MANURE OF SHEEP. 297 



per pound as the Saxony and Merino. The fleece of a large 

 mutton sheep will bring about as much money as that of a 

 fine-wool, whose carcass is worth less than his pelt ; and the 

 product in lambs of the former is worth four times that of 

 the latter in the market. Combing-wool, which is from the 

 Cotwolds, Leicester, and their grades, is in more demand, 

 and fetches a higher price, than the Merino. 



Beyond the few dissenting answers given above, it is not 

 easy to give any satisfactory reason, except the fear of dogs, 

 why sheep-husbandry should not take the first rank in all 

 agricultural operations in Massachusetts, as being an indus- 

 try not requiring large capital, making quick and very large 

 returns on the investment made. Our soil is well adapted 

 for grazing sheep. They delight in rolling and hilly land, 

 and are most indiscriminate feeders, requiring variety. They 

 pass from the sweetest clover to the bitter white-weed ; they 

 gnaw the weeds, briers, and sprouts, and, going rapidly from 

 one spot to another, clear off the foul stuff, leaving their 

 manure — the best that comes from any of our farm-stock 

 — scattered widely over the fields in such a form as to en- 

 rich the soil to the best advantage, not creating the rank, 

 unsavory growth that follows from the more gross droppings 

 of the horse or the cow. They incline to the higher portions 

 of their feeding-grounds ; so that the fertilizing qualities 

 wash down the slopes, to the benefit of the lowlands. 



Our climate, too, is well adapted for these warmly-clad ani- 

 mals. They do not suffer from cold, and can start for pasture 

 early in the spring, and continue late in the fall ; though they 

 are too often allowed to remain out, cropping frost-bitten 

 grass, later than is prudent for their good condition. To be 

 sure, in winter to be profitable, they should be well housed, 

 more for dryness than for warmth, and well fed ; but there 

 is no stock to which a farmer can so well feed his hay and 

 grain as to sheep. 



The manure from sheep, when kept up, of course varies in 

 quality with the amount of meal or grain fed, as is the case 

 with other animals. But the manure from sheep is always 

 regarded as much more valuable than that from any other 

 animals : one reason is its very thorough digestion ; then, if 

 well littered in their sheds or houses, the excrements, solid 

 and liquid, are all preserved, and trodden down firmly. The 



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