WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 733 



September, and its succulence and nutriment are undoubtedly superior to tamo 

 grasses: for the experiments of feeding a ton of prairie grass and a ton of timothy 

 shows that the prairie grass is eaten up clean and has more nutriment. At any time 

 in the winter an examination of the roots of buffalo grass shows it alive and green. 

 Nowhere in the world do the native grasses grow with such luxuriance and richness, 

 and cattle in the winter have a variety of feed to choose from. The most common, 

 however, are the buffalo, gramma, and the blue-stem varieties. Snows are very light, 

 rarely remaining on the ground more than a few days at a time. 



In order that the readers of this report may have a clear view and a 

 definite idea of the progress of the industry in the eastern part of the 

 State, the following communication, received from Watson E. Boisey, 

 Bellevyria, Steele County, K Dak., is submitted, omitting such por- 

 tions as are not pertinent. Mr. Boisey writes: 



My experience has been short, but the results have been such as to encourage me 

 to raise sheep on a larger scale. The most flattering prospects of success attend the 

 efforts of any one who will give the sheep good feed and reasonable care. It has 

 been evident for some time that we farmers in the rolling section of North Dakota 

 can not depend wholly on wheat raising for a living. Some years the crop is profit- 

 able, some years not. On this account some settlers have been sold out and have left 

 the State ; others have left before being driven out, and now the attention of quite a 

 number of those who remain has been attracted to the sheep industry in this county 

 only as an adjunct to wheat raising. Until last fall there were only two men in 

 this (Steele) county who had sheep in any number. H. D. Carpenter, of Hope, has 

 be. i n raising them for five or six years. He began with 50 sheep, and has bought 

 twice since. Last fall he sold 90 lambs for $400. He had about an equal number of 

 ewe lambs, which he kept, as has been his practice each year. He now has about 

 300 ewes, and lambs almost too numerous to count. He told me that his wool yield 

 last year, from 160 to 170 sheep, was worth about $260, making a total income of about 

 $1,060 from the 160 to 170 sheep. He has raised sheep nearly all his life, having de- 

 voted considerable attention to them in northern Vermont before coming to Dakota, 

 and he takes to it naturally. He takes pains to have fine bucks (he uses the Oxford 

 Down), and only lets them cover a few ewes per day perhaps ten so the lambs are 

 strong. In the lambing season he or his men are with the sheep day and night. He 

 is the only man in the county who devotes his entire attention to sheep and feed 

 lor them, and this only the past year or two. 



T. J. Foster, also of Hope, N. Dak., has about 300 ewes. It is about three years 

 since he commenced with them. He is raising Shropshires and is having good suc- 

 cess. Quite a large number of Norwegians in the northern part of the county have 

 had one or two apiece simply to produce wool for stocking yarn. But three poorish 

 crops in succession turned our farmers' attention to sheep raising, and quite a num- 

 ber last fall bought small flocks of from 25 to 100. One man, Nels P. Rasmusson, 

 of Barnes County, got about 1,500, of which he keeps 1,200 in this county. Nearly 

 all have been very fortunate here in wintering their sheep, and are doing well with 

 lambs. 



As not many of the railroad sections here in the Northern Pacific land grant are 

 under cultivation, there is ample pasturage, and the sheep do very well on our nu- 

 tritious prairie grass. As they are extremely fond of wild buckwheat, they will 

 prove very valuable in helping us to rid our lands of that pest, at the same time 

 enriching the land. I feel quite enthusiastic about this industry, as we can still 

 raise nearly, if not quite, as much wheat as before, and keep a good flock of sheep 

 besides. Where there is a scarcity of prairie hay to be cut, millet can easily be 

 raised. I wintered my sheep on millet with an occasional feed of rutabagas. With 

 millet and rutabagas no grain will be needed, at least not till the lambing season. 



