774 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



done on a wholesale plan. The wool i.s immediately sacked and taken 

 to the nearest railroad point for storage and shipment. When the 

 flocks are within reasonable distance of railroad towns, the sheep are 

 driven in at the rate of 1,000 per day — that number being shorn daily 

 by an average crew of California shearers, who are mostly employed 

 as experts, and who receive from 7 to 10 cents per head for shearing. 

 Where it is possible, the wool is sold at the nearest railroad to local 

 bnyers. The bnlk of the wool is consigned to commission honses in 

 Chicago or Boston. A large amount of the wool has to be freighted on 

 wagons 200 miles to reacli a railroad station. The i^iesent system of 

 disposing of wool and the long and high-priced railroad haul is a very 

 serious difficulty encountered by Wyoming sheepmen. 



The classes of wool produced are fine, fine medium, and coarse or 

 carpet wool. The net price realized for the best Merino wool is 12 to 

 19 cents iier pound; the coarse wool less. The average weight of the 

 fleece for fine and fine medium ranges from 6 to 9 pounds per sheep. 

 Many flocks, however, average 9 to 10 pounds per fleece. The general 

 average for the State is about 7 pounds. 



The best distant market for muttons is Chicago. The best buyers 

 for wethers are the feeders in Nebraska and the Mississippi Valley. 

 The local market is very good for a moderate supply of fat sheep, and 

 it is constantly improving as the population increases. The propor- 

 tion of the flock that is annually disposed of as feeders and stockers 

 varies from 10 to 50 per cent. The sheepmen living within easy reach 

 of railroads dispose of a larger per cent than those who are more dis- 

 tant. A conservative estimate of the number disposed of annually will 

 not exceed the increase of the flocks under existing conditions. The 

 best wethers are sold to Eastern feeders at the ranch, and bring about 

 $3 per heart, while the culls and aged ewes bring from $2 to $2.50 each. 

 Occasionally shipments are made to Chicago and net the grower from 

 $3 to $3.50 per head, after paying the high freight rates from the moun- 

 tains—a grand tribute to the individual value of the sheep. The aver- 

 age weight of 3-year old wethers shipped from the State can safely be 

 placed at 115 pounds. Griff Edwards, of Eock Springs, at one time in 

 1888 shipped 6,300 3-year-old wethers to Chicago and their average 

 weight at destination was 135 pounds. This shipment, however, repre- 

 sents the best maximum weight, which exceeds the usual average. Tak- 

 ing the various classes, the range of mature wethers will run from 90 to 

 150 pounds. 



The average cost i)er sheep a year, all expenses, is variously esti- 

 mated fxom 30 cents to $1. The lowest estimates come from Albany, 

 Sweetwater, and Fremont counties. The average annual cost per head 

 should not be estimated at less than 50 cents. Herders a,nd ranch 

 hands employed are usually foreigners or Mexicans. The herders re- 

 ceive from $30 to $40 per month, and the ranch hands $20 to $30 per 

 month by the year. 



