New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-09-04
SHEEP-RAISING IN KANSAS.

different aspects that Kansas presents 1t must Ge
remembered that n steady and at times even rapid
rise il enco nntercd in travelling from east to west
400 miles across the State until the rolling praries
merge into the Colorado PLAINS that skirt the
eastern base of the Rocky Mountains ConSe-
qucntly the State has been roughly divided into
three belts with essential differences of climate and
vegetation resulting from their varying elevations
The average height OF the eastern belt is less than
1000 feet OF the central about l 500, and of the
western from $500 70 5000. while the rainfall
drops from thirty-threo inches IN the eastern to
twenty inches in the western belt, showing some
slight increase yearly, however, as the land Is
moro and moro broken M toward the west. Here
at Larned the traveller has come from an elevation
OF about 900 feet Mt Topeka to one of over 1000.
The natural effects of this rise have within the last
few years been learned by hard experience. and
farmers In each belt are now devotiDg themselves
to the products for which their own section Is
peculiarly adapted. ! speak Of hard experience,
because 1t happened again and again after the great
wheat crop of 1878 that immigrants almost desti-
tute of means and with no knowledge Of irrigation
came into southwestern aud western Kansas
against the advice and wishes OF persons conversan
with the country aud settling on the plains put
their little all into wheat. They goranty reasoned
that because eastern and central Kansas produced
vast wheat crops, they could garner the golden
grain from any part of the State. Their mistake,
injurious as it to themselves and to the State,
was due to their own unreasonable wrong headed
ness. Had they chosen spots further east, or had
they irrigated their land; or better STILL had they
made sheep-ra sing instead of wheat their speciality,
their farming would have been rewarded with sue
cess.
That the last Of these alternatives particularly
true is proven by tho numerous prosperous sheep
ranches in this neighbOrhood, several OF which
have visited Larned is on the eastern border Of
the western belt of Kansas, and is in the south
western section of the State This is the centre Of
the great sheep district OF Kansas. which extends
from east to west for nearly 100 miles from about
Sterling to Klnsey. or course shecp-raising is
extensively carried on in other parts Of the State,
but in this section it is the chief industry and here
will be found very large proportion of the million
and a half sheep now in Kansas. To he north Of
this town and to the southeast in what Is known
the Michigan settlement, some large wheat
fields. but neatly the entire country to the south is
occupied as sheep ranges. For this industry the
advantages here are apparent They are the
abundance of grass possessing superior fattening
qualities, the practically unlimited extent Of the
range, the cheapness Of tho land. the case with
which water can be procured by sinking wells
twenty-five or thirty feet the dryness and purity Of
the air. and the short open winters, which necess-
tate feeding the sheep for not moro than three
weeks For these reasons sheep growing in this
vicinity has assumed largo proportions, and when
carefully followed has been attended with remark
able pecunary success.
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES.
In company with Mr. g. II. Wadsworth member
of the state Board of Agriculture, and the largest
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in studying the practical operation Of the sheep
business on various neighborhood ranches. In the
course of drive over the gentle unlniating prairie
south of the Arkansas, Mr. Wadsworth related some
OF his experiences which are valuable as coming
from i practical lifelong farmer and stock-raiser.
Seven years ago Mr. Wadsworth came to Kansas
from of the Middle States. and began with a
flock OF 1000 sheep. The cost OF his ranch was
about $500 for shepherds house. corral and sheds
we'll and windmill, dipping watts and boiler. The
ranch was on Government land. 100 acres OF which
were homestealed. The expenses for the FIRST year
were ~ $40 the largest expense being the cost of
shepherds. shearlng grain and hay. This includes
also twenty. three sheep that died. The receipts
were, from wool sold, ~ $50. and from sheep sold.
81 ,475 80, making total receipt OF T3l2j 30.
For The second year tho expenses were > ,2l7 30,
and the receipts - PSI 30 an for the third year
the expenses were pl, 100 anu INC c'lpl' FDo''
For the three years, Therefore the total expenses
were S3,742 30 AMI the total receipts SI1,263.
leaving net profit of $7.42O 50, on an original
Investment including cost Of sheep of $l,9lS 30.
From the original flock Mr. Wadswortb had also
graded up herd of 22OO young sheep worth
So 800 in addition 10 the sum given AS profit Since
the expiration OF the first three years Mr. Wads-
worth has not kept strict account of his sheep in
tercsrs owing to their diversity and extent Last
year lie owned wholly or in part 5000 sheep, and
this year he holds 10000 of his own, and is in
tcre,ted in 1000 more.
TINS conve sation occupied us for much of the
flteen-me drive before Mr.. Wadsworth pointed
ont "a large square house on distant swell of the
prairie, which was his home rancho. Near by were
the long low sheds and cOrrals peculiar 10 sheep
ranches while n windmill whrlcd ;nerry above a
huge tank, and beyond the straw stacks could be
seen fields of sorghum and millet, which have been
found best adapted for sheep folder Not tree
was to he seen as my companion pointed to the
vast stretch of prairie reaching everywhere to the
horizon ana exclaimed: 40 Eastern man can
comprehend the melSureles5 expanse of Theses
plans. They reach from Wyoming down through
Nebraska. Colorado, Kansas. Indian Territory into
New Mexico AMI Texas. on here are millions of
acres without owners or settled inhabitants This
bUundess stretch is like nothing but md-Ocenn,
but it destined to tced the snoep and cattle of the
world His words were emit short by some beauti-
full black and yellow sheep dogs which came bound
ing out to greet their master, while the prairie dogs
that had been sitting bolt upright at then burrows
chipping cOmplaningy at us, suddenly ceased
thel plant, and all over the ground their tails
formed so many twiL king vanishing points as they
took headers down below
DIPPING SHEEP.
The smoke ascending near the corrals showed
that dipping was in progress. the most unpleasant
feature of the shepherds life. This is to the
" scab" the only disease to which Kansas sheep arc
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