SHEEP RAISING 



163 



But in the northwest the rangers practice crossing continually, in order 

 to maintain a general purpose medium fine wool sheep, shearing 7 to 8 Ibs., 

 and still with good mutton qualities. In breeding back and forth as is 

 necessary, they alternate Lincolns and Cotswold rams with Merinos. 

 Lincolns and Cotswold breeds are large of body, somewhat coarse in 

 wool; but they keep the stock from getting too fine for mutton purposes. 

 Care must be exercised, however, to see that the wool does not get too 

 coarse for best market production. The western ranchers never sacrifice 

 good wool for mutton. 



Today wool is firm, close to 30c per Ib. in the middle west. The tariff 

 protection (1910) is lie and 12c. Our last yearly statistics showed 328,110,- 

 749 Ibs. output, with demand much larger. The market for mutton and 

 lamb increases all the time, and is bound to keep growing so long as we 

 have growing cities. 



MINUS Sheep raising in the United States flourishes mainly in 



THE CORNBELT the middle and far west, leaving out the cornbelt. The 



1900 census showed 62,000,000 head with 55% of these 



on western ranges. Montana leads with 6,000,000; Wyoming, New Mexico, 



Shropshire Ram and Ewe 



Ohio, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, California, rank in the order named. Roughly 

 the order of growth may be judged from the Union Stock Yards receipts 

 at Chicago for different years as follows: 



1885 1,000,000 



1890 2,000,000 



1900 3,500,000 



1902 4,500 000 (Value $19,000,000) 



A conservative estimate for present production would be 18,500,000 

 head annually, with a carcass value of, on the average, $4.25. 



FARM OR RANGE This is the sheep situation. When it comes down to 



the individual problem of management a man must 



consider whether his sheep are to be put on farms or left to range as in 



