Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1891-01-16
VERMONT MERIno SHEEP BREEDERS
ASSOCIATION.
THE PROCEEDINGS OF ITS ANNUAL MEET
ING ON WEDNESDAY.

| ING ON WEDNESDAY.
The annual meeting of the above.
named organization was held at the low.
er room of the town hall on Wednesday
and was well attended. ii. S. Jackman
of Waltham, the president, called the
gathering to order az II o'clock. The re-
port of Secretary Albert Chapman was
called for and was read by him, as fol-
lows:
sECRETARY's REPORT.
Gentlemen ofthe Termont Merino Sheep Breed
| ers' Associ0tion:-Your secretary would here
by submit his fifteenth annual report OF the
present standing of the association and its
work for the past year. In its financial stand.
ing the association has strengthened and i'm
proved and ii is now rs it has heretofore been
on sound footing. There has been an accu.
mutation o cash in the treasury and also of
| the assets of the association. Jan. l. 1889.
there was $2l6.9l cash on hand; Jan |, 1890,
we had accumulated $40 ,.5l more, and during
1880 have added 1892. SO more, nearly twice
what we had "a year ago, the present amount
OF cash on hand being Ss05.95. Our assets are
now S3099.55, a gain over last year of SAP 80,
all but $40 OF the same being cash in the treas.
ury. 1t is a cause tor congratulatlon that we
have continued financially successful and
sound through such a depression as we have
| been passing through, and rs we have reason
to hope that we have probably passed through
| the worst of it.
ally, but the loss OF members that depended
upon some extraordinary boom in Merino
sheep that would create Il demand for almost
| anything that was pure bred, no matter how
| indifferently bred or imperfectly developed,
rather than upon their interest in the business,
can hardly be cause Tor discouragement or
even regret. Such members can hardly be de.
pended upon to give lite and strength to any
association, and their withdra val-or as most
OF them have gone by action of the committee
on pedgrees, must, on the whole, be consid-
cred gain in real strength to the Register.
Since our last annual meeting that committee
have suspended ninety members and dropped
Pa
moved from the membership of the assoca-
ton by the action of those officers. This work
was mainly performed in the closing days
OF the year Fifteen members have Withdrawn
and twelve new ones have been added. Start
ing Il number OF Merino Registers in other
states has of course tended to diminish the
membership in this, and so far as the useful
ness ana strength of this association is con-
cerned this is gain and relieves it OF what
was at one time cause of some anxiety to its
best .friends, who feared that its rapidly IN
creasing popularity and large accession OF
members would make it unwieldly and too
large to manage successfully,
This process can go on still further until all
those members who do not have the conf
dence in their business to breed carefully, de-
yelop their animals properly and have them
in such condition as to attract buyers who are
willing to pay reasonable and profitable
prices for them have given up breeding Meri
no sheep and embarked in other branches OF
farming for which they may be better adapted.
We hear it remarked that the sales are con
fined to few breeders There is large
that those who make these remarks intend to
be understood; it is probably true that so far
as known, those that breed with very little
care or thought for improving their fiOcks
and development OF their animals, and have
them in too poor form to attract buyers are
rarely If ever making sales at profitable prices.
Any one who has taken the trouble to look
over the large list OF sales that have been pub
lished in the Middebury REGISTER the past
tall and this winter, will readily see that the
sales have been general so tar rs ourmember
ship extends and have not been confined to a
few breeders or any particular locality.
1t is undeniable that these sales might have
been much larger had our flocks been in bet
ter condition, for some buyers who sought
sheep OF well developed size and in merchant
able condition have been Obliged to seek
them elsewhere because many of our sheep
have been too indifferently kept to properly
develop their natural size and in too poor
condition to make them hardy and servicea
Bile rs breeders.
The future seems promising for those who
breed with care and judgment and keep lib
orally. While the Australian trade seems to be
increasing there is also a demand at home tor
good sheep at prices better than tor some
time past, but this demand does not extend to
small, poorly developed animals. Those who
cross out to secure size will find that way of
breeding will not prove n profitable substi
tute tor liberal keeping Perhaps this discus
scope of your secretary, but he so often hears
some of our members say the association does
not help them, that he may perhaps he par
doned tor mentioning why we do not receive
t re benefit from ii that they expect.
There is an evil OF which the seer .tary is
justified in speaking, tor it is in plain viola
ton OF the rules. Too many members are not
keeping amy private flock records, and thus
are unable, from their own books, to correct
any errors in their returns or give an individ
ual pedigree OF such sheep they may sell
Individual pedigrees are becoming more and
more in demand by those who are willing to
pay liberal prices tor sheep, and every breed.
er should be able to furnish from his own rec
ords such pedigrce1 on any sheep he sells
While the certificate OF the association is nee.
essaly to guarantee the purity OF blood of
sheep recorded. to furnish the individual ped
igree is the legitimate work OF the seller, and
he should be able to furnish it, as he should
to furnish the individual pedigree OF every
ram he uses tor record in the list OF stock
rams.
There is growing demand for another vol
ume OF our Register, especially without the
State, and your secretary can see no good rea
son why the work OF preparation tor such pub
LEGATION should not be entered upon AT once
18th our present membership the volume or
the ed tion need not be as large nor may II be
wise tor the association to undertake to furnish
every member with IA copy free. but to keep
our standing good and benefit our members
as much rs possible we should issue our next
volume as soon as the work can be properly
performed. To facilitate the work of tracing
pedigrees and make the work perfect as
possible, members should be more liberal in
sending pedigrees to be published in the list
OF stock rams. They would find it greatly to
their advantage If they would have the pedi.
igrees OF every ram they III that list.
Many have found 1t profitable to have the
peulSrets Oh All lne SOOu fitinS tney nleeu IN
serted Breeders can hardly nuke II more
profitable Investment in advertising than to
have n large number OF pedigrees on record
very brief resume OF some Of the work OF
the association during the fifteen years since
its organization may be OF interest and not
out of place in this report. | have not had
time carefully to go over all the books to give
| the items. | do not present exact figures
| Tor each, but have gone over enough to feel
sure that ] do not overstate any OF them.
| Since our organization we have registered
over % 1000 sheep, probably not less than
100000 or an average OF over 1000 per year
Our receipts during that time have been near
| ly S3o.OOO, or over $500 per year on an aver
| age. This is large amount to be collected
| in such small sums as our membership and
| registering fees are paid. Yet during that
time we have RENTED from $4,000 to 10000 in
yearly dues to our members, and given to
each one who had II flock recorded at the time
of publication copy OF each of our volumes,
or about 1000 in all. There has been from
year TO year sufficient money on hand to pay
all bills against the association, the annual
reports, with the exception of one year, al.
ways showing some money in the treasury.
Before closing this report would refer 10
| the passage by congress OF the Mckinley tar.
III bill, the wool schedule in which has been
so framed as to give US hope that we will be
better protected and the fraudulent practices
that have prevailed under the old tariff to de
| Driye OF the protection we were entitled IN