WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 897 



years would more than treble the present production and encourage a 

 decided and rapid improvement of the stock. 



There is no single branch of agriculture that is so poorly under- 

 stood by the people at large as sheep-raising, nor do they consider to 

 what large proportions it is capable of being developed. All that has 

 been learned in this direction in the past has been taught by dear ex- 

 perience; many a worthy worker has had to abandon it, after the loss 

 of capital invested, simply from the want of proper information. The 

 habits of sheep, the character of soil, of grass, and of weeds, and the 

 best way to feed, are important features that call for very careful study 

 and require many years of constant attention on the part of the success- 

 ful grower to understand. To illustrate : In Texas, in different sections, 

 as well as in other States, there is a natural growth of weeds that 

 cause disease, often fatal when eaten by sheep. The early beginners 

 were ignorant of this and suffered accordingly, but after years of inves- 

 tigation the discovery was made. Again, the opinion was prevalent 

 that in a warm climate, like that of Texas, there was no necessity to pro- 

 vide shelter for sheep in winter; and this also caused the pioneer who 

 settled on the bleak and unprotected prairies very great losses. And yet, 

 notwithstanding these various drawbacks, the sheep industry has made 

 creditable progress. In the short period of twenty-four years it has 

 developed the capacity of a sheep to produce wool, from an average 

 of 2.68 pounds per head to an average of G.08 pounds, increasing the 

 wool product fivefold and over, although the number of sheep has not 

 much more than doubled. It is difficult to imagine what might have 

 been the present condition had it not been for the losses by flockmas- 

 ters while learning their business. 



The greater part of the wool produced in Texas from 1870 to 1880 

 was of a nondescript character, but that condition does not now exist. 

 When the tariff of 1867 gave an impetus to sheep-raising there was a 

 demand for breeding ewes that forced prices up abnormally and led 

 many growers to purchase the common Mexican sheep to begin with. 

 From these they raised flocks which gradually improved from coarse- 

 wooled sheep, shearing about 1 pound each, to fine-wooled sheep pro- 

 ducing 5 to 6 pounds each. This was done by the use of improved sires 

 raised in the older States, and now nearly all the base Mexican blood 

 has been improved. 



It is the opinion of sheepmen generally that, in the absence of State 

 protection against scab, the United States Bureau of Animal Industry 

 could very properly take hold of the matter and stamp the disease out 

 as thoroughly as it has pleuro-pueumonia and other infectious diseases, 

 and thus save thousands of dollars annually to the Western flockinasters. 



SHEEP AND WOOL VALUE AND NUMBER. 



After a careful investigation, with facts from every reliable source 

 of information and by conference with sheepmen, the figures herewith 

 presented show as conservative an estimate as can be secured except 

 22990 57 



