FARMERS' INSTITUTES. ' :89 



BREEDING FINE WOOLS. 



PETER VOOKHEIS, PONTIAC. 



An abstract of Mr. Voorbeis' paper follows: 



Ever}' fanner followiuf!;- diversified farming should keep a flock of 

 sheep to act as weed destroj-ers and to utilize waste land, if for no 

 other i^urpose. He should keep the breed of sheep to which his inclina- 

 tion leads him. I advocate the Merino because I have been more suc- 

 cessful with them than with any other breed, and because they have 

 always paid, even during the depression. It may be true that there 

 are years when mutton is high and mutton breeds give better returns, 

 but taking one year with another I believe that it must be conceded 

 that a good large plain Merino ewe, growing a Delaine fleece, will pro- 

 duce a lamb weighing nearly as much as a lamb from the mutton 

 breeds, and bringing just as much per pound, while the fleece will 

 bring enough more to throw the balance of profit on the side of the 

 fine wools. You can keep many more Merinos than long or middle- 

 wool sheep on the same area or on the same feed, and they will thrive 

 during a drv time or on scant pasture where the others will not. 



They wilf herd in large flocks and keep healthy. Their fleece being 

 more dense and having the proper amount of oil, it is impervious to 

 dust and rain, and renders them free from snuffles and disease. More- 

 r)ver, they are excellent scavengers, and seem to prefer at times to 

 browse on weeds than eat a good cdw pasture. This is not true of the 

 mutton breeds. 



Again, our foreign competition is such as to relatively increase the 

 value of the fine wools. In the Argentine Republic, where the sheep 

 were formerly all Merinos, the type has been changed toward the mut- 

 ton breeds. 'There is, therefore, a great falling off in the fine wool 

 offered in foreign markets, and we need not fear competition until the 

 price gets much higher here for the best fine wool. 



I think the number of sheep kept in Michigan could easily be doubled 

 at a good profit. On many of the new lands in the northern part of lower 

 Michigan a flock of sheep would help to clear the land, and at the same 

 time would be a source of income in three ways — a clip of wool, a crop 

 of lambs, and increase of the fertility of the soil. 



While circumstances may be imagined where the Merino would not 



be the best tyf>e of sheep, I firmly believe that most farmers could 



raise this type at a profit. The Merinos are truly the animals with 



golden hoofs. They clothe us, feed us, and help to fill our pocketbooks. 



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