398 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



At a siile of Mr. Thome's, September 2, 1863, of direct descendaiits 

 of his many importations, 81 ewes sold, which yielded at their last 

 shearing 419 pounds of clean wool, an average of 5 pounds 2f ounces 

 per head. The rams gave from 8 to 12 pounds unwashed wool. 



Twenty-one yearling ewes sold from $20 to $50 each; aggregate, $743; average of 

 $35.39 eacli. 



Nineteen two-year-old rams sold from $37 to $66 each; aggregate, $1,027; average 

 of $54.05 each. 



Thirteen three-year-old ewes sold from $25 to $95 each ; aggregate, $559.50 ; average 

 $43 each. 



Nine fonr-year-old ewes sold from $31 to $51 each; aggregate, $351 ; average, $39 

 each. 



Nineteen rams sold from $17 to $500 each; aggregate, $1,392; average, $73.26. 



The highest price ($500) was paid for the imported prize ram Arch- 

 bishop by G. H. Brown, of Dutchess County. He was bought of Jonas 

 Webb in 1860 at a cost of $1,250. These sheep were all pedigreed and 

 were sold to all parts of the United States. 



In the same year (1863) P. Lorillard had a sale of Southdowns and 

 Shropshire Downs. Ifinety-three Southdown ewes averaged $22.07 

 each, and 33 rams averaged $18.44 each, one ram bred by J. C. Taylor, 

 of New Jersey, selling for $160. The Shropshixes did not sell so high. 

 Seventy-four ewes and lambs averaged $11.50, and 36 rams $15.90 each. 



From this time the Cotswold began to grow rajjidly into favor. The 

 Southdown did not have enough size for most breeders, and it did not 

 furnish as much wool as the Cotswold. The introduction of new 

 machinery and new fabrics, for want of cotton, enhanced the value of 

 all combing wools in England and America, and placed their commercial 

 value nearly if not quite equal to the ordinary fine wool, a fact that 

 caused a tendency to increase the flocks of Cotswolds and other combin g- 

 wool sheep, especially where pastures were rich and the soils strong, 

 l)opulation dense and the people fond of mutton. As the Cotswold 

 yielded 8 to 10 pounds of wool where the Southdown yielded but 6 

 pounds, the former was preferred, and the demand for them was large. 

 Importations were freely made and good prices realized. 



Woolen factories increased their capacity and took on more opera- 

 tives; the demand for coarse wool was great and the product of the 

 mills doubled. This continued until the war closed, when the heavy 

 importations from Great Britain and the immense body of army woolens 

 thrown upon the market came near ruining our manufacturers and 

 slaughtering all the sheep. The tariff of 1867, urged upon Congress by 

 the wool-grower, saved the line-wool industry from immediate and 

 threatened destruction, and built up the coarse-wool and mutton inter- 

 est. The supply of coarse combing wool was wholly inadequate to 

 meet the demands of the manufacturer. On the other hand, the coun- 

 try was overstockod with woolens sufficient to keep down prices for two 

 or three years. lUit the coarse avooIs increased beyond the line wools 

 and even obtained the ascendency in prices. Consequently a mania set 



