St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1884-11-15
Concerning Mutton.

there is no question at all about this be-
ing a fact. It is next to impossible to
get even moderately decent mutton in
our markets. It is tough. strong or
tasteless, and people are beginning to
refuse to buy mutton. They are giving
the orders that a friend of our recently
gave in our hearing. He said at his to-
bic, at which we were q. guest, that the
mutton of the markets was so wretch
eddy poor that it distressed him to see
mutton day. come to his house, and
addressing his wife, he said: ''Please
buy no more mutton" That any man
in America should feel the necessity of
saying this, is q disgrace to our sheep
husbandry. We can produce just as
good mutton in this country as can be
produced in the world. We have the
intelligence to do it. we have the sheep
to do it, and we have, or ought to have,
the food to do it. Yet we do not do it.
Cross the Canadian line, and you may
get mutton of the very best quality.
mutton producers. But, as we have
repeatedly said, we have run to wool,
and yet the care necessary to produce
good mutton would materially aid in
producing wool, for it would be in the
direction of making our sheep health
Ter. Where we particularly fail is in
winter care. We do not provide such
food as sheep or any of our animals
should have. There are many fiocks of
sheep that go through the entire winter
without anything but dry food. We
sometimes have the question asked,
will ensilage be good for sheep? We
answer the question according to our
best Judgment. We desire to say now
that no one should let any argument
or supposition stand in his way of pro-
viding e1silagetor his sheep, if he is
struck" after ensilage and will pro-
vide no other similar food. It is not
for us to say that there is anything
better, or as good. We have never pre-
tended to do more in this respect than
to give our opinion entirely unsupported
by experience We have, however,
given the experience of others, and the
reader can form his own opinion from
such testimony.
But we do recognize the necessity of
producing better mutton. Unless we
do this the 1ockmaster is iAiuring his
prospects every day and every hour.
And we never can do it unless we give
better winter care to our focks, and
that better care will include due pro-
portion of some kind of green food in
the diet In country where we can
grow roots as easily as we can grow
them in this country we should at least
have plenty of them to feed. The dis
tricts that are particularly celebrated
for the production of finer mutton are
districts in which there is the best of
green food all through the Winter.
In those sections where we can not pas
ture through the Winter we must sup
ply the lack by providing something of
the same character. Roots are cheap.
They can be grown with little trouble.
They produce abundantly, and they are
harvested without difficulty. The mar
ket demands that we should pay more
attention to this matter. We have been
accustomed to refer to the difficulties
with which our sheep interests have had
to contend, and which were embodied
in the wretchedly poor quality of NUT
ton in the years gone by, and we have
congratulated ourselves that we were
rapidly overcoming these difficulties by
producing better mutton. This has
been true, too The markets for NUT
ton have been improving. The people
were being taught that meat from the
sheep was as good as any meat. But
now the consumer is again losing con-
fidence, and the market is in danger of
suffering great injury. 1t is very easy
matter to lessen the consumption OF an
article. But it is q difficult matter to
restore an injured market to vigor.
When people have refused TO buy some
thing, because of its inferiority, it is no
easy thing to induce them TO touch it
again.
1t is to our interests as sheep-raisers
to think of these things, and begin the
desired improvement among our own
tlocks. Ii every man will begin reform
at once, and with himself, he will soon
see marvellous changes in every dlree-
ton in which reform is needed. Men
somehow are loath to do this. They
want to see somebody else reform, or
they wish to be joined in the work OF
reformation. This latter wish is COM
mendable enough, but the most practl-
cal way to inaugurate reform OF any
kind, is to begin at once put our own
affairs in the line of reform. And IN
regard to this matter, let every flock
master say: others may do as they
wish, but as Tor me, am determined
to take advantage of the opportunities
offered in this natural sheep country tc
produce the best mutton in the world.
Unlike many reforms, this one will pay
the ono who inaugurates it once, and
pay well. Western RtrGt.
1t is stated in French agricultural
journals that French cheesemakers are
not satisfied unless they get from Sl5G