The Chipley banner. (Chipley, Washington County, Fla.) 1893-1943, 1899-12-23

intelligence Of these animals IN s;mr,.
marvellous. At night Tine shspherS,
ride out OH their ponies. accompanied
By Che dogs, and drivA, the sheen int
the corral or Enclosures, the dogs bs'
ing tire chief factors, in this wort
Through the day the shepherd lounge.
about on small knoll which com
nands o view OF the sheep. His
faithful dogs are always with him and
should their sharp eyes. detect that a
sheep inclines TO stray too far from
its fellows, the dogs Of their own ac.
cord rush out and drive it in. Some.
tines prairie wolf will make 80 bold
ss.to rise from a, hiding place and
seize q lamb. Then, shepherd, popy
and dog have an exciting sprint over
the country, although the chase usu.
ally is fruitless, for. nothing in the
shape OF horse6esh, has the speed or
Endurance OF a prairie volt. When
alone sheep make,sonse effort to pro.
tect themselves against predatory ami.
mails. They form, themselves into
circle and strive to- present q deter.
mined front; but should the enemy
persevere they soon seamper away.
Many sections Of tho, West are
adapted to sheep, raising, and to little
else. There is. unlimited pasture on
the great plains and prairies. Sheep
flourish best in the dry atmosphere Of
the far Western States. More and
more men are going In for sheep rails
ing every year,, and already the capital
invested is enormous. The large
number of brokers here in New York
who handle domestic wool exclusively
illustrates the wonderful expansion Of
sheep raising in this country within
the last few years.
The sheeP raisers get great deal
Of their stock from Mexico. Few per.
sons not Interested in the sheep in.
dustry have the slightest idea OF how
greatly we are indebted to the sister
republic FOR the replenishing OF our
Aocks. Hundreds of thousands OF
sheep are driven into the United
States every year from the land Of the
Montezumas, most Of them going TO
the far Western States. Sheep are
bred extensively in several Southern
States, but the scope of the Southern
industry compared with that Of the
West is insignificant. Nor do the
Southern breeders make much OF an
attempt TO improve the character Of
their focks. Western breeders, how.
ever, devote much thought and care
to the Improvement Of the different
breeds, and every year they strive to
bring forth a better quality of lambs.
The opportunities offered by sheep
raising have made many Western
ranohmen extremely rich. In Kansas
alone are six sheep raisers who count
their accumulations in seven figures.
1t is said that the United States can.
not produce wooden fabrics equal in
quality to those made abroad. But
we have just as good machinery and
facilities here and our workmen are
more intelligent, SO it would seem
that we should equal, if not surpass,
the fabric makers on the other side.
The trouble, however. lies in the fact
that we have not been able to produce
as yet as good o quality Of wool. The
sheep-raising industry in Europe has
existed from time immemorial almost,
while in the United States it is still
in its infancy. Little or no attention
has been paid by our sheep raisers in
the past to improving the breeds, but
this error is being corrected now.
The sheep in the West are far diff
ferent in appearance from those in the
East. Their legs are longer, their
noses taper more and the wool is much
thicker upon their backs and sides.
New York Press.