SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. . 79 



remembered that when a prairie is belted round by population, and de- 

 pastured by numerous flocks and herds, its better grasses — at least for 

 s}ieep — would be soon exterminated, and, consequently, though there 

 might be ten or fifty thousand acres of common and free pasturage, it 

 would be of trifling avail to the flock-master. 



But taking this privilege for what it is worth, and taking into account 

 the difference in the price of lands — calling one -Si 25, and the other S20 

 per acre — and then, in my judgment, the Eastern will prove cheaper, all 

 things considered, than the prairie lands, for Sheep Husbandry. I speak, 

 of course, of the prairies as wholes — not of that narrow margin of each, 

 which is attached to the farms lying partly on the outer and wooded lands. 



The prairies must first be plowed, undoubtedly,* to seed them down ef- 

 fectually with the cultivated gi-asses. It requires from four to six yoke of 

 oxen, says Mr. Solon Robinson, to break up from one to one and a half 

 acres per diem. Suppose we concede this expense to be paid for by the 

 first grain crop used as a covering for the grass ; then the prairies are to 

 be fenced — adequate buildings and other fixtures provided, for tlie use of 

 a family, the storage of hay, the shelter of animals, &c. Where are the 

 materials for these things and for fuel to be found, on a plain wholly desti- 

 tute of trees, unless on the occasional " islands" — and where stones are 

 entirely wanting, excepting sparsely scattered bowlders, and, very rarely, 

 rocky ridges or cliffs ] Conceding that all the wood on the margins of the 

 prairies will not be wanted for the local supply — which, as a general thing, 

 it undoubtedly will — what would be the cost offences, buildings and fuel, 

 where every stick was transported from three to fifteen milest by land 

 carriage 1 Fuel, it has been said, can be obtained from the local deposi- 

 tions of coal. It is true that Illinois and south-western Indiana, at least, 

 constitute one vast coal basin. But any one possessing the slightest prac- 

 tical acquaintance with the subject, knows that it requires associated, ag- 

 gregate and corporate wealth, to carry on mining operations to an extent 

 sufficient to steadily and efficiently supply a considerable market. Even 

 in a level country where coal is covered with a deep superficial deposi- 

 tion of earth, individuals may, where the stratum is cut through or uncov- 

 ered in ravines or the beds of streams, quari'y their own coal ; but such 

 opportunities are rare. The idea that individuals would find it within the 

 compass of their means to sink vertical shafts and raise coal — each one 

 for himself — on the bosoms of the prairies, is utterly preposterous. Coal 

 has never yet borne a pi'ice in our cities, which would justify even Compa- 

 nies in lifting it by vertical shafts. Let the coal, however, be as cheap as 

 it may be, at the points of excavation, the mere cartage of it, for the 

 wants of a five-months winter — where the thermometer frequently indi- 

 cates a degree of cold from 5° to 30° below 0° — will be an onerous tax 

 on agricultural industry. And canals can never furrow the bosoms of 

 most of those vast dry plains ; and ages must elapse before railroads will 

 so interlace them, as to bring coal cheaply within the reach of population 

 scattered over their entiio surfaces. 



If we suppose that adequate buildings can be constructed, with suffi- 

 cient economy, with transported timber, the question still remains, What 

 resource is there for fences % Fences of earth have been proposed, but these 

 will not stand long enough to pay for building, unless their sides are con- 

 structed at such an angle as would bo wholly inadequate to " turn" sheep. 

 Hedges, besides the other considerable expense of cultivating them, would 



' I have peen it PtRlcd thflt the seeds of ilie ciillivntrii griisseB would "catch " sown on the surfnco of iho 

 prnirie sod I That they would do this eft'ectually and generally, is an assertion which no practical farmer 

 will credit. 



t I'rairies are from one to thirty miles in diameter. 

 (175) 



