272 



3HEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



Shearing of June, iS47. 



Select rams 



Kama 



Breeding ewes. 

 Lambs 



10 

 168 

 77 



li years 



IJ and 2 years. 



3 to 7 years 



IJ years 



Average 



■weight 



after 



shearing. 



Lbs. 

 187 

 190 

 120 

 101 



Oz. 



8 



9.6 

 13.8 

 11.2 



Average 

 ■weight 

 of ileece. 



Zbs. Oz. 

 12 8 



10 12 



7 9.5 



8 1.7 



Shearing of May, 1851. 



Select rama 



Breeding ewes. 

 Lambs 



4 

 194 

 61 



IJ years 



3^ to 11^ years . 

 l| years 



1.5 

 12.7 

 8 



Shearing of March, 1869. 



Adnlt rams 



Earn lambs 



Breeding ewes . 

 E'we lambs 



7 



60 



186 



113 



2^ years and over . 



li years 



3J years and over . 

 1\ years 



15 5.1 



13 1.1 



8 9.7 



9 12.2 



Shearing of May, 1877. 



Adnlt rams 



Kam lambs 



Toung ewes ... 

 Breeding e^wes . 



Ewelainbs 



Alle^wes 



77 

 324 

 110 

 521 



2J years 



l| years 



2| years 



3| years and over . 



IJ years 



li years and over , 



16 

 14 

 10 

 9 

 10 

 10 



9.3 



14.4 

 14.6 

 13.1 

 10.4 

 3.1 



Some experiments made at Eambouillet on the growth of the fleece 

 are of interest. On the recommendation of Mr. Gilbert there was made, 

 in 1798, this experiment: A ewe, eighteen months old, had never been 

 sheared; her fleece removed in 1799 weighed 14 pounds 10 ounces. This 

 fleece, of which the fibers were double the ordinary length, showed no 

 loss In respect to weight, though there are few ewes which produced in 

 thirty months the same quality of wool. A second ewe, which was like- 

 wise sheared at the age of thirty months, in 1800, gave a much greater 

 quantity of wool, though she had suckled a lamb. Her fleece, which 

 weighed 21 pounds, had wool 8 Inches long. The ewe of last year gave 

 in each of the two following years 6 pounds, and the ewe sheared of 

 the same age gave the same at one shearing in two years as the other 

 gave in two shearings in the same length of time. In 1801 8 ewes were 

 sheared, of which the fleeces had two years' growth and weighed from 16 

 to 20 pounds. It appeared after the different experiments that the wool 

 which was left to grow for two years acquired double the length, while 

 it preserved its fineness and lost nothing in respect to quantity. It 

 was not observed that sheep submitted to this experiment sufi'ered 

 much from the heat, nor that it aifected their health. It was only 

 noticed that the lambs found more diffloiilty in sucking the ewes, because 

 of the length of the wool which entirely hid tlie udder. 



