566 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



876 head. In 1905 the number reported 

 was 45,170,423. The average for the 

 past 10 years is 47,633,316. The large 

 wool flocks are produced in the West 

 under range conditions. In 1905, Mon- 

 tana led in numbers, reporting 5,638,- 

 967 head, followed by Wyoming with 

 3,267,887; Idaho with 2,978,068; New 

 Mexico, 2,856,745; Ohio, 2,601,010; Ore- 

 gon, 2,546,662; and California, 2,180,- 

 399. 



The average weight of the fleece pro- 



from Canada, and 250,000 exported. 

 About 17,000,000 sheep are each year 

 slaughtered in the United States. 



Both Europe and Australia surpass 

 the United States in sheep and wool 

 production. In 1905 it is estimated that 

 Australia contained 93,072,331 sheep, 

 mostly of the Merino type. The most 

 recent data show a total of 121,424,- 

 000 head of sheep in Europe. The lead- 

 ing countries of production are Russia, 

 with about 45,000,000 head; Great 



Fig. 353 — MERINO BUCK, DON'S CHAMPION 



duced in the United States is 6.5 pounds. 

 In cleaning and scouring, the wool 

 shrinks from 40 to 70 per cent, depend- 

 ing upon the amount of dirt and sand in 

 it. Western wool shrinks most on ac- 

 count of the large amount of sand in it. 

 The total production of washed, un- 

 washed, and pulled wool in 1904 was 

 291,783,032 pounds. This produced 123,- 

 935,147 pounds of scoured wool. The 

 farm value of the sheep in 1904 was es- 

 timated at $127,331,850, and the value 

 of wool about $37,000,000. About 337,- 

 000 sheep are imported each year, chiefly 



Britain, with 29,000,000; France, with 

 17,000,000; and Germany, with 10,000,- 

 000. The most serious competitor of 

 the United States is Australia, which 

 not only competes in the wool market, 

 but has an enormous trade with Europe 

 in frozen mutton. 



BREEDS OF SHEEP 



The leading breeds of sheep in the 

 United States, mentioned in the order 

 of their importance, are the Merinos, 

 Shropshires, Cotswolds, Oxfords, Ram- 



