

However, the breed found a section of the State to which it was 

 adapted. This was in the western counties, particularly Washington 

 and Greene. Some idea of the important role that this section played 

 may be gained from the following quotation from "Modern Sheep :" 

 "When the manufacturer demanded a larger staple of wool" and "the 

 demand for mutton increased," then it was that broadminded breeders 

 of certain states conceived the idea of wool and mutton type. Most 

 prominent in this movement were breeders of Pennsylvania. From 

 Powers' "American Merinos" is quoted: "Fine flocks of Black Tops 



Fig. 5. A Dorset ewe. 



or Delaine-Merinos found in Washington County, Pa., tracing to the 

 Meade importations, contributed perhaps more than any other within 

 its borders to set Washington County at the very forefront of the 

 United States in the production of sheep and wool." 



Taking the State as a whole there was small variation in the num- 

 ber of sheep from 1840 to 1880. In 1840 there were 1,767,620, and in 

 1880 there were 1,776,598. But there was a gradual shifting of loca- 

 tion within the State. The decline in eastern Pennsylvania was very 

 great, while the increase in the western section was sufficiently large 



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