36 



to the sheep industry. The breeds raised on these ranches 

 are chiefly forms of Merino and Shropshire. The larger 

 breeds, such as Cotswold and Lincoln, do .not compare 

 favorably as range sheep with the Merino and Shrop- 

 shire under our conditions. Only a few of the sheep 

 ranches are in a position to produce a better quality of 

 wool than that obtained at present, and to this end 

 importations of fine Merino breeding stock have been 

 made. A recent shipment of Bulldog Merino was received 

 from New Zealand. On large areas of our sheep ranges 

 there are too many burrs, which get into the wool and 

 lower its value. In such localities, it seems desirable to 

 raise sheep for mutton rather than wool. For this pur- 

 pose Shropshire, grade Merino and Tunis sheep offer 

 much promise. All of our sheep are allowed to range with- 

 out interference from herders. This kind of management 

 gives far better results than can be obtained from the 

 close herding system, such as is universally practiced on 

 the large sheep ranches of the Western states. By alter- 

 nating sheep and cattle in fenced pastures, containing 

 2,000 to 10,000 acres, there is one great advantage in 

 the cleanliness of the range which is thus maintained. 

 The grasses and plants, which are left standing by cattle, 

 are eaten by the sheep so that the range is covered with 

 a more uniform stand of grasses and no one weed or group 

 of weeds is neglected to occupy the range to the exclusion 

 of more desirable plants. There is room for the extension 

 of the sheep industry, since about 500 carcasses of mut- 

 ton are imported monthly to satisfy the market. The 

 present wholesale price for dressed mutton is about ten * 

 cents a pound. Our wool exports in 1908 amounted to 

 $58,000, the wool being marketed in Boston at from 

 twelve to twenty cents a pound. 



The pork production of Hawaii is not nearly suflBcient 

 for home consumption. During the past year one firm 

 alone in Honolulu imported 35,000 pounds of pork loins 

 from the mainland. There is a constant demand for pork 

 at ten cents a pound, live weight, a figure considerably 

 above that obtained for pork on the mainland. The 

 climate of the Islands is well adapted for raising hogs. 

 They can be allowed to run at will on green pasture or 

 on the range. There are hogs on all of the Islands, which 

 have escaped from cultivation and find abundant forage 

 in the hills and mountains. The necessary expenditure 

 for buildings is very slight. By the use of local grain 

 feeds, such as algaroba bean, corn, alfalfa, soy beans, etc., 



