Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1876-04-28
THE AVANT COURIER.
HEEP RAISING.

4 ipaner Read by Jas. Amef
Ere. Before the Mobiles
County Agricultural
society,"
Sheer husbandry has proved cminently
successful on the wild prairies west O
The Mississippi, from Missouri and Mime
sota, where the attempt has been made
with that intelligent care which - neces'
bayso supcess in any business.
~ ppodoction Of wool must, for MANY
Years to come, prove the most remunera
tive product of our prairie frontier, FOL
he following reasons:
1st On account of our remoteness
HON market, and the consequent cost Of
tsInsportsting from twenty to twenty
Eve bounds to New York or Boston. while
It viii require the price of one bushel 81
wbest b t1sSport II 'nshels, and about
two bushels OF corn or oats, to ship ont
. market.
"a. The illimitable pasture range. coy
cred with most luxuriant grass. inter.
spereed with On abundance OF water, and
and the spontaneous production ci mead
ow hay without limit, to be had only
for the cutting.
Wersy ont our money and cxpend our
labor in breaking and subduiDg our lands
and purchasing seed and agricultural i'm.
plements snd cultivating various kinds Of
grain, which has run the gnuntl OF a
host Of enemies and casualties. such q
the birds. the gopher. the 'hoppers, the
noods, the drnuth. the storms. the blight
the rust and frost, and when we reach the
end of the year. or even any OF our crops
without serious injury, and when we take
our crop to market we have 20 certainty
Of finding such market as will pay tie
cost Of production.
But, on the other hand. if We devote
our stteption 10 the utilization of this
boundIess crop of grass growing already
70 our hand, it is hardly possible that q
failure can ever occur But some Of you
will ask what evidence we hsve that our
climate Is suited to sheep hushandry and
that our prsirie grass gives suitable pas
ture and hay for the healthy growth and
development Of sheep; and whether sheep
IRE not Liable t. disease ard what the &C
tual cost of keeping sheep here, and will
they paw
The Hon. Henry s. Randall. il his
work entitled "1'he Practical Shepherd, =
in his chapte. on Prairie Sheep Husband
ry,n page $50, says: I'm all the new west
ern states sheep have been found to accli-
mate, without the least difficulty. In Tex
- ID thu extreme south, in Minnesota in
tho extreme north. and in every interme-
diste region sheep remain signally healthy.
thrive to The highest degree, produce as
much wool. If as well fed, as in the older
eastern states, and their wool is not deter
jorated In any real quality = and goes on
to say: 1T can require no formal array
Of facts to show that profits Of sheep hus.
bandry on the prairie must greatly exceed
those obtained in states lying farther east,
where land il no better and costs from
I've 70 Afty times as much" He further
says, on page PSI, 1T seems now also to
b . conceded fact that the profits Of sheep
production decidedly exceed those Of
horse. cattle Or swine production on the
prairie.
In the report of the commission on
agriculture. under the head Of ''Sheep on
the Prairie." the Hon. J. B. Grinnell, of
Iowa, says: AT any point 200 miles from
Chicago this ratio of cost is well establish
cd, that to transport your product to the
% .hpard. on wheat yoa pay 80 per cent
ofais yslue; on pork, 30 PER cert; on beef
- per cent; while on wool you pay only
I per cent. This is not conjecture, but
my own experience, that give so per-
cont Of the value Of my wheat, which
impover,shes my farm, to find market.
and only Z per cent TO find the best wool
market, the production Of which enrlches
ny .cres beyond computation.
-Vsdse the head Of Prairie Diseases, ~
page 255, he says: ''Hoof rot. the greatest
scosses 70 the docks Of New England.
New York. &C.. does Jet appear TO estah-
lish itself on the prairics. 1t is claimed,
end no doubt 10 true. that focks to some
degree sif. cted with this disease in the|
s6yAesr 6tates, ON being driven to the|
prslt1es lose al traces of it." Psge 257,
Ae says: HE who embarks extensively
% sh-ep husbandry IN the older States
must buy large amount of comparatively
high psic-d lsnd, clear up the forest,
5ssos his lsnd carefully, SOW pastures AID
meodowa, build barns for the winter stor.|
sGe and for shelter, or buy all these
thasHs alrrady fitted to his hand, before
- b ready to purchase flock of sheep[
- commence businesa All this requires
ths outlay of much capital. The prairie
sbeep raiser can commence operations
without buying anything but bis sheep.
HE principal necessary capital is decent
kbowledRe Of the business. and enough
70 pefsevere In 1t. Thus have started
re majority Of the pioneer farmers of
nev Suites. The new settler builds n
Dmsll csbin for himself and wife to sleeps
il. pen covered with prairie grass for
- team ard COW. if he il SO fortunate as
10 own such . luxury, q high yard for
} fold. and then he is ready for wool
growing. And in ten years time he can
count more sheep, md sometimes more !
dollars worth Of property, than his east :
m competitor who commenced with ev