Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1900-11-28
OFFICIAL PAPER OF FERGUS COUNTY.
JAMESTOWN, MONT, Nov 2S, 1900.
IHt SHIP INDUSTRY.

condition Of affairs which mast be- gra-
tifyinr tocyery woolgrovcr and others
interested in the Development If thi,
great industry,
Without question woolgrowing j, to-
day the leading industry OF the county
and. though the -tnady growth Of
mining may some I,y place that at the
head of profitable industries. the sheep
men will Away, bold a leading place,
Years Of profit tothc woolgrowcrsarc
years of good wages FOR the laborcrand
plenty for the merchants. goodmarl>ct>
for farmers and prosperity for all Such
the past year has been.
The mild winter of l-9g-lHOO made it
possible for all sheep To he wintered in
good condition and left much hay which
added to the crop Of last summer. en-
sures against heavy losses this winter.
no matter how severe the weather may
be. The woolgrowcr today takes better
care of hi, noclts than he did a few
years ago: more attention is bring paid
10 good breeding, 10 the providing Of
ample sheds and feed. and to the hircof
none hut compctcu, men.
In past years Mr.. llilgrr ha,bccn en-
barassed in making out his annual re-
port by the apparcnt lack Of interest of
the sheep men themselves. lie received
replies from scarcely onc.half or the
w~oolgrowcrs of the courtyard i'm order
to make the figures ST All accurate was
compelled to make estimates, which
though proven 70 bcrcry accurate. were
not as Trustworthy 80, actual reports
from the grower, themselves.
This year, however,, acarly an Of the
growers responded and the resume Of
these replies afford opportunities for
comparison nct subject to question,
The number Of sbycp in the county
March lst. 1000. wa,llo,rr an Increase
of 5t.lls " that of one gear before.
The lambing season OF $500 was 9
most severe trial "a" the groacr Early
in May there WASH falI OF nearly two
feet at snow, the weather 1ae cold and
the lossc, were immense. !.a., May
however. the elements combined to
make the lambing more successful and
the result was an increase of !r- .an,,
more than one hundred thousand great
er than in 1899. when thc total was
1G4.435.
The immense increase made II inn
practicable for many more sheep to be-
brought in and the result was that there
were 1850 less sheep imported fium
other states than in lSg9.
In the quantity of pclts sold is told
the difference between the two proceed
ing winters. In 1890 there were ?02, oGO
pounds sold and this year only G0,G7s, a
decrease of nearly 10000.
The great increase in the amount of
wool sheared is more to be accounted
for by the additional weight of fleeces
THAI by the increase in the number Of
sheep sheared. In 1899 the total shear
ing was 3,39s, O49 pounds, while in 1900
it was 4,420, 800 pounds, an increase Of
1871, s4l pounds.
Prices obtained the past season for
wool show a decrease which i~sapparent
but not actual. The average price paid
was II lilo cents in 1899 and IA 81 cents
in 1900. But as the fleeces were at leas,
one-fourth heavier this year than last
the actual proceeds were greater the
past year. And, further, nearly half Of
the wool was consigned and has not ye'
been sold, many of the finer clips being
included. These considerations prov,
the past season to have been better il
all respects than its immediate prcde
cessor.
AS a result Of the tremendous ~increas,
the grower has made larger sales an,
fully $4,000 more sheep have been sol,
for slaughter or export than in the sea
son Of 1899.
The portion of Mr.. Hilger's repor
concerning infectious diseases shows
condition probably superior to hat il
any other county of the state. Tha
no disease whatever should exist in tn,
biggest woolgrowing county Of TIN
United States is indeed gratifying.