232 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA. 



vested and the lambs are fat. There is no need 

 of other forage than the dried pea vines give, 

 nor of other grain than the peas. Grains on 

 this ration are very large and the quality of 

 mutton produced unexcelled. The growth of 

 this new industry has been very rapid indeed, 

 since practically the first efforts were made in 

 the winter of 1901-1902, when about 3,000 lambs 

 were fed, and it is said that in the winter of 

 1904-1905 160,000 fat lambs left the San Luis 

 and adjacent valleys of Colorado. It is prob- 

 able, too, that this is the beginning of the in- 

 dustry, for there are doubtless other valleys in 

 Colorado high enough, cool enough, and dry 

 enough to grow peas well, and so of Utah, 

 Idaho and Wyoming. 



ALFALFA-FED COLORADO LAMBS. 



The front range of the Rockies sends forth a 

 number of refreshing streams, creeks and 

 rivers, from the Animas river at Trinidad up 

 to the Arkansas in middle Colorado and the 

 forks of the Platte at Fort Coljins. Early in 

 the settlement of Colorado it was learned that 

 alfalfa grew wonderfully well on the plains, 

 where, supplied with water by irrigation, the 

 difficulty seemed to be to use the alfalfa. Fin- 

 ally some man tried feeding it to sheep, then 

 to lambs; grain was fed with it. A few car- 

 loads of the lambs went to Eastern markets; 

 the killers tried them and pronounced them 

 extraordinarily good, and the Colorado lamb 

 industry was bom. 



Colorado lamb feeding has had its ups and 



