242 ANNUAL REPORT OP THE Off. Doc. 



of the Missouri river sheep are still kept primarily for wool. In 

 Pennsylvania at the present time probably sheep can be kept to 

 the best advantage for the production of mutton or lamb primarily, 

 and wool incidentally. 



That Pennsylvania is adapted to sheep-growing is shown by past 

 history, both in the eastern and western parts of the State. In the 

 eastern part we have had some of the highest priced sheep of the 

 United States. The first importations of many of the breeds were 

 to Eastern Pennsylvania. Southwestern Pennsylvania, as is well 

 known, was and is the home of the Delaines. It was largely in 

 Southwestern Pennsylvania that the Delaine Merino was developed 

 from the small American Merino. While the skill and judgment 

 of the breeders were largely the means of this, the natural adapta- 

 bility of the region to sheep-growing undoubtedly contributed quite 

 considerable to the change of type. 



The benefits of sheep to the soil have long been recognized. It 

 is expressed in the saying that "the sheep's hoof is silver." A very 

 large amount of the $.5,000,000 paid for fertilizers in this State 

 might be saved by further attention to the keeping of animals. 

 There are no animals which would effect such a saving in the fer- 

 tilizer bills as would sheep. No other animals can be used to so 

 good advantage in building up worn out soils. No other animals 

 are so successful in renovating run down pastures. The droppings 

 are well distributed, and the greater part are left on the high places 

 where most needed. 



Sheep can be kept on rough pasture. They will eat a class of 

 herbage that no other animal except a goat will eat; in many cases 

 even prefer weeds to grass. Recent analyses made of some common 

 weeds indicates that many of them are quite rich in protein, con- 

 siderably more so than most of our grass crops. This is one reason 

 why weeds are valuable as sheep pastures. It has been thought 

 by some that sheep are hard on pastures, that they kill out the 

 vegetation, but this is only where they are compelled to eat down 

 into the roots or starve. 



The number of sheep in Pennsylvania has diminished decidedly 

 in the last thirty years, there being only about two-thirds as 

 many in 1907 as in 1877. Nevertheless, the total value of the sheep 

 in Pennsylvania was greater in 1907 than in 1877. There was a 

 decided decrease both in numbers and in value from 1877 to 1897. 

 Since 1897, owing to the greater demand for mutton and the in- 

 creased price of wool, the numbers have increased quite rapidly. 

 In 1897 there were less than half as many sheep in this State as 

 there were in 1877. The number of sheep in Pennsylvania has not 

 fluctuated in the same manner as the total number in the entire 

 United States. In the United States there were more sheep in 

 1897 than in 1877. The greatest number of sheep in the entire 

 United States, however, was during the years 1883 and 1884. In 

 the year 1907 there were almost as many, but not quite. The 

 growth of the mutton industry is fairly well shown by the receipts 

 and shipments of sheep at the Chicago Stock Yards in forty years. 

 In 1866 there were received at Chicago 207,987 sheep; in 1876 there 

 were received 1,03.3,151; in 1886, 963,900; in 1896, 2,600,476; in 1906, 

 3,329,269. Thus it is seen that there was a continued increase. 

 Although there were fluctuations from year to year, in general the 



