The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1875-11-18
Gimes
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER IS, 1876.
Sheep EusbsnGrY-

Sheep EusbanGrY.
We have seized upon the following cor
kespondenoe ior the benefit Of our readers:
TorEKA KAN, Oct. 80, 1879.
|Ifot. Z. u Sheldon:
DEAR SiR:-Will you have the kindness
10 give this Board the benefit OF your per
eonaI experience in sheep husbaIdry in
kour county? What are the best grades
EanG crosses for X ansas? Have there been
Hooks brought into your county since the
|frst Of March? If so, give size OF tlocks,
Ibreeds, and name and pOst-ofiice address OF
|owner or person having charge Of them.
What are the peculiar advantages and dis
advantages Of Kansas Tor sheep-raising?
Estate what Is necessary in food, shelter,
protection, etc, to secure success!
Yours Respectfully,
ALFRED CRAY.
Sec'y State Board Of Agriculture.
MASHATTAS, KAN, Nov. 3, 1876.
Hon. Alfred Gray:
DEAR SRI am very glad 10 do any
thing within nv power for the advance
ment OF sheep husbandry in this State, for
/ believe that Kansas possesses certain nat
ural advantages which, when our people
are properly educated, will make it one oil
the great wool-growing States" i say
"when our people are properly educated"
| for wool-growing is a different matter
from growing corn OF wheat, or herdIng
cattle; il demands good degree Of natu-
raj taste and special knowledge OF the
work, and the difficulties to be encountered
| in il. The considerable successes, no less
than the disastrous failures that have been
made in wooi-growing in this part OF the
State, will, | think, bear me out in this
statement Without attempting to reply
TO YOUR questions in the order in which
they are propounded, ] will endeayor to
answer as fully as seems suited to your
purpose.
First among the peculiar advantages
possessed by Kansas in this matter Of sheep
husbandry, must be mentioned its climate
Ii is well known both in Colorado and Kan
sas that the dry atmosphere and soil Of
these regions are not only a preventative
but a specific OF some of the worst com
plants to which sheep are sui feet, notabl,
foot rot and catarrh. j am told that the
attacks OF GstrUs owls are also unknown
The great extent OF unoccupied "range'
CDNcItu Win - Al
the abundance OF excellent water and tn,
exceeding cheapness Of hay for wintel
forage, must also I've placed among the ad
vantages possessed by our State in thi
matter.
But sheep husbandry as practiced East
name V, a. part OF system Of farm man
agement, Is hardly possible in Kansas ex
cept in rare cases. Here sheep must b
kept in considerable herds, with the herds
man constantly in attendance, and the rang
must not be limited. The reasons for thi
are: /. The abundance Of dogs, wolve
and coyotes. =. Expense Of fencing. !
And most important, the general absence O
"tame grasses in Kansas, and the impossi
bility OF pasturing closely the native grasse
without destroying them.
OF all the breeds Of Sleeps the merino
and its grades are the best adapted to tn
wants of Kansas. In Colorado and IVES
tern Kansas the fayoriie sheep, SO far as
have observed, are the cross-bred progen
Of Mexican and Missouri ewes and merin
rams The whole argument, 50 far as bree'
is concerned, may be briefly stated thus
The merinos have the gregarious instinc
more perfectly developed than any othe
breed. 1t is claimed iiIat the herdsme
can handle with the same ease three time
as many merino as Of English sheer
Moreover, the merInOs are the hardest q
any sheep having anything like their value
when once upon their feet. In the youn
state the pure merino Is much more deli
cate than the coarse-w0ol. The larg
amount and superior quality OF the woo
| furni he'd 10y the meIino is another argu
ment greatly in their favor. The offsprin
of the "natiyes" Of the East, or the CON
mon Missouri ewes and mcrino rams, wi
unquestionably give the largest satisfaction
in Kansas.
Sheep introduced from the East shoul
reach here as soon a. possible after sheal
ing. in order that they nIav become accui
toned To our grasses while they are iuic
and most palatabie. The commOnest of a
mistakes and the prime cause OF nineteenth
of the failures with sheep in Kansas,
neglect in this matter. The sheep as pu
chased OF Eastern farmers are general
"brokcn-mogthed," worn out specimens
these, arriving IN the State late in the sc;
son, weary and exhausted from the Ion
journey. are turned loose upon the prairi,
TO lee. upon The dried grass. 1t is not su
pri-ing that under such circumstanc,
whole Hooks frequently perish the iIrst WI:
ster after their arrival.
In this latitude sheep should receive Il
protection OF good sheds during the wint'
months, and the grass around the whit,
sheds should be allowed to attain as heay
growth as possible, so as TO furnish fee
during the fine weather of winter. To be
accomplish this il will generally be foun
desirable 10 have the summer corral" an
winter sheds Il considerable distance apar
For young and healthy sheep, hay will gel
orally be found a sufficient winter food, br
aged sheep and lambs should have lit
grain every day, and will pay well for sue
extra care.
at the present time there are not far fro
two thousand sheep in Riley county, and
these twelve hundred have been brougl
into the county since the first of Marc
OF the sheep thus lately introduced, J.
Lee owns seven hundred and W. III. Eagle
two hundred head. The post Office addre
of both is Manhattan, Kansas.
Respectfully yours,
L. NJ. SHELTON.