SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 291 



the Middlesex, Mr. Lewis upon the Worcester, Mr. Slade 

 upon the Hampshire Franldin and Hampden, Mr. Warner 

 upon the Highland, Mr. Damon upon the Hampden, Mr. 

 Grinnell upon the Deerfield Valley, INIr. Hersey upon the 

 Berkshire, Mr. Upham upon the Housatonic, Mr. Hadwen 

 upon the Hingham, Mr. Johnson (read by the secretary) 

 upon the Bristol, Mr. Merrill upon the Plymouth, Mr. Goess- 

 mann upon the Marshfield, Mr. Fenn upon the Nantucket, 

 Mr. Smith upon the Martha's Vineyard, Mr. Davenport upon 

 the Worcester West, Mr. Vincent upon the Worcester North, 

 Mr. Moore upon the Worcester North-west, and Mr. Ware 

 upon the Hampshire. 



Messrs. Slade, Grinnell^ and Wakefield were appointed 

 a committee on the credentials of newly-elected mem- 

 bers. 



Major Grinnell, chairman of the committee on the sub- 

 ject, then presented and read the following report upon 



SHEEP-HUSBAJSTDRY IN MASSACHUSETTS. 



In preparing a report on the sheep-husbandry of Massa- 

 chusetts, it is not necessary nor advisable at this late day, 

 and in view of all the information on the subject, — so thor- 

 oughly scattered among the people by the various books, 

 reports, and excellent agricultural papers, — to go back into 

 the early history of the sheep, nor to particularly describe all 

 the breeds that have been or are cultivated in this or other 

 countries, nor to discuss the matter of the production and 

 consumption of wool as affected by the various protective 

 tariffs through a long series of years. These matters were 

 treated at some length in a report made to this Board in 

 1860, and also, soon after, in the report of the Department 

 of Agriculture at Washington ; and all that would seem to 

 be required of us is to show to the Board, and through it 

 to the farmers of the State, the present condition of this 

 branch of our agriculture as compared with the past; to 

 account, so far as we can, for its depreciation ; to suggest 

 any remedy ; and finally to endeavor to convince the farm- 

 ers of the State of the profitableness of raising and feeding 



