The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1890-08-20


cality. There is no doubt but climate,
soils, feed, breed and knowledge have
almost everything to do with the classes
and nature of wool raised in any coun-
try. A few years ago saw at an exhi-
bition in London samples of 400 differ
ent classes of wool, from the frigid to
the torrid zones. Mr.. Bowman.
FRS, whom / have the pleasure of
knowing, advised the Australian wool
growers to select the special class of
sheep for which their own climate and
surroundings are best adapted, to at
tain the highest perfection in wool,
and that advice is much needed in this
country. The United States raise
great deal of good and useful wool, but
do not raise wool with the same fin
ishing quality as Cape wool; and the
Cape does not raise such staple wool as
Australia or New Zealand East India,
Persia and many other hot countries
raise carpet woods. 1t would be great
mistake for the United States to try to
raise carpet woods as a business, as
they can do so much better; but Mo-
rocco, Persia, India, ETC., can raise no
other, owing to climate. In England
about ninety per cent of all wool grown
is worsted, or combing woods, grown
on mutton sheep of various breeds,
while in the United States about ninety
per cent of the wool is clio thing and only
about ten per cent is combing The great
bulk of the sheep in the United States
are Merino, or crosses with Merino. For
California and most of the prairie states
this is their best policy; but for Virginia,
Maryland, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsyl-
vania, New York and the New England
States | think cross with Merino and
some class of English blooded sheep
would be an improvement, as giving
more worsted, or combing wool, and at
the same time raising a mutton sheep.
In Virginia the English colony have
brought in their English breeds of NUT
ton sheep, and thus will raise large
carcass for mutton and big fleece of
combing wool. AS farmers, they will
make a deal more money than those
men who keep the small, fine-woo
sheep, for the fleece is light and is apt
TO run off into kenny breeches,' and
these sheep are of very little use for
mutton. l have been glad to notice an
improvement in the breed of West
Virginia sheep during the last two
years. There is less kenny breeches'
and not so many of those old dried-up
fleeces. California does not raise one
pound of combing woodland never
ought to-her soil and climate being
best adapted to the Merino sheep. Yer
mont, however, could raise as good
mutton and as good combing wool as
hvNtn ,,A A nd he g.
not the sheep-breeder-for the past
twenty years would have had quick
market for his wool and mutton, and, in
my opinion, would have made twice the
money for himself as has been done
there by the Merino sheep l believe
in the Merino sheep if they are in the
right place. There is no other one
breed which has done so much for the
industries of the world as the Merino.
l do not wish to be misunderstood as
to the Merino sheep; but the place to
raise and keep Merinos, in my judg-
ment, is not near great centers of pop
ulation. They are the right sheep for
California, Texas and the prairie states,
and for River Platte, Southern Russia
and Australia.
VI
raising wool, that will depend on the
adaptability to the same, as we'll as to
competition. l am of the opinion that
competition will increase, and that the
general tendency is to lower prices fol
wool the world over. In the twelfth
century in England the wages of la
horer was one penny a day, but WOO
was worth at the same time four pence
per pound. There the laborer had tC
work sixty days for the value of stone
fourteen pounds) of wool. To-day the
laborer can earn the value of stone OF
wool in four days. An excellent Judge
in England-Isaac Holden, M P
says that, in his opinion, fine unwashed
Merino wool will be raised and sold as
cheap as cotton-say eight to twelve
cents per pound. He claims that Monte
video, River Platte, Southern Russia
and Australia can live at the business
at the prices named, and that competi-
ton will bring down the price yet
lower"
"What do you think of the Nc,
Kinley bill, Mr.. Walworth?"
81 have always been republican
and favor protection for the United
States, but l do not like the Mckinley
bill; it is too extreme and prohibitory
If passed, think it would probably
cause an extreme reaction within two
or six years at most. | should have
preferred to see the tariff equalized
and modified, as we were promised it
would be. AS to wool, the duty on il
at the present values under the Me.
Kinley bill would be sixty per cent.
prefer an ad valorem duty on wool, sc
long as we are to have duty on raw