501 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



Merino sheep sold as low as $1 per head with the fleece on, and 300 

 full-blooded Merino wethers of Mr. Alexander Reed's flock were dis- 

 posed of at 87 J cents each, scarcity of pasture making it necessary to 

 reduce the flock. 



In West Virginia, at this time, there were flocks of as fine Saxony 

 sheep as Saxony or Silesia could show, and some of these flocks were 

 maintained to 1883, when most of them suffered deterioration. Some 

 still exist and shall be noticed elsewhere. 



The development of the fine- wool industry of this section was won- 

 derful. Washington County increased its sheep from 47,294 in 1810 to 

 over 100,000 in 1825, and over 200,000 in 1836, of the finest breeds, pro- 

 ducing each on an average 2f pounds of wool. Year by year the Saxon 

 blood increased in the flocks and nothing else was sought for until about 

 1847, when breeders and growers awakened to the fact that generally 

 the Saxons lacked constitution and hardiness. They were a fine-boned, 

 w^ell-forrned sheep, and gave an average fleece of 2.76 pounds, and the 

 wool was of the most desirable character, fine in fiber and fair length 

 of staple, and nearly free from yolk or oil. But this fineness of fleece 

 did not command the price that would make it more profitable than the 

 heavier Spanish fleece at a lower figure. The Spanish Merinos were 

 more hardy and a cross on the Saxons enhanced the weight of the sheep 

 as well as the fleece. It was a great era for fine- wool growing and many 

 had purchased more sheep than they could properly attend to, which 

 was an additional reason why the animals became weak, the yield of 

 wool light, and the constitution of the sheep greatly impaired. The 

 crossing of Spanish rams on Saxon ewes soon effected a discernible 

 improvement, not only in the quality of wool, but in weight of fleece 

 and constitution of the sheep. From 2f pounds per head in 1847 the 

 wool rose to over 3 pounds in 1856, to 3.17 in 1860, and to 4.36 pounds 

 in 1870. A part of this increase is attributed to the fact of keeping 

 smaller flocks, but more is due to judicious crossing, constant attention, 

 and liberal feeding. The Spanish wool was not worth as much as the 

 pure Saxon, but the wool-grower gained in the decreased loss of his 

 sheep, the improvement of their constitution, and the less attention they 

 required. Some flocks in 1861 sheared largely over the average of 3.16 

 pounds, notably that of William Berry, jr., who from 147 sheep sheared 

 891 pounds of wool washed on the sheep's back, an average of over 6 

 pounds, and in every respect a fine wool, from strong healthy sheep. 

 Many, however, stuck to the Saxony sheep, and there were thousands 

 of full-blooded ones in Washington County alone in 1860, and hundreds 

 in adjoining counties of Pennsylvania and Virginia. The flocks of full- 

 blooded Saxonies yielded 2J pounds of wool per head. There was in 

 many quarters an indisposition to get clear of thorn, and they lingered 

 here when in other sections of the country they had long since be^n 

 abandoned. It was a matter of pride with their owners to have a fine, 

 clean clip of wool even long after it paid to raise it. But as the demand 



