708 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



especially the Shropshire rams. However, the Merino blood predomi- 

 nates and will unquestionably so continue as long as sheep are run in 

 large flocks as at present. These bands number from 1,500 to 3,000, 

 averaging about 2,000 sheep. The number of sheep owned by a single 

 person or firm varies in extent from 1,000 to 50,000. Large holdings of 

 20,000, 30,000, or 50,000 sheep are not numerous, yet there are one or 

 more such holdings in each of the principal sheep counties. It rarely 

 occurs that a regular sheep-owner has less than 2,000 head, and the 

 very large owners are about as numerous as the smaller ones who each 

 own less than 1,000 head. It is seldom that anyone claiming to be a 

 sheep-owner handles less than the average flock of 2,000 head or more. 



The great wealth of grass everywhere prevalent indicates a fertility 

 of soil unusual for this portion of the plains and the Eocky Mountain 

 region. The level and rolling land has a hard, dry soil, either clay or 

 a sandy loam, except in the rougher portions, which are more gravelly ; 

 but generally speaking the soil possesses a sandy character very sim- 

 ilar to all the land lying on the immediate eastern slope of the Eocky 

 Mountains. However, the Montana portion of this arid grazing land 

 has not so great an altitude as the region south to the Gulf of Mexico. 

 Nearly every county has all grades of soil from the rich bottom and 

 bench lands to the rough or rocky hills or mountains. The diversified 

 topography of the country and the natural feed, everywhere more or 

 less abundant, give an adaptiveness to stock-raising in Montana that 

 accounts for the success attained, notwithstanding the severe winters. 



It seems remarkable how well sheep subsist and flourish on the native 

 grasses throughout the entire year. The blue-joint, bunch grass, and 

 what is termed buffalo-grass are common in most counties and are gen- 

 erally mentioned with favor by sheep-owners. But as the subject of 

 Montana grasses is of sufficient importance and extent to require a 

 section of this report it will not be further discussed here. Nature has 

 been kind not alone in the matter of grasses, but in that of other neces- 

 sary element of live-stock husbandry, the water supply, which is avail- 

 able for stock in most localities in rivers, creeks, lakes, and springs. 

 Along most of the streams there is some timber or brush, especially the 

 Yellowstone river, the cottonwood and willows constituting the principal 

 timber. The growth along these streams, as well as the great variety 

 of so-called "sages," afford considerable feed for stock during the period 

 when snow covers the ground. Fortunately the winter grazing lands 

 are covered with snow for only a short period during the average win- 

 ter, but occasionally there is a winter in which the snowfall is excessive, 

 and if the flockmaster has not provided a supply of hay or other feed 

 the loss is quite large. There are sheep-owners who still persist that 

 it is useless to provide winter feed because they have managed to get 

 along so far without recourse to hay or grain, and the ranges reserved 

 for winter use seem to them ample for emergencies. While the loss is 

 heavier some winters than others, they claim that it is not equal to the 



