Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1900-11-28
Annual Report Of David Hilger
Sheep Commissioner for
Fergus County.
SOMEIHCREASES WERE IMMENSE
Never Went Into Winter Quar-
ters in Better Condition,
Says the Report

The following report Of David I'LL
ger, sheep commissioners for Fergus
county, has been prepared from re-
ports received from nearly all the
wool-growers OF the county, and has
been forwarded To the secretary of
the board at Helena
No. |. Number OF sheep on hand
March LIST. 1900. 59O,Gj2
No. .. Number oi sheep brought
into this county from other states
since March lst, 1900, l,l00.
No. 3. Number OF lambs docked
since March LIST, 1900, S,397.
No. L. Number OF lambs aud sheep
slaughtered, sold aud shipped ont ui
the state since March LIST, 1900. III, ,5lG
No. >. Number pounds pelts sold
since March list, 1900, 90, as. Price per
pound received for same, 9H cts.
No. 6. Number pounds OF wool
sheared since March Isl, 1900, 4, ,i29, 800
or this was sold, 2,ils,1SS, at anayer.
nge price of l4Kcts.
M. !. And OF which was consigned,
a.0ll ,l02, ut mn average price OF Ilcts.
No. S. Numberof sheep destroyed by
wolves and coyotes during past
year, 3,Sll.
No. .. General health and condition
of your sheep now in this county
The general health and condition nl
sheep was never bettcrin thlscouuty
We have never gone into winter
quarters under more favorable con
ditions. Owing To the unusually mild
proceeding winter large quantities of
hay were carried over insuriug II
plentiful supply with what wqs cut
this season. To insure light loss this
winter. Renge additions are salts
factory.
No. 10. General details Of any sCnb
or other infectious diseases, II my,
existing during the past yenr and 20
date am pleased to report that
no scab Ur other Infectious diseases
exist In the county, and we have
been entirely free from such during
the past four years. and this taken
into consideration when Fergus couu-
ty contains more sheep than any
other county In the United States, Is
gratifying To those most Interested.
No. II. Remarks and generallnfOrm-
alton relating to the eindustry.-COm-
pairing the above with my previous
reports (which were all made under
the same rule of computation) ] find
that there were less sheep destroyed
by coyotes, wolves and other wild
animals than during the proceeding
year, due entirely to the efficacy of
the bounty law as u means of destroy
ing COYOTES which are In fact the
only menace to the industry az far as
wild animals are concerned.
| find upon careful examination OF
the sheep owners reports, that losses
from various poisons among sheep
are on the increase, and while am
not In a position to state as to what
particular poisonous weeds cause
such deaths, nor the antidotes there
fore, still In some instances the loss
was alarming, and should arouse the
deepest interest Of the board To in-
vestigate under competent experts.
aud ascertain the true cause and an-
| tidOtes. One instance that has
come under my observation wns the
loss of 32a bucks, "a fine imported lot,
worth $1,000 per head. from what
was termed lupine poisoning. The
board should TAX" prompt measures,
in addition q what has been done in
securing DR.. Wilcox Of the Depart
ment 0f Agriculture, and have this
gentleman submit II report upon biz
examinations made last summer.
A perusal Of this report will show
that the wOOlgrowers consigned
more wool To commission houses and
for storage under their own order,
than ever before In the history Of the
industry I'm this county. This was
entirely due to the unsatisfactory
prices offered by buyers Inst wool.
season.
IL will be note ais o that the report
indieptes one Of the largest lamb
crops ever raised in the county, due
10 the favorable weather conditions
last spring, while the average wool
per head sheared il far greater than
ever before. While this was due largely
to the preceding mild winter, still /
know that In part it il due to the
judiclous breeding, and the general
average has Increased fully one pound
per head during the past four or five
years under normal conditions.
CA6T To7IA,