WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 855 



-the canntry — Kansas City and St. Louis — are both within the borders 

 of the State. St. Louis is now conceded to be the leading Western wool 

 market. The records of sheep receipts and shipments for 1891 for the 

 two cities are as follows : Kansas City received 386,760 head and shipped 

 178,271 ; St. Louis received 402,989 head and shipped 277,886. The only 

 time during the past ten years when the receipts and shipments were 

 greater at Kansas City than in 1891 was in 1890. The receipts were 

 greater at St. Louis in 1877 and 1878, and shipments larger only in 1888. 



Another imj)ortant advantage Missouri possesses in addition to home 

 markets are the numerous facilities of both railroad and river trans- 

 portation for handling the product. A glance at any map wiU show 

 the transportation facilities possessed by those engaged in farming or 

 stock-raising. 



Eegarding sheep-breeding, the following, prepared by L. E. Shattuck, 

 of Stanberry, Mo., one of the most successful breeders of pure-bred 

 sheep, is especially valuable for those engaged in Western sheep hus- 

 bandry. He says : 



As -with other domestic animals, so ivith the sheep — the male constitutes at least 

 one-half oftheflockinvalueof reproduction; hence the importance of the flockmaster 

 knowing that he has for a sire that which comes nearest his idea of what he wishes 

 to raise; and here, as with the other domestic animals, to obtain these unaided by 

 pedigree is quite impossible. The principle of breeding is quite as applicable to the 

 one breed as to the other. The sheep that is the most proritable should be the one 

 chosen. There may be selected from any flock of the breeds about one-third, the 

 number of which, if an account is kept, will show standing to their credit more 

 dollars in proportion to their cost and feed than the other two-thirds, because they 

 produce in fleece and offspring that which is more valuable and at better prices. 

 Judicious mating, accompanied with care, has increased the size one-third in 

 thelastthirty years; and at the same time the weight of the fleece is greater in 

 proportion. Never should two animals having the same fault or wanting the same 

 quality lie mated. For a good size I prefer a mate with all the appearance of the 

 male kind, not fine or feminine in the head or otherwise, .and especially in the 

 bone I like him heavy and firm, with strong neck and upheaded, the more vigorous 

 and active the better, and he should always be in good strong flesh. The ewes, 

 too, ought to be kept in good strong condition. A ewe thin in flesh can not pro- 

 duce a heavy fleece or rear a heavy lamb. The sheep, unlike other stock, is kept 

 for two purposes : Its flesh, by many thought to be among the most delicious, and 

 by nearly all conceded to be the most healthful meat food; and its fleece, of which 

 is composed the most comfortable and economical clothing of civilized man. The 

 most successful breeder of the practical sheep is the one who rears the animals from 

 which can annually be taken the largest fleece and most valuable lambs; and the 

 breeder who can furnish the requirements of the times is the one who turns his 

 thoughts into cash. 



In this connection I desire to quote from an address on "Sheep 

 Husbandry in Missouri," by Prof. J. W. Sanborn, late secretary of the 

 State board of agriculture, and professor of agriculture in the State 

 Agricultural College of Missouri. The address was before the 

 National Wool-Growers' Association held at St. Louis in 1866: 



Too little attention has been paid to mutton. Strictly wool sheep, when bred for 

 wool, unattended by outside sales of breeding stock or pure wool husbandry, has its 



