74 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 



proprietorship of an extensive range at a moderate price he 

 may go higher into the country, where the land belongs to 

 the State. A 640-acre certificate of State land can be bought 

 for about $200, or a certificate of the alternate lands granted 

 to railroads as Jow as $100. Generally, the expense to secure 

 a patent, including certificate and cost of surveying, would 

 amount to about 50 cents to the acre. As two acres are 

 required for a sheep, it will be seen, from the statement of in- 

 crease before given, that the command of a very broad range 

 is required to make the increase available ; and that, with such 

 a command, there are chances for very large profits. The ad- 

 venturer, if he has a family, must place them in some of the 

 towns or villages most convenient to his range. His personal 

 presence on his range will be indispensable for his success, 

 and he will find ample occupation. But he can safely trust 

 the Mexican baccierros, when making occasional visits to his 

 family. 



The advantages of Texas for sheep-growing are now at- 

 tracting persons of experience in Australia, and English and 

 Scotch emigrants with capital. Besides our informant with 

 his 15,000 sheep, there are others in Nueces and Duval Coun- 

 ties with flocks of ten to twenty thousand head. The Calla- 

 han flock, in Star County, the proprietor living at Laredo, 

 numbers sixty thousand head. When we see how rapid the 

 increase is, and that there are 80,000,000 acres of land still 

 unlocated in Texas, we can see that, if there is no legislation 

 to disturb the wool business of the country, and the Mexi- 

 can and the Indian depredations are checked, it will not be 

 many years before Texas will rival Australia. Mr. Shaeffer 

 states, as an illustration of the rapidity with which sheep hus- 

 bandry is advancing in this State, that, in 1876, San Antonio 

 received but 600,000 pounds of wool, which is sent through 

 Galveston. In 1877, she received 2,000,000 pounds. The 

 wool of Nueces and the neighboring counties is shipped from 

 Corpus Christi. In 1866, there were shipped only 600,000 

 pounds. This year there will be shipped 6,500,000 pounds. 



The following statement, illustrative of the profits which 

 may be derived from sheep-growing in Texas, was made to 

 us by Colonel John S. Ford, a State Senator, and formerly a 



