St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1861-04-04

copragement to our farmers to invest 10
the business; thinking it the most certain
aud lucrative Of any branch of rural hus-
bandry. 4 . IL
/, That our State will prove q good sheep
growing district, appears to be generally
admitted BY Oil who are acquainted with
tho wants and habits Of the animal. That
it thrives best in dry cold winter, is ad-
mitted by all. And not only is it an ad-
vantage to the health, but it adds greatly
to quality and weight of aeeces, as rain
has tendency to wash the gum. or oily
substances from the wool, thereby check..s
ing its growth, and rendering it harsh {
which facts are we'll known to growers u
wool whose focks are exposed to winter
rains. But, as to the relative profits Of
sheep, or other stock, or that of grain crops,
1 leave others to make their own fgures.;;.
simply content myself by giving few
facts as to sheep profits, coming within
my own observation and; experience, hag-ss
ing had the care of them some thirty years
Of my time. With an ordinary lot Of ewes,
I and others, who took good careso them,
sheared about three pounds per head, and
averaged about one lamb to the. ewe and
fed entirely on hay, about one ton to fo:r
sheep of good tame, but if of wild meadow
perhaps moro would be required. The
cost Of an ordinary lot Of sheep, immedi-
ately after shearing, in central Illinois or
In diana, has been, for the last ten years,
about one dollar per head, at which price
a man would get his money in twelve months
with interest. "But," says one, S"that is
not the price here": True, it i. not but
If lot Of farmers would join and send off
to where they are cheap, the cost would
be but fraction over that, as the costsof
driving is mere tride per head; where
you have several hundred in the drove:
And, as to the best time Of driving ;
June is preferable, as then they are net
burdened with wool, nor hurt by dust, and
the grass being tender it takes them less.
time to feed coming at that time, they
have time to recruit from the effects OF
the drive before winter sets in. ,..| .~,-
But, in the improvement Of new farm,
there is no stock that is of such service,
small brush being literally devoured by
them as is also, all kinds Of wild vegeta-
ton, thereby making the clearing process
quite small to what it otherwise would be;
and, it meant for the pillow, in two years
I'LL is clean for the first crop, with roots
we'll rotted; but if for meadow, SOW the
seed at the start. and in two years it is in
better order than could possibly be by
any other process. And in the time yield
ing 1.-THE farmer a greater profit than if tho
land had been in grain, and saving in Ia
Dor, more than the cost of sheep. In fact,
it is almost fabulous, to state the profits
that may be made on sheep. I once bought
ffty-two head, twenty-four being ewes, of
two years and upwards, and paid seventy
eight dollars tor them, the next spring
raised twenty four lambs, and sold ninety
dollars worth of wool; and if farmers would
unite, they could do nearly as we'll as the
above the first year, by sending off and
getting them where they are cheap.
Yonra trulv PETER NJ GIDEON.