154 BOAED OF AGRICULTUKE. 



The Oxford Downs were, originally, a cross of the Hamp- 

 shire or Southdown ewe and a Cotswold ram. They were 

 not recognized as a breed by the Royal Agricultural Society 

 of England till 1857. Shortly after this date a few were 

 imported into the United States. It is a very useful breed, 

 but a trifle loose-wooled for rough weather ; the clip is 

 rather less than either Shropshire or Hampshire, while equal 

 in size to either. 



And now having given a rough and very imperfect sketch 

 of the difierent breeds best known amongst us, let me devote 

 the rest of my time to making you believe in sheep hus- 

 bandry, and have a practical talk about breeding and raising 

 lambs for the city markets. 



Massachusetts has many hundreds of acres of worn-out 

 pasture and deserted farms that would make not only profit- 

 able grazing land for sheep, but the sheep, besides getting 

 their living, would clear ofi" an immense amount of bushes 

 and brush, improving the land in a few years enough to 

 make good pasturage for cattle and horses, and increase the 

 actual value of the land. 



This used to be a wool-growing State, and in 1845 our 

 clip of wool was over a million pounds, decreasing in 1855 

 to about four hundred and sixteen thousand. At the end 

 of the war, when wool was high, the clip increased to about 

 six hundred and ten thousand pounds, running down as low 

 as two hundred and seven thousand in 1875 ; the latter fig- 

 ures would probably be about right for the census of 1885. 



The number of sheep in 1865, kept in the State, was 

 160,997, and in 1875 the number had fallen ofi" to only 

 58,595. 



There is no reason why this State should not again become 

 a wool-growing one, and every reason why it should. 



The first outlay for sheep is less than for almost any other 

 kind of live stock, and the returns are much quicker. 



For instance, good rugged ewes can be bought for less 

 than four dollars, after they have been shorn and have 

 weaned their lambs in, say, the month of August. 



Any farmer that keeps eight or ten cows can keep an 

 equal number of sheep without feeling the expense, except 

 for a little grain to be paid for, which will be more than 



