Cheyenne transporter. [volume] (Darlington, Indian Terr.) 1879-1886, 1884-02-13

way. Oho IudH Cdlue 10 hanSaS With
81 400 less than four years ago and has
stuck to sheep and is worth $5O,0OO;
another man was offered $3.50 bonus
for his plant in less than three years.
1 would not have mentioned these in
cidents only it seemed necessary to
notice these points. And my attention
was called to it by an inquiry in the
Atchison Champion, asking the reason
of the depression and the cause of so
many sheep being offered for sale.
KIND OF SHEEP.
My attention has been called to this
matter by demand for % sheep that
will combine the qualities of mutton,
wool. and adaptability of keeping in
large nocks.
The theorist wishes perfect sheep
for oil purposes, one that will be equal
ly valuable for small flocks of twenty
five to 1C0, kept in pasture near the
mutton markets, and for the large herds
of 200 10 $4,000, kept on the larger
ranges. Some favor sheep giving the
medium wool of commerce and the
carcass of Cotswold or a shropshire
Down, with the weight of fleece of the
Merino.
Well, the theory is right, and so was
Downing when he said che was free
trader in theory, but a protectionist in
practice" This is all very we'll for
those who have the means and time to
experiment. Yet foi us, and all others
who look to this business for the profit,
we must accept the breeds as they are,
for general purposes. And whatever
experiments we make must be on
small scale. Let us look at the matter.
The medium wool is an exact cross or
an average between Cotswold "full
bloods" and the pure Spanish Merino.
Now the claim for the Cotswold is that
this breed has been kept pure for ages.
And the claim for the Merino is even
more ancient, my friend Hardwick
claiming that the ram that Abraham
sacrificed in place of his son, being
caught by the horns, must have been
Merino, as other breeds are polls.
Allowing for variations, the Meripo to
be pure must be able to trace back to
importation from Spain, prior to 1912,
as all reliability of breeding was sup
posed to have been endangered or de-
stroye6 by commissions in Spain after
that time. Now, if it has taken that
long to establish these two breeds will
it not take as long to establish the
medium and bring them as near per-
fection, and further do we need another
breedP
Take each breed of sheep, and we
find each has place. The mutton for
the small ilock-master living near
cities, SO he can dispose of lambs for
early mutton and keephis flocks within
prescribed limits, for the large flocks
are necessarily far removed from mar
ket to secure range.
The Merino must take precedence.
Their known adaptability TO large
floeks, their wool producing and hard
mess all combine to I axe them popu-
lar. Better throw the carcass away at
four years old, than trust to any other
breed.
Wool is the main point and mutton
secondary.
There is no reason why wethers of
this breed at four years old should not
weigh 100 to lS0 pounds with good
feed and care.
Select good sheep for stock. Be
your own Judge of what you want.
Don't pay long prices for short sheep.
Keep level heads and don't allow any
of us breeders or ram peddlers to i'm
pose on you. Start right and feed
regular and well; get good assistants;
feed them well, pay and treat them
the same and no depression will keep
you from success.
TARIFF ON WOOL.
There is some apprehension that the
tariff will undergo some revision. An
effort will be made to restore the duty
on wool TO its former basis. Grave