1857.] Stock Raising. 301 



acres and support thirty-five millions of sheep, a little more than 

 one for every two acres. France contains one hundred and six 

 millions of acres and supports the same number, about one for every 

 three acres. Our country in 1850, had three hundred and ninety 

 three million of acres in use, and twenty-six millions and two hun- 

 dred thousand sheep, one for every fifteen acres. France has not 

 improved her sheep for the last eighty years, save in the quality of 

 the wool, by introducing the Merino from Spain. Wool has been 

 her primary object. England has made meat, rather than wool, the 

 primary object. She has made her sheep average in net weight of 

 meat eighty pounds each, while the French sheep average only forty 

 pounds each. England slaughters of her flock ten millions annually, 

 giving her people eight hundred millions of pounds of meat. — 

 France slaughters eight millions annually, and gives her people but 

 three hundred and twenty millions pounds of meat. Estimating the 

 meat to be of equal value, the return of a sheep farm in England is 

 six times greater than one of the same area in France. The average 

 weight of our sheep we have no means of ascertaining, but it must 

 fall greatly below the English weight. But the comparison shows 

 how much we are behind both England and France, in our sheep 

 stock, and how much France is behind England, and the great ad- 

 vantage of good stock, being six times more valuable than inferior. 



Of cows, France possesses four millions and England three mil- 

 lions. The French work many of their cows so as to spoil their 

 milching qualities, and keep many of inferior kinds. England, 

 from her three million cows, gets double the milk that France does 

 from her four millions. In England there is a vast manufactur- 

 ing and commercial population, so that her milk is worth four cents 

 per quart, while in Farnce it is only worth two. The whole produce 

 of the four million cows of France is $20,000,000, while that of 

 the three million English cows is $80,000,000. Here again the 

 profit of good stock over inferior is most apparent. 



By a little further comparison of the agriculture of France and 

 England we shall see the importance of the animal produce of a 

 country, equaling at least its vegetable ; and as a consequence, the 

 importance of the animal produce of each farm equaling the veg- 

 etable. 



The wheat crop of France does not average, compared with its 

 whole number of acres, over two bushels per acre, while in England 

 it averages four. The animal production of the English farm alone, 



