EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 577 



and they were of every grade from full-blooded Sijanish and French 

 Merino down to common sheep. There were but few Saxons and no 

 English sheep. Chicago furnished a market for mutton. John Owens 

 introduced the Merino irtto Monroe, but his flock degenerated from 

 breeding in-and-in, and there was no pure blood from which to breed. 

 In Hendricks County the people did not engage in wool-growing to any 

 extent beyond the demand for home consumption, and took more inter- 

 est in raising hogs. The same was the case in Marion and Jay. In 

 many counties the dog was charged with the indifference to sheep 

 raising. In those localities near large cities the mutton sheep was the 

 most popular. Hendricks had Oxfords, Cotswolds, Leicesters, and 

 Southdowns, which were sold at Indianapolis, and the surplus found its 

 way to Cincinnati. In G-recne County large-sized sheep were found 

 most profitable both for mutton and wool, a medium quality between 

 coarse and fine wool being most preferred for domestic fabrics. A 

 profit was made in raising a sheep and selling it for $1.50. St. Joseph 

 County, on the Michigan border, preferred large sheep, or a mixture 

 that would produce good-sized sheep and a fair grade of wool. Wool- 

 growing exclusively was not profitable, and mutton raising was the 

 most prominent. 



From 1850 to 1860 there was a great decrease in the number of sheep, 

 the falling off being more than 130,000. The yield of wool, however, 

 decreased but 58,000 pounds, while the average yield per head went uj) 

 to 2.57 pounds as against 2.32 in 1850. 



The increase in the amount of wool per head was due to two causes, 

 the gradual crossing of the Merino grades on the common sheep for one, 

 and the introduction of heavy, long fleeced and middle wooled sheep 

 for another. There were some full-blood Merinos introduced, but in few 

 localities only. Lagrange, Allen, Elkhart, and some other counties 

 increased in fine sheep, and at the State fair in 1855 there was a respect- 

 able showing of Saxonies, French, and American Merinos, and crosses 

 between them, and also some fine Southdowns, Leicesters, and Cots- 

 wolds. Putnam County kept up its two fine flocks, and Black's Saxony 

 sheep sold for $10 to $20 a head, while common sheep brought only $1. 

 There were, however, but few pure-blood sheep of any kind in the State, 

 and these few were in the possession of the most enterprising. Many 

 causes combined to produce the decrease in the number of sheep, the 

 prime cause being found in the fact that the native breeds produced 

 but little wool, and that of an inferior quality. This wool commanded 

 a low price and the low price of woolen goods compared with former 

 years inclined it still lower. Another great cause was the rise in land, 

 farm products, and live stock, especially cattle and hogs, making the 

 rearing of sheep, either for wool or mutton, a very unprofitable busi- 

 ness as compared with others. And to these must be added the dogs. 

 The mutton breeds continued to come into the State, and in 1860 it was 

 22990 37 



