STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 145 



we desire to refer briefly to the subject of fine wools. Our attention is 

 more strongly called to this subject by noticing in our English wool cir- 

 culars repeated .remarks, on the falling off in the character of Australian 

 wools. 



For many years the German flock masters almost monopolized the 

 production of the finest wools. The greatest care was given to their 

 flocks — breeding, feeding, and rearing them with b'ut the one object, 

 every other point was made secondary to the fineness of the fleece. 

 This course pursued steadily through generations gave at length the 

 perfect Saxon and Silesian Merino. Originally springing from the hardy 

 Spanish Merino, the same parent stock from which has sprung the well 

 developed, heavy fleeced, and hardy French and Vermont Merinos, it 

 was bred down to a weak, bad formed, and light fleeced animal, but the 

 point in view was attained, namely : a wool of almost gossamer fine- 

 ness. After all the care and labor attending the rearing of these flocks, 

 the twelve to twenty ounces of wool they gave could not be raised with 

 profit except it could find a market willing to pay a price corresponding 

 to the cost of production. These sheep were introduced into Australia, 

 where, with a mild climate, immense ranges, and convict labor, they 

 soon began to supply the markets with wool almost equalling the Ger- 

 man in fineness, and at greatly reduced prices — in fact, bringing them 

 within a few cents per pound of the medium wools. 



This condition of things compelled the German farmers to change 

 their system, and breed for heavier fleeces, a process that has been going 

 on for years. Australia has continued to import from these flocks until 

 the effect begins to be made apparent in the diminished supply of these 

 extremely fine wools, and it is not improbable that within ten years fine 

 wools ma} 7 again command such extreme prices as would justify our wool 

 growers in making material changes, for which the style of sheep we 

 have recommended will prove an admirable basis. 



San Francisco, September 26th, 1863. 



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