Democratic Sentinel, Volume 7, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 August 1883 — Where Sheep Are Kept. [ARTICLE]

Where Sheep Are Kept.

According to the last census the number of sheep in the United States in 1880 wgs 49,192,092, including the number estimated in on the great Western ranches. Ohio reports the largest number of any Strte, having nearly 5,000,000 sheeps shearing over 25,000,000 pounds of wool. California comes next, with- over 4,000,000 sheep, shearing nearly .17,000,000 pounds of wool, beside half as much more at the fall clip that was not accounted for in the June enumeration. Michigan stands third, with 2,189,389 sheep, producing nearly 12,000,000 pounds of wool. New York and Pennsylvania each prodjice over 8,000,000 pounds of wool; Missouri and Wisconsin 7,000,000 pounds each, and Texas nearly as many, beside the fall clip, which would make .her product nearly equal to that of Michigan; Illinois, Indiana and Oregon shear about 6,000,000 pounds each. Vermont, with 439,870 sheep, had 2,551,113 pounds of wool, but was exceeded by Maine, whose clip was 2,776,407 pounds from 565,918 sheep. Of the other New England States, New Hampshire, with her 211,825 sheep, produced 1,060,589 pounds of wool; Connecticut had 59,431 sheep, clipping 230,133 pounds of wool-, and Massachusetts had 67,979 sheep, shearing 299,089 pounds of wool. Comparing the number of sheep in the New England States with the number of inhabitants, we find that Rhode Island has one sheep to every seventeen inhabitants; Connecticut one to ten, and Massachusetts one to twenty-six, while Maine has six sheep to seven inhabitants, and Vermont three sheep to every two of her population. Forty-five years ago Massachusetts had one sheep to about two of her inhabitants, or 325,841 sheep to people.