402 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



Agriculturist in 1875, at which time Mr. Orozier intended to breed two 

 years longer until assured he had a standard breed. 



That assurance never came to Mr. Grozier, and meanwhile English 

 sheep continued to be imported, the Southdowns losing ground, the 

 Shropshires holding their own and attracting much attention, but the 

 Cotswold still the predominating sheep. These sheep were introduced 

 into all parts of the State, some into the southern and eastern part by 

 direct importations from England, others from Canada went into the 

 northern and western counties and gradually displaced the Merinos. 

 There were many crosses of these sheep on the Merino grades and on 

 the common sheep of the country. 



At the New York State fair, in 1877, there were exhibited sheep bred 

 from common Merino ewes and a Cotswold ram. The wool of the first 

 cross measured 5 inches in length, was as fine as Merino, and as easily 

 combed as Cotswold. The wool of the second cross was as long as the 

 pure Cotswold and as flue as Merino wool. The carcass made excellent 

 mutton, and was nearly as heavy as pure Cotswold. A cross of the 

 Cotswold with the Merino made the heaviest lambs, but a cross of the 

 Southdown with the Merino made the best ones. 



The increased interest taken in coarse- wooled sheep did not cause the 

 utter neglect of the Merino, nor was fine wool-growing abandoned. The 

 war of 1861-65 did not at first cause a demand for fine wool, but the 

 first year marked an increased interest in the Merino, which developed 

 into a mild mania. High prices were paid for fine- wooled sheep of all 

 kinds. Sales of Merino rams were made at $800, $1,000, and $2,500, and 

 ewes and lambs in proportion. There was more practical sense in pay- 

 ing these prices for the hardy, well-constitutioned Merino of 1865 than 

 was shown in the purchase of the delicate little Saxony sheep of 1825, 

 whose exquisite fineness of wool had been produced at the expense of 

 the constitution of the breed, and whose extension degraded the vigor 

 of the old Spanish Merino flocks, reduced the weight of their fleeces, 

 and discouraged the efforts of the farmer in improvement. In 1865 it 

 was different. The Spanish Merino had been developed and improved 

 until it had become of great excellence. There was a temporary de- 

 pression in the flne-wt)ol industry from 1865 to 1871, and fat cattle and 

 dairying received more attention. But in 1871, when the tariff" of 1867 

 began to show its effect, there was a demand for fine and other wools, 

 which gave a new start to wool- growing, which was further assisted by 

 the great decline in fat cattle and dairy products. Beef, pork, butter, 

 and cheese had brought good prices when wool was quite low, but 1871 

 restored wool to favor as the others declined, and there was a prosper- 

 ous era for the wool-growers extending over some years, though upon 

 the whole the Merino flocks were constantly declining, and in 1874 

 ]\Icrino rams could be bought for $25 and a flock at an average of $10 

 X)er head. 



Breeding flocks kept up the record of improvement. In 1870 Mr. 



