Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1866-11-03

finish, and | presume there have
bcon oasos whore the sheep have
been smcarcd with greasc to make
the wool heavier, but | am satisfied
Mr., Blank is an honest man."
"Wcll, perhaps so, but he has got
the grease there nevertheless, lie
may not have smcarod the sheep,
but | tell you what he has DONE
lie has bred his sheep in such a
way that they sccrete large quanti-
ties Of yoik or grease in tho wool.
lie is careful not to let even the
dow get on them, lest should wash
out II little Of it, II is all in the
wool, and ] will guarantee that the
fleece which you saw weigh %
pounds docs not contain over q
pounds Of pure wool! You go and
ask him how much secured wool his
sheep sbcar?'
did not see Mr.. Blank, but meet
ing n well known Vermont breeder,
he said one Of his rams last year
sheared 23l pounds. lie was care
iul not to say "of wool" "He
shcared 234 pounds, but how much
poor wool did he shcar?" "That,
sir he replied, sis II question we
never answer" A friend, however,
told me that that very fleece was
secured and cleansed only "a pounds.
In other words the fleece contained
b pounds Of wool and 20 pounds
Of worthless matter After talking
this matter over with my friend, /
concluded not to mortgage my farm.
lie says this 20 pounds of grease is
not only worthless, but that it costs
a good deal to produce it, and that
he would rather have the grease on
the kidneys. Is this true? Have
these breeders Of improved Ameri-
can mcrinoes devoted their time, in
telligence and skill to obtain class
Of sheep that secrete fat among the
wool rather than in the carcass? Is
this the improvement? They say
the wool is not remarkable fine-not
fine enough for making the best
cashmercs, and that we have 10 i'm
port several millions of dollars owe
ry year. ..
Mr.. Clapp's "Amcrican merino"
eve that took the first prize at the
Canandaig uatrial last year for the
greatest quantity of secured wool,
in proportion to live weight, was
again sheared and gave 10 pounds
, ounces Of wool. Her weight, after
removal of the fleece, was 81 pounds.
Last year, when two years old, she
weighed 40 pounds, and sheared
9,95 pounds of wool. Last year
Mr.. Gaztey's Cotswold, weighing
999 pounds, shcared So pounds Of
wool. This year he sheared one,
weighing 100 pounds, that gave 10!
pounds of wool. He also shcarcd a
Cotswold ram that weighed 125
pounds, and gave ii pounds 10
ounces of wool.
Las year, at the Canandiagua, n.
Y, trial, the fourteen Merino sheep
sheared gave 1867 lbs. Of wool, and
after cleansing, 649 lbs, or SO per
cent. ofscoured wool. Th2 Cotswold
fleece, on the other hand contained
80 per cent. Of secured wool. In
other words, 100 lbs. of Cotswold
fleece contains as much pure wool
as 227 lbs. of American Merino wool,
and that from sheep selected for the
trial"
The above is from the pen Of one
who has flock Of Mcrinos, publish
ed in one of the leading agricultural
papers of the country, and its facts
will enable the Texas wool grower
to value rightly those heavy shear !
ing Merino sheep, some Of which |
will probably ere long be brought |
here for sale. The writer, in 1860,
saw Merino sheep in some Texas |
focks recently brought from II
Northern drove at from one hundred |
to. three hundred dollars each, which ,
would not be valued at more than
five dollars a head in their native !
country. If we must give these
high prices, it were better to give
them some well known wool grower /
of our own State. Recent improve
ments in machinery, by which the
manufacturer is enabled to make J
superior long woo|ed fabrics, now
much in vogue in the winter season. |
has increased the demand for, and
the price of, long wool. In the
Boston market. in 1865, CotswoId I
wool during tho season was about
ten cents a pound higher than
Michigan Merino. The demand for
this kind fwoOl is now greater than /
the home production. meeting
of the leading wool buyers in Glove I
land, Ohio, the last week in May,
the following resolutions were pas
scd
WHEREAS, The wool crop of Ohio
is fast increasing, and willpr badly
reach 3O,OOO,0OO pounds the present
year, and being one Of the most i'm
pOrtant and profitable productions
of the State, merits the careful at
tcntion of buyers; and
WHEREAS. In Former years the
clip of our State hasrankel superior
to that of other States; and
WHEREAS, For several years past
the woods of the State have lost their
high reputation, in consequence OF
the careless and dishonest manner
of working and handling-this is
not intended to apply toall growers,
as there are many honorable except
ions-therefore,
Rcsolred,. That in view Of the
many Just causes of complaint from
manufacturers and dealers, that our
wool is greatly degcneratingin con-
dition. wcrecommend to the growers
that they thoroughly tag and wash
tho;r shcen tuh washing the tags