Jt'DGING LIVE STOCK. 165 



England and Holland. Large numbers were brought over 

 prior to the war of independence. High-priced imported cloth 

 forced the New Englanders into home manufacture, and in 

 time their maidens became, as their ancestors in Old Eng- 

 land, expert spinners, and their people were clad in what 

 was termed homespun garments. 



During the last century many importations of the best 

 breeds from all countries were made, embracing from the 

 Spanish Merino to the fine wooled Persian sheep. Annual 

 importations for breeding purposes alone amount to many 

 thousands. During the last twenty years, owing to the de- 

 crease in the price of wool, the number of wool flocks has 

 decreased while the number of mutton flocks has increased. 

 In the year 1879 the United States had 38,123,000 sheep, while 

 in 1900, according to the annual report of animal industry, 

 the number had increased to 61,600,811, valued at $170,337,002. 



