Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1867-10-09
WOOL Growing In the SOUTH
east,

/ CGl8ls
N. Burtless, Auburn, N. Y, asks US:
-"Is wool growing a safe business In
the West or Southwest on Government
land, and if so, where is the best local
ity for a man of small meansp
We have attempted to show in re-
cent issues of this paper, how very
cheaply wool can be grown in Texas
Bnt to Northern men of Small means"
the expense of getting there with their
families is an item of consequence; and
many who have means do no choose to
ego so far from home" We viii now
call attention to an intermediate re-
| gion-lying between 340 and 380, en-
bracing Southern Missouri, Northern
Arkansas and all the hilly and mount
ain country lying the east between the
same parallels Of latitude as far as the
eastern slopes of the Alleghanies in
Virginia and the Carolinas. Besides
these portions of States above named
this would also include considerable
portions Kentucky, Tennessee, and the
northern portions Of Georgia, Alabama
and Mississippi. The climate in the To-
calites thus Observation-Disclosures
embracing an immense region of coun-
! try-equally avoids the extremes of the
North and South, and is as unirorm as
any in the United States. At moder-
ate elevations the winters are very
short and mild and We think we speak
Quite within bounds when We say that
the period during which it is necessary
to give artificial feed to stock is not
more than half so long ss in cores
ponding situations in the principal
sheep growing States Of the North
Abundant experiments have already
proven that the country is well adapt
ed to the healthy production of sheep
and wool. We understand that any
quantity of it can be purchased at or
below the price of government lands,
with the usual advantages found in such
sparsely settled countries Of pasturing
unoecupied adjacent lands without cost.
There are such q multitude of particu,
lar localities which present about equal
advantages for wool growing, that we
are not prepared to express a prefer
ence: though were We ourselves going
out prospecting" for great body OF
cheap fine lands for this purpose, with
in the localities named, we should not
fail to give particular attention to the
Ozark Hills of Southern Missouri.
If then wool growing is ''safe btfsi-
uess' in any part Of The North, it must
be safer one IN the region above mem
toned. But does our correspondent
mean to point to another idea-some-
times advanced by broken down wool
spectators does he mean to inquire
whether wool growing intrinsicaliy, SO
70 spesk-thatS S whether there is any
thing in the natural sor artificial cir
cumstances which surround it, which
renders it necessarily more precarious,
than other industriesi In natural cir,
cumstances it has the advantage over
most other agricultural pursuits, be-
cause it supplies one Of the greatest and
most indispensable articles of human
consumption, while it is less exposed
to casualties. The winter does not
freeze out or insects destroy wool as
they do wheat. The frost does not nip
it as it does corn. Bad seasons do not
cut off the supply to the same extent
they do most other saleable farm pro /
ducts.
1t must be confessed thst the artifi-
cial circumstances which have sur
rounded wool growing in our country
have often proved very destructive
The principal of these has been our ma
tional legislation in regard to it--our
tariffs. These have at times inflated it
into the regions Of wild and dangerous
speculation, and then as suddenly de-
pressed, by reaetionary measures, as
opposite extremists have obtained as
cendancy in Congress. It would be
difficult to say whether the wool grow
er has had most occasion to pray to be
delivered from friends or enemies.-
Even those deeply interested in, the
success of this industry-those, too,
disposed to favor prudent and moder-
ate legislation-have not until recent
Iy "pulled together" The manufact-
urer is almost IS much interested IN
the success of domestic wool produc-
ton as the grower. How long is itsinee
the latter was won't to declare that the
protection of his industry gave cor
responding advantage TO the grower,
and that the direct protection of the
raw material was therefore unnecessary
and moreover that il eonAicted with
some mysterious dogma Of political !
economy. Consequently he was uni
formly embarked IN hostile struggle
with the grower on the floors Of Con
gress,-thus disuniting interests which
were essentially the same, and neither
of which could sustain itself separately
against free trade opposition.
Yet amongit the vicissitudes thus oc-
casioned in the wool growing interests,
has it been more huctuating-less re-
munerative on the average-than 9th
or productive industries2 1t was our
exceeding good fortune to call out some
important statistics on this subject, be-
fore his lamented death, from perhaps
the only person in the United States
capable of furnishing them in form
so authentic, and for so long period.
These consist of the quarterly average
prices for which wool of the different |
GRADES sold in Boston, for q period OF
thirty-fVe years preceding the recent
war. So far the record is complete, and |
it is given in part for three preceding !
years, during which the tariff Of 1924
was in operation. This table will be
in the Practical Shepherds PIP. 92, SO,
"a. From 1927 to 1861 inclusive, the aE-
erage price offine wool was so cents 3
mills of medium, 42 cents mills; Of
coarse, 353 cents. Coarse woods did not |
for most of this period include any
amount of the valuable English comb
ing woods. They were mainly the
rough, uneven, mongrel Wools, ire
ouentlY buried or cotted, and badly
put up, grown by farrhtrs who kept
few sheep as convenience, but be-
slowed no care on their msnagemento Tor
improvement.
What other farm industry during I
that long period can show better av-
eraRe record than thisl The other in |
dustries, too, have had their ''ups and |
downs ! On this topic We can speak,
TO some extent, fromsexperience. We
have owned sheep from our infancy,
and have had the direct management
of them, and Of other branches offarm-
ing--been a somewhat attentive OBJ
server of them all--for more than thir-
ty-iye years. Our experience and OBJ
servation during the whole of that pc
Rod, has satisfied US that sheep hus-
handry is exposed to no greater risks or
vicissitudes than any other branch OF
farming, and has been on the whole as
profitable.
The recent war changed the relations
of things. The cost Of labor and sub
sistence, and taxes, became so largely