Connecticut western news., 1881-06-15
Kent.
Texas Letter.

Texas Letter.
 It is said that no country in the wsrld comes
 nealer being the natural home, and where
 sheep are subject to fewer diseases, than Vest
 ern Texas. Whether the above be true or not
 do know that sheep do mighty well," and
 that there Is ''heap of money in 'em." One of our near neighbOrs started with & bunch of
 Mexican ewes eight years ago; he now has
 LOGO ewes and 1900 wethers, or mutsons, as
 they are called here. He says that after pay
 ing all expenses of herding, taxes. etc, his
 wethers net him profit of one dollar per head.
 Should judge they would shear from five to six pounds each, twelve months clip He puts a different mark on his lambs ears every year, and turns off the six-year-olds for mutton. man must own the land or lease it, to keep sheep on, as there exists a senseless prejudice
 against sheep Ill most places. They say that other stock will not stay on the same range,
 which is mistake, to say the least of it, for
 there is more stock of all kinds in this valley than there was year ago ; we have to drive | away horses nearly every morning before let
 ting out the sheep, and our cows come up and lie every night by the pen, and eat salt with the sheep. The men that make the most fuss,
 very likely own five or six hundred head of
 COWS and horses, and not more than 160 acres of land. They are the fellows that are just spelling with anxiety to have the country set
 tied up, but actions speak plainer than words sometimes. There are neighborhoods in some
 parts of Texas, where Gabriel could not live
 they'd run him out on one pretext or another.
 The man worked for traded cattle for $40
 ewes year ago last January. Lambs began
 coming in the winter, but we succeeded in
 raising 275, which were worth, when they
 were weaned, S2.50 each. The six months
 clip off the ewes bi ought $50. In Ausust he
 made another trade, getting S6 ewes and O
 lambs. The hard winter. old agS and disease,
 divided between the old sheep and year1ings
 From the $50, ws have over 300 lambs, all marked and opFtafled of their caudal append
 ages. and growing finely. For arguments
 sake we will suppose that the wool from these $50 sheep sells for only enough to pay for herd.
 ing, feed, salt, taxes, and the interest on the money invested ill bucks. Ills profits for the year will be the value of 800 lambs, and these
 lambs are worth as much, or more than the
 old sheep, tor they are of finer grade, the
 bucks we used being of the best Merino stock, five of them having been imported from Yer mont. A peculiarity of this country is, that no stock breed young. Sheep are two years old before they have lambs, and COWS and mares four, before they have young, although there are exceptions to this, as to all general rules. A disease known as the "lombrlz," IS at times quite prevalent, and fatal to sheep, 1t attacks the lambs when they are from two months to year old, and the very aged sheep. The first symptoms are, the sheep will stand d coping around, and does not eat in few days it lies down and does not seem to have any control of it's muscles stand it on its feet and it falls over like log. It acts at times Ii child with worms, and the disease is said to be caused by small white worm ln the fourth stomach. In all that have seen about the disease, no two writers seem to have the same opinion some say 1t is caused by bad water, some one thing, some another. One man claimed it was caused by their eating grass called the needle mesqult, which has bearded head like rye. Whatever the cause, no cure has eyer been discovered, and the loss from that one disease is greater than all other losses combined.
 Not one -'-N" man in ter. has any kind of shelter more than a wall or Drusu 1vn.., . not more than that number ever feed any thing except salt, and some of them pen their | sheep at night in pens that have been used for years, and never cleaned, consequently | their sheep sometimes have the foot rot. l Farther south, and in the prairie country, l where they have to drink water from stagpant l pools and tanks, they sometimes have the liv- l 9r rot, but that is remedied by moving to a l higher range, and purer water. Scab is an other disease that is easily cured, but quite prevalent in some places. The sheep own,r hat allows either of the three last mentioned | hseases to spread among his iock has no business With sheep, and he would be rightly erved if they all died.
 Shearing is done by the piece, the owner everything and boarding the hands, ,rice paid this year. The finer the wool, the nore IS paid. Three years ago there were ess than 1900 sheep in this neighborhood; LOW there are more than GOOD. The richest nan in BlancA County is sheep man. who commenced twenty years ago with thirteen iexican sheep. His wool clip of 1879 brought i'm Sl20O0, and Iast year he built twelve niles of rock fence, and is building moro his. He is a thoroughbred sheep fanclor {; hey say that he takes his lambs into the. par ,r and lays them on the Brussels carpet and overs them with the piano spread when they | ! re chilled. neighbdr of his, who has few undred sheep, met him one day after bad $ orther and asked him how many it had kill Il. He told him. Why, said the man, ''Pve l ad more than that killed myself,' Oh yes I lid B, ''but it don't hurt you to have A sheep I ie as it does me-" f I did not suppose that there was another opy of the NEW except mine sent to Blanco, = Ut it seems an acquaintance gets one, and = mark that he made, has been the cause of A y not getting the number containing the l ,w boy sketch. I did not know that anything |
 that pi, ce applied to any one in this vicinl- lt , but ii the coat fits, they are at liberty to F ear it. After I have been through the cer- ( nony few more times shall consider my If full-fedged member in good standing of e ancient and unhonOrabie society of curious exeans, and as this society is anything but jed to me. It varies some~hst, but the si ading questions usually are What may I " Il your W here gre you going? Where did n, Ill come from7 How do you like the cour- e, ~ yt 0CH ionS are you StlnS to stay WnaU N you intend to do2 How much of a family m we you ? Have you any kinfoks in this al untry? Did you leave any kinfolks? That si ,utt1y is C heap better han this, / reckon. V, lese are supplemented lately by: right il etty bunch of sheep; are they yours :? VI, |, herding for Mir K., what does he give you month? Board with MT. K. Board your
 If? I'll give you that and board you, to help id rock fence, or pick cotton. or hoe cot T or something else. How long are you go- IT 2 t. stay with MT K.f How old are you :? d, IFasn1 yo,u' qrandfather am Hishmdn2 IT There seems to be subtitle invisible some ing about genuine New England Yankee at excites all of SoutherneIs s bottled-up siosity, for as soon he finds out that you } a Yankee, it comes bubbling and boiling III Ii le soda water on a hot day, And he never lses to cffervesce until he knows all about the nkee, either from the Yank himself, or some c else. This effervescencr believe to have Al m the cause of my failing to get the NEWS the week mentioned. This soda of curiosi- has been favored lately in my case. with the up ofpiety. q hope you will excuse me
 useing SD many capital l s, but the story is In good to keepl More than year ago4