L15] 



of a mixture of all sorts and kinds, and they are constantly, 

 for want of cultivated attention, deteriorating, being long 

 legged, thin in the flank, suited rather to the fleetness 

 necessary for protection than to the fatness suited for the 

 table. 



It is true, we have a considerable emulation among 

 farmers of late years in the improvement of sheep, and the 

 small farms throughout the State have one or more of fine 

 sheep, such as the Cotswold, Merino, Southdown, or 

 Leicester, but these are kept for breeding purposes alone, 

 and rarely ever go to the table. For this reason we in Ten- 

 nessee cannot expect to realize the highest prices, such as 

 are paid to the breeders of Canada, where attention to the 

 improvement of sheep began at an earlier period. Still, 

 the Canada farmers cannot supply the great demand, and 

 ours, though inferior, are taken perforce. If our farmers 

 could once realize the high prices, from seven to ten dollars, 

 paid for the full blooded mutton sheep, then certainly there 

 would be given a very salutary influence to the business. 



The demand does not extend alone to very heavy fat 

 sheep. There are varieties of tastes, and to satisfy these 

 different sheep are required. Some want the heavy leg, or 

 shoulders, of the Cotswold, weighing from eighteen to 

 twenty pounds, while others prefer the more delicate breeds, 

 that do not grow half the size of the former. This fact is 

 not generally known to farmers, consequently they cannot 

 avail themselves of the advantages offered. In order to 

 make it more profitable, farmers must study and understand 

 the character of sheep needed, and the best methods of pre- 

 paring them for the market, and then they may expect to 

 derive full remuneration. 



In order to do this the farmer must acquire a knowledge 

 of the best breeds, the soil best adapted for their growth, 

 the nature of the food best calculated to promote a quick 

 growth, and the cheapest manner of producing that food. 

 It is far better to thoroughly understand these matters than 



