[46] 



would again place the valuable Merino blood as a founda- 

 tion, and cross it up with Southdown. This will make a 

 most profitable breed for the farmer, giving him a hardy, 

 quick- maturing mutton sheep, with a sufficient fleece to pay 

 him handsomely on his investment. 



To sum up the whole, in order to get the best breeds for 

 the different sections of the State, we will only select three 

 of the principal varieties having in a greater measure than 

 any others, the most desirable qualities sought after by the 

 breeder, viz.: hardiness, fleece, and mutton. For the first 

 we would select the Merino, for the second the Cots wold, 

 the best known and most generally used of all the long- 

 wooled breeds in the State, and for mutton the Southdown. 

 For the eastern division of the State the Cotswold and 

 Merino cross, for the middle division the Cotswold and 

 Southdown, and for West Tennessee the Merino and South- 

 down. 



Farmers, as a rule, should not go into sheep husbandry 

 to the neglect of other things. Let sheep be one of the 

 products of the farm, not the only product. A few sheep 

 well cared for will prove profitable to every farmer, while a 

 large flock would become, in nine cases out of ten, a source 

 of annoyance and expense. The object of this paper is to 

 show the profitableness of sheep raising on a small scale. I 

 do not advise the keeping of large flocks by the generality 

 of farmers. If every farmer should carry a small flock, 

 breeding up the natives to high grades, the profits would be 

 very much increased. 



There is still another question which the Tennessee farmer 

 should look to the question whether to make the growing 

 of wool the principal or subordinate object. This will be 

 goverened entirely by his location. If he occupies the high- 

 priced, fertile soils, that abound in many parts of the State, 

 then by all means the production of meat should be his 

 principal aim, and wool only occupy a secondary considera- 

 tion. Sheep that will mature early, fatten quickly, trans- 



