610 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



wherever they can find pasture. Such 

 sheepmen constitute a distinct menace 

 to the legitimate sheep industry. A 

 number of these men with large bands 

 all aiming for the same point, tend to 

 greatly overgraze certain areas, denud- 

 ing them of grass and forage plants and 

 greatly injuring the range. It has been 

 shown again and again that where the 

 land is not leased and where no indi- 

 vidual or set of individuals can control 

 the range, the results are disastrous to 

 the grass. The rent for grazing land 

 varies from 1 to 2 cents an acre, and 

 the land can often be bought for from 

 $3 to $4 an acre. 



for their fleeces as those do who grow 

 sheep for wool alone. 



In years past Merino wool lias been 

 the chief wool on the American market. 

 The medium and coarse grades, supplied 

 largely by the mutton type of sheep, 

 have been offered in very much smaller 

 quantities, as a result of which better 

 prices have been paid in recent years 

 than for Merino wool. By far the larger 

 proportion of woolen goods is manu- 

 factured from Merino wool; but for 

 some purposes longer wools are superior, 

 and for one purpose or another every 

 grade and length of wool can be used. 



Fig. 383 — ANGORAS IMPORTED IN 1901 



RAISING SHEEP FOR WOOL ALONE 



Sheep cannot be profitably grown for 

 wool alone on high priced agricultural 

 lands when wool brings but 20 to 25 

 cents a pound. In large flocks, under 

 western range conditions, where land is 

 cheap and one man can handle from 

 2,000 to 4,000 sheep, there is often con- 

 siderable profit in growing sheep for 

 wool alone; but even under western con- 

 ditions a very large number of ranch- 

 men believe in growing a general pur- 

 pose sheep which will not only yield a 

 good fleece, but also a good mutton car- 

 cass. Mutton growers in the eastern 

 states frequently obtain as much money 



For all grades of wool, however, there is 

 apparently a bright future. 



Statistics — The United States pro- 

 duces about one-eighth of the wool of 

 the world and the average weight of the 

 fleeces produced in this country is 7.2 

 pounds. At the present time the price 

 varies from 15 cents for unwashed Me- 

 rino wool to 35 cents for the various 

 grades of unwashed combing wool, mak- 

 ing the value of the fleece average from 

 $1 to $2 each. 



The wool of sheep grows contin- 

 uously throughout the year. If the feed 

 of the sheep is uniform and nutritious, 



