888 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



GENERAL FACTS ABOUT THE INDUSTRY. 



There is at present about the same number of sheep in the State 

 that there was about twenty years ago, and very much the same 

 class. Taking into consideration the whole State there has not been 

 any improvement of importance, either in the breeds of sheep or in 

 the methods of conducting the business. As a matter of fact, the 

 animal industry has not been the leading occupation of the agricul- 

 tural classes, although sheep-raising has been about as prominent a 

 branch of it as any. Yet it is a significant fact that the lack of prog- 

 ress in sheep husbandry is not because the country is unsuited for the 

 successful prosecution of the industry. This is clearly shown by the 

 fact that the same number of sheep have been maintained annually for 

 so many years without increase or decrease. It seems that the ship- 

 ments and home consumption, together with the losses from various 

 sources, have been equal to the annual increase of the flocks in the 

 State. 



The facts presented in the preceding pages regarding the climate, 

 topography, and physical surface of the State, together with the in- 

 formation given concern ing its natural resources, all go to show^ clearly 

 that sheep husbandry can be made a success in a majority of the coun- 

 ties of the State, 



In many respects Arkansas is particularly well and favorably suited 

 for successful sheep husbandry. It is also evident that a very large 

 number of representative formers and stockmen have recently become 

 convinced of the adaptability and profitableness of sheep husbandry 

 as compared with other branches of animal industry and agricultural 

 pursuits. And like the general farmers of other States, they have 

 learned through adversity and bitter experience that following a lead- 

 ing and almost exclusive agricultural pursuit is unprofitable. It is a 

 generally accepted fact that no State can ever become wealthy or pros- 

 perous by persistently adhering to a single crop; and the cotton mania 

 in Arkansas has been what the wheat mania was for the Dakotas. 

 However, the cotton craze is not the only or the chief drawback and 

 obstacle to the success of the sheep industry ; but equal to it in im- 

 portance is the dog nuisance. The multiplicity of the omnipresent and 

 worthless curs has become a byword with all who are conversant with 

 sheep-raising in Arkansas, and if the word "sheep" is mentioned to any- 

 one in connection with Arkansas, he invariably throws up his hands 

 and exclaims, "Dogs, dogs, dogs!" Many, even, when asked what 

 diseases are most common among sheep, answer, "Dogs a fatal malady 

 affecting the industry." If you ask them why the sheep industry 

 is declining, the answer is, "Dogs;" or if you ask them what are the 

 chief disadvantages and obstacles to be encountered in sheep-raising 

 in the State, the answer still is, "Dogs." Therefore, to sum up briefly 

 the reasons why the sheep industry of Arkansas has not made greater 



