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Show ISfOCK SITUATION IMPROVING IN UTAH More and Better Wool, Higher Quality of Beef and Superior Hogs Are Gradually Gradu-ally Being Brought-About. With limitless range a thing of bygone years, the live stock industry has come to n phase In Utah where progress must be made along the intensive rather than extensive lines, according to experts who hnve made n study of tho situation. Accordingly, J live stock owners are looking to improvement of tho breed. The , effort Is to put more wool of n better quality on the sheep's bnck, I more flesh on the loin of the beef steer and more fnt into the cn-j cn-j tiro makeup of the porker. This has become necessary because of I tho increased cost of care and feed for each individual creature, 'says Dr. F. E. Murray, chief of the Salt Lake City office of the United States bureau of animal Industry. The net result, according to Dr. Murray, will be Increased prof-i prof-i lUf for live stock owners, for the reason that each animal kept will give n greater net return. The wellbred nnimnl will yield a profit, whero the poorlybrcd animnl, the creature of the onetime public range, would prove n positive loss, under modern conditions of stock raising. j Growing Tendency Iu Hotter Grades. Among cattle there Is prospect of early improvement, says Dr. I Murray, because of the state law prohibiting tho running at large I of any male not purebred. This, saya Dr. Murray, must soon work tho elimination of scrub stock. While thcro arc many breeds of purebred cattle competing for favor in Utah today, the Hcrcfords, or whitcfaccd cattle, have tho lead, having proved hardy in this climate and capable of returning n good profit to the raiser. The i tendency in Utah is to give up the old hope of producing an all purpose breed of cattle and to spcclalizo along lines of beef nnd 'dairy breeds, according to the needs of the raiser. Even in breeds (that aro socalled all purpose breeds, tho expert has found that whero a milk strain has been developed it is ultimately to the sacrifice of tho beef producing value of tho stock. In the slice) business, improvement of tho Block is being accomplished ac-complished by the importation of blooded rams. A considerable ,'Btep forwnrd in this work was defeated, or deferred, this year by I tho calling off of the ram sale to have been conducted hero late last nummcr by the National Woolgrowers' association. This sale will probably bo conducted hero during the coming summer, how-lever, how-lever, the foot nnd mouth disease having subsided. Bettering Needs of the State's Sheep. Tho necessity of improvement of the breed of sheep has been ; borno in upon the mind of tho woolgrowcr mora nnd more every year, according to Dr. Murray, because of the continued limitation ' of tho range. The dry farmer is becoming a competitor of the ; woolgrowcr and will become more nnd more a competitor as ho begins be-gins keeping sheep among other nnimals as a menns to turn his 'products Into marketable excellence. Furthermore, tho dry farmer is constantly encroaching upon tho public rangu moro.and , more. The flockmnstcr cannot now find range lor as many head of sheep as formerly and therefore must Insure that each sheep must nay him a greater net return If he Is to get tho usual earning from his flocks. Another thing that has made tho woolgrowcr of Utah realize this year, more than ever before, tho necessity for improvement of his breed of sheep la tho fact that in many Instances the wool clip from inferior breeds brought prices as much as five to ten cents lower than that of the choice purebred animnls. Wool Improved Hy Hotter Breeds. To the general Improvement of tho breed of sheep, farsighted sheepmen are Importing choice loose wool and close wool breeds, nnd producing n crossbred sheep that grows a quality of wool much In demand by tho manufacturers. Wool of this sort was especially es-pecially at a premium during the past season, selling as high as thirty centa a pound, while the finer wools and poorer quality of product generally sold as low as twenty cents nnd even down to eighteen cents. Among the loose wool varieties that are being introduced Into the flocks of tho state by the importation of choice rams are Cots-wold, Cots-wold, Lincoln. Hnmpshlro and Shropshire. Of the close wool varieties, tho Ra.mboulet Is the most popular. This breed, crossed with the loose wool or long wool varieties, produces the fleece which is so highly prized. While tho coyote has been n serious mennco to the sheep industry in-dustry In recent years, the active campaign of extermination started by the federal government at the request of the National Woolgrowers' association bids fajr to be productive of beneficent results. Coyote Chief Enemy of Range Flocks. In addition to this is the fnct that extermination of the coyote is being made necessary for human safety in many of tho Western States because of the outbreak and sprend of rabies nmong the ) animals. Tho prospect, under theso conditions, is that tho chief I enemy of tho range flocks may gradually bo reduced to a position of loss worry to tho grower. Especially high prices were realized by sheepmen this year for their spring lambs, tho prico being eight cents and upward for prime spring lnmbs of Wasatch county. The Heber City lambs, I as thoy havo como to bo known, command top prices in tho Enstcrn i market. The quality of these lambs from tho range of tho Uintah national forest is said to be second to no others produced in the I United States. Ab n result of the high prices paid this year for market lambs, and sheep, the flocks were sold "close," and it is , estimated that tho sheep In tho state now will not number ns mnny I as Inst year at this timo within 5 per cent. , More Feeding Must Come Soon. Altogether, the dawn of an era when livo stock of every kind I will bo fed rather than ranged is Imminent, says Dr. Murray. There will always be some ranges and some stock on them, but the percentage of stock fed at the farms and ranches is sure to Increase In-crease from year to year and the quality of tho brcd to be improved im-proved perforce. Not least among the creatures raised for profit is the swlno. This despised animal promises to be of the greatest assistance In tho fight ngnlnst the alfalfa weevil. Tho great damage to tho alfalfa crop is from the larvae of tho weevil, and Is wrought on the first crop. By pasturing the alfalfa fields during tho first crop with hogs, the work of the weevil is frustrated and tho larvao killed to a great extent, A second crop of hay is then safely harvested. har-vested. The breed of hogs that nre being found most serviceable In this method of raising are the Tamworth nnd tho Duroe Jersey. Roth are good rtistlers,-especially tho Tamworth, which is also very prolific. |