Dividing the United States into its geographic divisions and arranging these divisions in the order of their purebred sheep pro duction, they would rank as follows : Mountain, East North Cen tral, Pacific, West North Central, Middle Atlantic, West South Central, South Atlantic, East South Central and Northeast. The Mountain States lead the country in wool production. In this area is the largest production of fine wool, medium wool being next in importance. The Pacific division ranks third. Fine wool is important in this region, coming from both Rambouillets, and Merinos. Medium wool also plays an important part in the production of this region. The two divisions just described con stitute what is commonly known as the range area of the United States. The estimates of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the year 1928 showed 26,722,000 sheep of the total 47,171,000 for the entire United States to be in these two regions.
In the East North Central States, medium wool, from Down breeds, prevails, although fine wools are important, especially in Ohio and Michigan. In the West North Central division, and in the Middle Atlantic States, the production of medium wool from Down breeds also predominates, although Pennsylvania produces considerable fine wool from Merinos. In the West South Central
States, medium wools prevail with the exception of the western half of Texas. Texas, the largest wool-producing State in the Union, grows mostly fine wool on its western range area and supplies altogether about o% of the total wool of the country.
The South Atlantic States, and the East South Central States, produce, for the most part, medium wool. There is also a con siderable amount of fine wool produced in the northern part of West Virginia, mostly from Merino sheep. In the New England division, the medium wool is mostly from Shropshires, although other Down breeds are represented. While less wool is produced in the New England region than in any other, it was at one time a leading wool-producing area. As a result of the development of the lamb-meat trade, which is associated principally with sheep which produce medium wool, the production of fine and long wool has been decreasing and that of medium wool has been increasing since about 1900. (J. I. H.