The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-17

1 trying, to get the high cost of living | back to normal, which will necessarily mean that there will be wage reduc- i tion. and uncomfortable maneuvering | on the part of the farmer to get help, and be able to pay it when he does. { Without the fuli production of the farms, the whole commonwealth suf- fers, and will eventually show de- creases in financial support, which will mean backward step, and not pro gressive healthy advancement
 I say the question that arises when we consider the outlook in earnestness and detail, is, what to try next. There is but one solution to the problem in ny way of thinking, and that is to encourage. insist. and as you might say, enforce the development of the live stock industry in the state.
 speak with some authority regari ing this industry, having been engaged in it for about eighteen or twenty years in the west, where until late years it was almost the sole support of the great western country, covering a number of states where they had only the coal. copper gold and silver mines, as one industry, and the next largest, if not Ghe largest, was the growing of sheep and cattle.
 If am not very badly mistaken the financial production of the state of Montana was for many years about an offset with her mining and livestock output. For several years Billings, Montana, was the largest raw wool market in the United States, not men tioning that there were many other cities that shipped direct to the Boston market.
 Now contend that there is absolute Ivy vtyhx 1a na m k the production of wool and mutton one of her largest assets and at the same time put on producing basis mnay of the profitless acres that are lying idle at the present time, and are simply an extra burden on the owners.
 There are many valleys and hills throughout the state that would be ideal sheep pastures, especially the northern end of the state.
 came into the state the Inst time
 in an automobile and covered a
 great many miles from Nashville to
 Montgomery, and was really amazed
 to sec the miles and miles of rough
 country thnt was prOducinng nOth-
 ing whatever which would support
 thousnnds and thousands of good
 wool and lamb-producing sheep.
 And as understand, they really have better grasses for year round feeding than the country farther south which is known as the sandy land sections.
 How true this is. I cannot say, but I will say that most men who grow sheep look over into Tennessee and speak of the sheep growers having much better sheep. It is not very far over the line. when one stops to con- sider that Alabama is hooked onto Ten nessee right in the middle. I do not mean to say that all the land I saw in those miles and miles was all rough, nor do I mean to leave the impression that the better lands are not good for sheep.
 I think that the better the land
 tho fewer acres to handle a given
 number, and the best farm in the
 stnte would return more profits on
 sheep than anything else if it is
 run to it's capacity and pushed as a
 rincipal crop.
 The reason Tennessee has better sheep is that they have better bred up stuff, and look after them as they would any other business.
 Sheep will not make money when
 the owner will let them run half
 year at n time without ever
 rounding them mp to see their con-
 ditiOn. which seems to he the one
 prevailing custom with the grow
 CTS I have met over the state.
 I do not mean that the grower will have to virtually live with his sheep, for such is not the case. and they will produce more. and come nearer to re- turning one hundred cents on the dol lar than anything the farmer can have, if he will just give them a lit tlc attention in the way of looking after them, by changing pasture, hav- ing them bed down at night where they will be protected from dogs and varmints, and breeding them to lamb at a given time. so the lambs will be. uniform in size and age and above all get the right kind to start with. mean the wool producing, or heavy shearing kind. which can be crossed with the mutton type ram, and will