112 THE BEEF BONANZA. 



Mr. Clark has a substantial house, stables for horses, 

 and sheds for 4000 sheep. He keeps hay for his sheep, 

 and in so high a latitude such a precaution is certainly 

 necessary. A mile and a half above the sea, he lives 

 as warm and comfortable in winter as the people of New 

 York, and never knows what it is to suffer with heat in 

 summer. The following is a statement of a portion of 

 Mr. Clark's operations in sheep : 



First Year. 



Cost of ranch and implements $4,350 



300 tons of hay two seasons 650 



May, 1879, bought 140 merino sheep, of which 18 were 

 full-grown rams, and 3 ram lambs. Average net 



cost for the lot 2,100 



August, 1879, bought 2000 native ewes, at $3 each . 6,000 



Total $12,100 



Returns : Shearing of 1880, 9200 pounds wool ; net 



29 cents per pound $2,668 



Value of 25 pure-blood merino ram lambs, at $25 each . 1,125 

 Value 1615 common-blood lambs, at an average of $3 



each 4,545 



Total $8,338 



The data is too imperfect to fix a ratio of profits, but 

 Mr. Clark said in another year he would have his 

 herd and establishment clear, and if in three years one 

 can clear a herd and ranch worth $12,000, he would, I 

 think, be doing very well. 



Mr. II. B. Rumsey has a flock on the Laramie Plains, 

 and the following is a return of his first three years of 

 sheep-growing out West : 



