124 THE BEEF BONANZA. 



that they are exposed to influences unnatural and un- 

 congenial to their constitution. They require a dry, 

 gravelly soil; a clear, bracing, cool atmosphere; a 

 variety of short, nutritious grasses ; and they love to 

 browse on highly aromatic plants and shrubs, like the 

 willow, the birch, the hemlock, and the artemisia. In 

 such circumstances they are always healthy, vigorous, 

 and active, and produce the maximum of even-fibred 

 wool and the best of high-flavored meat. That we have 

 millions of acres answering in all respects to the exact 

 requirements for the best development of sheep in the 

 production of both wool and meat, is demonstrated by 

 the countless numbers of antelope that annually swarm 

 over the country, and seem to have no limit to their 

 increase but their natural enemies, the wolves and the 

 hunter-. 



"They are always in good condition, healthy, fat, and 

 active, and this is particularly noticeable in the winter 

 and spring, when it might be supposed they would be 

 reduced by cold and want of food. It is well under- 

 stood by wool-growers that the great difficulty in pro- 

 ducing a staple of uniform evenness and uniform curve 

 is the variable condition of the sheep at different sea- 

 sons of the year. The animal organization cannot pro- 

 duce the same quality of growth in extreme cold 

 weather on dry hay that it will produce in warm 

 weather on fresh grass. The result is that the best 

 quality of wool cannot be grown where the sheep are 

 exposed to extremes of climate, and particularly where 

 they cannot be kept in uniform good health and con- 

 dition. If this is true in the growth of wool, it needs 



