202 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



present market prices the raising of sheep for ayooI would hardly 

 be economical. 



Nevertheless, we shall find the keeping of sheep profitable ; 

 and it is to be encouraged for the production of mutton as a 

 direct means of support, and indirectly for maintaining the pro- 

 ductions of the soil. Although the mutton in our market 

 comes principally from Canada and the West, and very little, if 

 any, from the country within one hundred miles of Boston, yet 

 we can find a ready sale for all we can raise for home consump- 

 tion. "We can at least help to supply our own tables. A flock 

 of sheep, too, is as beneficial to the pastures of a large farm as 

 the pruning knife is to the orchards or the broom to the kitchen. 

 They will effectually clear up the weeds, briers, bushes and 

 other rubbish, thereby saving the farmer much labor with the 

 bush-scythe, and by their droppings prepare the field for the 

 plough. It is for these purposes, for raising mutton and for 

 clearing up our old farms, many of which are becoming foul, 

 and possibly for the exportation of full-blood sheep, particularly 

 bucks, that the farmers in this immediate vicinity should engage 

 in the raising of sheep. 



It is useless, and indeed impossible, to say which is the best 

 breed of sheep, it depends so much upon the purpose for which 

 they are kept, whether for mutton or for wool, and upon the 

 local condition of the country where they are reared, its prox- 

 imity to market and the character of the lands for feed, some 

 breeds thriving best in one country and some in another, and 

 some being best for mutton and some for wool. No single 

 breed has yet been found which combines both these qualities 

 in the g-reatest perfection. The best breeds for wool seem to be 

 found in the Middle and Southern States, and the best for 

 mutton in the Northern and Western States. For the large, 

 rough tracts of rocky pastures in the unsettled States and Ter- 

 ritories, far away from the markets of the world, where the 

 sheep can be herded together by thousands and turned out to 

 take care of themselves to a great extent, the small, hardy 

 Merino sheep or the South Downs are best adapted ; being small 

 and tough, they more easily find their v/ay over the rough pas- 

 tures, earn their own livelihood and produce a large amount of 

 fine wool for their size. The Cotswolds and Lcicesters being of 

 larger frame and requiring more food, cannot so well be herded 



