EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 



409 



tics. His lie id and nose were finely molded, legs short and heavy 

 boned. He had a heavy, deep neck, and was well folded at point of 

 shoulder, hip, tail, and flank; also had a considerable number of side 

 folds which extended well on the under side. He was well covered on 

 head and under side, and remarkably well on the legs, especially the 

 forelegs. His fleece was one of his strong points of excellence. It was 

 thick, even, of high style and quality, and opened in flakes free, with- 

 out cross fibers, and was of uniform length and density throughout. 

 He had a very heavy straw-colored oil, which circulated freely and 

 coated him extremely well. He was considered as an extra sire, espe- 

 cially of ewes. 



The shearing for 1883 is remarkable for the fact that a 3-year-old 

 ram sheared 40 pounds of wool, and 6 others exceeded 30 pounds each; 

 and of 18 ewes shorn 7 gave fleeces exceeding 20 pounds, one rising 

 to 23 pounds 13 ounces. The scouring record shows that a ram owned 

 by M. R. Bailey, four years old, age of fleece three hundred and eighty- 

 one days, gave 27 pounds 13 ounces, which, when cleansed, gave 9 

 pounds 7f ouuces of scoured wool. The length of staple was 3J inches; 

 length of fiber, 3f inches, and weight of carcass, 131 pounds. 



The shearing record for 1884 gives 11 rams as yielding over 30 pounds 

 of wool each, the highest being J. S. Beecher's Jumbo with 37 pounds 



1 i ounces. In 1885, out of 22 shorn, 8 exceeded 30 pounds, the highest 

 being F. D. Barton's Black Jacket at 40 pounds 10 ounces. In 1886 



2 rams were shorn of fleeces exceeding 30 pounds, Cortez giving at two 

 years of age, from a carcass weighing 97 pounds, 38 pounds 3J ounces 

 of wool, or 39 per cent of wool to weight of carcass. Another ram 

 gave 32 pounds 14 ouuces. Two ewes gave respectively 20 pounds 2J 

 ouuces, and 20 pounds 1 ounce, and a number exceeded 18 pounds. 

 The New York Register gives 3 rams as exceeding 30 pounds of wool 

 in 1887, and the Vermont Register adds 6 to the number: 



The number of ewes exceeding 18 pounds was 19, one reaching 21J 

 pounds, others 21-J&-, 20H, 20^-, 20|J-, 20ft, and 5 exceeding 19 pounds. 

 The scouring record for this year is here given: 



