Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-04-05

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i know ii has been urged THAI wool grown
in a warm climate is not so fine or SO good
as that grown In a colder country out TINS,
1 am. satisfied, is not the case. If we do
not produce as good wool in the South as
they do in the North, the fault lies IN our
breeds of stock, and not in our chmste.s
The sheep is one of the most wonderful
gifts of kind Providence to man. IL oilers
the most useful and most economical among
| all modes of converting all The vegetation
| of the farm into money. There IS no ami
NAL in which there is so little actual waste
I or loss. For at least seven years Of its life
/ it will give an annual fleece almost if not
! quite equal in value TO the carcass, and the
| early increase in numbers VIII fully pay the
cost of keeping the flock. This, you see,
affords to the grower most handsome
profit.
Is there any branch of farming or any
other kind Of legitimate business that viii
yield for series of years profit Of ten per
cent. assume there is none. The very
idea that profit Of fifty per cent could be
realized in any such branch Of business
would set the whole capital of the country
in motion. Farms would be sold, mer-
chants would sell off their stocks, bankers
NlOSC lliSiA bdltASs auNis l1ttCu, every DouE
who had money TO invest would rush into
this gold mine.
/ aver, without fear Of contradiction in
TRUTH that there is hardly a locality in the
South where any kind OF farm animals can
subsist that the sheep, if properly attended
TO, viii not give net profit on the invest
ment Of at least fifty per nj, and that,
with ordinary management of farms it will
MR. from 10,
There is no danger of OVERRIDING the bust |
ness. The annual increase of populati Ill !
in the county requires the wool from three !
hundred millions Of sheep; 50 that Ia
clothe the increased population would re- |
quire an annual increase of sheep equal to |
four millions But when we come 10 con
slider that there is now an annual deficiency
Of over seventy million Of pounds, there
can be no doubt that wool.groWing is the !
most stable pursuit that can be engaged in. |
We cannot glut the market, nor viii there |
be any long time that the market will be |
depressed below point of profitable pro-
ductiOn. On the contrary it is certain that
no farm product goes less below this point
than wool. 1t has long been a source of
constant wonder to me that so many farm
erS in the Southern States neglect the sheep
for the very pTecarioUS business of cotton
growing. Every year will give them q crop
of wool if they do but take care of their
sheep. But there is no certainty for cotton,
prepare the ground ever so well. If we
have been rightly informed, the cotton raised
IN the South has ever cost the planter more
than he has obtained for it in market. Too
much dependence has been placed upon
this most uncertain and expensive crop.
have tried cotton growing upon proba-
bly, as good cotton farm as can be found
In Tennessee, and | have also tried sheep
upon the same farm; and | am free to
confess that l can raise given amount Of
money quicker and much easier with
flock Of sheep than with cotton. Bat |
tind it well TO raise both sheep and cotton,
as by that means find get a better profit
than TO be confined to either alone.
Every good farmer keeps few good
sheep, at least. Very many who have been
in the habit of putting up large quantity
OF pork for summer use, now select out a
few wethers and give them extra keep, and
make their summer meat of mutton, deck
dedly the most healthful that can be used.
and thus realize the honey for heir pork
fresh. The inducements to grow more
wool are, sure market, less huctuatiOn
rom the point of profitable production
han any farm product, larger interest or
profit on the capital invested than any other
and therefore the best business. !
Is general thing, that the farmer can fol-
oW.
In the out-of-the-way regions, where ;
here is no good market for mutton cOnve-
lient, l would recommend the finer wooded | ]
for the fleece; but near the large
titles, where there is a constant demand for ;
he carcass, there is certainly great profit in
he GOarseT wooded and larger kinds. And |
hey generally are more hardy and vigorous |
n growth than the others.
As already intimated, sheep convert every {
pecies of vegetation into money. They I
at almost anything that grows, and that I
art Of it which is not convertible into flesh ]
II fleece drops upon the soil as most ex- t
client fertilizer. A flock of sheep will en-
ich piece Of poor land quicker than any ]
hing else | know of. '
There are many grasses that may be :
'rOdtably grown in the South for sheep,
ut fOrpermanent pasture none are better !
han Bermuda. l know of old and poor t
districts in this State which have been rem
erred almost equal 10 the famous Kentucky {
.ue grass regions by il, and l learn that t
he same is the case with many portions Of t
Georgia and the CGoIinas.-RurM ALa- :
dTljGF, '