1034 CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK AND COMPLETE STOCK DOCTOR. 



In Asia with 175,000,000 sheep, yielding annually 350,000,000 pounds ot 

 wool. Now if we add 25,000,000 sheep to these numbers for tlie moun- 

 tain regions and northern portions of Europe, Greece, and Turkey, and 

 50,000,000 for Russia, producing in all 164,000,000 pounds of wool, the 

 entire balance of the world may be sot down as the home of iine-Avooled 

 sheep. Of these Australia has 60,000,000; the United States 36,000,- 

 000; the Cape of Good Hope 12,000,000; Germany 29,000,000; Aus- 

 tro-Hungary 21,000,000; France 26,000,000; Spain 22,000,000; Italy 

 11,000,000; Portugal 2,750,000 sheep. Of all these countries, Austra^ 

 lia produces the finest wool, while the United States and Canada come 

 next, although Canada is essentially a mutton producing countiy, which 

 the United States is not, for the number of sheep kept. 



Notwithstanding the immense area in the United States adapted to 

 sheep husbandry, the industry has not kept pace with the demand, and 

 until ten years ago our wool imports were constantly on the increase in 

 spite of the yearly increase of our flocks. From 1870 to 1875, only 

 two-thirds of our manufactured wool product was home growm. Since 

 that time our annual imports have not increased. The bulk of imported 

 wool is of low grade carpet wools, and unwashed Merino, and nonstitutr 

 ing only one-fourth of the product manufactured. 



XXI. The Average Wool per Sheep. 



In the United States the average M-eight of wool per fleece is over five 

 pounds ; in Australia it is over four pounds ; in Great Britian four and 

 three-quarters pounds ; in the German Empire three and two-thirds 

 pounds ; in France four and five-sixths pounds ; in Austro-Hungary 

 three pounds. South American fleeces are variable in weight, but much 

 lighter than those of Australia, and probably will not average more than 

 three pounds of wool each. 



XXII. Summary of British Breeds. 



The report to the Government of the United States, following the 

 Vienna Exhibition, states the characteristics of prominent English breeds 

 as follows : The British breeds are most naturally divided according to al- 

 titudes and fertility of their habitat. The large breeds, white, hornless, 

 and bearing long wool with small felting property, occupy the rich allu- 

 vial districts, the land? reclaimed from the sea, and the highly cultivated 

 and very productive farm-areas. These are the Leicester, Lincoln, Rom- 

 ney-Marsh, Cotswold, the few remaining of the Devonshire Notts, the 

 Roscommon, and similar Irish sheep. Next should be classed the sheep 

 of the chalk-downs, the commons and forests, suited to a dry and tern* 

 porate climate. These are the Downs of several families, perhaps now to 



