THE MODEL SHEEP MAN.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 5, 6 August 1874, Page 5

THE MODEL SHEEP MAN.

«w~ — The besfsheep man we ever heard of was a soldier of Stonewall Jackson, who saw somewhere how valuable are sheep for renovating worn-oat land, and after the cruel war was over, he went home to hia poor farm and bought thirteen ewes — all that, fortunately, he was able to buy. He* put them in a small field of briars and weeds, which they soon destroyed ; then he fed them on bran and meal. In the winter he sheltered tbem well, feeding oats and swamp hay, and in the spring he had thirteen fine lambs. Saving the manure, he planted the old briar patch with corn, and harvested a fine crop. All his spare time was devoted to caring for the sheep. The next spring he had more lambs ; and now, as a result of such small beginnings, he haa several hundred fine young sheep, free from disease, bringing him 2000 dols. a-year., while his farm has become extremely fertile, and he is a rich man. We know that there are thousands of young men who have a free course open to them to become wealthy in this country by beginning in the same way. But the trouble is the way is too humble and slow ; they want to get along faster; they have no patience, no faith, no pluck. Truly, it does seem small business to watch a dozen sheep, as if it were beneath the attention of a smart New Zealand youth; but if said youth will look the subject all over, he will see it worthy of all his powers. A young man can well afford to sit down with a dozen sheep on the plains, live in a slab hut, and feed on damper and mutton, rather than undertake to become independent in a city, on a clerkship of L 250 a year.