Sheep and Sheei" Husbandry. 177 



SHEEP AND SHEIT HUSBANDRY. 



BY A. E. PERKINS, OF POMFRET. 



Mr. Presii>ent, Ladies and Gentlemen : 



My subject on this occasion is Sheep and Sheep Hus- 

 bandry. I deeply feel my inability to do justice to my sub- 

 ject on this occasion, for the sheep is one of the most useful 

 and meritorious of our domestic animals, though humble it 

 may be. I have time to give l)ut a mere outline of the 

 merits of some of the families of sheep, and some of the 

 essential and too much neglected points in good sheep hus- 

 bandry. 



According to the most reliable authority I can obtain^ 

 the present number of sheep in the United States is about 

 37,000,000, yielding an annual clip of wool of 150,000,000 

 povmds. The number of sheep slaughtered for mutton 

 yearly is about 7,000,000. 



The capital invested in sheep and sheep husbandry in the 

 United States is over §250,000,000. The annual product 

 of these sheep is about §90,000,000. 



Tliis is not a large exhibit for ,-; country of the size and 

 population of the United States. Brazil has in number 

 70,000,000 sheep. Tlie total number of sheep in the Brit- 

 ish Islands is 34,500,000. England is the greatest sheep 



