232 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 



remain a1)oiit the same. Thus when a Mexican ewe is worth 

 about three dollars, an American is Avorth five dollars, a half- 

 Merino six dollars, a Southdown six dollars, and an Australian 

 Merino twelve dollars. The Mexican sheep produces on an 

 average two pounds of wool per year, worth from five to 

 seven cents per pound ; the American four pounds, worth from 

 fifteen to twenty cents ; the half-Merino six pounds, worth 

 from eighteen to twenty-four cents; the Southdown five pounds, 

 worth twenty or twenty-one cents ; the Australian Merino 

 'seven pounds, worth twenty or twenty-one cents. These 

 weights indicate the weights of the unwashed fleeces, and the 

 prices paid in this market for unwashed wool. The Californian 

 wool, especially that grown in the southern part of the state, 

 is filled with grease, dust, and sand. In one case, a fleece 

 vreighing sixteen pounds was reduced by washing to six 

 pounds. The finer the wool, and the farther south it is grown, 

 the greater the proportion of dirt. The wool grown in the 

 northern part of the Sacramento valley, is cleaner than that 

 of Alameda county, and that of the latter place is superior to 

 the wool of San Luis Obispo. There are a few Chinese sheep in 

 the state, and much value was for a time attached to them, 

 because the ewes very frequently produce triplets, but it re- 

 quires a good ewe to suckle two lambs well, and twins are 

 sufliciently abundant among American sheep. Sheep-growers 

 are divided in opinion as to w^h ether the French or Spanish 

 Merino be the best sheep for the state. The French Merino 

 grows large, and averages more wool to the sheep than any 

 other kind, but it is said that the Spanish Merino, though 

 smaller, will produce more wool to the acre. About a thou- 

 sand sheep are kept in a herd. One sheep-owner in Monterey 

 county has 30,000 head ; and others have 15,000 and 20,000 

 head each. The largest sheep county is Monterey, which has 

 about 150,000 ; Solano has nearly as many, and after these 

 come Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and San Luis Obispo. 

 There are about 900,000 sheep in the state, and their number 

 is rapidly increasing. One of the drawbacks of wool-growing 



