716 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



The sheep industry of Montana is improving daily, and is unques- 

 tionably the leading live-stock pursuit of the State. It is prosperous, 

 and the outlook has not been so bright in years. Where the cattle 

 business has declined sheep are rapidly replacing them, and with in- 

 creased profit to the stockman. The only places where there is a de- 

 cline are in one or two counties where the range is being bought and 

 fenced, and there the small farmers will handle sheep on a reduced 

 scale, like the general farmer in the older States. 



The requirements for profitable sheep husbandry in Montana are to 

 have good sheep, hire good men, and watch both well. Use thorough- 

 bred rams, utilize free range, and provide meadow sufficient to yield 

 40 to 50 tons of hay per 1,000 sheep. A beginner should start with 

 1,500 sheep, provide sheds for winter, and during summer change 

 camps often. Give them plenty of salt and water, arid attend to the 

 business personally. Profitable sheep husbandry in Montana requires 

 careful and prudent management in every part of the business. Loose 

 and careless work will invite, and usually results in, disaster. With 

 a good location as to range and hay, and a prudent management on 

 business principles, the industry can be made to yield profitable 

 returns. 



WHAT THE INDUSTRY REPRESENTS IN NUMRERS AND VALUE. 



According to Montana statistics, compiled from the official records 

 of the several counties, the amount of live stock in the State on Janu- 

 ary 1, 1801, was: Cattle, 649,757; horses, 161,962; sheep, 1,555,116. 

 These were assessed during 1890 for taxation purposes, and while these 

 figures approximate nearer to the actual number than those in the 

 assessment rolls of most of the Western States, yet the natural in- 

 crease, stock driven or shipped in from other States, and the annual 

 sales on dispersion, are not taken into consideration in these records. 

 Hence they are generally understood to be much less than the actual 

 numbers. Of course every stockman, with the consent of the assessor, 

 pays only his proportionate share of the taxes, and no more if he can 

 help it. 



The number and value of Montana live stock, according to the Stat- 

 istician of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, on January 1, 1891, 

 was: Cattle, 966,702, value, $15,216,716; horses, 151,547, value, $5,- 

 978,527; and sheep, 2,089,337, value, $4,948,595, an average price per 

 sheep of $2.37, which is 7 cents less per head than the average assessed 

 value for 1891. 



