THE PACIFIC DISTRICT. 261 



where on the Pacific slope. The following table, giving the pro- 

 duct of wool in the State, from 1854 to 1877, shows the adapta- 

 bility of California to sheep-raising, in a striking manner : 



Pounds. Pounds. 



1854 175,000 



1855 300,000 



1856 600,000 



1857 1,100,000 



1858 1,438,351 



1859 2,378,250 



1860 3,055,325 



1861 3,721,998 



1862 5.990,300 



18o3 6;268,480 



1364 7,923,670 



1865 8,949,931 



1866 8,532,047 



1867 10,288600 



1868 14,232,657 



1869 15,413,970 



1870 20,072,660 



1871 22,187,188 



1872 24,255,468 



1873 30,155,169 



1874 39,356,781 



1875 43,532,223 



1876 50,000,000 



1877 47,946,688 



The gradual but rapid increase here shown is very notable. 

 The falling off in the last year was due to the loss of many sheep 

 by an unusual drouth, which caused the pastures to fail through- 

 out the State. 



The climate of California is so mild that sheep need no shelter; 

 even in winter they can find subsistence in the pastures the year 

 round. The wool, therefore, grows continously and is shorn twice 

 in the year. One reason for this half yearly shearing is the pres- 

 ence of a troublesome bur in the pastures, which, during the sea- 

 son when the weed is in fruit, collects in the wool and renders it of 

 less value. The burry wool is shorn and sold at a reduced price, 

 while the next half-yearly shearing yields a clean fleece. The 

 ewes are remarkably prolific in California ; 80 per cent increase of 

 the flock is usual, and over 100 per cent is not uncommon. Dis- 

 ease is rare, a mild form of scab being the most troublesome. The 

 sheep are pastured chiefly upon vacant government lands, or 

 upon mountain lands of low value. The average annual cost of 

 feeding a sheep, is estimated at 35 to 50 cents, and the value of 

 the wool is generally double the cost of keeping. 



Since 1877, California has experienced some disastrous years; 

 unusual dry weather has prevailed, and the losses of sheep have 

 been enormous. The production of wool has therefore fallen 

 off proportionately, and from fifty million pounds in 1876 it de- 

 creased to 16,798,036 pounds, the product of 4,152,349 sheep in 

 1880. Since then the flocks have increased in number, and the 

 opening of Southern California with its neighboring territories, 

 Arizona and New Mexico, by the railroads, has given a greater 

 scope to the sheep industry, which is now gradually approach- 

 ing its former extent. 



