A CHAPTER ON WOOL. 
In all ages the sheep has been a prominent representative of rural 
husbandry, profitable and eminently respectable, from the time Abel, 
the first keeper of sheep, made to the Lord an acceptable offering of the 
firstlings of his flock—early lambs; and many hundreds of years later 
that great farmer and flock-master, Job, reckoned among his stock four¬ 
teen thousand sheep. At the present day the subject of sheep husbandry 
has lost none of its interest, but is still receiving much careful attention. 
There are many good reasons why every farmer should keep at least 
a few sheep. Sheep-breeding is not exhaustive to the soil, but, on the 
other hand, does much toward preserving its fertility. Few farm animals 
produce more valuable manure than the sheep. The fact that they destroy 
weeds and briers which other animals will not touch, should not be over¬ 
looked. An accurate account of the returns from even a few sheep will 
show a fair profit in favor of sheep-breeding—not so much as a specialty, 
but as an assistant to other farm animals and crops. 
This branch of the farmer’s business, like all the others, returns the 
greater profit in proportion to the amount of careful and intelligent con¬ 
sideration which it receives. The trouble with most of the wool grown 
on our common sheep is that it is too long and hairy, lacking the curl 
and felting qualities which add so much value to the fibre. 
In our markets wool is generally classified as of two kinds: long 
combing or worsted wool—short, or clothing wool. These wools are 
very different in their nature, and are raised for distinctive and very 
different modes of manufacture. The long wools, bred with as little felt¬ 
ing qualities as possible, are worked on combing machinery, and are 
converted into worsted fabrics. They are not suited for making rolls, 
yarns, jeans, cassimeres, flannels, nor blankets. The short wools are 
curly, and their felting qualities render them well adapted for making 
just what the farmer needs. 
The introduction of the Cotswold buck, or other breeds of like 
character, to cross with our already too long and hairy wool, is a step 
in the wrong direction. On account of the large carcass of the Cots¬ 
wold, it has been regarded with favor by some; but this is but an ap¬ 
parent advantage. The distribution of fat and lean in its carcass is of 
such proportions as to render it unable to compete as a mutton sheep 
with smaller bodied, leaner kind. 
Experience has demonstrated beyond doubt that the best sheep to 
cross with our common stock is the Merino. The wool is at once re¬ 
duced in length and has improved felting qualities. Not only does the 
Merino stamp his peculiarity of fleece upon the offspring, but the quality 
of the mutton is alike improved. We do not wish to be understood as 
advocating raising pure-blood Merinos. This would be a step toward the 
opposite extreme. Most of the machinery in this country is not adapted 
to working pure Merino wool. The wool best suited to the needs of the 
farmer, and which brings the most uniform price in the market, is not 
the fine, nor the coarse—but the middle grade. A cross between the 
Merino and our common stock gives a middle grade. There are also 
many pure-blood breeds of the middle grade, any of which are preferable, 
as a pure-blood flock, to the Merino. Of these we mention the South- 
downs, Oxfords, Shropshires, and Hampshires. Experience seems to 
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