Bisbee daily review., 1908-03-03
INTERESTING
SHEEP. COUNTRY

o. H. Brown, of Stanley, N. NJ, |
writes as follows to the Oklahoma
Farm Journal about the sheep raising
industry in the Estancia valley, New
Mexico.
This valley has long been noted as
a great sheep producing country. The
valley is very picturesque and is oyer
5000 feet above the sea level, sur
rounded by mountains which are COW
cred with pine, pinon and cedar. In
this valley. will be found the grama'
grass which resembles the mesquite
grass in Oklahoma. but 1t excels the
mesquite both as summer and winter
pasture. When cut and put up as
hay it makes great feed. have no
ticed horses eating the grama hay
when alfalfa was at hand. The.
ranchmen put up hay only for their
horses as the grass rank enough for
hay only grows in the draws"
Since nomesteaders have been com
ing in the last two years and taking
land suited for cultivation. the sae-p
have been driven back to lands less
suitable to cultivation. This soil
shows the effect of sheep inhabiting
this country so long as it is very fer
tile. The farmers nave raised wheat
which made AZ bushels per acre. corn
sc bushels, oats 40 to As bushels. Po-
tatoes and all vegetables. do as wen
here as in the best of older countries.
There is good prospect of this coun-
try becoming a great sugar beet pro-
| ducing country.
Sheep have long inhabited this val.
| lev, as when young Scotchman came
here about twenty-five years ago as a
missionary, he found great flocks OF
sheep owned by the natives.
In those days a person could find
| great piles of wool up in the cedar
| brakes where it had bee cut from
sheep by large knives. Here it was
/ left, for in those days there were no
railroads closer than the central part
| OF Kansas, and all freighting of neces-
I sity was done by oxen Wool was
then of poor quality here and the
wool market low. But railroads have
been built and most ranches are not
! over forty miles from towns. The ma
/ tive sheep have been graded up year
| by year with Merino rams and today
| the sheep here all have some fine
wool blood flowing in their veins and
the wool and mutton market is much
| better than in days of yore. A sheer
| camp consists of one man and a boy
or some times two men, three burros
| three pack saddles, one tent Sx9 feet
/ each mans bedding usually consisting
of a blanket, quilt and several sheer
: pelts, two water kegs, one dutch oven
one skillet, one small pot, one dish
pan. coffee grinder, two plates, tive
| cups and spoons, one butcher knife
| Their food supply is flour, baking
| powder. salt and lard, sugar, coffe,
and chill pepper: their principal foot
| being mutton. The men herding the
sheep are Mexicals, the herder being
| the boss and the boy the cook. II
| most camps can be found 1000 sheep
In general. they go to Craze at day
| light and that is the time all sheer
should go out TO Craze on farm Oh
| ranch. In the summer season the,
| Craze until $3.50 or 10 o'clock ant
then shade up until about o'clocl
p. m By shading, mean they gath
er in small numbers with their heads
under each other. At dark the herd
er takes them to the camp and see
that they bed down around the tent
and here they remain until morning
unless disturbed by wolves or coy
otes and some times by storms. Yer.
often storms Ia the winter cause par
of the sheep to get cut off from tn
herd and drift away A good herde