SHEEP. 113 



the superior advantages afforded by the cheap and rich lands 

 of the West, and not only in this particular, but now, since 

 the acquisition of the States of Texas and California, in addi- 

 tion to their extensive plains, rich valleys and high mountain- 

 ranges, there is the decided advantage of a warmer, drier 

 climate, where the sheep can remain at pasture through nearly 

 if not quite the whole year, and where the cost of keeping is 

 principally comprised in the herding, salting and shearing of 

 the flock. 



The raising of wool as the principal object must, therefore, 

 be confined to those still sparsely-popujated regions, where 

 land is cheap, pasturage extensive, and where the cost of 

 keeping can be reduced to almost a nominal fraction of what 

 is required on our higher-priced farms and higher value of 

 material, which must be artificially provided for at least five 

 and a half months of the year. The unavoidable consequence 

 of all this has already produced its legitimate result, and so 

 far as our own county, is concerned, the whole number of 

 sheep has gradually diminished till not more than a third of 

 the number remains. The large flocks of sheep which five and 

 forty years ago were found in this valley and upon the slopes 

 of the Berkshire hills, have disappeared, and only here and 

 there can now be found flocks of even moderate size. The 

 wool-producing sheep, like the "Star of Empire," have gone 

 towards the setting sun, and there, on those immense pasture- 

 ranges, aided by the natural advantages of locality and 

 climate, can be produced every variety and quality of wool, 

 and, beyond all competition, at the cheapest rates. The 

 paradise of the shepherd and his flock lies west of the 

 Alleghanies. Notwithstanding, however, this cheapness of 

 land, greater range of pasturage and small cost of keeping, 

 our farmers have Other compensatory advantages ; and, while 

 they cannot compete in the raising of wool, they have in the 

 increased market value of the mutton and ease of transporta- 

 tion, an advantage which can be turned to a most valuable 

 account. We cannot profitably produce wool, but we can raise 

 and fatten mutton, and for all that we do raise there is a 

 profitable and increasing demand. The nearness of the 

 market and the market values necessarily determine the 

 profitableness of all our farm products, and so soon as the- 

 ' 15* 



