748 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



short grass is so nutritious that sheep are fat in the fall, and good mutton the year 

 around. Farmers readily make 100 per cent per annum. I expect sheep will go 

 down in price when the number shall be largely increased. The only thing that 

 holds the farmers of North Dakota from putting iu-a mutton sheep is the high price 

 $3.50 to $4 per head for first-class two-year olds. Sheep brought from Michigan have 

 by actual test increased from 6 to 8 pounds per head. Most of our sheep come from 

 Montana and are Merino grades, and are being crossed w r ith Shropshire bucks. 



H. D. Carpenter, Hope, Steele County : 



As regards the matter of turning a ram with ewes, we take him each morning and 

 serve him to them; then keep him away and feed well. One year ago I came here; 

 used an Oxford ram that served 200 ewes. This year two rams served 300 ewes, 90 

 yearlings among the number, and every one of them bore lambs, most of them rais- 

 ing their lambs. A man 6 miles south of here had 200 Montana ewes and only 1 

 buck. He has a fine lot of lambs this spring. I have a fence 12 feet high. I feed 

 my sheep out of doors all winter, with the exception of five or six days, but people 

 must have shelter in this country so they can use it in case of a bad storm. We 

 feed on an average every winter three months, some more and some less, but will 

 average three months. I sell my lambs to a butcher here for $4.50 each. He sold 

 25 out of one car at $5 per head. The remaining 75 dressed 60 pounds each. 



Watson E. Boisey, Bellevyria, Steele County: 



We have passed the trying part of the year and are pretty unanimously of the 

 opinion that sheep can be raised here very cheaply that they do splendidly, being 

 very free from disease, so that we have a low death rate, and the profits, perhaps, 

 above the average, as they seem to grow longer wool and heavier fleeces. There 

 seems to be a premium on Dakota-raised mutton. They will keep fat on our very 

 nutritious prairie grasses, of which there is an abundance for pasturage, and they 

 will pick their living most of the winter, as there are few days that they can not 

 run out at le'ast a part of the day. It seems to be the general opinion that a very 

 much larger number of sheep will be raised in the Dakotas in the near future. A 

 liberal discounting of our expectations still leaves the likelihood that with a reason- 

 able amount of care we can hardly fail to be successful in this enterprise. 



W. K. Wheat, M. D., Dickinson, Stark County: 



It has been only three or four years since any attention was given to sheep indus- 

 try in this county, but it has rapidly developed from a few hundreds at first to a 

 number of thousands at this time. Last year there were shipped by rail from Dick- 

 inson, on the Northern Pacific Railroad, 66,000 pounds of wool, last year's clip. For 

 this year it is estimated that at least 100,000 pounds of wool from this county alone 

 will be shipped to market, the product of this year's clip. All who have ventured 

 in the sheep industry are satisfied with their results and believe that it will in the 

 near future be the leading industry of this section of the State. My personal expe- 

 rience is quite limited. Last fall I bred my ewes to thoroughbred imported Hamp- 

 shire Down bucks, and have several hundred lambs of their get this spring. They 

 are well marked, large, and vigorous. I believe the Hampshire, for this section, to 

 be the best sheep for mutton and wool combined, if profits are the desideratum. 



George W. Patrick, Taylor, Stark County: 



If the present prices can be maintained upon wool there will be considerable profit 

 in raising sheep. No doubt the flocks will be doubled this year. There are some 

 who will not bo successful in raising sheep, because they will not use the care, 

 patience, or knowledge in handling them that the animals require. Sheep require 

 more humane handling than cattle or horses. One of the greatest difficulties is the 

 prevention of scab. The laws were not stringent enough the past year, and a great 



