570 



SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



tlie standard of all commercial values, gold, than have the prices of 

 the products of any other great American industry. This has been 

 demonstrated by Hon. O. G. Cope in a paper read before the Farmers' 

 Institute at Cadiz, Ohio, January 3, 1887, and what here follows is a 

 restatement of a portion of his paper. He asserts that wool was the 

 most reliable crop produced in Ohio, both in the constancy of its pro- 

 duction and the constancy of its price. From 1870 to 1885 16 per cent 

 was the greatest variation in any one year from the year immediately 

 preceding, and that marked an increase. From 1870 to 1883 the great- 

 est per cent of variations in the yearly productions of the following 

 farm products were : 



Greatest variation in I'er cent- 

 Wool 16 



Oats 32 



Corn 41 



Hay 47 



Wheat 77 



Potatoes 88 



The greatest variation in the production of wool was one-half as 

 great as that of oats, about one-third as great as that of corn or hay, 

 not one-fourth as great as that of wheat, and not one-fifth as great as 

 that of potatoes. From this it may be seen that there is not one of the 

 leading farm products which compares favorably with wool for con- 

 stancy of production. 



The greatest variation which occurred in the amount of wool produced was dur- 

 ing the year 1880, when there was an increase of 16 per cent over 1879. It would 

 be reasonable to suppose that the hay or corn crops, or perhaps both, of the previous 

 year were abundant, but such does not appear to he the fact. There was a decrease 

 of 16 per cent in the amount of hay, and 15 per cent in that of corn the previous 

 year. The records do not show any evidence of the annual amount of wool pro- 

 duced being materially affected by the abundance or partial failure of any other 

 crop. Neither frosts nor drouth, nor excessive rainfall, seem to materially affect the 

 production of wool. 



In the constancy of prices the same advantage is shown in favor of 

 wool. By reference to the preceding prices of Ohio wools from 1824 to 

 1890, and adopting as our standard the average prices of fine and 

 medium wools for the quarter beginning with .July 1 and ending with 

 September 30 for each year, we have the following table of prices from 

 1864 to 1890: 



Wool, per pound. 



