SHEEP-FARMING IN THE WEST. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



GKEAT OPPORTUNITIES. 



The Eaising of Sheep — "Where it is Done — The "Wool Crop of 

 the World — Sheep-Walks of the Plains — A Fortune in a Clip. 



Sheep love a high and dry climate, and the higher 

 and drier the soil the better it is for them. The 

 countries which they mostly inhabit are Great Britain, 

 Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Aus- 

 tralia, South America, South Africa, the United States, 

 North America, Asia, and North Africa. Of these 

 countries Great Britain has a yearly production of 

 260,000,000 pounds of wool; Germany, 200,000,000; 

 France, 123,000,000; Spain, Italy, and Portugal, 

 119,000,000; European Russia, 125,000,000; Aus- 

 tralia, South America, and South Africa, 250,000,000 ; 

 United States, 100,000,000; North American Prov- 

 inces, 10,000,000; Asia, 470,000,000; North Africa, 

 49,000,000. 



It will be observed that the European production is 

 827,000,000 pounds, and the annual yield of the whole 



