MUTTON VERSUS WOOL 189 



enclosed land, on the other hand, the introduction of turnip and 

 clover husbandry doubled the number and weight of the stock which 

 the land would carry, and the early maturity of the improved breeds 

 enabled farmers to fatten them more expeditiously. But one of 

 the consequences of this change in sheep-farming was not at first 

 foreseen. The wool was sacrificed to the mutton. A large sneep 

 paid better than a small. But as the size of the animal increased, 

 its fleece grew heavier, and the staple longer. The supply of fine 

 fleeces from the light, poorly-fed, short-wooled sheep of the com- 

 mons diminished so rapidly that, before the end of the century, a 

 new classification of sheep was introduced. Instead of being 

 divided into long wools and short wools, they were now classified 

 as long wools and middle wools. Improvements in machinery and 

 the introduction of new fabrics utilised the produce of the heavier 

 breeds of sheep ; but, for the better kinds of cloth, home manufac- 

 turers became increasingly dependent on foreign supplies of short 

 wool, brought from Spain, Saxony, and New South Wales. A 

 change of fashion intensified the need of wool for a finer quality 

 of cloth than could be obtained in this country. The coarser 

 fabrics of manufacture from English material, which had contented 

 our ancestors, could not retain their hold on the home or foreign 

 markets. During the Napoleonic wars, the full effect of this change 

 in the raw material of woollen manufactures was concealed by the 

 suspension of continental rivalry. When peace was finally pro- 

 claimed, it was at once felt. A pitched battle began between the 

 manufacturer and the agriculturist ; the one demanded the free 

 import of foreign short wool, the other the free export of English 

 long wools, which made better prices abroad. Each resisted the 

 demand of the other. Home manufacturers opposed the free export 

 of British long-wools, because they feared the competition of 

 foreign cloth. British farmers opposed the free import of foreign 

 short wool, because they dreaded lest its introduction would force 

 down the price of their home produce. Finally, in 1826, Lord Liver- 

 pool's government took off the duties both on the import and the 

 export of the raw material. To advocates of enclosures, the last 

 agricultural defence of the open-field farmer and commoner seemed 

 to be destroyed, when the removal of the import duty deprived the 

 fleeces of their half-starved sheep of all artificial advantages over 

 the finer and cheaper wools of foreign countries. 



