SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 317 



examine the comparative products, per head, as set forth in some of the 

 counties from which returns of sheep and wool are botli made, with a view 

 of testinj^ their accuracy. Escambia returns 485 sheep, and 837 lbs. of 

 wool ; Walton 386 sheep, and .075 lbs. of wool ; Leon 1,798 sheep, and 

 3,360 lbs. of wool — or an approximation to 2 lbs. of wool per head. Nas- 

 sau returns 436 sheep, and 1,200 lbs. of wool, or about 3 lbs. per head. 

 On the other hand, Gadsden returns 1,875 sheep, and 512 lbs. of wool; 

 Jefferson 752 sheep, and 300 lbs. of wool ; Madison 223 sheep, and 50 lbs. 

 of wool; Jackson 960 sheep, and 376 lbs. of wool, or not quite a third of 

 a pound per fleece ! Now Leon is bounded on the west by Gadsden, and 

 on the east by Jefl'erson, and all lie in the same latitude, and do not differ 

 essentially in their soil, herbage, or temperature ! Madison lies imme- 

 diately east of Jefferson, (though its southern angle extends somewhat 

 farther south,) and Jackson joins Walton. Nassau is in the same latitude. 

 Hamilton, returning no sheep, returns the product as 20 lbs. of wool ! 



In Mississippi, eight counties returning 15,227 sheep, return no wool ; 

 and there are repeated instances of the same glaringly obvious errors that 

 have been exhibited in the statistics of Florida. For example, Smith 

 county returns 741 sheep, and 1,067 lbs. of wool; Wayne 921 sheep, and 

 1,166 lbs. of wool. Jasper, bounding Smith on the east, returns 1,848 

 sheep, and 418 lbs. of Wool; and Clarke, bounding Wayne on the north, 

 1,199 sheep, and 188 lbs. of wool ! By this, the sheep of Clarke shear less 

 than 3 oz. per head, while those of the next county shear over a pound 

 and a half per head. There are various other instances of under retunis 

 in the State. 



In Alabama, two counties returning 2,138 sheep, return no wool; and 

 in eight counties there are the same glaring instances of under returns with 

 those given above. 



In Georgia there is but one omission to return the wooj, where the 

 sheep are returned. In that county there were 3,360 sheep. There are 

 eight or nine instances of obvious under returns, but these in the aggre- 

 gate of the State are partly balanced by two gross cases of over retunis. 

 Cobb county returns 3,524 sheep, and 36,057 lbs. of wool ; and Richmond 

 758 sheep, and 3,032 lbs. of wool ! 



In South Carolina there are at least six instances of under returns. 



In North Carolina there are no returns of wool in one county, contain- 

 ing 2,163 sheep, and in another 7,260 lbs. of wool are returned, and no 

 sheep. There are ten cases of obvious under returns. In one of them 

 46,340 sheep are made to yield but 12,686 lbs. of wool. 



In Virginia there are no omissions, and no obvious under returns. There 

 are several over returns. 



In Tennessee there are no omissions, but there are seven obvious under 

 returns and two or three over returns. 



In Kentucky and New-York there are not sufficient erroneous returns 

 to materially vary the aggi'egate. 



The foi-egoing facts show that the Marshals in many counties in tha 

 most southern States entirely neglected their duty in returning the pro 

 duct of wool ; and where over or under returns have been made, it is 

 probable that, by a misappi'ehension of duty, the amount of wool on hand 

 was ascertained and noted down, instead of the annual clip. 



And there is another and general error in these statistics, throughout all 

 the States, by the census including in the number of sheep the lambs of 

 the current season, which had not, of course, been sheared at the time of 

 taking the census. A, at the time of. taking the census, owned a flock of 

 200 sheep over one year old, and 100 lambs. He would give in his flock 



(653j 



