Fergus County argus., 1886-10-07
WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
The Greatest Sheep Country in the World.

Hon VIM, Kidd. the intelligent and
clever old gentleman who brought a
band of Spanish Marino bucks into
Pa, IL couple of weeks since, handed
Ills his home paper-The Washington
Daily Reporter-containing an article
on the sheep industry in that county.
We copy the greater portion of it
thinking it may be of interest to our
wool growers:
As progress il made towa rd the center Of
the county the flocks increase in size until
hundreds are seen in single enclosures. In
appearance they are not the Kind of sheep
one would expect to tended by the gem
tie shepherc,ls of Arcadia, for the Washing
ton county animals are Of the most i'm
proved variety nj msrinos and nothing in
the sheep line could havea more unprepor-
sessing look. a black-top merino ram IL
about as unpoetic a looking creature as
can be found in the whole range of natural
history. The pictures of some Of the most
celebrated in the country that bear the
marks of their desccnt from renowned
! spanish ancestors, which are seen suspend
ed in the hotels and other public places,
/ look like huge and shape!ess rolls of wool,
with nothing attractive in their appear
| ance but the immense coats that represent
| their value. One would hardly believe that
| mutton could he subjected to processes
that would bring about such apparent de-
/ formity. But that these sheep are as
valuable as they are ungainly in appear
anre is fully proved by the millions of dol
/ lars that nave Resulted from the sale OF
| their fieeces.
| The wool industry of this county dates
as far back the last century. The cir
cumstances which first turned the atten-
tion Of the people here to sheep raising
/ found such favorable conditions of soil and
climate tEat it took permanent hold and
went On increasing until. ut the lowest
computation, IA million sheep are to-day
grazing in the fields of Washington county.
The early Scotcl-Irish set tiers naturally
directed their first agricultural efforts To
| the raisin! ol grain. In their isolated stu
ations and with their limited means of
/ transportation, they found il difficult To
dispose of their surplus production.
| Under the circumstances what more con
venient way of turning II to profit able ac-
count was presented than by it's conversion
into whisky! This commodity could be
readily noated down the Monong;,hela to
Pittsburgh, which was the head of the
| whisky trade of "a wide extent OF new coun-
try tnat was rapidly filling up with class
| oi settlers who appeared To have II natural
weakness for that beverage. The Wash
ington county settlers were doing their iull
share in aiding to quench the thirst that
prevailed among the hardy f'ontierstnen
when the government interposed with the
imposition of tax on distilled spirits
which, every student Of American his
tory knows, lea To the whisky insurrcction.
The Scotch-lrsh pioneers oi that section.
who were never backward when there was
any fighting to he done, arose as one man
against what they considered ~ tyrannous
cxaction upon the infant industry of
whisky making. But what could they do
in a. contention with the army Of 10000
men which Washington sent against them?
Their disiiileri,s were broken up, and
/. there was no profit in raising grain in those
remote districts unless it could he disposed
of in liquid form, they concluded to turn
their attention to sheep raising, wool
was in demand and could he easily and
cheaply taken to market.
The grass of the country seemed to he
peculiarly ada ptcd to the feeding Of sheep
encoura .ing ev, ntuaily the introduction OF
improved breeds. The undulating surface
afforded admirable ranges. Mr.. William
Brownlee was among tine most intelligent
and entrrprising oil the original shrep
r.tisers, who early 1870 brought II
number of Saxon merinos into the count y,
and from that time there was rapid i'm
provenent in the wool hearing qualities OF
the Washington county Hooks. There is
lbfbittblN part Bl lht country
where tine ticeces are surpassed in length
and iinencss of texture 1T Was for years
the custom of Mr.. Brownlce to write his
name On "a piece of paper cnciose, in
every fleece he seat to llarket. The supn-
riority oi mis- wool attracted attention and
soon won for il "A rrpuiatin among manu-
fact urers that rejected iavors.bly upon the
rltirc product of the county, incrcasing :
both tine demand for it aud the price.
Representatives, nf the great wooden manu-
factories pi the east make annual visits to
the county to secure the highest grades oi
its wool. more recent improvement
wa- brought about by the introduction of
the blaek-top merinos 10y Dickson a
Wells. la addition to their being excellent
wool bearers they are superior asa mutton
producing breed. Their average proiuo-
iion of wool is from Il to ) pounds, greatly
exceeding those of the Saxonies, which is
not more than hall as much, but the aver
ase price Of the latter IL mach greater ia
many instances bringing much as ski y
: cents "a pound. Ia addition to Dickson *
Wells, McssIs. john Mcdowell, Nm Davis,
John g. Clark and other leading farmers
engaged in this interesting busiucs, keep up
the reputation OF the Nashington count Y
Hooks, which contribute about 5000, 400
pounds annually to the wool supply oi the
country. This clement of wealth a. ..edi-
tiDn ,p tine abundant agricultural produc-
tipne of it, fertile iieius, make iMpre,,
iv. showing of the iruitiuln,ss oi this reaiiF ;
magnificent rcsion.