SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN KENTUCKY. 
147 
that we can cany on sheep husbandry to advantage. 
Kentucky has a belt of hill and mountain country, 
bordering on the Virginia line, on the east, and on the 
rich lands of the State on the west, averaging about 
75 miles in width, extending from the Ohio river and 
Big Sandy, latitude 38° 40', to the Tennessee line, 
36° 3Q ! north. The whole of this region is admira¬ 
bly adapted to sheep husbandry. The most northern 
part but a few minutes north of my residence, and 
extending about two degrees farther south. The 
lands are very cheap, the State price of those not yet 
appropriated only five cents per acre, and those pur¬ 
chased second-handed, more or less improved, may be 
had from 25 to 50 cents per acre <tnd still less when 
unimproved. This country, in a state of nature, 
furnishes, during the spring, summer, and fall 
months, a fine range for sheep, and is susceptible of 
great improvement by clearing up and sowing the 
cultivated grasses for winter feeding. This whole 
country is finely adapted to the Spanish mode of 
sheep husbandry. Very large flocks might be driven 
to the mountain region, some thirty to sixty miles 
from the rich lands, immediately after shearing time, 
grazed till late in the fall, and then brought back to 
be sustained, during the winter, on the luxuriant blue 
grass pastures of the rich lands of the interior. 
Avery intelligent friend, residing in the southern 
part ©f the above district of country, speaks of it in 
the following terms: “One of the strongest proofs: 
of this region of country being favorable to the grow¬ 
ing of sheep stock is, that we are situated in the same 
degree of north latitude with the sheep-raising parts 
of Spain—Leon, Estremadura, Old Castile, &e.— 
only that our mountains are more richly and abun¬ 
dantly clad with luxuriant wild grasses and fern, pea 
vine and shrubbery, than the mountain regions of! 
Spain, where they raise such abundant stocks of; 
sheep. Wayne county, with a few adjoining coun-! 
ties, affords more fine water power than any country 
of the same extent that I have ever known; and for! 
health and fine pure drinking water, no country ex-! 
cels it on the face of the globe. Now is the time to 
commence the business of sheep husbandry, whilst; 
land can be got almost for nothing. It is worthy of ; 
remark that our sheep, which are suffered to roam and 
graze in the mountains altogether, produce about one 
fourth more wool at a shearing than the sheep that j 
are raised and grazed altogether on our farms , and ; 
of a much better quaeity 1” In another part of; 
his letter he says, “ the tops of the mountains of 
Spain are sterile, without verdure, producing no food 
for sheep or other animals to graze on; our moun¬ 
tains are quite different; they are thickly clad from 
bottom to top, and all over the top, with fine rich 
wild grasses and shrubbery of every variety for stock 
to graze on. In the midst of our mountains are to 
be found a great abundance of salt water, and stone 
coal of the finest quality, together with a great vari¬ 
ety of mineral waters and pure springs.” 
Another friend, residing in Knox county, writes to 
me, “ My sheep upon my farm, adjoining Barbours- 
ville, do not thrive, even with pasture and winter 
food, like the sheep in the extremities of the county, ; 
which have neither pastures nor winter food, except 
what they get in the woods . Without cultivated 
grasses of any description, sheep will live and do: 
well all the winter, subsisting on the spontaneous] 
growth of the couni 
Another friend, residing in the northern portion of 
the above described 'mountain region, writes that 
“ the counties of Carter and Lawrence, and the east¬ 
ern portion of the Slate, are admirably adapted to 
sheep husbandry. There are several flocks of sheep 
in this neighborhood that thrive and increase wonder¬ 
fully, running at large , at little cost or trouble to the 
owners Many flocks have no other reliance, during 
the winter, but what they get in the woods. The great 
advantages of this country for sheep husbandry is, the 
cheapness of the land, its adaptation to grasses, 
grain, and roots, its healthfulness—sheep delight in 
mountain or hilly land—the natural evergreens and 
shrubbery upon which sheep can feed and subsist in 
winter, though it is not safe to rely altogether upon 
these.” 
I could give many other extracts from letters ad¬ 
dressed to me by highly intelligent gentlemen, resid¬ 
ing in the mountain districts above described, to show 
its admirable adaptation to sheep husbandry; but I 
refrain from doing so for fear of running this com¬ 
munication to too great a length. 
There is also a strip of low priced land bordering 
on the Ohio "river, in the counties of Bracken, Pen¬ 
dleton, Campbell, Kenton, and from thence to Louis¬ 
ville, finely adapted to sheep husbandry; but I have 
*not space to go into a description of it. 
A few remarks as to the probable future market 
for wool will conclude my letter, already, I fear, too 
long. The returns of the late census show that the 
number of sheep in the United States in 1840 was a 
fraction less than 20,000,000. Twice this num¬ 
ber would probably not furnish more wool than 
would be needed by a population of 17,000,000, if 
we were to manufacture all our own blankets, car¬ 
pets, and every other description of woollen fabrics. 
The period is not very distant when this will be done, 
with the exception of some very fine goods. We 
shall then need about 100,^)00,000 pounds of wool 
for a population of 17,000,000, and in that proportion 
for home consumption, even supposing none should 
be exported. Now as our population increases, as 
past experience demonstrates, at a compound ratio of 
three per cent, per annum, we shall have a popula¬ 
tion of 34,000,000 in the year 1864; 51,000,000 in 
1878 ; and 60,000,000 in 1888.* We shall need at 
these respective periods, two, three, and four hundred 
millions of pounds of wool. If vve estimate sheep, 
upon an average, to produce 2| lbs. of wool per 
head, we shall require in the year 1888, a little more 
than forty years hence, 160,000,000 of sheep. This 
view of the subject, without looking to a foreign 
market, holds out a strong inducement to engage in 
sheep husbandry. A. Beatty. 
(a) Feeding sheep on clover, especially when fat¬ 
ting them, is quite a common practice in Europe, and 
in the northern States of America. They do ex¬ 
tremely well upon it, and if accustomed to it gradu¬ 
ally, there is no fear of hoven, the only thing to 
dread from rank clover pasture. By good feeding 
sheep may be pushed forward in their growth and 
breeding one year; they will, moreover, be larger anil 
liner in the carcase, and produce a greater weight of 
woo! and that of a superior quality. 
* See a table of population, by an annual incre¬ 
ment of 3 per cent., Niles’ National Register, January 
llth, 1545, p. 300. 
