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 th^ 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 



Eeturns : 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 1515 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. H. 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 : 



