266 THE SHEPHERD'S MANUAL. 



when the increased expenditure can be made out of the profits. 

 To begin with such a flock, a capital of five thousand dollars 

 should be in hand. If one has more, it would be better to loan 

 the remainder at good interest (twelve to twenty per cent is 

 readily paid for loans in this region), and risk only this amount. 

 The expenditures will be as follows : * 



COST OP STABTING A BANCHE. 



1,000 sheep, at $2 $2,000. 



20 pure Merino rams 500. 



Sheds and buildings 500. 



Expenses for first year : 



2 herders and their help 1,000. 



Horses, wagon, etc 500. 



Keserve fund 500. 



Probable income and increase : 



3,500 pounds of wool $700. 



700 lambs 



The fleeces of the improved lambs will be worth fifty per 

 cent more than those of the ewes, including the increase in 

 weight and the higher market value, and the second year, the 

 wool wiJl at least pay all the expenses, as no more labor for 

 herding will be required for two thousand than for one thou- 

 sand sheep. The cost of herding and feeding a small flock will 

 amount to about seventy cents per head per year ; for flocks of 

 two thousand and over, the cost will be reduced to fifty cents, 

 or even less, under favorable circumstances, and when the 

 owner takes his share of the work. The Colorado and Oregon 

 sheep require less feeding in the winter than Iowa sheep, as they 

 are hardier and better "rustlers," that is, better able to with- 

 stand the rigors of the winter and the storms. 



In Wyoming, the sheep are generally Mexicans, crossed 

 with Merinos or Cotswolds, and brought from Colorado. 

 In Idaho the flocks are usually brought across from Oregon, 

 and are much like the Mexican, small and light, but strong 

 and hardy. In Montana the sheep are of better quality, having 

 more Merino blood in them, and many well bred grades from 

 Michigan and Minnesota are brought out on the railroad. Pow- 

 der River, the Judith basin on Graveyard Creek, the Gallatin 

 Valley, around and south of Bozeman, and the Missouri Valley 

 and its tributary valleys past Helena and down to Fort Benton, 

 are especially desirable localities for sheep in Montana. Fur- 

 ther west is the mountain region in which good locations may 



