goods per month, giving- employ- ment to more than Ave thousand laborers, largely women and children, with a monthly pay-roll of $ L00,()()0. IJut the greatest of American inventions and lirogress in the manu- facture of wools is in the production of carpets. Even Brussels, Wil- ton, and Axminster, of home production, are taking the i)lace of foreign goods. The imiiorts of carpets in 1875 amounted to but $2,G43,9o2, while the production of mills of the United States during- that year amounted to $32,310,108 — the monthly manufacture equal to the yearly ini])ortation. A few years more of success will perfect processes, reduce i)rices of manufactured goods, and open the markets of the woild to the suri)lus 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 Avith other labor. As the manufacture has advanced or declined, so has the production of wool. If prices have fallen rapidly, as in 1808, when in consequence of decline aiul panic in the markets of the woild, and the sale of an ava- lanche of military goods, our markets were glutted, the immediate result has been a sacriflce 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 shee])-husbandry. Slowly recujjeration began the retrieving- of this national loss, until in 3830 there may have been seventeen millions of sheep in the country, mostly in the Northern States. In that year a canvassin.g of the flocks of the country was made, with all attainable official data from the States, by Messrs. C. Benton and S. F. Barr}-, the ultimate result of whose labors is given in the following table: states. Number of .sheei). Pounds of wool. Value of wool. 622, 619 465, 179 1, 099, Oil 373, 322 81, 619 255, 169 4, 299, 879 250, 000 1 714, C40 150, 000 275, 000 1, 000, 000 1,711,200 600, 000 2, 023, 512 1, 511, 832 3, 571, 786 1, 213, 297 265, 262 829, 299 13, 974, 606 812, 500 5, b7-i, 580 487, 500 893, 750 3, 250, 000 5,561,400 1, 950, 000 $1, 021, 873 763, 475 1, 803, 751 61'' 71*) New f [atnpshire Vermont Itluxle Isliiuil 133 957 Conucclicut 418 7SG New York New Jersey 410 313 2, 814, 153 •'46 187 Alarvland 451 343 Virsjinia 1 641 250 OJiio •> g(i8 ,50(( Kentucky 984, 750 Total 12, 897, 638 41, 917, 324 ■'1 168 "^46 6 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. In 18.3G the imports of wool slightly exceeded 12,000,000 pounds. Numbers of sliee]) liad increased in 1840, according- to tlie census re- turn, to 10,;311,;574; in 1850, to 21,723,220; in 1800, to 22,163,105. Tliese figures were not quite up to tlie actual niumbers, as is now known, but much nearer the reality than the returns of wool, which were quite too low, averaging but 1.84 pounds per head in 1840, 2.42 in 1850, and 2.73 in 1800. In 1870 tlie census returned 28,477,051 upon farms; while the estimates of this de])artment Ibr all sheep in the country Avas 31,851,000, and their aggragate value $74,035,837. The present numbers, assumed to be about 30,000,000*, exhibit wonderful improvement in quality and states. Maine New Hanipsliire . Verniout Massachusetts .. Kborle Island Ooiiuecticut New York New Jersey Pennsylvania — Delaware Maryland Virginia North Carolina. . South Carolina. . Georoia Numher. Average price. riori^i Alabama. -- Mississippi Ijouisiana. . Texas Arkansas Tennessee West Virginia . Kentucky Ohio Michigan Indiana H, 1, 1, Illinois li Wisconsin ! 1; Minnesota - Iowa Missouri. . Kansas . . Nebraska . California. Oregon ... Nevada Colorado The Territories . Total , Grand average of jnices . 525. 800 239, 900 461, 400 60, 300 24, 500 92, 500 518, 100 128, 300 607, 600 35, 000 151,200 422, 000 490, 000 175, 000 3>^2, 300 56, 500 270, 000 2.-)0, 000 I 12.5,000 1 ,674,700 i 285,000 850,000 549,900 900,000 ; ,783,000 1 ,750,000 ,092.700 1 ,258,500 ; ,323,700 I 300,000 .560,000 ,271,000 I 156,600 j 62,400 I .061,000 ' ,074,600 I 72,000 600,000 i, 600, 000 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 1 75 1 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 52 1 76 2 00 2 00 2 30 Value. ,$1,4"1,724 623, 740 1,301,148 217, OSO 91,875 342, 250 5, 009, 730 572, 218 4, 967, 41-4 140, 000 551, 880 1, 088, 760 754, 600 315, 000 600,211 107, 350 472, 500 437, 500 225, 000 7, 680, 123 527, 250 1, ()32, 000 1, ]!>3, 283 2, 67:!, 001) 10, 5] (i, 740 4, 427, 500 2, 338, 378 3,121,080 3, 229, 828 6()0, 000 1, 2.^'S, 000 2, 313, 220 301. 746 172, 848 10, 732, 720 l,8!)],29ti 144,000 1,200,000 5, 980, 000 81, 363, 062 quantity of wool by a strong infusion of blood of the American Merino, aided in a very limited degree by breeding from the best English mutton breeds. Takiug into account with the fleece wool of annual shearing the wool of the yearly increasing numbers of lambs hilled and sheep butchered for mutton, the supi)ly of United States wools apin-oximates 20l>,0l)0,000 pounds. It has not been estiuiated annually in this department, but the cominerciid estimates, possibly a little high, do not greatly exaggerate the quantity. * The estimates from returns iu January, 1870, are as follows: SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. The following table has been prepared from estimates of Mr. James Lynde, of New York: Tear. 1867 1868 180!) 1870 187 1 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 Waslieil. 140, 000, 000 150,000,000 134, 001), 00l( i:w, 000, ouo 110,000,000 120, 000, 000 125, 000, 000 120, 000, 000 125, 000, 000 110,000,000 117, 000, 000 Rocky Mouii tains.* 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, OOU 70, 250, 000 7, 000, 000 8, 000, 000 7, 000, 000 7, 000, oOO 8, 000, 000 9, 000, 000 9, 000, 000 10, 000, 000 12, 000, 000 13, 000, 000 14, 000, 000 Southern. 000, 000 t)0(>, 000 000, 000 000, 000 000, 000 000, 000 500, 000 500, 000 000,000 000, 000 000, 000 160, 177, 102, 103, 140, 100, 174, 178, 193, 198, 208, 000, 000 000, 000 250, 000 000, 000 000, 000 000, 000 700, OOO 000, 000 000, 000 250, 000 250, 000 * Including Pacific slope. The following- record of the quarterly average prices of Ohio clothing Avool (the best average product of American merino grades), as sold in the Boston market during the last seventeen years, is furnished by Mr, George William Bond, of Boston: Year. January. April. July. October. I860 .. $0 60 45 $0 50 40 $0 40 37 $0 52 45 $0 45 37 $0 40 32 *.30 *76 *79 75 48 50 45 48 46 47 76 48 47 46 40 $0 55 40 $0 50 35 $0 40 32 *47 *73i *83ii 65 60 45 43 47 43 55 65 44 46 46 31 $0 50 47 fO 45 47 $0 40 1861 52 1862 *58 1863 *62 *74J 96 50 50 38 48 44 43 66 65 47 47 42 *70 1864 "75 63 48 48 48 48 03 60 54 54 48 45 "75' 60 46 48 48 48 62 60 53 54 50 40 "1 03f J805 1 02 70 68 48 50 48 47 70 70 58 55 48 1 00 65 03 43 50 46 46 67 68 54 56 52 80 65 60 50 50 48 50 80 56 56 54 46 80 60 55 48 50 47 52 80 53 56 52 49 75 70 55 40 48 46 02 72 50 53 52 38 73 67 49 45 48 45 60 70 48 53 49 35 65 ]800 56 1867 40 1868 45 1869 1870 46 45 1871 58 1872 57 l!S7:5 . 47 1874 47 1875 42 1K76 38 ' Average pt ice. The Boston record of Ohio wool prices, from the same source, is, from 1840 to 18GI, as follows : Tears. Fine. Middle. Long. Years. Fine. Middle. Long. 1840 $0 45 50 $0 36 45 $0 31 40 1851 $0 41 49 55 41 50 55 56 53 58 54 45 $0 38 45 50 30 42 47 47 40 47 47 45 $0 32 1841 1852 40 1842* 1853 43 1-843 41 42 30i 34 47 32 41 47 35 37 30 30 40 28 37 30 32i 20 , 20i 1K54 32;V 1844 1855 34 1845 1856 37 ]84'i 1857 41 1847 30 24 32 36 18.58 36 1843 1859 1800 35 1849 37 1850 . 1861 50 ' Price all round, 33i to 35 cents. While the prices of fine wools have declined all over the Avorld, those of coarse and long wools have a])preciiited, and the great increase of weight makes a much higher average value per fleece and gives a better l>rotit to the farmer than could the former style and i)rice of wool. SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. TRANSITION IN SHEEP HUSBANDRY. Tliere are those who jump liastily at conclusions, from insufficient premises, Avho point to the undoubted fact that numbers of slieep are of lat*'. decreasing' in the region west of tlie Mississippi and nortli of the Ohio, and assume boldly that sheep husbandy is unsuitable to that region and destined to be displaced. It is asserted that on 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 «heep. 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 -grow inrj. It is iindoubtedly true that tcool can be produced more cheaply on government land, or on rich I)rairies obtainable for $1.25 to $2.50 per acre, than on high-priced laruls near to markets. The competition of fruits and dairy j^roducts tends to drive wool-growing to the wall. "Wool-growing" has been driven from England ; it has been expelled from every de|)artment in France except the mountain districts, and nuitton and wool production has taken its place. The predominance of Merinoes has made the transition from wool to mutton slower in France than in England, yet, under the necessities of tlui case, none the less sure; and, strange to say, under the breed- ing' of Eandjouillet 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 fiesh, and an earlier maturity. But this process of muttonizing a Merino has not been fast enough ; the English Leicester and Cotswold have been emi)loj'ed to facilitate the process. The government, which for ninety-four years has kept a Merino- l)reediug establishment,* with tendencies and results as above, has also a national /;er^er/e at Haut-Tingry (Pas-de-Calais, on the English Channel), established in 1850, for the purpose of breeding Leicesters and their crosses upon Merinoes ; and large imud^ers of these cross-bred flocks are now found in the regions of the muthwest and x>lains of the north. Then there are nati\e coarse-wooled sheep, also cross-bred with Meri- noes, abundant in Brie, Bergundy, Cliampagne, Provence, Peussilon, and other districts, that are among the most profitable flocks of France. It is even claimed that some flocks have ecjualed the Leicester and South- down in fatness and earliness of maturing, while their fleeces are scarcely less valuable tlum that of the Merino. The French have thus yielded to tlie necessity of making meat the first consideration, and in doing' so have been wise in their refusal to *The importance att.iclied to sheep-l»reedlng by the French Government is furtlier shown in UEcole de hergers locixted at the national bcn/erie de L'amhoiiillcl. Tliis iii.sti- tiition is intended to train yonn^j men in tlie management of tiocks. It is open to pupils from all parts of France. Every applicant for admissi(ni as an api)reutice must pass examination in his own commune, and must show that he was sixteen years old on the previous 1st day of January ; sonu' nioial and sanitary r(M|uirements are de- manded as in the other schools. All the pupils are boarded gratuitously, receiving the same fare as the rural popul.ation of the country. They sleep near the sheep-folds iu regular turn. Their course of instruction lasts two years, and no charge of tuition is made. The chief shepherd exercises them in the management of all operations of sheep husbandry, lambing, weaning, castrating, ])airing, gestation, parturition, shear- ing, folding, feeding, sliuighteiing, preparation for maket, &c. They are taught tlie best Ireatnientof sick animals. They also cultivate the laud. If their priuKiry instruc-' tion is di^fective, it is supplied by spec^ial teaching. Their instruction is tested and com- pleted by the subdinsctor. After two years of pui)ilage, if they i)ass a satisfactory examination, they receive a certificate, witli a premium of 300 fraucs. SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. \J sacrifice the wool required by their iiecnliar styles of manufacture, and liave thereby gained, not the coarse fiber of great length produced by the mutton breeds, but that having much of the fineness of Merino Avool, Avitli a material increase in length. Their bi-eeders have demon- strated, i)erhaps 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 husbandr}" in this country is now undergoing the transition which has produced the changes indicated above in foreign countries. It is beginning to yield to the governing- force of circumstances, of cli- mate, soils, status of agriculture, and home demand for meat and wool, in the formation of types of sheep suited to existing requirements of our rural and manufacturing economy. In the Ohio Valley and Middle and Eastern States the idea of keeping- sheep year after year for wool alone is antiquated and fossiliferous. It is like raising calves in New England to be fed four winters for beef- making in 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 matu- rity, rapid conversions of forage into meat, quick returns, are a necessity of sheep husbandry in fertile and cultivated districts, which is driving to the distant West the business of jiroducing- avooI without regard to meat. Mutton breeds are increasing in all this region, and the Merino is receding, and the latter is so disproportionate to the former in num- bers that the 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 difllcult to keep the hog from dying- before he is ready for the knife), and the incrciising de- mand for good mutton, all tend powerfully in this direction. The flesh of the sheep is the best meat in the world; it is also the i)oorest. 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 manj^ to loathe the very name of mutton and abominate its A'ery 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 i)alate, digestible with greater facility, and more nutritious than any other variety of food. Even the first crosses of such animals upon Merinoeswork a wonderful inq)rovement in the quality of the flesh. Among- the prime results of cross-breeding are increase of size, fecun- dity, early maturity, and early fattening. A greatly desired result is thus easily attained. The increase of mutton-eating is indicated by the rapid extension of sales in all our large markets. The British, presumed to be a nation of beef-eaters, rather deserve to be regarded as pre-eminently mutton- eaters. The prices of 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 wools, which they have been forced to meet in some degree by new machinery suited to the use of the comparatively long fibers of half and three- 10 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. foiirtlis j>Tade Merinoes, by wliicli a large portion of tlie wool of Ohio and Michigan is substituted for real combing wool. Carpets, blankets, llannels, and ladies' dress goods, and much of the wear of gentlemen, require the wool of mutton breeds and cross-bred Hocks, of which more can be used, with the present tastes of consumers and tendencies of manufacture, than of the short cloth wool of the ])ure Merino. There is a necessity of sheei) husbandry for meat production, now l)eginning to be acknowledged in the Central States, as an ameliorator of the soil. While dairying, and the shipment of its products, with- draws ra[)idly from the soil its needed phosphates and other valuable elements, and reduces its fertility, the feeding of sheej) tends directly to the enrichment of the soil. As the immbers of sheep diminish, in dis- tricts ohlest 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 turni]), which feeds the sheep that manures the field that yields this Avlieat, is deemed "the sheet-anchor of British husbandry." Our wheat yield averages but 12 bushels, and. never will yield more without the aid of meat ])roduction as a permanent element of farm economy. The superiority of sheep to other animals in this connection, even ui)on the farming lands of highest price, is thus attested by Mr. William Brown, of Scotland: Xot only in quality and variety, but proportionately to any other country in the ■world, Britain feeds tlie largest number ot sheep. Irrespective of adaptability of jihysical characteristics, the mere fact that of all animals this is easiest ftnl, gives per- haps the largest returns in the shortest time, and is a lirst-class fertilizer of the soil, is sufficient reason for such a prominence. Mr. George Geddes, of New York, than whom no man in the country is better acquainted with the practical aspects of this question, writes conceridng it : It is not easy to see any good reason why the older sections of onr country, having great cities and manufacturing centers for markets, should not follow the example of ]"higland 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 uncer- tainty on this subject remains but the uncertainty of onr national legislation. A ]>olicy of free trade; in wool and woolen goods would for fi "while destroy onr pnr- (diasers of wool, and ruin both branches of the business. If the existing revenue laws can be allowed to remain, we may reasonably hojie that at least tlu' present prices of f)ur wool will be continued to us ; and, if so, we can continue to expand the produc- tion. The business will, in the older parts of the country, be a close one, yielding A^ery small direct i)rofits, but indirectly so very valuable, as the means of making ma- nure to raise grain cro])s, that it will go on ; and more economy in food, housing, and general nuinagement will cf>me in due time as skill increases, and the mutton-produc- ing sheep and the growing of grain will go hand in hand. He gives an example which may be taken ns a test of the capabili- ties of tlie best farming districts for profitable sheep husbamlry. lu 1840, Mr. William Chamberlain, of Bed Hook, Dutciiess County, New York, bought a worn-out hay farm of 380 acres. It yielded but 17 loads of hay the next season ; 40 acres of rye jn'oduced 400 bushels ; from 25 acres of corn were harvested but 500 bushels; and the remaining land l>astured only a span of horses, two pairs of oxen, and a cow. It was too ])oor to produce red clover. The commercial manures were com])ai'- atively useless, wood ashes were better, but no means of recuperation were successful till sheep were tried, which converted corn, liny, straw, leaves, and weeds into manure, until, in 18()(), the farm produced 800 loads of hay (GOO tons), 40 acres of corn yielding 50 bushels i)er acre, 30 acres of wheat a^ eraging 15 bushels per acre, 30 acres of oats, 8 acres of roots, the pasturage of 300 sheep and oxen and cows recptired for SHEEP-IIUSBAJiTDRY. 11 work, and milk and buttoron the farm. In aid of this resnlthohad the manure of 300 sheep, fattened the previous winter, on whicli he made $300 clear profit, besides the fertilizer. He used the manure at ilrst, spread- in<;- it thinly to make it go the further, to render possible the growth of clover. Similar statements are among- the records of this department, with similar results, which show that the sheep is as valuable in this country as in Europe for sustaining and increasing the fertility of the soil. An imi)ortant branch of this industry, and one that many have found quite profitable on lauds worth $100 per acre, is the raising of early lambs. New Jersey, lying between the two largest markets in the country, Avhich feed a population of 2,000,000, is famed for the high i)rices 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 $(5 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 oft' in May and June, at $i to $S each ; and the mothers, in the mean time, fattened to follow their off- spring earl}' 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 I'eturns and good profits. The breed is the common grade Merino stock of the couutry, selected with reference to size, thrift, and constitution; the lambs are cross-bred, partaking largely of the Southdown superiority in quality, and of the aptitude of cross-breds for fattening readily. Both sheep and lambs are disposed of promptly. No feed is wasted in keep- ing- the vital machinery in working order, and losses from old age and ei)izootics are avoided. This is the ])romineut feature in New Jersey sheep-farming ; it yields a present j)rofit, 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 OS ewes, in the summer of ISGS, was turned upon Virginia wheat stubble, seeded with clover, a»d, without other feed or care, over 100 lambs were sold in May, 1800, at $5 per head, realizing nearly $300 above the cost of the ewes, in addition to the original stock and wool on hand, A gentleman in New Kent County, Virginia, writes me that he keeps 100 common ewes; breeds to Southdowns; sells an average of 80 lambs annually, at $4 each, and obtains enough for wool to pay all expenses of keeping, while the benefit received by his land is equal to the interest on its value, leaving the receipts for lambs as interest and profits on investment. Another, in Clarke County, Vir- ginia, tried Merinoes and Cotswolds. Both breeds did Avell, but, while the ]\rerino lambs brought $2 each, the Cotswolds Avere worth $1, and the prolificacy of the Cotswolds was far greater. The circumstances which envelop this industry in the United States are rather like those obtaining in France than those influencing British breeding, in the fact that our improved sheep are high-bred Merinoes and our common stock largely modified by Merino blood. Our manu- factures, also, are tending toward the French type, and our hope of commanding the future markets of the world depends upon our quick invention, iacile skill, and deft manipulation, so necessary to the lighter fabrics of taste and fancy, in Avhich excellence has already been attained. For providing the wool requisite for such work there is no 12 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. better foundation than the Merino. As we have inventi\^e genius, and the ])redoniinaiice 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 incident- 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. ROCKY-MOUNTAIN SHEEP-WALKS. From Mexico to the British Possessions, from the Missouri Eiver to the Pacific Ocean, an area of more than a thousand million of acres* states and Territories. No. acres in* No. acres not faims. in farms. Xo. acres iu total area. Kansas . . . Nebi'aska . California Oregon X^evadii . .. Colorado Utah New Mexico . Washington . Dakota Montana Idaho Arizona AVyoniing Indian , 6.ifi, 879 , 07:!, 781 , 4-J7, im , ;i8!), 2:)2 208,510 :!2(i, :«G 148, :^()i ()-t9, 130 802, :j70 129, ii:!7 77, 189 21,807 4,841 46, 46. 109, .58, 71, 66, 53, 76, 44, 96. 91. 55, 72, 62, 44, 386, 681 .563, 019 520, 785 586, 108 529, 090 55:), 6.54 916,682 735, 091 147,021 293, 7.52 877, 103 151, 021 884, 433 640, 727 154, 240 48, 120, 60 71 66 .54, 77, 44, 043, 520 636, 800 947, 840 975, 860 7:i7, 600 880, 000 065, 048 568, 640 796, 160 .596, 128 016, 640 228, 160 906, 240 645, 068 154, 240 Total. 24, 252, 122 996, 945, 317 1, 021, 197, 489 (not including Alaska) has been for ages the iKune of countless num- bers of the buffalo, of the antelope, and on the higher elevations the Rocky-Mountain sheep and the Kocky-Mountain goat. Relatively, few are the acres that do not supply some form of vegetation for herbi- vorous animals. Their bones lie bleaching on plain and mountain slope, flecking with white the landscajie at every view, from the lowest levels u}) to the timber-line. WJiile Mount Washington, at an eleva- tion of 5,000 feet, is barren rock, with scarcely a vestige of vegetable life, the scores of. 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 Northern Xew York. At so high a latitude as the i)lains of Laramie the pasturage is a wonder of freshness and abundance. Like an inland sea of emerald, tlie range stretches from horizon to horizon, relieved only by straggling patches of motley color of bovine herds, or white specks of scarcely distinguish- able flocks.* * Little more than two x)er cent, of this area is land now in farmw, as the following table shows : * Prof. Cyrus Thomas, the tox)ooTai>her of Hayden's survey, in a communicatiou to this dcjiartincnt, has said: " Tlu re is iirobal)ly no liner grazing region in Wyoming than this. The southeastern part is literally carpeted with a eompaet growth of rich and nutritious grasses, kej^t constantly fresh by the -water of the numerous mountain streams. The rainfall is also greater than in any other part of the Territory, and it seems to be on tin-, increase. Notwillistanding the elevation of these i)lains, the winters are comparatively mild and o])eu, the fall of snow being light, and stock is wintered Avithout 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 plain:^. Hay in abun- dance and of the best ipiality can be obtained along the creek bottoms at nominal expense." SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 13 Here are mountain basins, parks large enougli for a principality, and plains carpeted with herbage that stretch eastward five hnntlred miles. The valleys of countless rivers, meandering for hundreds of miles, are in many cases miles in width, with taller growths, offering to the first mower that appears thousands of tons of wild hay. Even the blutfs of many of these streams are rounded and grass-grown, and many of the long slopes, especially of the more northern j)ortion of the mother range, are simjjly rolling mountain ])rairies. In a small section of this great domain, the ISTorth Platte Valley, flow tributary streams, draining and watering a pastoral region that has been estimated at 40,000,000 acres. Some of the larger are, on the north, the Blue Water, Cold Water, Hill Creek, Eaw Hide, Muddy, Willow, Shawnee, State, and Sweet Water; and, ou the south, the Ash, Pump- kin, Larran's, Dog, Horse, Cherry, Chugwater, Sybelle, Pig Laramie, (faster, Cottonwood, Horseshoe, Elk Horn, La Prele, Boisee, Deer Creek, Medicine Bow, Rock Creek, Douglas, ISTorth, South and Middle Forks. These streams and their feeders Avould make a formidable list; but similar lists would be required for the Arkansas, the Canadian, the Colorado, ('olumbia, Sacramento, and many others. Ten years of exi)loration, bj' three separate expeditious, at a cost of one to two millions of dollars, have surveyed and mapped but a small portion of this Territory. Much has been written of these resources, and more is still unknown of the details of the wealth of pasturage yet unutilized. Of course, there is nuich that is thin and sparse, nuich that is covered with sage, and among the mountains bare and frowning surfaces of rock. A comi)etent practical authority, Mr. Elihu Hall, of Illinois, has fur- Jiished the department a list of fifty-seven genera and one hundred and forty-three species of grasses growing on the eastern side of the princi- l)al range, of which fifty-two are not found east of the Missouri, belong- ing exclusively to the plain and mountain region. The relative distri- l)ution of the twelve more important species is thus i)reseuted, with their liabitat: Aiiflropognn fiirc.atns.. Audropojioii scnpaiius Si)ij;hiiin nutans Spoiolioliis lii'ttTolepis Biiclilre dactvloitlcs Boiitcloiia oli.irostachya Spartina cynosuroides. Fcstiica ovina Fes t Ilea iniicrnstachj'a. Kioniiis Kalniii I'oa st'iotina Stipa viridula , Plains. Mountains. Per cent. Per cent. 40 16 20 10 20 12 12 1 5 5 10 2 2 20 5 8 8 5 Andropojon ftircatHH, Anclropofion scoparim, and Sorr/hum nutant, by tlioir abunilaiice in all the eastern portions of tlie district, are the leading species, and at present com- priso at least three-fonrths of the <^ra7,iu>4 resources of that portion of the country. Next in importance follows Sporobolm hetcrolepis. This species is peculiarily palatable to cattle, and they are seen roviuij; over rich pasture of other species in search of it. This is also said to be the winter fora.je species of Kansas, where it abounds, alford- inyj the rich winter pasturaj^e of thii fariniu's and hei'ders of that State. It nourishes chielly on the moister portions of the plains, and many local areas are almDst exclu- sively occupied by it. The increase of sheep-husbandry in sections of this great area has been more rapid during the past ten years than in any other era or portion of the country. It produces now about the same amount of wool that 14 ' SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. was dipped from all the flocks of tlie country in lcS60. California alone produces as niucU as the census rei)orted in ISoO for the United States entire. In ten years, from 1807, the year of the enactment of the pres- ent tariff, the increase in wool of the Rocky Mountain areas has been fourfold, and the product can still be immensely enlarged. The cost of keeping- sheep per head, nnder judicious management, in the main rauge of the Eocky Mountains, 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 ]iastoral experience and the judgment and energy of ]iro- prietors. It is safe to say that the field for sheep-husbandry here is continental, pasturage free to the first comers in the unoccupied andun- surveyed public domain, and the cost includes only the original stock, a small stock of fixtures and material, rei)resenting a "])lant" 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 River and the Gulf of jMexico had a popuhition in 1.S70 of ]c>,877,015; and two-thirds of all engaged in occupations — industrial, mer- cantile, professional, or othei' — were in some rural avocation.* They * In 1870, the proportions of persons in agriculture to those iu all occupations was as follows : States. Delaware Mav.vlanil Virjiiiiia AVost Virginia Xorth Carolina South Carolina Gcoriiia I'loriila Alabama i In all occu- i patiouH. 40, 313 2."i«, 'iV.i iVl, (30-) J ir>, '-'2!) 351, '2it9 2«:i, 301 444, 078 60, 703 305, 258 In agricul- ture. 15, 973 80, 440 244, 550 73, !)()0 209, 238 206, 654 336, 145 42, 492 291, 628 States Mis.sissippi Louisiana TeX.IH Arliansas TeniU'S.seo Kentucky Missouri Total In all occu- In agricul- pations. ture. 318, 850 256, 452 237, 120 135,949 307, 987 414, 593 505, 556 4 548, 502 2.50,199 141,467 106, 753 109, 310 267, 020 201, 080 203, 918 3, 029, 836 have an area more than twice as large as that of the original thirteen States, larger than the actual area in farms in the United States, and almost a fourth of the entire area of the national domain. Nearly half of this acreage, amounting to more than two hundred million 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 well in this region, which comprises all the climates and soils of the temperate zone. There is no portion of it unsuited to sheep-husbandry. Some of the finest sam- ples of Saxon wool have been produced, even in its lower latitudes, without sensible deterioration of liber from excessive heat. The business of woal-growing was initiated at a very early day; Wash- ington, J* lierson, Custis, and other eminent citizens felt a ])ersonal in- terest in it, and took a .n'ominent part in the introduction of improved breeds of sheep. John liandolph 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 i)rogress so slow ? IVlany, i)erhaps, but one will suffice: the preponderance of cotton and the absorbing in- terest in its culture. With an agricultural system so bmited it is not strange that sheep-husbandry has assumed so little importance. Under the circumstances, with the prevalent aversion to diversity of rural i)ro- duction, progress has been considerable, demonstrating the dominating force of great natural resources in rural industries. The peculiar advan- tages of Texas long since attracted the attention of the world, and avooI- growing has divided with beef production the labors and profits of its lural economy. The other tifteen States give this indufstry much less l)roininence, but together they support nearly twice as many shee]) as Texas. The numbers in these States, as reported in the census of 1850, 16 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY, were G,G35,07G ; in 18C0, 7,050,834 ; in 1870, 6,703,221. At the present time the aggregate is asssnnied to be about ten millions. There is another element in /he extension of wool-growing which is l)egiuning to be active and intluential — the advance in the inanufacture 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 will 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 cstahlishmeitts, of hands employed, and qf sets of cards. States. Delaware >litr.ylanil Viryiiiifi, West Virginia. Kortu Carolina South Carolina (}cori;ia Florida Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Texas Arkansas Tennessee Kentucky Missouri Total AgsTrosate of the United States . . Establishments. 11 31 68 74 52 15 4(j 1 14 11 2 20 13 148 125 156 787 1850. 2,891 1,260 8 38 121 Hands employed. 1870. 1860. 399 337 278 316 249 53 563 1 41 116 29 100 31 428 683 718 4,332 80, 053 114 381 494 253 92 383 198 235 60 43 10 437 70 41, 360 1850. 140 362 Glj8 Number of sots of cards. 17 318 1,646 1, 256 39, 252 8, 336 30 8 60 44 116 50 132 78 23 25 10 72 30 1 24 14 17 13 12 i 29 4 17 177 1 208 8!i 258 15 3,209 Qtiantiiij loid value of wool and other material used. Statea. Wool used. Value of all material. Domestic, 1870. Foreign, 1870. 1800. 1850. 1870. 1860. 1850. Deliiware Maryland Virginia Pounds. 533, 732 50(1, 291 741, 000 673, (103 255, 693 55, 696 620, 937 550 196, 500 154, 790 50, 325 278, 045 115,330 1, 03(1, l.'>3 1, 639, 307 1, 979, 671 Pounds. 12, 455 450 1,200 Pounds. 140, 000 1, 055, 272 1, 131, 000 Pounds. 393, 000 430, 300 1, 554, 110 Dollars. 392,614 233, 924 317, 800 307, 051 166, 497 22, 238 268, 176 1.-50 57, 338 70, 56(5 19, 047 86, 817 .5.5, 782 503, 737 831,628 849.313 Dollars. 75, 807 267, 355 389, 204 Dollars. 204, 172 165, 568 488, 899 North (Carolina.. .504, .500 250, 000 1, 008, 600 30. 000 151,005 60, 000 260, 475 13, 950 153, 816 30, 392 264, 435 27(1, 597 69, 1.50 81, 900 30,000 80, 790 119,849 31,300 25, 980 MisHinsippi 10, 000 T*uineH.see Kentucky 10, 000 1, 4.52, 500 191,400 6,200 673, 900 80, 000 5, 225 510, 902 5(), 745 1,675 20.5, 287 16. 000 Total 8, 825, 083 14, 105 6, 429, 354 3, 351, 320 4, 182, 678 2, 034, 637 1, 13,5, 943 Agjrregatc of the ITuited States 154, 767, 095 17, 311, 824 83, 008, 408 70, 862, 829 96, 432, 601 36, 586, 287 25, 755, 991 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 1 7 Quantity and value of all products of ivoolens manufactured. Products. Value of all products. States. Cloth, cas- simeres, and doeskins. Flannels. Jeans. Tarn. 1870. 1860. 1850. Delaware Maryland Virgiuia Yards. 276, 332 64, 490 276, 610 59, 623 100, 000 Yards. 750 31, 327 19, 235 135, 445 1,690 Yards. 590, 000 4,610 3, 000 89, 306 153, 452 13, 000 177, 155 Pounds. 20, 500 72, 100 5,800 116, 382 Dollars. 576, 067 427, 596 488, 352 475, 763 298, 638 34, 459 471, 523 500 89, 998 147, 323 30, 795 152, 968 78, 690 696, 844 1, 312, 4.58 1, 256, 213 Dollars. 153, 035 605, 992 717, 827 Dollars. 251, 000 295, 140 841, 013 Noi'th Carolina. . 291, 000 80, 000 464, 420 ""'i91,474 158, 507 45, 200 38, 7C6 23 750 South Carolina.. '"" 40,000 Georgia 119, 574 88 750 ITlorida Alabama 107, 800 2,087 Texas 10, 000 400 15, 000 Tennessee Kentucky Missouri 4,158 41, 585 94, 610 3,919 63, 232 171, 200 145, 692 1, 244, 578 137, 920 79, 002 21, 440 289, 525 8,100 845, 226 143, 025 6,310 318, 819 56, 000 Total 1, 046, 982 426, 798 2, .558, 713 755, 036 6, 538, 187 3, 742, 602 1, 895, 782 Aggregate of tlie United States 63, 340, 612 58, 965, 286 24, 489, 985 14, 156, 237 155, 405, 358 61, 894, 986 43, 207, 505 In the cliange in agricultural industry so long heralded, from an ab- sorbing specialty to varied culture, from an extensive and exhausting to an intensive and enriching system of husbandry, which change is slowly bnt 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 l)astnre, in the wastes overgrown with blackberry and other vines. The sheep will feed down and destroy much that occupies the jjlace of nutri- tious grasses, and will subsist upon a mucli larger variety of jolants 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 fertili- zation of the soil for the wheat crop. If the mutton returns barely sufitice to pay the field value of the turnip crop, the manure is deemed a liberal in-ofit. Good farmers in this country understand the value of the sheep as a means of soil improvement. BREEDS PREFERRED. The common or scrub stock of Texas is of Mexican origin ; in the other States a mixture of stocks derived originally from England and France, and modified since by chance crosses with improved individ- uals of all the existing breeds. There has long been a tendency among the more enterprising wool-growers to improvement of wool by the use of Merino rams of good quality. It has of late been most active in Texas, and has increased both weight and fineness of fleeces. There is still great opportunit,y for such improvement. When it is found that by two or three crosses the yield can be doubled in quantity and greatly enhanced in x^rice, nothing but indifference and neglect will prevent the improvement. S. Ex. 25 2 18 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. Where sbeep husbandry is conducted on farms as a regular element of the farm economy by enterprising cultivators, the ijreference is gen- erally for the mutton breeds — the Cotswokl, or the Kentucky sheep, Avhich is a modified Cotswokl, taking the first place, and the Downs coming next, either the true Suffolk or Southdown or the families modi- tied by Leicester blood, such as the Hampshires or Shropshires. As early as in the beginning of the present century some of the best sheep in the country were found in Virginia'. Washington, in his time, had collected a variety of fine animals at Mount Vernon from the 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 Hock w^as formed for w^liich a claim was finally made to be considered a distinct breed, known as the Arlington. It w^as bred and owned by Mr. Custis. Hon. Robert E,. Livingston, who shared with Mr. Jarvis the honor of being the first im- porters of Spanish Merinos, expressed the opinion that this wool " pos- sessed every ingredient which is esteemed in combing wool. It was tine for the sort, soft, silky, and beautifully white. It is admirably calcu- lated for hose, camblets, serges, and other tine worsted fabrics." Mr. Custis claimed that some of these fleeces carried wool fourteen inches in length. Mr. Custis owned another flock for which he claimed wonderful char- acteristics, and gave a specific name, the Smith's Island sheep. He sheared twice a year, and got from his best sheep four pounds at each clip. He described this flock with great enthusiasm, but the Merino breeders of the time took exception to his comparison with that breed, which in Livingston's flocks yielded eight pounds, while the French Merinoes of the national flock of 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 which 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 productiveof a succulent herb- ao-e,' which supports the stock at all seasons. About one-half of the island is in wood, w'lii'ch 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 ttie sea-coast are also abundant scopes of pasturage, producing a short grass in suunner, which is peculiarly grateful to the pal- ate of most animals, and p.articnlarly to the sheep. The length of this island is esti- mated at fourteen nnles, 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 aninuil a])pears to browse on with great relish, particularly the myrtle bushes, with which the island abounds. The access to salt also forms a material feature in the many attributes which Smith's Island possesses. Tlie origin of the Smith's Island sheep cannot be precisely ascertained, but they are supposed to be the indigeual race of the country, put thereon about twenty years since, and improved by the hand of nature. When we compare Smith's Island wool with the native wool of the country at large we are lost in astonishment at the wonderful interposition of Providence in our behalf, which serves to show what benefits we enjoy, and how little we have estimated the gifts. The Smith's Island wool is, without^ question, one of the finest in the world, and has excited the praise and astonishment of all who have seen it. To recapitulate the various opinions given of its merits is unnecessary. It only remains to be judged in Eurojie, Avhither a specimen has been sent, to determine its value when coni])ared with the famous Merino, hitherto the un- rivaled material in the woolen manufacture. The Smith's Islantl 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 qiumtity it is also vastly superior, as the sheep yield twice as uiuch and in some instances more ; and, lastly, the size and figure of the animal admits of lIlWi'/ W'-%>f SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 1 9 110 comparison, being higlily in favor ot'tlie Smith's Lslanil. The only remaining ques- tion is the texture. If the Meriuo is finer in grain, the Smith's Island is so tine as to answer every jmrpose to which the other can be appropriated, and so much larger in quantity as to yield a better profit to the breeders. No cloth which the Merino man- ufactures will be disgi'aced by the introduction of the Smith's Island; and many fab- rics manufactured by the one at a great price can be manufiictured of the Snuth's Island at much less. The Smith's Island is as white as snow, and perfectly silky and soft to the touch, and of delicate grain. The present preferences for improved slieep, whicli slionkl soon breed out of existence by judicious crosses tlie scrub stock of all this region, are very marked and confined to a few breeds. For the prairies of Texas, the wire-grass pastures of the coast, and the pastures of the mountain glades, including by far the greatest proportion of the pasture area described, the breed required is undoubtedly — The American Merino. — The original of this breed, the best fine-wool sheep for this country in the world, was imported seventy-six years ago, a little later than the initiation of the improvement resulting in the now famous French, Saxon, and Silesian Merinoes. It is only about one hun- dred years since the beginning of the dispersion of Spanish sheep. The best Spanish flocks of that day would be discarded to-day by sheep- breeders in this country, or in France or Germany. The improvement has been great in each country, and the tendency invariably in the same direction — compactness of carcass, greater size and weight, and fleece of longer but not finer fiber. The French is the heaviest, with fleece of longer and coarser fiber. The American is bred for comi)actness of frame, hardiness, a dense and heavy fleece of medium length and fine- ness, and has been improving constantly for the past twenty years. The advance of the past ten has added materially to the weight of fleece, both in the grease and when scoured. It is not uncommon for a ram fleece to weigh thirty pounds and scour eight, an accomplishment scarcely attained even in the days of Hammond. The improvement of the Mex- ican and other common coarse wools of Texas and the Eocky Mountains, and the consequent increase in weiglit and value of the wool of those regions, has been very rapid of late, the result of infusion of pure blood of the American Merino. A good type of the latter is presented in the accompanying engraving. The Cotsioold. — 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 till two years old. The fiber is 6 to 8 inches in length, and soine- 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 8outMoicn. — For early lambs, in the vicinity of cities, this breed is generally preferred. Some prefer the larger Hampshire Downs to the true Sussex, the original Southdowns, which have probably the purest blood of any British race. While they have been greatly improved, 20 SIIEEP-HUSBANDRY. progress lias been nu avoidably in one direction, and not by violent and radical changes. It lias 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 tiocks 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^ per cent. l)er annum. The wool is of good quality, but short staple, weighing 1^ pounds tine fleece. February lambs at English fairs in summer realize 55 to 72 shillings per head, say $10 to $18. The accompanying engrav- ing represents an imported Hampshire ram. The Improved Kentuel-y. — Kot only have the established English mut- ton-breeds been disseminated through the South and bred successfully, but some claims are made for the establishment of new breeds, having the characteristics of mutton-sheep. Perhaps the most promiiient result of such mixing of blood is the " improved Kentucky sheep," originated by Mr. Kobert W. Scott, of Frankfort, Ky., which have had a good de- gree of ])opularity 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 finely-marbled mutton of high flavor an imported Southdown was used upon the ewes of this class with satisfactory re- sults, the originator claiming that the wethers of this cross were "the delight of the epicure, while the value of the fleece was not diminished, as much being gained by increasing the fiber to the square inch as was lost in the length of them." The next ram used was a three-fourths Cotswold and one-fourth Southdown, a large sheep with a thick fleece. Then followed two pure-blood Cotswolds, 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 ancesti'al 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 eftbrts to this object, and claimed in 1809 that he had secured essential uniformity through the means used. An engraving of these sheep is here presented. The multiplication of animals of pure breeds, preferably those above named, for l)reeding purposes, and of flocks of high grades for the pro- duction of mutton, will be coincident with the cultivation of grasses and other forage jilants, and with the improA^ement 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 : Cnltiviited grasses do well on all lauds. All stock well sheltered will do better ou one-third less feed. Not one farmer in seventy-tive i)rovide8 protection for sheep. Where there is suitable grazing- sheep do well. Ewes pay two dividends a year, one in wool and one in lamljs. Practical men tell lue that sheep pay 25 per cent, more profit than any other stock ou the farm. There is more pleasure and })rotit in hand- ling iujproved breeds of all kinds of stock than in the interior breeds; this has been my fifty years' experience and observation. SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 2 1 The following is from W. S. Dodsoii, of Jackson County, Mississippi, on the Gulf coast : Grass culture is growing in importance to our farmers, and as a concomitant slieep- raisiug will receive more attention than lias hitherto been bestowed upon it. Tlie reporter pays taxes on 2,000 sheep, and his experience shows that the best sheep for the Gulf coast are the one-half aiid 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 bot- tles." Mr. J. J. Thompson, of West Virginia, hints at this difficulty : We have been trying to improve our bi-eed by crossing some of the imported varie- ties on the connnon stock of the country; results are, however, not very encouraging. Perhaps housing the Hocks in winter and giving them more attention might be fol- lowed by better success. The experiment of clearing a large area of our land and lay- ing it under pasture, made of the tame grasses, has never been- made. I have no doubt such an enterprise would prove profitable. I think it would be the best dis- position that could be made of our hills and hollows. When our hills are cleared of timber and immediately sown in grass, without being plowed, they produce fine pastures. THE STATISTICAL 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 per pound, wliich is less than the cost of producing cotton in that commonwealth. Millions of.dollars could be added to the aggregate industry of the South by the general extension of wool-growing. A prominent aim in the investigation was to show the immense area of unoccupied 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 aud producing millions of annual reveuue. Other large areas of so-called worn-out lands thrown out of cultivation are capable of utilization to some extent as i)asture-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 Avhich averages might be based tend- ing to illustrate practical points more accurately than by a few individ- ual estimates. The principal of these points are as follows : ^ 1. Proportion (percentage) of surfiice, exclusive of area actually cul- tivated, yielding grasses suitable for pasturage for sheep. 2. Average number of sheep such pasturage is capable of sustaining during the summer mouths. 3. Average number 100 acres would sustain in winter. 4. i^umber of months in winter in which some extra feed is requu-ed. 5. Average weight of fleece in annual shearing. (). Average value of fleece per pound. 7. Average number of lambs from 100 ewes. 8. Average percentage of lambs lost by disowning, exposure, or other causes. 22 SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 9. Percentage of sheep (exclusive of lambs) lost annually by disease, theft, dogs, wolves, or other causes. 10. Percentage of sheep destroyed by dogs alone. These returns, carefully tabulated, after the correction of obvious errors and the elimination of estimates not bearing the impress of accu- racy of judgment — inevitable blemishes of general returns ui)on indus- tries that are either new or of minor magnitude — present the following average results in tabulation : states. Delaware Maryland Virginia West Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Texas Ai-kansas Tennessee Kentucky Missouri 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 19 9. 10 50 20 4 3.9 28 92 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 55 25 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 7 6.5 4.5 6 Area ofivild 'pasture. — The area of the States south of the line of Penn- sylvania and the Ohio River includes 570 million acres, of which three- eighths are in farms, or 211 million acres, and little more than one- fourth the farm area is actually cultivated. About one-tenth the entire area may be considered in use agriculturally ; the remainder, after de- ducting lakes and rivers, roads, and town-sites, and a very small area of sand or rock wastes, is productive of plant-growths in great variety. The forest-lands of this broad belt are estimated to aggregate 270 mill- ion acres, or 17 per cent, of the whole area A large proportion of these forests are j^ine, notably those of the belt of 100 to 200 miles from the coast, open to sun and air, comparatively free from undergrowth inter- fering v/ith the natural grasses which abound in variety and quantity according to the degree of fertility of the soil. This southern country is four times as large as France ; it is ten times the size of Great Britain ; it includes soils varying from the granitic to the latest alluvial ; it is favored with variety in climate resulting from a range of fifteen degrees of latitude and 0,000 feet of elevation. Making- liberal deductions tor cultivated lands, water, town-sites, and wastes, the uncultivated lauds will reach an aggregate of not less than 393,000,000 acres, nearly sixty-nine per cent, of the area ; and of this, after throw- ing out of consideration dense forests of deciduous trees yielding no pas- turage wortliy of note, the area of wild pasturage — a portion in the west of prairie, a part on the mountains of ghides, the pine lauds and old fields, some very good, and much comparatively iioor — amounts to 233 million acres, or forty-one ]ier 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 sufficient to l)roduce more than all the wools that Americans can wear. On the l)asis of these returns, excluding all extravagant views, the following estimates are presented, the reasonableness and moderation of which in- telligent readers can judge. SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 23 States. Total area. Uncultivated lands. "Wild pastur- age. Acres. 1, 356, 800 7, 119, 360 24, 545, 280 14, 720, 000 32, 450, 560 21, 760, 000 37, 120, 000 37, 931, 520 32, 462, 080 30, 179, 840 26, 461, 440 175, 587, 840 33, 406, 720 29, 184, 000 24, 115, 21-10 41, 824, 000 Acres. 700, 000 4, 000, 000 16, 300, 000 10, 500, 000 22, 500, 000 14, 300, 000 26, 000, 000 17, 000, 000 19, 400, 000 18, 000, 000 13, 775, 000 145, 000, 000 23, 580, 000 18, 000, 000 16, 330, 000 28, 000, 000 A ores. 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 Xexas 108, 750, 000 15, 327, 000 8, 100, 000 6, 532, 000 11, 760, 000 Total 570, 224, 640 393, 385, 000 233, 241, 750 Yalue of this pasturage. — Aii impression lias prevailed that this section is not suited to grass-growing. It is a great mistake. The most exact- ing labor and greatest expense in all the processes of cotton-culture are incident to the destruction of grasses. Every year a portion of the cot- ton acreage is abandoned to the all-conquering " General Green," after a desperate defense, in which every plow and hoe is brought into requi- sition. Many a cotton-planter is destroying grass all summer, and feed- ing his mules and horses with baled hay brought from the West in winter; but such dependence is very exceptional now, and never has been general. Away from railroad hues, if hay is not cured, corn forage and winter grazing of small grains constitute the only reliance for feeding. A correspondent in Chowan County, Korth Carolina, Mr. L. W. Parker, writes that " our farmers are spending all thek- time, talent, and money in killing the grass that would make them rich if properly cured." Cat- tle and sheep get little other forage than that of wild grasses as a rule, and work-horses in many districts are wintered mainly upon the wild- grass hay." Mr. J. A. Kimbrougli, 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 liave been in nearly every State, and know tliis is the best sheep country I have ever seen anywhere. Sheep are> always in good condition, and nearly always fat enough for tJie table. During the winter there are grasses enough on the small streams to support them without any feed. There are 50,000 acres in this county that can be used free of cost, or the laud' can be bought for $2 per acre. The county is un- dulating and well watered, ijerennial springs abound, and sites for manufactiu'iug 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 line grasses, well adapted to sheep pastures, and yet there is not a flock of sheep in the county worth mentioning, and but three or four citizens own sheep at all. Mr. H. I. H. Sensing, Bowie, Texas : Sheep-raisers say that this is the best sheep country they ever saw. None of them have ever lost any sUeep from any causes whatever, except from the ravages of wolves. An almost ever-green pastui'e gives more than abundance of food, and there is plenty of water. The whole county, except what is uuder cultivation (about one acre in fifty), is one complete pasture. 24 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. Mr. E. L. Walker, Stephens, Texas : The mesquite grass is not killed by frost. lu August and Septeml)er tlie 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 F. Hicks, Lonoke, Arkansas : Our county is level prairie, timbered, and well adapted to sheep-walks, with an abundance of nutritious grasses ; but we have never tried sheep-raising as a business, which I believe could be made very j>rofitable. 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, Blonnt, 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 attbrds unlimited and excellent pas- ture. It is anmially burned over. Where the undergrowth is dense it would take about 400 acres to sup])ort 100 sheep; out in the open woods 100 acres would be amply sufflcient. 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 stim- mer. I have seen many sheep-producing regions both in Europe and America, and I consider this as the best country for sheep-raising within my knowledge. Mr. William P. Eice, jr., Lowndes, Alabama : There are old prairie farms here, that have 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 gi'ass in the cultivated lields, 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. C. 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 Avill 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 reiinired for feed. Land can be bought at $10 to $12 per acre. Mr. C. B. Davis, Lawrence, Tennessee : Such is the peculiar character of the soil that it affords a bountiful supply of forage all the year, excejit 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 ex]ierinunit of clearing a large area of our land and laying it under pasture, made of the t.ime grasses, has never been tried. I have no doubt such an enterprise would x»rove profitable. I think it woiild be the best disposition that could be made of our hills and hollows. When our hills are cleared of timber, and immediately sown in grass without being plowed, they make fine pasturage. SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 25 Mr. J. W. Perrin, Abbeville, South Carolina: Lespedeza striata lias sprung up on uncultivated lands, driving out all other grasses, and aftbrdiug excellent pasturage for sheep from April to November. Mr. S. H. Davidson, Shari)e, 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 cajiable of supporting. It is a fact, however, that not\\ith- stauding it has been used to some extent in certain localities for grazing and fattening large numbers of beeves annually, there is no perceptible diminution but rather an increase in the quantity of the growth, and a corresponding improvement in the quality. Mr. W. M. Barnitz, Eoanoke, Virginia : There are not over 1,500 sheep in our county, according to the report of the State commissioner of agriculture, and this is a county with thousands of acres of mountain and upland eminently suitalde for sheep-walks, where 200,000 sheep might be raised Avithout any extra amount of feed being made, and this source of wealth would leave us comparatively free from debt and taxation. Mr. J. F. P. Kruise, Menard, Texas : The proportionate area of gi-ass land is very large and well adapted to sheep. It comprises fully 97 per cent, of the whole breadth of the county, which embraces 1,200 square miles. Only about 60,000 acres of this area can ever be made available for culture. The remainder is hilly, of' a stony, gravelly character, well covered with wild grasses, and eminently fitted for the healthful keeping of sheep. Mr. Qzias Euark, Newton, Mississippi : We have but a few thousand sheep, yet Ave 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 un^l late in the fall, without money and Avithout price. Do you ask Avhat use Ave make of this grass ? Why, set it on tire and burn it up. The mountains of Western I^orth 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 iirojiagate theniselA'es CA^ery where, I have seen a field near 5,000 feet high that Avas seeded some tAveuty jears ago with timothy, and has not been under fence in fifteen years, Avhich has still a good "set" of grass. Oats groAvn at this place Aveighed forty-tA\'o pounds to the bushel. In the higher parts of the mountains (aboA^e 4,500 feet) there are three species of pei-eunial grasses, which send up their new shoots, or stools, in November, and remain green all the year : so that cattle and sheep require little care even in Avinter, except in case of a deep fall of snow, which does not happen more than once in eight or ten years. The ncAv Japan clover, as it is called {Lespedtza striata), has spread OA^er the whole of this region. I have found it in a few cases on the tops of mountains four to fiA^e thousand feet high. Dr. J. M. Brome, Saint Mary's, Maryland : There is one section of this county, eight or teu miles square, abounding in tine natural pasturage, where sheep-husbandry has been abandoned in consequence of the dogs. Mr. J. E. Bryan, Fluvanna, Virginia: Our broom-straAv fields afford passable pasturage. The climate is faAorable, and my own flock, though small in number, is really a fine one. Mr. L. Ballard, Monroe, West Virginia : Cannot say how many sheep can be kept on the acre, but 100 acres of ordinary good blue-grass sod Avill fatten 30 to 35 three-years old cattle. Mr. ]\I. 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 i>roper attention sheep might be made profitable, as the grazing lauds are A^ery fine for the purpose. 26 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. Mr. S. W. Cochran, Fulton, Arkansas : Niue-tenths of this county is one vast pasture of ricli and luxuriant grass througliout the STTinmer, and weeds and shrubbery that sheep are very fond of about for eight months in the year. Thousands of tons of vaUiable 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 ovir ranges. Judging from the small flocks we have, sheep would do well here. Mr. L. Orto, White, Arkansas : All the county not in cultivation is covered with a luxuriant growth of all kinds of wild grasses. The river bottoms are covered with dense cane-brakes, capable of sus- taining thousands of cattle, horses, and sheep. They cost nothing in the way of feed, winter or summer. Mr. J. F. Sellers, Perry, Arkansas : Diseases among sheep almost unknown. The wild range here is excellent, both in winter and summer, and if sheep were herded they would heed no feed except what nature furnished. Mr. S. H. Davidson, Sharp, Arkansas : Very little attention paid to stock-raising and wool-growing. We have a grass called "barren grass," which has not yet been tested, but appears to imjirove in quality and qiiantity 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 it. Thousands of sheep might be grazed on these bottom lands, Avinter and sunnuer. Sheep do well here, need very little feeding, not much subject to disease of any kind, and breed well. Mr. R. MclS^eilly, Dickson, Tennessee:* In mihl winters slieep can live here without feed, and require but very little, if properly cared for, in our average winters. Slieep 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. R. Martin, Roane, 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 Avant this grass alone. Wo 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-HUSBANDEY. 27 Dr. J. R. LaEue, Butler, Kentucky : The natural pasturage is very poor on account of tlie dense forests ; lience, under existing circumstances, sheep are kept at a loss. Mr. J. A. Brents, Clinton, Kentucky : Sheep, when cared 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 pound; thus far, however, farmers have not been inclined to go into this business. Mr. J. B. Evans, Monroe, Kentucky: With attention, sheep could be raised profitably. Immense ranges and no particu- lar use for them. Mr. C. B. Combs, Barton, Missouri : The top of the Ozark Range is well suited for grazing purposes. Ten head of sheep Avould not be a lai'ge number per acre. Mr. O. Euark, Newton, Missouri : We have but a few thousand. sheep, though there are over 400,000 acres of unim- proved laud in the county, yielding a supply of rich grass sufficient to pasture at least 1,000,000 sheep from early sin-ing till late in the fall. Sheep should be fed and at- tended to in this county during the months of November, December, January, Febru- ary, March, and part of April. Mr. H. Fresenriter, Pemiscot, Missouri : Our unimproved lands are mostly covered with cane, Avhich affords good pasturage for sheeyt, and the same lands furnish a good grass for winter pasture for cattle as Avell 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 Kentiicky. 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 : Oiir present stock of shee]) and cattle do not consume one-thousandth part of the gi'owth of grass. Three-fourths of a ton of good hay from an 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 Avaste of herbage will never be utilized by sheep alone. It is difficult to answer practically, because of the vast difference not only in the capacity of different areas, but in the value of pasturage ill different seasons of tlie 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 nuist 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- traAagant 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, aud change the estimates, if he 28 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. chooses, to suit liis own views. Upon this estimate the wild pasturage alone wonlcl support four times as many sheey) in summer as are now to be found in the United States, and in winter about twice the number of flocks of the country. states. Delaware Maryland Virginia West Virginia . North Caiolina South Carolina. Georgia Florida Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Texas Aikansas Tennessee Kentucky Missouri Total . . . . Acres. 70, 1, 000, C, 84G, 5, 2.i0, 11, 700, 7, 150, 14, 300, 10, 200, 11, 0.58, 9, 000, »6, 198, 108, 750, 15, 327, 8, 100, 6, .532, 11, 760, 233, 241, 7.50 Sheep in summer. 35, 000 470, 000 765, 300 150. 000 201, 000 575, 000 865, 000 100, 000 081, 900 400, 000 339, 125 125, 000 196, 200 022, 000 878, 800 408, 000 151, 612, 325 Sheep in winter. 14, 000 190, 000 1,506,120 1, 00.5, 000 2, 691, 000 1,. 57.3, 000 3, 575, 000 2, 244, 000 2, 653, 920 2, 250, 000 1,859,625 35, 887, 500 4, 598, 100 2, 187, 000 1, 894, 280 3, 292, 000 67, 420, 545 In this calculation no reference is had to the feeding resources derived from cultivated forage crops, or sheep-breeding as an adjunct of inten- sive culture. In England there are sixty sheep upon every one hundred acres of the total area, even including the sites of towns and the hunting preserves of the aristocracy, while the production of beef, milk, cheese, and cereals upon a large proportion of the whole area is almost a neces- sity of national existence. The same proportion of sheep upon these southern lands would exceed 300,000,000. These figures, if never real- ized here either in pasture or farm slieep husbandry, aft'ord a hint of the great caj)abilities 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 slieep must be fed continuously or exclusively, as in the Xorth, 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 l^rovision for winter forage is made it is not in barns, as in the Korth, with supplies of hay and straw, rarely with any shelter whatever, being simply a provision for winter-grazing upon wheat, rye, or oats, or fields of cultivated grasses, and sometimes in lambing time a little corn or a feed occasionally of pease. Cotton seed is used to some extent, and other products peculiar to these latitudes, among them " China berries," the fruit of the China tree, Melia azederach, which Mr. John T. Wingfield, 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 insufti- 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 montlis ; 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, fonr 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 Hocks 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 perhai^s scarcely to be seen, until the following spring. From the testimony that abounds upon the non-attention to winter-feed- ing a few extracts are given. Mr. S. Corley, of Lexington, S. C, says : Sheep do not need much provision as to staLling during the winter. A good shelter in the early spriug to protect the young lambs when di'opped would save many that otherwise die from exposure. A farmer tells me his 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 qiiart of pease ox 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, hut, 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 alloAv 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 .Tuly 1); then the rainy season sets in, and sheep would have to be driven to some place for shelter. This season lasts until the latter part of September, and the water remains on the ground until the last of November. Mr. G. A. Northington, Autauga, Alabama: I do not think sheep are ever fed in this county at all. If they are, it is only for a short time in the latter part of Fel>ruary and tirst 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 Ave dollars." Sheej) do better running at large than if kept penned and fed. Mr. J. H. Kraudier, Austin, Texas: Most sheep-raisers provide some shelter in Avinter, and some provision is made for feed, such as haj', cotton-seed, &c., some corn, and of late years sorghum-seed. Semi- annual shearing, except with long-fleeced sheep, is not considered prolitable. 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 clover-fields, herds-grass, and blue-grass lots. In the winter they graze upon the wheat and rye meadows, with a little corn, say one ear a day for about 100 days. They are sheltered under sheds around old tobacco barns, and consequently they do not cost much. They are not raised for money, but merely for convenience or domestic uses. A very small proportion of flock-owTiers 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 Crntchfleld, near Chat- tanooga, Tenn., who claims a profit of 60 per cent, per annum on mutton sheep of the Cots wold stj'le. Of course a liberal supply of forage is essential to j)roflt with such stock. As a type of the improved sheep husbandry of the future, having in view the joint production of mutton and wool, his winter treatment of his flock is given : My bucks are taken from the ewes about the 1st of December, and are lotted to them- selves, getting extra attention, going back to the ewes about the middle of August ; the balance of the flock runs upon the winter gi'azing oats all the winter and until thu 30 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. middle of March or first of April. This spring they were not taken off the oats nutil the 1st day of April. If, during the time they are grazing on the winter oats, there is a great deal of rain, and the ground becomes soft, they are removed to the meadow or grass-lot, where there is sod, and taken back to the oats as soon as dry enough. When taken from the grazing oats in March or Ai)ril, 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. In Feb- ruary or March, when the ewes are lambing, I take them close to the house, where I can watch and care for their lambs. When lambing, if they are limited in i)asture, they receive an occasional feed of shelled oats or corn, as it may be needed. I have had trouble tliis season from my ewes being too fat, and being unable to bring forth their lambs. My entire herd have access too^x'H 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 enterjirising i)roprietors give increased attention to shelter in inclement weather. Abont one-third of the Kentncky conn ties report some prepa- ration for shelter against extreme cold ; in Maryland, and in the Pan- handle connties of West Virginia, such care is not uncommon; and in Tennessee and Missouri its necessity is beginning to be seen. Average iveight 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 i)ure blood upon the coarse-Avooled ewes of Mexican origin in Texas and the mixed races of the other States. The census returns are not quite complete in the enumeration of sheep, and in the returns of wool the deficiency is still greater. Whether the omissions are suffi- ciently uniform to allow of comparison with trustworthy results, or whether errors may be eliminated, is somewhat questionable. In the census of 1810 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 Virginia there were omissions to report avooI in counties returning sheep. There were repeated instances of under returns of wool, and in a few instances others obviously too large for the number of sheep. This failure to report is very injurious to the reputation of the South for wool- growing, giving a false impression of the average weight of tleece as compared with Xorthern States in which the greater prevalence and in- terest in wool-growing secure a nearer approach to accuracy in returns. In 1840 the census gave no Southern State an average of two pounds of wool. Virginia and Kentucky ajjproached 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. Delaware Maryland Virginia West Virginia . ^forth Carolina South Carolina Georgia rinrida Wool, average per '1 sheep. li 1870. 1860. 1850. 2.57 2.66 2.10 3.36 3.16 2.51 2.37 2.41 2.20 2.89 1.73 1.62 1.63 1. 2-> 1.83 1.70 2.02 1. 85 1.70 1.41 1.96 1.00 States. Alabama . . ISfississippi . Louisiana. .. Te.iias 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 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 31 The returns of 1870 from Texas evidently include only the sheep of settled farming- districts, the great flocks of Western and Southern Texas mostly escaping observation. Nueces returns 82,3GS; Webb, 71,730; Zapata, 34,960 ; and Duval, 34,325, and no others as many as 20,000. The total w^s only 714,351, a small pro])ortion of the actual number then in the State. The wool reported was but 1,251,328 i)ounds, or 1.75 i)ounds to each sheep, while the commercial estimate of Texas wool at the same date was 7,000,000 pounds. A com])arison of these re- turns by counties presents an impossible difference in weights of fleece. While there are no less than tweh^e counties reporting sheep without returning a pound of wool, one of which had eleven thousand sheep and another five, the range of average weights in other counties runs from one-fourth of a pound in Comal to eight and a fourth in Calhoun. The counties reporting a less number of pounds of wool than there are sheep, are Bexar, Caldwell, Cherokee, Comal, Cook, Ellis, Fayette, Free- stone, Gonzales, Harris, Harrison, Henderson, Jeft'erson, Lamar, McMid- len, Montgomery, Navarro, NcAvtcm, Robertson, San Augustine, Shelby, Stephens, Travis, Upshur, Uvalde, Walker, and Woods; on the other hand Calhoun averages 8.25, La Salle, 5.25, and seven others between three and four jiounds. Of course there are no sheep yielding but one ])ound of wool in Texas or any other State, and of the forty-five counties returning not less than one or more than two pounds, there may not be one of them that does not actually exceed an average of two pounds. In Georgia several counties in 1870 make returns of wool that are ev- idently very nearly accurate, viz : Chatham, Columbia, DeKalb, Dough- erty, Early, Hancock, Mitchell, Richmond, Screven, and Upson, and none under three pounds per fleece, the latter above four. But no prac- tical man can believe that there are sheep that yield less than one 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 Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware, where mutton sheep of mixed blood are numerous. The average in these States compares well with those of the prominent wool-growing States of the North ; and a little improve- ment of blood and increase of skill and attention in management may make the average of the entire South as good. Value of wool. — Column 6 gives the estimates of average value of wool. It ranges from 21 cents in Texas to 32 cents in West Virginia. With the exception of Texas and a few districts which produce a surplus, the wool of this region is mainly consumed by local factories, which in some cases slightly increase the price otherwise obtainable. Exchanges of cloth for wool are often made at these factories. The New York quota- tions for Texas wools in January of the present year were : Free of burs. BuiTy. Fiue and medium 24 ® 26 16 -g) 21 Coarse 18 ® 22 14 -2) 16 Kentucky and Tennessee come next to AYest 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-groAving regions, among grade Merino flocks ; with mutton sheep of 100 to 130. Mr. Crutchfield, of Ten- nessee, obtained 120 to 130 from his flock. Column 8 gives the estimated 32 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. proportion of the lambs lost by exposure and disease. Coming- in winter or early spring, A^itli ver}^ little care to prevent dropping in the severity of winter, and often none at all to save the tender creatures from fatal exjjosnre, 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 every ewe iu the flock when I had 600 mixed sheei^. A small flock will raise more lambs than a largo one in proportion, and all ewes do better than the same number in a lot of mixed sheep. Proportion of sheep lost. — The j)ercentage of loss of sheep by disease, dogs, or thieves is large enough in all wool-growing countries to reduce materially the possible profits of sheep-husbandry. Column 10 gives the estimates of States, showing the smallest loss in Delaware and Texas, and the largest in Florida and the Carolinas. Upon the estimated present number of sheep, 9,887,600, the average loss is 10.7 per cent., or 1,057,275. The loss from dogs is about half of this, or 5.2 per cent., representing half a million sheep per annum, with a value of about $1,000,000 — a tax paid by a few promoters of a useful infant industry to encourage the extension of a race of mangy curs too worthless tor 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 Marylaud Virginia West Virginia Nor til Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Texas Arkansas Tennessee Kentucky Missouri Total.--. 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 profltable in our coimty, 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 anunally by dogs, wolves, foxes, and bad keep. Mr. James C. Brown, Barnwell, South Carolina : Were it not for dogs your correspoiTdent could have 200 sheep well kept in his farm, without any extra forage except the natural pasturage. And thousands could be kept in this county. Mr. H. M. Hammett, Cobb, Georgia : Sheep-raising has but little attention from our farmers, from the fact that if a man gets a good flock started, he does not know what uight some cur or hound will kill them all. Sheep-raising can never be successful until we get rid of the dogs. Mr. R. H. Springer, Carroll, Georgia : It is a lamentable fact that the legislature of the State of Georgia has expended more money in trying to pass a dog law than all the sheep in the State are worth. Our county presents more valuable and numerous resources for this branch of industry than any other in my knowledge. No fanner, however, will venture on the expense of sheep husbandry as long as every man in the county is allowed to have as many .starved, u'orihless citrs as he wishes. The dogs are obliged to live, and will kill and eat all stock they cau And, 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. IS". Ehodes, Cross, Arkansas : Our legislature of 1874 passed a dog-tax law, but the peoiile generally were so much opposed to it that the next legislature repealed the act. Mr. L. W. Hami3ton, Cocke, Tennessee : Our legislature, two years since, passed an act for the protection of sheep, by mak- ing it a priN-ilege to keep a dog for which the owner had to pay $1 per head. This had the eifect of killing a great many worthless curs, and consequently farmers were tak- ing an interest in improving the stock of their sheep by crossing with improved breeds. Our supreme court has, however', decided the law unconstitutional; therefore, sheep- raising will be greatly retarded, if not entii-ely destroyed. Mr. J. T. Eichardson, Montgomery, Tennessee: There is no use trying to raise sheep on wild jiasturage. Sheep that are turned out on the woods and commons get but a meager suljsistence, and are eaten up by dogs that straggle over the commons. I have found by thirty-seven years' experience one cau 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 ago 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 Avas 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 hojie 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 to cattle. S. Ex. 25 3 34 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. Mr. H. B. Williams, Mecklenburg, North Carolina : Sheep-raisiug iiiiglit as well be abandoned until legislative protection from tlie dog can be secui'ed. Mr. J. M. Barnett, Person, North Carolina : If there ^Yere any protection from dogs, sheep-raising would improve fast, as there Avould 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, North Carolina : Sheep-raising virtually has been abandoned. If tlie expected dog-law be enacted, sheep and wool will become the leading articles of production. Mr. J. Robinson, Wayne, North Carolina : i The raising of sheep might be made most i3rolitable if it received but half the attention the raising of dogs does. Mr. L. Harrill, Wilkes, North Carolina : Sheep are an unprnfitable 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 : The only cost is shearing and putting the wool in the market. But few sheep are kept, as siieep 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. Kimbrongh, Tippah, Mississippi : The advantages of a most bountiful pasturage ami good climate arc 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 sheeji are lost from these causes. Mr. William T. Lewis, Winston, Mississippi : Many farmers are abandoning sheep-raising, as it will not pay on account of the great losses from dogs, wolves, and thieves. Rev. D. A. Campbell, Richland, Louisiana : Sheep would do well if undisturbed by dogs and given proper attention. Mr. H. Arrington, Newton, Arkansas : A fine wool-growing country. Dogs are the only disadvantage. Diseases are rare. Cotton culture is declining and sheep-raising attracting attention. SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 35 Dr. T. 0. Miller, Sebastian, Arkansas : This is a natural sheep country. Require but little feed sunnuer or winter. Dogs troublesome occasionally. Mr. J. H. Earle, Ballard, Keutuckj' : The dogs have so discouraged sheep-raisers that at jiresent scarcely enough wool is raised to supply the county with knitting-j'arn. 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 protitable sheex> for this climate. Mr. R. Waters, Oldham, Kentucky : Three times as many sheei) as are no\v in this county could be i)rofitably kept. Yet notAvithstanding a dog-law, the farmers cannot ijrevail against the sheep-killing dogs. Mr. J. J. Gilbert, Owsley, Kentuclcy : Sheep-raising has become unpopular — the losses from destruction by dogs make it unprofitable. Not half the usual number are now in this county. Mr. W. L. Scroggs, Dade, Missouri : The tax on all dogs, more than one to each tax-payer, has perceptibly diminished the number of worthless curs. Mr. W. S. Goodman, Lawrence, Missouri : SheeiJ-raising is very much neglected on account of heavy losses caused by dogs. Mr. A. K. Denny, of B05 le County, Missouri, has the courage to tell the plain truth upon the dog question, as follows : It is a humiliating confession to make, yet it is true, that as a State we have not reached that advanced civilization which will promptly give to the sheep, that inno- cent, defenseless, most useful animal, that protection which its position as a food and clothes producing animal demands. Our legislature very readily passes most stringent laws for the protection of the lish in our waters, the squirrels of our forests, the rabbits in our fields, and all kinds of birds of the forest and field and those that soar above the earth, but when it comes to their best friend, one they cannot possibly do with- out, they become paralj^zed with fear, and proceed with a politician's caution and are careful to pass no law that would wound a voter's feelings or hurt a high-born dog. DISTRIBUTION OF GRASSES. The returns of the varieties of forage plants for wintering rarely give botanical names, and many fiiil to give the common names. The diflft- 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 difiereut plants are retiu^ned by the same name. The most abundant are, in abandoned fields. Broom-sedge, Andropo- gon Yirginicus ; in the tide- water lands, the country of the Pim(s An- stndis, or long-leafed pine, Wire-grass ; in the cultivated fields. Crab-grass {Uleusine Indica), Crowfoot {Bactyiovteniiim Egi/j^tianum), and LeptochJoa mucronata. In Texas the Mesquite prevails (the bearded, curly, and running vari- eties), and the Game-grass, Tripsacum dacti/loides. The Japan clover, Lespedeza striata, is encroaching upon the old-field domain of the Broom-sedge with great rapidity. It is reported from North 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 36 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 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 iwatejise)^ Lucerne {Medicago sntira), Orchard-grass {Bactylns glomerata), Timothy {Fhleum 2)rafense), Bed-top {Agrosfis 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 18G0 was 1,872,827 tons; in 1870, 1,783,922 tons. The State of is'ew York in 1870 returned 5,614,205 tons, more than three times as much as these sixteen States.* There is at *States. Delaware Maryland Virginia AVest Virginia. North Carolina South Carolina Gt'or^ia Florida Alabama Tons. 41, J- 90 223, 119 199, 883 224, 164 83, 540 10, 665 10, 518 17 10, 613 Tons. 36, 973 191,744 445, 133 181, 365 87, 587 46, 448 11, 478 62, 211 states. Mississippi. Louisiana . . , Texas Arkansas . . Tennessee. . Kentiieky . . Missouri' . . . Total. 1870. 1, 783, 922 Tons. Tons. 8,324 32, 901 8,776 52, 721 18, 982 11, 865 6,839 9,356 116, 582 143, 499 204, 399 158, 476 615, 611 401, 070 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 niaiij^ 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 grass, prairie-grass*, white clover, niesquite, 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 : Maryland. — Blue, sedge, white clover, crab, red-top, poverty, fox- tail, June, salt marsh. Virginia. — Blue, crab, white clover, sedge, wire, red-to]i, broom-straw, greensward, swamp, herds, fox-tail, June, sheep-clover, pea-vine, hen's nest, Imllrush, flag, sheep-sorrel, water, poverty, cross-weed, woolly- headed clover, marsh, plantain, hog-weed, chickweed, lawn, evergreen, ox-grass, aromatic shrubs, rib-wort. West Virginia. — Blue, white clover, red-top, timothy, pea- vine, fox- tail, wire, swamp, rich weed. North Carolina. — Sedge, crab, wire, herds, blue, white clover, Ber- muda, greensward, Japan clover, bull, pea- vine, fox-tail, crow-foot, wild onion, willow, brown, sheep-clover, water, crooked, old-field, burr, Egyp- tian clover, Avild rye, winter, orchard, evergreen, mountain fern, rich weed, beggar lice. ■ Indefinite, but in most returns probably the blue-stem or other Andropogon. SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 37 South Carolina. — Crab, sedge, wire, Bermuda, Japan clover, crow- foot, brown sedge, wild clover, nut, mountain, sedge, yellow clover, wild rye, water, deer, silver. " Georgia. — Sedge, Bermuda, crab, crow's-foot, Japan clover, swamj), wild oats, broom, wild goose, universal, cane, goi)her, water, nimble will, gama, meadow, blue, pea-vine, colt's-foot, wild clover, herds, mountain. Florida. — Wire, wild oats, sedge, crab, smut, water, pond, swamp, palmetto, broom-sedge, negro head, i)rairie. Alabama. — Sedge, crab, wild clover, Bermuda, mountain, winter, nimble will, reed woods, marsh, wild oats, herds, hedge, piney woods, beggar lice, swamp, glade, broom-sedge, crow-foot, Johnson's (Bermuda), barren, ox millet. Mississippi. — Sedge, crab, Bermuda, wire, nimble will, white clover, pine woods, water, broom-sedge, Lespedeza striata,* fox-tail, crow-foot, wild oats, wild pea, yellow clover, swamp, switch, cane, winter, sheep- sorrel, bent, drop-seed, barren, bull. Louisiana. — Crab, white and red clover, Bermuda, sedge, swamp, goose, broom -sedge, woods, nimble will, crow-foot, May, rye, sweet- scented vernal, summer. Texas. — Mesquite (bearded, curly, and running), sedge, prairie, Ber- muda, carpet, salt, crow-foot, wire, bnncih, 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, i)ea-vine, barren, nimble will, fox-tail, white clover, broom-sedge, white-top. Missouri. — Prairie, blue, sedge, nimble will, wire, buffalo, barren, June, blue-stem, rush, joint, red-top, bunch, fox-tail, white clover, gama, seed-tick, dog-hair. Some correspondents give botanical names. The following is an ex- tract from the return of Wilkinson County, Mississippi, sent by Mr. D. L. Phares, of Woodville : Fox-t.ail (Alopecurus geniculatus), some species of bent grass {AariiH«jM?icert), Bermuda grass (Cynodoti davti/Ion). Bermuda grass is deemed one of the best grasses of the South. 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 interposition of nature, seizing upon cotton -culture farms needing recuperation, taking forcible and complete possession of them, and forcing the owner either to raise live stock or abandon the soil. Many a dilapidated estate, now being overrun by this grass, may with the aid of sheep be restored to higher fertility and greater net profit to the owner than ever. Tliere 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 proi)or- 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 inpped with frost, there would be sufficient grass underneath to feed stock during the winter. The following statement is from his article in the Eeport of Agriculture for 1867 : In Middle Georgia, Bermuda grass makes the best pasture. Probably no grass in the world gives an equal amount of grazing, winter and summer, as tlie Bermuda on good land. It is the dread of the cotton-jjlanter, 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 withiu 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 ol' 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. Kavenel, of South Carolina. Bermuda grass is propagated by roots and not by seeds. The smallest fragment of root will grow with the slightest covering of earth. A single shoot will sometimes run 10 feet or more in a single season on rich lands, eacli joint putting out roots. An agricultural jourual of Alabama recommends the following mode of planting this grass : Break the land well and harrow up fine ; then cut your Bennuda sod into .small lots, say one inch square. Drop these bits over the ground, 3 or 4 feet apart, aiul 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 ikj roller is at hand, the drojjper of the sod may make it all right by treading upon each Int as lie drops it. It is always best to start Bermuda in land not too poor; if in good condition, the grass will keep it so, and it spreads and covers the ground much more ra]>idly. If you cannot ])low your pasture-laud, you may still seed it to Bernuula by simi>iy digging small holes (a blow with a grub-hoe will answer) and dropping the seed into them. It will spread over laud that has never been cultivated, though of course with less rapidity. Bermuda grass cannot stand any great aiuount of shading, hence the pasture should be kept pretty clear of trees. SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 39 Dr. Janes, commissioner of agricnlture for Georgia, claims that where Bermuda g'rass is properly api)reciatecl by farmers, and the thin and rolling portions of their farms are covered with it "Georgia will sustain a sheep for every acre of territory; and 37,000,000 of sheep will be worth to the owners in the aggregate $37,000,000 net per annum, or nearly double the present gross value of the cotton crop of the State." He says : The most valuable and relialjle 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 Blue grass of Kentucky, having, according to the analysis of Doctor Ravenel, 14 per cent, of the albuminoids. A Bermuda-grass sod properly managed will att'ord an ex- cellent pasture for cattle for nine months, and for sheep an entire year. There will be but little demand for dry forage in Middle and Lower Georgia, such is the mildness of the climate and the character of the spontaneous growth. But there is no difficulty in supplying excellent dry forage in any desired quantity and at a very small cost. Tlie 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 A'illage 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 tliey are not all al)le to keep down this grass which covers the com- mon ; and during the summer, when it flourishes, much of the stock is in fair order." The editor of the Southern Cultivator, Mr, W. L. Jones, thus alludes to this j)lant for summer pasture : For strictly summer grazing, no grass compares with the Bermuda. It combines every quality that can he desired; will grow in any kind and quality of land, poorer rich (better of course ou rich) ; is never killed out by drought or by close grazing ; bears the hoof without injury, and does not impoverish the soil ; on the contrary, land set in it will steadily become more fertile. It is highly nutritious and much rel- ished by stock of all kinds. It furnishes pasture from May till November, and when on rich land and not close-grazed in summer and autumn, will furnish fair grazing through the early winter, the lower portions of the dense growth being protected from frost by tlie upper; and even the dead grass is eaten to some extent by cows, and Is probably as nutritions as wheat straw. We said it was never killed by drought. It is of course checked in growth by long dry sjielLs, but is ever ready to ])usli again as soou as rain falls. Once set, it is perpetual ; no reseeding ; noreplantiug ; no crowding out with other growth. We have often seen the ground well covered with it in localities where the land has been " thrown out" for fifteen to twenty years, and is grown up in pines 6 to 8 inches in diameter. But for being a pest in cultivated fields, Bermuda grass would be beyond value. Guinea grass [Sorghum halapense). It is claimed that this plant was brought from the West Indies to South Carolina. It is propagated by roots. It is sometimes grown on good land to the height of 8 to 10 feet. It grows very rapidly, and is cut three or four times in the season. It is relished by the stock when green, and some make hay of it, by exer- cising care to cut it in a green state. In the Agricultural Keport for 1849, Mr. M. D. Smith writes from Washington, Arkansas: To obtain a grass suited to our Avants has long been a desidei-atum, and I believe, from an experience of seven years, that it has at last been discovered. This is the Guinea yrms. It is a native of Africa, and was first imported into the island of Ja- maica by the governor, as a bird-seed. It was there propagated and became a very impartant article of provender, and pasture for every kind of stock, considered sec- ond in value only to sugar-cane. It was introduced two years ago into Louisiana, where it was highly valued for soiling and for hay. Ou rich, dry ground it grows to the height of 8 feet, and may be cut 4 feet high four times in a season, yielding two tons per acre at each cutting. I consider it equal to the best cured corn-blades of 40 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. equal weiglit. It is best propagated by the roots, wMcli resemble tbose of the cala- mus, each joiut seucliug up a tuft of blades. The roots extend deep aud wide, occupy- iug all the ground as deep as the soil is loosened, aud are equal to artichokes as food for hogs. In 1873, the department procured from Jamaica about five bushels of tbe seed of tliis grass, which was distributed in the si)ring of 1874. It grows tall and rank, attaining the height of 8 or 10 feet, and when ma- ture yields a coarse seed resembling millet. It grows throughout the island, from the sea to the summit of the mountain, and is the most abundant where the rainfall is heaviest. It is grown in bunches, like our buft'alo-grass, and is propagated either by sets or by the seed. It spreads rapidly, and will soon cover thickly the surface of a 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 x)er acre can be cut by. the middle of May, and about the same quan- tity at each monthly cutting through the season. "Though the grass dies down in winter, cattle and sheep do finely upon it; far down under the debris of the summer growth it remains sweet and tender all winter, and you often find a cow buried to her shoulders hunting it." The edi- tor thus refers to his own experience Avith the Sorghum halapense: It is certainly a post in the same sense as Bermuda grass, possessing, like the latter, underground stems by which it is rapidly scattered if the laud is plowed, and from which stems spring up above groxiud very rapidly when the previous growth is cut down. It comes nj) early in the season, aud if cut down contiuues to shoot up during the sunnner 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 discovered that if cut he/ore the stems are f nil y formed, or rather just as the latter begin to shoot up, stock relish it very much, and, judging from the condition of those fed upon it, this grass must be ((uite as nutritious as other grasses. For sunnner soiling we therefore recommend it ; for grazing purposes we have no experiejice. Our correspondent in Hillsborough County, Florida, Mr. W. F. White, after referring to the unsatisfactory character of native winter grasses, says : " We are i)lanting guinea-grass and expect to make good pastures, after which they will be as good in winter as in summea-." A correspondent writing from Greensborough, Alabama, says "that it is largely grown in that section, and is best liked by those who have had the most experience with it." Bush clover {Lespedeza 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 contestiug the field with Ber- muda grass. Yet it is not hard to destroy. It is relished by all kinds of stock, and its hay is eaten readily. It grows in the shade and upon the thinnest soils. "B. D. Lamsdon, of Eatonton, Georgia, is of the opin- ion that " where the Lespedeza striata shall cover worn-out lands and pine thickets and rooted out our broom-sedge, which it is fast doing, and legislative action shall be taken in regard to the sheep's worst enemy, dogs, Middle Georgia will become a wool- growing section." He has been saving this Lespedeza hay for several years, ancl finds no hay more rel- ished by stock, none commanding a more ready sale, and that it is sought after specially by keepers of milch cows, as it produces a rich milk aud butter that " looks as if the cows had been running upon a SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 41 barley lot." He says lie has cured this hay at a cost of 10 cents per hun- dred-weight, and sold it at $1 and $1.10. He thinks land that will make IS bushels of corn per acre will yield 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of hay, and that everj" hundred- weight will command the price of a bushel of corn, Mobile costing" much less. It is reported from different sections of each of the States from North Carolina to the Mississippi, and it appears to be everywhere enlarging its area. Mesquite-grass {Stijia spartea), the bearded mesquite of Texas, is a wonderfully productive and nutritious plant. It flourishes on level plains of black prairie soil, on river bottoms, and invades the hard-trod- den cow lots, where no other grass can flourish. It grows from 2 to 3 feet higli, and matures in June. It is a valuable winter grass, resem- bling the famous blue-grass in that season. Mr. Afdeck has said of it : "It is greedily devoured by the graminivorous animals generally in the winter season, but toward the 1st of March, or as soon as the spring sap rises in it, if there is any other grass to be had, they will not eat the mesciuite, and it is suffered to mature its large crojDS 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 oiu" corresi)ondents report it nearly up to the Trinity, and it is possibly found east of that river. Col. E. S. Graham, of Young County, Texas, reports : Stock-raisers from Northwestern and Eastern States regard one ton of mesquite grass as equal to five of their common coarse grasses, and it is esteemed nnich more nutritious than Kentucky blue-grass. When comi)letely browned and dried by drought, which usually occurs from the 15th of July to the 1st of September, the blades become green again from branches to tips in a few days after a heavy rain. Three-foiirths 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 Kanawdia, 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. Guma-grass {Tripsacum dactyl o ides). This is very common in Texas, in black i)rairie 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 jirairie 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. I have a meadow of 35 acres on black prairie soil, which consists principally of two grasses, being densely jammed on the ground. The gama-grass is not near so 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-}) ul ling altogether. Our horses eat it freely winter and summer. Nimble Will {Muhlenherf/ia diffusa) is distributed throughoutthe South, and is favorably mentioned as a pasture-grass. Cattle and sheep eat it readilj'. Water-grass [Glyceria aquafica f) 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 {Panicmn crusgalli). This grass, which has so poor a reputation in the North, is frequently mentioned in the South as a for- 42 SHEEP- HUSBANDRY. age-plant of commendable valne. It is also deemed valuable and util- ized for hay in some j^ortions of the West. Broom-sedge {Andropogon VirginicMs). The most frequently mentioned plant in these returns is the " sedge." The A. Virginicus is doubtless gen- erally meant ; some speak of several varieties. It occupies millions of acres of old fields, which are taken possession of by it as soon as abandoned by the cultivator for fresh lands, according to the prevalent custom of the agriculture of this section. It is not a true sedge, but a grass of the family so abundant in the Missouri Valley region. As botanical names are rarely given, it is impossible to know whether a Carex or Andropogon is meant. In Barbour County, Alabama, Carex cyperoidea is reported, and G. umbellafa in Wilkes County, North Carolina. It is sometimes known as Virginia beard-grass, and is a perennial of a i)urplish-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 : The Foa annua here at times is almost rank in iLs growth, reaching a height of from 4 to 8 inches. Chickweed (Stellaria media), of whicli cows are very fond, as also sheep, covering the hill lands where rich with qnite a heavy growth. Phalaris Amer- icana, a beautiful Southern grass, depicted in Celleste's work. Hordeum puseUum, of Nutt, a dwarf barley, or, as here called, "Texas rye," forming sweet grazing before the blossom drops. Alopecurus geniculatus, floating fox-tail of the English, almost as valuable as winter grass. Trichodinm laxiflorum, hair-grass, also springs up. These are nearly all annual winter and early sprnKj grnsses. 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 creejjing grass, somewhat in its habits like the Bermuda, has spread to a considerable extent over the open pastures. It is known by some as " Cuba grass," and is a pas- palum or diyitaria, 1 know not which ; the sheep find sweet picking from it. On the seacoast, about Pass Christian and Pascagoula, I find a close good sod of another grass, of similar habit to the last named, of which I have not been able to determine the name ; it makes a very pretty pasture, and grows well even in partial shade. For the purj)ose of comijarison, 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. Sweet-scented vernal Meadow fox- tail Tall rat-!irass Crested dog's-tail Orchard-grass Orchard-grass (seed ripe) Barley-grass Perennial rye-grass Italian rye-grass Timothy-grass Annual sjiear-grass 80.35 80.20 72.65 62. 73 70.00 52.57 58. 85 71.43 75. 61 57.21 79.14 o S 2.05 2.44 3.54 4.13 4.06 10.93 4.59 3.37 2.45 4.86 2.47 .67 .52 .87 1.32 .94 .74 .94 .91 .80 1.50 .71 .a a •S 2 8.54 8.59 11. 21 19.64 13.30 12.61 20.05 12.08 14.11 22. 85 10.79 1.24 1.55 2.36 2.38 1.59 2.61 2.54 2.15 2.21 2.26 .59 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 43 These plants, cut at the proper time and ak-dried, are analyzed with results as follows : Hay. Meadow hay. merlmiu quality Red clover full blossom Eed clover, ripe White clover, full blossom Lucerne, young Yellow clover in blossom {Medicago lupulina) Vetclies in blossom Pease in blossom Italian rye-Kxass (Solium Italicum) Timothy (Phleum pratense) Early nieadow-ocrass (Poa Armua) Crested dog's-tail {Oynosurus cristatus) Orchard-grass (Dactijlis glomerata) Barley-grass (Hordenm pratense) Meadow fox-tail (Alopeciinis pratmisis) Oat-grass, French rj'e-grass (Arrhenatherum avena- ceum) Sweet-scented vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odera- turn) Spear-grass, Kentucky blue-grass (Poa pratensis) . . . Average of all the grasses 14. 3 14.3 16.7 16.7 16.7 16.7 16.7 16.7 16.7 14.3 14.3 14.3 14.3 14.3 14.3 14.3 14.3 14.3 14.3 79.5 77.1 77.7 74.8 74.6 77.3 75.0 76.3 77.9 81.2 83.3 80.2 81.1 80.4 79.0 75.8 80.3 80.6 6.2 6.2 5.6 8.5 8.7 6.0 8.3 7.0 7.8 4.5 2.4 5.5 4.6 5.3 6.7 5.4 5.1 8.2 13.4 9.4 14.9 19.7 14.6 14.2 14.3 8.7 9.7 10.1 9.5 11.6 9.6 10.6 11.1 8.9 8.9 S«8 41.3 29.9 20.3 34.3 32.9 36.5 35.3 36.8 51.4 48.8 47.2 48.0 40.7 42.0 39.5 35.3 40.2 39.1 5. 8 ! 9. 5 41. 7 30.0 35.8 48.0 25.6 22.0 26.2 25.5 25.2 16.9 22. 7 25^9 22.6 28.9 27.2 29.0 29.4 31.2 32.6 2.0 3.2 2.0 3.5 3.3 3.3 2.5 2.6 2.8 3.0 2.9 2.8 2.7 2.0 2.5 2.7 2.9 2.3 Experiments with the cultivated grasses, during a long period and in all the States, have demonstrated their practical success and high value in southern farm economy. Tall meadow oat-grass {Arrhenatherum avenaceum). — This grass, known and appreciated in this country and in Europe, has been introduced into Georgia under diiferent names. Its winter growth is scarcely excelled, unless by Italian rye-grass. It is said to do well under winter grazing. Mr. George H. Waring, of Habersham County, Georgia, from an experi- mental patch 10 feet by 90, obtained 210 pounds of dried hay, or at the rate of 5 tons per acre. It is not presumed to be equal in quantity to orchard grass by practical cultivators there. Orchard-grass {JDactylis f/lomerafa). — This grass, which is held in so high esteem in the best dairy districts of the country, is well suited to extreme districts of the South, and especially to tlie table lands and valleys of the mountain system. Mr. 0. W. JSoward has reported the conclusions, from his experience in Georgia, with regard to it: This grass succeeds at the South ou lands having a clay subsoil as low down as the oak and hickory rolling country extends. In the flat sandy lands it is said not to per- fect its seeds, and quickly dies but. It is of little use at the South as a hay grass, but possesses great value as a winter pasture. It grows best in the shade, which result its name would indicate. It should not be grazed during the summer. All stock should be taken from it in June and not allowed to return to it until Christmas. It is not among the most permanent of artificial gra,s.ses. Hence it is proper to sow it with red and white clover, when these are used in a rotation, for the improvement of the soil. Orchard grass is proper to be mixed with clover, when the latter is to be cut for hay, as both blossom at the same time. Herds grass and timothy are much later than reel clover, and therefore uusuited to be sown with it. It is beginning to be recommended in that region as a soiling crop, sown Avith red clover, sowing 20 pounds to 12 of the clover per acre. Dr. L. D. Morse recommends this grass for Missouri as " the most abid- ing of all grasses " ; it is sown to advantage with clover, grows quickly when cropped by cows and sheep, and makes good pasturage after a rest of live days from being fed close. It has been admitted in Kentucky 44 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. that, wlien grazed down by stock, it will be ready for grazing again in half the time required by bine-grass ; and some have claimed that in summer it will grow more in a day than blue grass-grows in a week. A correspondent in Cobb County, Georgia, deems it the best cultivable grass for that part of the State (northwestern), which is of granite, claim- ing that it endures equally well hot and cold weather, wet and dry. Lucerne (Alfalfa of California), Medieago sativa. — This is a most val- uable forage plant for Southern culture. It is not very generally intro- duced except in an exi^erimental way, and will not be until more atten- tion is given to stock-growing. Mr. C. W. Howard declared that it grew as well in Georgia as in France, and deemed it the most valuable of all the forage plants for that region. He held that no forage-crop tested in Georgia could equal it in quantity, and none in the Xorth could produce as much hay as lucerne in the South. His practice was to sow either in autumn or in February, harrowing in and rolling the surface, using about two i^ounds of seed to the acre. If the future of sheep-husbandry in this latitude shall be character- ized by skill and enterprise, combined with economy of management and wise forecast in avoiding risks of unequal and insufficient natural pasturage, lucerne will fill a prominent place in the necessary i)rovision for regular and abundant feed, increasing many fold the possibilities of the business, enlarging immensely the numbers that can be supported on a given area. Bermuda and other grasses especially suited to high temperatures and capable of resisting droughts may share the attention of wool- growers ; yet there must be large tracts in the Gulf States, and on the line of the Texas Pacific road through to the ocean, in which this forage plant may fill a place of high utility in the economy of wool- growing. It is a deep and rich soil, into which the roots can readily penetrate. An Irish-potato patch, or a field of wheat stubble with a soft and friable soil, is frequently selected by careful cultivators. The richer it is made with manure the better (if the soil is not of the "inexhaustible" kind that is presumed never to need manure) ; it is plowed thoroughly, and if seeds of weeds abound, again and again, to turn under successive crops of troublesome plants. Those who covet the highest success thus obtain a deep and clean seed-bed, and sow in August 10 pounds of seed, and if the young plants are attacked by grasshoppers, a dressing of ashes or guano is given. It should neither be cut nor grazed until the next season, when three to five cuttings should be made. PROFIT OF SOUTHERN SHEEP HUSBANDRY. The profits of wool-growing in the Atlantic States, Delaware, Mary- land, and Virginia, are derived largely from production of lambs for the neighboring markets of Washington and Baltimore, not to mention Philadelphia and ISTew York, which are also quite accessible. The thrifty and euteriirising farmer who keeps few sheep prefers the qiiick returns coming from lambs sold at four months old for higher prices than full-grown Merino grades. The unenterprising tanner, who will not provide the requisite care and feed, had much better stick to wool-growing alone, for the nuitton will be worthless. The broad acres of mountain ranges are also better suited to the exclusive production of wool. It is the testimony of many that half-breed Southdowns or Cotswold lambs, well cared for, will pay all expenses of the fiock with meat, leaving the wool for profit. Tliis section is peculiarly suitable for lamb-raising, not alone on account of SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 45 proximity to great cities, but from the cheapness of fertile lands and liealtlifulness of the climate. The Piedmont region, tlie Bine Eidge, and the valley of Virginia are remarkably well adapted to the pro- duction of the^ cnltivated forage plants necessary for winter feeding, and the blue-grass and white-clover pasturage in summer is abundant and enduring. It has not yet become an important industry. Much fine pasturage in the mountain is as yet unutilized. The largest numbers of sheep are at present to be found in Culpeper and Fauquier, in the Blue Eidge region, and on the limestone soils of Southern Virginia, especially Scott, Eussell, Washington, and Grayson. Mr, John Carmichael, of Loudoun County, reports the value of spring lambs sent to Washington at $^.50 to $5, according to quality ; that western ewes, bought in the autumn for breeding, cost $2.75; their lambs average $2.30, and their wool $1 more. The ewes are fattened and sold in the fall for $4 to $5. This makes the gross returns of the year about $8, or $5.20 above the cost of the ewe for feed and i)rofits. Mr. Thomas F. Eives reports for Dinwiddle County: Captain Shelton has a tine flock of grade Sonthdowns. He sows rye and Avinter oats, thus supplyiuj!; good winter pastnre. His lambs are dropped in the early part of January and some in December. He generally has a lot of fat lambs in market by the middle of April, and always ccmmiands a good price for them, from |5 to $6 per head. Mr. Burgess is breeding up a tine flock of Cotswolds. He has provided good shelter for his flock, and his sheep are well cared for in all respects. Both of the gentlemen say that it pays them well. Some of the difficulties in the way of extensive sheep-husbandry are given by Mr. William F. Jackson, of Amelia County, Virginia : The large laud-owuer will tell you it pays 100 per cent, and beats farming to death, but says: "I have no fences; it would bauki-upt me to fence my lands, and if I did, in ten days the dogs would kill all my sheep. I cannot go into the speculation; it might ruin me at once." There is some force in this, but it seems to me the venture might be more profltable and less hazardous by employing a hei'dsmau without fences, except for inclosing them at night. Mr. E. Turnbull, of Brunswick, Virginia : Believing that there is mtmey in sheep, I have determined to go into the business on a farm of 2,400 acres, in this county, in which I am interested. I have now on the farm a flock of 46 (which is the larg-est flock in the county) in fine condition, and I ex- pect to increase the flock to 500 or 1,000. Examples of small flocks which have been a success are numerous. In yoi-thumbeiiand County, Virginia, according to a former return of our correspondent, a flock of 68 ewes, costing $3 each, produced 100 lambs the first year, which brought $5 each in May, netting nearly $300 al)ove original cost, with the original flock and the wool on hand. They were turned into a wheat stubble seeded with clover, and had no other food and little attention. Mr. William P. Austin, of Lunenburg, Va., reports a flock of 48 kept on a cost of $10 per annum for shearing and feed, exclusive of pasture- age and care, ^-ielding an average of $93 per annum. Mr. AViniani B. Chalkley, of Chesterfield, has a flock of 40 worth $100, and has sold 24 for $60, and 150 pounds of wool for $34.50. The cost of the original 18 was $42, and the cost of keeping two years is estimated at $30. The gain is equivalent to $122.50, paying well for care and invest- ment. Tlie following testimony to the profit of nuitton i)roduction and lamb- raising is from department records: Clark County, Virginia. — It is far more profitable to keep the dift'ereut varieties of the mutton breeds than the fine wool or Merino breed in this portion of Virginia. I 46 SHEEP-HITSBANDRY. say this from my own experieuce and. that of many intelligent gentlemen witli whom I have conversed. The Cotswold sheep and its crosses with the Sonthdown are less liable to lose their lambs than the Merino. The lambs are more vigorons and hardy ; then add their early maturity, their fitness for market at eighteen months old, and their almost double value when in market, and you have advantages which ftir out- weigli the additional amount of food which the mutton sheep may consume in jjropor- tiou to his size. 1 have said nothing about the dilference in the value of the wool, because I believe there is very little difference; if there is any, it is in favor of the mutton breed in this county. In January, 1869, 1 agreed to take from a gentleman in this county 100 Spanish Merino ewes to keep on the shares ; he giving me one-lialf the lambs and one-half of the wool for keeping them until the fall of 1869. They were put in a field of 75 acres sod with 45 acres of woodland attached; the pasture was good, and they fattened upon it. At the same time 25 ewes of Cotswold and South- down were put in the field; the Merinos in the si)ring produced 56 lambs; the 25 Cots- wold and Sonthdown ewes raised 24 lambs. The feed was the same, and the same care was bestowed upon each flock, for they were together all the time. All the Merino lambs Avere sold in October, 1869, at |(2 per head except five, which had the foot-rot so badly they could not be driven to market; the Cotswold and Southdown would have brought double the money per head. These views apply to this county, which is only fifty miles from Washington, D. C, and about eighty -five miles from Baltimore. Prince George's Counti/, Maryland. — Sheep need no shelter here except what woods or open sheds or tobacco houses afford. Seldom any grain is given them. My fiock is small but choice. They have had this winter no grain, no hay, and no shelter, and are fat and healthy, with well-grown fat lambs of different ages, from ten days to two Aveeks old. They have run all the time on an old clover and timothy pasture, grazed close last autumn, except when the ground was frozen or covered with snow, when they had access to the rye field where the fodder shocks stand. Most of them are Southdowns, a few are a Cotswold cross. They will shear an average of over six pounds of wool, and have lambs living now in the proportion of six lambs to eight ewes, although some have been killed by dogs. In the more Southern States wool-growing commands more attention than mutton production, and flne-wooled sheep are preferred. This must continue to be the case, except that an abundant supply of better qual- ity of mutton is required for town consumption, and the demand would soon be doubled by such improvement in quality. Owners of small flocks will report a profit of 50 to 100 per cent. Still flocks increase slowly, and few give the business any attention. Some will say that wool costs nothing except the shearing, because sheep are allowed to run from one shearing to another without care. Such examples aflbrd no criterion to judge of the actual profits of the business on a large scale. It will not do to say that grass costs nothing because it is wasted. The land that produces it costs money, and pays taxes, even if without fencing or the supervision of the proprietor. With such utter neglect of the business, there are no recorded data on which to base an accurate calculation of profits. It is much like the hoitse wife's estimate of gains from her poultry- yard, which she confidently assumes to be all profit. She rarely extends her operations, however, beyond the requirements of a moderate store of i)in money. Thus, while one reports a doubling of capital yearly, another estimates a gain of 50 per cent., and a third no profit. One of the latter, our correspondent in Wilkes County, Mr. L. Harrill, declares that there is no profit in sheep ; that the fewtliere are small, degenerate animals, unprovided with clover or cultivated grasses, allowed to roam at large, the lambs left to live or die, and to the tender mercies of dogs if they live. And yet he thinks that with ])roper attention wool might be produced at a cost of 10 cents per pound instead of 20. Allowing for a little looseness of calculation, for a little enthusiasm on one side and disgust on the other, all these widely varying statements may be founded on fact, and yet it scarcely touches the real question of profit of sheep- husbandry as a business of such nuignitude as to command the attention of an enterprising man. And yet these exami)les are instructive. If a flock, even a small one, can maintain itself summer and winter in aban- SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 47 doned fields and forests outside of farm inspection and observation, and ravenous dogs, liungry negroes, as well as equally hungry white men, aiul raise lambs enough to make good inevitable losses, giving the owner their fleeces each spring for the shearing, it is evidence that, witli a busi- ness-like management, a larger flock might be expected to yield a hand- some dividend. A few extracts from correspondents will illustrate more fully the status of the business. Mr. Thomas W. Beatty, of Horry County, South Carolina, says: A practical man assures me that three years ago he bought a flock of 30 head of sheep; that since that time they have yiekled him an annual profit, in increase, wool and mutton, of 50 per cent. He has given them but little attention, except to put them in his field during winter, to protecst the lambs from getting into low, flat woods during rainy seasons, and giving the old sheep a little forage at night, to make them seek the lot for protection against the depredation of the wildcat, which ani- mal is A'ery destructive of young lambs in the woods and near swamps. Most persons in this county give their sheep no attention except to drive them up in the latter part of May, clip the avooI from the old ones, mark and castrate the lambs, turn them out for another twelve months (unless to drive them up in June and July to kill a mutton or two), and yet, with this treatment, a flock of 20 to 40 head will actually increase in numbers, unless dogs get among them, or they range so lar from any hab- itation that it makes good picking for thieves. I am satisfied that nothing would be more profitable in this county than sheep-husbandry with proper attention. A correspondent in Union County, South Carolina, reported an in- come of $58.40 (80 pounds of wool at 28 cents, 300 pounds of mutton at 8 cents, and an increase of 6 sheep at $2), from a flock of 20 common sheep, costing $52, and $7 for salt and cotton-seed. E.. D. Winn, Gwinnett, Georgia : This climate and our natural pastui-age is well adapted to sheep-raising. In some parts of the county, where it is broken and sparsely settled, sheep require but little feeding, even during the winter months. These are only special localities and but few of them. I dissent from the commissioner of agriculture of Georgia in his esti- mate of the cost of raising wool in this State. His figures are too low for my county and too low for the State. A somewhat extensive acquaintance with the larger por- tion of the State authorizes the opinion I have given. Dr. J. T. Chappell, Laurens, Georgia, says : On i^aper it looks as though sheep-raising would be profita1)le, and doubtless it would be as a business jjfic se. But it cannot be carried on in connection with cotton- planting. As all who own land and stock are in the cotton business, I do not think any one will risk a change. The risk is great, and the greatest risk is in dogs. Some parties that lost heavily in sheep put out strychnine and killed the dogs. The dog men retaliated by driving 60 head of sheep into a stream and drowning them. Peojjle here are poor, ignorant, and selfish. All own dogs and but few feed them. A hungry dog will eat sheep, kids, pigs, chickens, eggs, &c. They are of no use, but are kept ou places wliere children sufi^er for bread. For seven years after the war I tried to raise sheep, kept them inclosed all the time. I used powder, lead, and strychnine, and after receiving much abuse for loss of dogs by neiglibors, I left off in disgust and lost all. While you can give a bright picture in figures on sheep-raising, do not fail to give the dark one on dogs. I see no prospect of a change. Mr. Eobert Hester, of Elbert: Pastures are very insecure, and sheep roam at large in the woods and old-field pas- tures without shepherds, and without the personal care of their owners even in winter. A small proportion of old fiirmers still keep up flocks and give some attention to them, but f(n- the most part the losses from neglect are heavy, and they are laid on thieves and dogs. The great trouble is that sheep-owners expect their sheep to take care of themselves and bring their fleeces home at shearing time entire and free from burs and filth. Mr. A. J. Cheves, Macon C6unty: Our county is not well adapted to sheep-husbandry. The wire-grass section is south and east of us. Nearly all of our open lands are cultivated every year. Our woods are pine, with a very thick undergrowth of oak bushes excluding^ the grasses almost entirely. 48 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. Mr. Timothy Fussell, Coffee : Stock-raisers are iuclosing large wood pastures, producing wild grasses. These woods are also of great service in saving lambs and keeping them from hogs, &c. Mr. C. H. Sutton, Habersham: Any of our uncultivated u])laud soils are capable of producing grass. Fine pasturage may be had by removing the undergrowth, leaving the larger trees for shade, and sowing in blue-grass, thus producing a fine range for sheep. Mr. A. Davenport, of Fannin: We have, as you will see, a vast territory of forest, all of which affords good sum- mer range for sheep. The common sedge, springing u]> spontaneously all over the county, is of early growth, tender and nutritious until other and later grasses come in. Sheep are exceedingly fond of the seed of "beggar lice," which also grows abundantly in this hill country. Upon this wild range, from a state of poverty in the spring they are fat enough for market in .July. They need shelter and tame pasture in winter; but I have known them to winter in the woods without any attention. They can be well wintered at small cost upon a pasture of early-sown rye, cost not exceeding 15 cents per head, thus placing them in advance of any other stock raised in this county; but, strange to say, no man in all this county is engaged in this highly lucrative enterprise. Mr. C. J. Wellborn, Union County : Sheep-raising up to this time in this county has been regarded as a mere incident of farm life, and not looked to as a business. Most farmers have a small tlock which are sheared and turned out about the lirst of April, and receive no further attention until they are hunted up in the fall to be sheared again. About one-half of them are then sold to di'overs to be slaughtered for mutton, which is of the natural increase of the flock. This is a healthy climate for sheep. Mr. J. S. Lavender, Pike : The main profit in sheep is raising lambs in the spring, shearing them in the fall, and killing them before winter and using their flesh for mutton. There is no profit in keeping sheep in this county when you have to keep over in winter. Mr. James R. Brown, Cherokee : I do not think wool can be produced in this part of Georgia at 6 cents per pound, as stated by our commissioner of agriculture. In the Avire-grass part of Lower Georgia it might. This section of the State has grown iip in such thickets that the bushes kill or shade out a large portion of the grass and other pasturage. Dr. Wm. l!^. Bruce, Decatur : In 1866 I had a flock of 40 sheep, somewhat improved by having a Merino buck with them. With great vigilance in their care they decreased, and in 1877 we sheared eleven ewes, every wether missing. I propose to try again. Several individuals have bought up hundreds, and after a trial lasting for a year or two abandoned them. Mr. M. D. Sanford, Catoosa : One hundred sheep cost .f 100 ; product in laml)s, 75 = $75. Cost of keeping equal to manure and increase. Therefore the profit is equal to the wool=3|^ pounds to each sheep, or 350 pounds of wool, worth 25 cents per pound =:; $87.50 profit. Mr. Freeman Walker, of Stewart County, Georgia, has 10 .J head that make him 5 pounds of wool per year each, for which he gets $132.50. It costs him only $10 to feed them on cotton-seed during the months that it is necessary to feed, and they average 75 lambs per year. The actual , expense of keeping is about $10 per year. What his sheep make is just like picking it up. The following paragraph is from Dr. Janes' Manual of Sheep Hus- bandry in Georgia : Mr. David Ayers, of Camilla, MitchellCounty, in Southwestern Georgia, where snow never falls and the ground seldom freezes, and where the original pine forest is car- peted with the native grass, says his sheep, 3,500 in number, cost him annually 14 cents per head, clip three pounds of unwashed wool which sells at 30 cents i)er pound, giving a clear profit of 1)0 ])er cent, on the money and labor invested in sheep. Lauds suited to sheep-raising can l)e purchased in this section of the State for from $1.50 to $10 i)er acre, according to location. Mr. Ayers does not feed his sheep at any time dur- SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 49 ing the year, ueitlier has he introduced the improved breeds, using only what is known as the native sheep. Of course, tlie cross of the Spauisli Merino on tliis stock would give better results in both quantity and qualitj' of wool. These sheep receive little care except to be gathered up once a year to be sheared and marked. Mr. Ayers com- plains of the ravages of dogs on the sheep and of hogs and eagles on the lambs. Mr. Eobert C. Hmnber, of Putnam County, in Middle Georgia, fur- nishes some interesting facts from his experience in sheep-raisino- as a factor of mixed husbandry, in which the famous an0 on Cost of hand to care for them, .fl2 and $15 per month IHO 00 Cost of salting and incidental expense 20 00 $9C0 00 Cr. 2,000 pounds wool, at 30 cents 600 00 Increase, 225 lambs, at $1 225 00 15 acres of land well manured, $10 per acre 150 00 700 sheep on hand, at $1.50 per head 1,050 00 2. 025 00 Profit 1,075 00 This was the scrub stock of the piny wood counties of Georgia, but serves to illustrate the profits of sheep-raising, even in Georgia. Pastur- age costs nothing. Good stock would pay better. Mr. John Bradford, Leon County, Florida, says: Ten years ago the writer began with 25 ewes and 2 bucks, common stock. Four years ago I procured a Merino buck. Have butchered about 130 mutton, lost heavily in not looking after lambs in January and February, and very heavily (some years as much as 30 percent.) by roguish negroes, and have now 130 in my flock. The manure has more than paid for the actual cost of keejjing. Have only had good attention one winter, then with the very best results, as the wool-clij) and increase of flock amounted to about 90 per cent, of the value of the flock. Mr. William E. Woodruff, Duval : Sheep husbandry has been about the best paying thing here, but since the negroes have given up work and become the proprietors of about four dogs each on an average it has become worthless. The fleece, although light, is fine and clean, and the mul-tou is, I think, finer in flavor than at the North. Mr. A. M. Beardsley, Bradford: I hear of but three persons in this county who have attempted sheep-raising. Of these, two have abandoned the enterprise, mainly in consequence of ravages by dogs, and the other is compelled to provide quarters for the flock in order to save them from these enemies. Mr. C. S. Coe, Liberty : ^ There is little or no attention paid to sheep in this county; they range the woods i^ from one shearing time to the next, often without the owner knowing anything ahouw S. Ex. 25 4 50 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. them, only as lie may happen upon them in hiinting game or gathering up his cattle. At shearing time they are gathered, and tiu'ued into the woods again to ramble at their pleasure until next shearing time. Mr. Henry J. Stewart, Hamilton: About three or four years ago one farmer increased his flock (by purchase) to 400 head. He allowed them to roam at will, taking no pains with them, and tlie result is a loss of at least 50 per cent. i>er year, not by disease, but by dogs mostly, some few by drowning. Ours is a fine sheep country, and were the farmers to try they could make it exceedingly profitable ; much more so than raising cottou. I scarcely hear of sheep dying of disease of any kind. They get very fat running in the woods. Mr. William Thompson, Putnam County, Florida, refers to tlie extent of wire-grass range, valuable only for spring pasturage, and the spread- ing of the more valuable Bermuda grass, and says : One flock of sheep, numbering about 1,000, is doing very well, having thousands of acres to roam over and pick grasses suited to them for food. Sheep husbandry would be profitable if the sheep were attended by a shepherd, and moved from place to place on the unoccupied lands, as exhaustion of range would require, Mr. John H. Martin, Lauderdale, Alabama: There are many instances of small flocks paying over 100 per cent, on investment, the manure not taken into consideration. We are getting some grade sheep now that Avill average from 7 to 9 pounds, and a few that will go 10 to 15 pounds. The north- ern portion of our country is especially adaj)ted to sheep husbandry. Mr. William S. Earnest, Jefferson : lam satisfied that we have in this county as good lands for sheep-raising as can be found on the continent. We have in this county a i)lat of laud 18 miles long by about 6 wide, nearly all wild mountain land, that would feed and raise 10,000 sheep. Mr. E. H. Powell, of Bullock County, reports a small Hock of Maj. J. P. Culver, which has received care and shelter, which it well repays. He bought 25 common sheep in 1873, costing $55 ; supplied himself with mutton, sold some to his neighbors, and now has 20G, worth $575. He gets 28 cents per pound for wool, and derives an annual profit of $180 fro-u his flock. His loss Irom disease was but 1^ per cent, last year.- During two months in winter extra feed is provided. Mr. John Eobinson, Wayne County: Sheep-farming might be profitably engaged in in this region, three-fourths of our land being unredeemed or imcultivated, and yielding a fair pasturage during eight months of the year. I could fill folios with animadversions on our idiosyncrasies on farming, stock-raising, &c., but enough. Unless some philanthropic exemplar comes to us and lets us see, it will be some generations ere we get out of our old ruts. Mr. J. W. Councell, Watauga County : There are 8,625 sheep in my county, valued for taxation at $8,629. Sheep never need feeding in this county unless the ground is covered with snow. A flock of sheep Avill winter and raise about as many lambs without feeding as with it. Mr. J. B. Oliver, Duplin County : Can only give you results for 1876 of my flock of 20 head — 15 ewes. They were fed two montlis, January and February. Daily fed one bushel i)ea hulls, worth perhaps 5 cents, and two ears of corn. The whole cost of feeding did not exceed 25 cents each. They had seven acres in winter oats as pasturage. The oats were none the worse for it, as they made a good crop. They also had the run of a forty-acre field in small grain the previous year. From these sheep I raised 12 lambs, for which I was oftered $2 each by a butcher the middle of June. I sheared 60 pounds of wool, a part of which was sold at 25 cents per pound. I lost one ewe during the winter. Net profit, $31. Mr. W. D. Sprott, Claiborne, Mississippi : One ilock in this county numbers 100 ewes. They were bred from the native ewe crossed with the Southdown. Average, about one-sixth Southdown. Such sheep are worth to-day in the market $3 per head. This flock looks well ; has received during the past twelve months attention — salt, that is all. They have a large corral with a big shed made dog-proof into which they are driven every night. I saw this flock turned out this morning ; they had following them 102 lambs Irom one day to three weeks old, looking well. •SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 51 Mr. W. W. Dedrick, Hinds, Mississippi : Mr. M. C. Caunada purchased in December, 1875, 225 slieep, mostly ewes. He lias sold $110 iu muttou and |260 in wool. He has on hand 250 grown sheej) and 150 lambs. Cost of keeping, shearing, attendance, &c., $75 jier annum. Mr. T. S. Ford, Marion : Eleven years ago Mr. R. invested $575, gold, in sheep at .f 1.75 per head. He has since kept an accurate account of his income from these sheep, and states that he has realized in cash from wool and nmtton during the eleven years over $10,000. He has now a flock of 1,500. The annual expense, including taxes, is not ten cents per head. He sees them but once a year. They run in the woods like deer and are not even salted. This, however, is an exceptional locality, there being few dogs. Sheep do 'not subsist on the woods' gi"ass, but entirely on herbs, mainly upon one small perennial iierb, growing flat on the ground, with broad and rounded leaves, resembling very much the deer-tongue (vanilla). Mr- F. A. Wolfe, Hinds County : I have only been experimenting three years, and during that time have tested the Cotswold on the native ewe, and have found the cross of good size, but not so easily fattened. After fattening they are much more easily reduced in flesh than the cross of the Southdown on the common ewe. I have only my original imported Cotswolds, two years having lost all their increase, i. e., the full-bloods. I feel very much en- couraged in sheep-husbandry and will continue to increase my flock, but cannot have over 200 in one flock, as i)euuing more than this number in one inclosure at night Avill not do in this climate. Mr. W. H. Jacobs, Queen Anne, Maryland, tlius writes of the sheep- range of Southern Mississippi : A long residence in Southwestern Mississippi has convinced me that in that portion of the South sheep-raising, if properly prosecuted, might be made more profitable than cottcm-planting. At that time (thirty years ago) much of the Gulf Hill lands had become by incessant cotton-planting exhausted of their original fertility, but Avhen thrown out as unprofitable for cultivation would in a few years become covered with a dense mass of Bermuda grass, affording the finest jierennial pasture for sheep that I have ever seen. As editor at that time of the Port Gibson Herald, I endeavored through the columns of my own paper, and through those of the Plough, Loom and Anvil, a magazine then puldished by the venerable John S. Skinner, to urge this branch of industry upon the planters of that region. I had the hearty co-operation of Mr. Skinner, but we labored in vain. The owners of these lands admitted the jus- tice of our arguments, that while these '' wornout" lands were incapable of producing crops of cotton, they were almost unequaled as sheep pastures ; that a few years of such pasturage would restore their origiual fertility, when a crop of corn and cow pease would kill out the grass and ]5repare the ground for greatly increased croj>s of the greater staple (cotton.) Mr. B. F. Dane, Kendall, Texas : Although most of our county is adapted to sheep-husbandry, I find these to thrive the best under fence on account of its mountainous surface. Unless very carefully herded, losses will occur when the flock is spread sufficiently for them to graze. Under fence they run at will and graze and eat at their leisure. The pasture should be subdivided so as to occasionally give them a fresh run. For the winter they should have a dry shelter at night. I find by this system that the flock will yield .about a third more wool, sustain fewer losses, require less acres to graze on, save the wages of a shepherd, and in every resjiect do better. Mr. J. T. Hester, of Navarro County, says : I have been engaged in sheep-raising for fourteen years. In this and all the old prairie counties, from 300 to 400 sheeii do well ; 100 per cent, gross profit is a fair state- ment. The profit diminishes 10 per cent, per 100 head as you go over 400. My flock has ranged from 300 to 1,000. I put annually 100^ pounds of prairie hay and one bushel of cotton-seed to each sheep ; have good shelters ; permit no ewes to have lambs until fully grown ; do not herd close ; give my sheep close attention, and realize about 50 per cent, clear jjrofit on 400 head, at a valuation of $1,000, Mr. James Walker, Lavaca : Mr. S. B. Moore has a flock of 1,500 head let out to a herder on shares, and there- fore furnishes a pretty safe sample of annual profits. He gives the herder one-fourth of the wool, and one-fourth of the annual increase ; that is, the actual increase. Mr. Moore/ furnishes the salt, sheejt-dip, (Sec, and the herder pays all other expenses, and one 52 .SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. fourth of the sheiiriug expenses. This makes the net yiehl to Mr. Moore for woo! $S00. The iucrease of tlock will average 800 head, which, at .$1.50 per lamb in spring, makes $1,200, one-fourth of which to herder, leaves .$900 to Mr. Moore ; thus giving a net annual profit of $1,700 or about $1.33^ per head on entire flock. ]\[r. Pry or Lea, Goliad : Cost and profit of growing wool may be estimated in two ways. Crediting increase of sheep as equal to all cost, the wool would be net profit, and this is claimed by many producers. Without crediting iucrease with more than enough to maintain the flock equal to its primitive condition, a practical estimate for cost, considering every kind of au 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. Mr. M. J. Demnaii, Kimble County, Texas, thus writes of tlie flock of Messrs. Burton and Lemons : They purchased 1,000 head of grade sheep, three-fourths Spanish Merino and one- fourth Mexican sheep ; this purchase was made in 1876, i'u January. The total weight of spring fleeces was 3,100 pounds, and sold at San Antonio at 19 cents per pound, bringing $589. The fall clip of 1876 weighed 2,732 pounds, and sold in Austin at 20 cents per pound, bringing .$546.40. He lost 58 head of the nnml)er purchased up to January, 1877, and the iucrease was 369 to the same date, showing an increase in the flock of 311 head; the co.st of attention, including all expense, was $240, leaving the handsome profit on the wool of $895.40, saying nothing of the 311 increase, which is worth at least $900 in our home market. The flock above mentioned has been well cared for, and shows the result of proper attention to sheep in this immediate neigh- horhood; other flocks well attended show the same result. Mexican sheep yield only 2 pounds of wool annually, which is worth only from 9 to 13 cents per i^ouud, hriiiging only enough to pay the expenses of attendance. Mr. E. L. Walker, Stephens : Mr. G. W. Gore owns about GOO sheep, and during last year lost but one sheep from his flock; cause natural death. Others have lost from " scab" contracted elsewhere. The yield of fleece depends upon the stock. We are breeding up from common "Mex- ican sheep." Sheep-husbandry is a new indi>stry in this couuty. Until the last eighteen months attention was paid to nothing but cattle. Stephens County is admi- rably adapted to sheep-raising, being diversified in surface, plains (flats), rolling, hilly, and many high creek bottoms. Mr. P. S. Clarke, Waller: Every year I looked after the flock they paid me full measure, and when I neglected them they neglected me. Mr. H. Chamberlain, l^ueces, a county which sustains more .sheep than some States, thus writes of the condition of wool-growing : The last ten years have wrought favorable changes in the sheep interests and sheep management in' this county. Since the range began to be eaten close, and waste grasses ceased to lie on the surface, those diseases which had threatened many flocks have gradually, if not entirely, disappeared. Foot-rot is now unknown in this county. Lumbrcs, a complaint which up to 1868 had carried ofi' many thousands of sjiring lambs annually, commencing in July or August and operating upon them through the fall and winter, until the flock frequently became exhausted. This disease follows overflows, and a superabundance of rank grasses. It consists of something like a knob of long, small worms, resembling hair, in the stomach, the lungs invariably becoming attected ; the outward symptoms resembling consumption in the human race. Semi- annual laniljiug is also very generally adopted in the county, the February or spring crop l)eiug always preferable; one set of ewes lamb in spring, and another set in the f;ill. Flocks are sheltered from November 15 to February 1 by selecting their range and night camp on the south side of some creek or prairie timber. Mr. Ct. a. Kirklaud, Shackelford: Myself and partner bought 900 head of Mexican ewes last July, .$1.50 per head, 18 Merino bucks, at .$15 per head. For all of our half-breed ewes, the first cross on the Mexican ewes with the Merino bucks, we could get $'i per head. The first cross will also add one pound nun-e of wool. Four crosses would make fifteen-sixteenths Merino, and would be e(]ual in value to any Merino wool. It costs per numth, for herding, $15 ; salt, $2; provision herders, $7; total, $24. The following is from a successful sheep-raiser in Texas : There is quite a ditterence in quality of sheep as well as manner of keeping. Th climate is best adapted to the fine-wool sheep. I have 625 high-grade and full-bloo SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 53 Merino (Ainorlcan). I slielter well, keep dry under foot, and in common winters feed liay only in storms, which generally do not exceed twenty days' duration any winter. I liave lambs dropped from February 1 to April 1. The breeding-ewes need feed — hay, grain, or cotton-seed — until March 1, wlien grass is usually abundant. This attention is necessary to the growth of the lambs. My lambs can be taken from the ewes in time for them to get well recuperated by winter. The lambs getting the benefit of the tender grass in spring get in fine condition for winter. I commenced with ^J20 ewes three years ago, and have sold sufficient of the Hock to make an increase of 100 per cent, per year,"average ; and the wool has averaged for that time from 75 cents to Ijil per head annually. Slieep-lmsbaudry in Tennessee lias long been a successful pursuit. In the hands of those who have been personally interested and persistent in it, it has always been profitable. Mr. Mark K. Cockrell, of Xashville, imported Saxon sheep more than fifty years ago. About twenty years ago he wrote the following, in a letter published in the American Shep- herd : I have abotit 1,000 head of fine sheep and from 400 to 500 long-wooled or mutton sheep. My kSaxon slieep were imx)orted in 18i4 orlH.2o, I cannot say Avhicli, and I find as yet no falling off in (piantity or quality of their fleeces ; on the contrary, I believe a little improvement on both points, and a little more yolk, when well provided for, which, you kuow, does not abound much in the Saxon breed. In addition, the fieeces are a little more compact than formerly, hence more weight ; and, from our mild climate, the staple has become Jongev. I assert it to be a tact that the cotton region I am now in (Mr. Cockrell dates from Madison County, Mississippi, where a i>art of his sheep are kept), in about latitude '?>'Z^ north, is better than any country north of it to grow wool, as the sheep can be kept all the time grazing, by sowing small grain ; for if grazed off", it ([uickly grows again in a few days; and the wool of the fine Saxon sheep in this climate is softer aiul more cotton-like than any I have ever seen, although I have samples from all parts of the world. I have traveled from this very place to Boston, sampling all the sheep of note on the Avay, and I found nothing on my journey or at Boston as good as the wool I had grown, and so said all the wool-staplers whom I met with, and they were not a few. I presumed, in reality, that the blood of my sheep was no better than many I saw, but the suiieriority of my wool I ascribed to oui" cli- mate, and the i>rovision for the sheej) of succulent food the year round. Mr. Mark S. Cockrill, of Davidson County, Tennessee, writes to this department as follows : I have lived on a sheep-farm all my life (forty years), and assert from close practi- cal observation and experience, that 100 per centum per annum can be made on money actually invested in sheep in Middle and East Tennessee. But it reqnii-es a knowledge of the natural enemies of the sheep in this latitude and how to prevent or avoid them. The greatest eneniyis the sheex> gad-fly. The habits of this fly are x'letty generally known by all sheep-breeders, but there is one xieculiarity about it that I have never seen in print, and that is that it lays living worms instead of eggs, as Dr. Randall de- clares. Any one wishing to test this can catch a fly, and by iiressure iipon the abdo- men force out living worms, when they will immediately begin to crawl. Pine tar and pulverized sulphur put upon the noses of the sheep is the preventive, and ambeer injected into the nostrils of the sheep the remedy. By proper troughs the sheep can be made to tar their own noses, and the ambeer should be used very carefully. The sheep should l)e placed upon his back and held in a position to prevent the ambeer from being swallowed, as it will sicken, and if taken in sulficient cxuantities will kill the sheep. Mr. George W. Morley, of Mci^^airy, Tennessee, had in 1877 a flock of 59 native sheep, of which 39 ewes produced ho half-breed (Southdown and ]Merino) lambs. He received 8159.50 for sheep and mutton sold or used, $92.75 for wool. Deducting $25 i>aidfor Southdown ram and 81 for two sheep less on hand, his net receipts were $223.25. They receive as win- ter feed five bushels of cotton-seed each, and have the run of winter grain fields. Mr. Henry C. Evans, Jeiferson County, West Virginia, says : Mr. J. M. Vanmetre, of Berkeley County, kept 270 ewes last year, Avhich raised 257 lambs that were sold at f2.50 per head, and the fleeces were estimated at $1 each, making $912.50 income, and the cost of feed, pasturage, and care did not exceed $420, valuing the pasture at what it was worth for pasturing cattle. This leaves a profit of^ $1.71 per head on the flock kejtt. 54 SHEEP-HUSBANDEYi Mr. Henry Keff, Gilmer, West Virginia : The improved breeds (and tlieir cost is no more than the common) the cost of keep- ing one year is estimated at $2 and the profits $1.85 per head. A cross between the Lincoln and Leicester is preferred. Mr. J. D. Gntbrie, Shelby, Kentucky, says that sheep hnsbandry is largely on the increase, and farmers are finding it very remunerative ; that improved long- wools pay the best, while those who keep common or short- wool ewes and jjropagate from rams of the long-wooled or mutton breeds for butcher's use, or to grade up for quality and price of both wool and mutton, are satisfied with the result. Below is an approxiniate result of the rofits from both breeds, as presented b}' Mr. Guthrie: To 100 common ewes, cost.. ^ $300 00 To 2 Cotswold bucks 50 00 To feeding, &c : 50 00 Total cost 400 00 By 100 himbs to butcher. $400 00 By 400 pounds wool, at 25 cents per pound 100 00 By value of ewes and bucks after lambiug 300 00 eoo 00 Net profit - , 400 00 800 00 To 100 Cotswold ewes, cost |1,200 00 To2 bucks 50 00 To feed, &c 50 00 1,300 00 By 100 lambs, $10 each. $1,000 00 By 1,000 pouiuTs of wool, at 36 cents 360 00 Value of ewes and bucks after lambing 1. 200 00 2,560 00 Net profit. -----.- - -- ----- 1>2^^ 0*^ 2 560 00 Mr. Silas Gatewood, of Trimble, Kentucky, reports the expenses and income of a flock of 50 Cotswold ewes costing $8 each. The items are: pasturage, at $1 per head, $50; 3 tons of hay in winter, $24; salt, $1; sheariug, $6; care of flock, $20. Eeturns, 000 pounds of wool, $180; 08 lambs sold, $232 ; manure, $30. Profit, $341. The following cases of liberal feeding and careful breeding for imi)rove- ment of other flocks found in existing records of this department, show that this branch of sheep-husbandry has been made x>i"ofitable in the South. Mr. A. T. Drane, who was engaged in breeding Cotswold from 1850 to 1866, Avithout intermixture, has been crossing them with Lincolns, and as yet 1ms had no occasion to regret his action. It is a fine grass region, such as the heavy breeds delight in, and the clinmte appears to be con- genial, sheep being proverbially healthy. They thrive upon grass ex- clusively, appearing to desire no other food when it can be had, and getting no grain except at yeaning time. Mr. U. thus writes concern- ing them : They usually have one lamb at a birth, but have twins about often enough to make n]) for losses, and save alxuit one lamb to the ewe bred. They are remarkably good nurses. Their fleeces are heavy, J(nig, and lustrous, and command the best ])rices for combing. I sell rams chiefly, seldom sell ewes, and witlKUit attempting to state what it will cost to keep a sheep a year, or tell how many may be kept on an acre of grass, SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 55 I will merely give a glimpse of tlie record of my flock iu 1869, and let the reader make his own deductions : From 80 slieep sold 848 pounds of wool iu grease for $364 62 Sold sliccp during the year 638 00 Rent of one ram 100 00 1, 102 62 I now have on hand 83 head of sheep, and my flock has yielded a gross return of $13.78 each, with a gain of three sheep. Mr. Isaac Shelby, of Boyle County, Kentucky, reports a flock of 50 ewes, of Southdown and CotsAvold blood, valued at $500 in the begin- ning of 1877. The account of last jenv is thits presented: Dr. 50 ewes, at $10 each .$500 00 Cost of pasturage, salt, and shearing 62 00 Interest on value , 41 00 603 00 Cr. 50 ewes, present value $350 00 48 1amh8, sold at $4 192 00 220 pounds wool, sold at 28 cents 61 60 603 60 He thus figures a profit of |3 per head, which is offset by an equal loss in reduced valuation, resulting from a want of stability in market l)rices. Though the sheep have lost no intrinsic value, they could not realize so much money by $150. Mr. A. K. Denny says tliat great numbers of mountain ewes are brought into Boyle County, Kentucky, from Tennessee and Virginia, for the pur- pose of raising market lambs, and that the business has proved profit- able, the lambs selling for $3 to $1 during May and June. He bred 25 ewes in 1870; the lambs came in February, 1877; lost 15 per cent., but raised 35. He thus reports the result : 25 ewes clipx)ed 162^ pounds ; 6| pounds each, at 34 cents $55 25 35 lamhs clipped, 15th July, 117^ pounds; 3^ pounds each, at 25 cents 29 37 Value of 35 lambs, September 10, 1877, at $5 each 175 00 259 62 Cost of keeping 25 ewes for 12 months, at $3 per head $75 00 Cost of keeping 35 lambs from July 10 to September 10, 20 cents 7 00 82 00 Profit 177 62 The ewes were old, and I sold them in December for $7 per head for the market. I gave mine no feed during the winter, except during a deep snow iu January, 1877; ihen ouly some hay for two weeks. Mr. George S. Baber, of Scott County, has a flock of pure-bred Cots- wolds — keeping about 10 for breeding. They have grass the whole year, and in cold or stormy weather are fed some corn and oats, and are housed in very bad stormy weather, and cost in keeping the year about $10 per head, having extra care and attention; this flock clii)s on an average ]0 pounds combing wool, and raises on an average one lamb to the ewe. He sells his entire surplus to breeders, in this and other States, at i>rices ranging from $25 to $100 per head, according to age and selection. He procures every two years an imported or Canada buck at a cost of about / / 56 SHEEP-IIUSBANDRY. $100, for liis own breeding. He breeds his lambs at eigliteen months okl. Common Ootswold flocks, kept simply for the mutton and wool, also pay well in Kentucky, as the following record from Carroll County shows : The slieep most profitable in our connty are tlie Cotswold and their grades. They will consume probably one-fonrth more food than the line wool sheep, but are hardy, needing no shelter, and generally live the entire Avinter on our blue-grass pastures Avithout other food, produce from 6 to 10 pounds of wool per head, and from 60 to 100 pounds good mutton at one and two years old. I have about 50 in my dock of the Cotswolds and grades which I have taken as a. sample for the above statement. They have not eaten a single jiouud of hay or anything but what they have gathered for themselves in the pasture, winter or summer, for the last two years. This avooI is worth, just as it comes from the sheep, unwashed, 35 cents per pound; mvitton is Avorth 10 cents. Mr. M. O. Taylor, Crawford County, Missouri:' I came from Obioto this place eight years ago; haA^e 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 CA^er seen. The surface of the land is roll- ing, maluug it sufficiently dry to be very healthy for sheep, with springs and running- brooks to afford sufficient Avater. There has been but little done, hoAvever, to improve the breed or for their care in winter, Avhich 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 bj^ correspondents, as nearly as possible in their own language. In addition to the quotations heretofore given, the following additional notes bearing upon the profits of sheep husbandry are given : Maryland. — Cecil : The hay raised in this county commands a higher price in Balti- more than any other. The old sedge lands have neai'ly all been brought under culti- vation and improA'cd so as to yield profitable grass and other crops. H'd^IiiiK/tun : Yew raised ; farmers buy from Pennsylvania, in order to fatten for the mark(^t in the spring. Virginia. — Prhtce Edicard : Formerly cA'ery planter had his flock of sheep to raise wool for his own family and for sale. The obstacles are Avant of suitable iuclosures, and thieves, biped and quadruped. Our lands are Avell adapted to sheep-raising, but at present not one farmer in ten has sheej). Sussex : Sheep live and thriAC here Avitli- out any care winter or summer, and would doubtless do much better if cared for in Avinter. BucHiuiUam : From the present prices of wheat, tobacco, &c., I think sheep- raising Avill become more extensive and profitable than tillage. GoochlaiHl : Land and grasses Avell adapted to the raising of sheep. Sheep- culture could be made profitable if well managed ; they seem to do well Avithout any attention. Nanseinond : Sheep- hxisbandry is not and cannot be n)ade profitable in the tide-Avater, southeast section of Virginia. When many are herded together they become diseased and die. Oraiuje : The cost of keeping is about 50 cents a head in two flocks of long-wooledCotswold and Leicester, and 30 cents per head for a. flock of 80 Merinoes. The profit of one of the long-wooled flocks Avas |>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 A-ariety of grasses and herbage render this connty a paradise for sheep and sheep-husbandry. Middlesex : One hundred acres will graze 40 sheep, and by adding one dollar to each sheep for winter feeding, we have as follows : For 100 acres, !|300 ; interest on money, $;50 ; 40 ewes and 2 bucks, |100 ; interest on same, |o ; $7;5o. Forty ewes will pro- duce 50 himl)s, Avhich sell readily at 1|4 each, $200; 294 jiouuds of avooI, unwashed, at 25 cents, 1|73.50 ; total, $273.50. The profit on the iuA'estment can be easily seen. Kinf/ WiUiam : It needs no argument or statistical aA-erage to couA-ince people that sheep-raising is the most profitable pursuit that can be followed. Drawback, half- starved dogs. Our cliuiate is mild and pasture laud abundant. Wkst Virginia. — (iircuhrier: Great portion of the county yet in timber. Sheep could not be Avintered Avithout inclosing land and making preparation. Forty-seven eAves had ()7 lainl»s (5 died), and gave a net profit of $113.92. reiidleton: It is ditticult to imagine Avhy we liaA-e not turned our attention to sheep-husbandry. Sheep would be much more remunerative than cattle, and enable us to get a ]n-ofit from a great deal of nuproductive land. Fayette: Very little ]m)visi(m made for sheltei'ing sheep. They are fed on hay and corn fodder ; sometinu's a little corn. North Carolina. — AJleijIuDuj : Cost of keeping sheep, 25 cents; profit, 75 cents. Anson: Until some means is devised by which thieving and the ravages of dogs are SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 57 checked, sheep-liushandiy will not prosper. Ashe: Tliis county is Tvell adapter! to slieep-ralsiug, and there is a general tendency to iuipi'ove the breeds and to devote more special attention to sheep. Bevtic : Reporter's tiock of .50 head last year yielded 200 pounds of wool, which sold for $7:^ ; 32 lambs, for |96. The cost of shearing; and one bushel of salt was |5.75; leaving a net profit of f 162.25. Biiucombe: Pasturage good; dogs destructive; hence no more sheep are raised than absolutely necessary for domestic use. Calxin-KS : The manure alone dropi>ed by the sheep pays for their keep. Duplin : Reporter's tiock numbers 20 head (1.5 ewes). Cost of keep, 25 cents per head ; GO pounds of wool, at 25 cents, |15; 12 lambs, worth $24; making the returns $39. De- ducting from this the cost of feeding and loss of one ewe, there remains a profit of $31. Edgecoinhi; : Intelligently managed, sheep-raising is a most profitable business, as wool can be raised for less than two cents per pound. The manure is of greatest value to the cottou-lands, so that the wool may be regarded as net profit. Henderson : The Southdown thrives best. Hertford : Sheep are not profitable, which is due to neglect, thieves, and dogs. Iredell : Owing to the utter neglect of the she(?p, sheep-husbandry has thus tar proved nn])rofitable, though this county otters a mild cliuuxte and most extensive ranges. MitchtU : Oue fiock of 80 is reported, which costs 30 cents per head for keej); the fleece — 4 pounds per head — at 35 cents, amounts to $1.40, from wliich, if the cost is deducted, a net profit of $1.10 per head is obtained. Oranfje : Sheep are raised for the table ; wool is a secondary consideration. The most serious losses are sustained from high water. A flock of 18 Cotswold costs annually about $5; profit about $10. X((sl) : Tliere is an encouraging interest taken in sheep-raising. Some farmers have light, moveable fences, which inclose the land to be manured. The grazing plots are changed after every second night. The most popular breed is a cross of the Cotswold and the native stock. The Merino is fast coming into favorable notice. The sheep are healthy, receive no attention, and have but one enemy — the dog. Eoukinf/ham : Sheej>-raising would do well here, with only the slightest attention. Transylvania : A growing interest is taken in sheep-raising. Tyrrell: Efibrts are made now greatly to im])rove sheep-husbandry in this county. Union: This is a sheej) county by nature, and sheep-raising would be a most profitable business rightly un- dertaken 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 Caholixa. — JbbeviUe: An individual expei'ience of twenty-tive 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 costs for keep 50 cents per head; profit, 50 per cent. ; neglect and dogs are the drawbacks to sheep-husbandry. Oeonee : With proper care improved sheep would be the best paying of all stock; sheep live and do well without anything l>nt their x)asture the year rojuid. Oraufiehurg : Sheep-raisers are discouraged ; everybody is trying to sell out ; half the sheep are annually lost. Spartanburg: There is a for- tune in sheep-raising to auy person who will devote his time to it ; i)rofit is according to attention. Georgia. — Calhoun : The only expense attached to the raising of sheep is that in- curred in gathering, luarking, 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 Avith mutton. Camden : Few sheep raised, but of all stock are the most profitable ; the wool and mutton are net profit. Johnson : Beyond shearing, the cost of .sheep-raising is small ; profit, 80 cents per head per annum. Jones : There is a general tendency to give umre attention to sheep-raising. Lincoln: The few special ettorts made with sheep have not l)een attended by profitable results. McDuffie : There are several planters giving attention to sheep-raising ; their flocks yield from 25 to — per cent, upon the investment ; to this climate the Southdown and Cotswold, ci'ossed with the Merino, are best adii,])ted, and if properly housed could be sheared semi-annually. Mur- ray : But few flocks in this county, yet the most ordinary attention to the sheep will pay 100 per cent, on the cai)ital invested. Oglethorpe : Though not suited to sheep- raising in all ])arts, with a little care and an enforced dog-law, might be made to i»ay well. Whitfield: Doubtless sheep-raising miglit easily be made a X'-'iyin^' business. Worth : The only expense in raising shee]> is shearing — 2^ cents ])er head. Terrell : 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 jiroduct of avooI might, with proper manage- ment, be very greatly increased, and the only drawback to raising mutton for the market is the want of facilities of transportation. Orange: Several years ago an attempt was made to raise sheep, but the exjieriment was a failure. Now there is not a single sheep in the county. iSuwannee: Cost of raising sheep nominal; profit 100 per cent. Santa Rosa: Cost of kee,]), 5 per cent ; profit from 25 to 40 per cent. Alabama. — Barbour: Sheep-husbaudry is steadily gaining ground. Lately some 58 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. fine blocks from Kentiicl^y have been iutrodnced. Tlie only drawback is want of good grazing-lands. Blount: The cost, ]al)or, and care expended on sheep is so little, that the cost of wool is not more than that of cotton, pound for ponnd. If sheep received the proper care and attanticm the cost of wool would not be matei'ially 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. Calkomi: 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 now yield wool worth $50, besides supplying an occasional mutton. Date : Sheep-raising is making great progress and is favored by land-pine woods tit for noth- ing else. Lowinleii: Moi'e dogs than sheep in this county. The many worn-cmt old fields might be most profitably utilized by being set with Bermuda grass, thus making fine sheep-pastures; but cotton is the all-engaging 8nl)ject. Morf/an: In the mountain belt of this county the farmers are beconuug alive to the wool-growing business. Thus far but the most passing attention has been given to this 'subject. Winston: But few sheep raised, the flocks averaging about 15 in number. With .an outlay of 30 cents per head there is a return of 85 cents. Mississippi. — Amite: There is a good prospect that sheep raising Avill soon become popular. Sheep can be kept for 10 to 15 cents per head on such lands as this county attbrds. Bolivar: This county is iu)t dry enough for successful sheep-raising. Choc- taw: Most excellent grazing-lands and many old fields that might be used for shee])- l)asture, but thus far sheep-husbandry has received no attention. Greene: A net profit of 20 per cent, is realized on shee]>. Grenada: An encouraging change in favor of sheep is gradually taking place. The princii)al drawback to an otherwise profitable busiuess is neglect of the lambs. Loirnclcs : 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. liankin: Thus far, on account of pasturage, cattle have been more profitable than sheep, l)ut of late the latter are introduced on worn-out farms. Hinds: Keported 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 ju-r 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 Fourrhe : Little adapted to sheep-husbandry. What few Ave have are healthy, and live on native grasses. IJast Baton Bouye: Could no doubt be made profitable. Very little of it done except for home use. Sheep healthy, and require tint little extra care. ClaiJmrne: A profitable investment when intelligently managed. It is a growing industry. Flocks Avith care should increase 75 j)er cent, annually. Bossier: There is no doubt that sheep-husbandry is the most profitable as w'cU as most pleasant 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. — I'alo Pinto: 1,000 sheej) will cost about $300 per annum; extra help in lambing time, $30 ; salt, $15 ; shearing, $50 ; feed during wiuter, $200. Small herds here will pay better than large ones wlien they are so large as to retpiire a herder. Xararro: In this and all the old settled prairie counties from 300 to 400 sheep do Avell. 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 jjounds prairie hay, and 1 bushel cotton-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 $1,001). Kim- hall: A flock of 1,000 head increased 369 in one year (counting losses); sheared 5,832 l)ounds of wool (worth $1,135), tlw increase of sheep Avorth $900; expenses, giA'ing good attention, $240. Goliad: Without crediting iucreasc Avith 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. Bande)-a : Lands suitable for sheep-raising can be located on note certificates for 20 to 30 cents per aci'e, in siirveys of 640 acres each, one for the owner of the ci-rtificate, the other for the school-fund. Exjiense of surveys aliout $12. Ellis: There are OA-er 500,000 acres of pasture land in the county avcU atla))ted to sheep-raising. It is claimed that there are 75 difl'erent kinds of grasses grown here that are A'alual)le 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, Avhen avooI can be raised at the sauu* price and sold at 15 to 25 cents per pound. Bosijne: Very few sheep, but one of the best sheep counties in the State. fVallvr : A few years ago I sent the facts of my flock. Every year that I looked after them they paid me full nu'asure: when I neglected tln'm they neglected me. Titns : We are Avearing down our lauds and muscles at ruinous rates, raising cotton at G to 8 SHEEP-HUSBANDKY. 59 cents y)er pound. Some fevr farmers have picked, up some slieep and are making it pay handsomely. Stephens : Admirably adapted to sheep-raising. Any amount of for- age can be 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. BockwaU : Cannot be made profitable in this county. Soil, black and waxy ; grasses coarse and rank. Fewer sheep in county now than 15 years ago. Menard : Indian raids operate against wool-growing. They kill the shepherd for his scalp and the sheep for sport. Kennard : Thrive best under fence on account of mountainous sur- face. Pasture should be subdivided so as to occasionally give them a fresh one. Should have a dry shelter at night in winter. Hunt : Heretofore regarded as of little impor- tance, now attracting much attention and considered profit aljle. Fort Bend : Experi- ments at sheep-raising have been very successful, but cattle and cotton only receive attention. Bowie : No loss excejjt from wolves. Fine sheep country. Whole county is a complete jiasture. There are a few sheep-breeders in the South who have demonstrated the ])rofit of higli-bred sheep, liberal feeding, and constant attention. Mr. Crutchtield, near Chattanooga, Tenn., has a flock of modified Cots- wolds, yielding a fleece of soft, long fiber, which was produced b}' crosses upon native ewes, first bj^ a Merino ram, next by an improved Ken- tucky, and finally. Cotswolds. He does not pamper his flocks, but fur- nishes an abundant supply- of winter pasture, and ample but not expen- sive shelter. He makes the following statement of profits : Since 1864, I have invested — For ewes $130 00 For bucks 220 00 Total 350 00 Since 1866, I have sold^- For breeding and mutton, over $1, 800 00 For wool 1,.500 00 $3, 300 00 I have on hand 78 sheep — 76 ewes and wethers, mutton price, flO.OO 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 al)ont what they would bring for their wool and mutton; the lambs at $7 each, about one-half of which are buck hrmbs, and will be sold at from !|15 to $25 each (fifteen of them are now engaged). But suppose they are not sold for breeding jiurposes, and are kept simply for wool and mutton, next April or May thev will clip an average of ten pounds of wool each, which — If sold at 35 cents .153 50 And weigh from 125 to 150 pounds — say 135, at 5 cents 6 75 10 25 Deduct for keejiing, (fee $1 50 Deduct 10 per cent, loss -....: 1 00 2 50 And they will pay 7 75 I have 78 sheep — Ewes, 68; Avethers, 8—76, at $10 each $760 00 Bucks, 2, at cost 75 00 835 00 60 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. Cost of keeping twelve months, $1.50 eaeli. ,fll7 00 Ten per cent, losses 8:5 .'lO One per cent, taxes 8 3.5 1,043 85 I have from them in wool — Shipped to Boston, pounds. 662 Gave to the servants three fleeces, pounds 23 688, at 3.5 cents.. $240 80 Sixty lambs, at $7 each -. 420 00 660 80 Or over 60 per cent, upon the investment. In my former estimates I have allowed $2 j)er head per annum for keep, »S:c., when I had not the grazing oats; now I have allowed |1..50 pev annum for kee]), &e., while I am satistied that the droppings of the sheep and cleansing of the meadows would jiay their way. They graze the meadows in the summer after m'owing, keep down noxious weeds, trumiiet vine, sedge, &c., until frost, when these pests cease to grow; tlien they are taken to the grazing oats, and the tame grasses in the meadows ami pasture lots put forth with every mild season during the fall and winter, to be grazed only when the oat-lield is too soft to allow the sheep to be on it. A committee appointed to consider tlie adaptability of Smitli County? Tennessee, to profitable sheep-liusbandry, arrives at tlie 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 best breeds are the Leicester, Cotswold, a cross of the Leicester and Cots- wold, and the Southdown. One of our correspondents, we have seen,.})refers 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 100 pounds at four or five months, his preference is justified l)y 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 kee])ing. They yield too little wool, and make too little mutton, and of too i)oor a quality to i)ay for rais- ing them. The committee thus report a statement of the experience of - General B. F. Cheatr ham, who in the spring of 1863 bought 12 sheep for $24, the account of which is as follows : In 1839 Isoldmy Avool for $37 80 In 1870 I sold my wool lor 46 48 In 1871 I sold my wool for 7? 73 In 1872 I sold my wool for 153 17 In 1873 I sold my wool (in Philadelphia) for , 201 00 In 1874 Isoldmy wool for. 223 00 Total amount of wool sold in six vears 739 18 In 1874 I sold 58 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 besidl's 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 tliem a few feeds of sheaf oats. This spring, after tln^ ewes connnenced lambing, during the ex- cessive wet weather, I fed 70 ewes one-half Inisliel shelled corn daily, for thirty days, wliich is all the corn ever fed them. Arkansas. — Baxhr: Tliis is a mountainous country and well adapted to sheep-rais- ing, and farmers are beginning to see the profit in it. Drew: Pay no attention to SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. • 61 slipcp, only to mark and shear them. Do not need feeding or sheltering. Frniillhi : It is an industry to which people i)ay little attention, although it would pay larger dividends than cotton. Howard: Do not recjuire any labor but marking and shearing. "Will live in the woods from March 1st to November Ist; 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. Izard: Need feeding from Januai-y to April. Diseases rare ; very few destroyed by dogs or wolves. Tennessee. — Lewis : During the war I had a flock of sheep that was left for two years without any attention, except that I had them sheared once a year. They did as well as ever, althongh they lived two winters without being fed. Ifarren: "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. Waijne: Invested $133 in sheep in August, 1876 ; cost of Avinteriug, .$40. Sold 12 sheep at $2 per head ; avooI, for 132.75 ; value of sheep on hand, $149 ; net profit, $32.7.5. Summer pasturing balanced by improvement of land from droppings. Win- ter cost of keeping averaged a little too high perhax)S. Kentucky. — Cumberland: But few shee]), though it is generally conceded that they pay Itetter than tobacco. Graves : The general impression is that sheep-raising would be niore profitable than toltacco-growing. Hart : Pasturage most excellent, but sheep- raising has not been sufficiently followed to develop its profits. Harrison : The fleece will nearly pay cost of keep, leaving a profit of 25 per cent. Johnson: Sheep-raising IS not pox>ular with the farmers, though they have all possible adA'antage 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.H0 per year ; returns, $2.25 to $3. SheU))/ : Sheep-raising is recognized as a remunerative business, and is fast grow- ing in favor. Simpson : About one-fourth the iarmers 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 laud is cheap, and the sheep require but little winter feed. MissouKi. — 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 fanning. The cost of keeping Avill not exceed 65 cents per head. Benton : Splendid county for sheep, but not extensively carried on, as it is not generally well enough understood. Cass : Eight years ago I bought eight ewes, and from them have raised about 200. Have had less attention than any other stock on the farm, and I think sheep-growing could be made profital)le in this jiart of the county. Crawford: Have been more or less over eight States, and believe this is the liest and most profitable place to raise sheep that I have ever seen. The surface is rolling, making it dry and healthy fov sheep, with streams ami 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 gi'asses are easily raised. Holt : 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 nnist say that this is the best sheep country lever 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 profitaVde than anything else in proportion to capital invested. Stoddard : Sheep do extremely well here, as they always have access to the gi'onnds. We have only the coarse breeds. De Kalb : Good sheep of every breed can be found in this county — Meri noes for wool, coarsi'-wooled for fattening. Many coarse-wooled are purchased in the fall from New Mexico and Colorado for fattening. SHEEP HUSBANDRY U THE SOUTH. PREPAKED AT THE BBQTjEST OF HON. ALE:5tAlsrDER H, STEPHE>JS, OF GEORGIA AND OTHERS. BY JOHK L. HAYES, SECRETAUY OF THE JfATlONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOOL MANUEACTURERS. Eevristed fkom the BcllEtis of the National Associatios oi' Wool Ma>:ufactureus. CONTENTS. Pa^e. Letter of Hou. Alexander H. Stepliens, General J. B. Gordon, and others 65 TYPICAL 80UTHERX STATES. Climate '... 68 Health of slieej) at the Sonth 68 Ettect of climate on the wool-prodncing qualities of sheep 68 The culture of electoral sheep recommended 71 Resources in the South for the nutrition of sheej) 73 The grasses — Bermuda, &c ". 73 Forage plants — Alfalfa, i)ea8e, turnips, &c 75 Present condition of Southern sheep hushandry 77 The course reconunended for the South 80 Slieep 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. Shaetfer 99 Advice to emigrants 105 Obstacles to slieep-growing in Texas 106 Numlier of sheep in Southern States 107 Number of sheep in Northern and Western States 107 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. Relations of wool production to customs diaties 108 Adjustment of duties on mainifactures 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 General John A. Young, of North Carolina 115 Letter of Col. J. Wash Watts, of South Carolina 118 Letter of Col. Richard Peters, of Georgia 120 Letter of Charles N. Jenks, of Texas 122 Extract from forthcoming report of the commissioner of agriculture of Tennes- see 122 Additional facts bearing upon the culture of electoral wools in the South 124 Sheep husbandry in connection with the culture of tobacco 125 Recent notes on the Anj-'ora sioat 126 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. The api^reciative 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 oontemphited, and is but a continuation of an inquiry as t(t 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 hns- *Washington, D. C, December 10, 1877. Sir : Tn the numbers of the Bulletin, published as the oro-an 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 Productioii, and Sheep Husbandry." The interest called forth in ns by the pei'usal of these pai)ers has T)een deepened by the readiufi' of the Report upon Wool and Wool Fabrics, made by you as one of ihe group of judges in the late International Exposition, which you were officially re- quested to pre])are. While very 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 i)resented by any influential aiithoritj', like that you represent. As the objects of your association are national in their eliaracter, we believe the proposition will meet your approval, if we suggest that you prepare a paper ujiok " Sheep Husbandry and Wool Production in the South," for publication in your jour- nal, and also for general distribution. Being residents of, and therefore specially interested in, that section of the country, we believe that an authoritative setting forth of the great advantages it presents for this industry, by your association, will give a great impidse to all interests there : while 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 oi' any aid we may be able to give you in furtherance of that result, we are very truly yours, &c., ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS, M. C, of Georgia. J. B. GORDON, II. S. S. BEN.I. H. HILL, U. S. S. JOHN T. MORGAN, U. S. S. M. W. RANSOM, U. S. S. JOHN W. JOHNSTON, U. S. S. RICHARD COKE, U. S. S. L. Q. C. LAMAR, IT. S. S. WADE HAMPTON, Governor of South Carolina. I have not had the pleasure of reading the articles referred to ; but, as Texas is most largely interested in wool-growing, I trust the articles suggested will be pre- pared. S. B. MAXEY, U. S. S. With great interest in the subject, aiul beg to add my signature. T. F. BAYARD, II.' 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. JoHX L. Hayes, Esq., iSecrefanj of the National Association of Wool Mannfactitnra, Boston, Mass. S. E." 25 5 66 SHEEP- HUSBANDRY. bandry in tlie older States of tlie North and East; and tLat wliat the far West gains, Vermont and Oliio 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 Avealth, grandeur, and independence of the nation as a whole; and of the comfort, elevation, and well-com]iensate(l labor of the American people as a whole. Above all things it abhors monopolies of indi\ id- nals, States, or sections. It does not favor the exclusive occupation of the cotton uiannfactnre by Massachusetts or Rhode Island, but would plant it also by the, side of the cotton-tields in Georgia and Mississipj)!. It would light furnace tires iu Michigan, Ohio, and Alabama, as well as in Pennsylvania. Statesmanship would have our national industrial system advance iu its march like one of our grand natirodiicing qualities of the animal. — Upon this point, Dr. Randall thus sums up his conclusions : My convictions are decided, and the facts reported appear to fully sustain them, that warmth of temperature, at least to a point equaling the highest mean tempera- ture in. the United States, is not injurious, but absolutely conducive, to the i)roductiou of wool. The cause's of this are involved in no mystery. Warm climates afford green and succulent herbage during a greater portion of the year than cold ones. Sheep }dentifully supplied with green lierbage keep in a higher condition than when con- iined to that which is dry. High condition promotes those secretions which form wool. • Every one at all conversant with sheep well knows that, if kept Heshy all the year round, they produce far more wool than if kept poor. A half a ])ound difference per head is readily made in this way. Within the niaxinuim and mininuim of the product of a slieep or a tlock, the ratio of production always coincides with that con- dition. Some other facts, not refei-red to by the author, illustrative of the ben- eficial intiuence of warm clinuttes upon the Merino-sheep husbandry, which we have now specially in view, may be here stated. M. Moll, the distinguished scientific reporter on wool at the Paris Exposition of 1807, says : " We observe that it is the vine and nuilberry which best suits the ovine species in geiu^ral, and the fine-wooled races in i)artic- ular." It need not be remarked that the more southerly States emphat- SHEEP- HUSBANDRY. 69 ically belong to the vine-bearing- zone. The great Merino wool-clip of the world is prodnced in even warmer latitudes. The Argentine Re- public, standing second in tlie world in the snpi)ly of the wools of com- merce — having 57,501, 2G0 sheep, producing 210,000,000 pounds — has a climate where the cold of winter is so nuxlerate as to ])roduce no more severe ettects than slight hoar-frosts, which disappear with the morning's sun. Its wools, chielly Merino, are fine and soft ; having, as their prin- cipal defect, the burr clinging to the fleece, derived from the white medoc or clover, on which the sheep feed, unfortunately in that country insep- arably connected with the productive lands and best pasturage. The most ])roductive Merino-wool regions in Europe are the southern prov- inces of the Russian Empire, where the climate is so mild that the sheep require shelter and fodder only about six weeks in winter. Single flocks in that country reach to fifty, se\^enty-five, a hundred thousand, and even four hundred thousand head. Specimens of Merino wools from this region, shown at the Centennial Exliibition, in fineness and extreme length of staple surpassed any exhibited. Mr. Graham, author of the most accepted hand-book of the sheep husbandry of Australia, asserts that— The " Salt-bush" fotiiitry in New South Wah^s, n region of excessive heat, can and does in some instances produce as heavy and vahiabh-- wool as do any other })ortions of the Australian colonies. It was the received (lidiim, in 1845, that the climate of tin- Darling Downs, within the tropics, was too hot for the growth of wool. The superin- tendent of the Clyde Company thought otherwise, and adopted a careful and judicious system of selection. In eight or nine years, the Darling Downs iiroduced as good wool aa any grovyu in Australia, although it still bore the name of hot-country ivoot. To the Northern farmer, accustomed to see his shee]) and cattle suffer- ing and refusing nourishment during i^eriods of excessive heat in the ]Srorthern summers, it may seem inconceivable that sheep should not b« unfavorably affected bj^ the hot summers of tlie South. But it should be remembered that the summer heat of the Soutli is tempered by the breezes blowing from the Gulf; and that at Xew York, in midsummer, the days are very nearly one hour longer than at Savannah, and the nights correspondingly shorter ; consequently, at Kew York there is one hour longer for the heat to accumulate from the direct rays of the sun, and one hour less time in the night for the accuuuilated heat to be carried off by radiation. From these two causes, the summer heat is never so excessive in southern as in northern latij:udes. But it is asserted that warmth of cliniate, while promoting the quantity of wool produced, enlarges the fiber, making the wool coarser. This was the oi)inion of Dr. Eandall, and is still generally ado])ted. lie says: "Tliere can be but little doubt tliat the pelage of the sheep becomes finer in cold climates, and coarser in warm ones." He sees the causes of this phenomenon in tlie greater amount andquality of the nutriment I'eceived by the animal in Avarm climates, which maintain in greater activity those secretions which form wool, and that increase the quantity aiul weight of the fleece. The weight, he thinks, is increased b^' increasing the length and thickness of the separate fibers ; just as plants j)ut forth longer and thicker stems on rich soils than poor ones. The pO[)ular bi'lief that wool becomes coarser in warm cliniates is strengthened by the admitted fact that sheep originally covered with hair and an undergrowth of wool, when introduced into very hot climates within the tropics in time become covered with hair alone; the wool, as is supposed, being converted into hair. This supposition is not correct. The wool part of the fleece is not changed ; it is lost. Mr. George W. Bond, an eminent exj^ert in wool, has recently exhibited to a scientific 70 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. society skins of Arabian sheep, some of tliem covered with hair alone, and others having" simiUir hau% bnt witli a thick nudergrowth of wool. The fiber of the wool i)roved by test to be eqnal to that of the very finest Saxony wool. The fiber of th(5 wool proper, then, is not changed or en- larged by climate. Bnt tliis qnestion, it would seem, has been finally i)nt at rest by the carefully conducted experiments of Professor Sanson, the most eminent zootechnist in France, i^ublished in the Comptes rendus of the French Academy — such a publication by that body being in itself a sufticient indorsement of Professor Sanson's scientific authority. The importance of the observations justifies us in giving at length a large part of Pro- fessor Sanson's note to his table of experiments, given by him in detail. His researches were made upon twenty specimens of wool. The animals from which the wool-fibers examined were derived he calls "precocious" Merinoes ; that is, aninmls so bred and highly led as to produce the ut- most weight of fleece and flesh; the race having, besides, the cpiality of maturing early. He says : It i.s goncrally admitted, from reasoning a priori, that the rapidity of growtli in pre- cocious Merinoes, due to the abundance and special qualities of nourishment, cannot fail to incicase the size of the hairs of the same wool. I have proposed to determine scientitically the truth of this induction. After stating his exjieriments and manner of conducting them, he con- siders certain propositions demonstrated, among which are the following : 1. The precocious develoj)ment of Merino sheep, having the elfect to carry their aptitude^ to produce flesh to the highest degree that sheep can attain, exercises no in- fluence on the tineness of their avooI. Tliis 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 iutluence exercised by the jirecocious 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 formatiou of epidermic cellules in tiie hair-T)ulb, being more active. Tliere is, therefore, more Avoolly 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 moditications which the staple of wool presents in this repect are only apparent. By increasing the length of the hairs the precocity necessarily increases that of the locks of wool which they form, which makes the fleece appear less dense. The views here i>resented, we admit, would not be accepted l>y 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 theeflect of climate on the fineness of wool fiber, we may appropriately quote a breeder of great reputation in Tennessee, but wliose flocks were in Mississippi. His statement is old, but the moi'e valuable since the culture of fine Saxon sheep has now almost wholly ceased in this country. Mr. Mark E. Cockerill, in a letter published in the American Farmer, says: I have about 1,000 head of fine sbeej). * * * jMy Saxon sheep were imported in 18'24or IS'iH — I can not say which — and I find as yet no falling oft' in the quantity or (qual- ity of their fleeces; on the contrary. I believe a little imj)rovement in both iioints, and H litth^ more yolk when well provided for; whicli you know does not niucli abound in the Saxf)n breed. In addition, tlie fleeces are a. litth^ nior<^ com])a(t than formerly, hence more weight ; and from our mild climate the sta])le has become longer. I asser that the cottcui region I am now in (Madison County, Mississippi), in about 32° north, 18 better than any country north of it to grow wool, as the sheep can be kept all the time grazing, by sowing snaall grain ; for, if grazed oft", it quickly grows again in a few days. 7\ud the wool of the fine Saxon sheep in this climatti is softer and uu)re cotton-like that any I have ever seen, althougli I have samples from all jtarts of the world. I have traveled from this very place to Boston, sampling all the sheep of note SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 71 on tho way, iind I have foniiil uotliiiii;- on my journey or at Boston as ^^oofl as tlio wool I have earing fresh under a sun that shrinks the leaves of a majority of other crojis. In tlie eotton-growing district surrounding the Gulf of Mexico, the fall of rain is so profuse through the midsummer as to suggest very distinctly the temporary estalilishment of true tropical conditions — the lapping over t»f torri«l-Z(MU' rains upon this ])ortion of the temiierate zone while the sun is at its, northernmost declination. As the sun retires, the trojjical conditions give way ; the comparatively dry. serene, and temperate autunni of the mid-latitudes succeeds, se- curing most fave suj)pose(l that there should exist the rich, thick-swarded pastures or meadows of many portions of the jSTorth, But grass culture is now at- tracting large attention at the South, and, hai^pily, from persons of scien(;e and practical knowledge. Conspicuous among them Avas Mr. C. AV. Howard, recently deceased, whose extremely well- written manual on the cultivation of grasses and forage plants at the South is the principal source of the notes which follow. Mr. IIoAvard, speaking generally but carefully, says, that, after an observation of more than twenty years, he does "not hesitate to say, if ground be made sufficiently rich and as Avell prejiared ; that if judgment be exercised in sowing, and in adapta- tion of species to particular localities, and i)roper subsequent manage- ment be observed, that, so far as soil and climate are concerned, the South has unusual fitness for the successful cultis'ation of the valuable grasses." While admitting that there are portions of the South (as is the case in all countries) where the grasses will not grow, he declares unhesitat- ingly, "There is nothing in the elimate of tlie 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 grazing at the South is a substitute, except in exceptional periods, for this indispensable fodder for sheep at the North — we will condense his observations upon the grasses for pasturage. 74 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. One of the most marked advantages of the South is the ability to grow grasses which may be pastured in winter. Thus the cost of cut- ting the grass, and saving the-liire of barn for storing it, and the cost of feeding it out, are dis])ensed with ; while su(?culent food, which, at the North, must be i)rovided 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 frecpiently done; but they nuistbe sown annually, and are inferior to jiermanent grass pastures. The meadow oat, orchard and blue grass, with wild rye or Tyrrell grass, are chiefly i-elied upon for permanent winter-grass pasture. Sirring pasturage is afforded by the broom sedge ; and the summer pasture, l»y the native crab grass — an annual peculiar to the South, which springs up evei-ywhere at the South in the stubble where small grains had been harvested, making a sumnu^r pasture which cannot be surpassed. Very sensible farmers at the South have estinuited 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 observes, "has nothing to correspond with our crab-grass. His stock are eating, without appetite or relisli, in August and Septem- ber, the old grass of the spring; Avhile 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 Be])artment of Agriculture, is rapidly taking pos- session of uncultivated places in Sagated by sowing broadcast pieces of the roots obtained from the turf, washed free from the dirt, and chopped fine by a cuttiug-machine. The grass, wheu grazed, forms a very compact sod, which, turned in by the plow, has extraordinary nmnurial value. The results of cultivatiug thirty acres of laud well set with this grass are thus stated by Colonel Lane: First crop : Cotton, half stand, owiug to' the mass of unclecomiiosed 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 aci-e; corn manured with cotton seed. Fourth crop: Wheat, 42 bushels per aci'e. The average product of this land, without the sod, would luive been not more than 100 pounds of seed-cotton, 15 to 20 bushels of corn, and 8 to 10 of wheat. According to Mr. Howard, by turning up Bermuda grass laiul by the plow, and sowing blue grass and white clover, a pasture can be pioduced 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 oar 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, iu(iuired : " 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 Geoigia must become a sheep-walk before it can be restored to fertility and the land-owners can become iudeiiendent of the negro. A correspondent from Memphis, Tenn., writing to the Department of Agriculture in January of the i)resent 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 jiasture 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 thtnn, not patclies — large tields of them, and tields 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 relatious 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 Avill sustain a sheep to every acre of territory, and :i7, 000,000 of sheep would be worth to their owners in the ag-gTCg^te $37,000,0(')0, 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 pro\e insufficient. These periods, short at the extreme South, 76 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. become long^er 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 North. It is highly recomiiiended by Mr. Howard and Dr. Randall as a Avmter forage for the South, as its haulm, or straw, when cut partially green, makes a rich fodder relished by all stock. Dr. Randall says that " for sheei) and breeding ewes there is probably no feed in the world equal to lucely 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 yonng." To tiiis may be added the sweet potato, another peculiar product of the South. It is estimated that from two to jthree bushels of sweet ])otatoes are equal in value to one bushel of corn. More than three times as many bushels of sweet i)otatoes can be raised on an acre as can be raised of corn on the most fertile lands of the West. Well-cured pea-^ines and sweet potatoes afford as cheap and valuable food for fat- tening sheep as can be found in any country whatever. A still nuire im- X>ortant i)roduct, peculiar to the South, must not be overlooked — the abundant cotton-seed, more nutritions than any grain, and so cheax) that it is afforded in Georgia for fifteen cents a bushel. AJfalfa. — California has recently brought into prominence a plant of foreign origin, which is destined to replace all others at the South for soiling or hay. This is the alfalfa, Cliili clover or lucerne, ^[edicago sa- tiva. Althongh intioduced 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 North 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 gronnd, 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 slieei) to any hay whatever. A wiiter in the Transactions of the State Agricultnral Society of California for 1 tlie number of sheep. Turnips and sheep form the founchition of the Enghsh four-iiehl system, and are the basis of English agriculture. Tliis system cannot be a(h)pted at the North, on account of the turnips freezing in the ground. Tlie 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 giowth of the turnii). The mode of i)rocedure is this: After turnips are grown on hind which has been suitably fertilized and cultivated — say in I)ecend)er or Jan- uary — a fold is made of hurdles or a portable fence, inclosing as many turnips as the tlock of sheep will eat in twent^'-four hours. One thou- sand sheep will consume the tiuiiips on an acre in that time; one hun- dred, a tenth of an acre in tlie same tinu'. The manure dei)osited by the sbeep in that tinu' will sufiice for four years' rotation. Mr. Harwot»d, in his admirable paper on the condition of agriculture in the cotton States, says of this system, Avhich he has practically tested on Georgia lands: The udvaiitajic of folding turnips is twofold. It is by far the clieapost method of niannrin.n' land. No hauling niannre is recpiirod, as the sheep haul their own niauure, both solid and licpiid, to preeiscly tlu^ s]iot on -which it is desired to apply it. It is evenly si)read 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 cottcm to the acre the folloAving year. The other advantage is the fine condition into which the slice]) are put at a season of the year when mut- ton brings the highest price. When hind is put into sufficiently good order to bring .500 bushels of turnips to the acre, the gain in mutton is equivalent to the cost of the cro]>. The heavy manuring of the laud is, then, clear gain. rresenf conflition of ^Southern slieep-hushandry. — When Ave turn from this picture of the possibility of shee]>-husbandry at the South to its actual condition at the i)resent time, the contrast is very painful. The reports of the very al)le statistician of the Department of Agriculture, "which, from a careful examination of the system adoi)ted by Inm in ar- riving at lesults, we regard as very reliable, show the numbers of sheep in the States of the cotton belt, excluding Texas, to have been as follows, in January, 1878: states. Numbpr of slieep. Area in acres. 490, 000 175, 000 382, ,'!()0 5(i, 500 270, 000 125, 0(10 2S5, 000 850, 000 250, 000 32 450 560 21 760 000 Oeorsia 37,120,000 37 931 520 rioiida Alabama 32 4ti"' 080 Louisiana 26 461 440 29, 184. 000 14 7->0 000 ■MiMsinMiiipi 30 179 840 Total 2, 883, 800 262, 209, 440 The area of the States named is derived from the reports of the Land Office. Thus there are in these States not far from one sheep to every 100 acres. Ohio, with an area of 25,700,000 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 Oeorgia has not that number. 78 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. Tlie United States Commissioner of Agriculture, with a due apj^reci- 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 tljis industry, witli blank returns, to his assistants in each county of the Southern States. Tlie original returns to these cir- culars, received in January, we have been kindly permitted to examine, and have carefully read every one received. Tlie general impression made ui)()n 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 North; 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 h a ve somewhat better care durin g the winter months, receive a little cotton-seed and a fewturnij)s and strawfrom thethrashing- floor. But no provision seems to be made of hay or other forage. All the returns ngree 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 in 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. R. A. (iriffin, of Horry County, South Carolina, stated by the re- X^orter to be a person of acknowledged skill and success in sheep-hus bandry, says : "An individual experience of twenty-five years has i)roven that the increase will pay all expense of keep, leaving fleeces and manure as ])rofit." 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 Avell prepared in Septem- ber, six acres of oats. Upon these oats he should turn in three to five head of sliceii the middle of December. It will give them the beyt of pasture until 1st of March, when they should be turned out, and the oats left to head up. Each six acres of tlieso oats should yield feed for one horse or mule twelve months, and kept in ordi-r 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-cidture receives the attention that cotton now does in this section, it will be the most prospeious country in the world." Amlrew A. Spauldiug, of Kockingham County, North Carolina, born a Scotchman, says : I am ft'om 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 sjstem of farunng, ])articuiarly sowing grasses and clover, having a rotation of crops, keep- ing more stock, and letting the fields lie three years in grass, and sowing down yearly as much as is taken up. By this means the farmers would be better oft" 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-mamifacturcr, has been led to give par- ticular attention to the wool resources of his State. He says : SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 79 Twenty years' experience in mannfactnring the wools grown in this State has faniiliiirized the writer with tlie niaiiner in wliieli this vahiahh' animal ("the sheep) has been eared for ; anil has eonvinciMl him that, withont great natnral advantages, their utter neglect wonhl long sin(;e have exterminated them from the soil. There are but few plantations in the State n])on which there was not to be fonnd a liock of sheep, intended to be oiilj/ sufficient to furnish the wool necessary to clothe the family, and furnish an occasional mutton. These sheep were generally the "native" lireed, rarely improved l)y crosses upon foreign blood. As a general rule, these small flocks never entered into their owner's estiuuite of his valuable property, and they were never so treated. In the s])ring Ihey were shorn of their fleeces, and turned outside their owners' inclosures to s(>ek their sumnu^r's sni>i)ort in the forests and wastes lands, OA'er which they chose to roam and to run the gauntlet for life anu)ng hungry hounds and gaunt curs almost as numerous as themselves. All that might escape, and were able to tind their homes in the fall season, and would seek its inhosj)italities 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 apjtreciative 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 nnijority of the flocks, being such as their instinct leads them to seek, by hovering on the sheltering sides of barns and outbuildings that may be ac- cessible. Yet, under +his treatment, the flocks of the farmers kept their numbers full, and occasionally multiply beyond their wants. The facility witli wliicli these flocks may be improved is well illus- trated by General Young". He says: Of necessity, the fleeces of these sheep are liglit and inferior ; hut 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 univei'sal custom of turning the eutin; stocks into the common "range," the impression of a. Merino, Southdown, or other importation, would manifest itself upon the flocks of eutii'e neighborhoods. So appar- ent is the improvement thus nuide that, in purchasing the surplus brought to market, there would l)e no difficulty in recognizing the wool from a neighborhood that had been favored by some enterprising farmer having imported from Virginia or Pennsylvania a pair of l)looded animals. Without any eliange in the mode of treatment, these ini- provenuMits are knoAA'n to be distinctly m.anifest in neighborhoods thirty years after their introduction. Being able to withstand all the hardship and neglect, and promptly to resjjond 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 i)ecnliar 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 i)ine-]ands of that State. We learn froiu General Abbott, of North Carolina, that flocks reaching up to 1,000 head are found on the pine-lands of the State. These llocks, 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 luisbandry implies care, and pro- vision for sustenance. Indeed, of the large poition of the South — espe- cially tlie lower South, excluding- Texas — with excei)tions Avhich ahnost could be counted on the Angers, taking into view the general want of care and provision for sustenance, it may be said that sheei)-husbandry, in the ])roper acceptation of the term, does not exist in that country. Tins cannot be considered a rei)roach. The exclusive devotion to cotton accounts for it. And the interest now taken in sheep culture by the nu)st intelligent men of the South, ami the general interest recently manifested by the numerous letters received l)y the Department of Agriculture, ask- ing for information on the subject, are guarantees of a brighter future in this industry at the South. , Our N'iew of the actual condition of this industry at the South, we ad- mit, does not correspond witli the impression readers would be ai)t to form from the report of the commissioner of agricidture of the State ol 80 SIIEEP-HUSBANDRY. Georgia upon the slieep-hu.sbandry of that State. He says that "the average animal profit on the capital invested in sheep in Georgia is 63 per cent. The average annual cost of kee])iug sheep is only 54 cents. The average cost of raising a ponnd of wool is only 6 cents; while the average price for which the unwashed wool sells is 33^ cents, or 27^ cents net." These results are alleged to have been, and undoubtedly were, derived from returns addressed to those engaged in the business. Particulars are given of only two cases, which we will quote : Mr. D.ivid Aycrs, of Camilla, Mildred County, in Southwestern Georgia, where snoAv 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 auuually 14 cents per head, clip :? pounds of iinwashed wool, which sells at 30 cents per jiouud, giving a clear profit of 90 per cent, on the money and ]al)or invested m sheep. Mr. Ayers does not feed his sheep at any time during the year ; neither has he introduced the improved breeds, using only what is called the native sheej). Mr. Robert C. JEfumber, 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, lambs, and wool. They yield an average of 3 pounds of wool per head, which he sells at the very low price of '25 cents — less than the market-price. It costs him nothing, except the shearing. His sheep range on Bermuda grass — old fields in sunnuer, and the plantation at large, embracing the fields from which crops have been gathered, and the cane bottoms, in winter. We are not disposed to deny that the estimates of profits made by the commissioner, or given in the i)niticular 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. Ouq 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 tlie 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 03 per cent, must be fallacious. While it may be true that a particular owner, having a vast range very favorably situated, in whicli two or three thousand can pick up their sustenance, may find them very profit- able, a competing owner in his neigliborliood would bmitthe range, and Ihe profits would diminish. It may be true that small flocks will cost so little to their owner that the profit from them will be "just like pick- ing it up " ; but this may not be the case with flocks of two or tliree hiindred animals. It is erroneous to consider sheep-farming, as it must be ordinarily conducted, as a matter of direct profit from the investment of capital. The amount of money which can ordinarily be put into sheep-husbandry with advantage by one person is so small tliat it can- not be properly called an investment of cai)ital. The consideration in growing sheep, except under the purely i^astoral system, is not one of di- rect profit, to be calculated like the dividends from bank stock ; but it is the general advantage of combining it with other industries on the form, of adding to its resources, and of making the ivkole more productive. The course recommended for the South. — There are two very distinct branches of the wool-growing industry. One is purely pastoral; hav- ing regard only to wool, taking but little account of the value of mutton, and none of the improvement of the land. It is conducted as an ex- clusive business in large flocks. The sheep-husbandry of Texas, Cali- fornia, and Australia belongs to the ])urely 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- l>risiug about ten nnllion acres, now practically unoccupied, constitutes a SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 81 natural i)asture upon wliicli a million slieei? could be raised at a trifling- expense. This is the opinion of tlie commissioner of agriculture of the State. Col. Richard Peters, of Atlanta, Ga., admitted to be the highest au- thority on sheep-husbandry in the State, in his original communication, elsewhere given at length, speaks of this district as follows : Across till', entire wiiltli of the State there is a belt of country of an extent, nortlnvard from tlie coast and the Fhmda line, say from 100 to 150 miles. It is the land of tlie long-leaf jiine and the wire-grass. Flocks of native sheep, as high as 8,500 in number, are found here and there scattered over the surface, rcMciving but little care or attention, exce])t at the annual gathering for shearing and mark- ing. Very little can be said either for the quantity or (|uality of the wool raised there. I am aware that it has be'u claimed for this section that its present advan- tages are as great for large flocks as the ranges in Texas and California. I do not sub- scribe to this opinion. The pasturage of this section, called wire-grass, offers line grazing for sheej) in the sjjring ; btit, for permanent and continuous food, it cannot be relied on. A fair exi)eriment in sheep-raising, uniting good attention, selection, and crossing, with a determination to secure the best development in frame and fleece, has not been made in this section for many years. If it were properly attempted, by condiining Bei'inuda with the wire grassfor sjiring and sunuuer pasture, and red winter oats ibr one or two nu)nlhs in winter, for the ewes arid lambs, I think the results would prove of the most satisfactory and profitable character. General Young, of Xorth Carolina, who, as a practical wool manu- facturer, speaks with much weight, is more sanguine than Mr. Peters as to the ca[)acity 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 in uniform good fi:^sli, grow to better maturity, and furnish 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 ba obtained at from 50 cents to $1 an acre. Having been burned over in former times by the Indians, they are free from underbrush. There is no necessity of clearing the land, as the pines may be destroyed by girdling. The land can be i)repare(l for the required pasturage of winter oats, simply by harrowing. A great advantage of these more southerly localities is the facility for sup])lying 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 f^irming 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, saiuly 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 com-erted 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:,()0() per acre in a year. The Tertiary lands of the South contain many elements wanting in our Xorthern pine plains (especially in the subsoil)^ as they contain organic remains. A scientific farmer in Louisiana re- gards the pine l^nds, when made rich as they can be with i>ine 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 groinid pi-ovokes tlie 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 hushandry. — The other and more important branch of sheep hnsbandry, in its relations to the improvement of a conntry. is that where the enlture of slieep is made auxiliary to a mixed husbandry. The hijuhest advantage of this system is the imi)rovement of the land. As this ])ai)er 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 x)ag'es. Sheep are the only animals which danot exhaust the land upon which they feed, but i)ermanently iniprove it. Horned cattle, es])ecially cows in milk, by continued grazing-, ultimately exhaust the pastures of their phosphates. In England, the i>astnres of the county of Chester, famous as a cheese district, are kei)t 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 distiibilted, are found to be the most economical and certain means of constantly renewing the ]U'oduct- iveness of the land. By the combination of sheep husbandi-y with Avheat- culture, lands in England, which, in the time of Elizabeth, ]U'oduced, on an average, (54 bushels of wheat per acre, produce now over 30 liushels. For these reasons, the recent i)ractical writers in the Journal of the Eoyal Agricidtural Society of England pronounce that, while there is no profit in growing sheep in England simply for their nuitton and wool, sheep husl)andry is still an indispensable necessity, as the sole means of kee])ing up the land. Ex])erience in the United States leads to similar conclusions. Mr. Stilson, of Wisconsin, by keeping sheep, is able to raise his 24 bushels of Avlieat to the acre, wliile the average yield of wheat in Wisconsin is but 10 bushels. There are cases in Vermont Avhere shee]) farmers have been com})elled to abandon one farm after another, as they became too fertile for jirofltable sheep-growing. Mr. Geoi-ge 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 wdieat, says that with one sheep to the acre of culti- vated land, i>asture, 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 tliein for the grain crop; that tlie land is constantly imi)roving, and the crop increas- ing in quantity ; and that, while producing cro])s on less acres and at less cost than he did before he kept sheep, he has, i)t addition, the wool and the mution produced by the sheep. Mr. William Chamberlain, of Red Hook, Dutchess County, New York, celebrated as a grower of Silesian sheep, purchased in 1840 a farm in that place of 380 acres, which had been used so long for selling hay that it was worn out. The hay croj* in 1841 was 17 loads ; 40 acres of rye gave K) bushels to the acre ; 25 acres of corn averaged 20 bushels to the acre; the rest of tlie farm pastured 2 horses, 4 oxen,, and 1 cow. The land was so poor that it v/ould not v.tise red clover. By using sheej) as the pro- ducers ;u;d r.ianufacHiirjs of manure, he made this worn-out farm so ]n'oductive that its (•i0j)s would be satisfact(uy even in Ohio. The ]>roduct in 18()(> wits 600 t ins of hay; 40 acres of Indian corn, yielding no bushels to the acre; 30 acres of wheat, averaging 15 bushels; 30 acres of oats, 8 a(Tes of roots, and the i)asturage of (JOO sheep, and of the teams, cows, &c., necessary to carry on the farm an«l to sui)ply the families on it Avith milk and butter. Mr. Chand)erlain's ])lan, when he first commenced making manure by using sheep, M'as to spread it thinly, so as to go over all the surface he could and ]iiuke clover grass; and he said that, wiien he had brought SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. 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 a's the great manure-i)roducing power. Now, all this can be done by sheep at the South. By their use even red clover, the grand ameliorator of land (which it was once declared could not be grown at the South), can be made to have the same regenerating influence which it has at the Nortli. 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 i^ortion 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 wliole, were poorer at the end than at the beginning of the year; that labor on a cotton plantation where a fall crop is ]danted is without intermission ; and that it is excessive in the quantity required, often exceeding in cost the whole salable value of the plantation ; that such is the demand for labor in those sections in which exclusive cotton culture is practiced that the i)lanter is compelled to take any labor that offers, Avhether good, bad, or indifferent; and thus the exclusive cotton-planter belongs to the negro as the negro once belonged to him; that if but half the usual quantity of cotton were l)lanted 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 tarming would be remunerative in the cotton States, with the triple effect of impro\ing the soil, increasing profits, and diminishing, and therefore controlling and improving, the labor. Xone of the language in the above paragraphs is our own ; it is literally taken from Soutliern writers. If they speak correctly, and the Southern land-holder must cultivate only the small proportion of land which he can manure heavily, what is to become of the rest of it? The only answer is, the rest may be de- voted to small grains, to meadow and pasture. To utilize the meadow and pasture, sheep can be more profitably" used at the South than any other stock. Cattle can be better raised at the West. Dairy and cheese farming are more difficult and more laborious than sheep-farming. Sheep culture has other advantages over cattle-raising. It gives annual divi- dends in the fleeces. Indeed, the ewe gives two dividends — her fleeces and her lambs. The beef-producing animals give no dividends; and the grower must go on adding his expenses till the end of their lives, when he must find his compensation (if he can) in one gross sum. The capi- tal required for the purchase of sheep — enough stock for a fair trial — is small. Large flocks are not required. Sheep-growing- is comiiionded by o her considerations, apparently slight, but too important to be overlooked. Wool never has to seek a purchaser. Poor or good, it i'^; evidently the cash article on the farm. The little addition from this source to the resources of tlie farm affords a satisfaction to which CA^ery wool-growing farmer will testif\-. 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 occn]>ation than that of cotton-planting, it should be dispelled. The nobility of 84 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. slieep-gTowing, and especially of sheep breeding-, is recognized by alltlie advanced nations. The Empress Eugenie took the flock of Eambouillet under her si)ecial protection. France has recently erected a monument to Daubenton, who lirst showed how the culture of the merino could be made successful. The Queen of Eugland takes pride in the choice flocks which adorn her parks. The first exhibitor of w^ools at our Centennial was an archduchess. The princes of Hnngary 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 tlie turf; and, at a dinner of the landed gentry, the topic of sheep and turnips takes precedence of all other table-talk. With snch recoguitions, sheep husbandry has no need of nrging its claims to a place of honor on tlie plantations of the Soutli. Precisely how sheep-farming, in conne(;tion witli the cotton culture, is to be earned on we would not presume to indicate. Fortunately, we have a Southern man — Mr. Howard, before quoted, and whose high au- thority as a scientific and practical farmer is well recognized in Georgia — to illustrate the application of diversifled husV)andry to the cotton cult- ure. He submits the following rotation of crops, in connection with sheep-growing, as suited to the agricultural condition of the South: We will suppose a farm of 500 acres of open laml under fence. Let 250 acres be de- voted to aralde ])nri)ose8 and the rest to grazini;'. 'J'lie rotation might be as follows: 1. Cotton and corn, in the same tield, in suitable proportions ; '2. Oats, sown in August, on the cotton and corn land ; 3. Eye, or rye and wheat, sown in Septeml)er, the land having been twice plowed, in order to kill the permanent oats ; 4 and 5. Clover, if the land is in sufficient heart to produce it; if not, the fourth year rest nngrazed, and the tifth year slieep and cattle penned upon it every night during the year, using a i>orta- ble fence. An ordinary farm of 500 acres will sni>i)ort 500 sheep, besides the crops in the above rotation. The oats and rye will feed them during the winter nearly or en- tirely, withoTit injury to the graiu. Five hands would be sufficient to work sucli a farm and take care of the live stock. During the tirst 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, at $1 2.50 00 50 acres in oats, 500 bushels, at 80 cents 400 00 25 acres in rve, 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 ]iounds per head, at 33 cents per pound 500 00 Manure, at $1 per head TiOO 00 3,475 00 Separately, each of these products is small ; still the aggregate result is more than $600 per hand. Yet this is nearly three times the average product per hand in the cotton 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 by ]»en- ning 500 Hheeji at nigiit on .50 acres. It is the writer's experience that 10 sheej), regu- larly penned, will manure 50 acres. Two liundred would therefore manure well .50 acres. The appearance of the ground would not indicate this high manuring, but it .should be remembei-ed that liqiud manure (which is equal in value to the solid) is not visible. * * * At the end of the tifth year of this rotation the change in the farm would be equal almost to a transformation, the crops having doubled or trebled with- out (which is a most important point) any material increase of labor or other expense. The accuracy of the estimates above given we do not vouch for. As we liave said before, all definite estimates of profits in any industry are liable to be fallacious. They are submitted only for illustration. The best hand-booksof art can do hardly anything more than suggest and excite the ■ reader to apply his own intelligence to the particular problem Avhich he SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 85 desires to solve. The more i»eiieral statement of another (Mr. Peters) may be more safe. He is ex])erieuce(l in sheep, and commends their em- ployment in connection with the cnltnre of cotton. He says. In the middle part of the State of Georgia the Bernmda grass prevails ; aud, under the cottoa system of culture, it AA'as the (tread aud haue of the i)lanter; but now, for its uutritious qualities aud couipaetuess of sod, it is considered by our people as valua- ble and reliable as any grass, not excei)ting the Kentucky blue-grass. It will otter sheep the very best of pasturage for six mouths of the year in this section of the State; and, if managed as on the pastures of Kentucky, for the entire year. In Putnam, Hancock, Wilkes, and adjoining counties (formerly the d dorado cotton country of Georgia), Avhere the Bermuda has taken possession, there is a future for successful sheep-husbandry, ])roviding, of cour.se, the supervision be intelligent, and the business projjcrly con- ducted, and combined Avitli cotton culture, the result nnist jjrove highly remunerative — far snr))iissing anything in the jiast history of this industry in New England or the Middle States. In regard to the general cnltnre of sheep at the Sontli, 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 i)rotitab]e return to the farmer ; and cer- tainly none so valuable to the acres he occupies. I think the State of Georgia, from its varied clinuite, 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 f)rchard-grass, red and Av lute clover on the upland, and red-top on low land, succeed admirably. Lu- cerne aud Gernian millet are never-failing sources of an ample supply of hay. The former afford from four to five cuttings in a season. Red rust iiroof oats — a variety reliable in winter, if sown in September — can be pastnred during the Aviuter aud early spring, aud then yield a full crop of grain. The same may be said of barley, rye, aiul wheat. The breeds I ha\'e tested are the Spanish aud French Merinoes, SouthdoAvns, Ox- fordshiredoAA'u, Leicester, Asiatic broad-tail or Tunisian, Improved Kentucky Cots- Avold, and nati\'e sheep. I haA'e also crossed nearly all of these varieties. Those be- tween the Siianish Merinos aud uatiA'c, aud the Cotswold aud native, haA'e proA^ed most profitable. My ])resent A'arieties are the thorough-bred Merinoes and CotsAVolds and crosses between these tAVO. For general purposes of avooI and nmtton, I recommend most decidedly the cross from the native caycs aud Spanish Merino bucks, the progeny shoAving marked im- provement, haAung constitution, fattening properties, thriftiness, and a close, compact tleece. If the winters are mild, my Hocks require feeding about thirty days; if cold and wet, twice that time. My Merino sheep are A^ery healthy. They have had trouble Avith the sheep bot-liy ; but I have found a liberal use of tar a perfect preAcntiAe. In all Avell-selected and AA'ell-nninaged flocks, the increase and manure Avill amply pay all expenses, and leave the fleece clear jiroflt. The fleeces of my flocks, not housed at night, will give an aA^erage of seven pounds of wool to the head. The future history of the sheep-hnsl)andry of this State, if intelligently pursued iu accordance Avith its natural divisions, Avill show three distinct systems; that of Northern Georgia Avill souK^Avhat resemble the industry iu Ohio, PennsylAania, 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 thorougldy i)ractical farmer and expert in sheep- husbandry at the IS^orth, we have requested Mr. William G. Markham, of Avon, i!^. Y., president of the New York State Wool-Growers' Asso- ciation, and secretary of the National Wool Growers' Association of the United States (whom we have had the privilege of consulting daily dttring the preparation of this paper), to give some suggestioibs in fur- tlierance of the object of improving' and extending sheep culture at the Sontli, and particularly as to the breed of sheep most desirable in that section. He has replied to this request as follows : Aa-on, N. Y., Apiil 21, 1878. Dear Sir: You ask my \'icws of improA-ed sheep husltaiulry and its adaptatdlity to the South. My personal experience as a breeder of sheep has been mainly Avith Ameri- 86 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. cau Merinoes in Western Ne^Y York, though I have bred Cotswohls and other long-wool varieties to some extent. • In my innui'diate vicinity are some of the most skillful and snccessful breeders of American Merinoes in thisconntry. I have at all times been quite familiar with their flocks, and watched Avith greatest care and interest the results of the ditiereut experi- ments in management and breeding. The little, light-tlecced foreigners imported from Spain between A. D. 1800 and 181:?, l>y Colonel Hvimjihreys, Consul Jarvis, and others, were transforuied by Messrs. At- wood of Couuecticnt, Hammond of Vernu)nt, and others, into a type of sheep so far superior, in constitutiou, form, and Aveight of fleece, and altogether so widely difter- ent from the original importation, as to be regarded a distinct variety ; and, in justice tu our breeders, the word Sjumishyyas drojiiJed, and the term ^meHcaw Merinoes aj) plied to them. To continue this iiuprovement in our stud Hocks a system for identifying and indi- vidualizing the sheep has been inaugurated, by placing ax)ermanent metallic uu'dal in tlie ear of each sheep, containing its tlock number, and aa accurate record is made of the general characteristics of each shee]), giving weight of fleece, length and (piality of staple, form, and breeding qualities, &c., and preserving the pedigree of each iudi- vidual for a public register. This additional care has enabled our breeders to attain greater and more valuable fleeces than ever before produced from this variety of sheep. Our flocks aresmall, usually containing from 50 to 100 breediugewes, the clip of which will, in some instances, avei'age ui^varils of 1.5 pounarted only by Leicester or Lincoln blood. Besides, the Leicester is the most valua- ble of all nuitton-sheep for crossing, and imparts its precocity — that is, its capacity of fattening in one year, and of reaching full growth in two years — and therefore its mutton-producing capacity, to all other races. Where there are rich, sweet pastures, with quantity in a small space, and a moderate climate, the Leicester will thrive. Such localities must exist at least in Kentucky or Tennessee, and there the Leicester should be introduced. Kentnclcij sheep. — Whatever may be the possibilities of the Blue Kidge region for growing the long-wooled races, the ultra-montane regions of Tennessee, and especially Kentucky, are the oyly fields at the South where actual success has been achieved on any considerable scale. This may be due to geological formations existing in those States. It has been observed that the geological map of England exhibits an exact chart of the distribution of British sheep ; and Professor Shaler, the able professor of Geology at Harvard College, has observed to the writer that the capacity of Kentucky for mutton-sheep husbandry is strictly limited by the geological features of that State. Kentucky mutton, produced by her long-wooled sheep, invariably ai)pears in the choice w?e)*w.s'()f city hotels at the North. Its consumption is enormous. There are stalls at the Faneuil Hall Market, in Boston, where nothing is sold but Kentucky mutton. We have obtained the following statement from an intelligent gentle- man in Boston* : Boston, April 19, 1878. I have not forgotten your I'eqiiest iu regard to Kentucky sheep. Through an intro- duction Ironi Mr. Teny, the inspector of provisions, I have been phiced in coinnuini- cation witli the two largest dealers in mutton in tliis city. Yesterday afternoon I went to the abattoir in Brighton, and saw both of these gentlemen, from whom I obtained the following facts : During the year ending May 1, 1877, •27-2,000 sheep and lambs were slaughtered at the BrigTiton abattoir. This supplies the Boston marlvct, the neighl)oriug towns, and many of them are sent to the surrounding cities — I'ortsmouth, (.'onconl, Fall Eiver, and Manchester. There are, of course, a large number of dressed sheep sent to the Boston market from other places, not included in this number. In regard to Kentucky sheep, my informant — one of the gentlemen referred to, who does not desire his naine to be published — tells nu- that about 20,000 are annually sent to this market. This includes, as I understand, all the sheep from Kentucky. Before the war, the sheep sent from this State, though less in numl>er, were sui)erior to those now sent, being ahiuist all fijll-blooded Leicester, Cotswolds, or Southdowns. Lately, many of these long-wooled sheep have been crosSLMl with the native mountain or "Tennessee ewes," which are of an inferior grade. The inlncipal supply of sheep for this market, from Kentucky, comes from four comities [of course, the blue-grass coun- ties. — Ed.'\. The lirst-class Kentucky sheep will weigh about 150 pounds. Lots will average from 125 to 150 pounds. Kentucky sheei), dressed, bring |2 per hundred more than ordinary sheep. The price of Kentucky lambs is as follows : from June 1 to July 1, about eight cents ; from July 1 to August 1, about 7 cents. The sheep average about 6 cents, live weight. Ordinary New England sheep average about 4^ cents, live weight. My informant says that nuiuy of his best sheep come from Ohio and Canada. I saw in the ])ens at Brighton some very hue Kentucky sheep, just received, and some excellent shee}) from Michigan. In the latter State, the Merino is crossed with a long-wooled slicej), which increases the size of the animal and improves the mutton. My informant has agents in various parts of the country — iu Covington, Saint Louis, Ohio, and other i>laees — and does an immense business, amounting in one year as high as 245,000 sheeji. He thinks that the national encouragement of sheep and wool pro- ducti(Ui will Iciid to an innuense export of nuitton, and that we shall supply England and the rest of Europe with all that they can take. Since December 1 he has killed * William A. Hayes, jr., counselor at law, No. 41 Sears Building, Bostou. SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 89 and exportefl from New York 2,r,00 sheep per week. He prerlicts that, in the conrse of ii few years, the character of the business will chansi,e in Boston, and will become like that of Chicago, the "tail end" only of the supply reinainin<; here, the best ani- mals being exported to Eni-ope. He also, withont any suggestion from uu', stated that the Houth is to become a great shee])-i)rodin'ing country, and that there sheep could be ))rodu(a^d more cheaply than rn Ohio and the West. Connected with the slaughter-houses at Brightcni are immense refrigerators, where the animals slaughtered can be kept for a long time. The same system is now intro- duced on l)oard ship, rendering the transjiortation of fresh meat a very easy matter. I was astonished at the extent of the abattoir, and the system which pervades the establishment. There is nothing lost, and the greatest cleanliness prevails. The lioofs and shin-bones, after having the oil extracted from them, are sent to Europe, and used in the manufacture of buttons, &c. The fat is fried out in large boilers, and converted into tallow. The blood and scraps of meat are dried, and the heads ground into bone- dust; the whole being converted into the Stockbridge fertilizers, which are manufact- nred in a large buihling near the abattoir. All disagreeable fumes arising from the rend(U-iug process are conducted into a large chiniuey, and there consumed. Nothing goes into the river but i)ure water. I may mention that I saw two or three sheep wandering about the yards apparently quite at home and very tame. These, I was informed, were "iiock leaders," and used to leatl the tiocks of slieep which come by the cars to any desired place. They are thoroughly trained, and are considered very valuable. Tlie peculiar capacity for growing" iiiutton-slieep in certain parts of Kentucky is given by the limestone soils, wLich produce peruianent pas- tures of the nutritious blue grass. Indeed, large size in all animals is a characteristic of this country. This has been attributed to the calca- reous character of the soil, which, supi)lying material for bone, favors the eidargement of the skeletons of all animals. The reports to the Agricultural Department say that no property in Kentucky pays better than shee]). One correspondent says that "the best results are from grades of the native with the full-blooded Cotswold breed. Three crosses will make a good flock. Full-bloods do not herd well. Only a small number can be kept together — say, thirty. If large, the flocks of full- bloods deteriorate." This corresponds with the experience in Canada. The enormous production of Canada long combing-wools is furnished by flocks of from 20 to 50 head, very rarely equaling that number. The most i)rofitable mutton-sheep is said by another correspondent to be the Cotswold crossed M'ith the Southdown. A correspondent from Trimble County, Ky., makes the following state- ment : We feed only when the snow is deep ; the balance of the winter sheep do well on blue- grass. There are no wild grasses in the county. The following are the results with a tlock of fiO good sheep : Fifty-nine Cotswold ewes, which cost .^8 per head $472 00 One' buck cost $25 25 00 Feed in winter, 3 tons of hay 24 00 Pasturage in summer. $1 per head 60 00 Salt 1 00 Shearing per head, 10 cents 6 00 For attending to flock 20 00 Total cost 608 00 Clip per head, 6 pounds at 30 cents 180 00 Fifty-eight land^s, at $4 per head 232 00 Manure from 60 head of sheep 30 00 442 00 By deducting the cost of keeping the sheep 136 00 Leaves 300 00 The net profit on an in vestment of 90 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. The most eminent breeder in Kentucky of tlie long-wooled slieep is Mr. EoT)ert W. Scott, of Kentucky, who claims to have created a new permanent race, which bears the name of " improved Kentucky." From the i)ublislied accounts which Mr. Scott has given of his procedure in creating this breed, it api)ears tliat the object he had in view was to ob- tain the form and delicacy of mutton of the Southdown, and the weight and length of fleece of the Cotswold, with the thickness and softness of the Merino. His method was the infusion, from time to time, of the blood of each of these races, according to the quality which he desired to have predominate. Although it is not in accordance with the generally recog- nized principles of zocitechny that a i)ermanent race could be thus created, having the best attributes of all its ancestors, as there is constant tend- ency to reversion to the strongest race, Mr. Scott claims that his breed has become permanent, constantly reproducing itself; that, in ISOG, the sheep had become essentially alike and uniform, maintaining their iden- tity and imparting their qualities as surely as any other breed. So highly are they esteemed that he has found ready sale for all he could produce from a flock of a hundred ewes, at the uniform price of thirty dollars. He claims that they are peculiarly adapted to the South, as they need no housing. They are able to face the bleakest winter in Kentucky, without any protection. The great Silurian limestone basin of Middle Tennessee would seem to i>ossess equal advantages with the last-named State for growing the long-wooled sheep. Mr. Killel)rew, commissioner of agriculture of the State of Tennessee, hi the advance sheets from a work on sheep-hus- bandrj", just published by him, thus describes this district : There tlie meadows are luxuriaut, the pastures are green, tlie soil is fertile, tlie water abundant. * * * There all the grasses Honrish ; even the loftiest liills are set in bhu'-grass, and countless flocks fleck the laiHls('ai)e on every side. The highest evidence that can be adduced as to the value of this liasin for sheep-raising lies in the fact that shee]) ai'e grown upon nearly every farui, and, up to a certain nunibcir, are nniversaJly held to be lu-ofltable. iSheep requii-e no feeding in this division during winter, when upon goo(l grass, barley, wheat, or rye flekls, except when there is a fall of snow. Then some oats, fodder, or corn is fed. They are very healthy ; and, indeed, wheu attended to, prove a most profitable investment, up to a certain number — say oue sheep for every Ave acres of oi)en land, (u- two sheep on every acre of permanent pasture, presuuiing that the faruier will have other stock in proportion to the size of his farm. The cost of kee])ing sheep per annum is about |1.'25. The wool of one sheep of high grade will about pay for the keeping of two. Lambs are a clear profit, and the esti- mated cost f)f wool is below 10 cents per pound. The average yield of woounds. Nearly all the natives have disappeared froui this locality, and high grades have taken their place. Mutton sheep, near Nashville, good g'rades, bring in the market 5 cents per pound, gross; lambs, grade, i|;}.50 to $4.50. A large trade-in lanibs has been built up within a few years past. Hundreds of car-loads are shipped every spring from this basin to points North, and good prices lealized. Good sheep-farms can be bought in the basin for $20 to |i40 per acre, varying according to the situation and soil. Mr. Killebrew publishes a letter addressed to him by Mr. Tom Crutch- field, of East Tennessee, a successful sheep farmer, from which we quote the following : In 1834, I purchas m1 a lot of native ewes ; and was fortunate in getting the use of a superior Spauish Merino raui, bred by R. Peters, of Atlanta, Georgia, to cross upon thsui ; which cross gave great impi-ovement in carcass, forui, and fleece ; covering the naked places of the natives, and making the fleece much more dense, and the fiber finer aud stronger. I saved the e\ve lambs of the cross, and bred them to an improved Kentncky buck, bred by Robert W. Scott, of P^rankfort, Ky., which increased the size of carcass, and gave greater length and yield of wool. The ewe lambs of lier'get were bred to the best Cotswold buck I could procure, American breed and imported ; never using oue buck louger than two years, aud never SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 91 breeding in and in. In the mean time, I have added to my flock, Aniorioan bred and imported Cotswold ewes, at heavy cost, breeding them to the same bucks. The imported and American-bred Cotswohls, and their offspring, are not superior, either in carcass or fleece, to those of my own breeding. I clipped samples of wool from Prince of Wales, an imported English-bred buck, and also from a ewe of my own breeding, which, through several generations, could be traced back through the Me- rino cross to the native". I sent these samples to my wool-merchants in Boston, Mass., with history, and requested their O]»inion of the wool, on its merits. Tliey pronounced the ewe's wool superior to the buck's. It was equally as good combing wool, 18 inches long ; was of finer and stronger fiber, soft to the touch, attributable to the shade of Merino in it. The effects of cross to the Spanish Merino, in fineness and softness of fiber, and den- sity of fleece, and strength of staple, remain for many generations. I cull my ewes annually, at shearing time, marking all that are deficient in form or fleece, or that are b(!coiuii'ig aged ; and set them apart with the wethers for mutton, which are sold the following spring, often taking a better price than ordinary sheep, because they gross less and are better mutton. I sold a lot last spring (fattened principally on grass) to the butchers of Chattanoo- ga, that averaged 136| pounds gross; having clipped an average of lOf p()une one of the products of the farm, not the ouly ])roduct. A few sheep, well cared for, will prove profitable to every farmer; while a large flock would become, in nine cases out of ten, a source of annoyance and expense. The object of this i)aper is to show the profitableness of sheep-raising on a small scale. I do not advise the keep- ing of large flocks by the generality of farmers. If every farmer should carry a small flock, breeding up tlie natives to high graies, the profits would be very much increased. We agree so heartily with this opinion that we hesitate to recommend, at i)resent, the introduction on a large scale, even in districts favorably situated, of another race producing combing wool and mutton, the (,'heviot, which has received scarcely any attention in this country. The exceeding hardiness of this race, which, according to British writers, •' is certainly the most convenient sheep, as he will thrive anywhere, on nnich or little, in mountain storm or by dreamy mansion" ; the acknowl- edged fact that, of all English races, ''the Cheviot has the best general mutton and wool"; the fact that the county of Northumberland, the home of the race, containing 1,250,000 acres, and having one sheep to every one and a quarter acres, has a physical aspect corresponding to regions in the Blue Ridge and Tennessee, being largely occupied with mountains riging- to a height of 2,000 feet, has led to the opinion that the Cheviots are peculiarly adapted to the slopes and plateaus, or table- lands, of the Blue Ridge and the Cumberland Mountains. One intelli- gent correspondent. Colonel Watts, of South Carolina, speaking of sheep adapted to the Blue Ridge region, says : "I should also strongly recom- 92 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. mend the Cheviot, so successful in the districts of England and S(;ot- land, of similar altitude and climate." We know nothing to opi)ose this opinion, which appears quite reasonable. But no experiments liave yet been made with the Cheviots in these localities ; nor have any judiciously conducted exi)eriments with the native or Merino slieep, in hirge Hocks, been made. There have been several attempts at sheep-growing on a large scale, on the Cumberland table-land, at an elevation of 2,000 feet, where, in the summer months, the land is covered with tussocks of nu- tritious mountain grass, furnishing a sufficient sustenance for eight months in the year. As no attention was given to ])roviding forage in the winter for these flocks, the enteri)rise, of course, ignominiously failed. For the benefit of those who may possibly contemj)late a trial of the Cheviots, it may be said that, in the counties in-England and Scotland producing these sheep, the sheep-fjirms are commonly about 2,000 acvi-es in extent. In general, only a small jiart of the farm is culti^'ated (rarely more than 50 to 100 acres), and that only for winter food for the sheep. Although bred in purely pastoral regions, they are grown primarily for mutton, which, when fattened, is held in the highest estimation. The breeder in tJie monntains, however, rarely fattens his sheep or lambs for market. They are turned over, at different ages in different districts, to be fattened by the farmer of the aruble lands and lower and richer jiastures. In the more southerly counties the increase of a flock of a thousand sheep is sold as lambs. Their sale, with the fleeces, makes the whole return of the flock. But the culture of flocks of this or any other race, on a large scale, upon the elevated regions of the South, cannot be recommended at present. It nuist be the outgrowth of a general and more modest system of sheep husbandry. We must not pass from the mutton-sheep without reference to a race which seems to be peculiarly adapted to the South, and is hardly knoAvn at the North: Ave refer to the broad-tailed sheep of Africa and Asia Minor. Colonel Watts, of South Carolina, the most experienced flock-master of that State, recommends the culture on the rich bottom- lands of the southern coast of the African broad-tail, or a cross with the Cotswokl. After speaking of the rf(;tua.l tests which he had made of all the principal wool and mutton breeds, including the one last mentioned, he says: "If the principal object should be to raise mutton for the nuir- ket, I would certainly recommend the African broad-tailed sheep, be- cause they mature earlier. * * * Were the question one of long- cambing wool, I would cross the Cots wold ewes with the African broad- tailed ram, for all the range of country this side of the Blue Eidge." These statements are exceedingly interesting. They show the possession of a resource for mutton and wool at the South not generally sup[)osed to exist in this country. This race is the oldest known. It is the sheep of Syria and the Bible, the race to which belonged the Paschal lamb, and should be cherished for its associations, if for nothing else. But travelers s[)eak of the flesh of the auiaial, when well bred and fed, as "superior to that of any breed on the face of the earth." Its wool fur- nishes that strong and bright flber found in the rich Persian and Turk- ish carpets. It is a natural combing wool; and the cross referred to might impart brightness and strength of sta])le to the Cotswold fleece. The Angora fjoat. — -Our Southern correspondents, Mr. Peters and Mr. Watts, give us some original contributions in relation to the culture of the Angora goat, derived from their own exjjerienoe, which show that the mountain r.inge of the Blue Ridge is peculiarly adapted to this inter- esting lanigerous animal. Before quoting from these gentlemen, we may appropriately show the uses to which the fleeces of the Angora goat may SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 9S be applietl, as stated in the report of tlie judges ou wool at the Interna- tional Exhibition of 187(3: Mohair, tbe fleece of the Augora goat, is not a mere substitute for wool, but oeen- pit'S its own pbice in tbe textile fabrics. It has tbe aspect, feel, and luster of silk, without its suppleness. It differs materially from Avool in tbe want of tbe felting (piality, so that tbe stuffs made of it have the fibers distinctly separated, and are nhvays l)rilliaut. On account of tbe stiffness of the tiber it is rarely woAcn alone; that is, when it is used for tbe tilling, the warp is usually of cotton, silk, or wool, or tbe reverse. Tbe distinguisbing (pialities of tbe tiber are luster, elasticity, and won- derful durability. Tbe qualities of luster and durability particularly tit this uuiterial for its chief use — tbe numufacture of Utrecht velvets, commonly called "furniture l)Iush,"the finest qualities of which are com])osed itrincipally of mohair, the pile being formed of mohair warps, which are cut in the same manner as silk warps in velvets. ITpon ])assing tbe bnger lightly over tbe best Utrecht \elvets, the rigidity and elas- ticity of the fiber will be distinctly perceived. The fiber springs back to its original nprightm'ss when tbe pressure is removed. Tbe best mohair plushes are almost in- destructible, and are now in general use by all ])rincipal railroads as the most endur- ing of all coverings for railroad seats. The English have attained the greatest success in spinning mohair, and the French and German manufacturers use English yarns. * * * Another analogous application of mohair is for forming the j)i]e of imitation seal-skins. Some of these fabrics, exhibited by manufacturers of Huddersfiebl, En- gland, were of striking beauty, tbe resemblance to seal-fur being quite striking. * * * Mohair forms an essential uuiterial for tbe best carriage^ and lap ntbes, with a long and lustrous pile. Some exhibited were nuide to resemble the skins of tigers, leopards, and other animals. * * « Another application of nuduiir is for the fabri- cation of braids for binding, which have tbe luster of silk, but far greater durability. * * * Still another inq)ortant application of this material is the fabrication of black dress goods, resembling alpacas, tbe mohair being woven with cotton Avarps. They are called nmhair lusters or brilliantines. Beautiful exhibits of this admirable fabric were made by the Arlington Mills and tbe Farr Al])aca Company of Massachusetts. Mohair is also used in France in the manufacture of laces, which are substituted for tbe silk laces of Valenciennes and Cbantilly. So numerous are tlie applications of this material, that, so soon as a sufficient domestic supply is assured, the manufacture Avill have a great extension in this country, furnisliing a home market for all that can be produced; although it must be admitted that its use at present is com- paratively small. The total production of mohair in the world, as shown by the imports into Europe (a very little as yet being imported into this country) in 1876, was, according to the Messrs. Burnes, four and three- fourths millions. Formerly it Avas all produced in Asia Minor. Ee- cently the Angora, goat has been acclimatized in the colony of the Cape of Good Hope, which exported in 1870 one and a quarter million pounds : a fact which stimulates growers here. The average price last year was 37 pence, about twice that of the best Lincoln hogget wool. That of alpaca fell as Ioav as 20.} pence. The Angora, therefore, is by tar the most valuable of all lanigerous animals ; not even excepting the famous Cashmere goat, which produces only two or three ounces, to the animal, of the pushm, or fine avooI used for making India shawls. As to the ada])tability of the culture of this invaluable animal to the elevated regions of the South, Mr. Peters says : I have owned these animals (Angora goats) from six distinct importations ; those brought over by Dr. J. B. Davis, in 1848, proving to be superior in nmny respects to any of tbe more recent importations. One of the most valuable, interesting, and re- markable traits of the Angoras is the rapidity with Avbicli fleece-bearing goats can be obtained by using thorough-bred bucks to cross on the comnum short-horned ewe- goats of the country. The second cross produces a goat with a skin valued for rugs, mats, and gloves. The fifth cross (known by nuiny breeders as full blood) will yield a fleece not inferior to much of the mohair iniporte(i from Asia Minor. Tbe fifth cross can be readily obtained in five or six years. Thorough-bred Inicks .should always be used, because tbe progeny of the so-called "full-blood" Itucks vary greatly, anil the njiward ])rogress is by no means satisfactory. The Angora is a hardy, industrious, and self-sustaining animal, and can be classed as herbivorous. Being active and vigorous, they roam over Avide ranges of country, giving value to Avorthless vegetation refused 94 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. by most other animals ; aufl will feed aii»l fatten at donltle the distance from water that sheep can, as they travel faster and endure more. I liave for twenty years bred them largely, and have observed the followins;' rules in my selection of stock bucks: In pedigree, dating back to Asiatic importation. In fleece, weight and length of the long, silky, ringleted, white fleece, and its free- dom from kemp, and mane on the back and neck. In form, size and vigor, long, pendant ears, and upright, spiral horns. If that point has not been already reached, I believe it will be, when (as in the his- tory of the Merino shee])) liner specimens of the Angora, American bred, may be seen here than can be found in their haunts in Asia Minor. I have had great success with the Angoras, and regard them as one of the most val- uable acquisitions to the resoui-ces of our husl)an(iry. They have yielded me more substantial pecuniary benefit than any branch of my extended stock investments. In 1861, 1 sent out to William M. Landrum, of California, the first Angoras that went thei'e ; Avhere they have laid the foundation of what, I am confident, will be a vei'v extensive and profitable hushaudry. There can be no doubt that, in the range of the Blue Ridge, extending from Alabama to Virginia, they would find all- the reciuirements of tlieir nature, utilize a vast country, and prove a source of great benefit and profit to all interested. Colonel Watts, on tlie same subject, uses these words : Let me say, in view of the industrial wants of the country, I think this last-named section of our State [South Carolina], the Blue Ridge Mountains, can, with modei-atc care and exiiense, most successfully^ find ;ill tlie facilities needed for the Ix'st coni])ing wools and the Alj)aca 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 successfully the Angora goat; whose flesh I regard as superior to any nnitton, and whose fleece, prop- erly handled, could there be made more i>rofital)le than any wool-growing. This I can say from actual, careful experience with Angoras of the Asia Minor stock, meeting here few obstacles to their profitable breeding; and which, in the Blue Ridge beyond me, would find an exact counterpart of their native soil and climate. Aside from their flesh and wool, there is another advantage which they offer, which, in the mount ains beyond, would be most valuable. In a cross 1 have made with a pure Angoi-a buck and a Maltese ewe-goat, I have i-alsed a ewe-goat thai will give four quarts of as good milk as any cow on my plantation. The feed of one of my cows will keep twelve goats. My cows must have certain food, or they will not thrive. My goats will eat anything almost, and do well; and with this advantage, also, that their milk and butter are not in any way attected by their diet. It is not, therefore, at all an open question with me, after years of practical expe- rience, whether the Angora and kindred racers of the goat tribe Avould thrive on our Blue Ridge. They would be more profitable in that locality than any other hus- bandry. In confirmation of the value of one fact, amons: many others, men- tioned by Colonel Watts, it may be remarked that the reports of the Society of Acclimation of Fran(;e, u]ion this animal, dwell specially upon the importance of givinij milk-producin"' qualities to the An, ijora; as, with this quality, and the value of its fleece, the Angora would wholly rejilace the common goat. Mr.. F. S. Fulmer, of Spring Mills, Appomatox County, Virginia, writes us : My Angora goats, fifty in number, pure bred, got their living all last summer in a pasture where grass (other than broom-straw) and clover never grows. So far this winter I ha^'e fed them nothing but coarse corn-stalk. In fact, up to this time, they have kept in a thriving condition almost entirely on .acorns, of which they seem very fond. I treat them as to shelter, &c., just as I would sheep, except I am rather more careful to kee]) them out of cold rains [an important observation]. From my exjx'- rience, I am led to conclude that the Angora goat, aside from first cost, can be made to pay better than sheep, especially in the Southern States, where they can have large ranges over y)oor land. The cidtnre of this animal is now receiving mncli attention in the Australian colonies. Mr. Samnel Wilson, wiio is said to have had ex- ceptional o])portnnities for observation, in a paper read before the Vic- torian Zoological Society, says : Some think the preferable ])]an of starting a flock of Angoras is to commence with afew^^Mrfi goats, and trust solely to their increase. By this process, considerable time must elapse before a large number could be raised; while, by conunencing with SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 95 the common goats, yon can obtain, by crossing, in six yeans, ji valnable flock, only limited by the nnnil>er of common goats procnred at the commencement of the opera- tions. It is urged, as an objection to this system, that you can never reach absolute purity. Theoretically this "is self-evident; but ]n-actically you can eliminate every trace of base blood. By constant use of pure sexes, and l)y judicious selection, a standard would be reached at least as pure and as certain to breed pure to type as that of the improved Leicester sheep, the modern fox-hound, or what we call the "thor- oughbred" horse. The writer of this paper has, for a long- time, made a special study of the Angora goat. In 1S(»9 lie prepared an elaborate essay on the subject, which was published in the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, and subsequently was translated and published in the Transactions of the Royal Agricultural Society of France. In that essay he held the view that the characteristic qualities of the fleece could not be secured by breeding the Angora on the comuion goat. This opinion he has been compelled to modify. While bebeving, AAith Mr. Peters and Mr. Wilson, that a pure-blooded sire should be always nsed, he nuist admit that good tieece-producing animals may be founded on the common goat. The conclusive fact establishing this is the state- ment of the Messrs. Bowes, in their statistics of wool for 1878 — a very high authority. They say : We may refer to the acclimatization, in the Cape of Good Hope, of the Angora goat, on which nudiair is grown. Tiie progress made during the last dozen years has been very satisfactory, not only as regards the quantity pniduced, but the quality, which has been very much improved. The tirst shipment made was in 18i)5, and con- sisted of 6,804 pounds; in 1869,245,000 ])ounds were shipped, and in 1876 the quantity- reached 1,298,455 pounds. This great quantity could not have been grown npon pure animals, as they could not haAC been procnred. Ii must have been the jnoduct of graded animals. The best test of the value of this product is that it has become a regular commercial article. These facts, and the experi- ence of the Soutliern gentlemen whom we have quoted, place it beyond doubt that the culture of the Angora goat can be made a most remuner- ative industry at the South. TEXAS. The sheep hnsbandry of this State is so distinct in its character from that pursued or feasible in the older States of the South, and is of such higli importance, that it demands a se])arate consideration. The esti- mated number of sheep in this State, in January, 1878, was o,r)74,700. It ranks at present as the third wool-i^roducing vState in the Union, although having bnt about a hundred thousand head less tluin Ohio, Avhich has 3,78o,0()0, and about half the number of California, which has (),5G1,0()0 head. In its adaptation for sheep husbandry on a large scale, Texas pos- sesses decided advantages over our other Southern States, enormous ones over the Northern and Eastern States, and many o\'er California and the trans-Missouri regions. The cheapness of land, its natural fer- tility, its genial climate and exemption from teui])estuous weather, ex- cept in the northers, whose scAcrity is generally much exaggerated; the absence of seasons of continnous drought, owing to the iutiuence of the Gulf before referred to; tlu^ ])ossession of permanent winter grasses, making the pasturage perennial, are advantages which will make Texas one of the great wool-producing countries of the world. Dr. IJandall said, in 1859, of regions of Texas which he had thoroughly studied: I do not entertain a particle of doubt that wool can he raised mon^ cheajdy in those regions than in any other portion of the globe where gouiuancy of the statements, the exact language of the corres])ondents is given in all cases. The correspondents, it will be remembered, are selected by the department from the most intelligent agriculturists residing in the sev- eral counties. A corresi)ondent from Palo Pinto County writes : A sheep-raiser for several yeai's says : Say for 1,(100 head it will cost .$300 for herding ; extra help in lambing time, f^O; salt, $15 ; cost of shearing, $50 ; feed during winter, $200. We imagine tlie Geoi-gia bureau of agriculture knows but little about large herds of slice]), as they are grown on prairie grass. They arc accustomed to herds of from 10 to 100 bead. Such tlocks arc not necessary to be herded, and yield a hue proht. If we make it a s]ieos Angeles, Cal. I knoAV Avell Colonel Hollister, Mr. Dibbles, of California, and other prominent Avool-growers there. I Avas also for a lime in Utah ; also, in Western T<'x;is, Avhich I regard :is the best country for the industry with Avhich I am ac(]uainted, if life and property weni 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 knoAV of could so well sustain the large flocks which, from various causes, are being broken up in California. In a i)arallel drawn north from Laredo to the Indian Territory, there is tlie best loca- tion for the industry, in my Judgment, in the country. But, until Uncle Sam Avill protect us there, the life of the shepherd and his flocks are in (;onstant jeopardy from SIIEEP-HUSBANDEY. 99 the Jloxicans. Tlioso tliicves ;niy know they never will have under any Mexican leader. * * * There are other very fine fields for this industry near C- 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 nnich 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 uj)on goats, continue to attach themselves to the flock. The shepherd-dogs were discarded, be- cause it was found that when they drove the sheep they caused them to huddle together, thus making a great loss of teeding time. It is of the tirst importance to keep the animal fat. Its fat condition not only makes the fiber strong, but enables the sheei> 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 supi)lied by the natural I)asturage, which consists of different varieties of the mesquite grass. A great superiority of these grasses over the annual grasses of California (Consists in their being perennial, and having long and stout roots which <.'annot be pulled up by the sheej) nor trodden down. Although the grass may be apparently dry during a drought, after a rain it becomes ])erfectly 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 nu)re 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 o7 pounds to the bushel instead of 32. Through its intro- are all the time pioducing their semi-annual returns of wool. The flocks in this country are kept up l\v the constant purchase of legenerators. These are the rams raised in New York, Vermont, and Ohio by skilled breeders, Avho find this nuich more jn'ofitable than grow- ing large numbers of sheep for wool or mutton. A very large number of Northern rams are sold in Texas. Mr. Shaeffer has himself i)urchased o\er 800 at the North, many of them from Dr. Randall. There are at present five hundred rams in Corpus (^hristi; 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 nj) the most profit- able branch of sheej) culture at the North — a l)ranch which may be car- ried on u])on the highest-i)riced lands. The high-j)riced rams are ke}>t in Texas two or three years, and sold at a less i)rice to persons coui- mencing the sheep business with but little capital. It had been the custom for the Texan flock-masters to sell the high- bred rams ]»roduced from their own flocks only at the high prices de- manded by the Northern breeders. Mr. Shaelfer early saw that he could benefit his country better, and do as well for himself, by changing this system. lie 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 fiom five to ten dollars, and sold a great many more by so doing. This had the eti'ect of greatly extending the improvement of the flocks in the country. Another step taken by him w^as im])ortaut for the development of the country in the direction of sheep-growing. Mr. Shaeft'er found that contests were constantly occurring between the cattle-herders and the shepherds. He therefore began gradually to purchase all the lands he reiiuired; his example was followed by others; and at present the greater part of the land in the sheep region is held in freehold hy the resi)ecti\'e flock-masters. There has now been so long and extensive an exx)erience in this country as to reduce the methods of the peculiar pastoral sheep-hus- bandry to a AA'ell-established system, which is so simple that it may be easily learned by any intelligent i>erson. The i)lant required for the l)usiness, except the first stock of ewes and lams, is exceedingly small. No buildings are required, if we except the covered platform for shear- ing. A rude cam]) is all that is necessary for the flock-master, and a wagon with a pair of horses for his supi)lies ; of course he Avill have a saddle- horse. The well -arranged ranelie is an aftei- luxury, to be earned by the profits of the enterprise. The aim is to have flocks of at least l,O0O«n 1,100 head, for each of which one shepherd — invariably a native Mexican, called ii patitorc — is required. It is desirable that the juoprietor should have at least three flocks of this number. The se])arate flocks, each with its shepherd, are so located that they can he brought at night to a cen- tral camp, where the haccicrro, or sheep-overseer, also a native Mexican, is established. This overseer is necessary, in all cases, to relieve the 102 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. sheplierds in case of aeeideiit, and to cook their rations. The haecierros, as a class, arc remarkable for their tidelity. Tlie 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 re(piired, and the bed of the shepherd being a sheep- skin. The food or rations of the shepherd are corn for tortillas, or, sometimes, flour, coffee, and fresh meat, no jiork or bacon being- used. The fresh meat is almost invariably supplied by goats, which are pastured with the sheep for this purjiose. They cost about a dollar a head. Their flesh is excellent, and ])referred by the Mexicans to any other. The quantity of goats' meat which the pastore will consume is enormous ; the consumption being about one goat a week to the shei)herd. The shearing seasons are the busiest times for the Texan flock-master, not only on account of the nund)er 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 tlie wool nicely is important for its sale. The shearings take place twice a year. The spring shearing- commences about April 15, and the fall shearing about Sep- tend>er 15. The shearings continue from three to four weeks, according to the weather. The practice of two shearings a year has been adopted, from the ex[)erience 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 tAvice, the wool, of coarse, is shorter; is fitted for only one purpose, that of clothing; and brings a less price per pound. The high prices of wools for combing purposes, for which uiany of the improved wools of Texas, if suffered to grow to their fall length, are well adapted, is lost, and there is the additional expense of the extra shearing. But, on the other hand, the sheep sheared twice a year are healthier and keep fatter, and the shear- ing 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- l)ortant consideration where the least rate of interest is one per cent, a month. The double shearing is espt cially advantageous to the lambs. By giving them their first shearing in August, to be repeated in the next spring, their health and growth are greatly promoted, and consequently the general increase of the flock. Mr. Shaeffer believes it would be ad- vantageous to shear the lambs tAvice, 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 Bio Grande ; many coming in, for this purpose, even from as fiir as Monterey. They shear by the head ; the usual juifc being •f .'150 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 Mexicping for scab, four cents per head Sheep (lip for worms Extra labor 396 00 Salt is not required near the coast or Avith raesqnite grass. |;250 00 77 00 44 00 5 00 20 00 1 04 SIIEEP-HUSBANDRY. RECEIPTS. 1,100 sheep, at 5 poniifls per Lead, equals 5,500 pounds wool ; * at 20 ceuts per pound .20 Cash receipts .$1,100.00 $1, 100 00 80 per cent, increase, 880 head, at $3 2, (540 00 3,740 00 Less expenses .$390 00 Interest on .$5,000, at 12 per cent 600 00 Eent of place 100 00 1,096 00 t 1,096 00 2,644 CO 111 this vStateuient tlie expenses of the overseer are not included. One is required, in all cases ; but one will suffice for three or four tiocks. It is best to start with 1,()00 head of ewes, because after lambing thej' can be divided into three tiocks of ewes with their lambs, with an exjiense of but one haceicrro and one camp, and three shepherds. At the end of five months the lambs are weaned and taken from their mothers. Then, until the next lambing time, which will take place in the succeeding March, the sheep can be well cared for by only tw o 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 llock-master commences — October, 1876, with ewes 1,600 March, 1877, the ewes produce 80 per cent, of lanihs 1, 280 Sej)teniljer, 1877, weans the lanihs; places them in one flock, and the ewes in another, making only two flocks. March, 1878, there are ewes 1 , 600 March, 1K78, there are yearlings; one-half ewes and the other half wethers .... l,28(t March, 1878, there are lambSj as 1877 1, 280 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 T)reeding ewes 2, 880 March, 1880, there are lambs 2,880 March, 1880, there are wethers, three years old 640 March, 1880, there are wethers, two years ohl 640 March, 1880, there are yearlings, ewes, and wethers 2, 240 Total number March, 1880 9,280 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 105 Advice to emigrants. — Tlie advpiitiirer from a distance, seeking to in- •vest in sheep-husbandry in Texas, is advised to proceed directly either to Corinis (Jhristi or San Antonio, from each of which points he can make observations with convenience, and obtain information as to de- sirable locations. He shonld spend tliree or four months looking around for a range. The ewes may l)e carried from the West or bought in Texas. ]Mexican ewes can be purchased at 75 cents per head, and improved sheep for from $1.50 to $4. Texas raised rams can be bought for $10, and imi^orted 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 ratte — say $100 per year for enough land to feed two flocks of sheep of l,10l> each. As he may not like the business or the locality, it would be more prudent at lirst not to purchase a range. If he is willing to incur gi-eater risks to secure the proprietorshij) of an extensive range at a moderate price, he may go higher into the country, where the land belongs to the State. A 040-acre certificate of State land can be bought for about $200, or a certificate of the alternate lands granted t(^ railroads as low as $100. Generally the exi)ense 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 will 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, Avith such a command, there are chances for very large profits. The ad\'enturer, if he has a family, must place them in some of the towns or villages most convenient to his range. His ])ersonal presence on his range will be indispensable for his success, and he will find ample occupation. But he can safely trust the Mexican haceierros when making occasional visits to his family. The advantages of Texas for sheep-growing are now attracting persons of experience iii Australia and p]nglish and Scotch emigrants with capi- tal. Besides our informant with his 15,000 sheep, there are others in Nueces and Duval Counties with flocks often to twenty thousand head. The Callahan flock, in Star County, the proprietor living at Laredo, numbers sixty thousand head. When we see how rapid the increase-is, ami 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 Avill not be many years before Texas will rival Australia. Mr. Shaelier states, as an illustration of the rapidity with which sheep-husbandry is advancing in this State, that in 1870 San Antonio received Init 000,00(» l)ounds of wool, which is sent through Galveston. In 1877 she received 2,000,000 ])(muds. The wool of Nueces and the neighbin-ing counties is shipped from Corpus Christi. In 1800 there were sliipi»ed only 000,000 l>ouiids. Q'his year there Avill be shipped (5,500,000 ])ounds. The following statement, illustrative of the ])roHts which may be de- rived from sheep-growing in Texas, Avas made to us by Col. John S. Ford, a State senator, ami 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 : Pr. Tluimas Kearney, formerly eollector of custoiiis of the port of Corpus Cliristi, and Major James Carr, made in 1H7(» or 1872 an investment of $5,000 in shee])-lins- liandry ; l»onght ranch and bnihlinus ahont sixty miles nortlnvest from Laredo. Wehh Connty, Texas, the land about i:i,000 aeres and the shee]> well imjiroved. At the eud of live vears Dr. Kearney sohl out his interest to Carr, that is, one-half interest, for $20,000.' In August, 1877, Carr refused a |60,(100 oiler, which he hail from William Votuus, for his sheep ranch with the sheep; the exact I'acts being that Votaus otfered §30,0(10 in cash and one of the best-improved places ou the San Antonio Kiver, which hail cost him about .$60,000. Mr. Shaeffer says that Carr ought to have taken the offer. 106 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. Colonel Ford full}" confirms the statements about the Mexican and Indian depredations, before made, whicli extend as far as a hundred miles from the Kio Grande. There is no necessity for this confirmation, how- ever, to any one Avho will read the exhaustive reports i)repared by Mr. Schleicher, of the Texas delegation, in Congress. Colonel Ford says that the Mexicans do not run the sheep off, because the sheep cannot be made to travel fast enough ; but they kill the shepherds. Obstacles to sheep f/roH-iiuj hi Texas. — Conversations with many intelli- gent Texans, and the x)erusal of many documents relative to Mexican outrages, have led us to fully adopt the oi)inion 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 pur])ose of provoking a war with Mexico. In our belief there is no foundation for this opinion. The extent of the depredations, and their ruinous effects upon settlements, are proved by incontestable evi- dence. A peaceful and comparatively inexpensive remedy for the border troubles is strongly urged by influential citizens of Texas. It is the granting a moderate subsidy ($0,000 per mile) to a railroad projected from Galveston to Camargo, in Mexico, near the Eio Grande, a distance of 352 miles.* It is reasonably urged that this road to Ca- margo — the key to the commerce of Mexico by a laneacefully solving the border tronbles. A still broader scheme in the sanu^ direction, but with even a more modest demand for government patronage, is the pro])osal for a government survey of a rail- road I'oute from Austin, Tex., to the Rio Grande, and from thence to the port of Toi)o- lovampo, on the Pacitie ; the distance from Sau Antonio to the western ocean heing h'ss than 7(10 miles. A railioad in this direction would be a peaceful solution of the Mexican question. X Report of Mr. Edward Atkinson ou cotton at the International Exhihition. SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 107 We are com])elled to oinit niuoli in tliis paper wliicli is tiemaiided to give a full deseri])tiou of the sheep-luisbaiidry of the KSoutli. But neither our object nor our si)ace A\'ould permit us to make this i)aper a gazetteer of the South in its sheep resources and production. We have made no reference to Western Virginia, with its si)lendid sheep-hus- bandry, including the Panhandle, Avhere the best fine wool in the United States is grown ; because this country, from its contiguity, really be- longs to the Ohio and AYestern rennsylvania wool-producing region. Neither have we made reference to the mutton aud combing-wool pro- duction of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware, although it is a very im- ])ortant feature of the husbandry of these States, because there is noth- ing characteristic and peculiar to distinguish it from the industry of New Jersey. Missouri, as a wool-producing State, belongs rather to the West than the South. We ought not, however, to omit an enumeration of the sheep in the States south of ]Mason and Dixon\s line. On the tirst of January their nund)ers were as follows, according to the Depart- ment of Agriculture : Xiimber of xhrej) in f^outhern Sfata, Jantianj, 1878. Xo. of slieep. IVlaware 35,000 Maryland 151,200 Virj^inia - 422,000 North Carolina 490, 000 Sonth Carolina 175,000 Georjiia :«2,:500 Florida 56,500 Alabama 270, 000 Mi8si,s,sipi>i 250,000 Louisiana 125,000 Texas 3,674,700 Arkansas 285,000 IVnncsset' 850,000 West Virfiinia 549,900 Kentucky 900,000 Missouri' 1,271,000 Total 9,887,600 dumber of xheep In the Xoriltern and Woifcrn Stales, January, 1878. Xo. 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 New .Jersey 128,300 J'ennsylvauia 1,607,600 Ohio ■ 3,783,000 Michioan 1,750,000 Indiana 1,092,700 Illinois 1,258,500 Wisconsin 1,323,700 Minnesota 300,000 Iowa 560,000 Kansas 156,000 Nel.raska 62,400 California 6.561,000 Oregon , 1,074,600 Neyada 72,000 Cohuado 600,000 The Territories 2,600,000 Total 25,852,30Q 108 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. GEIVERAL CONSIDEKATIONS. Relafion oficoolproduction to customs (U(tief<. — This paper, intended for cir- culation at the Sontli, where tlieoretical opinions on cpiestions of j^olitical economy, differing- from our own, largely prevail, is no place for the discus- sion of the vexed questions of free trade and i)rotection. But it would be H 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 pra(;tical fact exists that the reveiuie of the United States, for a long time to come, must be principally obtained from duties on foreign imjtorts. JMS^, independently of their theoretical oi)inions, will iidmit that these duties should be so imposed as to least injure the national industries. Many, who are not theoretically protectionists,, will go even further, and admit that the encouragement of a luitional 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 i)roduction of any other textile nuite- rial, can be advantageously pursued in every State of our territory. ^o single industry can be mentioned so cosmopolitan in its chaiacter as that of the production and manii)nlation 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 ]ieoi)le — 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, nuule abundant by legislative encouragement of wool-production, is the most efll'ectual means of diminishing the cost of all animal food to our whole population, and thus may be truly said to reimburse manifold the alleged increased cost of clothing to our ])eople caused by the i)rotective 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 mami- facturing department it more than any other indu-^try promotes the highest mechanical, chemical, and decorative arts; and is the invariable i:»recursor of a diversifled manufacture, with its attendant results of wealth and culture. These considerations are suggested, not as claims for high protective dnties on wool or mainifactures of wool, but as reasons for deliberation and Avisdom in tixing 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, Avhich we must have for food as well as clothing. It is doubtful if even Texas, Avith its wonderful pastoral advantages, could ever comjjete, without the aid of protectiA^e duties, Avith the Pampas of South America in the production of wool. The cost of transporting Avool is so slight, but two cents per pound cA^en from Australia to Ncav York, that distance is no protection; and the Texan flock-master cannot procure labor for tlie Avages of the Indian shepherds of the Pampas ; Avhile, like all other producers in this country, he is subject to the de- mands imposed by American cixdlization and our high local taxation. Even if tlie American flock-master could ])roduce his avooI as cheaply as the foreigner, he must be defended against the inpouring of foreign sur- SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 109 l)luses wliicli, without defeiiisive barriers, are liable at auy momeut to break down onr markets. Adjnstment of duties on manufactures to djuties on wool. — All tbe duties inii)osed for tbe protection of wool-growers, it need not be said, are paid by the avooI manufacturers, who thus labor under a burden from which the cotton, linen, and silk manufacturers are free ; all the raw material for the two first being produced at home, and raw silk being free from duty. Notwithstanding the apparently high duty imposed upon fabrics of wool, it is a fact capable of demonstration that, after deducting the duty Avhich the wool manufacturers of this 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 auy branch of the textile industry. The fact that the w^ool 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 tar more importance than the amount of the protective, duty he may receive. The American wool manufacturer has to compete with European man- ufacturers, who invariably have their wool free of duty. Since 1861 our tariff laws have recognized that our wool manufacturers should be ])laced in the same position as if, like the European manufacturers, their wool were exempt from duty. A specific duty is placed upon the cloth, intended to exactly reimburse the duty paid on the wool. But this s])ecif]c 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 sj^ecific duty on fabrics, neutralizing the wool-duty, an ad raJorem duty for the protection of the manufacturer. This system ot compoun- to their best knowl- edge and belief, the questions of the examining connnittee touching the age of their sheep, the age of their tleeces, 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 treatnitnit 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 connnittee sliall consider them entitled to. (Thus the third premium, or the second and third preuiiums, may be drawn, while the tirst is nuawarded.) 7. All reports of viewing committee shall be made in writing and signed by the meiu- bers of the committee agreeing to them. (Printed Idank forms of rejtorts, with in- structions to viewing connnittees, will l)e delivered to the latter.) 8. The viewing committee shall deliver their rt!])()rts to the jtresident or secretary at or before 9 o'clock a. m. on the second day of the fair. 9. Tlie society reserves the right to pay the preiuiuius in full, if the receipts are suf- ficient after paying expenses; otherwise, to payj;r« ratu, according to receipts of the fair. 10. All sheep intended for exhibition must be npon the ground at 12 o'clock m., the first day of tins fair, at which time the entries Avill close. 11. All sheeji over two years old competing for any prizes offered by the societj' must have been closely and evenly shorn the previous year. 112 SHEEP -HUSBANDRY. uials. Kegroes, it is well known, make excellent slieplierds, as tliey make capital liostlers. There are but feAV colored families wbicli could not afford to purchase two or three ewes. The jirofits in that favored coun- try, thoujih 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 disapijear 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 icool. — The question will naturally arise: If the South grows wool according to her capacity, Avill she have a mar- ket for her x>roduction ? To the question proposed in this form, no other than a negative answer could be given. But the practical iuijuiry 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, No. The fears of overproduction, which give the disciples of Malthus and Eicardo so much a])prehension, 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, ]^ew York, and Michigan, first improved by shee}), have become too valuable for growing slieep for wool mainly; and these States are becouiing x)ro- 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 50,00(),()0() 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 w^hich 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 Xortli America, has increased at the rate of but about 2 per cent, for each year of the last decade. The consumption of clean wool in the United States is set down, for 1875, at four and one-third pounds per head of our population. This is far short of what we ought to consume for the recpiired comfort of our whole pojiulation ; and of what we ^vould consume, if the producing and con- suming power of our people were adequately developed. It is doubtful if half of our iiopulation wear the woolen underclothing recpiired for health and comfort. Persons well informed in the trade in articles of this description have made the following curious estimate: With .1 population of 35,000,000, we may siip])Ose that there are 8,000,000 who, from poverty, iuikliie.ss of elimate, or other causes, do not wear stockings ; leaving 'i7,(t00,()t)0 who will use at least 3 pairs per annum, requiring 81,000,000 pairs, or (3,75(t,0()0 dozen, the value of which, at |3 per dozen, would be !|20,250,000. Estimating that there ai'(^ 18,000,000 males, one-half of whom will wear knit shirts and drawers, and allowing one shirt and one ])air of drawers to each of the 9,000,000 males per annum, 1,000,500 dozen will be required, at .112 per dozen, of the value of ;j;18,000,000. Estimating that there are 17,000,000 females, one-quarter of wht)m will wear nndervests and drawers, and allowing only one garment to each, 375,000 dozen, at i$12 per dozen, of a total value of 14,500,000, 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 l>ower of our poijulation is required to expand the wool maiuifacture. SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 113 and to create a home demand for the raw material such as never ex- isted. But the production of wool at the South will be so gradual in its in- crease that it will be a long time before it has any sensible effect upon the markets. It should be gradual, to be healthy and natural. It should spread through the example of intelligent and cautious farmers. A sudden and general enthusiasm for sheep-husbandry at the South would be as undesirable as the morns multieaid is and silk mania of 1839, wliich 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 honansas in sheep-husbandry are as much fictions of the imagination as the pastorals of the poets. We do not temx)t our Southern friends with the promise of — A fleece more golden than that fonnd in Greece, Which venturous Jason on liis Argo bore From tlie hilled dragon and Colchian shore. But we would allure them to an industry more certain of remuneration, from a moderate investment, than any other which can so easily be in- troduced upon their farms, and, what is far more important, an industry which will be the precursor of that diversified culture through which alone agricidture 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 tliS material embodied in this i^aper. S. Ex. 25 8 APPENDIX. SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN NORTH CAROLINA. The developments of science and practical experience have revolutionized pnldic opinion on many important subjects during the present generation. Man's cupidity, as Avell as necessity, has urged him to important changes of sentiment, or, more pi'op- erly speaking, has induced him to develop to our intelligence many errors under which our fathers labored, and has opened doors to ncwentei'prises, through which the prog- ress of this age has advanced his material prosperity far beyond any period in his history. This progress is not destined to be staid; but, on the contrary, as step by step, new developments are unfolded, new tields will be jtresented for exploration, and new enterprises opened for the employment of his energies. Looking back from the threshold of the last quarter of the nineteenth century to its commencement, we per- ceive that more has been accomplished, in scientific and practical developnuMit, 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 develoj) and turn to his use the blessings given by his Creator iu 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 la1)or 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 remuner- ative staple to the planter. The recent change of labor in the Southern States renders it important that those more northern States which border on the cotton belt should turn their attention to productions that promise better remixueration. The State of North Carolina, lying on the northern l)order of the cotton belt and between the 34° and 37° of north latitiule, possesses amedium teniperatureof climate, free fi-om 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 which is iieculiarly healthful and invigorating to man as well as to all animated mitnre. This getSgraphical advantage is enhanced by its topographical formation. With a sea-coast of near three hundred miles' extent, washed by the wJives of the Atlantic, it reaches back westward until it embraces the towering heights of the Blue Mountains. From the exhanstless fountains of this moun- tain region tio w the thousand streamlets which form her Catawba and her Yadkin Rivers ; and fronj 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 llowing eastward, watering abundantly every district of the State, and emptying their Avaters 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 nu'adows of this fjivorite and never-failing pasturage. The winters here are slnn-t, 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 champaign country, extending to the Atlantic coast. The soil of this extensive mountain and upland country, embracing some sixty of the ninety-one counties in the State, is varied in character, a large proportion of it having a rich clay subsoil, yields abundant crops of the cereals and t>f cotton and tobacco, and the balance, having an admixture of sand, is more easily cultivated, and, with light fer- tilization, yields quite as abundant harvests. All is susceptible of the highest degree of improvement, and all produces native, as well as sown and cultivated, gra.sscs to a high degree of perfection. The remaining counties, embracing the tide-water district of the State, have large districts of rich alluvial soil, which have long been an Egypt from which thousands of our fellow-citizens north of xia 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 difl'erent points, and now vigorously pressing through to a connection with the Mississijipi and Ohio 116 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. Valleys, These liiglnv.iys of travel and freight open np every portion of it, and make connections at Wilmington, Morehead City, and New Berne, on its own seaboard, and the ports of Charleston, S. C., Norfolk, Va., and the cities and markets of the Nf>rth. This portraiture of the State of Noi'th Carolina presents an area of 45,500 sqnare miles, and embraces all the varieties of soil and climate to be found in the most favored latitndes and most desirable localities on the earth. Nature has not disti'ibnted her gifts here with a partial hand, by bestowing lavishly upon one section and withhold- ing to impoverishment from another; but, bj' an even and uniform meting out, ren- ders every portion desirable. From the sharp frost-line of its mountiiius to the snunj- bays and lakes upon its coast, where ice is rarely seen, a uniform, equable temperature 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 l)y the people. He who will present a proper direction for the enterprise of agriculturists Avill be their benefactor. Our ideas on such matters are naturally influenced by our business of life, our education, or other circumstances whigh beiul the twig and tix the inclination of the tree. Being sensible of these influences, the writer might feel more ditiidence in presenting sheeji-hnsbandry to the consideration of those interested in the future of North Carolina, as the leading occupation of its people, did he not feel satisfied that an intelligent examination of the subject must lead the investigat- ing mind to sustain his conclusions. If the preceding description of the temperature, topography, and 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 liere given is invited to direct his inv;estigations 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 sheej) have been cared for; and has convinced Inm 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 sufli- cient to furnish the wool necessary to clothe the family and furnish an occasional mutton. These sheei) 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 inclosnres 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 And their homes in the fall season, and would seek its inhosi)italities for the winter, would be admitted within the gates, and per- mitted to eke out a scanty living in the denuded flelds and corners of worm-fences, Avhicli is sui)plemented 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 Avinter afforded to a majority of these flocks being such as their instincts lead them to seek by hovering on the sheltering sides of barns and outbuildings that may be accessible; a tumble-down or waste-house on a plantation is a perfect asylum for them. Yet, under this treatment, the flocks of the farmers keep their numbers full, and occasionally multiply beyond their wants. Of necessity, their fleeces are light and inferior. Whenever an eftbrt has been inade to improve the stock by crossing upon Merino or other approved blood, tlie eft'ect is satisfactory and lasting. From the universal cxistom of turning the entire stocks into the common "range," the impi'ession of a Merino, S(Juthdown, or other importation would manifest itself upon the flocks of entire neighborhoods. So a])parent is the improvement thus made that, in purchasing the surplus brought to market, there, would be no difliculty in recogniz- ing the wool from a neighborhood that had been favored by some enterprising farmer having imported from Virginia or Pennsylvania a pair of blooded animals. Without any change in the mode of treatment, these inii)rovements 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 efltbrt to improve their quality or condition, it is evident that there is in North Carolina an adaptation of natural gifts to their peculiar wants. In the tide-water and contiguous counties, where the influence of winter winds from the mountains is not felt, " where the snow spirit never comes, and whore spi'ing flings her flowers into the lap of winter," these generous animals And a sustaining pasturage the entire year upon the wire-grass which grows spontaneously through the otherwise barren pine forests. Being thus independent of their owners, they keep in uniform good flesh, grow to better maturity, and furnish better fleeces than in thcnppi^r 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 the western border of the State, the most elevated point between the Mississippi Kiver and the Atlantic, looking eastward the mind's eye reaches the waves of tlie 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 from the mountain battlements stretched across the western border of the State, whose waters, flowing eastward, tum1)le 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. From the l)roa(l plateau below a thousand other never-failing fountains seud forth their pure waters, which mingle as they flow onward to swell the grand arteries which convey them to their comnu)n res- ervoir. Through, over, and across this grand i>rospect numerous railways stretch their lengths, over which freighted trains are sweeping to and fro, bearing out the produc- tions and bringing in the commerce of the country. Of this immense territory it may be said there is not a square mile of soil which is not susceptible of l)eing made to produce a remunerative yield of tillage, and uot one upon which would not ordinarilly be fonml a good natural pasturage for sheep ; nor is there a square mile of it upon which, when sheep were introduced and cared fiu", would uot, year l>y year, be improved by their presence and pasturage upon it. There is no part of the State which does not possess immense natural advantages in soil and cli- mate over the Southdown hills of England, the sterility of which rendered them almost uninhabitable until sheep were introduced upon them, by which they have been con- 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 small 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 tields 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 poi'tionof the State, they do live iudepeiul- 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 iu certain of the States of New England, Avhere pasture-lands are worth five or ten times as much as iu North Carolina, is the staple business in its rural disti'icts. Its people look to their flocks, as the Southern planter does to his broad acres of cotton, for their income. There the severities of a Northern winter lock up all Nature's supplies, and render all domestic animals dependent upon the hand of man for protection and food for one-third of each year; yet that enterprising people have converted these States into a vast sheep- walk, and, subduing all obstacles, have developed the wool-bearing cai>ability of sheep to a degree heretofore unknown. A contrast between the advantages and disadvan- tages of New England and North Carolina, iu regard to this profitable enterprise, is invited, and the advantages of the latter will be apparent. If, with the natural (lis- advantages under which they labor, they have developed so great a profit in this pui- suit, why should not North Carolina become animated with the altounding 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 Carolina calls for a change in their agriculture. ^Millions of wealth have been realized iu less favored countries by the growth of sheep ; and it is an enterprise worthy the investigation of her peoj)!*'. This article is not written with the view of presenting the profits of husl)audry, or of contrasting it with the present agricultural pursuits of her ])coi)le, but to show the adaptation of the State to its successful pursuit, and to call attention to its natural advantages over countries whei'e it is ])rofitably pursued. It is hoped that the intelli- gent people of the State will investigate the subject, and that those engaged in it else- where may be induced to direct their attention and inquiries to the State; and there is no doubt of the facts presented being found to be as stated. The profits of sheep husbandry are not now, as heretofore, dependent mainly upon the fleeces; but the discoveries of science in this our enlightened day enable the grow- ers to otfer their nuitton in the markets of Europe as sweet and as fresh as it is founy my friend, Governor Hampton, to send you some de~ tails of my experience in sheep husbandry, in whic-li I luive all my life been engaged, in this State, Georgia, and Texas. From my early manhood I have personally known, . and visited in their himies, the most intelligent Avool-groAvers and sheep-hreeders of the North and South — such men as Georgc.Camphell and others, of Kew England, and Richard Peters and others, of the South. Dr. Randall, of Cortland Village, N. Y.,wa» for thirty years my triend, and an authority to whom I always had recourse; and Avhose most valuable work, "Sheep Husbandry at the South," was written at the special request of the late Governor AUston of this State, to encourage wool-growing in South Carolina. From all sources, at home and abroad, I have sought information- and have obtained the best examplesof the various breeds. In fact, sheep husbandry has been the one occujiation I have preferred above all others; and I have no hesita- tion whatever, after long experience, in affirming it as my tixed belief that it might be made ihe nu)st valuable industry of the S(uith, and for the successful pursuit of Avhich, 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 m^; and you cau arrange and Tise them as you choose, "We are not iar from the central ])ortions of the State. The country is a rolling upland, with a light-gray soil and lieavy clay subsoil. The })revailing grasses are the crab and Bt^rmuda and wild c-lover. The breeds of sheep I have had and tested are the common natiA'e, Bakewell or Kew Leicester, New Oxfordshire, Southdowus, French and Spanish Meriuoes, and the African Broad-tails. With me the Spanish Merinoes have proAed the most profitable, the first of which I had from the Hocks of Dr. Randall. I have crossed the Merino with nearly all the above-named breeds. I am inclined to think that good native ewes make the best cross with the Merino, and make a more salable sheep than any of the above-named full-bloods. I am now breeding the Merino and Broad-tailed. If I were raising wool as the primary consideration, I would by all means raise the Merino. They do not mature so early as the other breeds; but, when matured, make as good mutton as any bi'eed I have ever raised. But, if the priucip.al object should ■ be to raise mutton for the markets, I would c(^rtainly leconnnend the African Broad- tailed sheejt, because th(%^ mature earlier; but, in my husbaiulry, I make the wool the first, the mutton the secondary, consideration. But, were the (piestion one of long- combing Avool for this locality, I would cross the Cotswold ewe with the Aflicau Broad- tail ram, for all the range of country here, this side the Blue Ridge. The annual cost of keeping my sheep, I charge up at $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 slieeji pay. If they are full-blooded, they will aver- age not far from $10; and, making that, they give about *iO per cent., allowing the lambs to pay exjienses; but, if they are only half-breeds, they will not average more than !j;1.50 per fleece. My average annual clip of unwa.shed wool, per sheep, from full-blood Merinoes, is 7 pounds, the average price of which last season was 22 cents; this season, 28 net to me lure. 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 Avill not pay all expenses. The average number of my lambs raised is, from my Meriuoes, about SO ]ier cent. Compared with the ewes ke]it, they are not, as a rule, as good nurses as nuist of the other breeds, sonus of which Avill rear nearly 100 i)er cent, of their lambs. I have always sold my lambs for herding, stock sheep, &c., not to the butcher. Our connnon sheep can bo had here for f'i per head ; Merinoes, from $10 to $20. The price in market here for grown mutton-sheep woidd be from $54 to $5. My pasture has been broom-sedge and Jajian clover {Lcupedizen striata), until after harvest ; then we give them the run of the grain-fields. For winter pasturage, I usually sow rye lots for the ewes and laml)S, and give all the Hock the run of oat.s sown in August and Sexitejuber; also, allow them the range of the corn-field and the cotton-fields. As a mixed food, cotton-seed is wholesonu% economical, and prolital)le. My sheep are very fond of it ; after feeding on green barley all day, they will eat cot- ton-seed with great relish. Some feed is needed in this section for thi'ee nu)nlhs, as there are few cultivated grasses; with herdsgrass and clover cultivated, nuich le.ss time for feeding would be needed. Sheep are usually very healthy in this section ; there are no ei)idemics nor prevail- ing complaints here among them. The main obstacles to the industry here are dogs, thieving negroes, indolence, and ignorance. The presence of a shepherd and the Spanish sheep-dog wih remedy the first ; ajid education, the latter. SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 119 We ntilize the manure from tlic sheep — housing them in winter, anil littering the stalls frequently — throwing it broadcast for rutahagas, in July or August, or iu «lrills, as the case may be. In sununer, I use John H. Euchnuin's portable fence — the l)cst 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 tirst year ; and its etfects ai-e perceptible for several 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 lilants with us they will not eat. I think all varieties of sheep can be successfully and profitably raised in our State. On the ricli bottom-lauds 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 iu any climate South. In the middle district, near the lands under rich cultivation, the Bakewells and other A'arieties of heavy sheep for mutton. In the section where I am, and up to the line of the Blue Ridge, 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 a iew of some of the industrial wants of the conn try, I think this last section of our State, the Blue Ridge Mountains, can, with mod- erate care and expense, most successfully furnish all the facilities needed for the best combing wools, and the alpaca and Angora goat. In fact, I have no doubt on this point. Even here, 75 miles from the mountains, I have for six-years grown most suc- cessfully the Angora goat, whose flesh I regard as superior to any mutton, and Avhose fleece, properly handled, could there l)e made more profitable than any wool-growing. This I can say from actual, careful experience with the Angoras, which are of Asia Minor stock, meeting here few obstacles to their profitable breeding, and which, in the Blue Ridge, just beyond me, would find an exact counterpoint of their native soil and climate. Aside from their flesh and wool, there is another advantage they otfer, which in the mountains beyond would be nu)st valuable. In a cross I have made with a pure Angora buck and a Maltese e\ve-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 of one of my cows will keep twelve goats. My cows must have certain food, or they will not thrive. My goats will eat anything, almost, and do well ; and with this advantage, also, that their milk and butter are not iu any way aftected by their diet. It is not, therefore, at all an oi)en 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 Ridge. 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 tal)le a Silesiau wool, measuring say 1,800 hairs to the inch, and which cost the consumer here |1.50 in gold per pound. With none of that ridiculously extreme care which the growers of electoral wool exercise in their flocks, Mark Cock- erell, of Tennessee (near Nashville), has raised Saxony wools of a fineness of over 2,000 hairs to the inch, and could sell it at a handsome profit at $1 per pouiul. In fact, Mr. Cockerell claims there is more margin of profit iu it than in the growth of a mere ordi- nary wool. Our country's enterprise, demand, climate, soils, and constantly improving animals, if present encouragement in wool-growing is not interfered with in anyway, can su])- ply any call that can be made ujion it ; and, from my knowledge of the South and its resources, I believe no part of our country can furnish so many facilities in this direc- tion, and no one section more than my native State of South Carolina. J. WASH. WATTS. JoHX L. Hayes, Esq., Secretary of the Kaiional Association of Wool Manufacturers, Boston. Executive Chamber, Columbia, S. C, December 24, 1877. I fully concur with the views expressed by Colonel Watts in the within paper. He is a gentleman of great experience, intelligence, and integrity. I doubt if he has his superior as a shepherd iu the South. I heartily commend his sentiments, as hereby expressed, to all who are interested in wool growing, and its manufacture ; which industries I believe to be most vitally con- nected with the future develoiiment and prosperitv of the South. WADE HAMPTON. 120 SHEEP-HUSBANDEY. Atlanta, Ga., January 1, 1878. Sir: Hon. Alex. H. Stepliens, of this State, has expressed a wish that I furnish you ■with facts as to the facilities the State of Georense has been spared by me, I may say with safety I know of no investment so likely to yield constant and pi'ofitaltle returns to the farmer, and certainly none so valuable to the acres he occupies. I think the State of Georgia, from its varied climate, soil, and surface, offers unequaled facilities for this industry. We shall need with this the paternal care of the State and national governments for its growth and permanence. Local laws for the protection of our flocks from man and Ijeast should be promptly enacted; Avhile the general government should by no unkindly legislation disturb existing advantages, retard our growing progress, or throw any obstacle in our way. And I may here say that I learn with great suri>rise aud regret that an eftort will prol)ably be made in Congress this winter to reduce the duties on wool, or eveu to give us free wool altogether. I greatly depre- cate all su(di legislative action. Nothing could be more impolitic or disastrous to the sheep hnsbanation I am under to yourself and tlie association you represent for many favors in the past, and very recently foi»the pleasure and profit afforded me by the perusal, in the July and September issue of The Bulletin, of your lecture on " Wool- production and Sheep-husbandry." My only regret in reading it has been that your audience had not been in Texas rather than Maine; and here (will you allow me to say?) you are, in my judgment, doing the joint interests of wool-growing and wool-manufacture gi-eat service by the utterance of such sentiments as are contained in the pai)er referred to ; and, while thus employed, I firmly believe you are engaged in an educational effort second to none in im])ortance in our country. I have entered upon the business of sheep-husbandry in this section not alone for the purjiose of money-making, but also in the faith that I can, in this avocation, render good service to my country in many ways. The field here is a wide and important one. I believe it is destined to be the theater of most important developments ill sheep-husbandry. The facilities, in many directions, for the successful solution of hitherto unsolved problems in this industry are unsuri)assed anywhere ; and I think ten years from now Texas wool will rank in all respects with the best of the world. To accomplish this will require effort. I do not hesitate to say to our wool-growers here that the intelligent wool-manufacturers of New England will watch with much interest the future of this great territory ; and that the knowledge of that fact, and the sympathy and co-operation it insures, should nerve them not only to grow the most in bulk, but the best in quality, of any wools on the continent. I have recently brought out here one hundred head of Merino bucks from the cele- brated flock of George Campbell, esq., of West Westminster, Vt., and intend them as but the forerunners of a system of sheep-husbandry unexcelled any whi're. If I can be successful, I think I may be useful in no small degree in more firmly cementing the bonds of our comuion country. For, while it may seem a strange thought to mauy, I have the impression that no one influence in the industries of the Union can be made more mighty for good in a moral, industrial, and political sense than an intelligent, harmonious, co-operation of the interests represented ]>y the wool-growers and wool- manuf:ieturers of tiiese United States. Very respectfully, yours, CHAKLES N. JENKS. Hon. John L. Hayes, Secretary of the Autional Association of Wool Manufacturers, Boston. EXTRACT FROM FORTHCOMING REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE OF TENNESSEE. EAST TENNESSEE FOR SHEEP. The climate embraced within the limits of Tennessee is peculiar, in the fact that it is greatly modified by reason of mountain elevations, and is not what latitude alone would determine. Take the tops of the Unaka Mountains on the east, and throughout the hottest summer months the average temperature on Roane Mountain does not exceed 54 degrees. In the valley of East Tennessi'e we find the climate not so nnich modified by elevation as by the direction of the winds, which rush up the valleys from the south- west laden with a fructifying moisture, and jjroducing a highly genial, productive, and healthy climate. The mean temperature here in summer is not 1 ar from 74 degrees. Take these two divisions of the State, lying side by side, and the sheep will jiresent great constitutional diflerences. Tin; Cotswold, Leicester, Southdown, nor any heavy breeds, would not do well upon tlie admiraT)le grazing grounds found upon the bald l)laees on the mountain-tops; but the ]\Ierino, the Cheviot, and the native mountain l)reeds would find a home entirely coiigenial to their constitution and habits. The natives found on these mountain heights are as fleet as the deer, and as healthy. The wool is white, soft, firm, lustrous, and true; and the sheep show a beautiful adapta- tion to the locality which they occn])y. It is said, by those experienced in sheep-rais- ing on these mountains, that the higher the grazing-gnnmds the better the wool. On the other hand, carcasses increase in size as the grazing-gronnds approach the valley, mitil the largest size of carcass is met with in the many long, straight, and beautiful valleys that characterize the great valley of East Tennessee. It may be well to mention here that tlie grasses which flourish U])on the slopes and tops of the Unaka Mountains are exceedingly luxuriant and nutritious, aind form a SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 123 thick mat all over the surface. Blne-o;ra.ss, hcrds'-grass, Avhite clover, mnuntaiu meadow, Randall grass, and many wild hut valuahle kinds, are so iutermixed as to supply constant grazing throughout the summer months. But these grasses are cou- tined to the soils of metaphoric origin. The Sandstone Mountains are naked and hare, producing only greenish hriars, lichen.s, luosees, and ferns. Though cool, the climate of these mountains is exceedingly moist. For fully half the time in summer the tops are wrai)i)ed in cloud and mist ; and rains are remark- ably frequent in sunnner, and snows in Avinter. The frequent rains keep the grasses in a growing conditioii, and an equal acreage of i)asture upon the rich, black, felds- pathic soils of the mountain will probal)ly 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 l>etter or thicker than upon the balds of some of these mountains. For wool-])ro- ducing sheep, this region has no superior in this or any other country, if they could be provided with suitable jirotection 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 uj)on these airy heights. CUMBEELAXD MOUXTAIX FOR SHEEP. The Cumberland table-land is 2,000 feet above tide-water, with a dry sandstone soil, and an exceedingly cool and pleasant climate in sunmier, the mean temperature being about 71 degrees. The air is dry and bracing. During the summer months the sur- face of the earth is covered with tussf)cks of tine, nutritious mountain grass, and fur- nish ample sustenance for sheep for eight months in the year. In addition to tlie wild grasses, herds'-grass, clover, and orchard-grass, with slight attention to manuring, will grow Avell. Wild pease also furnish a nutritions herbage. The soil can easily lie made to yield suflicient 8upi)lies for winter feeding by sowing in stock xiease — a food not only healthful for sheep, but highly relished l)y cattle. To be successful in sheep-raising on this table-land, the breeder must be careful to huild 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 Ijeing 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 oflered by this mountain region for the economical raising of sheep are : 1. The cheapness of the lauds. Lands may be bought at almost a nominal pi'ice on the Cumberland Mountains. Though high and healthy, the soil in compariscm with that of the valleys is poor and unproductive. The price for wild, highway-jjasture lands varies from 50 cents to $'^ jier acre, depending mainly upon nearness to railroads and markets. Care should be taken, though, to investigate tin; 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 ]antion from nuiny of the diseases fatal to sheej). Xo foot-ail, no braxy, no impaired organs of digestion, no blind staggers, and, indeed, no other disease thaii old age, (u- starvation through want of care, has ever attacked them. Nor do flies annoy or vex flocks as they do in the lower plains. There are also some disadvantages attending the raising of sheep upon this mount- ain. The pasturage is so extensive that they often stray Ort' and are lost. There is also the calycauthus, that on some of the sloi)es grows vigorously, bearing seed readily eaten by sheep in winter, and Avhich is a deadly ])oison. 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 small 124 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. cost, mutton sheep would suffer much in flesh l)y being flriven 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 jiroperly cared for, would prove a protitable investment on these mountain lands. One i)recantion 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 aftar the rigorous winter weather is over. ADDITIONAL FACTS BEARING UPON THE CULTURE OF ELECTORAL WOOLS IN THE SOUTH. In an address delivered before the National Agricultural Congress, in New Haven, Conn., August 29, 1878, the writer, the compiler of the 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 climate injuriously influences the wool liber in regard to fineness. On the contrary, I am of the opinion tliat the fleece of the pure Merino, in a warm climate, Avith green, succulent gra.ss nearly the Avhole year round, has rather a tendency to run Jiner than the interest of the sheep- breeder on a large 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 supei-fine wool — the Panhandle region in Western Virginia, and the contiguous coun- try in Ohio ; into which country Spanish Mereno sheex), 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 fftr- nish entirely fresh and original information upon a too much neglected branch of sheep husbandry : " The Messrs. Faris Brothers, of West Liberty, Ohio County, Weai Virginia, for- merly owned flocks which were bred Avith particular regard to fineness; and Mr. John Faris, wlio has still a portion of the old flock, claims to have bred the finest wooled ram that ever Avas born, his fleece Aveighing but a pound and three-quarters. All Avho saw him pronounced him the finest they had ever seen. Some of the progeny of this ram is still to be found in tAvo or three flocks in Ohio County. '"It is claimed by the farmers of this county that they formerly bred from as pure Saxony sheep as could be obtained. Many of them Avere purchased trom a Mr. Pea- body Atkinson, Avho came from New England, and was an enthusiast in his devotion to fiue-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 Avill average from three to three and a half pounds. He is now breeding from Silesian rams. His flock, Avith tAvo or three others, may be cousidered the cream of the once fauions 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 noAV breeding from 'Beecher,' a ram purchased at the Centennial, from the Silesian flock of the late W. H. Chamberlain, of Red Hook. He shears eleven pounds of beautiful nuAvashed avooI, very compact, yet short in sta])le. 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 tAvo years that he has been breeding from him. Mr. Beall prides himself as much upon his fine avooI as any 'electoral duke' can. It seems quite ajipropriate that he should groAV 'noble' wools. Residing on one of the richest and finest farms in any country, he is truly a lord in his OAVu realm ; Avith his help around him, his every nu)tion a command, and the very soil on Avhich he treads seeming to know naught but to obey, as his Avell-filled barns and AvaA^ing corn Avill testify. " It may be added that the same manufacturer has purchased his wool for the past nine years. Yesterday he sold his avooI for 48 cents ajjound ; last year, for 60 cents." I recollect distinctly and Avith gieat pleasure the exhibit of Mr. Beall's avooI at the Centennial. As one (if the judges of avooI, I examined it, in company with the eminent Bradford nianufacturer, Mr. Mitchell, and wrote bis award Avith Mr. Mitchell's hearty concurrence : "An exhibit of Saxony fleeces, two bucks and two CAves, of fineness char- acteristic of the race." SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 125 Mr. Witliam adds: "There are some three or four other clips -which sold for as much, or within a half- cent as ninch, as Mr. Beall's. I iui<>ht mention Mr. James Rid<;eley, of the same dis- trict; Mr. John Baird, of Philadelphia; and Dr. J. C. Campbell, of Eichland district. These men claim to have never introduced Spanish Merino blood into their flocks, and the prodtu-ts of their-flocks are known as Saxony clips. Indeed, tliei-e 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 supeifiue wool. Mr. Witliam writes: "Mr. William Croskey, of Hopedale, has over a thousand fleeces, all grading XXX and above. I had sup[tosed 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 flftecn 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 ai"e washed, and present as showy and Avliite an a.ppearance as any of his fleeces. His Avool 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 wo(d pays as well as any other raised in that region. His fleeces aA^erage three and three-quarters pounds. He sold last year for sixty-live cents a pound, straight through, Avithout any deductions or dockings. I said to him : " 'What breed of sheep do you liaA'e, Mr. Croskey; is it Saxony?' " 'I do not know. I haA'e 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 Avhen two years old. I do not think there is a drojj of Silesian blood in my flock. The Silcsians may be A-erj^ good sheep, but irot AA'liat I am breeding for. I have some of the best of Thomas A. Wood's flock, acknoAvledged by all to have been the finest of that section, but sold and scattered among other Avool-men after his death. I had one of his rams, which died last year at the age of tAventy-two years and Avhich took the premium or medal as the finest sheep at one of the w^orld'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 liaA-e heard. This ram, dying at the age of tAventy-tAvo, Avould seem to indicate hardiness. I do not house my sheep. Some of them have free access to sheds, but they are just as apt to select the highest knoll of a cold night as any other place. I think there is no hardier sheep, no sheep better adapted to this clin^ate; and Ave haA^e as hard a climate as anyAvhere, the thermometer getting down as low as 2.5° beloAv zero and up to 100° in the shade nearly every year. I have not as much trouble Avith my lambs in dropping time as some of my neighbors Avho 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 Avhen I commenced breeding forty years ago; and the fleeces Avill average one pound heavier, obviously because it has become longer, Avith no more grease. I feed but little grain. I can raise tAvo of my Saxon sheep Avhere you can raise one Merino. Neighbor Midholland tried this and found the Saxon the hardi- est, and much the easiest kejit. With the same care it will raise nearly as much avooI; and probably more, taking the grease into consideration.' " I will add that I also remember the avooI of this same Mr. Croskey at the Centen- nial, and that the judges gave him an award in these terms: "An exhibit of twelve samples of Saxony avooI of the highest excellence." The above extracts show that our Southern friends wiio desire to j)ursue the fasci- nating pursuit of superfine sheep husbandry may find in our OAvn country breeding animals to start their flocks, thoroughly acclinuxted. having all the fineness of the original Saxons without their tenderness of constitution, and producing heavier fleeces Avithout loss of fineness of fiber. Thus Ave find Avhat Avill be to most of us an unexijected addition to the American resources for sheep-husbandry. SHEEP-HUSBANDRY IN CONNECTION WITH THE CULTURE OF TOBACCO. In the address referred to, the Avritcr presented the following facts, which will be instructive to the tobacco-growers of the South: The A'allcy of the Connecticut furnishes an instructive illustration of the beneficial influences of sheep-husl)andry upon crops. I refer to the system of sheep-feeding for nuitton and manure, in connection Avith the tobacco culture, &c., profitably pursued in 12G SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. that valley. For the pnriiose of obtaining definite information, I addressed inquiries to several iiractical farmers engaged in this pnrsnit in tliat region. Among others, to Mr. J. F. C. AUis, 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 ; buying 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 kind 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 keei)ing them well bedded with wheat and rye straw, or coarse hay. We commence to feed the sheep light with grain, gradually iucreasing 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 8.5 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, son'ie from Ohio; but Michi- gan Merinoes crossed with long-wooled sheep are considered the best feeders. "During those years sheep for feeders found a ready sale; and agents from tobacco- growers would take from one to two months in marketing tlocks, and would car them here 1,000 to 2,000 at a time. "Since 1878, 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 Avere fatted. Farmers were satis- fled 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 t)ne-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, perhaiis owing to the potash it derives from the mauxire. So valuable do we consider this sheep-manure that we have shipped, since 1870, from West Albany, from 50 to 150 cords, costing from f 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, i)lump 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 lietter conditioned, besides increasing the value of the manure and rendering it more full of plant food. "Farmers in hill towns, and some in the valley, are keeping ewes for raising lamb for early spring market ; and those farmers who have good pasturage for fall market realize for lambs, of from 40 to 70 pounds, from $8 to .$10 each. "This branch of sheep husbandry will undoubtedly increase among farmers, who will keep from 15 to 30 head, notwithstanding the difficulty of good pasturage and the worry and destiuction caused by dogs. "Sheep invariably are the best that are penned in November and December coming direct from pastures. Having only had light feeding of grain, they car better and are more hearty feeders. The Connecticut River fed sheep have a ready sale, at full market rates, in early aud late si)ring, both in Brighton and New York markets. " Fattening Avethers for market would rapidly increase if the spring luarket could be more relied upon. Perhaps this reliance will come from the iucreasiug foreign demand for good mutton." RECENT NOTES ON THE ANGORA GOAT. [From the Bulletin of the National Ai9sociation of Wool Manufacturers.] 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 pultlislietl here or abroad, to pnblisli all the later information upon this snl)ject in our Bulletin. The paper given below is the most important of the recent contributions. It is important to those desiring to import these animals from their native habitats, as it gives a precise descri})tion of the localities where the ditferent varieties ]irevail. There are two jioints, dwelt upon by the writer, to which special attention sliould be given by those proposing the culture of the Angora in this country. The first is that the high and dry plateaus where these goats ttonrish in Asia Minor have an " abund- ant growth of oaks, either in the form of trees or scrub brusli, tlie 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, for the culture of these animals ; and shows that where grasses do not abound, as in nmny districts of the South, abinidant forage can be supplied by the dried leaves, gathered and cured, of course, when green. The second point is the course adojtted 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 diffei-ent theories. One is that the best mode of beginning Ji flock is to commence with a few thorough-bred goats of both sexes, ami trust entirely to the natural increase. * * * The alterna- tive plan is to introduce a small but choice collection of thorough-bred r.anis, and cross the common ewe-goat with these. In three to five years a large and valuable flock is collected, only limited by the number of common goats procured at lirst." "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 ewes should be in- variably crossed by an absolutely pure-bred ram, and that even the best cross-bred rams should never be used or sold for breeding. Without the persistent use of pure rams no good results can be obtained. By this plan we feel reassured that the Angora- goat husbandry, in suitable localities, can be successfully and profitably conducted in this country. In our original paper on the Angora goat we announced the following conclusion: "The Angora goat, and the domestic goat of Europe and this country, having de- scended from separate sources, the obtaining of good results from the crosses of the two races is theoretically improbable, and is demonstrated to be so by the best experi- ence in Europe." As we stated in a recent article on sheep-husbandry in the South, later observations of experiments in Australia, and especially in the Cape of Good Hope, has led us to modify the conclusion above quoted. We must now admit that good fleece-i»roducing animals may be founded on the common goat. The conclusive fact estal)lishing 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 18G5, consisted of but 6,804 pounds. In 1876 the quantity reached 1,298,455 poumls, "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 Angoragoat culture in this conn- try has been frittered away, and has been productive of no results. Breeders who crossed pure animals upon conmion goats have sold the grade aninuils 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 jn-oduct 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 suiiicieut capital, a foundation of absolutely pure animals, and Avith time enough allowed to complete the improvement of the flock (five or six years), we feel confident that it will be highly remunerative. Our manufactures will absorb all the fleece that can l)e 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 iirofitably exported. Professor Baird informs us that inquiries were made of him, by practical manufact- urers, in relation to the "Van" mohair. This question is partially answered in the article quoted below, and further by the following statement : " 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-HUSBANDRY. settled in Virginia; but, becoming discontented, went back to Smyrna. He sold bis 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. Enticbedes writes to Mr. Fulmer, under data of June last — "' Van is a province in Armenia, near Kars. Tlie goats of tbe province produce about one million pouiuls of an inferior mohair, of four or five colors. The goats there shear about three pounds per head, with 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 Anpora or Mohair Goat ; its NaturaJization in British Colonies. — At the last meet- ing of the British Colonial Institute, Mr. Gavin Gatheral, vice-consul at Angora, read a paper advocating the naturalization of the Angora goat in suitable parts of our Colo- nial Empire. The Angora goat (the Oapra hircus of naturalists) is a native of the central plateaus and mountains of Asiatic Turkey. From a very early period, efforts have been nuide 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 fleece, which makes this staple esteemed 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 sununer 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 unclouded blue of an Asiatic sky ; their snowy fleeces glittering like silver in the brilliant sunshine, and the small bronze bells hung on the necks of the rams chiming as they move 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 months, the slie])herds feed them with chopped straw or dried leaves. There is little expense in grazing them, as one goat-herd with a dog — to keep off wolves, which abouiKl — suffices for a thousand head. But in early spring, when the kids are born, they require attention, as the yoiing are singularly hel]>less during the flrst week of their lives, and the ewes show little maternal instinct ; and if the kids are born during cold or wintry weather, they require to be sheltered and nourished indoors after night- fall. A running stream or good well is indispensable, as the goats drink a great quan- tity of water ; and it is advisable to place pieces of rock-salt for them to lick. ''No ordinary fence will restrain them. They are so restless, energetic, and destruc- tive that cultivated plants in their vicinity have to be carefully guarded, especially ornamental shrubs or hawthorn hedges, and gorse and briers. They will not, there- fore, supersede sheep on good grass-lands ; but there are immense tracts in many of our Australian and American colonies, now practically idle and valueless, that, were these goats introduced, might be taken up and utilized in "the production of a very imjior- 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 difterent theories. One is, that the best mode of begin- ning a flock is to commence Avith 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 Ave yeai-s a large and valuable flock is col- lected, only limited by the number of common goats procured at the outset. Theorists object to tills system,' that perfect purity of breed cannot be reached ; but, practically, every trace of underbreeding can be eliminated and the standard of the pure goat reached ; the mohair being as fine, as long, though perhaps scarcely so abundant, as in the thorough-bred, while the silky luster so much valued by spinners is undoubtedly- greater. In practice, a combination of the two niethods has been found tli(^ most prof- itable ; that is, a small flock consisting of say ninety thorough-bred ewes aud ten pure SHEKP-IIUSBANDRY. 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 2s. 9d. to ',is. 9d. per pound, the average yield being five to six pounds, or, say, 20s. per head per annum. The flesh of mohair goats in good con- dition much resembles mutton. It is somewhat firmer in fiber, and quite as palata- ble ; in fact, those accustomed to both prefer it, and it is entirely free from the pecu- liar odor that characterizes common goats' flesh. The wethers accumulate large • [uantities of internal fat, which is remarkaldy firm and white, and makes valuable tallow. The ewe gives abundance of milk, and from it is made that slightly-acid curd called 'yort' in Turkish, so highly i)raised 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 oft' with the hair, are also val- uable articles of merchandise. They command high prices for carriage and drawing- room rugs. " The statistics of this industry show considerable fluctuations from year to year, varying with the general condition of the flocks and the demands of fashion in Great Britain. Taking the last few years of de])ressed 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; but the total value at i)resent prices will be a little over £2,000,000 sterling annually. This represents the full {)roduciug power of the Asia Minor dis- tricts ; and were returning peace to stimulate trade in England, the demand would far excedd 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 mohair goat to reach its highest development. The fleece, though lustrous, is harsh and coarse. It is somewhat unfortunate that the first selections for export to the Cape Colony, for naturalization there, were made from this district. The facilities for ship- ment are great ; but had other varieties, to be noted fur-ther on, been preferred, the result of the Cape experiment might have been more satisfactory. "Two hundred miles inland and to the southward lies Angora. This province pro- duces five different varieties from as many districts, each of them equal in area to the largest English county. Yabanova (or Strangerfield) produces a heavy lustrous fleece; Tchorba, a mohair so soft and fine that it falls to pieces as soon as shorn from the goat's back; Tchiboukova (or the Reedy Valley) is remarkable for its length and fine- ness of fiber; Ayash (the Mountain Pass) produces a white but lustorless fleece. The rams of the three first -named districts are undoubtedly thorough-bred. Though smaller in size than those of some other varieties, they have all the ' points ' that a practical stock-breeder commends. Sheltered by oak forests during the short but severe winter, and grazed on the valley grass during spring and siimmer, they seem to find in the alternation everything needful for strength and vigor, as is proved by their being so prolific, the ewes having frequently pairs, and sometimes even triplets, at a birth. Jeevar (or Near Town) is bright and showy, but full of what is technically called stick, or kempy hair. "Beybazar (or Prince's Market) is so near Angora that the mohair it produces has no marked points of ditterence. 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 highij' 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. Th^ Geredeh ram is a large and powerful animal, covered with a fleece that seems almost black, so sirrcharged 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 Tnrreted Castle) and Etkisheir (or the Old City). Both suffered severely from the two years of successive di-ought 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 aucient Icouium ; the soil there being of the color S. Ex. 25 9 130 SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. and ciiartlcter of brick-diist. The fleece of tlie Koniali goat is a reddish brown ; and, though this reduces its vahie as mohair, it is sought after for certain special manufac- tures. On the frontier of Armenia and Mesopotamia, far to the eastward, is a prov- ince called Van, which has hitherto supplied a great weight of inferior mohair, more resembling sheep's wool than goat's hair ; but this is the only part of the mohair-pro- ducing territory that has been occupied by the Russian invading armies, and conse- quently may be looked upon as lost to'British commerce for many years to come. "Recent events have greatly facilitated the means of purchasing and exporting tlioronghbred mohair goats from Asia Minor to British colonies. In former ye.ars it was as difficult to induce a Turkish grazier to part with a ram as to get an Arab to sell his favorite mare; but, war contributions increasing, he accepts the inevitable, and buys and sells like other people. The goats thrive well on shipboard, when properly at- tended to, so that the risk of loss during transit is small. "Mr. Gatheral gave the following information resi)ecting the cost of Angora goats: " Rams, thoroughbred, young bucks from the l>est districts, two to three years old, with certificate of health and condition, litness for breeding purposes, £fi. Ewes, same age and breed, £'A to £4. Expenses beyond Constantinople depend on freight, which varies much. Delivered in London, Liver])ool, or Southampton, for transship- ment, cost, freight, and insurance against all risk included, the rams cost from £9 to £10 ; ewes about one-lialf. For the Australian colonies they could be transshipped ;vt Malta, thus saving time and expense. " The animals are always forwarded in pens made ex^iressly, 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- i.ralist, exhibited magnificent specimens of soft, silky mohair, of a beautiful lustrous white color, the produce of Angora goats naturalized in New South Wales." \k