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Mr. Williams remarked that about two years ago he had 

 been suddenly awakened one night by an animal jumping 

 through the sash into his sleeping room. Upon getting up 

 he discovered it was one of his sheep, and when he went out 

 of the house, he found that the dogs were after his flock. 

 In the morning he ascertained that nine of them were killed. 

 Such losses had deterred him from extending his business in 

 wool growing, although on several accounts he preferred 

 sheep. They destroyed more weeds and sprouts on new 

 pasture lands, and do not injure the soil by tramping. But 

 he had no information by which to determine the compara- 

 tive value of sheep with other stock. 



Horses and mules are now regarded the most profitable on 

 account of the high prices of these animals. But to enter 

 into this business extensively, a farmer would have to keep 

 many more brood mares than he could profitably use on his 

 farm, and then the profits would be greatly diminished by 

 the outlay for keeping the mares. 



Mr. Nelson said that he thought sheep or horses more 

 profitable stock than cattle. When considerable numbers 

 were raised, horses were more hardy than cattle, and conse- 

 quently, the loss by death was much less. Although there 

 was some difference in the value of food consumed by a horse 

 until he is two or three years old and a steer of the same 

 age, yet the former would sell for three or four times as nmch 

 as the latter. But he concurred in the opinion expressed by 

 Mr. Williams, that if more brood mares have to be kept than 

 can be used, then the profit of horse raising is considerably 

 reduced, unless under peculiar circumstances such as existed 

 in some parts of Allen county. The gentleman who now 

 occupies the chair has large numbers of horses graz/mg on 

 prairies, and they cost him so little that he seldom .;ees them 

 for a whole season. Another farmer of that county has 

 about one hundred which range on the prairies during the 

 grass season, and in winter he feeds them on hay, using them 

 for trampling out his wheat. He sells yearly about a thou- 



