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no trouble in raising them. I usually raise about nine-tenths of the 

 lambs. 



*' I wean my lambs when four months old. I select the largest and 

 best-wooled lambs, every year, to breed from ; and in that way I have 

 increased the size of my sheep full one-quarter from my original stock, 

 and have increased the weight of fleece, from about three pounds to four 

 pounds, on an average ; I think my last clip averaged a trifle over four 

 pounds to the fleece, and my sheep were four-fifths ewes. My bucks, at 

 two years old, will average about one hundred and sixty pounds, and 

 will shear from seven to nine pounds of clean washed wool. I think 

 some of my smaller sheep the most profitable, from the fact that they 

 will shear more wool, according to their size, than some of the larger 

 ones. I think that the sheep that will shear the most wool (of the same 

 quality) in proportion to the food they consume, is the most profitable. 

 I am speaking now of wool-growing — not mutton-growing. I have lately 

 purchased some full-blood Spanish Merinos, and intend to keep them 

 distinct from my cross-breeds, giving them the same keeping, so that I 

 may be better able to decide which is best. I am satisfied that the wool 

 of my cross-breeds will shrink much less than the Merino, in manufac- 

 turing ; it is longer and finer, and almost entirely free from gum. I 

 intend to exhibit a few fleeces of each kind at the next State Fair, and 

 give others a chance to judge. 



"I think some of our Farmers lose, every year, from two to five cents 

 on a pound, by not having their wool in a proper condition to sell. Some 

 have it done up one side out, and some the other ; some wad it up to- 

 gether in a loose manner, and twist the neck around the rest of the fleece. 

 Wool not only looks better, but it is better, by being done up snug and 

 tight. The packer can get it into a smaller space, consequently it is 

 easier to transport, and when properly packed, it will increase in weight, 

 instead of shrinking, as will be the case when loosely packed. I think, 

 also, that every sheep off'ered for a premium should have its fleece exhi- 

 bited, as the Judges would be better able to decide upon the quality of 

 the wool than they would by examining the wool upon the sheep, as 

 some sheep are shorn a month earlier than others. 



"I think some of our Farmers are wrong in the idea that the coarse- 

 wooled, or Leicestershire, sheep are the most profitable, either for wool 

 or mutton. They certainly shear heavy fleeces, and have heavy car- 

 casses ; but it requires a great amount of good keeping to make them so. 

 4 



