ANIMAL INDUSTRIES 259 



fine and long wool types. As all of these have been 

 crossed on common Merino stock, the quality and 

 value of California sheep as a whole has notably 

 advanced, although the aggregate number is increas- 

 ing very slowly. The popularization of small flocks 

 on farms and arrangements which give sheep a fairer 

 standing in the national forest grazing give the 

 animal an upward outlook. 



California wool-growers under the leadership of 

 Ellenwood made a determined stand in 1912 and 

 followed with a strong plea for consideration by 

 Congress in 1913 for a tariff revision which would, 

 by a fairer classification of wools, give American 

 wool-growers a living protection. However, this 

 was swept away by the free listing of wool in the 

 tariff of 1913. The expected depression from this 

 cancellation of government policy, which had pre- 

 vailed, with a short-lived reversal, since 1867, was 

 averted by the advance in prices caused by the out- 

 break of the world war in 1914. The high prices 

 both for wool and mutton during the war and imme- 

 diately following it notably increased the values 

 of sheep and wool but did not greatly increase the 

 numbers of sheep nor the wool product as these 

 figures show: 



In California 1910 1915 1919 



Numbers of sheep . . . 2,683,000 2,450,000 2,943,000 



Value of sheep $6,298,000 $12.250,000 $35,216,000 



Wool, pounds 13,500,000 11,500,000 13,278,000 



The advance which the figures show for California 

 sheep husbandry is not of a character to indicate the 



