The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1858-12-22

1t appears that little use is made of the
sheep that constitute the chief wealth of New
Mexico. Their proprietors have no idea of
the value of wool, and maintain their fiocks
only for the value of the carcasses. The
sheep are relieved of their superabundant
covering by the thorny chapparels among
which they wander. A portion of that left
upon the bushes is gathered by poor poems
for domestic use, and little is now sold for
few cents pound, to American specula-
tors. Sheep shearing is unknown; though,
of late, some of the more Industrious and
scientific greasers attempt to take off few
heeces with common butchers knife, by a
process of rough shearing, which they make
year trains loaded with wool-some of them
bringing as high as go, 900 pounds arrived
in Missouri from New Mexico; all of which
had been gathered from the bushes. A cor
respondent of the Kansas journal proposes
that company of Americans shall be form
ed to go into the sheep shearing business in
New Mexico, which he thinks can be made
immensely profitable, for the proprietors of
the tiocks will frequently give the wool for
having it taken Off
The writer has himself been told by pro-
prietors of large focks, that he would be
welcome to the wool for the shearing, as
neither himself or any of his men made use
of the wool or pelts, except for making sad
die blankets for pack mules. He says We
think ourselves safe in saying that the
fieeces could be taken off and sacked ready
for the wagons at a cost of not over two
cents per pound. To bring it to Kansas
City would cost from three to four cents more,
and to boat it from there to ST. Louis not
above rs cents per hundred pounds.
The sheep are driven to the valleys in the
mountains to be wintered, and are brought
back in March and April. The sheep are
then clean and healthy, and in the best con-
dition for clipping.
At that season the sheep will yield
fleece on an average of about two pounds,
perhaps more--all of which, by proper
management, can be obtained from the pro-
prietor at mere nominal sum-in some
instances for nothing, as the sheep are
known to thrive much better after being
tleeced, which is all that their owners care
about--as they raise them for their carcass,
and the better and fatter the mutton, the
better satisfied are their owners, for this is
meat that they are extremely fond of.
The work of shearing could easily be done
by any man accustomed TO sheep shearing
In very few hours an enclosure could be
made sufficiently large to hold from two to
four hundred sheep--as many as a company
of shearers would care to have 's closed up
at any one time. In the meantime the re-
mainder of the flock, say of sixty thousand,
could be under the care of the dogs and
shepherds By this process the whole flock
could be sheared by Il company of twenty
experienced workmen in about 80 or 40 days.
IT. however, company of capitalists should
conclude to engage in this business, they
would probably find it to their advantage
to employ much larger force of shearers,
as they would probably wish to obtain the
fleeces of several 1ocks before forwarding
the wool to the States