596 



SHEEP INDUSTEY OF THE UNITED STATES 



At the Stark County fair, May 30, 1866, 34 sheep were sheared. Seven 

 yearling rams gave from 8 pounds to 18| pounds unwashed wool. Seven- 

 teen rams 2 years and over gave fi'om 8 pounds to 17J pounds. Six 

 yearling ewes gave from 5| pounds to 8J pounds, and 4 ewes 2 years 

 old and over gave from 7J pounds to 8jf pounds. At the Marion 

 County fair, the same year, the first premium Merino rain weighed 

 158 pounds and gave a iieece of 18^ pounds, the second premium ram 

 weighed 121 pounds and gave a fleece weighing 16^ pounds. 



The report on scoured fleeces at the Illinois State fair of 1806 is very 

 full, and presents some features of permanent interest: 



Owuer. 



Breed. 



Sex. 



Carcass. 



Fleece. 



Scoured 

 "Wool. 



Age of 

 fleece. 



A.M. Garland 



L. H. Wright 



Brown & Keynolds. 



JacoT> Leonard 



Nelson Jones 



lloyce & Crooks 



Do 



Jolm Tambull 



G.W. Taylor 



Do .;. 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Jacob Leonard 



Geo. L. Burrls 



L.H.Wright 



Geo. W. Minor . 



J. H. Pickrell . . 



Do 



Spanish Merino... 



...do 



...do 



...do 



...do 



...do 



...do 



...do 



...do 



....do 



...do 



....do 



....do , 



....do 



French Merino. . . 



Spanish Merino 

 and Cotswold. 



Cots-wold 



Southdown 



....do 



Ram.. 

 Ham .. 

 Earn .. 

 Earn .. 

 Kam .. 

 Ram .. 

 Ram.. 

 Ram .. 

 Ram .. 

 Ram -- 

 Ewe .. 

 Ewo .. 

 Ewe .- 

 Ewe .. 

 Ewe .. 

 Ewe . 



Ewe . 

 Ewe . 

 Eiim. 



Years. 

 3 

 6 

 4 

 2 

 2 

 2 

 3 

 3 



*15 



*15 

 2 

 1 



»15 

 1 



*13 

 3 



2 

 2 

 2 



Pouvds. 

 164 

 116 

 127J 

 140 



loe 



139 



103 



115 



1U8 



131 



102 



81 



42* 



68' 



77* 



130" 



Lis. Oz. 



13 6 



13 10 



18 13 



21 

 16 

 18 

 16 

 13 



2 

 3 

 8 

 

 2 



17 14 

 17 2 



10 2 

 12 10 



8 11 



11 14 

 8 6 



12 2 



7 6 



7 13 



7 7 



Lis. 

 5 



4 

 4 2 

 4 3 



Ko. Dys. 



11 15 



11 14 



12 23 

 11 24 



13 2 



11 12 



12 10 

 11 19 

 15 

 15 



* Months. 



In 1867 the E'orthern Illinois Wool-Growers' Association held a shear- 

 ing and scouring match, and about 20 sheep competed. The result on 

 the four heaviest of each sex is here given: 



The wool clip of Illinois in 1865 was the largest ever produced in the 

 State, amounting to nearly 12,000,000 pounds from a little less than 

 3,000,000 sheep, or something over one to each of her inhabitants. By far 

 the greater portion of this amount, more than three-fourths, was clothing 

 or card wool, the product of the Merino sheep and its crosses. Wool- 

 growing had advanced with rapid strides, until the prairies which once 

 counted the sheep by thousands now counted the flocks by thousands. 

 There was also a healthy increase in manufactories during the years 1863 

 and 1864. But there was a great change. The war closed, foreign goods 

 flooded the market, the United States Government added its accumu- 



