136 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



had cost large sums in moDev and time and study to develop. They were 

 his finished product. And when the fleece had been taken from the 

 bodies of his sheep and put into form, it became his manufactured pro- 

 duct. This was sold at reuiunerative prices to the manufacturer who 

 changed the form of the farmer's manufactured product into cloth, 

 which being sold to the tailor, was again changed into coats, pants, vests, 

 hats, etc., which men and women wore. All these different manufactures 

 were protected from foreign competition by law and on a fair basis. The 

 people desired a change; they have it. 



Members of the Merino Sheepbreeders' Association, only about one 

 hundred and five or six, have kept up their dues, and you can get a 

 glimjise of the conditions surrounding wool growing in the United 

 States. What is true of the Merino breeders is partiall}- true of the 

 mutton breeds. Their sheep are constantly depreciating in value, and 

 the cry is going up for a general purpose sheep, one good for both wool 

 and mutton. I am of the oijinion that if any sheep can be made profita- 

 ble under the present circumstances, it may be the general purpose 

 sheep. I am also of the opinion that the cliange the people asked for has 

 been sufficient for reasonable people and the nearer we approach to the 

 year 1897, the more the wool bearing Merino will appreciate in value 

 from the fact that such a demand will be made for another change, and 

 that the markets of this country will not be the free dumping places for 

 the cheaply produced wool from every quarter of the globe. The general 

 purpose sheep, like the horse or cow, has come to stay, and may help 

 bridge over the chasm which will last for the next two years. To the 

 Merino breeder I would say, don't dispose of the best of your sheep. 

 Breed them pure and keep in mind the old motto, '^Improvement in all 

 directions." It will pay. Fashions change as well as i^rices. It looks 

 now as if the bottom prices for wool and mutton had been reached. A 

 return to better prices is in sight. The United States should raise every 

 pound of wool needed for consumption. This means more than double 

 the number of sheep ever grown in this country. Xo country is better 

 adapted to wool growing and mutton production than the TTnited States. 

 No other country contains so intelligent a class of people and so well cal- 

 culated to bring wool growing and sheep breeding in general to its high- 

 est development. The practical side of stock breeding in this country 

 seems to be in the direction of practical results. Values now are not 

 inflated by speculation. The performance of all domestic animals will be 

 the basis from which values are to be received. 



DIVERSIFIED FARMING 



must, as a rule, be followed. The breeding and feeding stock must be an 

 important factor in keeping up the fertility of the farms, in furnishing 

 motive power for farm operations, in furnishing plenty of milk and but- 

 ter, wool and mutton, pork and lard, eggs and poultry, and it should be 

 the most practical of its kind. 



It is unnecessary for me to say to you stock men that feed is as neces- 

 sary as breed in the propagation of good animals, that one cannot suc- 

 ceed without the lielj) of the other. All successful breeders recognize 



