52 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



downs, the Shropshire Downs, the Hampshire Downs ; and 

 Leicesters and the Cotswolds all came to this country. Down 

 began to go the price of merino wool. Merino wool dropped 

 down and down, and the result of it all was in plain lan- 

 guage that these British breeds of sheep, by reason of the 

 change in fashion, almost drove out the American merinos. 

 They were driven away from Vermont, and perhaps Connecti- 

 cut. I am not as familiar with Connecticut as I am with some 

 other sections. They were driven from eastern New York to 

 western Xew York, into Ohio, and so on dowai into Texas, 

 and away on to the ranges. They were replaced by some of 

 these English breeds of sheep. Now I am saying nothing 

 against them. I do not wish to be understood that way at all. 

 It is a fact those sheep came here, and the attempt w^as made 

 to make them take the place of the merino, and as a conse- 

 quence more failures were made with them, I believe, than 

 successes. Men undertook to buy them, and did buy them, 

 and took them on to their farms and gave them a class of care 

 and feeding that they used to give to the merino sheep, and 

 the result was the sheep went to the clogs, and the dogs did 

 not do the killing either. Those flocks kept running down 

 and down until men who were attempting to breed them be- 

 came disgusted with them and what did not die were sold off. 

 Now in consequence of that movement, it is a plain simple fact 

 that large numbers of men today are not keeping sheep. 

 They say we tried those and we failed. Now there is nothing 

 against those breeds of sheep. It was simply a lack of knowl- 

 edge on the part of those that bought them in failing to give 

 them English care. The sheep came to this country but the 

 Englishmen did not come with them to care for them. There 

 Avas W'here the trouble came, along that line. I wall say to 

 you today that you cannot, friends, if you have been breed- 

 ers of merino sheep, and I think you have many of you, 

 vou cannot take any English breed of sheep and give it the 

 same care that you did those merinos and make a success of 

 the business. They must have a different line of care. British 

 methods must be" followed to a great extent or there wall be 

 a failure. A breeder w^ho has met a high degree of success 

 with the British breeds is the one w^ho has made a study of 

 the need of the sheep. He has found that he must care for 

 them according to the methods prevailing in England. He 



