River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1910-06-16

The Southdowns, Shropshire, Hampshire
Downs. Oxford Downs and Dorsets are among
the better-known short-wool sheep. The Dorset
staple is the shortest.
The Cheviot is the best known among the
mountain breeds. The Cheviot is sometimes
called middle-wool sheep.
The French Deeds best known the
Chole2aise which carry good fleece, the Lar
FAC short. thick-set animal with long-fbered
but rather scanty wool, the Berrichome du Gre
van, better known for it's heavy milking quail
ties than for wool, and the Manchamp sheep,
known as La Chamois, which produces most
excellent long and fne-fbered combing wool.
In addition to the domestic sheep introduced
into America by the English, Spanish and Portu-
guese settlers South America possesses group
of wool-bearing animals which are native to the
country. This group, the auchenia, is one of the
two branches into which the existing genera OF
the family of the camelidae is, divided. The 9TH
er branch is the camel (camelus) of the Old
World.
Most authorities agree in dividing the au-
chenia into four Species the guanaco, the vtcuna,
the llama and the alpaca. The two last named
are not known in the wild state, but were do
mesticated by the native Indians long prior to
the coming Of the Spaniards to South America.
There is no reason to doubt that the guanaco
and the vicuna might also be brought under sub
lection.
The vicuna is a smaller animal, about the
size Of the fallow deer. 1t is found in the high
mountains of Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador seldom
descending below $4,000 feet. Although it may
be tanned, 1t is to all intents and purposes a
wild animal 1t yields exceedingly fine and
delicate wool of reddish-yellow color, which
is worth about twice as much as alpaca
The alpaca was the wool-producing animal of
the Incas, as it is yet of most of the people of
the Andes and the west coast Of South America
It is found principally in Peru and Bolivia, but
does not thrive below about 5000 feet
All of the South American countries are pro-
ducers of wool from the domestic sheep, and
most of them are exporters to a greater or less
degree; but the recent development of the sheep
industry in Argentina Uruguay, and Chile lends
a particular interest to South America as pur-
veyor of this one of the worlds staple articles
of trade.
The annual wool clip of Argentina for the sea-
son of 1849-5O was 100000 Kilograms, 17.6O0O00
pounds. This respectable showing for the
time and gave Argentina a position OF Nnpor-
lance in the wool trade. The wool, however, was
a coarse grade, most of it what is known to the
trade as Cordova used by worsted spinners for
carpet yarns. In so years the industry had In
creased thirtyfold so that the clip of the year
1S9919e0 was 2390OO.O0O Kilograms 100000
pounds This represented about onefourth Of
the worlds production The quality of the wool
meanwhile had improved.
recent census of the country (1908) shows
67,211,754 sheep. 1t Is almost impossible for TIE
mind to grasp these figures, but some idea ot
their significance can be gained when it is stated
that eff the animals were assembled in gigan-
tic drove, IL abreast, they would reach across
the continent from New York to San Francisco"
This places Argentina second to Australia, which
leads the world with over S3,10O,0O0 the United
States third, with about 56,000,000, and England
fourth, with about 100000.
The export of wool from Argentina for the
year 1908 amounted to 3S6.1S3.OOO pounds.