The history of the sheep industry began in Central Asia about 10,000 years ago. It's the nature of sheep to flock together. Early man could take sheep in his travels, because they are efficient grazers, and able to survive on sparse vegetation. Man had discovered the value of the sheep as a two product animal even then. It could provide two of life's essentials, meat and milk for food, and hides for clothing and shelter. The earliest sheep producers used the fleece as a kind of tunic. It wasn't until 3500 BC that man learned to spin wool. (Channing 110)

Sheep helped make the spread of civilization possible. Once man had discovered the warmth and usefulness of wool clothing, they could travel and live in comfort beyond the plains of Mesopotamia, where the average temperature was 70 degrees. (Bishop 12) History has many references to sheep. In Genesis, it is recorded that Able kept sheep, Exodus states "all of the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue and of purple and of scarlet." The earliest of Egyptian history speaks of wool, pieces of wool and clothing have been found in tombs of Egyptian Pharaohs. (Channin

At the same time emerging countries were becoming competitors for world markets, particularly in America.

Sheep were also an important source for food in the New World. In 1493 Columbus included sheep among the livestock he took to Cuba and Santo Domingo. In 1519 when Cortez began his expedition, he took with him the offspring of Columbus' sheep as a walking food supply. These sheep were not the famous Merino but large coarse-wooled Spanish "Churros" developed for meat instead of wool. (Channing 49)

Today the sheep is still valued greatly for the wool and meat it produces. A unique natural resource, the sheep converts forage more efficiently than any other ruminant, and forages where other animals can't. With sheep in our 50 states, they fill our needs today just as they filled the needs of the stone age man.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Central Asia, Elizabeth Henry's, Edward III, Virginia Today's, Island Gradually, Arizona California, Mount Vernon, Louis XVI, Constantinopal Saracens, South Africa, wool industry, wool production, history sheep, sheep wool, merino breed, wool channing, sheep english, mount vernon, growth weaving, inaugurated suit,
Approximate Word count = 1648
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)