SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOU'l if. 00 



remembered that when a prairie is belted round by population, and de 

 pastured by numerous flocks and herds, its better grasses at least fox 

 sheep would be soon exterminated, and, consequently, though there 

 might be ten or fifty thousand acres of common and free pasturage, it 

 would be of trifling avail to the flock-master. 



But taking this privilege for what it is worth, and taking into account 

 the difference in the price of lands calling one $1 25, and the other. $2C 

 per acre and then, in my judgment, the Eastern will prove cheaper, all 

 things considered, than the prairie lands, for Sheep Husbandry. I speak, 

 of course, of the prairies as wholes not of that narrow margin of each, 

 which is attached to the farms lying partly on the outer and wooded lands. 



The prairies must first be plowed, undoubtedly,* to seed them down ef- 

 fectually with the cultivated grasses. It requires from four to six yoke of 

 oxen, says Mr. Solon Robinson, to break up from one to one and a half 

 acres per diem. Suppose we concede this expense to be paid for by the 

 first grain crop used as a covering for the grass ; then the prairies are to 

 be fenced adequate buildings and other fixtures provided, for the use of 

 u family, the storage of hay, the shelter of animals, &c. Where are the 

 materials for these things and for fuel to be found, on a plain wholly desti- 

 tute of trees, unless on the occasional " islands" and where stones are 

 entirely wanting, excepting sparsely scattered bowlders, and, very rarely, 

 rocky ridges or cliffs ] Conceding that all the wood on the margins of the 

 prairies will not be wanted for the local supply which, as a general thing, 

 it undoubtedly will what would be the cost of fences, buildings and fuel, 

 where every stick was transported from three to fifteen milest by landi 

 carriage ] Fuel, it has been said, can be obtained from the local deposi- 

 tions of coal. It is true that Illinois and south-western Indiana, at least,, 

 constitute one vast coal basin. But any one possessing the slightest prac- 

 tical accjuaintance with the subject, knows that it requires associated, ag- 

 gregate and corporate wealth, to carry on mining operations to an extent 

 sufficient to steadily and efficiently supply a considerable market. Even* 

 in a level country where coal is covered with a deep superficial deposi- 

 tion of earth, individuals may, where the stratum is cut through or uncov- 

 ered in ravines or the beds of streams, quarry their own coal ; but such* 

 opportunities are rare. The idea that individuals would find it within the- 

 compass of their means to sink vertical shafts and raise coal each one: 

 for himself on the bosoms of the prairies, is utterly preposterous. Coal 

 has never yet borne a price in our cities, which would justify even Compa- 

 nies in lifting it by vertical shafts. Let the coal, however, be as cheap a 

 it may be, at the points of excavation, the mere cartage of it, for the 

 wants of a five-months winter where the thermometer frequently indi- 

 cates a degree of cold from 5 to 30 below will be an onerous tax. 

 on agricultural industry. And canals can never furrow the bosoms of 

 most of those vast dry plains ; and ages must elapse before railroads wills 

 so interlace them, as to bring coal cheaply within the reach of population 

 scattered over their entire surfaces. 



If we suppose that adequate buildings can be constructed, with suffi- 

 ient economy, with transported timber, the question still remains, What! 

 esource is there for fences ] Fences of earth have been proposed, but these 

 will not stand long enough to pay for building, unless their sides are con- 

 structed at such an angle as would be wholly inadequate to " turn " sheep 

 Hedges, besides the other considerable expense of cultivating them, would 



* I have seen it stated that the seeds of the cultivated grasses would "catch " sown on the surface of the 

 prairie sod ! That they would do this effectually and generally, is an assertion which no practical far-? rr 

 will credit. 



1 1'rairies are from one to thirty mQes in diameter. 



