Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1908-11-19

phTtS VI me Dnlleu 0ld'ts, even VIII
the highest prices OF feed, are much
stronger, and mutton will undoubtedly
/ reach It's normal value during the COM
ing winter.
We Lave in the United States at the
present time, 81 63l 900 sheep of total
value Of $2ll 1856 0C0. OF this number
, probably l5,0C0,00 are not of shearing
age. The total wool clip Of the United
States for the year of 1907 was 298, ,294,
: QUO pounds. This gives an average clip
per sheep Of sc pounds per head, which
shows the shrnkage of wool to be COG
per cent for the entire nation, 1t ls in.
tereating to compare the sheep Of the
United States with hose OF the more
important foreign sheep breeding ma
tons. We have in the world $50. .S27 00n
sheep. OF this pu u Der we have 10 Aus
trala and New Zealand 1O3 807 900 sheep
: In Europe we have 1872 600 900 sheep, in
, South America we have 100, ZOO 900
sneep.
From the sheep reports available, it
is noted that we have an increase in the
United States of probably 8 900, 600 shsep
during the last year. This increase has
taken place largely upon the small farms
and it more than offsets the decrease
that MAJ have occurred upon the open
ranges OF the west. This increase in
the Eastern states. however, is only
temp porary. The breeders in those states
have met with a more severe loss than
we in the west and thousands of tLer
ewes will be paced on the market this
winter and they will quit the sheep bus
mess for the present.
In order that We may clearly under
stand the future OF the sheep husbandrv
in Aneric Il is essential that we give
some consideration to this industry in
| foreign ountries. Our reports now in
dicate that Australia has an int rease of
over 5 900, 900 sheep above the number |
she had last year. An increase Of sheep
is also noted in Africa and South Amer |
lea. Australia is undoubtedly the most
important sneep producing nation Of the
world, and it is interesting to know that !
in that country conditions very similar
to those which now obtain in the United |
States are taking place. One of the !
most important of these changes in Aus
tralia is the breaking up OF the large
I j
into farms of very much smaller dimen.
sions. A portion of these Australian
lands is being DEVOTED to wheat raising,
end the lands fit for agricultural pur-
poses are selling at from SIS to $40 per
acre. The serious rabbit pest in Aus
tralia has been the prime factor in re-
ducing the size of the sheep holdings,
as in many of the sections of that coun-
try the sheep breeders are resorting to
the construction OF fences OF wire net
ting in order to keep the rabbits from
consuming the grasses. The expense
attached to this procedure makes the
ownership of large land holdings almost
impossible. 1t is undoubtedly true that
the large sheep ranges of Australia must
undergo. within the next few years, the
same period of evolution as that which |
has occurred in the United States, but
this may not have an appreciable intlu.
ence in reducing the number of sheep.
for many of the small farms will be put
under higher state of cultivation and
thereby be enabled to maintain higher |
number OF sheep.
An important feature OF the evolution
of the sheep industry of Australia is that
the smaller flocks of that district are
gradually using more and more coarse.
wool bucks for the reason that the ex-
port Of chilled mutton from Australia,
which in the year of 1907 amounted to
over II 900 900 sheep, is offering to the
breeders an excellent profit. Therefore,
the products Of fine Merino wool in Aus
tralia should gradually grow less. This
is fact OF great importance in the sheep
industry Of South America, for as yet
Dut lew MerlUOS nave Deen uSeu Ill the
focks OF those countries. For some
reason, viii n We do not understand,
many of the South American breeders
have claimed that certain of the Merlno
families did not thrive well under condi-
tons obtaining in those sections. There
fore, we need not look to South America
for close competition in the productiC
of choice Merino staple. While the
great western range states will ALWAYS
be Merino breeding grounds, yet as the
east establishes its focks, more of the
mutton and coarse-wool types will be
grown, and the breeders of straight Me.
rino wool may, in the future. look for a
reduction in the competition that thev
will haye to meet.
We have in the state of Oregon, APP
proximately, 100000 sheep worth
probably 5000 900. This. together
with the wool clip of the present season
Concluded on page 81