SHEEP HUSBANDRY. SOD- 



IS. 16 apiece, some of them weighing 100 pounds. There is a great call 

 now for mutton lambs. That ram weighs between SOO and 400 pounds. 



Mr. Green: In managing my Merinos I ruled a book for records of the 

 flock. I then took ear tags and tagged the sheep and entered the age, lleece, 

 weight, etc., and record of lambs. I began with a flock averaging three 

 pounds and raised it to seven and one-half pounds. 



Mr. Chipman: The paper recommends washing. 



Mr. Tarbell. I did not intend to take any position on that subject. 



Mr. Chipman: Is there any one here who does advocate washing eight- 

 pound fleeces? Can he get his just price by so doing? 



Dr. Miles: In sheep breeding it is essential to know what you want and 

 to stick persistently to that aim. Don't branch off to all sorts of side issues. 

 Find out what you want and stick to your idea and work it out. 



As to the question of breeds. It depends wholly on the man and the 

 locality. Only those who produce the best will succeed. A manufacturer 

 told me that he only succeeded in getting about one-fourth of the wool that 

 he bought that suited his needs, and that he had to re-sell the rest. 



In Virginia the Wells and Dickinson sheep were for a long while kept 

 distinct, and that wool was sought for at 10 cents above the market price by 

 Bpecial manufacturers. 



Another manufacturer said he got his best wool from one small district 

 in Michigan, near Pontiac. The secret is in sticking to one line. 



When you try two or three objectivepoints you will probably spoil all. 



At the Hanover Institute this subject was discussed as follows: 



Mr. D. R. M. Edwards: As a rule the majority are right. The fine wool 

 sheep are, in numbers, in excess of all other breeds in the country, and I 

 think, in the world. Other breeds have come and gone, but the fine wools 

 stay. Fashion is powerful and this compels us to raise fine wools. As to 

 profits: in 1850 I took fifty fine wool sheep; kept them three years; returned 

 an equal number of sheep, and had sold $500 worth of wool in the time. 

 Fine wools are the only ones that can be herded in large numbers on our 

 Western plains. The fine wools are ackowledged to be ahead for wool, but 

 for mutton it is claimed that they are surpassed by other breeds, but I have 

 known fine wool December lambs to weigh 1;25 pounds, and I think the 

 quality of mutton depends more on the cook than the breed. The darkest 

 period for fine wool sheep has past; prospects are brightening and they will 

 win the day. 



Mr. Wetmore: Would Mr. El wards advise all farmers to raise fine wools? 



Mr. Edwards: There is nothing so good but that there may be exceptions. 

 Small farmers near town may often find profit in raising mutton. 



Mr. W. J. G. Dean: Mr. Edwards says coarse wools are not readily herded 

 in large numbers. Our Michigan herds, where 200 is called a large one, are 

 not what are referred to. In Australia a flock of less than 200,000 is not 

 called large. And Australia, with the exception of Vermont and some few 

 other points, raises the best wool of the world, and raises it so cheaply that, 

 with their water freights, the American grower cannot compete without the 

 taritf. I anticipate within three years a price for wool that will make fine 

 wools profitable to all farmers. 



President Willits: To what do you ascribe present low prices? 



Mr, Dean: To the revised tariff of 1883, under which millions of pounds 

 are imported. Both grower and manufacturer have suffered by this. Then, 

 too, we did have rather an excessive number of sheep in the country. This 



