388 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE 



In looking into the situation of sheep in the markets of the State, the 

 writer has relied largely on the opinions of hucksters and butchers, and 

 especially those who represent the great bulk of buyers. Their general 

 opinion seems to be so far as the consumer is concerned, that mutton is 

 higher this year than either last year or the year before. The same that 

 is selling for fourteen cents per pound this season sold for twelve and a 

 half last season and for ten cents the year before. 



Butchers report that they are receiving a better quality of fatted sheep 

 this year than in recent years, due largely, as they assert, to the intro- 

 duction of pure bred rams of suitable breeding into the common flocks. 

 Fat stock a.re fairly plentiful though there is a tendency that the supply 

 will shorten before the advent of another year. 



Lambs are mostly in demand. Some assert that they sell, as a rule, at 

 least four lambs to every sheep out of the small city markets. The 

 weights preferred are from forty to fifty pounds. Heavy lambs are not 

 wanted at first class prices on the local markets. They only sell to good 

 advantage when shipped to principal markets. 



It seems to be a general opinion among butchers that the demand 

 for lambs and yearlings in preference to older sheep is going to have 

 a tendency to take desirable breeders out of the flock, and consequently 

 decrease the general breeding value of the flocks. If this surmise piroves 

 to be a fact, it will be very harmful to the sheep interests of the State. 



As suggested above, one of the causes of low prices last winter for 

 lambs, or rather the loss of profit realized by the feeder below or over 

 the cost, was due to too much being paid by the feeder for Western 

 lambs. Drovers and hucksters also include the fact that too many lambs 

 were unloaded onto the market about the holidays, with the effect of 

 making the supply greater than the demand. The overloaded market 

 did not recover until into March^ when it improved, and the seeming 

 scarcity caused the markets to go still higher. 



As a rule butchers and hucksters do not regard the sheep and lamb 

 market of the immediate future to be as stable as the same in other 

 lines of fat market stock raising. Or, in other words, so far as market 

 values are concerned, buying and feeding lambs will be undertaken with 

 more or less risk to the feeder. 



The heavy hog has been forced out of the market, and in the same way 

 the heavy sheep bids fair to be obliged to follow suit. The heavy sheep 

 is no longer wanted on the local markets throughout the State on the 

 same basis as the medium heft and lighter breeds. The medium weight 

 sheep is the one invariably preferred. In the larger markets there is 

 ;still and doubtless will be a comparatively limited demand for the heavy 

 weights. 



A representative huckster recently stated to the writer that the type 

 of sheep of which the Leicester is one is about the thing demanded by 

 the markets of the State, and especially those that supply a local de- 

 mand. He regarded the Lincoln type too large for the markets of the 

 present and future. He also said that the Shropshire was a good sheep 

 from his point of view, if not allowed to become too fat before marketing. 

 It was his expressed opinion that the fine wool type should confine itself 

 entirely to wool production. 



