﻿COYOTES 
  AND 
  THE 
  SHEEP 
  INDUSTRY. 
  17 
  

  

  pensed 
  with. 
  The 
  double 
  product, 
  wool 
  and 
  mutton, 
  usually 
  places 
  

   the 
  profit 
  of 
  handling* 
  them 
  above 
  that 
  of 
  cattle 
  or 
  horses. 
  The 
  gains 
  

   also 
  come 
  oftener, 
  since 
  sheep 
  mature 
  in 
  a 
  year, 
  while 
  cattle 
  and 
  horses 
  

   require 
  three. 
  

  

  Vernon 
  Bailey, 
  chief 
  field 
  naturalist 
  of 
  the 
  Biological 
  Survey, 
  

   writing 
  from 
  Seguin, 
  Tex., 
  under 
  date 
  of 
  November 
  8, 
  1904, 
  says: 
  

  

  No 
  sheep 
  are 
  kept 
  in 
  this 
  part 
  of 
  Texas, 
  and 
  in 
  talking 
  with 
  several 
  intelli- 
  

   gent 
  farmers 
  I 
  find 
  fhat 
  the 
  reason 
  invariably 
  given 
  is 
  the 
  abundance 
  of 
  

   coyotes. 
  The 
  region 
  is 
  occupied 
  by 
  small 
  farms, 
  mainly 
  80 
  to 
  500 
  acres, 
  on 
  which 
  

   cotton, 
  corn, 
  sorghum, 
  and 
  vegetables 
  are 
  the 
  principal 
  crops. 
  There 
  are 
  few 
  if 
  

   any 
  large 
  stock 
  ranches, 
  but 
  each 
  farm 
  has 
  its 
  pastures 
  for 
  horses 
  and 
  cattle. 
  

   These 
  pastures 
  are 
  the 
  wild 
  land 
  covered 
  with 
  scattered 
  mesquite, 
  post 
  oak, 
  and 
  

   patches 
  of 
  chaparral, 
  and 
  cactus. 
  The 
  native 
  grasses 
  are 
  abundant 
  and 
  of 
  

   excellent 
  quality, 
  and 
  in 
  this 
  mild 
  climate 
  furnish 
  good 
  feed 
  throughout 
  the 
  

   year. 
  Many 
  of 
  the 
  pastures 
  are 
  not 
  half 
  eaten 
  down, 
  and 
  the 
  dead 
  and 
  dry 
  vege- 
  

   tation 
  becomes 
  a 
  nuisance. 
  After 
  harvest 
  cattle 
  and 
  horses 
  are 
  usually 
  turned 
  

   into 
  cotton 
  and 
  grain 
  fields, 
  where 
  they 
  do 
  good 
  work 
  in 
  cleaning 
  up 
  grass 
  and 
  

   weeds 
  in 
  the 
  field 
  and 
  along 
  the 
  borders. 
  Still 
  there 
  is 
  abundance 
  of 
  feed 
  con- 
  

   stantly 
  going 
  to 
  waste, 
  and 
  a 
  small 
  flock 
  of 
  sheep 
  could 
  be 
  kept 
  with 
  great 
  profit 
  

   and 
  no 
  expense 
  on 
  almost 
  every 
  farm. 
  

  

  Fifty 
  to 
  two 
  hundred 
  sheep 
  on 
  a 
  farm 
  would 
  at 
  once 
  make 
  this 
  part 
  of 
  Texas 
  

   the 
  most 
  important 
  woolgrowing 
  section 
  of 
  the 
  State. 
  Other 
  advantages 
  to 
  be 
  

   gained 
  would 
  be 
  keeping 
  down 
  the 
  cactus 
  and 
  chaparral, 
  which 
  are 
  inclined 
  to 
  

   spread 
  and 
  occupy 
  much 
  of 
  the 
  ground, 
  keeping 
  the 
  edges 
  of 
  pastures 
  and 
  fields 
  

   cleaned 
  up 
  so 
  that 
  they 
  would 
  not 
  harbor 
  a 
  host 
  of 
  predaceous 
  insects 
  and 
  

   rodents 
  in 
  close 
  proximity 
  to 
  growing 
  crops, 
  and 
  furnishing 
  to 
  the 
  farmers 
  and 
  

   small 
  towns 
  a 
  supply 
  of 
  fresh 
  meat 
  other 
  than 
  chicken. 
  In 
  this 
  warm 
  climate 
  

   beef 
  is 
  rarely 
  available, 
  except 
  in 
  the 
  larger 
  towns. 
  The 
  advantages 
  of 
  intro- 
  

   ducing 
  sheep 
  into 
  this 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  are 
  acknowledged 
  by 
  the 
  farmers, 
  and 
  

   there 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  no 
  reason 
  why 
  it 
  has 
  not 
  been 
  done, 
  except 
  that 
  coyotes 
  are 
  

   common, 
  large, 
  and 
  fond 
  of 
  mutton. 
  

  

  Similar 
  conditions 
  prevail 
  in 
  many 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  West 
  and 
  over 
  

   large 
  areas. 
  While 
  a 
  dozen 
  years 
  ago 
  the 
  low 
  price 
  of 
  wool 
  was 
  an 
  

   important 
  factor 
  in 
  causing 
  farmers 
  to 
  abandon 
  sheep 
  raising, 
  in 
  

   recent 
  years 
  the 
  prices 
  have 
  been 
  excellent. 
  Fine 
  washed 
  wool 
  was 
  

   quoted 
  in 
  the 
  New 
  York 
  market 
  February 
  6, 
  1905, 
  at 
  32.35 
  cents 
  per 
  

   pound 
  and 
  in 
  St. 
  Louis 
  on 
  the 
  same 
  date 
  at 
  40.41 
  cents 
  per 
  pound. 
  

   The 
  price 
  of 
  tub-washed 
  wool 
  at 
  St. 
  Louis 
  was 
  at 
  no 
  time 
  during 
  

   1904 
  less 
  than 
  30 
  cents 
  per 
  pound. 
  Unwashed 
  wool 
  ranged 
  from 
  15 
  

   to 
  31 
  cents 
  during 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  year. 
  Yet 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  sheep 
  in 
  

   the 
  United 
  States 
  is 
  now 
  decreasing. 
  Montana, 
  with 
  an 
  area 
  of 
  

   146,000 
  square 
  miles, 
  leads 
  the 
  States 
  in 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  sheep 
  kept, 
  

   which 
  is 
  5,638,957. 
  a 
  England, 
  with 
  an 
  area 
  of 
  50,867 
  square 
  miles, 
  

   has 
  about 
  five 
  times 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  Montana. 
  In 
  Montana 
  sheep 
  are 
  

   herded 
  in 
  immense 
  flocks; 
  in 
  England 
  every 
  landowner 
  and 
  farmer 
  

   keeps 
  a 
  small 
  flock. 
  

  

  a 
  Crop 
  Reporter, 
  U. 
  S. 
  Dept. 
  Agric, 
  February, 
  1905. 
  

  

  