Mexico Missouri message., 1907-06-27
GOAT MEAT.
Fasteners Think the
Missouri Product Is
Good-The Sheep In
dustry in Audrain
and Monroe.

grass districts Of north Missouri,
of which Monroe county is TIE
center, are finding the sheep indus.
try an important item in their old
time struggle with the grain conn
ties for agricultural supremacy.
Just now hundreds of thousands
Of dollars are flowing into these
grass districts in exchange for
wool and mutton, while the people
OF the grain counties are toiling in
their fields depending upon the
future harvests for their yearly in
come. The latter expect to pillow
their living out of the ground,
from p astures which need no tend
ing, except that given by nature.
But the cattle business, which
in times past, was the principal
item with the bluegrass people, IS
being rapidly relegated to the rear
by the sheep industry. Ten sheep
can be bought with the price of
one 2-year.old steer, and these
sheep will make 100 percent profit
for their owners in one short sea-
son. This fact has been demon
strated so thOroly and so repeat
eddy in Monroe county that cattle
feeding has become n minor feature
OF farm life, and this county has
become one Of the three leading
sheep counties of Missouri.
Many hocks number thousand
head, some of them being two or
three times that large. Ten thous-
and head were wintered in one
township, and just now the farm
ers are reaping a rich harvest of
dollars from their wool and lambs.
After shearing. the sheep are
either shipped to market, or, il
they be young and vigorous. are
kept for brood stock.
The high prices for wool and
, mutton have encouraged the flock
masters to experiment with COM
binations of the standard breeds in
the effort to develop a variety in
which all their distinguishing
qualities will be apparent. The
"Buckmanshire" is a result of a
long series of experiments along
this line.
Another industry which is as
suming large proportions in Mon.
roe and other north Missouri coun-
ties is that of raising and market
ing Angora goats. Ten years ago
the first of these animals ever seen
in this vicinity were brought in.
People gazed with much curiosity
upon the dainty, snow white ami
mails when they arrived. and Col.
BOdine was laughed to scorn by
all his friends. The goats. how
ever, INDICATED his predie-
tons. They not only killed
out the underbrush which had
made his land valueless, but
waxed fat on their diet of bark
and leaves. The flock multiplied
at great rate, the ewes breeding
twice each year. so that Col. b.
dine not only gained a broad ex.
panse Of blue grass pastures from
, their operations. but found him
self in possession Of great flock
Of goats as we'll. From that small
and much-ridiculed beginning the
Angora industry has spread into
every neighbOrhOod in the county.
] Rough lands which had been
) worthless wastes Of white oak
} sprouts and underbrnsh have been
reclaimed by these animals, and
after doing the work and boarding
themselves while doing it. they
have increased in weigLs end mul.
d tiplied in numbers until they have
Q paid their owners an outrageously
y high price for the privilege. They
are shipped from Paris by the car
load and are said 10 finally reach
e the innocent city mans family
i table as choice mutton. Their
!. flesh is finely favored and very
: tender.
., Misanllri Gfnfe iAindinn