320 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



frames and corrugated skins, with their gross but uneven fleeces, 

 appealed to the eye, but they were found to be inferior to the Spanish 

 Merino, now rapidly regaining the favor it had lost for many years. 

 The Atwood blood was liberally brought into the State from Connecticut, 

 and the improvement begun which has been carried to such unparal- 

 leled success. But toward 1850 there was a great depression in the 

 woolen manufacture. Wool fell to 25 cents, and many were discour- 

 aged and went out of the business altogether, selling their high grade 

 Merinos at from 75 cents to $1.50. Thousands of them were bought 

 up at these prices and driven to Virginia, where they were disposed of 

 to considerable advantage to the dealer. Full-blooded Merino ewes 

 were sold in various parts of Yermont at from $6 to $10, and lambs 

 were offered at $1.50. The decrease in the number of sheep from 1840 

 to 1850 was extraordinary. It fell from 1,681,819 in the former year 

 to 1,014,122 in the latter, a loss in two years of 667,697 sheep and 

 298,518 pounds of wool. By 1850 the Saxony had practically disap- 

 peared, and the French Merino was at its height. Wool-growing was 

 not generally profitable, and there was a general reduction in flocks. 

 It cost $1.25 to $1.50 to keep a sheep a year, and the general average 

 did not exceed -3 pounds in ordinary wool- growing flocks, which at 40 

 cents would amount to $1.20, or less than the cost of growing. But in 

 flocks which sheared 5 to 6 pounds of well- washed wool there was a 

 living profit which measurably sustained the industry. 



About 1850 there was a slight increase in the demand for wool and 

 prices began to advance. The French Merinos were being still further 

 introduced and as rapidly discarded, and the Spanish Merino steadily 

 gaining ground, both in profit and the appreciation of the people. But 

 the total number of sheep was gradually diminishing. The low and 

 fluctuating price of wool contributed to this result. Under the impres- 

 sion that the great West would depress the price so low that competi- 

 tion would be impossible, many of the farmers disposed of their flocks. 

 But, on the other hand, the quantity of wool increased and its quality 

 improved. It was evident that the Spanish Merino had attained a 

 higher degree of perfection in the State than in any other State. Soil, 

 climate, and skill in breeding had all contributed toward giving it a wide 

 reputation for superior sheep. The long cold weather incident to the 

 State gave an advantage over competition in a milder climate, and it 

 was assumed that the natural law in the animal economy that the cov- 

 ering of an animal would adapt itself to the temperature of the region 

 where it lived would undoubtedly hold true as to sheep bred in Yer- 

 mont. The thick heavy- wool ed Merino of that State, bred in more 

 southern latitudes, generally diminished its now unnecessary coverings, 

 and the offspring, after a few generations, exhibited those desirable 

 points in a less marked degree. Hence the Yermont breeder relied 

 upon a market for his surplus stock for breeding purposes, and in that 

 direction pursued his business. 



