74 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



ress. The wars of Europe and tlie consequent disturbance of Ameri- 

 can commerce stimulated domestic manufactures and renewed the dis- 

 position to improve the breed of sheep. The idea found expression in 

 the papers of the day and in the formation of societies for encouraging 

 agricalture, more particularly that branch of it relating to Mve stock. 

 One great impediment to the increase of sheep had been the antipathy 

 of Americans to mutton as an article of food ; an antipathy naively 

 admitted by Tench Coxe, in 1794, when he contended that it was best 

 for " seminaries of learning and poorhouses, and should be given by 

 rule." Mutton was appreciated by the more opulent classes of the 

 towns and the country, but it was not popular with the masses and the 

 yeomen of the country, for a prejudice had been generated that it was 

 the poor man's food, and that its presence on his table was an indica- 

 tion of his poverty. This jirejudice, singularly enough, was more 

 marked among small farmers than elsewhere, who ate fat pork the year 

 round, but who, though possessing from ten to twenty sheep, looked for 

 troublous times ahead if they could see the bottom of the pork-barrel. 

 The papers combated this prejvidice, admitting that the people of the 

 country had generally a dislike to mutton, because what ^sop said of 

 tongues was triie with respect to mutton, "if it is good, it is the best 

 of animal food ; if bad, good for nothing." It was pointed out that to 

 incline the people to eat mutton it was necessary to have a good breed 

 of sheep, and to have a good breed of sheep it was necessary that the 

 people should eat mutton. Which of these ought to be considered the 

 cause and which the effect was left to speculation, but it was urged 

 that sheep should be raised for the sake of the wool. A good annual 

 fleece would pay a sufficient rent for the pasture, and if the flesh were 

 sold cheap the poor would soon relish it, especially as it would every 

 year become better by the improvement made on the breed. Then 

 should the wool be protected by a duty, flannel would be a very profit- 

 able manufacture to begin with, and thus it would come about that 

 while the manufacturer was eating the farmer's mutton he was also 

 making in return the clothing for the farmer's family. Variations on 

 this theme filled the papers from Massachusetts to Georgia. 



The improvement from 1800 to 1806 was very marked, and farmers 

 took a pride in furnishing the papers with the weight of their sheep and 

 their fleece and the excellence of their mutton; but the greatest lever 

 to improvement was the formation of agricultural societies and the in- 

 stitution of fairs where live stock and domestic manufactures were 

 shown and competed for preference and preiniums. These societies 

 brought together some of the best thought and experience of the coun- 

 try, and the fairs excited a healthy rivalry and advertised the stock of 

 some enterprising breeder to his neighbors. 



The South Carolina Agricultural Society, the first of its character in 

 the United States, took a great interest in the breeding of sheep and 

 raising fine wool, and was the first to offer a premium for the iutroduc- 



