46 The Sheep-Scab. 



it is clearly evident that the most profitable to 

 the grower are the fine-woolled sheep, either the 

 high grade Merino or the pure blood; and, 

 furthermore, for the past few years there has 

 been an increasing tendency towards the produc- 

 tion of a finer class of goods. The prosperity of 

 the country has created a demand for better 

 clothing; and so long as we can look forward to 

 continued success in our great agricultural and 

 industrial enterprises, there is little prospect of a 

 retrograde movement towards cheaper fabrics. 

 No clearer evidence of the prevailing demand 

 for better woollens is shown than in the case 

 of one of the largest corporatiohs in New Eng- 

 land, whose machinery is adapted to, and whose 

 consumption consists in the working of medium 

 and low combing wools. The prosperity of this 

 mill, in past years, has been so great, that its 

 shares of stock were worth, a year ago, about 

 threefold their par value; whereas the decline in 

 the prices of low-grade goods during the past 

 twelve months has depreciated the stock, from that 

 point, more than 35 per cent. 



