El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-03-20

mails. The sheep eat the tough scrub
and bushes. and they are found in large
! numbers along the slopes OF the Andes
! and I'm those places where the better
kinds of grass grow. Wells are now
being dug even in the driest areas and
I fl is said that the semi-deserts Of santa
Cruz can support as many as 100000
In Chabut, farther north. there is
fine grazing country at the base Of the
Andes and that province supports
1000, 900 sheep Here in BEenos Aires
some Of the lands are so rich that they
, viii feed two to three sheep to the acre
Kept in Fenced Enclosures.
Here in Buenos Aires province the
sheep are kept in fenced Enclosures In
the south they are herded by shepherds,
and the size of the average flock is sew
craI thousand. They are watched by
shepherd on horseback. and are allowed
TO Craze about as they please. No arti-
fetal feeding Is done
The sheep live OUT Of doors from one
years end 10 the other There are no
+ sheds. barns or stacks Of hay in that
region. The sheep wander Off in the
. morning grazing I'm the direction
whence the wind blows, and they return
in the evening TO sleep about the huts
Of the shepherds.
1t is only where the grass is plenty
that the fields are fenced with wire,
and the most of the animals wander
!
close grazing betters the grasses. and
farm is improved by the keeping Of
sheep.
Came From West Indies
The first sheep brought to Argentina
came from the West Indies Islands.
They were descended from a flock
brought in by Columbus and other navi-
gators TO Santo Domingo From there
some were taken TO Jamaica. Cuba and
Porto Rico. and they thence made their
way south to the Rio de Ia Plata As
far back as 1850 some were brought to
Tucuman, in northern Argentina, and
later others were driven over the Andes
from Chile The Chilean sheep are said
20 have also come from the SantO Do
mingO floCks. which came not from
Spain. but from the Canary islands II
this is true practically all Of the sheep
OF Latin America had their origin in
the Canariez-
BY inbreedinE for hundreds Of years
the native sheep have become reduced
in size and their wool hard and short
They looked much like goats, and il
was not until other impoTtations we're
made that the flOcks began 10 improve.
One Of the men who did much to in
troduce fine breeds into Argentina was
an American consul named Haley, who
represented MS at BuenOs Aires at the
beginning Of the last century It was
not until about the time Of our civil
war. however, that much attention was
paid TO the Importation OF fine stock
4
ported. and little later on came the
Southdowns and others
Mutton Once DcsaiSed, In Favor Now.
1t is only recently that mutton has
brought good price in the local mar
kets- A Eeneration-or so ago sheep were
so common that the begEars refused 20
eat mutton. and the only profit from
tine sheep came from the wool.
A little before that sheep were killed
in great numbers without taking the
trouble to shear them. the hides being
allowed 10 rot SO that the wool could be
more easily plucked off
At that time the bodies were used as
fuel for the brick kilus. and il is said
that there are old churches in Buenos
Aires built OF bricks burned with sheep
carcases. At the beginning Of the 18th
century the flCcks were so numerous
that sheep brought at times as low as
six cents apiece. and at one time they
multiplied so rapidly that thousands Of
the older ones were driven over the
rocks iuco the sea 10 get rid Of them
AT another period they were slGUEn-
tered for their taIIow. a single sheep
bringing as much as 81 for --:e Eat in il
sheep Frozen for E;zpOT ration.
The 1rigerificos are now freezing
vast numbers CT sheep FOR expectation
20 Europe some Of these institutions
are killing as many as 5000 a day anu
a great caravan OF frozen sheep and
lambs is on the march across the sea
TO Tie armies Of the allies Argentina
was the L4AsL country 20 tAptAA ALoAIAA
meat 70 England, and the first ship
meuts were on account Of the foot and
mouth disease, which kept the live
cattle ana sheep out Of the United
Kin gdom-
IL was not until 1855. however. thar
the indu5--y was definitely established
by the opening Of freezing works. II
proved profitable. and TO-DAY there are
something like ten companies. with a
capitalization Of many million dollars
The business done in frozen mutton
alone amounts to $4,000. 600 or $4,000
600 a year. and since the beginning II
has brought in more than $4,000 goo
The beef shipped abroad is sent in
quarters. The mutton and lamb are
shipped in whole carcasses. and the
animals killed for the purpose number
millions. The carcaSses weigh from
30 10 50 pounds eacu. and the English
prefer the medium weights The NUT
ton has 20 be thaVei before selling,
but ir is said TO be quite as good as
any Of the fresh mutton sold by ita
side in the markets.
Freeze 5000 in Day.
During my stay here / have tg0ne