The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1924-03-27
INTO SHEEP
AS SIDE ISSUE
B. @. WHITE TELLS OF SUCCESS
OF HIS BUFFALO NEIGH
BORIS IN SHEEP.
They Ran Small Flocks on Their
Farms and Eeveryone of Them
Made Money; Some Individual Sue
cesses Cited.
BY d. G. WHITE

In all recorded history sheep have
been a profitable adjunct to agricul-
tural production. The economic sit
uation in the sheep business the
world over, is very strong and the
prospects r that sheep would be a
very profitable addition to all farm
ing activities.
The federal beureau of farm mar
kets, after a world survey of the
sheep business reported in January
1928 a world shortage of AZ percent
of sheep. Sir Robert G~oldfinch, an
Australian authority, estimates the
shortage of fine wool sheep in Au-
STRATA of 331 percent. The shortage
of the world wool clip for 1923 is
anywhere from 25O,0O0,000 to 3OO,-
100000 pounds. The sheep shortage
in Montana, compared to 1904, is g.
100000 head. In other words, in
1904 there were in Montana $780,
900 head of sheep and in 1928 it is
reported that there are 2,28O,OOO
head. The wool clip of 1904 in Mon
tana was 37,773,000 pounds and in
1923 the wool clip was approximate
ly 100000. Since 1919 the num-
Der of sheep in the United States
have decreased 25 per cent but at
the present time there is a gradual
increase, as farmers are beginning
to appreciate the value of sheep in
small punches on the farm.
The range is practically gone and
if there is any increase in the sheep
in the United States it has got to
ome from the small farmers. And
it seems a surprising thing that
among the great majority of people
and that applies to Montana, as there
is no line of agriculture that is so
little understood as sheep husbandry.
New lea me give a few examples
of what sheep do in small punches
on Montana farms. Now here is
Scott Hayden. He has so ewes and
he raised Sc lambs. All told he
sheared a 100 head of sheep and his
sheep averaged over II pounds per
head. He received in advance on his
wool of 376.85 at 35 cents a pound
and he will undoubtedly receive 10
cents more before the deal is closed
Here is another n%eighbor of mine,
Wyman Morse. From 80 ewes he
raised "a lambs and sheared all told
in 1928 118 head His sheep aver
aged IL pounds of wool per head,
or 1923 pounds. He received a cash
advance ON his wool of ~$$503.3O and
he will receive more money. Here is
another neighbor J. F. Kessel. He
had 16 ewes and raised 20 lambs.
He sheared 328 pounds of wool and
had a cash advance of $131.60 or
35 cents a pound. He will receive
more money. In the same neighbor-
is John Phillips with 21 ewes.
He raised 28 lambs and he sheared
all told Al sheep. The Al sheep
sheared 587 pounds of wool, an av-
erage IA 1-2 pounds per head. He
received a cash advance of $195.45.
Recently he has returns from the
house that handled his wool
and some of his wool has sold for So
and some for 81 cents on the
Boston market. All these men are
Buffalo farmers, and their small
locks are side issues. :
For four years in Montana it has
been a procession of hard years and
lard luck stories. But it seems al
most impossible to impress upon the
minds of farmers, generally, the val
le of sheep, the sure income from
hem, the two crops absolutely sure
very year of wool and lambs, as we'll
is the shortage of sheep the world
,ver. Consumption is running ahead
If production and the world is in
iced of wool.
AS a concrete example of what
mall punches of sheep will do the
line farmers around Buffalo who are
unning small punches of sheep re-