370 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



wool at a sufficient profit ; and instead of turning their atten- 

 tion to the more profitable branch of sheep-husbandry, early- 

 lambs, and mutton, farmers, in disgust, sold their flocks of 

 little Merinos, or allowed them to dwindle down, and never 

 replaced them. Bad as this showing is, there is some conso- 

 lation to be found in scanning the figures, and in the hope of 

 a sensible return to the keeping of sheep, as evidenced b}' 

 the fact, that, from 1875 to 1880 (five years), our sheep in- 

 creased 6,350, or over 1,200 a j^ear. 



There is a very decided impression among the farmers in 

 every part of the State, generally, that this most profitable 

 and pleasant branch of our farm-industry would be doubled 

 but for the destruction of their sheep by dogs, — a terrible 

 evil to those who are attempting to keep sheep, and deter- 

 ring hundreds of others who would like to raise them if they 

 could be protected. It must be overcome in some way, — 

 either by additional legislation, or by more stringent en- 

 forcement of the laws we have, or both. 



Of the sheep of 1840, over two-thirds were Saxonies or 

 Merinos, which were valued at $1.57 each, and which sheared 

 an average of only two pounds and fourteen ounces to the 

 fleece of wool, worth 38 cents per poujid; their lambs, when 

 raised, being worth from $1 to $1.50 each, and rearing only 

 about 75 lambs out of 100 ewes. Now, it is not strange that 

 the farmers of those days were sick of such sheep, and found 

 that growing fine wool didn't agree with them ; but it is 

 strange that more of them hadn't enterprise and forecast 

 enough to shape their course somewhat after the fashion of 

 the present day. 



In 1875 our sheep averaged il:.50 each, sheared four 

 pounds of wool worth 42 cents per pound, and raised nearly 

 30,000 lambs (at the lowest rate of 110 lambs to the 100 

 ewes), averaging in most counties |4 each, and thousands 

 selling from $1 to $10 each, — amounting, in all, to over 

 $115,000. 



Herein consists our improvement : our sheep have nearly 

 trebled in value ; they have nearly doubled in the weight 

 of fleece (which is worth ten per cent more than then), 

 while the lambs we raise are a third more in number, and 

 worth, each, three or four times as much as then ; and this 

 comes from the new departure, — in making mutton and 



