The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-06-23
NV RION IL. BUTLER.)

Z lTDTTTTJ UDFo TTUI UFNdTEIF q ~ -
state of importance it will not be Tor
want of effort on the part OF the pro-
gressive men who are leading the
movement towards a more xtenSlN
live stock industry in the state.
In the past two or three weeks l
have "A several letters and bulletins
and announcements from stockmen,
going into the subject Of cattle. sheep
and swine raising in the state, and the
situation appears to be taking on an
entirely different aspect than in the
past. one Of the movements that
seems to me of exceptional impor-
lance is that which would restore
sheep to the farms of North Caro-
lima. This is made timely just now
by the reports of the western North
Carolina Sheep Breeders Association,
which. shows an average of S4.3I
profit per animal in a period extend
inG over five years, and including the
farms OF the members Of the aSsOci-
alton.
Profit is the test of the worth of
the operation in a way yet there are
other things to consider. n one of
them IS fertility. a factor of the high
est Importance on the sheep farm, as
well as on any other. Happily the
sheep farmer can maintain the fertil-
ity of his and with sheep and find
an added profit of seventy per cent
a. - shown by the experience of the
embers of the association. The re-
port says that a small sized flock of
sheep will ordinarily return from fifty
To- a hundred per cent on the money
invested and that no other farm ami
mails will return such a profit under
normal conditions.
Sheep Breeders Association.
The Western North Carolina Sheep
breeders Association includes over
fifty Sheepmen OF the northwest cor
Der of the state, with headquarters
at jefferson in Ashe county. John
Dent is president. J. w. Wagner. vice
president. and j. Hamilton, of Beaver
Greek. secretary. In addition to these
officials. S. G.. Parsons and n. G.
Baker. of Grassy Creek. are of the
board Of managers. The territory
principally represented by the asso-
citation Is included in the mountains
OF Ashe county and vicinity, which tn,
association thinks is not as favorable
for sheep from the viewpoint of eli
mate. as other sections a little lower
down.
The association is an organization
formed with "A business idea in view
All the wool and lambs produced b,
the emb are marketed by tn
association, and marketed in carloads
graded and classified so that the,
~ nv Otot NtS III Scou maj "
Much as the beef breeders marke
their cattle in big punches so tn
sheepmen arranged to have a car o
sheep 80 to the right market at tn
right time, and in the right condi
ton. AS a result the sales last sea
> showed a price of So. 66 for lamb
four months and a week old on tn
average. or sever and a quarter cent
a pound. Besides this return was tn
Income from the sale Of wool fror
he older and the benefit i
grazing Down weeds, briers and under
growth on the farm. The wool wa
marketed in the same way throug
the association.
Dogs Not Serious Hindrancc.
Usually when the question of shee
comes up the first thought is tina
dogs will prove disastrous to the ma
who embarkS in that line of farmin,
But the sheepmen Of the aSsociatio
say hat dogs are not a serious mer
ace, for in most cases the sheep al
encouraged to come into shelter {
night where they are closed up frol
the dogs. and the sheep killed f
members by dogs have been incoY
siderable. The experience of the a:
sociation has been gratifying. and tf
Agricultural Department of Mort
Carolina is en~deavoring to NAL
known the successor Of the associ:
ton in the nope of extending tt
sheep raising industry over the stat
Il. =. Curtis. the animal husbandma
who is looking after the beef Gait
and sheep Investigations. says I'll
large q of waste lands in II
state could be used with profit
sheep production. and u only wi
profit for the money invested but al
to the benefit of the land. He
of the opinion that the advance
the price Of beef in recent years h
stimulated the demand. aud that Il
market for mutton will continue
improve. Curiously enough in Il
face of the improved demand for
kinds OF meat products the numb
of sheep in North Carolina seems
be decreasing. as it is in nearly eve
section OF the United States.
The story Of sheep raising i'm I
United States is an interesting or
and it shows that if the farmers
North Carolina care to embark eXte
Sively on the production Of lambs a,
wool the market will be theirs. f
the e~ncroachment OF other things
the sheep farms is ~crowding the she
to whatever place they can find.
The early days New England raised
goodly bunch Of sheep. and so did n,