The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1873-01-16
6ED0wICK, HAavnY 60, KAN. !,
DsC. 18th. 1879. !


Mr.. Editor:
Have mot written snything Sor your
parsr for : good whiis have bssn
much at home during the summer,
and have not had much Of intsrsst to
write. Visiting Wichita (prooosDced
Wict-it-tah) recently, which 4, the
terminus Of branch, 50 miles In
length, Of the Aschison. Topeka =
Santa Fe r. r., collected . few
items, that wsrs new and fresh 20 me,
and presume will bs to your rsadsss.
Wichita 10 the county seat Of ssdg-
wick Co. Was laid out q : town il
Feb, 1870, and may at the present
time contain 4,00O inhabitants. The
town isspread over 400 or 500 acrss Of
.snd Aud the principal business street
T" quite conpactly built for nearly .
mile IN length. It 10 tho nearest r.
=. point for . large portion Of the
lnuian territory. and government
ships supplies from here. Il b aleo :
leading point for the shipment Of
Texas cattle. Sixty TO seventy ear
loads per day were shipped from THE
point for many weeks In succession.
Wichita 10 situated In the valley AZ
the Arkansas, and has . very fins
farming country around it. Corn %
far has been the principal crop, and
averages 40 to SO bushels Per acre.
think the folder grows larger here
than 1t does In lows, but, In conse-
quence Of dry falls, it does not ear
quite 80 we'll. l should judge that
rally thrse-fourths Of all the rain that
has fallen here, since l have been In
the State, has fallen during the
months Of May, June and July. The
balance Of the year was quite dry,
both in VI aud ~, aud am informed
il usually 80.
l Istopped over night with Mr.. J.
Smith, three miles Southeast from
Wichita. He is the owner Of the
largest and best flock OF sheep that I
know of In this part Of the State. And
~ he is quite enthusiastic over his
success In this branch Of industry, I
propose to give you few items with
regard to his flock in particular, and
sheep farming In Kansas generally.
We found Mr.. Smith feeding his
sheep, and looking after his young
lambs, which were coming at the rate
Of about dozen per day. Said 1t was
very bad county for sheep, - many
of his ewes would produce two lambs
y year In spite Of him-not by having
twins but by dropping one in Dec.
aud another In May or June. Had
never observed this habit iu the east
and supposed II he were TO publish
the fact there, people would cay he
was lying. l was little puszled By
his manner 1t first, aud supposed that
he intended to say, that this excessive
production injured, either tho ewes or
the lambs, but he said nothing Of the
kind; and soon learned. by examin-
ing his dock that this was not his 10.
tsntion. His juno lambs were large
and fat, aud did not require separating
from the rest Of the flock; his ewes
were oil In hne order, and young
lambs dropped in the snow got up
and did we'll.
We were just having the drst snow
storm ofthe season, some two inches
,f snow bad fallen, which has since
gone on. Mr.. Smith said he had
seventy lambs only week or two old.
Had not lost . dozen. He made the
following estimate with regard to the
profits Of his flock. Had $40 head Of
The best grade Spanish Msrinos
sheared nearly i've pounds per head
last year; expected they would do bet
Ter this year - lie had improved the
lock; sold his wool last year in Wichita
for SO cents per pound, thought the
market would be quite - good the
present season. Such sheep - his
we're worth six to vight dollars Per
head in Ohio; here they were worth
our. Never lost any sheep; always
ent them to the butcher before they
'egan to decline; expected to raise ct
east 100 lambs. His expenses we're
mall; ted about one bushel Of cor Der
read, which at twenty cents per BUSH
i would only be $8S.OO. Hay was
carcely an item Of expense at all, his
hsep lived mainly in tho stalk field
md would not eat I've tons Of hay du-
ing the winter. But il they eat more
was little difference. It was mere
to cut down the grass with his
saper and could hire 1t stacked for
0 cents per ton; 500 would cover all
expenses aside from care OF the dock,
which was no great affair, a. boy ten
ears old had herded them, and lot
t cattle all summer. The account
TODD:
GOO pounds of wool at so cent T.. $500 90
w lambs at t$4........................ 400 90
Gross proceeds. eds.............,.... 81, 100 90
or cure and profits. 1,10O 90
These are Mr.. Smiths figures; should
Modify them some II were respons-
Die for them. But they will hear con-
derable modification, and still it will
emain that sheep farming 10 Q profit
BILE industry in Kansas provided there
capital and skill enough to do the
usiness right, aud on large scale.
With our dry and short winters there
ill be little trouble In keeping large
ocks in condition without separation.
heep require no shelter except .
ind break. Mr.. Smiths sheep had
OF been wet, excspt the ends Of the
,ool since 6sptsmbsr and would prob
bly, not bs till April. Our valleys are
ch, aud quite extensive and will fur
ish abundance Of corn and hay for
Our up.lands, large tracts
which will not be profitable for
will furnish the best Of
1eep pasture. 1t will be necessary to
eep the sheep In large focks, and
'stch them while grazing, ~ We have
n fannon aud iii h>-~ 49, Asip