Arizona republican., 1911-02-13
NEW MEXICAN SHEEP
FOR ARIZONA RANGES
ABUNDANT GRASS BRINGS FOR
EIGN MUTTON STOCK.
What Is Being Done at the Various
Shearing Camps in District
North of Phoenix.

Thousands upon thousands of New
Mexican sheep are being shipped into
Arizona to be sheared and fattened for
1.-THE eastern markets. Grass is so much
more abundant in Arizona than in New
Mexico that the sheepmen of that ter
ritory are finding its profitable TO ship
their mutton stock to Congress June
ton, Hot Springs Junction, Beardsley
and other points along the s. F. p &
| p. AS soon as the sheep have been re-
lieved of their fleece and have graZed
upon the abundant feed until they are
i'm prime condition they will be shipped
To Kansas City.
/ No accurate estimate of The number
of sheep that have so far been shipped
! from New Mexico has been made. but
they continue to come. They will prob
ably come until the end of the shearing
season. which is several weeks distant.
All are mutton stock. the range sheep
remaining at home.
Sheepmen say that the ranges north
of Phoenix were never in better condi-
tion. There is more grass than the
sheep can possibly eat, and that is
certainly a unique condition. AS a
! rule there is none too much grass for
the sheep that are driven down from
northern Arizona. This year there will
! be plenty of grass after the flOcks
return north.
Despite the excellent condition of the
range. the season will not be unusually
profitable In fact it will fall below
many seasons, for wool and mutton
prices are down, with no prospect of
improvement. Prime mutton sheep are
in less demand than for years, and the
wool buyers are not making any ex-
traordinary efforts to obtain fleece.
Nearly all the shipments made to Bos-
ton have been to commission firms. the
buyers on the ground making nothing
more than small purchases.
Ii Is estimated that 10000 sheep will
be sheared at Beardsley during the
season. Friday $500 head were han
died. The principal part OF the equip
ment OF the Arizona Shearing company
which has its pens at Beardsley. is
"a power clippers, and these clippers
are operated by twenty fopr experts.
Eight cents a head is the price paid
for shearing. on Friday the best shear
er of the force took the wool from PIG
sheep. which means that he received
SIPS for his days work. The next
highest man made a record of POI
sheep.
The Hot Springs Junction shearing
pens were closed yesterday and will
not be reopened for about four days.
This temporary cessation of operations
was caused by a failure in the supply
m hot
no flocks close by so il was decided
To knock off work for few days 1t
is expected that 5000 or sc, 900 will be
sheared at Hot Springs Junction this
season.
Nearly all the wool that has been
shipped from Phoenix came from
'Houcks station, where about $4,000
head will be sheared. Some of the
finest range of the entire district is
right around Houcks.
Congress Junction is the only place
in Arizona where sheep are still sheared
by hand. About twenty men are en-
ployed there and they are expected to
handle $4,000 or 10000 sheep before the
season is over.
Some of the sheep that are now
ranging north of Phoenix will not be
sneared until they are drifted back to
the north. Shearing pens have been
established at Mayer and several
thousand will be taken care of there
later in the season.
Veteran sheepmen. who have had ex-
perience i'm that business in every part
of the world. have pronounced the
Beardsley pens of the Arizona Shearing
company the most complete and best
equipped shearing establishment they
have ever seen. All the machinery is
of the most up-to-date type. The
sheep owners and herders have quite
little town about the pens One of
the conveniences is telegraph office.
VIII Everett, who is bookkeeper for
Charles Larson, manager of the shear
ing company, is an operator and the
railroad company has run a wire into
ms office. Over the railroad wire Mr..
Everett sends messages to the West
ern Union office at Phoenix ard here
they are transmitted. Through this
arrangement the sheepmen are able to
Keep i'm constant touch with the eastern
markets