4 FARMERS' BULLETIN 840. 



The higher prices of sheep products following 1914 were caused 

 in part, but not mainly, by market conditions resulting from the 

 war. The supply of lamb and mutton had been decreasing for some 

 time in spite of the growing demand, particularly for lambs. Wool 

 values were advancing before the outbreak of the war. Although the 

 world consumption of wool was increasing, no foreign country, with 

 the exception of South Africa, seemed able to increase its exports. 

 Increased supplies of wool in the future must come chiefly from farm 

 flocks. In the United States conditions for farm sheep raising are 

 more favorable than in any country which has not already developed 

 to the point at which sheep are necessary for intensive farming. 



Prospective values for lambs and wool and the special economies 

 incident to their production insure for farm sheep raising a large 

 and permanent place, either on those farms where sheep raising is 

 made a specialty or where flocks form a permanent part of a system 

 of mixed farming. 



SECTIONAL PROSPECTS FOR SHEEP PRODUCTION. 



In the Eastern States the large and numerous flocks of earlier 

 years were kept almost entirely for wool production. Subsequently 

 the increasing wool supplies from other sections and from abroad, 

 together with the demand for other agricultural products of higher 

 value, brought about a decline in the number of farm sheep in these 

 States. The market demand for mutton and lamb at that time was 

 very limited, and when it became broader the cheaply produced 

 western supplies were for some time equal to all requirements. 

 To-day the western shipments have not only ceased to increase but 

 have actually grown less as a result of the reduction of the range 

 area. 



In New England particularly, while many new flocks have re- 

 cently been started, hesitancy has been due to a wrong interpreta- 

 tion of former statistics of farm sheep in that section. The decline 

 that once occurred in New England flocks has but slight relation 

 to present conditions and prospects. The sheep raising of the pres- 

 ent is planned to market lambs at from 4 to 5 months of age, and 

 wool, though important, is not the primary consideration. The full 

 and economical utilization of New England farm labor, pastures, 

 hay, and silage calls for more and larger flocks to supply the near-by 

 markets. The present production can probably be multiplied three 

 times without materially lessening other live-stock production. 



Throughout the entire length of the Appalachian Mountain Range 

 in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia^ West Virginia, Kentucky, 

 Tennessee, and North Carolina there are large areas of land com- 

 paratively low in value and well suited for sheep raising. 



