Morning journal and courier., 1880-07-29
A GREAT CRY AND MUCH WOOL

l Those whose money is not invested in the
 manufacture of glucose or in first class cop l per mine, and who mourn on that account,
 may, if the truth is told, find partial if not complete consolation in growing wool in
 Montana Mir. John L. Hayes, the editor of l the Wool Manufacturers Bulletin, gives an 1 interesting and tempting account of the bus l mess. There are now over POO, ,OO0 sheep in 1 the territory, with a productionsof over a million pounds of wool. A large percentage ! of the sheep IS owned by persons who do ] not manage them themselves. Those desir- 1 ing to invest in the business of sheep-grow- 1 ing tal4e as an associate some man of expert ence and integrity, but destitute Of capital, 1 and give him entire charge of the flock. For his services he receives usually one-half of l the increase of the flock. A band of sheep containing 1000 and upward in good condi- l tion and free from disease, may be bought for from $3 to $4 head. They must be herded, summer and winter, in separate
 bands of not more than ,, 900 each, corralled
 every night, and guarded against the depre-
 dations of dogs and wild animals. Cattle and sheep cannot live together on the same range. The latter not only eat the grass down so closely that nothing is left for the cattle, but they also leave an odor which is offensive to the cattle. Although the cost of
 managing sheep is greater than that of hand ling cattle, the returns are quicker and larger. While herd of young cattle begins to yield an income only at the expiration of three years, the sheep yield a crop of wool the first summer after they driven upon range, and the increase of the band is much
 greater. A provision of shed in winter,
 against severe storms, is regarded as desira-
 ble, but in Montana they rarely receive hay
 or other food, save that gathered by them
 selves The life of the sheep grower is much
 easier than that of the cattle-herder, as the
 sheep are easier to take care of than cattle.
 But the pleasantest part of the life of the
 sheep+grower is when he, counts up his profits,
 which are said to be usually satisfactory and
 sometimes immense. All the authorities
 agree that the wool-clip will pay the entire
 expense, leaving the increase a clear gain,
 and one man says the wool will pay all ex-
 penses and forty per cent. on the investment.
 To illustrate what really can be done with
 sheep in Montana the experience of Judge
 J
 July the Judge bought ], ,00O ewes, which cost
 him in the neighborhood of $3, GOO. These
 he put in charge of young man, who was
 to take them on a range, care for them, pay
 all the expenses of the band, and to receive
 as his share one-half the wool produced and
 one-half the increase of the flock. At the
 end of four years settlement was to be made, and Judge Davenport was then to re-
 ceive back 1000 of the best ewes which the
 band contained. The settlement was made
 last July. In the meantime Judge Davenport
 had received for his share of the pro- ceeds of the wool $6 800, and for
 his share of the increase $S,00o.
 The profits of his investment of $3,00O for four years were, therefore, $14,-
 800, or $3, 625 or 121 3-5 per cent year ! During the same year other men made only 50 or 60 per cent. on their sheep, and some, who, from inexperience or bad fortune met with heavy losses, perhaps not more than 25 per cent. Absolute losses, 1t is said are very rare if q man sticks to the business for 8 pe- riod of three or four years. In illustration large band of sheep from the South year or two ago was caught Dy the winter Tn an un- favorable place and lost one-half or two thirds of his flock, is cited This unfortu- 1 nate individual at the end of three years, when he came to balance his books, found ] that the remnant of his band had done so | well that his profits had been about 25 per | cent. year on his original investment.
 These cheerful stories make it seem that 1 almost any man with few thousand dollars 1 can go to Montana to shear and not come l back shorn. Undoubtedly there is an unusu- l ally good field for sheep-growers there, but | those of our readers who feel symptoms of l the sheep fever would do well not to be hasty | in giving way to it's attack. Not every man l can make money out of sheep even in Mon- I tana.