42 



I am satisfied that my flock of cross-breeds Tvill produce more dollars 

 worth, of either wool or mutton, from the same amount of food, than any 

 flock of Leicestershire sheep in the State. The mutton may be, and pro- 

 bably is, of better flavor ; but our farmers generally like the flavor of the 



dollars best. ^ n t> >» 



George C. Pratt. 



The Committee, in their report, say that "the Exhibition of Sheep at 

 the late Fair was very fine, and of excellent quality. It was gratifying 

 to see the increased attention paid to this kind of stock. The number of 

 French and Spanish Merinos, both ewes and bucks, was very large — 

 and probably of as good a quality as some which sold in the Merino spe- 

 culation, at from six hundred to fifteen hundred dollars. The South Downs 

 elicited the admiration of the Committee. The long-wooled sheep were 

 excellent specimens of 'their kind, and the cross-breeds were superior. 



" The Committee found difficulty in approaching the sheep-pens through 

 the crowd of spectators assembled around them. This furnishes undeni- 

 able evidence that there is springing vip a laudable zeal to improve the 

 quality and value of our flocks — and that the importance of sheep- 

 husbandry is rapidly diff"using itself throughout the State. 



" One Committee is not adequate to inspect and do justice to all the dif- 

 ferent classifications of the various kinds of sheep — and our labor would 

 have been greatly relieved, if the exhibited sheep of the same class 

 could all have been arranged in pens adjacent to each other, so that all 

 of one distinct class could be inspected at once, without the disconnection 

 of pens of cattle, or other kinds of sheep, to distract the atttention. It 

 was hard labor for the Committee to decide, what should be the criterion 

 of excellence when competition was so close. A manufacturer of wool 

 would be an important auxiliary on a committee Avith wool growers. 



" Sheep are, perhaps, all things considered, one of the most valuable 

 animals given to man. No animal is of greater utility. Sheep not only 

 supply food and clothing to the thousands who cultivate and rear them, 

 but the wool they aff"ord sustain in active employment large and exten- 

 sive manufacturing establishments, thereby contributing in large propor- 

 tion to the productive labor, and to the wealth of the country. In some 

 sections they are reared for their flesh, but here they are grown for their 

 wool. 



" The properties of wool are various. Fineness, purity, length of staple, 

 elasticity and color, are most important. The quantity of fine wool 



