Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-04-23
FOR THE FARMER.
a Timely Article on the Subject of sheep
Husbandry in the United States-The
Truth About a Great Folly.
Suggestions to Those who Cultivate Rasp-
berres-How to Raise Top
Onions.
OUR SHEEP INTERESTS.

the R2tTG5 Ne2U Yorker, presents a view
not generally held of the state of the
sheep interest of the United States:
Judging from the statements made in
articles which appeared during the last
twelve months in livestock and other
periodicals in the United States, there
was, and indeed is, a general belief
that many flocks of sheep were sent to
the butchers by panic-stricken owners.
And there seemed to be quite good
reason for the existence of that belize,
Tor accounts were frequently published
OF sales of whole flocks at prices alb
surdly low. The Ohio Farmer is
authority for the assertion that in the
county in which that paper is published
sheep were sold at 10 cents per head
Kansas men, it was currently reported,
parted with their sheep in some cases
at the low price of 80 cents each. It is
to be regretted that there seems to be
no reason for doubling the accuracy of
those reports. If they have been con-
tradicted, the fact has not come to the
knowledge of one who may claim to be
at least a reasonably close reader of
the agricultural papers.
One fact in this connection seems to
have escaped observation-it is, that if
sheep owners have been foolish enough
to part with their flOcks for a song
there have been men shrewd enough to
buy those tloCks; not to send them to
the shambles, but to keep them for
breeding and for wool-grOwing. In
truth, it will not be saying more than
is warranted by the facts to assert
that the tlocks of this country have
grown larger instead of smaller during
the last twelve months, while the
farmer has been scolded for throwing
away his sheep. This statement is
based upon the statistics of the sheep
traffic of the year 1884, which show
that the number of sheep sent to mark
cts where butchers and exporters get
their supplies was considerably less
last year than was the number sent to
those markets in 1888. The difference
in the total receipts of sheep at the
principal markets of this country were
as below:
Markets. Increase Decrease
St Louis ~, 80. i7,730
Pittsburg. ...,... 1863
Buffalo. INSTRUMENTATION. ....... 100000
New 1Ork................. ....... 135,4l1
Gratifying as this will doubtless be
to friends of American wool growing,
it is not the only pleasing information
to be gathered from that source, for
those figures show that in 1888 there
was material decline in the rate of
increase in receipts Of sheep at the
markets named. AS those markets are
q true index of the movement of live
stock for consumption in the whole
country, the decline in the rate of
growth of the traffic shows that farm
ers had already begun, five years AGO.
to husband their flocks, instead of sell
inc them off, as they had been so gene
rally accused of doing. Unless farm
ers have been themselves eating their
focks, or inducing their immediate
aeighbors to do so, the number of
sheep now in the country is larger than
it was three years ago, rather than
smaller. This may best be made APP
parent by giving the yearly differences
in receipts, as follows:
Kan r;ao City n 4Ss 5 1ss9 4ss 1850 ISL Bs
Chicago. 5i,7i8 i2050 1895 1925 i5354
Buffalo. ........ $500. 10000 346,650 S0,15O
The decrease was in st. Louis, in
1888, "A, sos; in 1884 in st. Louis, IT,
100; in Pittsburg, 40, $40; in Buffalo,
109,6 900, and in New York, 1876, 414
Chicago appears as the only one of the
great markets that have enjoyed an in
crease of receipts in each of the last
four years. If it were not for the fact
that animals which are counted in one
market, as in Chicago, may appear in
the accounts of another market farther
east, as in Buffalo for example, and
again in New York, the decrease in
the several markets might be added
each year to show the total shortage;
but to do so would be TO err. VIII it
be claiming too much, in view of the
above facts. TO say that the wool-groW-
ing interest in this country appears
not to be going down quite as fast as
people have been led to believe it was
going?
CULTURE OF RASPBERRIES.
In many gardens raSpberries are
relegated to some out-ot-the-way place,
says q writer in the Garden, or, worse
still, they are dug between, and have
all their surface roots injured. In
order to give a plantation fair chance,
select piece of light sandy land and
give it a heavy manuring, when it
should be trenched as deep as the ma
ture of the soil will permit, or from
two feet to two feet six inches. In
doing this it is not advisable to bring
the bottom to the top, but simply to
break it up, mixing the manure with it
at the same time, as then the roots of