Salt Lake Tribune | 1904-05-18 | Page 1 | Sanpete County Clips 40,000 Sheep

SANPETE COUNTY CLIPS 40,000 SHEEP Price for tlie "Wool Has Banged From 13 1-4 to 14 Cents a Pound. , i Special to The Tribune. MANTI, Utah, May 17. Spring shearing at the corrals west of Manti is completed, with the exception ex-ception of. one herd. All sheep camo in from winter range upon; the western deserts in good condition. About 40,000 head have beem shorn. The estimated weight of the clip is placed at six and one-half to seven pounds per hoad, with prices ranging from 12 cents to 14 cents per pound. This la a reduction) of one-third of the highest number shorn at the same corrals cor-rals in tho past Many of the wool growers have been reducing' the eizo of their flocks In the last year or two. One of the reosoris for this, and' tho main one, was the agitation for Government reserves of public lands, which culminated cul-minated in the Manti reserve. This refcrvo extends frorru the north end of Sanpete county to within three miles of the town of Selina, in Sevier county, about sixtj miles from north to south of what Is considered as the'bc3t portion of the Wasatch range of mountains moun-tains for grazing purposes. About 500,-000 500,-000 head of sheep have grazed thereon in the past. For this year the department has permitted per-mitted 300.000 head, counting the coming com-ing lambs, to graze upon part of the reserve, with tho serious prospects of still larger reduction in the future. The reserve Is considered by the wool growers as detrimental to the industry. But the farmers appear to be satisfied with the results so far, hoping for an increased amount of water ln the future, fu-ture, by allowing vegetation to grow and again cover the mountains, as they were In the beginning. Many of the earlier settlers saj- that their hopes will never be realized1, the history of irrigation irriga-tion showing tlie reverse to be true.