178 State Board ok Agriculture, &c. 



producing countn' in the world in jiroportion to its culti- 

 vated land. The Spanish proverb, which is '' The lioof of 

 the sheep is gold," is true with the British, for they receive 

 annually for their sheep the sum of 1150,000,000. . 



The pracitical questions for us of New England an<l the 

 Northern States to consider are : Can we afford to raise 

 sheep, and if so, what kind or kinds, and what should be 

 their essential (]ualities, and how can we best keep them ? 



The first question may be truthfully answered that we 

 cannot afford to raise sheep for the annual clip of four or 

 five pounds of wool per head and lose sheep and lambs 

 enough yearly — the sole cause of whicli is starvation and 

 neglect — to offset for the number of huubs we raise. Such 

 cheep husbaiulry as this does not pay, and I think those 

 persons engaged in it do not believe in sheep. 



The first (question can also be truthfully answei'ed that it 

 does pay to keep sheep which shear seven or eight pi muds 

 of wool per head, and by reason of the good care and atten- 

 tion they receive, tliey raise annually most of their land>s, 

 which sell readily, when arrived at maturity, at from four 

 to ten dollars per head. Those persons engaged in sucii 

 sheep husbandry as this, believe in sheep, and cai-e but little 

 about the talk we sometimes hear about the chea]) sheep 

 husbandry of California and other like places superseding 

 our raising sheep. 



The foregoing answers are intended to apply to the keej)- 

 iug of grade sheep. 



It also pays to keep the various kinds of thorough-lu-ed 

 sheej) wliich shear annually a valuable fleece and which 

 raise lambs which, when they arrive at maturity, sell at 



