406 MANAGEMENT ON RANGES IN THE WEST 



camps of the Northwest which are probably unknown in the 

 majority of camps in the Southwest. Some of these articles are 

 butter, eggs, honey, canned goods such as peas, beans, high-grade 

 fruits, and maple syrup. It is a common saying, more or less 

 seriously intended, that the bills of fare in the sheep camps of the 

 Northwest are of better quality and of greater variety than those 

 in the best hotels in the larger cities of that region. 



Labor Required to Handle a Band of Sheep in Shearing and 

 Lambing Seasons. Shearing is always done at so much per head 

 by parties who make it a business. The cost varies a great deal, 

 according to the region in which the shearing is done and the kind 

 of sheep to be shorn. Extra charge is made for sheep having many 

 wrinkles in the skin and double charges are usually made for 

 shearing rams. In 1911 the cost of shearing, including all expense, 

 ranged from 8 to 18 cents per head. The cost now ranges from 

 12 to 27 cents or even more. 



Lambing extends over a period of from 4 to C> weeks. The 

 amount of labor required to lamb a band of 1250 ewes depends 

 both on the efficiency of the laborers and on the conditions under 

 which the lambing is conducted. The minimum number required is 

 two and the maximum ten. During the lambing period the rate 

 of wages is higher than for the remainder of the year for both 

 regular and special employees because at that time laborers arc 

 scarce and the nature of the work requires extra hours. 



Ranch Headquarters are maintained in cases where the hold- 

 ings of sheep are large, and various other laborers aside from 

 herders and camp-tenders are required for such tasks as making hay, 

 seeing after watering places, cooking, etc. Then, too, a superin- 

 tendent is usually required for a large holding. 



Although the scale of wages is hardly less than thirty per cent 

 higher at the present time, the report made by the Tariff Board 

 in 1911 showing the wages per month, including board, paid in 

 the different western states to the various employees connected with 

 sheep ranching is, nevertheless, of interest. 



Since the number of sheep to one man is also indicated in 

 the tabulation, one sees that what may be comparatively cheap 

 labor when based on per man per month is dear when based on 

 the number of sheep one man is able to handle. The conditions under 

 which sheep herders and camp-tenders live undoubtedly add to the 

 cost of labor, for their nomadic living causes a great deal of waste, 

 and their type of living attracts only a few peculiar types of mind. 



