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Sheep Raising.1 To the Editor of the Farmer and Gardener: —Thinking it would not bo uninter-- esting to some of your readers to have a r lew ideas en the subject of sheop, I have I concluded to drop a few, in the way of encouragement to our farmers to invest In the businessthinking it the most certain *i|d lucrative of any brunch of rural husbandry.That our Stato will prove a good sheep growing district, appears to bo generally admitted by all who aro acquainted with the wants and habit* of the animal. That it thrives best in a dry cold winter, is admitted by all. And not only is it an ad* vantage to the health, but it adds greatly 4 to quality and weight of fleeces, as rain has a tendency to wash tho gum or oily, substances from the wool, thereby check* ing its growth, and rendering it harsh/ which facts are well known to growers at wool whose flocks are exposed to winter rains. But, as to tho relative profits of sheep, or other stock, or that of grain crops,I leave others to make their own figure*; . simply content myself by giving a few' facts as to sheep profits, coming within tny own observation and experience, having had the care of them some thirty years of my time. With an ordinary lot of eWes,I and others, who took good care-of them, sheared about three pounds per head, and averaged about one lamb to the ewe; and fed entirely on hay, about one ton to four sheep of good tame, but if of wild meadow perhaps more would be required. The cost of on ordinary lot of sheep, immediately after shearing, in central Illinois or Indiana, has been, for the last ten years, about one dollar per head, at which price a man wouldget his money in twelve months with interest. “But,” Bays one, “tiurt'is not the price here.” True, it u not; bat if a lot of fanners would join and send off to where they are cheap, the cost would be but a fraction over that, as the cost of driving is a mere trifle per head, where you have several hundred in the drove.And, as to the best time of diiviog;June is preferable, as then they are not burdened with wool, nor hurt by dust, and the grass being tender it takes them lefia time to feed; coming at that time, they have time to recruit from the effects of tbe drive before winter sets in.But, in the improvement of a new fann, there is no stock that is of such service, small brush being literally devoured by them; as is also, all kinds of wild vegetation, thereby making the clearing process quite small to what it otherwise would be; and, it meant for the plow, in two years all is clean for the first crop, witb roots well rotted; but if for meadow, sow the seed at the s'art, and in two years it is in better order than could possibly be by any other process. And in the time yield-ingthe farmer a greater profit than if tho land had been in grain, and saving in labor, more than the cost of sheep. In fact, it is almost fabulous, to state the profits that may he made on sheep. I once bought fifty-two head, twenty-four being ewes, of two years and upwards, and paid seventy-eight dollars for them, the next spring raised twenty-four lambs, and sold ninety dollars worth of wool; and if farmers would unite, they could do nearly as well as the above the first year, by sending off and getting them where they arc cheap.Yours truly. PETER M. GIDEON.The New Officers of our Federal Court.Wc are informed by telegraph, of the appointment of George A. Nourse us District Attorney, and Cornelius F. Buck as Marshal for the District of Minnesota. As there was practically no opposition to the appointment of either ot these gentlemen —neither really having any one opposed to him, it would be safe to assume, even if we did not know the fact, that their selection is in accordance with the general wishes of the Republican party of Minnesota.Mr. Nourse, by his teal and energy, not only in his profession but as a prominent man in the Republican party since his residence in Minnesota, bos made himself well known throughout the State. He is a native of Hallowell, Maine, iu which town he was born on the 19th of December, 1824. lie is consequently in his 37th year. He entered the Sophomore class of Bowdoin College in 1842, but before his s udies in that institution were completed, his health broke down with dyspepsia, and he was compelled to seek physical recreation elsewhere. For several years he devoted himself to the farming, lumbering and milling business in Aroostook county and at Limestone Plantation, near tbe Northwestern corner of tho State. In tho spring of 1853, with restored health, he commenced the study of law in the olfiee of Hon. T. J. D. Fuller, of Calms, then a member of Congress, and for four year* last post, Second Auditor cf the Treasury.Iu September, 1853, Mr. N. entered Dane Law School at Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he remained one year. In August,' 1854, he was admitted to the bar of Sagadahoc county, Maine. In September of the same year he removed to St. Anthony, Minnesota. He was elected District Attorney of Hennepin county, for the years 1855—57, and continued to reside at St. Anthony until the summer of 1859, when ho removed to St. Paul. Mr. Nourse was also the first Republican candidate for Attorney General of tho State of Minnesota, but was beaten with the other candidates on the State ticket by tho Democratic frauds of 1857.Mr. Nourse has all the requisites in his nature nnd habits to make a good officer. He is studious, industrious, abstemious and systematic.. It will be seen by the data above given, that although in years he has advanced to middle life, he is neveitheless, quite a young lawyer. His antecedents, politically, are Democratic; but like thousands of others, he left his old party when it went down to eat Southern dirt during the Kansas-Ncbraska excitement.His father, Dr. Nourse, has been for many years a leading man in the State of Maine. He was United States Senator to fill a vacancy during the last Congress of Piereo’s administration.—St. Paui Prim.
Newspaper Details
Saint Cloud Democrat
Saint Cloud, Minnesota, US
Thu, Apr 04, 1861
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
University O.
MN, USA 08 Apr 2025
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