Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1869-03-12
Grafton industrial Association.
sIIIsE?.

discussion. Would / be expedient at
the present time to exchange our merino
sheep for those producing combingwoo
C. S. White, in opeiing the discussion,
remarked that wool growing is the prin-
cipal pursuit of the State. More money
has been made from tbs, than from any
other one production. Although at the
present time, wool-groSing is not as prof
liable as it sometime; has been, 1t will
without doubt be better in few years.
In raising sheep, vol is the first OBJ
iect, to that we must box for the princi-
pal profit, mutton being but a seconds
ny matter In quantity and quality of
wool, no sheep canconpute with the me-
rino.
The combing wool may equal the me-
rino in quantity of fleece, but the costof
keeping the large sheep is much greater.
A coarse wool that viii shear six pounds,
will weigh $50 pounds, while a merino
that will shear the same amount, will
weigh but rs pounds, therefore it will
cost twice as much to produce coarse or
combing wool as to produce fine wool, or
in other words two pounds of fine wool
can be produced at the same expense as
one pound of combing wool. For fine
wool we have o home market, for coarse
wool we have not.
We admit that the combing wool sheep
excel for mutton, but the merinos make
very good mutton, and in wool and NUT
ton combined, the merinos excel the 9th
er breeds. In fine wool sheep, Vermont
leads every other State, her breeders
have been at great expense in bring
ing the merino up to its present state OF
perfection, and we can i'll afford to relin-
quish what has been gained. If there
should be a general change, there would
be glut of combing wool in market,
and it would command but small price
while there would be no material for the
manufacture of those cloths required
for mems clothing, such as doeskins cas-,
sinners, &c. Mr.. Whites experience il
keeping coarse woods, has been limited
He once had a smut nosed, long legged
coarse wool, light shearing, high jumping
specimen of some breed or other, which
he got rid of as soon as possible, resolv
ing thereafter, that it was expedient fol
him to stick to merinos.
j. d. Pettingill spoke in substance a
follows / think it would be expedien
| for the farmers of Vermont, to enter more
largely into the production of combing
wool sheep, because in the production Of
c0mbing wool sheep, because in the pro-
duction of combing wool and mutton
larger profits would berealized than from
| the merino. All coarse wool is not comb
ing wool there is vast difference be-
tween the combing wool sheep of the
present time and such rangers as Mr..
White has just spoken of, such sheep do
not properly come into this discussion.
Among the breeds best adapted to the
production of combing wool, are the
Leicester and the Cotswold shall
speak in favor of the cotswold, because
they are perfectly hardy, easily kept, 0.
very peaceable habits, shear heavy
fleece of superior combing wool, are early
matured, and produce an abundance o
most excellent mutton. This breed orig
mated on range called the cotswolC
hills in England, country as bleak anC
cold as can be found in that kingdom
therefore we may infer that they az
hardy enough for our climate. | have
small flock of Cotswolds which are NOR
peaceable than any merinos l ever KEEP
Some fine wool sheep have run in th
same pasture with them, but the Cotswol
have always kept in the best condition
Sheep do not consume food in proportio
to live weight, but according to constitl
ton, disposition tendency to fatten, &,
The Cotswold has strong tendency t
lay on flesh, and fat thereby, increasin
in weight and value, while the merir
though it produces a good fleece, secrets
9 an enormous quantity Of yolk, gum {
grease which is of no commercial valu
but requires good deal of food in i
formation.
The principal object of the breeder,
combing wool sheep, is the mutton Il
wool though at present prices very pro
table is with them a secondary matte
Early dropped Cotswold lambs, will weie
+, in June, sixty pounds each, worth at tn
season five dollars. Yearling cotswo
will weigh $50 pounds each.
, In fattening, the large breeds ga
y much more in proportion to the amou
=. of food consumed than the merino.
prove this Mr.. Pettingill referred to Il
following experiment of Jurian VIM
: of Albany County N. Y, which was co
! Quoted for the purpose of setting at re
tho claim, oftnn % I,,onaoI e..