Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-12-24
Pacific Farming.
THE GREAT BUSINESS OF SHEEP KEEPING L
CALIFORNIA.


One oil the most pr0uthOle DrducHes VI
husbandry carried on in this wonderful
State is the keeping of sheep. They are
kept upon farms where cultivated crops are
produced. and upon ranches and Govern
ment lands, where it is the only Industry
Sleep raising is produced here under differ
ent conditions from those of the East The
barns, sheep sheds. rae and fodder, thai
with US are indispensa e and 50 costly, art
here entirely useless. The climate Is SC
mild that sheep thrive without any shelter
the year round. They find enough to eat
IN the pastures even In winter, and con
tinue to grow and make wool Throughout,
| the year 1t is estimated that a sheep born
and bred here is at two years old as heavy
as one at three years born and bred in the
| Atlantic States. The ewes are much more
prolific. The increase Of a well managed
flock of sheep is seldom less than 80 per
cent, or more than 10 per cent The two
year-old ewes will has 10 per cent. OF
twins ; the three year Olds, 30 per cent.
and the fOur-year-olds, 81 per cent; and
the percentage remains the same until they
Sre ten years old There is very little dis
ease among them. The scab exists to some
extent. bat in u mild form. and yeld-
readily to remedies.
Ii is the general impressions here among
Z
duced from a given number of sheep than
in any other State. So little attention
is required that one shepherd will
take care OF thousand sheep At
night the sheep are driven into c0rrals. to
protect them from coyotes and other Wild
beasts. and 10 prevent any from strsying
from the tiock. Shepherd dogs have been in
trodnced from Australia on some of the
ranches, and these are 80 well trained that
when they hear the word corral from
the shepherd. they start at once for the
iiook and drive them up. They also under
stand the devices OF wolves and Wild beasts
and when they see them coming, the sheep
are huddled IN u mass with their tails out
II any sheep faces outward his knees are
bitten until he turns his head inward.
They understand that the vulnerable point
Is the throat OF il sheep. and that a bite in
the rump IL comparatively harmless
Much Of the land on which sheep are
pastuTed Is Government land, and costs
nothing to the shepherd The average value
OF which i owned il not over s. an acre.
No hay OF gram Is 10 be cut from them
Tho principal labor is that OF corrAling and
shearing. Most OF the ewes have lambs be
fore they are a year old, and the increase is
one hundred per cent. annually. The aver
age cost Of Keeping l. vari0usly estimated
NJ from y to 30 cents per head annually,
exclusive Of the interest upon the cost of
the land. The wool Of a good sheep will
pay twice the cost OF keeping. and the lamb
and wool Of line blood eve are worth
{ light or ten times the cost Of keeping
Il was not until 1853, some years alter
the conquest that an attempt was made 10
breed sheep as an exclusive business. The
pioneer was a poor man who had nine hun
dred ewes. and this was all his capital. In
ten years he had ten thousand sheep. SIX
teen thousand acres of land, and other pro-
perty, worth 800 ,000 and bis wealth has
greatly increased -ince. The business OF
wool growing ha- advanced steadily, and
probably paid larger per cent. OF profit
than any other large branch Of agriculture
IN the STATE The increase in the prOduc-
. ton was for scyera. years about - per
cent. In 1850 the Yield was 300 900 pounds.
an loC0. , 3,260 900 pounds in 1870, l9,
-0G, 900 pounds and lo12, % 600 900
pounds In ls94 the number Of sheep re
ported q the State was 1 .G73 300 anu their
value 81 SIS $50 The wool crop was
probably not .'s- than - 600 900 pounds.
OHIO alone e4ote-s California in the value
ai lis sheep. California takes the lead of
al. the States in numbers and in the quanti
ty OF wool produced. This Is a very good
showing Tor 50 young State
The largest i1cks of sheep are keep "A the
southern part OF the State. at the upper
end Of San Joaquin Valley. The fejOn
estate consists Of 200 600 acres, and about
100 900 sheep are kept on it. They are
pastured in bands OF lrOm 500 to > 600
sheep one shepherd taxing care of this nun
Der One rides eighty miles alone the road
running through TINS estate. The sheep are
widely scattered, but each band has its own
feeding district. ami Is brought 10 corral
at night This enclosure l. near water and
the sheep drink IN the morning and have
no water again until night The shepherd
sleeps near bY IN a hut. or If in the more
exposed mountainous parts, upon tapes
ira or platform twelve feet high. support
ed by poles This l. to protect INN from
the grizzly bears. winch, though able to
ciimb trees with rough bark, cannot get up
smooth poles They are said not 10 trouble
sheep ia the corral. bat they have weak
ness for human flesh, and often disturb the
shepherds on the platform, though as they
are always armed. the bears generally get
more than they bargain for in their search
Cor dainty uiet Besides these beasts which
trouble the ilock-. the shepherds have con-
tend with the California lloa or puma. the
wild cat, fox, and coyote. Foxes. coyotes.
and wolves are kept under 5y strychInns
sprlnkled upon meat, and the other boasts
are hunted with hrearm-.
Various nationalities supply shepherds, Of
HON the Scotch and the Chinese Laye the
preference The shepherds receive their
rauQns once a week and do their own cook
in~ lhe ration matters send out their sup
pii,.- from the stations on dOnkeys and
mule. and count all the sheep once week.
he shepherd Is allowed a certain number
OF sheep 10 keep him in fresh meat, and for
these he must give an account and keep
the skins. which have market value. The
majoT-dOmU Is over the ration masters. and
directs them IN the distribution Of ratIOns
and ha- the general supervision Of the pas
turage and OF the lock-. Gen Beal, who
owns the Ielon estate, has large number
OF Indians in his employ and under his in
luence who have been encouraged to make
homes aud cultivate lands themselves.
They are said 20 be in much better condi-
tion than Indians upon the reservations
supported by the Government
In the northern part of the great valley
sheep raising is conducted on "A smaller and
more careful -ystem Land is more yalda-
( bic, and the sheep are of better grades. IL Is
/ found that II = better economy 10 produce
| fine wool, worth two prices, even If the
/ stock cu-:s more aud the care Is more ex-
| pen-iye.
The ioethod of ,sleep raising here Is more
! ike in the older States, only 1t Is on q lsrg-
er scale. The ranches are often fenced in
| the Sacramento Valley, are divided OF into
] large pastures of from one to four thousand
acres each. OF course. where sheep are
kept under fence fewer shepherds are need
ed and often there is no need OF cOrraling.
If sheep can be safely kept, they do much
better to follow their own instincts IN seek
ing food and water than to be guided by
man When the weather Is hot they will
feed at night or in the early morning. and
in some shady retreat will spend the midday
hours chewing the cud.
Sheep will deteriorate here as they do IN
other States. unless the stock Is reinforced
with better blood The best farmers fee
this necessity. and are importing the best
rams they can get from Australia and the
East They are well paid for their enter
prise, not only in the high prices they gel
tor the lambs out of the imported animals
bat in the increased fneness Of the wool
the larger Yield, and the higher price. Th'
wool j. no longer Jumped and sold under th
general name of California wool, butts care
fully graded by competent men, and solt
according TO IT, value. Great pains ar
taken to keep it clean. and 10 produce
frst-rate articls Some of the large flock
in the Sacramento Valley, 1t is said, will
average seven pounds of wool per head
Some of the large sheep owners own iani
in the foot bills as well as in the bottoms
The sheep are kept in the low lands durinl
summer, where there is abundance of drie
grass, and in the foot hills in the winte
and spring, when. the rains make good
fresh pasturage The best wool comes froI
the western part OF the State. is wort
about % cents pound. and is mostly use
in home manufactures The wool fror
the south is worth 10 cents, and is exported
The Mexican RobbeF Raids -Barbsrous Cruelty
New Orleans Picayune,
A gentleman who, Tor some time past. ha
been sojourning at Brownsville, Texas, an
has had an excellent opportunity of obsel