The Committee in their report remark : 
“ That the Leicester buck exhibited by Mr. Clapp is of fine size and 
perfect symmetry. They also speak of his South Downs as a breed of 
Sheep well worthy the attention of the farmers of Wisconsin, believing 
the profits of the farmer would be much greater if this breed was more 
generally introduced. Mr. Clapp’s South Downs they regard as the best 
they have ever seen. 
4 
N. B. Clapp’s Statement : 
“Kenosha, February 16th, 1854. 
“ Dear Sir, 
“You request me to furnish you with a statement of the general man¬ 
agement of my flock, both in summer and winter, and my opinion as to 
the kind of sheep most profitable to the farmers of Wisconsin. For my 
views on the general management of sheep, I will refer you to my letter 
to you on that subject, dated December 27th, 1851, and published in the 
Transactions of the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society for that year. 
At that time my flock consisted of 500 fine wooled sheep. At present I 
am keeping but twenty-four—eighteen thorough-bred South Downs and 
six thorough-bred Leicesters. My management of these, wherein it differs 
from that of my former flock, is as follows : 
“ My lambs are dropped the last of March, or the first of April. My 
reason for this is, that South Down and Leicester lambs are much more 
hardy and less liable to chill than my former flock, and my ewes have 
an abundance of milk for their offspring at that lime ; and as the demand 
for bucks is greater than I can supply, by this early dropping they are 
fit for service in the coming fall, particularly the South Downs, which 
mature early. 
“ Another reason is, that the South Downs are great milkers, and if 
allowed to go to grass some days before yeaning, with a great flow of 
milk, their udders frequently become inflamed and require much care 
and milking both before and for a few days after dropping. This last 
difficulty not unfrequently occurs with the Leicesters, though not as often 
as with the South Downs. I wean my lambs about the first of August, 
or when about four months old, as. I think they do better to be taken 
from the ewes at that age. After weaning my lambs I am careful not to 
