Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1871-09-30
Stock Raisins.
SOUND ADVICE.


Randall gives in the Rurd Nc'C Yorker, the
following sensible reply:
There is no doubt that the interests of in
dividuals and the public require an extension
of mutton and long wool production, and the
rapid extension which has taken place since
the enactment of the tariff of 1867 has pro-
ceeded on the solid basis of demand and sup
ply. And there is II margin yet to be filed in
the supply. 1t does not yet meet the demand.
The tariff of 1867 came to build up the coarse
wool and thereby the mutton interest; it only
came to save the fine wool interest from i'm
pending destruction. 1t found the domestic
supply of combng woods wholly inadequate
to meet the domestic demand-but ahandful,
so to speak, of combing wool sheep in the
country-and no excess of foreign COMPETE
ton to squeeze down prices. On the other
hand, it found the country overstocked with
woolens sufficient to keep down prices for two
or three years, the supply of fine woods of
the quality chiefly consumed exceeding the
existing demand, and foreign competition
(fostered to enormous dimensions by our
war demand) so excessive that the foreign
grower, shut out by our tariff, was compelled
to glut the markets of Europe with wool at
prices unremunerative to himself, but which
enabled the European manufacturer to COM
extent which still injuriously affected the
price of our domestic fine woods.
This state of things was necessarily tram
sicnt one, if the wool and wooden tariff con-
tinued to stand-for the foreign grower would
not and could not continue to produce woods
without profit. He kept up the struggle,
however, in the hope that our tariff would,
as usual be soon repealed or modified The
skin wool evasion, until it was stopped, gave
him II strong CLEAN of hope, and prolonged
the struggle But the signs now are that it
is beginning to draw to close.
BY the above general and many minor in
cidcntal causes, the mutual relations of prices
between coarse and fine woods have been up
set. Coarse woods have obtained an unpre-
cedented ascendency in prices. And the
multitude, rs usual, are ready to believe that
what has been cup" in the market for two
OF three years will always be up-and what is
"down" will stay down. Consequently
there is II mania for English sheep, and the
fancy is widely entertained by that floating
mass of specializing farmers who always
chase the last new thing and ride the last
new hobby, that the Merino is to be wholly
superseded by the mutton sheep in this coun.
try-that the former Is played out" What
would be the value of mutton in our markets
if i'll the sheep in our country were muttor
sheep? What would be the price of combinl
woods, if our whole product was combine
wool? The last question becomes more sig
nilicant when we consider that the consump
ton of combing wool reaches only about one
fifth the consumption of clothing wool.
If the wool and wooden tariff stands, boil
industries will ultimately flourish, and the,
will assimilate nearer together in profit u
the proportion of supply to the demand il
each assimiates. There is room for both
Essentially there is no competition between
them. Nay, we believe they aid each other
We will now answer our first question
"Shall Merino growers stick to their sheep?