80 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Feb, 
South Down Ewes, over two years old, the property 
of L. G. Morris, Fordham, N. Y.,—received the first 
premium at the Show of the New-York State Agricul¬ 
tural Society, 1851. Mr. Morris’ South Downs have, 
several of them, been obtained from the noted English 
breeder, Jonas Webb, and are excellent specimens of 
that breed, so famous for the production of fine mut¬ 
ton. 
Heavy and Light Wooled Sheep. 
Eds. Cultivator —It has become a matter of great 
importance to the wool-grower to know what kind of 
wool can be most profitably grown at the present time; 
and in view of the low prices paid for fine wool, we may 
well inquire, can we any longer afford to keep fine wool¬ 
ed sheep? The manufacturers and their agents have de¬ 
sired the farmers to hold on to fine sheep, telling them 
that the time would come when they could make the 
proper difference; but most people think they have wait¬ 
ed long enough, and show a determination as quickly as 
possible to get a kind of sheep that will yield them a bet¬ 
ter profit. This is not strange, when we take into con¬ 
sideration the relative profits of coarse and fine wool. 
Take, for instance, a flock of fine wooled sheep that cut 
but 21 lbs. of wool ,and some will not do even that; but as¬ 
suming the average to be 2% lbs., and that of the hardy 
gummy merino, so much in fashion at the present time, 
which cut from 4| to 5 lbs. per head, and allowing the 
fine to sell for 44 cents, which is about the present price, 
and the coarser kind to sell for 40 cents, here would be 
a difference of 59 cents per head in favor of the coarse 
kind. Now the question is, what are we to expect in 
future? Will the manufacturers continue to pay al¬ 
most as much for gum and dirt, as they have heretofore 
done? If so, they will every year find a great in¬ 
crease of it on their hands, for it is a notorious fact that 
the kind of bucks now most in demand, are such—at 
least many of them—that their wool would lose from 30 
to 50 per cent in cleansing. The demand for sheep of 
this description is fast increasing, and will command a 
far greater price than the finer varieties. In proof of 
this I would state, that lambs of this grade, from which 
to raise a flock, consisting of ewes, and some rams, have 
lately been sold in this vicinity for $2.00 per head, when 
the finer kinds would hardly bring half the money. Our 
neighbors in Vermont, with a foresight which seems na¬ 
tural to them, have long been breeding the heavier kinds 
of sheep, and in many instances have succeeded in at¬ 
taining a great weight of fleece, many flocks shearing 5 
lbs. per head. Now, if in that state, where sheep farms 
can be bought from $3 to $10 per acre, they cannot af¬ 
ford to grow the finer and lighter grades of wool, how 
can we here, where land is worth from $25 to $40 per 
acre. People are beginning to look to their true inte¬ 
rest, and will not continue a business that will scarcely 
pay the expense of keeping and attendance, loss, &c. 
Many who kept large flocks of sheep in this county, 
(Washington,) have quit the business, and gone into the 
dairy business, which is much more profitable, for when 
cows are rightly managed, it is not uncommon to realise 
from $30 to $40 per head. Almost any kind of business 
will pay better than growing wool at 2-§ lbs. per fleece. 
Potatoes are now being raised in large quantities; and 
although they may not yield half of what they formerly 
did, yet with the increasedfacilitites forgetting them to 
market , they are one of the most profitable crops grown. 
Flax is also becoming a most profitable business—the 
quantity sown is annually increasing, and when those 
newly invented machines for dressing without rotting, 
shall come into general use, the cultivation of it will 
probably be greatly increased. 
In view of all these things, it may be well to inquire 
what can be done to save our finest sheep from destruc¬ 
tion. I have been in the sheep business for more than 
twenty years, and wish to continue in it if I can live by 
it, and keep the quality of the wool up to its present 
standard, and at the same time increase the weight 
of fleece. My object in this communication is to obtain 
information through your columns, where there are any 
of those fine merinos, such as were common before the 
introduction of the Saxony sheep, which cut heavy 
fleeces with but little waste. 
Those French merinos lately imported by S. W. Jew¬ 
ett and others, would probably be a profitable kind of 
sheep, and from samples of wool now before me, from 
Mr. Jewett’s flock, I am inclined to think there wil be 
