854 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



mountain ranges the Iron and Ozark mountains in the extreme south. 

 The uplands cover more than half this section. West of the Ozark 

 region the prairies are undulating, and the valleys of the rivers both 

 wide and deep. The principal rivers are the Mississippi, which washes 

 the entire eastern boundary of nearly 500 miles, and the Missouri, 

 which enters the State at Kansas City and flows east and southeast 

 until it unites with the Mississippi a few miles above St. Louis. Both 

 rivers have numerous tributaries within the State. 



The range of temperature is great, and the climate is subjected to 

 frequent changes. The summers are hot, and the winters short, but 

 not severe. The annual mean temperature of the State is 55 5 that of 

 spring, 56 ; summer, 76; autumn, 55 ; and winter, 39. Southerly 

 winds predominate, and the annual rainfall is about 32 inches, the 

 greatest precipitation being in May. 



The State contains much rich land, well adapted to the growth of the 

 cereals. The bottom land of the southeastern counties and the up- 

 lands of the north and northwest are remarkable for their fertility, 

 yielding from 40 to 80 bushels of corn per acre, and in exceptional 

 years even exceeding these figures. The extensive prairies of the north 

 and west afford excellent pasturage, but have comparatively little 

 timber. The southeast is heavily timbered. 



As showing something of the bountiful resources of the State, I quote 

 from the report of Willard C. Hall, labor commissioner, a summary of 

 the surplus commodities marketed during the year 1890, as follows: 

 685,585 head of cattle, 1,965,614 hogs, 70,664 horses and mules. Sixty- 

 four counties marketed 224,246 head of sheep, valued at $3.75 per 

 head. Of farm products: wheat, 8,407,000 bushels; corn, 6,898,620 

 bushels; oats, 5,375,400 bushels; and 121,182 tons of hay. 



J. B. Bothwell, Breckenridge, Mo., one of the very best and most ex- 

 tensive breeders of Merino sheep, says: 



I have made sheep-raising a specialty for twenty-eight years. I think there will 

 be double the number of sheep in Missouri ten years hence. People are slowly find- 

 ing out that they pay better th:m any other branch of fanning, and build up the 

 farm in a way nothing else does; but to handle sheep successfully is a trade that 

 must be learned. We have sold more sheep this year than any year before. There 

 has been an unusual demand for breeding ewes at liberal prices, ranging from $4 to 

 $6. Good sheep well handled have always paid in Missouri and always will, but 

 they require more attention and more skill in handling than the average man is will- 

 ing to apply to them. It is too small a business for most farmers to study up. In 

 fact, there is more to it more to learn about it than most men are aware of. But 

 as the country gets older we will do as the people of Europe have done grow more 

 sheep and fewer cattle and pigs. No doubt, if there were iive head of good sheep in 

 Missouri where there is but one now, it would add millions to her wealth in a few 

 years. 



The sheep-raisers of Missouri are especially favored over other west- 

 ern States in one respect, and always will be, no matter how many sheep 

 are produced : no grower need ship a pound of mutton or wool out of 

 the State to find a market, for two of the leading live-stock markets of 



