WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 889 



progress, or is not one of tlie leading industries of the State, it can be 

 ascribed mainly to the dog pest demoralizing the business and the 

 mania for cotton culture. 



It is remarkable, notwithstanding the preceding facts, that there are 

 as many, if not more, sheep-owners in Arkansas than in any other 

 State bordering on the Mississippi River. They probably own a 

 smaller average number of sheep than the sheepmen of any other State 

 in the Union. It is also significant to note that there are fewer sheep- 

 owners who make it an exclusive business than in any other State 

 where the sheep industry is of any importance whatever. It may be 

 said that sheep-raising in Arkansas under exist ing conditions is purely 

 a side issue and receives, therefore, only partial attention. And while 

 there are nearly as many sheep as any other class of live stock, hogs 

 and cattle excepted, yet the " curs" and "razor backs" are too numer- 

 ous for the sheep, and there is too little live stock of any class. When 

 the general farmer of the State awakens to the true condition of affairs 

 and becomes more familiar with the natural resources of the State, the 

 live-stock situation will materially change; more prosperous times will 

 come, and the wealth of the State will increase because of the profit- 

 ableness of raising improved stock. 



It is an unfortunate condition for the sheep industry that sheep have 

 had so little attention from past or present owners. Sheep-raising 

 having been made a side issue, it has been placed at a decided disad- 

 vantage, and there is little hope for the future unless this system is 

 changed. Whenever sheep husbandry receives proper attention, ac- 

 cording to its merits as an agricultural pursuit, it will become one of 

 the leading interests of the State. 



The class of sheep most numerous in Arkansas is usually designated 

 as common or native sheep. There are very few pure-bred sheep, the 

 Merino, Southdown, Shropshire, and Cotswold breeds being represented 

 chiefly by their grades. There seems to be in some localities quite an 

 intermingling of the blood of several breeds in the same animal. Some 

 sheep-owners graphically describe the sheep of the State as consisting 

 of mainly the old " scrub" stock, and the "full-blooded mongrel" caused 

 by haphazard methods of breeding and handling. 



The flocks owned in the State are uniformly small, and range in 

 number from 10 to 50 as an average. According to reports received 

 from all the counties, there are only three of them that reported flocks 

 to exceed 50 head, and only one county reported flocks as large as 150. 

 The flocks are too small to require the services of a herder, and as a 

 consequence they have but little attention, being allowed to run on the 

 commons or uncultivated and unoccupied lands which may be near the 

 farm of the owner and furnish the pasturage for the greater part of the 

 year. After crops are gathered the sheep are allowed to run in the 

 fields, and during the winter months are fed somewhat. There seems 

 to be 110 lack of feed, because the native and cultivated grasses are 



