292 
AMERIOA^T AGRIOULTUEIST. 
[July, 
Sheep Raising in the Northwest. 
There is no scope in the territories of Dakota, 
Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, for the profitable 
keeping of very large flocks of sheep as are kept 
in New Mexico and Southern California, or in 
AVestern Kansas and Texas. Five thousand head 
is as many as it is wise to keep in a single flock, 
but at the same time there is nothing to prevent a 
man who has successfully built up a fiock of this 
number to divide it, it he can find a suitable loca¬ 
tion witliiu convenient distance, and where he can 
give his personal attention and superintendence 
at proper times, and so manage two flocks of this 
size. Experience has proved the wisdom of 
making a sure thing of one manageable flock, 
rather than to try to keep two and fail with both. 
The old proverb ‘‘between two stools one comes 
to the ground,” is applicable to this business. The 
general average of the flocks through this region 
is from two thousand to six thousand, and the low¬ 
er limit is far more frequent than the higher one. 
A thousand sheep is the usual starting point, and 
is a safe one. To begin with such a flock, a capital 
of five thousand dollars should be in hand. If one 
has more, it would be well to loan the remainder 
at good interest and risk only this amount. The 
expenditures will be as follows : 
Cost or Starting a Ranch.— One thousand 
sheep, at S3, S2,000; twenty pure Merino rams, 
S500 ; sheds and buildings; §500 ; expenses, first 
year, for two herders and other help, §1,000; 
horses, wagon, etc., §500 ; reserve fund §500. The 
probable income and increase is three thousand 
five hundred pounds of wool, §700; and seven 
hundred lambs. The fleeces of the improved lambs 
will be worth fifty per cent more than those of the 
ewes, including the increase in weight and the 
higher market value, and the second year, the 
wool will at least pay all expenses, as no more labor 
for herding will be required for two thousand than 
for one thousand sheep. The cost of bedding and 
feeding a small flock will amount to about seventy 
cents per head per year; for flocks of two thou¬ 
sand and over, the cost will be reduced to fifty 
cents or even less under favorable circumstances, 
and when the owner takes his share of the work. 
The Colorado and Oregon sheep require less feed¬ 
ing in the winter than Iowa sheep, as they are 
hardier and better “rustlers,” that is, better able 
to withstand the storms of winter. 
In Wyoming the sheep are generally Mexicans 
crossed with Merino or Cotswolds and brought 
from Colorado. In Idaho the flocks are usually 
brought across from Oregon, and are much like the 
Mexican, small and light, but strong and hardy. 
In Montana the sheep are of better quality, having 
more Merino blood in them, and many well-bred 
grades from Michigan aud Minnesota are brought 
out on the railroad. Powder River ; the Judith 
basin on Grave-yard creek; the Gallatin Valley 
around and south of Bozeman, and the Missouri 
Valley and its tributary valleys past Helena and 
down to Fort Benton, are especially desirable lo¬ 
calities for sheep in Montana. Further west is 
the mountain region in which good localities may 
be found in abundance. Last winter, snow first 
covered the ground about February 1st, and re¬ 
mained until the 20th, when the warm south wind, 
known as the “ chinook,” melted it and left the 
ground bare in a day. The losses of old sheep 
are scarcely worth counting; among the young ones, 
two per cent will cover all, and when the best care 
is exercised, the losses by death may not exceed 
five in a thousand, and those from accidents. The 
most frequent losses are caused by a native grass 
which bears exceedingly sharp awns or beards, 
and called popularly “ needle grass.” Botanically 
it is Slipa spartea. The long grain, or seed, of this 
grass is inclosed in a firm leathery chaff, which, at 
its upper end, bears a slender twisted “awn,” or 
bristle, five or six inches long. These awns twist 
and untwist, as the weather is dry or wet, and the 
plant, on this account, is called “ weather grass.” 
These grains, with the long awn at one end, and 
the hard, sharp point at the other, drop from the 
plant very readily, and catch in the wool. The 
lower end of the chaff is furnished with a hard and 
very sharp point (botanically called callus), which 
readily penetrates the flesh. Being furnished with 
stiff hairs, all pointing in one direction, this callus, 
and the attached chaff aud included grain, work 
into the flesh with every motion of the animal. 
The sharp point penetrates the skin and works 
into the flesh and even into the intestines. They 
also are found in the mouth, or if swallowed 
penetrate the stomach, and cause death. On this 
account it is necessary to examine the sheep fre¬ 
quently and extract the “ needles ” from the wool 
and skin. The remedy, or rather the method of 
))revention, used by shepherds, is to make a fire 
break ; which is a strip of plowed land around a 
portion of the pasture, and not permitting the fire 
to run until June when, the needle grass having 
started into growth, the fire is started and the dead 
grass burned off; along with which the young 
needle grass is killed for that year. 
Another frequent trouble through most of this 
region is from the dust, which is alkaline and ir¬ 
ritates the lungs and nasal passages, causing a 
cough and discharge from the nostrils. This of 
course is a natural consequence of the character of 
the soil, and cannot be overcome excepting by 
avoiding pastures of this kind, or by providing other 
feed for the flocks at the seasons when the trouble 
mostly prevails, which is in late fall and winter. 
Wire Worms—True and False. 
When a correspondent writes that the “ wire- 
worms ” are injuring his crops, and asks how he 
shall prevent them, w’e are not certain as to what 
insect he refers. There are several very unlike in¬ 
sects, popularly known as wire-worms. The true 
wire-worms have but six legs, while the millipedes 
or false wire-worms, have very many. The true 
wire-worms are the larvaj or grubs of a beetle, and 
in time appear as winged insects, while the false 
w'ire-worms have the same general appearance in 
their larval and perfect state. The perfect insect 
of the wire-worms is a beetle, of which there are 
numerous species, varying greatly in size, but of the 
geneial form shown in the engraving. AVhen laid 
upon their backs, these beetles are able, by means 
of a sudden jerk or spring, to throw themselves up 
for several inches into the air, and usuaUy alight 
feet downwards. On account of this peculiarity 
they are known as snap-beetles, spring-bugs, skip¬ 
jacks, etc. They are usually brownish in color, 
though some are covered with short, gray hairs, 
and appear ash-colored. The eggs are laid near 
the roots of a plant, either upon the surface of the 
ground or just below it, and the young grub feeds 
upon various small roots, and sometimes enter 
the stems in search of food. The worms live for a 
long time in the ground, some of them it is said, as 
many as five years. As they travel through the soil, 
feeding upon the young roots, they do much in¬ 
jury. When they have attained their full size, the 
worms go deeper into the soil, form an earthen 
case, from which, in a few weeks, the perfect 
beetle escapes, and makes its way to the surface. 
As a general thing there is not much to be hoped 
from direct applications to destroy the wire-worms. 
In England, the use of soot, salt, guano, and other 
fertilizers applied for the benefit of the crops, have 
been thought to diminish the number of wire- 
worms. In gardens, the worms may be trapped by 
means of pieces of carrot or potatoes ; each piece 
is fixed to a stick a few inches long, and buried just 
below the surface of the soil. The sticks, which 
project above the surface, allow the pieces to be 
readily found ; they are taken up every other day, 
and the worms killed. Keeping land in fallow is 
recommended, to starve out the worms, and the 
burning of all rubbish may destroy some. Proba¬ 
bly the greatest help will be from the small birds, 
which will destroy the beetles in great numbers. 
Shade Trees on the Farm. 
A few well-formed trees along the fence rows, 
and even scattered here and there in the open fields, 
add greatly to the appearance and value of a farm. 
Cattle, sheep, and other farm animals, suffer greatly 
from the hot sun when confined in a shadeless pas¬ 
ture in midsummer. They will seek the slight 
protection from the broiling sun a fence may afford, 
or stand huddled together for hours, with their 
heads shaded by each other, in a most unhealthful 
manner. Animals thus exposed do not give the 
best returns to their owners, and for this reason, 
if not for comfort’s sake, they should be provided 
with shade. Some farmers object to trees in the 
pasture, because their shade is too inviting, aud 
keeps the live-stock from feeding. Farm animals 
need not graze all the time, and with good pastur- j 
age, can get all the grass they need in the cool por¬ 
tions of the day, between which they should have re- ! 
freshing shade for chewing the cud of content¬ 
ment. Men are not the only creatures that may be 
sun-struck; cows unduly exposed to heat, fre¬ 
quently become sick, quickly fall off in milk, and 
may require weeks of expensive nursing to bring 
them back to good health. Trees are an obstruc¬ 
tion to the cultivation of a field, and occupy the , 
soil for several feet around them, to the exclusion | 
of grain or other crops, and therefore it is best to 
plant most of the trees along the line of boundary 
fences. The tired laborer is thankful for a few 
minutes of shade and rest, and doubtless will do | 
more work by taking an occasional “breathing 
spell ” under a tree. A tree in midfield may be a 
chestnut or hickory, and make good returns for 
the space it occupies in nuts, as well as refreshing 
shade. In many fields there is a low place with a ; 
spring ora small running stream, and is well-fitted 
for a group of trees. In short, any part of a field 
not suited to cultivation, may profitably grow a few 
trees, thus affording a retreat for the live-stock 
from the midday sun, and driving storms. If the 
pasture has no shade trees, it will pay to provide a i 
temporary shelter. Four strong posts with forks 
at the top, may support two poles; across these 
lay smaller poles for rafters. The top may be cov¬ 
ered with straw, swale hay, or, if more convenient, 
brush may be cut aud laid upon the skeleton roof. 
The Blackberry in Summer. 
A blackberry bqsh, left to itself, becomes a 
straggling nuisance, catching the clothing, and 
being in the way generally. The novice should 
bear in mind that the bush which grows this sum¬ 
mer will bear fruit next year, while the bush which | 
has given fruit this season, is of no further use, and 
is to be cut away. The bush to give frait next year 
should be formed this year. The blackberry pro¬ 
duces suckers abundantly ; only those needed to 
form bushes for next year’s fruiting should be 
allowed to grow ; the rest are to be cut up as if 
they were weeds. AVhen a bush reaches the bight 
of four, or at most five feet, stop it; that is, 
break off its growing end. This will cause side 
shoots to start along the stem, and when these are 
eighteen inehes long for the lower ones, and a foot 
long near the top, stop these also, by pinching off 
the ends. A blackberry thus treated will be a neat, 
compact bush, and will not only produce finer fruit, 
than if left to itself, but can be approached without 
fear of tearing the clothing and scratching the skin. 
