CHAPTER IV. 



THE SHEEP INDUSTEY IN ARKANSAS, TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, AND 



ARIZONA. 



In studying tlie natural resources of Arkansas in its relation to tlie 

 animal industry it is siirprising that every brancli of live stock is not 

 larger, better improved, and made to rank higher in importance in 

 comparison with other and varied industries, considering the popula- 

 tion, cheap lands, and the adaptability of the country for the raising of 

 domestic animals. It can only be explained by the character of the pop- 

 ulation, lack of capital, the many other pursuits for which the State is 

 adapted, and its large area of timber lands. Many avenues of industry 

 are suggested in a State that can produce every variety of garden and 

 field crops indigenous to the temperate zone. 



According to the census of 1890 the population of Arkansas is 1,127,- 

 744, of which number 816,227 are white and 311,227 are colored. It is 

 probably from the fact that a large proportion of the population have 

 only moderate means that the various agricultural industries have de- 

 veloped slowly and been conducted in an unprogressive manner. Labor 

 is plenty and cheap and the cost of living small, hence the people have 

 been content with limited results, and development of any particular 

 industry has been slow. 



Arkansas wool is in rather bad repute with those who handle the 

 wool product of the State, owing to the cockle-burs and the way the 

 fleeces are usually packed loose in the sacks and not tied up as they 

 should be, the reason being that the clip is generally marketed in 

 small quantities. However, when the wool is tub-washed and clear of 

 cockle-burs it is readily sought by the wool dealers and by Western 

 manufacturers. The clip of the State as sold in the market generally 

 brings a higher price than almost any other Western wool; yet, at the 

 same time the growers of this wool probably realize smaller amounts 

 than the growers elsewhere for similar wools, because the grower gen- 

 erally sells it to the local merchant from whom he has been buying 

 supplies for months, and is almost compelled to take whatever the mer- 

 chant may see fit to give him. 



The sheep industry of Arkansas, although quite general, is invaria- 

 bly conducted on a small scale. Sheep are raised in every county in 

 the State, seventy-five in all. This is quite notable in view of the 

 total number. The numbers of sheep in the different counties range 



886 



