WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 731 



as worthy of attention aud study. These sheep as a pnle are held in small flocks, 

 and the establishment of this industry appears to me as a step in the tlirectiou of 

 making every section of our State wealth-producing. 



There is probably no new State that has a larger amount of unoccu- 

 pied fertile prairie land than North Dakota. This is mostly Govern- 

 ment land, subject to preemption and homestead, aud aggregates over 

 16,000,000 acres. Nearer the railroads, within the land grants and 

 more thickly settled portion of the State, is a vast amount of land 

 for sale at prices ranging from $3 to $10 per acre. The Northern Pa- 

 cific Eailway has nearly 7,000,000 acres of such lands, to say noth- 

 ing of other grants which are not so large. This aggregation of cheap 

 pasture land, in connection with the healthful, invigorating climate, 

 makes animal industry a desirable pursuit for the Dakota farmer. The 

 snowfall in winter is much lighter than in Iowa or Nebraska, and sel- 

 dom begins until after December. There is no trouble in the fall or 

 spring from muddy fields or nearly impassable roads, so common in 

 States farther south and east. 



About one year ago, in the latter part of 1890, Hon. H. T. Helgesen, 

 commissioner of agriculture and labor, sent out a circular to stock- 

 men for the purpose of procuring information regarding stock-raising, 

 with especial reference to sheep. In summing up tlie results of the 

 reports received the commissioner says : 



Stock-raising is quite extensively carried on in Billings, Burleigh, Hettinger, 

 McHenry, Morton, Stark, and Ward counties, while the interest is very perceptibly 

 increasing in Stiitsman and some other counties. Tbe Missouri slope, the west Missouri 

 country, the Mouse River region, and a small tract aromid the Turtle Mouutaius, 

 are making stock-raising a leading industry, and iu all these localities the interest 

 in stock of some kind is increasing, usually sheep and horses. 



The decided tendency is to increase the sheep husbandry of the State, so much so, 

 that in several localities sheep are reported by experienced stockmen to command a 

 higher price than the average farmer can afford to pay. The cliief difficulty in many 

 counties is that owing to the repeated short crops, most farmers desiring to start 

 in the sheep business are hampered by want of means. 



Most of the counties that raise sheep to any extent report that they have paid 

 better than anything else, and the next most popular kind of live stock is horses. 

 All of the counties beard from report sufftcient pasturage, and most of them say 

 that but a very small portion of the available pasturage is utilized. 



Eecent experiments have demonstrated that the soil and clintate of 

 North Dakota are well suited to the culture of sugar beets and other 

 root crops, which form an important adjunct to sheep husbandry. It is 

 conceded that the beet pulp and the root crops that can be raised in 

 the agricultural portions of Dakota, as well as wheat screenings, fur- 

 nish foods that are unequaled for producing mutton, and will serve to 

 further stimulate and maintain the sheep industry. 



In addition to the large amount of feed afforded by the native and 

 cultivated grasses, hay and other crops in many portions of the State 

 may be relied upon, and are therefore of importance in considering the 

 resources of the State with reference to sheep husbandry. In the first 



