Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1874-03-27
SHEET. BAIS1NG IN COLORADO.


DENVER, COl,, Mafch 80, 1919.
DEAR PuGNIx:-I have Just read the ar
ticle in your paper put forth by Mr.. Meach-
am of the Rutland Herald at the Farmers
Meeting at Westminster, in regard 10 sheep
raising in Colorado. Now his ideas and my
experience conflict. lie makes some state
ments that arc very erroneous. find that
we do need shelter and little hay, but we
feed no grain except to our rams at certain
seasons. No man Is safe without shelter,
for we generally have about two storms in
the spring that are very severe, either in
March or April, and one wants to put up
about ten tons OF hay for ovcry thousand
sheep; and still we may not have to iced
any. AS a general thing we can winter
our sheep and have them come out in the
spring looking better On the grass about
here than you can there on hay and grain.
| did not feed my sheep any last winter
nor have l fed any this, as yet, and they
are in first ratio condition at the present
tine. did not lose Il sheep last winter,
nor have l this, except a couple Of old ones,
nor have / heard OF any one that has lost
any. Those that have no shelter do lose a
few in their corral in case of q storm. They
lie down aud the snow drifts in on them
and they pile up and some of them get
smothcrcd.
lie says water IS very poor and hard TO
obtain. That is true Of some localities, but
there is plenty of range where there is
water enough for all tire stock a man wants
to keep, nd that which is good, too.
He says they are all Mexican, and that
they shear only from oue 10 one and a half
pounds per head | have got about one
thousand Mexican ewes, and there * not
one ofthem but what will shear over two
pounds per head, and from that up 10 six.
He also says they range in price from $3.50
TO $500 per head. Now you cannot buy a
Mexican eve in Colorado for less than $3.50,
and from that to $500.
He says that thousands Of sheep die here
in single night. That is a case that was
never known here aud sheep are freezer
from diseases here than in any place in the
world. / have known but lew cases Of
scab and that was when they caught ii
from sheep that came from the States. But
foot rot they will never have. | know II
nocks which were brought here from the
States that when they arrived here had the
foot rot bad, but got entirely well in short
time without having anything done for
them. There are great many sheep
brought FROM the States and they do fine
ly. My rams all came from Vermont and
they have done finely. I cross Merno
rams on Mexican ewes, and the first cross
makes very good sheep; they shear from
| 8 10 lbs. Of wool per II adj. | would not
sell my half breed ewes for les than $500
per head. have sold we.hers as high as
| $500 per head. Good first class Merno
ewes are worth here from $50 10 $40 per
head.
Two years ago got As cents round for
my WOOL and last year 2j cents, some diff
ference between that and his figures 10
and Is cents. Wool that is quoed AT that is
not wool Int very poor kind Of hair that
is grown on some sheep Cow and then one
and is sorted out from the rest but those
hairy sheep drop good limb from a Me
rino ram, and, Furthermore. | know OF
men that have made money bringing sheep
out here from Vermont.
Last, but not least, as to Colorado being
peoped only b. savages. We think he
must judge other people here from his
own associates and surroundings. My
family can speak from two years cxper-
ience that they never met kinder hearted
and more hospitnhle friends than since
their sojourn in Colorado, and part of my
family have lived in the old Granite Stale
for sixty years, which is supposed 10 he
populated by civilized people. They find
no such penurious people here rs they left
| behind.
will just mentio an instance or two Of
tue profits of sheep raising in Colorado
which knoD 10 be facts. | know man
who started two years and a half ago with
a thousand Mexican ewes, and to day be is
worth $4,000; and another who started
with few that made $4,000 in four years
aud another that started with $500 Mexican
ewes and in three years he only made S4O,-
| 900. W. H.w.