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Show r "' N- x TT a. rozyc jfjssp s?a tern - s .kfg (n. K V'Hj: ; r- i HEEP raising Is one of the chief ac-uvities ac-uvities of the American rural do-V do-V TH, main, and it is one that has shown a constantly expanding scope year aft-( aft-( S'l er ear- seemingly without much J I regard to the good years and bad V'tep s. which are so visibly reflected in I many of the other occupations of the j e i1"'' farming community. It is interest-ing interest-ing to note that sheep are associated with man in the earliest records of " the human race. They were first used only for milk, and later the skins were used for clothing. Up to about a century and a half ago wool was the primary consideration in sheep raising, rais-ing, but about the time mentioned an Englishman began the first systematic and intelligent improvement improve-ment of mutton sheep and it is a question whether this is not now the most important branch of the industry both at home and abroad. The mutton sheep was rather slow in invading America. The wool-producing Merino (which came originally from Spain) was monarch of all he sur- A i KJiVM. .....- &. &.$:r..r?zJZ A- rOlJYC JfiECP rtAtefJZ a. h I . ' s , OCf OJV rXPCAL fWSfXCO Jftfff S'.'f.-'i' ".t'-A. y SC 'J?AYOYA 'riyi v MEXICO f- V , ''rf , ' j t, 7 a wrsTy? 3J-iP f?Ajyct of fertility, but the same amount of corn converted into mutton mut-ton is claimed not to take from the -land more than $50 worth of fertility, whereas if sold in the form of wool it will not take from the land more than $2 or $3 worth of fertility. - With mutton mut-ton as the primary consideration, however, how-ever, sheep raising will return a satisfactory satis-factory profit year after year without very much regard to the price of wool. In later years the western territory known as the range became the great breeding ground for sheep, and as far back as a - dozen years ago this locality local-ity produced about one-half of the total number of sheep in A difficulty in mutton production has always been the scarcity of .stock sheep, particularly sires, having sufficient merit to. fill the standard of excellence. ex-cellence. The ideal sire, it may be added, should be impressive, resolute and of noble bearing distinctly the head of the flock in every sense of the word. This requirjes, of course, good constt tutional and vital powers. ' It has likewise come to be regarded as essential, essen-tial, as above pointed out, that a mutton sheep should have a good fleece as well as a good carcass. This combination has been proven botti practical and profitable, and It is no longer regarded re-garded necessary to grow one sheep for a fleece, another for a carcass and another for a lamb. An. intelligent;, up-to-date flockmaster combines them all in one class. Some of the best mutton sheep are producing as profitable fleeces as those- kept exclusively for wool and their lambs are decidedly superior. As is well known one of the first essentials es-sentials in a good fleece is compactness or density, den-sity, this quality not only insuring a better yield1 of wool, but also affording better protection1 against storm. This indicates , a hardier animal: and one better able to withstand exposure. It is desirable to have a close, even, dense fleece, with no breaks, cover all parts of the body, Including, the head, limbs and under parts, and the pendency in latter day breeding is toward carrying th fleece more completely over the head, face, limbs and under parts. The far-sighted sheep raiser is also coming to-guard to-guard against neglect or undue exposure OftiiS' flock, periods of sickness, or indeed anything that-- ' will impair the vitality of the animals, for It has), come to be pretty well understood that such in--fluences diminish both the length and strength of fiber and fineness, whereas, length and strength of fiber are essential qualities in a good fleece.. Well-fed sheep always produce the best wool and' the greatest quantity of it, and expert opinion is to the effect that a fleece almost invariably begins to decline in value after a sheep has passed the age of four years. The best grade of wool la invariably found on the rear part of the-shoulder and wrinkles or folds of the skin about the necfe or other parts of the body are detrimental, inasmuch inas-much as the wool that grows within these' folds: is unlike other parts of the fleece and there Is a. consequent lack of uniformity. The proper feeding of sheep is one of the chief-responsibilities chief-responsibilities connected with the industry In' some localities , the "self-feeder" is extensively employed, but in other localities it is not in much' favor. Properly cured alfalfa has come up wonderfully won-derfully m popularity as a food for sheep and many sheep feeders have purchased extensive -areas of alfalfa for use in this connection Many of the large feeders in such states as Nebraska,. Colorado and Minnesota have no shelter for their' flocks, but It Is generally conceded now that properly prop-erly constructed sheds are an advantage although, al-though, of course, involving considerable out lay 'lithe 'li-the case of large feeding yards. Some of th most progressive sheep men now recommend,-feeding recommend,-feeding three times a day, although others still; cling to the old Idea that it is not necessary to-. feed more than twice a day. Along with all those-other those-other requisites for success. In sheep raising thenj-is thenj-is the necessity for the good shepherd of jmlr-raent jmlr-raent and experience. Even on the range where, sheep are supposed to be able to shift for thomi selves there Is a tendency to employ a better-class better-class of men as sheep herders. veyed on this side of the Atlantic for many years and many a farmer paid almost fabulous prices for sheep having no adaptation to anything except wool production. Perhaps this state of affairs was due to the impression that so long held sway that the American people were pre-eminently a nation of pork eaters and had little appreciation for good mutton. Whatever justification there may have been for this in the past it certainly ceased years ago. A depression in the price of wool some Bcore of years ago was very influential in bringing about a change of conditions, and once started the new movement in behalf of mutton sheep swept all before it. Indeed, In-deed, In some years a single market, such as Chicago, has shown a gain of fully a million sheep over the twelve months preceding. Canada sends great numbers of mutton sheep to this country as well as considerable quantities of wool. The experience of later years has proven that the rich lands and abundant feeds of the United States are well suited to the economical production produc-tion of superior mutton and the furthermore mutton mut-ton sheep if properly selected can grow a large part if not all of the wool demanded for American Ameri-can manufacturing. Experts declare that there is no greater error than the impression on the part of many people that sheep are suited only to inferior in-ferior land. To be sure, sheep, unlike some other animals, can get along on scanty vegetation, and consequently will graze profitably on semi-arid land, but on the other hand they render an especially es-pecially large return for a liberal ration of good i foods. As showing how much more appreciation of this fact there is in other countries than in the United .States it may be cited that recent statistics statis-tics showed that there were not to exceed 25 sheep per thousand acres of land in our leading agricultural states, whereas in England the high-priced high-priced agricultural lands sustain an average of 6S0 sheep per thousand acres, and in Scotland there may be found as high as 1,380 sheep re thousand acres. The champions of scientific agriculture in the United States are just now striving earnestly to Impress our farmers with the fact that it would be better to convert their surplus grain products into meats, such as mutton (at least tn the extent of supplying home demands) than to export the corn and other grains as such. For example, it is claimed that to raise $1,000 worth corn takes 'rom the soil producing the crop about $300 worth the United States. As our readers know the crowding of the cattle out of many section of the range by the sheep has been attended by much bitterness and controversy. There are three principal prin-cipal species of range sheep. The old Mexico sheep are the direct descendants of the original Spanish Merinos, brought over two hundred years ago by the Spaniards in Old Mexico. They have long legs; a long, thin body, and the wool is fine and thin. They are hardy, excellent travelers and will keep In good condition ,on the poorest and driest of ranges. Often they outsell all other sheep, for the meat has an excellent flavor and the hide is thin, firm and soft. These original Mexican sheep have been largely graded with Merino Me-rino rams in New Mexico and southern Colorado. The New Mexico ,sheep, as they are denominated, are small-bodied sheep, and although they never grow very large they get very fat. They bring good prices, for the same reasons that obtain in the case of the Mexican sheep above mentioned. Merinos are also to be found on the range in great numbers, many of. them having been bred from Merinos brought from the east. The lambs are short-legged and not as good travelers as the southern sheep, but they need not be, for Wyoming, Wyom-ing, Idaho, etc., have, on the average, better ranges than are to be found in New Mexico, and it is in these northern states that the Merinos hold sway. Almost all range sheep are affected with scab, though it is frequently co held In check as to be scarcely noticeable. As a remedy it is the general practice, to ''dip" all range sheep, and this operation, opera-tion, as carried on extensively on a large sheep ranch is decidedly picturesque. Oftentimes It is deemed necessary to give the same sheep several dippings at intervals of ten days, and occasionally occasional-ly this dipping is done In zero weather. On the large ranches there are specially constructed dipping dip-ping vats with runways for Ihe sheep as they approach ap-proach and leave the vats, etc. Various ingredients ingredi-ents are used In the preparation ' of the dips, among the most popular being lime, sulphur and tobacco. As is well known, the American market has become be-come the most discriminating in the world on beef products and is rapidly coming to demand a corresponding superiority In mutton. Consequently Conse-quently farmers and ranchers realize the necessity neces-sity of selecting the best sheep. The value of Improved Im-proved blood In sheep has come to be realized. |