South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-04-28
SHEEP RAISING
YIELDS PROFITS
Local Farmers Who Cut Their
FIOCkS Because of Low
Price Losing Out.

I-Sneep raising.
At one time this section of Indi-
ana raised, perhaps as many sheep
as any district in the middle west.
/ which has never taken up this in
/ dustry to the extent that the east
and far west have During the past
| four or five years the farmers of
I this county have permitted their
! nocks 10 dwindle gradually until
/ there are few OF any size in this vi
cinity
Like sheep raisers of all sections
Of the United States, the st. Jo-
seph county farmers had the dog
TO contend with. Dogs are the nat
ural enemies of sheep and the dam
age they have caused TO hocks
around here is one of the principal
causes OF the failure of farmers to
] take up this industry extensively.
In many states over the country
sheep breeders associations have
undertaken strenuous campaigns to
have stringent laws passed TO re
strict the numbers of dogs in COM
munities where sheep are raised on
/ a large scale. Pennsylvania wool
ested in sheep raising succeeded in
! obtaining amendments TO the dog
laws of the state to prevent the raw
ages of these animals among the
] flOcks
Dog is Worst Menace.
According 10 a bulletin issued by
the Philadelphia Wool and Textile
association. the deaths of 5,S0S
sheep during 1915 in Pennsylvania,
we're attributed to dogs this being
an increase of Cyl over the num-
| Der killed in 1914 The number of
sheep injured in that state in 1915
nearly 1000 over the preceding
| year.
1T is not the desire or the inten-
] ton to anrihilate the dog" says the
bulletin. 1T should be realized,
/ however that the possession of a
/ dog must be governed and restricted
/ by wise laws which, while permit
/ ting their existence, will not allow
them TO be a source of damage and
/ danger to the community. We rec
ugnize, for instance the value of the
motor driven car as means OF
| transportation, but we regulate and
control its operations; we recognize
the tremendous value of our great
railway systems. but these also we
regulate and control
Let us. therefore, appreciate the
fact that the regulation and restric-
ton of the dog has become a ma
tional economic proposition and that
! it is as necessary TO bring the dog
| under the control of the law as any
OF the other factors which are thus
regulated for the public welfare
Dogs, however, are not the only
cause for the failure of the farmers
of the county TO take up this indus
| try At the time that farmers in
this vicinity were raising sheep on
q more or less extensive scale wool
was comparatively high, although
not worth as much as il is at the
lpresent time The market suddenly
dropped and those who were In the
business extensively decided to cut
down their focks.
| Five years ago wool sold around
10 and II cents per pound and the
farmers claimed they were unable TO
make a profit off their flocks at tails
price. With the decline in the price
of. wool. the price of the animals
themselves naturally decreased.
Large Flock ut Lapaz.
Ewes then could be purchased
for about "a. while the price nov
has gone up as high as S19 and wool
is selling around 16 cents per
pound. Never in the history of the
, country has wool been in such de-
mand for use in the clothing indus
try and mutton in demand for food.
Millions of pounds of wool are need
ed now for clothing for soldiers and
civilians in all parts of the world
and the agricultural department of
the United states announced only a
few DAYS ago that the meat supply
of the country is short.
Morgan Dolph, who owns farm
two miles northwest of Lapaz, has
one of the largest hocks of sheep in
the county, II numbering about 500
mead. Ed Hawblitzel. living near
LakeviUe formerly raised a consid-
cradle number of sheep. his flock
being among the largest i'm the coun-
t.. but like other farmers Of the
vicinity. discontinued raising these
animals when il became unprofit-
able
Land in ST. Joseph county can be
well used for the raising of sheep.
Mr.. Hawbhtzel said. He pointed
out that the rolling ground of this
section is as well adapted 70 sheep
raising as the high, dry land of the
east and the far west He said that
the animals would Craze on the low
lands of the farms during the day,
but that night invariably would ind
them asleep on the higher ground
From 1909 until 1915 the produc-
ton of wool i'm the United states
fell of 100000 pounds from 32S.-
100000 pounds annually TO 2SS. 0OO.-
600 pounds annually This showed a
steady decline during this period Of
Il per cent During the same time
wool production in Pennsylvania
dropped 33 per cent from 100000
\ pounds in 1909 10 4,030.00O pounds
lin 1915. At the same time the pop
ulation was increasing. a gain Of
nearly 20 per cent being made.
The Philadelphia Wool and Tex
tile association leaves the question
OF what the country Will 90 for