278 



SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



boring mill and not the spindles that they tended. The wool sheep 

 gave way to the mutton sheep, many of the English breeds being intro- 

 duced and crossed on the common sheep of the country and on the 

 Spanish and Saxon grades, and so, by 1850, the raising of fine wool was 

 generally abandoned ; the finer grades of sheep had gone out of nearly 

 every county, and the Cotswold, Southdown, and Leicester had taken 

 their place, the former and latter yielding a wool for the coarser grades 

 of cloth, the Southdown a finer wool, and all of them making good 

 mutton. 



From 1840 to the present day sheep have declined in numbers, and 

 the dogs are charged with being the cause. In years gone by, when 

 there was much uninclosed land, in many towns there were large flocks 

 belonging to many owners, tended by a shepherd; but as lands became 

 inclosed town flocks have disappeared, and small flocks, uiiwatched and 

 un tended, have become a prey to dogs. In 1890 6 per cent of the entire 

 number in the State became a prey to the worthless dogs. Nor could 

 this be wondered at, when more premiums were paid by the agricultural 

 societies for dogs than for sheep. 



The common sheep, as known in 1820, have disappeared, leaving 

 scarcely a trace, and the Merinos and their grades have diminished to 

 a small fraction in the sheep husbandry of the State. There is a mix- 

 ture of all breeds of English sheep. In 1880 but 50 per cent were of 

 improved English blood, in 1891 80 per cent, the Southdowns and 

 Shropshires leading. But there were Ootswolds, Hampshire Downs, 

 Oxford Downs, and Dorsets. The Dorsets have been lately introduced 

 and have gained immediate popularity by their prolific qualities. 



Sheep and ivool of Connecticut, 1840 to 1890. 



Connecticut raises but a small percentage of the mutton that her peo- 

 ple consume. In the city of New Haven, where, in a certain period of 

 time, 12,000 sheep were disposed of by butchers, less than 250 were 

 Connecticut grown. It is so in all the principal cities of the State. 

 Those from Canada are preferred by the consumer. Raising early lambs 

 is the most profitable industry. Western and Canada ewes are pur- 

 chased in the late summer, crossed by a Down ram and the lambs sold 

 when from 12 to 14 weeks old at $5 to $8, the mother ewes following 

 soon after. There has been no increase in the number of sheep since 



