PP INC OTT'S MANUALS m PRODUCTIVE SHEEP HUSBANDRY BY W.C.COFFEY 'The first farmer was the first man, and all historic nobility rests on possession and use of land." — EMERSON. LIPPINCOTT'S FARM MANUALS EDITED BY KARY C. DAVIS, PH.D. (CORNELL) PROFESSOR OF AGRICULTURE, KNAPP SCHOOL OF COUNTRY LIFE, GEORGE PEABODY COLLEGE FOR TEACHERS, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE; AUTHOR OF PRODUCTIVE FARMING, ETC." PRODUCTIVE SHEEP HUSBANDRY BY WALTER C. COFFEY PROFESSOR OF SHEEP HUSBANDRY, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIPPINCOTT'S FARM MANUALS Edited by K. C. DAVIS, Ph.D. SECOND EDITION REVISED PRODUCTIVE SWINE HUSBANDRY BY GEORGE E. DAY, B.S.A. PROF. OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, ONTARIO AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, CANADA. 96 illustrations. xiii + 363 pages. $1-75 net. SECOND EDITION REVISED PRODUCTIVE POUUPRY HUSBANDRY BY HARRY R. LEWIS, B.S. POULTRY HUSBANDRYMAN, NEW JERSEY AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 330 illustrations. xxi-\- 536 -pages. $2.00 net. SECOND EDITION REVISED PRODUCTIVE HORSE HUSBANDRY BY CARL W. GAY, B.S.A. PROF. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, CHAIRMAN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY SECTION, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA. 176 illustrations. xvi + 331 pages. $1.75 net. PRODUCTIVE ORCHARDING BY FRED C. SEARS, M.S. PROF. OF POMOLOGY, MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 188 illustrations. xiv +314 pages. $1-75 net. THIRD EDITION REVISED PRODUCTIVE VEGETABLE GROWING BY JOHN W. LLOYD, M.S.A. PROF. OF OLERICULTURE, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS. 194 illustrations. xiii + 339 pages. $1-75 net. SECOND EDITION REVISED AND ENLARGED PRODUCTIVE FEEDING OF FARM ANIMALS BY F. W. WOLL, PH.D. PROF. OF ANIMAL NUTRITION, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 1 06 illustrations. xii -\- 375 pages. $1.75 net. SECOND EDITION COMMON DISEASES OF FARM ANIMALS BY R. A. CRAIG, D.V.M. PROF. VETERINARY SCIENCE, PURDUE UNIVERSITY. 124 illustrations. xii +334 pages. $i>75 net. SECOND EDITION PRODUCTIVE FARM CROPS BY E. G. MONTGOMERY, M.A. PROF. OF FARM CROPS, CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 204 illustrations. xix-\- 501 pages. $1.75 net. PRODUCTIVE BEE KEEPING BY FRANK C. PELLETT STATE APIARIST OF IOWA. 135 illustrations. xiv +302 pages. $1.75 net. PRODUCTIVE DAIRYING BY R. M. WASHBURN PROF. OF DAIRY HUSBANDRY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA. 132 illustrations. xii + 393 pages. $*-75 net. LiPFiNCOTT's FARM MANUALS EDITED BY K. C. DAVIS, Pn.D. (CORNELL) PRODUCTIVE SHEEP HUSBANDRY BY WALTER C. COFFEY PROFESSOR OF SHEEP HUSBANDRY, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS " If vain our toil, We ought to blame the culture, not the soil." POPE — Essay on Man PHILADELPHIA & LONDON J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY - » COPYRIGHT, IQl8. BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY AGRIC. DEPT, MAIM UJtT 4. Electrotyped and Printed by J. B. Lippincott Company The Washington Square Press, Philadelphia, U. S. A. DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF MY FATHER WHO LOVED SHEEP 402468 PREFACE ALL indications at the present time point to the beginning of a new period in the sheep industry of the United States. For the first time in our history we are attempting to give attention to the whole problem of mutton and wool production. We are awakening as never before to the fact that successful flock husbandry is based upon a careful consideration and attention to breeding, feeding, shepherding, and marketing. As a result, farm flocks are emerg- ing from the depraved stage of scavengers, and bands of sheep on western ranges no longer have " to take pot luck " on the natural feed of the range. The sheepman now realizes that " the march towards the setting sun " in search of new and cheap range is over, and that various phases of agriculture are demanding and receiving recognition in regions which he once regarded as solely his own. He also realizes that land values have advanced and the cost of operation increased to the point where the haphazard and wasteful methods once prac- ticed in handling sheep can no longer be depended upon to yield profits. All of these changes presage a better and more successful sheep husbandry, and this book is offered with the hope that it will be of use both to the student and to the sheep raiser in comprehending the place which sheep justly deserve in our agriculture and the methods of handling which will result in permanent occupancy of this place. The author fully realizes that this volume is not a complete treatise on sheep husbandry. He also realizes how unfortunate it would be for sheepmen generally to attempt to apply without any modification whatever all of the suggestions this book contains; for no absolute rule can be laid down for each and every practice in flock husbandry. To my various friends engaged in sheep raising, most grateful acknowledgment is due for the encouragement and help they have given me in preparing this volume, and especially do I feel indebted to my colleague, Prof. J. A. Detlefsen, for his helpful suggestions on vii viii PREFACE the discussion pertaining to sheep breeding, and to my assistants, Mr. Claude Harper and Mr. E. K. Augustus, who have rendered me most valuable assistance in various ways. I also wish to express my very great appreciation of suggestions given by Miss Anna Cushman Glover, Secretary of the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, and by my brother, Professor J. S. Coffey, on the arrangement of the material for this book. WALTER C. COFFEY. August, 1918. CONTENTS PART I— HISTORY OF SHEEP RAISING AND OF SHEEP BREEDING CHAPTER PAGE I. THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHEEP RAISING IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES 3 II. PRESENT TYPES OF SHEEP RAISING IN LEADING SHEEP COUNTRIES 20 III. PROBLEMS IN THE IMPROVEMENT OF SHEEP 27 IV. METHODS OF IMPROVEMENT 37 PART II— STRUCTURE AND JUDGING V. STRUCTURE OF THE SHEEP 45 VI. THE NATURE OF SHEEP 59 VII. TYPES 70 VIII. JUDGING SHEEP 82 PART III— BREEDS IX. THE MUTTON BREEDS 99 X. THE SOUTHDOWN 102 XI. THE SHROPSHIRE 110 XII. THE HAMPSHIRE 122 XIII. THE OXFORD DOWN 132 XIV. THE SUFFOLK 137 XV. THE DORSET HORN 140 XVI. THE CHEVIOT 145 XVII. THE LEICESTER 150 XVIII. THE COTSWOLD. 156 XIX. THE LINCOLN 161 XX. THE ROMNEY MARSH 164 XXI. BRITISH BREEDS NOT WIDELY DISTRIBUTED IN THE UNITED STATES 168 XXII. THE CORRIEDALE 180 XXIII. THE AMERICAN TUNIS 184 XXIV. BREEDS OF THE WOOL TYPE 188 XXV. THE AMERICAN MERINO 190 XXVI. THE DELAINE MERINO 200 XXVII. THE RAMBOUILLET 203 XXVIII. THE KARAKUL (A FUR-BEARING BREED) 212 ix X CONTENTS PART IV— THE MANAGEMENT OF THE FLOCK XXIX. ESTABLISHING THE COMMERICAL FARM FLOCK 219 XXX. THE BREEDING SEASON 230 XXXI. CARE OF EWES DURING PREGNANCY 236 XXXII. THE LAMBING PERIOD 246 XXXIII. GROWING THE LAMB 267 XXXIV. SUMMER MANAGEMENT 291 XXXV. THE WOOL CROP .314 - PART V— SHEEP FEEDING XXXVI. HISTORY OF SHEEP FEEDING IN THE UNITED STATES 335 XXXVII. MARKET CLASSES OF SHEEP 340 XXXVIII. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS IN SHEEP AND LAMB FEEDING. . 355 XXXIX. SOME IMPORTANT FACTORS AFFECTING THE RATE AND ECONOMY OF GAIN 369 XL. FEEDING SHEEP AND LAMBS IN THE FIELD THROUGH A PART OR ALL OF THE FEEDING PERIOD 387 PART VI— SHEEP MANAGEMENT ON THE RANGES IN THE WESTERN STATES XLI. NATURE OF THE RANGE AND OF THE SHEEP 393 XLII. MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP ON RANGES IN THE WEST 402 XLIII. SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN RANGE CONDITIONS DURING THE PAST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 426 PART VII— MISCELLANEOUS XLIV. BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT FOR FARM FLOCKS 4o.r> XLV. PREPARING MUTTON ON THE FARM 449 INDEX . . 461 PART I HISTORY OF SHEEP RAISING AND SHEEP BREEDING PRODUCTIVE SHEEP HUSBANDRY CHAPTER I THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHEEP RAISING IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES Early Domestication and Importance. — It is thought that sheep were first domesticated in Asia, probably in Turkestan. There is evidence that they may have been under domestication in Europe in prehistoric times, for the bones of sheep have been found in caves and lake dwellings, where the primitive people of that continent lived. We can only surmise that primitive man used the skins for raiment and shelter, and the meat and milk for food. As man advanced in civilization and became more settled in his habits, his principal wealth often consisted of flocks and herds. The Old Testament contains many passages which refer to the pastoral occupation of sheep herding. Rome developed skill in handling her flocks, and sheep abounded in Spain prior to the Christian era. The development of sheep raising as it concerns those now in- terested in the production of mutton and wool centered in England and in Spain. Before the year 1000 both of these countries attached great importance to their flocks, and by the year 1500 they were recognized as the greatest sheep countries of the world. Although their wools were considerably unlike, they were regarded as com- petitors for several hundred years on the great wool markets of Flanders. Sheep Raising in Spain. — Spain, at a very early period, de- veloped the Merino, a type of sheep which produced wool of unusually fine fiber, suitable for making such fine, soft fabrics as broadcloth (Fig. 1). This wool met with so large a demand and was so fertile a source of revenue, that the most powerful classes, the nobility and the clergy, engaged in sheep husbandry. They collected great flocks for which they secured almost un- 3 4 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHEEP RAISING limited privileges. Carefully tended by shepherds of long exper- ience, these flocks were travelled from the southern to the north- ern part of the kingdom and back again each year in order to secure the best grazing and the most favorable climatic conditions for the sheep (Fig. 2). Certain laws of the kingdom stipulated that the owners of large flocks should be allowed a path 90 paces in width for their sheep through enclosed lands. The use of this privilege often brought hardships upon the peasants, who often com- plained of having their crops and vineyards devastated. FIG. 1. — Old type of Spanish Merino. These old sheep had long necks, high shoulders and were comparatively free from wrinkles. The production of sheep and of wool of a type unlike that of any other country became so important in Spain that the owners of flocks, being very few in number, easily established a monopoly which they maintained for many years. To allow a sheep to leave Spain alive was a crime punishable by death. The king was the only one exempted under this law. Sheep owners reinforced statute with argument, contending that in any other country their sheep would deteriorate in quality of fleece because of different soil, climate, and vegetation, and also because of inefficient shepherding. But later events proved them wrong in their contention. CHARACTERISTICS OF MERINOS IN SPAIN 5 Spain's Monopoly Broken. — There came a time when Spain's wool monopoly was broken and her sheep industry went into a period of decadence. Early in the nineteenth century Napoleon invaded Spain and overthrew the government. In connection with this conquest he seized large numbers of Merino sheep and shipped them to other countries where they added new chapters to the history of sheep raising. A few years later Spain tried hard to regain her FIG, 2. — The heavy dark lines and the lighter double lines indicate the ancient routes over which travelling flocks were driven in Spain. The black areas indicate the pastures on which these sheep were grazed. (From "Annales de Geographic," 1910.) former place as a great sheep country, but Napoleon's act really marked the beginning of her steady decline as a producer of Merinos. Characteristics of Merinos in Spain. — Mention should be made of three characteristics of Merino sheep in Spain that have had an important influence upon their subsequent history: first, the production of very fine wool ; second, the hardiness of the mature 6 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHEEP RAISING sheep and their ability to travel ; third,, the disposition to stay close together when feeding, resting, or travelling. Stationary Flocks. — Spain also had stationary flocks, some of which had coarse wool and others wool resembling that of the travelling flocks. These stationary flocks were of importance num- erically in Spain, but they contributed little or nothing to sheep raising in outside countries. Sheep Raising in England.— England, instead of developing one or two general types of sheep, saw fit to encourage several types that were markedly different in the length and fineness of their wool. None of the wools from these breeds was as fine as that of the Merino, but they sold readily in the markets nevertheless, for they were more suitable for a variety of uses than wool from Spain. Aside from the difference in the nature of the wool, the sheep industries of England and Spain were dissimilar in other ways. The flocks of England were not in the hands of a very few powerful owners as they were in Spain. Travelling flocks were not established. The great problem of the Eaiglish sheep farmer of earlier times was to procure sheep that were adapted to his particular locality. This largely accounts for the fact that there were many types. Another factor may have been the poor conditions for travelling, which kept the English farmer close to his home. With cold winters, scarcity of winter feed, and diseases to contend with, conditions were hard, and the owner was content with a type of sheep that would best withstand these hardships whether or not it would produce the kind of wool he most desired. Events Affecting Sheep Raising. — The great plague, or Black Death, of 1348, served as a great impetus to sheep growing in Eng- land. Laborers were so reduced in number by this plague that land owners were obliged to turn their lands into pastures. As sheep paid better than other classes of livestock, owing to the high price of wool, sheep raising became the " sheet anchor of English farming.'7 Flock husbandry, however, was still only a partial success because of inability to cope with the severe winters. The fact that it was profitable at all shows what a great demand there was for wool. During the reign of Edward TIT (1327-1377) a grant of special protection made in favor of all Flemish weavers, dyers, and fullers, who would settle in England for the purpose of following their trade, resulted in securing artisans skilled in the then most improved methods of cloth making. Soon afterwards, English wools came ROBERT BAKEWELL 7 more and more to be made up at home so as to more nearly suit home demands. Later, in the reign of Elizabeth (1557-1603), still more of these artisans, as well as others of their countrymen, came to England as refugees. Thus was laid the foundation of England's great expansion in manufacturing. Settlers from Flanders also brought the root and clover crops, the cultivation of which soon became of far-reaching benefit to the sheep industry, for they made possible an adequate supply of good winter feed. As a result the death rate of sheep was greatly reduced, and the production of wool per sheep was increased. Robert Bakewell. — Aside from improvement resulting from FIG. 3. — Mutton sheep of the present-day type on a pasture in Great-Britain. They are wide, deep and compact in form. They mature early and fatten easily. better feeding, there was no great progress until the time of Eobert Bakewell, 1725-1794. Wool had declined in price until, with the rapidly advancing values of English lands, it alone would no longer justify the keeping of sheep. With the enormous expansion of manufacturing and of other industries in England, there were developing great urban populations demanding meat. Bakewell was able to see that these changed conditions demanded a new type of sheep, and accordingly he set to work to make of the long, ungainly^ coarse- wooled, late-maturing sheep of his community a compact, early-maturing, easily fattened animal. He succeeded so well and his work impressed breeders so profoundly that he is generally acknowledged as the first great improver of livestock. He demon- strated that certain fundamental laws of breeding aided in attain- 8 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHEEP RAISING ing what he sought. He thus inaugurated a period of improvement in the sheep industry of his country such as the world had never seen. It was essentially an improvement securing better mutton and early maturit}^ but many other points received careful atten- tion. The work Bake well started attained such importance that England became the native home of nearly all of the modern mutton breeds, and sheepmen from all parts of the world still go there for breeding stock (Fig. 3). Importance of Wool in New Countries. — From the foregoing it is seen that sheep first advanced to great importance both in Spain and in England because of their wool rather than because of their flesh. It is not to be supposed that they were of no value as meat-producing animals, but it was the demand for wool that first made sheep raising profitable in these countries. Likewise, it was the demand for wool that first caused sheep to gain prominence in FIG. 4. — Wagon train drawing wool from the interior to shipping point. It is the sheep's fleece that makes it suitable for remote regions where there are neither railroads nor highways. the newer lands, the lands which now rank with the great sheep growing countries of the world. Why should this be so ? Because those who begin ths development of a new country are through necessity interested in products which can be marketed at a long distance from the place of production. Usually, too, they want products which can be profitably handled in spite of poor trans- portation facilities. Value considered, wool is light in weight, and it is imperishable with respect to time involved in getting it to market. It was only natural, therefore, that the colonizers of Australia, of New Zealand, and of Argentina should turn to the production of wool. In our own country the significant expansion of sheep growing did not begin until a few years after the republic was established (Fig. 4). WESTWARD MOVEMENT OF SHEEP 9 Sheep Raising in North America. — Colonial Times. — Domestic sheep were brought to North America by early colonists. It is thought that the Spaniards who founded old Santa Fe, New Mexico, brought with them the sheep from which the multi-colored flocks of the Navajo Indians have descended. If, as is generally supposed, sheep of this original stock were taken out of Spain, special permission to do so surely must have been granted by the king. The colonists along the Atlantic seaboard introduced the English, and a few other mutton breeds. As a rule the flocks were not large, the main object in keeping sheep being to supply wool for making homespuns, and only incidentally to furnish a part of the family meat supply. The Embargo Act. — In the year 1807, the people of the United States were forbidden by the Embargo Act to trade with foreign powers. Although this statute was frequently violated, its effect upon foreign trade in general was keenly felt. Among other things it so restricted imports that it caused a shortage of woolens, and American manufacturers found more demand for such goods than their supply of raw wool would satisfy. Moreover, because it turned many people in New England away from commerce into manu- facturing, it still further increased the demand for raw wool. Men active in the affairs of the nation, realizing the need of more wool to supply the woolen mills, devoted both time and means to the task of getting more sheep into the country. Napoleon had ruined Spain's monopoly on Spanish Merinos. But years before this, Saxony in Germany, through a gift of a number of Merinos to her chief ruler from the king of Spain, had demonstrated that at least one other country besides Spain could grow Merino sheep and that she could even surpass Spain in the quality of wool produced. Saxony's success gave confidence to Americans who were interested in getting more fine-wooled sheep into their country. Merinos accordingly were imported, and soon they showed that they could thrive and produce wool of good quality in their new environment. There soon arose a craze for these sheep which continued from 1808 until about 1816, during which time quite impossible claims were made for them. Nevertheless they proved to be the type of sheep needed not only then but for many years afterwards, for they were adapted to grazing on undeveloped lands and to the production of that fine wool for which there was so strong a demand. 'Westward Movement of Sheep. — The westward movement of 10 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHEEP RAISING sheep began early in the nineteenth century during the period of mania for Merinos. Gradually flocks, mainly of Merino breeding, spread over the fertile, virgin lands of the Ohio Valley and of the Great Lakes region. When these lands became somewhat thickly settled and high in price, many sheepmen, desiring to operate on a large scale, moved farther west where range was cheap and extensive. It was chiefly because of vast stretches of cheap range in the West that certain of our sheepmen almost constantly kept on the march, first over the Appalachians, then across the Mississippi, thence west to the Rockies and southwest into Texas, and finally through all the Rocky Mountain Region. Changes in Centers of Sheep Population Shown by Census Reports. — In 1840, as the census reports clearly show, the regions of densest sheep population were Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York. At that time there were no sheep in the far West except those of the Navajo Indians in northern New Mexico. In fact, the only state west of the Mississippi having sheep in considerable numbers was Missouri. Ten years later that part of Ohio lying south of Lake Erie was the region of densest sheep population. There was a noticeable thinning out in New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, and a pronounced increase in southeastern Michigan, and in all of Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Illinois. Flock? had also made their way into southern Wisconsin and southeastern Iowa. The census of 1860 shows sheep in eastern Texas and the coast and central parts of California. Although the census report of 1870 does not show much new territory occupied by sheep in the Mississippi Valley and the far West, it does show with a great deal of significance a great increase in numbers in those regions and a great decrease in such eastern states as New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire. In 1880 southeastern Wisconsin, along with southeastern Michigan and much of Ohio, were the regions of densest sheep population. Such states as the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming, which ten years before were almost unoccupied, now showed a liberal sprinkling of flocks. By 18'90 all the western states and territories were occupied and by 1900 the Rocky Mountain region had become the most important sheep section of the country. The census of 1910 showed that 58.41 per cent of the sheep of the United States were in the West (Figs. 5 and 6). CENTERS OF SHEEP POPULATION 11 h 12 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHEEP RAISING SHEEP RAISING IN AUSTRALIA 13 Flocks in Farming Regions. — When sheepmen first skimmed over the country with their extensive flocks their methods were somewhat similar to those of the large owners in the West to-day, who operate under what are called range conditions. That is, range or pasture was plentiful and in such states as Illinois and Iowa sheep were occasionally ranged in the open under the care of herders. But gradually the large flocks disappeared and in their place there arose small flocks which were kept in comparatively small, fenced fields. These became known as farm flocks, and they now typify the sheep industry of the United States in all but the western states. Mutton Blood. — At first the Merino predominated in nearly all farm flocks, but gradually English mutton breeds were intro- duced until now nearly all such flocks are of mutton blood. The change to mutton blood was the result of the decline in the price of wool and the increase in the demand for mutton. The rise of land values also had an influence, for there came a time when the sheep yielding principally a fleece could not return a profit to the owner of high-priced land. For the same reason mutton blood has also been introduced in the far West, where range conditions still exist, but it will probably always be necessary to keep on the range sheep that carry a large proportion of Merino blood in order to preserve the close-flocking instinct and a fleece that will withstand semi-arid conditions. Increase in Value. — The importance of the sheep industry in the United States now as compared with the past cannot be deter- mined by merely comparing numbers. Sheep are considerably more valuable on the head basis than they were years ago, because the revenue from each sheep is much greater than in days of wool grow- ing only. The breeding ewe yields not only wool but also lambs which are sold for mutton, and when she has passed her period of usefulness as a breeder or a wool producer, either on the farm or on the range, she still has a value as a mutton product. Sheep Raising in Australia. — -Prior to 1830, sheep growing in Australia had not attained commercial significance. Merino sheep were introduced from the Cape of Good Hope as early as 1788 by Captain Phillip, the first governor of New South Wales. In 1825 a group of English capitalists formed a land company and founded a large pastoral estate in Tasmania, which was then known as Van Diemens Land. Between 1825 and 1830 this company spent more than $145,000 in importing Merinos from Saxony ,and some of the 14 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHEEP RAISING mutton breeds of England. The majority of the purchases were of the best Saxony types, descended from Spanish Merinos. A Mr. Warrington of Tasmania, in 1829, formed two separate breeding flocks from two noted families of Spanish Merinos. England had long since ceased exporting wool and it is said that the original aim of the Tasmanian flock owners was to grow wool for England, and, ultimately, to render that country inde- pendent of Spanish, German, an^l other foreign sources of supply; but for many years their most valuable work was the breeding of Merino sheep for the rapidly multiplying "stations" around the coastal fringe of the Australian mainland. When wool from the Australian Merino flocks came into the hands of English manu- facturers it met with a ready demand, and the growers were told that if they could supply such wool in bulk to the English trade, they would find a large and profitable market for it. From 1830 on, the Australian wool growing industry made great progress. As owners found in the early days of sheep raising in our own country, so too the owners in Australia have found the wool type most profitable; and, largely because their country has been populated at a much slower pace than ours, they have been much slower to change to the mutton type than we. Merino blood still predominates in Australian flocks, although the mutton breeds are gradually gaining ground and the mutton qualities of the Merinos are being improved. As the supply of both mutton and wool in Australia far exceeds the home demand, sheep raisers are obliged to depend largely on foreign markets. Until recent years very little of the wool intended for export was sold before it left Australian ports. It was consigned to commission firms in England, who dis- posed of it by means of auction sales. But the custom of selling wool in Australian seaboard cities is now rapidly growing. Australia disposes of her surplus mutton by shipping frozen car- casses to England. Until refrigeration for ocean liners was per- fected, she had practically no outlet for her surplus supply of meat, and hence there was no great incentive for encouraging the mutton types of sheep. Present Importance. — Australia has no superior as a sheep country. It is a large country where pastorial agriculture has been emphasized for many years and sheep seem to have been the animals best adapted to her grazing lands. There has always been room for expansion; which fact, together with the demand for wool and POLITICAL UNREST IN SHEEP COUNTRIES 15 mutton, has been the main factor in the steady growth of the sheep industry in spite of such difficulties as periodic drouths, ravages by rabbits, and lack of transportation lines extending far into the interior. The government is fostering the industry and those en- gaged in it are investing money to protect themselves against rab- bits and to prevent excessive losses in years of drouth. Sheep Raising in New Zealand. — Sheep were not taken into New Zealand until 1840, which was shortly after the first settle- ment established there by Europeans. Merinos exclusively were im- ported in the beginning, but as the needs of the trade developed, mutton breeds were introduced and it was found that they did unusually well. After 1882, the year in which the first shipment of frozen mutton was made from the country, the mutton breeds gained on the Merinos so rapidly that by 1910 the wool from pure Merinos did not form over three per cent of the total clip. Density of Sheep Population. — New Zealand has less than twice the area of the state of Illinois, and yet in 1910 she reported 23,792,947 sheep. Think what a dense sheep population that is as compared with similar areas anywhere in our own country ! Mutton is the staple meat in New Zealand. It is even more common in the private homes of both country and city, and in public eating places than is beef in our own country. Practically all sheep in New Zealand are managed under the " paddock," or " fencing/' system. This is also true of Australia. Many of the fences are rabbit proof and cost about four hundred dollars per mile. As a general practice, the herding system char- acteristic of our sheep industry in the West ceased in Australia and New Zealand in the latter part of the last century. Sheep Raising in South America. — At the time of the con- quest of Peru there already existed a breed of supposedly indigenous sheep possessing enough good about them to be prized by the Incas Indians and by the conquering Spaniards. Gibson tells us that wool was first exported from the River Plate as early as the year 1600. However, the beginning of an extensive sheep husbandry in South America did not come until a much later time. Political Unrest, in Leading Sheep Countries. — The great sheep countries in South America are the Argentine Republic and Uruguay. In 1813 a shipment of pure Spanish Merinos arrived in the province of Buenos Aires. Upon this shipment was founded the first flock of improved Merinos in South America. Although 16 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHEEP RAISING the number of sheep in the Argentine Republic greatly increased after the founding of this flock, the progress of the industry was greatly hindered by the numerous political revolutions which were common throughout all of the River Plate region and sheep raising was later in attaining great commercial importance than in the United States and Australia. Importance of Merino Blood. — Like each of the other coun- tries mentioned above, South America found the wool type, or Merino sheep most profitable at first. Southdowns, the premier mutton sheep of England, were introduced as early as 1825, but because of their low yield of wool and predisposition to foot rot, they did not win wide favor. Then, too, the Merino had the gregarious instinct intensely developed, which was valuable to South American owners for the same reason that it is of value to any community where sheep are in the care of herders. Use of Mutton Breeds. — Merino blood is still present in most of the flocks, but in many cases it is mingled with the blood of the English mutton breeds, — chiefly with the Lincoln and Romney Marsh. Both of these are long-wooled breeds which, when crossed with the Merino, produce a beautiful lustrous wool and a lamb thac is suitable for the frozen carcass trade with England. Present Status of Sheep Industry. — It has been said that there is probably no region where the shepherd's life is easier than in Argentina. Predatory animals are few. Except along the base of the Andes, no preparation of feed for wrinter is necessary, and, except in marshy regions, or in seasons of unusual rainfall, disease is rare. Nevertheless, in many parts the sheep industry has passed its meridian. The beautiful expanses of land, furnishing the plenty which has made life so easy for shepherds, are valuable for agri- cultural purposes, and the coming of cultivated fields is not only desirable but inevitable. But Mr. Joseph Wing, who visited the Argentine and contiguous countries as a special agent for Presi- dent Taft's Tariff Board, says there is still much land in South America suitable for sheep production which is not fully occupied. Sheep Raising in South Africa. — Although Merino sheep were imported into South Africa one hundred and fifty years before they were introduced into Australia, it is only recently that the wool markets of the world have begun to receive considerable amounts of pure and grade Merino wool from South African flocks. For various reasons the progress of sheep husbandry has been compara- THE IMPORTANT SHEEP COUNTRIES 17 lively slow. Sheep scab has been very hard to contend with, and measures adopted by the Government have not yet proved adequate for keeping it under control. The black natives upon whom many sheepmen have had to depend for labor., have not been very reliable,, and, therefore, because of the poor quality of labor, it has not been possible to produce as good mutton and wool as natural conditions would warrant. Further, predatory animals, jackals especially, have hindered the growth of the sheep industry by enforcing expense in erecting fences and by making it hazardous to keep sheep in certain sections. And finally, South Africa, like Australia, is sub- ject to drouths which visit great hardships on sheep owners ; in fact, they are the worst drawback to sheep raising. They are most pro- nounced in that part of the interior known as the Karroo, but periodically they also extend over the Transvaal, Orange Free State, and parts of Natal. Their effect is all the more severe because they usually come just after a period of such good feed in the veld districts that sheep owners have been tempted into overstocking. But in spite of the drawbacks, which after all every country pos- sesses to greater or less extent, South Africa is making marked progress in wool production. Sheep owners are very much interested in breeding; they are giving much more attention to classing and grading wool for market than formerly, and in still other ways they are manifesting keen interest in sheep husbandry. The tendency of recent years has been in favor of the big-framed robust-wooled type of Merino, — the -Wanganellas and Rambouillet, whilst at the present time, the crossing of strictly mutton breeds, such as1 the Southdown, Suffolk, and Shropshire, on Merino ewes is attracting attention. It is a significant fact that American breeders, more especially Ohio and Michigan men, annually exported a number of Rambouil- lets and Merinos to South Africa until the outbreak of the war in 1914. The Important Sheep Countries. — In the foregoing brief his- torical review of sheep raising the countries mentioned have each received separate attention, not only because they belong at the top of the list of the great sheep countries of the world, but also because they are the most important of the newer countries. Of course, other countries than these keep large numbers of sheep and the fol- lowing tabulation shows the importance of sheep in various coun- 2 18 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHEEP RAISING tries and it also gives some notion of where the world's supply of wool is produced.1 A — World Production of Sheep and Wool: 1916 Sheep — approximate number ..................... 614,857,418 Wool — approximate number of pounds ............ 2,717,223,100 B-Leadmg Sheep Counties. ™P^e NuSmheep°f Australia and Tasmania . . . * 1915 82,011,606 Argentina .................. 1912 83,545,931 United States ____ 1916 48,483,000 Census of 1910 ............ 52,183,423 British South and East Africa. . 1913 43,009,843 United Kingdom of Great Britain ..................... 1915 27,552,136 New Zealand ................. 1915 24,607,868 Russian Empire .............. 1911 80,874,000 Ottoman Empire .............. 1910 and 1912 48,284,678 Uruguay ..................... 1908 26,286,296 C — Wool Produced in Different Countries, According to Latest Estimate* Available in 1916: Pounds Australia and Tasmania . ......................... 463,750,000 Russian Empire .................................. 380,000,000 United States .................................. 288,490,000 Argentina ....................................... 264,500,000 New Zealand ..................................... 181,282,880 United Kingdom of Great Britain .................. 121,200,043 Ottoman Empire and Balkan States ............ 90,500,000 British Africa ................................... 157,761,470 Uruguay .......... .............................. 143,293,000 France .......................................... 75,,000,000 British India ................................... 60,000,000 Spain .................................... " ....... 52,000,000 China ........................................... 50,000,000 Austria-Hungary .......................... . ...... 41,600,000 Algeria ......................................... 33,184,000 ' Germany ....................................... 25,600,000 Italy ................................ ....... ..... 21,500,000 Chili . .............. 20,000,000 1 Compiled from Annual Wool Review of the National Association of Wool Manufacturers. QUESTIONS 19 Pounds Greece 16,000,000 British Canadian Provinces 11,210,000 Portugal 10,000,000 Peru 9,420,707 Mexico 7,000,000 QUESTIONS 1. Where were sheep first domesticated? What uses were probably first made of sheep? 2. In what condition was sheep husbandry in Spain when Columbus dis- covered America ? 3. How does Spain rank as a sheep country to-day? 4. How did England and Spain differ in methods of sheep raising? 5. What was Bakewell's contribution to the sheep industry of Great Britain? 6. What of the importance of sheep raising in North America at the time Bakewell lived? 7. What of the importance of wool growing in new countries? 8. When did significant expansion of sheep raising in North America take place and what were the circumstances that augmented it? 9. Recount the changes in the distribution of sheep in the United States between 1840 and 1910; the changes in the breeding of sheep during that time. 1 0. Of what importance was sheep raising in your state at the time it was admitted to the Union? 11. Compare the t>heep industry of Australia with that of New Zealand. 12. What are the leading sheep countries in South America? 13. Name the countries which produce the bulk of the world's supply of wool. 14. Where do Australia, New Zealand, and South America market the bulk of their mutton and wool ? How far are they from these markets ? CHAPTER II PRESENT TYPES OF SHEEP RAISING IN LEADING SHEEP COUNTRIES Range Method, Using Herdfers. — In the western part of the United States sheep raising is commonly carried on in the large flock or band under the care of a herder who keeps the sheep on a comparatively large, area of unenclosed land — plains, foot-hills, and mountains. A band varies in number from 1500 to 3000, and besides the herder, requires the services of a camp tender, whose duties are to get provisions, move camp, select a new site where there is comparatively good feed, assist in cooking, and count the sheep (Figs. 7 and 8). Range Supplemented by Cultivated Crops, — At first range sheepmen in the United States depended solely upon the wild growth of the land for their sheep feed. Aside from selecting as good natural range as possible no preparation was made for feeding in the stormy periods of winter when the snow covered the feed too deep for the sheep to get to it. Consequently many starved. But, now very few deaths result from lack of feed because the winter range is supplemented with such feeds as corn, cottonseed cake, barley, oats and alfalfa hay. The corn and cottonseed cake are shipped in, but the other feeds are raised in the West in dry farm- ing and irrigated regions. Alfalfa ranks first in importance for it is used more extensively than any other feed in supplementing the winter range, and the practice of using it for summer range is increasing (Fig. 9). Ranging on Enclosed Lands. — Many of the large flocks of Australia and New Zealand are kept on large tracts of enclosed land where no herders are required. It is claimed that the sheep can make much better use of the range under this system than they can under the herding system. Under the herding system each sheep regularly maintains a fairly definite position in the band. For example, certain sheep are always at the front while others are always in the rear. Those in the rear do not find as much to eat as those at the front; hence the band as a whole cannot be so uni- 20 RANGING ON ENCLOSED LANDS 21 formly fed as when it is kept within an enclosure because in the enclosure the band breaks up into a number of small flocks that live and feed more or less independently of each other. Then, too, the sheep in a band tended by a herder must be driven a great deal. They must be rounded toward camp and bedded down for the night ; they must be kept from other bands of sheep ; and frequently they must be driven to a watering place. All this driving is not so beneficial to the sheep as exercise taken at their own inclination. FIG. 7. — World distribution of sheep. It will be noted that there are six world centers of sheep raising, of which four, the South American countries, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, are new land with sparse population and are all located in the Southern Hem- isphere. The two centers in the Northern Hemisphere are the Balkan States and Great Britain. In Asia Minor and in the Balkan States conditions of topography, climate, and the nomadic habits of the people in the recent past cause sheep to be important farm animals. In Great Britain many factors combine to make sheep raising a prominent indus- try in spite of high land values and extreme industrial concentration of population. The Russian Empire and the United States, although they rank high in total number of sheep, are, owing to large area, far down the list in number per square mile. Still other advantages of the enclosure system are that the fences are said to cost less than the extra labor required in the herding system and to a large extent they are proof against animals that make sheep their prey. In Australia and New Zealand, where both the herding and the enclosure methods have been tried, sheep owners favor the enclosure system. 22 PRESENT TYPES OF SHEEP RAISING THE HURDLING METHOD 23 The Farm Flock Method. — The flocks kept on the farms of the East, South and Middle West of the United States often contain fewer than 25 sheep and seldom more than 400 or 500. They are not under the care of special herders or shepherds, but of persons en- trusted with other duties connected with the farm. As a rule these flocks are a factor of secondary importance in a scheme of diversified farming. Often they are kept for the purpose of destroying weeds, and they are commonly given the compliment of converting into mutton and wool what otherwise would be waste. But farm flocks FIG. 9. — Supplementing the winter range with hay and other feed reduces the losses of old sheep, increases the vitality of the oncoming crop of lambs, and fills the udders of the ewes with milk for the lambs. that are made to subsist mostly on weeds and waste are neither in- telligently handled nor profitable. Since farm flocks represent the type of sheep raising followed in so many parts of the United States, much of the discussion which follows will be devoted to their selection, care and management (Fig. 10). The Hurdling Method. — The hurdling method of sheep raising may be seen in its perfection in England, where thousands of sheep are kept within hurdles for several months in the year. It is also much in use in Scotland. It is a type of sheep raising extremely different from the range method. It is intensive, supporting several sheep 011 each acre of land. 24 PRESENT TYPES OF SHEEP RAISING As an appurtenance of sheep raising, hurdles are light, movable panels of fence which a man can carry with ease. With them the shepherd makes a temporary enclosure for his flock. The lambs are FIG. 10. — The farm flock usually numbers less than one hundred sheep. FIG. 11. — In Great Britain thousands of sheep are kept within hurdles which are moved often to furnish fresh feed. usually permitted to go through creeps ahead of the ewes and in this way they get the best of the forage while their less fastidious mothers,, having access to it a day or two later, make the most economical use of it by trimming it down close. As soon as a growth is eaten, the ground is turned and sown to another crop. Of PURE-BRED FLOCK METHOD 25 course crops, like the grasses and clovers, are not treated in this way, but are left to grow up again. The hurdling method aims not only at securing a maximum growth for sheep from a given area of ground, but also at furnishing almost a constant change of feeding ground. Sheep thoroughly enjoy a new feeding place, a fact which English shepherds have fully recognized as essential to successful flock husbandry. Anyone who has seen the sheep of England within hurdles cannot question FIG. 12. — Meal time for western sheep fattening on a corn-belt farm. the efficiency of the hurdling method for bringing sheep as nearly as possible to their perfection. Any type of movable fencing can be used in the hurdling method (Fig. 11).. Pure-Bred Flock Method. — -Owners of pure-bred flocks have for their principal object the selling of breeding stock. They sell to the owners of commercial flocks who wish to use pure-bred rams but who do not care to keep pure-bred females, and of course, they also sell to each other. Since the object of the man who raises for breed- ing purposes is so different from that of the man who raises for the open market, it is natural to call his method of sheep raising a dis- 26 PRESENT TYPES OF SHEEP RAISING tinct type. He has to take certain things into consideration which do not enter into the operations of the owner of a commercial flock ; for instance, the location of his farm, the study of individual sheep rather than of flocks or bands, the ability to make matings that will produce animals with great inherent possibilities, to feed so that these possibilities will be made apparent, and finally, the finding of a market for this product. In fact, the successful management of the pure-bred flock requires a proprietor of a special type with a special training. Sheep and Lamb Feeding. — A great many western sheep and lambs are fattened for the market in the Middle West and in certain parts of the East. These western sheep and lambs are purchased in the autumn when large numbers are reaching the central markets. In such states as Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri they are usually allowed to run first in the fields, where they feed on pasture stubble, corn stalks, weeds, and in some cases, soybeans and rape. They accom- plish what may be termed a general " cleaning up " of the farm, and many farmers depend on them for this as others depend on the small flock for the same function. Before the fattening process is finished it is almost always necessary to supplement the feed of the fields with grain and hay. Further east, as in Ohio, Michigan, and New York, feeding sheep and lambs are not often given a run in the fields, but are placed in the barns immediately after their arrival at the farm and are fattened on various harvested feeds. In a few sections of the country sheep and lambs are still fed in large plants especially constructed for the purpose. This kind of feeding is very largely a speculative business as both the animals and the feeds used have to be purchased (Fig. 12). QUESTIONS 1. Name the types of sheep raising commonly practiced in the prominent sheep countries. 2. Which type is followed in your community? 3. In your opinion which type requires the most labor per sheep? Which gives the greatest returns per sheep ? 4. Which types are most likely to be followed in communities where land is very fertile and costly? 5. Which types are likely to become more general in the United States than at present? CHAPTER III PROBLEMS IN THE IMPROVEMENT OF SHEEP Appearance of Unimproved Sheep. — In countries practicing modern methods of breeding and feeding, the domestic sheep (Ovis dries) is markedly different in appearance from its unimproved kind. Judged according to our conception of right proportions, un- improved sheep are ill-shaped, with long, thin legs, long necks, and narrow bodies. As a rule their wool is coarse, characterless, ad- mixed with hair, variable in color, and does not extend well over the lower parts of the body. It may be of good quality on the shoulders, but coarse and very little different from hair on the thighs, and in color it may be white, brown, gray, or black on different individuals, or sometimes two or more of these colors appear in the same fleece. The sheep belonging to the Navajo Indians of New Mexico and Arizona furnish the most interesting study of unimproved strains to be found in North America (Fig. 13). Breeding Problems. — When man first started to domesticate sheep, he probably recognized certain valuable characteristics in them, and he likely bred for these, or it may be that he recognized some of their more valuable characteristics before he began the work of domestication ; for Shaler says that man attains some of the mechanic arts before he begins to domesticate animals. Weaving, a very old art, was supplanted by the practice of pressing moist wool into a felt, which itself was an advance over the custom of using skins with hairy or woolly covering for clothing and shelter. Improvement of Wool. — From all we can learn it would appear that the problem of improving wool must have early attracted the attention of sheep owners. Probably the first step consisted in getting a longer, heavier growth of wool more nearly free from an admixture of hair. Very likely such improvement was sought to make the wool easier to handle in the process of weaving, which was a considerable task among the nomads whose raiment, tents, and beds were woven from wool and hair. Fine Wool. — As the art of weaving developed and as the people cultivated a taste for fine raiment and furnishings, wool of fine 27 28 PROBLEMS IN THE IMPROVEMENT OF SHEEP quality undoubtedly began to be prized. The Romans went to much trouble to produce this kind of wool. They kept their sheep covered with cloths and confined in barns in order to make the wool fibers fine and soft. At frequent intervals they washed their sheep, combed their fleeces to keep the wool from matting, rubbed fine oil into their skins, and moistened their fleeces with wine. By selecting rams with fine fleeces they succeeded in developing breeding stock which pos- sessed very fine wool. The production of fine wool has been a problem of considerable importance ever since the time of the Romans, if not before. Breeders in Spain, Germany, France, and England have worked at FIG. 13. — Sheep and goats belonging to the Nayajo Indians. The sheep are ill-shaped and not uniform in color. it and it still receives attention in leading sheep countries such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, North America, and South America. Color of Wool. — In improving wool, color has received careful attention. Variety of color was perhaps regarded favorably in early times, but when various dye stuffs came to be used, white wool was preferred, because none but a black dye can be used on wool which is black, brown, or gray. It may be that white sheep were once uncommon, for after Spain attained prominence as a wool-growing country her wool was reported as being black. But in all countries where improved methods of sheep husbandry are practiced, the con- stant elimination of blacks, browns, and grays has been so effective DURING THE PAST 125 YEARS 29 that color scarcely enters into the problem of wool improvement at the present time, although in a few breeds some difficulty is ex- perienced in preventing a light scattering of dark fibers in the fleece (Fig. 14). Combining Various Properties of the Fleece. — The problem of associating length, strength, and weight with quality of fleece has caused improvers of wool a great deal of effort. Length combined FIG. 14. — The Mouflon — a wild sheep. Note the lack of uniformity in color. Exterior of coat is hair. with quality and strength became very important within the past century when fine worsteds, fabrics requiring long, fine, strong wool, came into fashion, and it was the desire to make wool growing pay that led to increase in weight of fleece. During the past 125 years Saxony in Germany, Australia, and the United States have contributed most to improvement in wool growing. Experts in Saxony studied the wool of breeding rams in minute detail, and made great improvement in fineness of fiber and in uniformity of the quality of the fleece. Vermont and Ohio 30 PROBLEMS IN THE IMPROVEMENT OF SHEEP breeders taught the world a great deal about growing strong, fine fiber and fleeces of exceptional weight. Australian breeders con- tributed much in combining quality, length and weight and by determining the types of wool suited to different environments ; in fact they have led the world in the general merit and integrity of their wool product. Although sheep breeders have by no means ceased to pay atten- tion to wool, yet it is perhaps safe to say that the day of improve- ment, as characterized by an aftempt to get into the fleece the maximum of fineness, length, and weight, has begun to wane. Great changes have come about in the manufacturing processes of wool. Long, fine wool, although still much sought after, is not so valu- able, relatively, as it once was because combs have been invented which will comb comparatively short wool. Manufacturers have learned to make all sorts of blends in order to meet the demands of fashion and it seems that they are capable of meeting almost any demand likely to be made. The world product is easily brought to their doors and they can combine quality, length, and strength through mechanical devices more cheaply than the grower can through breeding. The rise in the importance of mutton has re- sulted in a large amount of crosst-breeding in countries where the bulk of the wool was formerly produced by pure Merinos. Reports of the great wool sales in Bradford, England, show enormous in- creases in amounts of cross-bred wool in recent years. This is a pretty sure indication of either a check to progress in wool im- provement through breeding, or of a readjustment of the notions of wool improvement. In the writer's opinion it is an indication of the latter (Fig. 15). Improvement of Mutton. — Although the flesh of sheep lias always been used for food, it seems that the improvement of the mutton qualities was a much later problem in sheep breeding than was the improvement of wool. Whether the first object in improv- ing mutton was to secure a more palatable product or a cheaper one is not altogether clear, but the weight of evidence is in favor of the latter, for it was said of Bakewell that when he was confronted by a man who told him his sheep were so fat a gentleman could not eat them, he declared that he was not breeding sheep for gentlemen, but for men. More mutton, — on fewer acres, produced in less time, to furnish more to eat with less waste, — was the object, rather than to tickle the palate of the epicure. But before economy of produc- IMPROVEMENT OF MUTTON 31 32 PROBLEMS IN THE IMPROVEMENT OF SHEEP tion had gone very far, palatability was joined with this primary object, so that the epicure, too, can now make his selection of a mutton joint from the improved mutton breeds. . Changes. — Mutton improvement has involved changes in form, quality, fattening properties, age at maturity, feeding capacity, milking function, and prolificacy. With the possible exception of the last two, these factors are so interdependent that they all had to be considered at the same time. And it is clear that mutton im- provement could not go very far without considering milking prop- erties because the making of a good mutton lamb depends in large part on its getting plenty of milk. But sheep's milk was a human food in very early times, hence the milking function may have received considerable attention before the era of mutton improve- ment, still it was woefully neglected in flocks of fine wool sheep in Italy and Spain. Prolificacy has to do entirely with the economic phases of pro- duction and whether or not an attempt is made to increase it depends on conditions. Until mutton became important as a commodity for sale, there was certainly no great incentive to try to fix such a thing as the twinning habit because it was possible to keep up the size of flocks for wool production by a rate of increase of one lamb a year from each ewe. Even where mutton is an important consideration, the supply of feed must be liberal before breeders attempt to en- courage great prolificacy, because ewes with twins must not only have the tendency to milk well, but they must have plenty of feed so that they can produce enough milk to grow their lambs well. Partly on account of a lack of a liberal supply of feed, there are places devoted to the production of mutton and wool in which single lambs are much to be preferred to twins, but in places where ewes can easily take good care of two lambs, marked prolificacy is usually desired. England was the center of mutton improvement. Beginning with Bakewell, conditions were favorable for encouraging English farmers to effect this improvement. They had the climate and crops necessary to grow sheep well ; they received a fair remuneration for their efforts, and numerous livestock shows created keen competition in the effort to secure perfection of animal form and finish. A great amount of improvement was effected in a comparatively short period, so much in fact, that many English breeders of the present time doubt whether significant further improvement has been made in the last quarter or half century. ADAPTABILITY 33 Combining Mutton and Wool. — Combining mutton and wool qualities became a problem after mutton attained importance. Obviously this problem did not arise at the same time in all the large sheep-growing countries because mutton did not become im- portant in all of these countries at the same time. For example, Australia and New Zealand had comparatively little demand for mutton until the inception of ship refrigeration in 1882 permitted them to engage in the exportation of frozen carcasses. And in the United States, the West had little use for mutton sheep until transportation facilities were developed so that the live sheep could be sent to the large central markets. Until Bakewell began mutton improvement,, he was disposed to give the wool no attention. Perhaps the size of his task in the field of mutton betterment justified him in this attitude, but his suc- cessors saw the folly of it if continued, and hence they did not fail to give wool attention commensurate with its importance. When the production of mutton became profitable in the newer sheep countries such as North America, South America, and Aus- tralia, there was a sheep stock that had been maintained primarily for its wool, and the wool from this stock was still too valuable to be altogether disregarded. Under such conditions the real prob- lem of combining mutton and wool qualities began. Crossing wool breeds with mutton breeds was the first step, and with a few ex- ceptions progress has not gone much further than this. In New Zealand a new type has been fixed from crosses between Merinos and the English long-wool mutton breeds. In the United States progress has been made in improving the mutton qualities of some of the wool breeds. A desirable combination of mutton and wool is still a large breeding problem on the ranges of the United States. As yet a type possessing what is desired in wool and mutton properties, together with certain other characteristics, has not been fixed, but the Federal government is directing work along this line. Adaptability. — Adaptability always has been, and without doubt always will be a problem in sheep breeding. When sheep were in a wild state their adaptability was measured by their ability to live and procreate their kind. When they came under domestication they had to be able, with the aid of man's protection, not only to live and procreate but also to produce something which man de- sired. Moreover, they had to produce the thing he wanted at a 3 34 PROBLEMS IN THE IMPROVEMENT OF SHEEP cost he was willing to pay and in such a way that he got it with less trouble than he could have secured it, or an equally desirable substitute, from other known sources. Man may not have demanded much from sheep and he may not have removed them far from their natural habitat in the early stages of domestication. Hence, adaptability may not have been a serious problem at first. But as they were moved out of their natural environment under the guidance of man into lands differ- ent in altitude, soil, climate and vegetation, and as the demands on them for such products as wool, milk, and meat become greater than what they had yielded in the wild, then undoubtedly the serious side of the question of adaptability arose; then attention had to be given to such things as constitution, hardiness, and fecundity. In Italy, fine-wool sheep were developed, but at the sacrifice of a high degree of adaptability, for the ewes were very poor mothers and the lambs were delicate. The ewes often had difficulty in par- turition; they were very deficient in the milking function, and they frequentty refused to own their lambs. To a certain extent the Merinos of Spain possessed the same faults, for it was said that frequently a percentage of their lambs were deliberately killed in order to allow each remaining lamb to suckle two ewes. In both Italy and Spain conditions seemingly were such as to permit the sheep industry to prosper with this low degree of adaptability, but the fact that it is recorded in history shows that it received some attention. Spanish owners seemed to think that much travelling added to the hardiness of their sheep, and undoubtedly dropping along the wayside lambs unable to make the marches, helped to keep up a stronger race for the conditions) to which their flocks were subjected. At an early time in England severe winters, scarcity of feed in winter, and foot rot weeded out the weak sheep, and frequently conditions were so severe that many of the very strongest animals died. Dealing with adversities, the English sheep farmer thor- oughly learned the importance of constitution and hardiness, and if he has neglected these characteristics at any time he has done so with his eyes open. He has done a great deal, indeed, in finding or evolving breeds adapted to different altitudes. Though England is a small country, the breeds on mountains, hills, and lowlands are markedly different and in such a way as to show that adaptability is the main cause. ADAPTABILITY IN THE UNITED STATES 35 Neglecting Adaptability. — In seeking certain desirable char- acteristics in their sheep, breeders have often been guilty of at least temporarily overlooking adaptability and hardiness; or, as may have been the .case in Italy and Spain, they have been willing to sacrifice these things to a certain extent in order to gain the characteristics especially desired. BakewelPs Leicesters lost in fecundity and hardiness ; bretxlers of Shropshires allowed their sheep to lose in constitution in order to gain extreme covering with wool on head and legs; following the Civil War Merino breeders in America sacrificed stamina in their sheep for the sake of extreme weight of fleece in proportion to body weight. Whether or not adaptability should be sacrificed, to a certain extent depends on the degree to which it is present and on the im- portance of the thing involved in making the sacrifice. Italy and Spain certainly were not in position safely to sacrifice further the mother instinct and milking function of their ewes even though this would have gained for them in a per head return; American Merino breeders in the period mentioned above went too far in reducing the stamina of their sheep, and Shropshire breeders made an economic mistake by permitting a loss in constitution for the sake of extreme covering of head and legs with wool. Importance of Adaptability in the United States. — As a problem, adaptability in sheep breeding or finding the right type is important in the United States for the following reasons : First, it has not received sufficient attention generally. With a few ex- ceptions, breeders of pure-bred mutton sheep in this country con- tinue to import breeding rams and ewes from English flocks; this goes to show that little has been done toward developing mutton types suitable to American conditions. Second, consumers are changing and may continue to change with respect to the kind of mutton and wool they want. Third, in many localities agricul- tural practices are changing and probably will continue to change for some time to come and hence the type of sheep suitable in a certain community at the present time may be out of date in a few years. The future will see more attention given to adapt- ability in sheep breeding in this country because, as the land comes to be more and more intensively handled the crops grown on it, both plant and animal, will have to be more and more efficient and any crop that does not fit well will have a hard time to retain a place. 36 PROBLEMS IN THE IMPROVEMENT OF SHEEP QUESTIONS 1. Enumerate the problems that have been involved in the improvement of sheep and indicate which pertained to the products yielded by sheep; which to the sheep themselves. 2. What are the important problems in breeding at the present time in the United States? 3. Show how breeding problems have changed in the United States. 4. Why would you expect British breeders to excel American breeders in mutton improvement? 5. Why did breeders in Australia first give attention to the improvement of wool rather than mutton? 6. When does high degree of prolificacy become a breeding problem ? Early maturity ? CHAPTER IV METHODS OF IMPROVEMENT Feeding and Shepherding. — Good feeding and shepherding have played an important part in the making of the modern breeds of sheep. The providing of better feed through bringing the root and clover crops to England helped to pave the way for the breed improvement that came later. Evidently Bakewell recognized the value of good feed and care, for he kept about him faithful old herdsmen and grooms who were very painstaking in the feeding of the animals under their care. Doubtless he and other great breeders since his time would say that any method of breeding con- ducted with poorly nourished animals will fall short of marked results, for if the animal is not well fed, it cannot exhibit its maxi- mum possibilities and these must be seen if substantial progress-' is to be made. Methods of Breeding. — Selection has been the keynote in breed improvement no matter what the method followed may have been, and the success of great breeders has been traceable, in no small degree, to their superior judgment in selecting breeding stock. Mass Breeding. — Selection without special reference to ances- try, or what has been termed mass breeding, was one of the first methods of breeding to be employed in the improvement of sheep. Breeders took the native sheep in their community and began their work by breeding what they considered the best. Perhaps some of the less desirable females were rejected, but mass breeding, as practiced in earlier times, extended little farther than the selection and use of what were judged to be the best rams. The Spaniards must have improved the wool of their sheep by this method. They also kept flocks pure within themselves, but their reason for so doing was that each of the large breeders considered his flock the best in the kingdom and believed that the introduction of blood from other flocks would cause retrogression rather than improve- ment. In England some improvement was made by selecting the best of the native stock for breeding purposes, but before Bakewell's time, unwarranted emphasis was often placed on very minor points. For example, in a certain community breeders would have nothing 37 38 METHODS OF IMPROVEMENT to do with rams whose horns did not curve in front of their ears, while in another community they insisted that if rams did not have horns curving back of the ears they were unfit for breeding. It was Bakewell's good common sense in singling out points of utility for improvement quite as much or even more than his insight into laws of breeding that made him invaluable to livestock improvement. As a method, mass breeding possesses a great deal of merit and the amount of selection it invol^s is about all that is practiced at present by those breeders who raise sheep merely for the wool and mutton they produce. A Study of Matings. — When men became thoroughly absorbed in the problem of sheep breeding, they doubtless began to study the animals to be mated, and this naturally led to attaching a history of the parents or an ancestry to an animal, for men soon learned that the physical make-up of the offspring was not dependent solely upon the appearance of the immediate parents. So far as is known, it was Bakewell who first studied matings closely, and unquestion- ably this study contributed, in no small way, to the far-reaching results of his work. At the present time the most skillful sheep breeders are close students of matings. A few years ago, the writer, while visiting a prominent breeder in England, was shown records which contained both pedigrees and carefully worded descriptions of all the rams that had been used in the flock. In each breeding season these records were brought into use as a help in determining matings. Before time for breeding, each ewe was studied critically, then refer- ence was made to the breeding and appearance of the sire, grand- sire, and perhaps great grandsire. The decision as to the ram with which to mate her was not final until all of this study had been made. The flock bore ample evidence of the value of exercising such care in mating. A careful study of mating stimulated the tendency to observe associations which, when correctly noted, became a means of assist- ance in the selection of rams and ewes for breeding purposes. For example, when breeders observed that rams having suitable wool and body conformation, and strong, bold features about the head and neck sired stronger and better offspring than rams having simi- lar wool and body conformation, but lacking in strength and bold- ness of features, an important association in the degree of develop- ment of characters was discovered which has since been a useful guide in breed improvement. It is perhaps erroneous to say that all PEDIGREE OR THE ANCESTRAL HISTORY 39 associations were entirely ignored until matings were studied closely. Boldness of features in males and refinement of them in females undoubtedly attracted the attention of the very earliest breeders, but there were many important associations overlooked until matings became a matter of close study. When they were recognized and seized upon as an agency in selection, there was often a tendency to exaggerate them and to declare that they existed when in reality they did not. Pedigree or the ancestral history of the animal is really an outgrowth of the study of matings. When pedigree is not over- estimated, it serves as a valuable agent in helping to direct con- structive breeding. But often when depended upon at all, too much reliance has been placed on pedigree and not enough on individual excellence. Too often it has been assumed that animals identical in pedigree are alike in breeding powers, but we now know that this is not necessarily true. Although two sheep may be twins, and hence alike in pedigree, it does not necessarily follow that they have in- herited equally from each of their ancestors. One may have the stronger dose of inheritance from the ancestors in the sire's line and the other a stronger dose from those in the dam's line ; or, one may inherit strongly from the grandsire on the side of the dam and the granddam on the side of the sire, while the other may inherit in converse manner. Many combinations are possible, and hence the possibility of animals as closely related as twins being unlike in the degree of the development of characters is relatively large. And any breeder makes a mistake who practices selling the better of a pair of twins and retaining the poorer for breeding purposes, thinking that the latter will breed just as well as the former. Then, too, pedigree is frequently over-estimated in another way. It is not uncommon for breeders to take a fancy to an animal be- cause a certain great individual of the breed appears in its pedigree. This great animal may be as far removed as great grandparent and the individuals closer up in the pedigree may have been at best only average specimens. If such is the case, the animal in question should be of outstanding merit in order to draw marked attention, and even, then he (in case it is a ram) should not be used exten- sively until his capacity as a breeder is determined from an exami- nation of his offspring. But too often faith in a pedigree con- taining a celebrity, even though he be two or three generations removed, goes far toward offsetting the commonness in an animal. 40 METHODS OF IMPROVEMENT In-and-in breeding, such as breeding sire to daughter, son to mother, or brother to sister, was another step forward in methods of improving sheep through breeding. Undoubtedly this practice occurred long before BakewelFs time, but, as far as we know, he was the first to employ it as an agency for improvement. We do not know whether he deliberately resorted to in-breeding or whether he took it up because he did not know where to procure animals that would better serve him in accomplishing his desired ends. As is well known to breeders with experience, in-breeding is a means by which the degree of development of characters is intensi- fied and fixed. Manifestly, then, it cannot be a means for doing good until there has been a careful study of matings, because it intensifies and fixes the bad as well as the good in an animal, and any breeder who does not possess keen judgment had better not try to make use of it. Line Breeding. — Line breeding which involves breeding to- gether animals of the same family or -strain, but less closely related than those used in " in-breeding," has appealed to sheep breeders as being less erratic in behavior than in-breeding. It has been a great agency for improvement, especially among the English flocks, and perhaps it has been depended upon more than any other method in developing and fixing the type of the various breeds prominent in that country. Among great Shropshire breeders in England it has been the prevailing practice for a breeder to select a strain from which he draws his rams year after year, and it is only now and then that he uses a ram that could be considered foreign to the strain adopted. Bams belonging outside of the adopted strain are almost invariably used with caution, and if they do not combine and recombine, " nick " well, as breeders would say, with those characters already prevalent and desirable they and all their offspring are immediately discarded. Cross Breeding. — The first step in the making of many of the most prominent mutton breeds of the present time consisted in crossing one breed upon another. It was the improvement secured by crossing the Southdown upon the old Cannock Chase and Morfe Common sheep around Shrewsbury, England, that gave impetus to the formation of the Shropshire breed. When Southdown rams were bred to the old Wilts and Bants ewes in South England the initial step had been taken in the making of the Hampshire. Bake- well's Leicesters were used on the old sheep of the Cotswold Hills CROSS BREEDING 41 and the outcome of this crossing was the modern Cotswold. The Hampshire when bred to the modem Cotswold produced the founda- tion from which the Oxford has been developed, and it is possible to continue, if necessary, with the enumeration of still other breeds that have had their beginning from a cross between breeds. Apparently promoters of such breeds were inclined to consider origin through crossing a discredit to the breed, for frequently they attempt to prove that they did not originate in this way. Presum- ably they believe that any breed which traces back to a cross will not breed as true to type as one developed by selecting and breeding together the best of a type or breed long common in a community, as was the case with the Southdown. But this view is not necessarily true. A type which undoubtedly breeds true, as we understand the term, can be developed from animals resulting from crossing distinct breeds. It takes time, however, to do this because the hereditary material handed down by the original parents is capable of coming together in so many different combinations. Characters which seemingly have been eliminated reappear and breeders become dis- couraged over the behavior of the strain they are trying to " fix " so that it will be worthy of being called a breed. When Shrop- shires were first shown at the annual show of the Royal Agricultural Society of England they were markedly lacking in uniformity. This was in 1857, but 15 years or more before the close of the century they were breeding true to type, and when crossed on other breeds their characteristics were sufficiently impressed on the off- spring. What may be said of the Shropshire may also be said of other breeds that trace to a cross between breeds. One of the latest breeds to be developed from a cross is the Corriedale. In Xew Zealand three long-wool mutton breeds, Lin- coln, Cotswold, and Leicesters, were crossed on Merino ewes. The cross-bred animals were bred together and by eliminating the unde- sirable types a breed has been evolved in the last 30 or 40 years which is very popular with those New Zealand and Australian breeders who wish to grow sheep for both mutton and wool. In the western part of the United States cross breeding has helped sheepmen to solve the question of adaptability and at the same time to meet the demands of the market. It has been found, however, that mere crossing is a temporary expedient and that when regions as a whole adopt it there is no economical way to breed in order to get desirable breeding ewes. Therefore, western breeders 42 METHODS OF IMPROVEMENT . are now casting about for a way to get breeds which possess the good points of the cross-bred animals they have been producing. Corriedales are being " tried out/' and there is some tendency to develop a breed or breeds by a method similar to that pursued in evolving the Corriedale. Cross-breeding is still extensively practiced in England by breeders who plan to sell their lambs for mutton. It is likely, too, that it will be resorted to, to greater or less extent, in all countries recognized as being important in the production of mutton, be- cause the cross-bred lamb is. .as a rule, unusually vigorous and in many regions breeders find it to their advantage to keep ewes of such breeding that a foreign breed must be crossed on them to get the best possible market lambs from them. QUESTIONS 1. What part has better feeding had in the improvement of sheep? 2. Enumerate the different methods of breeding by which improvement has been effected. 3. What are the methods followed in mass breeding? 4. What were some of the effects from the early study of matings? 5. What can be said of the importance and limits of pedigrees? 6. Explain the meaning of in-and-in breeding. 7. Of line breeding. 8. What may be some uses of cross breeding? PART II STRUCTURE AND JUDGING CHAPTER V STRUCTURE OF THE SHEEP Position in the Zoological Scheme. — The following outline, according to Lydekker,1 shows the position of the domesticated sheep in the subkingdom of Vertebrata: Subkingdom Vertebrata — Vertebrates, or Back-boned Animals. Class Mammalia — Mammals. Order Ungulata — Hoofed Mammals, or Ungulates. Suborder Artiodactyla — Even-toed Ungulates. Section Pecora — Typical Ruminants. Family Bovidce — Hollow-horned Ruminants. Subfamily Caprince — Sheep and Goats. Genus Ovis — Sheep. Species Ovis aries — The Domesticated Sheep. The Sheep a Ruminant. — The sheep chews its cud; that is, it brings its food back from the stomach to the mouth for thorough mastication. This characteristic distinguishes it as a true rumi- nant. It belongs to the family of ruminants termed Bovidce, of which the ox (Bos) is a typical representative. Besides cattle and sheep the family Bovidce includes such classes of animals as goats, muskoxen, chamois and antelopes, but sheep represent a distinct genus for which the name Ovis has been adopted, and as a species the domesticated sheep has been given the name Ovis aries. How the Sheep Differs from Other Animals in Its Family. — Although very much alike in general structure the sheep and ox present some interesting differences, the most marked being in size and nature of hairy covering. The sheep carries its head higher, and its cranium is relatively broader and higher at the center and much narrower toward the extremities. Instead of having a broad, naked, undivided muzzle like the ox, its muzzle is narrow, covered with short hairs, and divided by a vertical cleft. Owing to the fact that its muzzle is so much narrower and its lips more mobile, the sheep can graze much closer than the ox. 1 R. Lydekker, " The Sheep and Its Cousins," p. 12, Pub. by E. P. Button & Co., New York, 1913. 45 46 STRUCTURE OF THE SHEEP Sheep are different from any other class of animals belonging to the family Bovidce in that they possess suborbital face glands, and glands in the groin and between the two main toes of the feet. All of these secrete sebaceous or fatty substances. The suborbital face gland is situated in a shallow depression called the lachrymal pit in the lachrymal bone of the skull. In the live animal its location is indicated by a furrow in the skin extending downward from the inner corner of the eye (Fig. 16 ).^ FIG. 16. — Furrow in skin over lachrymal pit. The secretion from the foot-gland or interdigital pouch is car- ried to the surface of the skin through a small duct called the inter- digital canal, the round opening of which is to be found 'near the top of the triangular depression on the front of the pastern, a little above the hoof (Fig. 17). This opening is large enough to be seen easily with the naked eye and is often referred to by sheepmen as the hole in the foot. Different functions have been ascribed to the foot glands. It is thought by some that they secrete a substance 'that scents the ground THE SKELETON 47 over which sheep pass and thus assists members lost from, the flock to trace their fellows. It is also thought that the secretions are waste products which if not eliminated will cause inflammation and lameness. The likelihood of plugging the hole in the foot and thus preventing the escape of the secretions is regarded as one important reason why sheep should not be made to walk through mud. In sheep, the foot glands are present in all four feet. They are usually absent in goats, but sometimes small glands appear in the fore feet. FIG. 17. — The interdigital pouch. (From "Sheep and Its Cousins," Lydekker. Courtesy of E. P. Button & Co.) The Skeleton.2 — The vertebrae forming the spinal or vertebral column are grouped as follows: 7 cervical, 13 dorsal or thoracic, 6 to 7 lumbar, 4 to 5 sacral, and 3 to 24 coccygeal. The last are not perfect vertebra?, as the spinal canal does not extend through them (Fig. 18). With the exception of the cervical vertebras all of these groups vary in the number of bones they contain. There are usually 13 vertebrae in the thoracic group, but occasionally there are 14, and more rarely, only 12. In the lumbar group the occurrence of 7 vertebras is almost as frequent as 6, but the reduction to 5 seldom takes place. Seyffurth indicates that there may be 4 or 5 sacral 2 See Sisson, " The Anatomy of the Domestic Animals," 1914. 48 STRUCTURE OF THE SHEEP vertebrae, but Sisson recognizes only 4. With the exception of the last vertebra, these are fused into one bone in the adult animal. The number of coccygeal vertebrae present largely determines the length of the sheep's tail, and that this number varies is apparent to any one who has handled a large number of lambs before their tails have been cut off. The Ribs. — Ordinarily the sheep has 13 pairs of ribs, 8 pairs being sternal or true ribs, 4 pairs asternal or false ribs, and one pair floating ribs. True ribs are distinguished from false ribs by the fact that the cartilaginous bars extending from them articulate with the sternum or breast-bone, while those of the false ribs over- lap and are attached to each other, forming what is known as the FIG. 18. — Skeleton of sheep. (Courtesy of Win. R. Jenkins Co.) costal arch. The cartilages extending from floating ribs are unat- tached. Sometimes there are 14 pairs of ribs, in which case the fourteenth rib is also floating. The sternum, or breast-bone, is composed of 7 segments (some- times only 6) and there are indentures in the sides for the reception of the cartilages extending from the ribs. Effects of Variations in Skeletal Structure. — No attempt will be made to describe the bones of the skull and of the thoracic and pelvic limbs because the chief object of discussing the skeleton in this connection is to show how the external form may be influenced by differences in those regions of the skeleton subject to variation in number of parts. Undoubtedly many sheep which are relatively longer than others have more than the average number of vertebras EFFECTS OF VARIATIONS IN SKELETAL STRUCTURE 49 forward of the coccygeal group. When a sheep is unusually long in the middle, speculation as to whether it possesses an extra rib is quite justifiable, and if the space between the last rib and the junc- tion of the ilium (hip bone) with the spine is abnormally wide there is basis for assuming that there is an extra vertebra in the lumbar group. If, on the other hand, the sheep has a short middle and if the space from the last rib to the hip is also very short, it may be that the lumbar vertebrae are reduced to 5 in number (Fig. 19). FIG. 19. — A long and a short sheep, illustrating the probable variation in the number of vertebrae in the spinal column. Aside from the variations noted, little is known of how much sheep vary in skeletal arrangement. / Judging from exterior form, some individuals seem to carry a wider and higher arch to their ribs than others, but just how much of the difference is due to thickness of flesh and fat, and how much to the actual shape of the ribs has not been definitely determined. The processes extending upward from the vertebrae in the region of the shoulders seem longer in some sheep than in others, or else the top of the blade is set lower down, for in certain instances the spinal processes are so prominent that any amount of fattening will not cover the shoulder top. In practically every improved breed there are occasional specimens 4 50 STRUCTURE OF THE SHEEP FIG. 20 — Rump well carried out. Fid. 21. — Rump drooping. Variation between Figs. 20 and 21 probably due to differ- ence in skeletal position of sacral vertebrae. THE SKIN AND ITS APPENDAGES 51 having low-set tails and sharply drooping rumps. Surely the sacral and coccygeal vertebrae and probably the pelvic bones are not in the same position in these specimens as in those whose rumps carry out almost level to the dock from the surface between the hips. And there can be no doubt as to the variation in the shape, position, relative length and size of the leg bones (Figs. 20, 21, and 22). FIG. 22. — Showing variation in length of leg bones. The Skin and Its Appendages. — The skin of sheep varies in extent, thickness and color. According to Sisson, the variation in thickness is from one-half to three millimetres. In Merinos there is a great expanse of skin due to numerous wrinkles and folds, and as a rule their skin is thick, thus making a great weight of pelt in proportion to body weight. In the English mutton breeds, be- cause the skin covers the body smoothly, the weight of pelt is rela- tively less. Rams have considerably thicker skins than ewes of the same breed. In all improved breeds producing white wool except those with 52 STRUCTURE OF THE SHEEP very dark faces and legs, the skin, if healthy, is bright pink or cherry in color, but in the exceptions noted and in sheep bearing dark wool it is often bluish and in some cases almost black. In nearly all breeds the naked skin around the muzzle is black. The skin 3 consists of the cutis or skin proper and its epidermal appendages, the hair, wool, hoofs, and horns. The cutis is com- posed of two layers, the epidermis, a superficial epithelial layer, FIG. 23. — Diagrammatic section of skin, showing (a) shaft of hair arising from the follicle, (b) sebaceous glands and (c) sweat glands. (From "Structure of the Wool Fi- bre," Bowman. Courtesy of The Macmillan Co.) and the derma or corium, a deep, connective-tissue layer, which is supplied with blood vessels and nerves and contains glands and hair-follicles. The hair-follicle is a modification of the skin and, according to Sisson, may be regarded as an invagination or a folding-inward of the epidermis. It seems, however, that the follicles of the larger human hairs contain both epidermal and dermal elements4 (Fig. 23). The hair originates at the bottom or base of the hair-follicle from an extension of the corium called a papilla, to which the 8 See Sisson's "Veterinary Anatomy," 1911. * Bailey, "Text Book of Histology," 1916. THE HAIR 53 materials necessary for the growth of the hair are supplied. Being a development of the epidermis, the hair is composed of epithelial cells, and these are arranged in three layers. From within outward these are medulla, cortex and cuticle (Fig. 24). Bailey gives the following description of these layers: (1) "Tine medulla occupies the central axis of the hair. It is absent in small hairs, and in large hairs does not extend throughout their entire length. It is from 16 to 20 m.5 in diameter, and con- sists of from two to four layers of polygonal or cuboidal cells with FIG. 24. — Longitudinal section of a human hair. (From "Structure of the Wool Fi- bre," Bowman. Courtesy of Macmillan Co.) finely granular, usually pigmented protoplasm and rudimentary nuclei. (2) " Tine cortex makes up the main bulk of the hair and con- sists of several layers of long spindle-shaped cells, the protoplasm of which shows distinct longitudinal striations, while the nuclei appear atrophied. As these striations give the hair the appearance of being composed of fibrill^e the term ' cortical fibers ' has been applied to them. In colored hair pigment granules and pigment in solution are found in and between the cells of this layer. This pigment determines the color of the hair. (3) " The cuticle has a thickness of about 1 m. and consists of clear, scale-like, non-nucleated epithelial cells. These overlap one another like shingles on a roof, giving to the surface of the hair a serrated appearance/' 5M. refers to a micron which is 1/1000 of a millimeter in length, and the millimeter is 0.03937 part of an inch. 54: STRUCTURE OF THE SHEEP Structure of Wool. — The structure of wool is similar in many respects to that of hair. Both grow from hair follicles in the skin ; both are nourished in the same way ; both consist of epithelial cells arranged in three layers, but the medullary layer may be absent in wool. The striking and essential difference between them is in the cells forming the outer layer or cuticle. In hair these cells are rather rounded in form and smooth along the edges, while in wool they tend to be pointed and irregular along the edges.6 In the hair the overlapping cells are attached to the under layer up to the very 25 FIG. 25. — Coarse hairs, showing regular scales unsuitable for interlocking or felting. Fio. 26. — Typical wool fiber, showing irregular scales. Such fibers felt easily. (From "Structure of the Wool Fibre," Bowman. Courtesy of The Macmillan Co.) margin of the cell, while in wool they are free for about two-thirds of their length and they turn slightly outwards. Because of their shape, position and manner of attachment to the cells beneath, the cuticle cell of wool fibers will interlock, but those of hairs will not to any marked degree. It is this property of interlocking, called felting, that makes wool so much more valuable than hair in the manufacture of fabrics (Figs. 25 and 26). As a rule wool is smaller in diameter than hair, and in white wool, as in white hair, there is little if any pigment or coloring matter in the cortex layer. Wool is also more wavy than hair, the waves in the finer wools being so short arid distinct as to be called crimps. Function of Wool. — Wool is a protective covering for the animal. The cuticle 'cells point outward from the skin and serve to keep out foreign substances such as dirt and chaff. Sheep with fairly dense, oily fleeces are less subject to colds than those having • Bowman, "Structure of the Wool Fibre," 1908. GLANDS OF THE SKIN 55 more open fleeces. The reason for this is that the wool is a non- conductor of heat and hence protects against variation in tem- perature, and when it is dense and oily it prevents the rain from penetrating to the skin. Variations in Hairy Covering. — With the exception of the Barbadoes breed, all of the domesticated breeds in the United States are covered with wool over all parts save the head, legs, arm- pits and groins. In nearly all of these breeds wool extends partly over the head and legs, and in the Merinos it is not uncommon for it to grow over the surface of the armpit and most of the groin. Breeds exhibit marked variation in length, fineness and density or thickness of wool. Density may vary from 600 to 1500 fibers to each square inch of skin; fineness from one three-hundredth or more to one three-thousandth of an inch in diameter; and length attained in twelve months from less than one inch to fifteen inches or more. As a rule the shortest wool is the finest and densest. White wool prevails among the domesticated breeds of the United States and of other countries giving special attention to the pro- duction of wool, but the color of the hair on face and legs varies, the most common shades being white, reddish brown, light soft brown, and deep brown or black. In various parts of the world there are domesticated breeds, in most cases not highly improved, however, that grow gray, brown and black wool. Wool is rarely if ever uniform in length, fineness and density over all parts of the sheep. The finest and densest wool is in the regions of the shoulders, about midway between the top and bottom lines of the body; the coarsest wool grows on the outer thighs and at the dock ; and the shortest wool is to be found on the belly. The horns and hoofs are modifications of the epidermis. Most of the modern breeds are hornless ; in a few breeds only the males have horns, and in a few others they appear in both sexes, but the males always have them much more strongly developed than the females. Males unsexed while young resemble the females of the breed in the degree of development of the horns. Hoof tissue and also horn tissue, if present, are white only in those breeds in which the naked skin at the muzzle is pink. Glands of the Skin. — The sweat glands, secreting water and potassium salts, and the sebaceous glands, secreting a fatty or oily substance, are the most important glands in the skin. Their com- bined product, less most of the water secreted by the sweat gland, is 56 STRUCTURE OF THE SHEEP the yolk. This functions in various ways as a preservative of the wool. The sweat glands are distributed throughout the skin, but the sebaceous glands are usually connected with the follicles' and they pour their secretion around the wool fibers just beneath the surface of the skin. It is said that there is no relation between the Groat culun OWOS1 Fio. 27.— Stomach of sheep; right view. ("Anatomy of Domestic Animals," Sisson. Cour- tesy of W. B. Saunders Co.) size of the gland and the fiber connected with it, the smallest fibers often being associated with the largest glands. Also, the thicker the fibers on the surface of the skin, the greater the number of glands. These observations suggest why the wool of Merinos is more oily than that of breeds bearing coarser, less dense wool (Fig. 23). THE DIGESTIVE TRACT 57 The Digestive Tract. — Teeth. — Sheep grow two sets of teeth ; the first or temporary teeth number 20, and the second or perma- nent teeth number 32; of the permanent teeth, 8 are incisors, 12 FIG. 28. — -Abdominal viscera of sheep; superficial ventral view. ("Anatomy of Domestic Animals," Sisson, W. B. Saundera Co.) premolars and 12 molars. There are no teeth in the front part of the upper jaw in either lambs or sheep, but instead a cartilaginous pad, on which the incisor teeth of the lower jaw impinge. As a rule, the 58 STRUCTURE OF THE SHEEP lamb has some of its teeth when it is born, and by the time it is a few weeks old it has all of the temporary set. The permanent teeth begin to replace the temporary teeth when the lamb is about one year old. More will be said about the teeth in the next chapter in connection with the indications of age in sheep. Stomach. — The stomach has four compartments: the rumen, the recticulum, the omasum, and the abomasum. The first three, of which the rumen is by far the largest, serve as places for storing and softening or macerating the food, while the fourth, the aboma- sum, is the compartment in which most of the digestive processes characteristic of the stomach occur. According to measurements made by the writer, the capacity of the stomach of a fat sheep weighing from 175 to 180 pounds is about 21 quarts. Sisson, however, gives it as 16 quarts, and Henry and Morrison as 31.3 quarts. Based on Henry and Morrison's figures, the capacity of each of the various compartments is as follows: Rumen, 24.7 quarts; reticulum, 2.1 quarts; omasum, 1 quart; abomasum, 3.5 quarts; the total being 31.3 quarts (Fig. 27). Intestines. — As given by Henry and Morrison, the small in- testine of the mature sheep is about 85.9 feet long and has a capacity of 9.5 quarts; the large intestine is approximately 21.4 feet long and has a capacity of 5.9 quarts. Digestive processes take place in both the small and large intestines (Fig. 28). QUESTIONS 1. What distinguishes the sheep as a ruminant? 2. How does it differ from the ox; from all other classes of animals be- longing to the family Bovidce? 3. Enumerate common variations in the skeletal arrangement of sheep. 4. How may variations in skeletal structure affect the form of the sheep? 5. How are wool and hair different in structure? 6. To what extent do sheep vary in hairy covering? 7. How many temporary teeth have sheep? Permanent teeth? 8. What large glands pour their secretions into the digestive tract of sheep ? 9. What is yolk in wool; where does it come from? 10. Of what advantage is the rumen or paunch to wild sheep? To domestic sheep ? 11. Gently pressing a wool fiber, draw it back and forth between the thumb and forefinger. Can you distinguish which way the cuticle cells are pointed? CHAPTER VI THE NATURE OF SHEEP The Life of a Sheep. — Most sheep are fully grown at eighteen to twenty-four months of age. The manner in which they are fed has some influence on their rate of development; sheep that are forced by heavy feeding may at one year of age show indications of being two years old. As a rule, the Merino breeds are later in devel- oping than the mutton breeds, but whether this later development is altogether a breed characteristic is not wholly clear. The method of growing Merinos generally in vogue may be different enough from that employed in growing the mutton breeds to cause some of the difference in rapidity of development. But the early im- provers of the mutton breeds apparently sought early maturity more persistently than the early improvers of the Merinos. It is, therefore, only fair to assume that the mutton breeds are disposed to develop at a more rapid rate. In general, sheep are old at five or six years of age. But there are many exceptions to this rule, so many, in fact, that the flock- master ought to be his own judge as to when his sheep are old. On the ranges in the western part of the United States where the flocks are very large, it is common practice to discard ewes when they become five or six years old solely on account of their age, because they usually begin to decline in yield of wool after their fifth year. But the owners of small flocks can afford to base their discarding on a study of individuals, for not infrequently seven- and eight-year- old ewes when members of a small group, produce quite as well or even better, than younger ewes. Unfavorable environment and improper care, exposure, and poor feed often hasten the approach of old age. In dry, sandy countries, sheep may become old at a comparatively early age through the teeth being worn down short by the excessive amounts of sand both in and on the vegetation. Then, too, a scanty supply of feed on the range may require the sheep to do so much travelling when it is not ade- quately fed that physical decline sets in prematurely. It frequently happens that sheep which have become too old for one set of conditions are moved into more favorable surroundings 59 60 THE NATURE OF SHEEP where they prove profitable for two or three more years. In England and Scotland ewes which are too old to be kept in the hills where feed is rather scarce, are often moved into the lowlands where there is an abundance ; here they thrive and produce two or three crops of lusty lambs, and are finally fattened for market. Sheep normally inclined to develop slowly do not, as a rule, begin to break down until well along in years. Thus the Merino breeds are perhaps longer lived than the mutton breeds. Un- doubtedly, longevity of life has its* advantage, but the usefulness of a breed cannot be determined on this alone. FIG. 29. — Old sheep; prominent Shropshire prize winners when in their prime. They were each eleven years old when photographed. Their lean necks and general lack of flesh were due to advanced age and not to poor care. Indications of Age. — (1) Teeth. — One of the* best indications of the age of a sheep is the teeth. The temporary or lamb teeth are small ; the permanent teeth are broader and longer. If a lamb develops normally, the two temporary teeth in the middle of the front part of the lower jaw are replaced by permanent teeth at about twelve months of age. Therefore, when a sheep shows two broad teeth with small teeth on either side, it is an indication that the animal is a yearling; if there are four broad teeth, that it is two years old; if there are six, that it is three years old. At four or five years of age all of the eight temporary teeth in the front part of the jaw are likely to be replaced by permanent teeth and it is impossible to determine the age with any degree of accuracy. It should be borne in mind that the teeth indicate the degree of m INDICATIONS OF AGE 61 *» ll SJ«i S-^ O^ C± g-p'pio ^?p iHI S- 62 THE NATURE OF SHEEP development rather than the absolute age of the sheep in calendar months ; hence, they are not infallible indications of age. If devel- opment is slow, the first permanent teeth may not appear until the sheep is fifteen or sixteen months old ; if it is rapid, they may appear at ten months of age. A yearling sheep that has been forced by heavy feeding may have four broad teeth in front instead of two (Fig. 29). The teeth of an old sheep are Jikely to be spread apart, missing, or worn down short. Other indications of advanced age are a sunken appearance over the eyes, a comparatively short fleece with sunken places on the surface, and a general lack of fullness of body outlines (Fig. 30). (2) The Break Joint. — On our large livestock markets, an index often depended upon for determining whether an ani- mal belongs in the sheep or lamb class is what is known as the " break joint." This is the temporary, or epiphyseal cartilage located immedi- ately above the pastern joint. Without it bones could not elongate and hence it is pres- ent until the lamb is pretty well along in body develop- ment. It can be distin- guished best on the live ani- mal by rubbing up and down on the foreleg just above the pastern joint with the thumb and forefinger. If temporary cartilage has not disappeared, a great deal of prominence will be felt; if it has, the bone will be comparatively round and smooth (Fig. 31). Feeding and Drinking Habits.— Being ruminants, sheep are adapted not only to the consumption of grain, but also of bulky feeds, such as grass and hay. They eat all of the grasses except the very coarsest varieties and are very fond of the cultivated legum- inous plants. They eat most of the weeds common to farms, and in the West, weeds on sheep ranges are considered very valuable feed. Sheep feed on young tree growth more than any other of our domestic animals except goats. FIG. 31.— (a) The break joint; when an imma- ture sheep is slaughtered its forelegs are severed at this joint— its presence being a sure indication that the animal was young. (6) The regular articu- lating joint below the break joint; the forelegs of mature sheep are severed at this joint. FEEDING AND DRINKING HABITS 63 Sheep prefer short herbage on an extensive range to a rampant growth on a limited area. When placed on a tall plant growth they nip off the ends of the plants and trim off the leaves, but usually leave the stems standing. They are structurally adapted to feeding on short herbage, because of their very mobile lips and sharp incisor teeth. The upper lip is very mobile, which is in part due to the vertical fissure in the center which permits one-half of the lip to move somewhat independent of the other half. FIG. 32. — The paths or terraces to the left and high up on the hillside were made by sheep while grazing. (From Morris and Kirby, Chinook, Montana.) The inherent love which sheep have for change of feeding ground is well known, and is always plainly indicated in the eager and playful way in which they feed just after they are turned into a fresh pasture. It is thought that the native home of the domesticated sheep was in the high, treeless plateaus and mountains. Most sheep especially enjoy feeding on the high places in their pastures, but some of the modern breeds have been kept on low, level lands so long that it is THE NATURE OF SHEEP doubtful whether they would take to the hills from choice. It is interesting to note how sheep feed on hills. In a hilly country, where sheep are grazed in large numbers, the traveller is sure to see along the hillsides many sheep paths which look like little terraces, indicating that in grazing, the sheep do not pass over the hill, but rather along the side, gradually working to the top (Fig. 32). Sheep are able to exist without water longer than most domes- ticated animals. Craig says thai this is probably due to the fact that they have unusually large salivary glands; very likely it is also due in part to still other physiological characteristics. It has often been thought that sheep do not need to have daily access to water, but such an assumption is erroneous, for even in cold weather they will drink from two to four quarts daily. They pre- fer running to still water. Folding Habits. — S h e e p that have been allowed to choose between shelter and the open, f prefer to lie out of doors on high H| places. This may not be true, however, of sheep that have been raised in barns. Their prefer- ence for high, well-drained, and airy resting and sleeping grounds is very marked, for it is only in the severest of winter weather that they abandon such spots for lower, wind-protected places. After the lamb is a few hours old it constantly seeks some eminence, such as its mother's back, a bale of hay, a log, or a rock. It has been observed that young sheep seek high places more readily than do the older ones ; yearlings will feed higher up on a hillside than old ewes (Figs. 33 and 34). Breeding Habits. — Most domesticated breeds of sheep are monoestrous. That is, the ewes come in heat (oestrus) in but one season of the year, which, in the United States, is in the autumn and early winter months ; hence, it is not possible to have lambs born at any time in the year. But there are a few breeds, such as the Tunis and Dorset Horned, for which it is claimed that the ewes will breed FIG. 33. — The little Iamb aspires for heights affording wider outlook upon the world. BREEDING HABITS 65 to produce lambs at the time desired by the owner. Such breeds are especially useful to those who desire to grow fancy lambs out of season in order to supply a high-priced commodity to a limited few. If, as it seems, ewes are induced to a certain extent to come in heat by the cool of the autumn nights, it may be that there are localities in which climatic conditions will cause ewes to breed out of their normal season and perhaps twice a year. Summer nights in the hills may correspond to the autumn nights on the plains and by moving ewes from the plains to the hills, one may succeed in breeding them out of normal season. FIG. 34. — Sheep enjoy being on high places. A ewe remains in heat for about two days ; if she is not bred, or if she fails to get in lamb from the service of the ram, the period of heat, or cestrus, recurs in approximately sixteen days. On this point there is variance of opinion and some writers mention twenty-one days as the length of time between cestrus periods. In the Middle West of the United States, however, the intervening time, although varying all the way from twelve to twenty-eight days, is most often sixteen days. In case the ewe is not bred, she is likely to recur in heat regularly for three or four months, beginning in late summer or early autumn and continuing until late December. About one hundred and forty-six days is the normal gestation period for ewes. At the Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio Stations, it 5 66 THE NATURE OF SHEEP has been observed that the period of gestation for Rambouillet and American Merino ewes is more frequently one hundred and fifty-two than one hundred and forty-six days. And one hundred and forty- four days has been given as the normal period for Southdowns. From this it would seem that breed may be the cause of some varia- tion in the length of the period of pregnancy. It is common for each ewe to give birth to one or two lambs. Occasionally a ewe has three lambs at one parturition period, and there are instances of even more, but since the ewe has but two teats that function (in rare cases there are four), she is not well FIG. 35. — A capacious, matronly type of ewe capable, as the photograph shows, of taking good care of a pair of lambs. prepared to take care of more than two lambs. By carefully select- ing parent stock, promoters of certain breeds have succeeded in developing e™e stock having a marked tendency to produce twins (Fig. 35). Recognition of Young. — A ewe recognizes her new-born lamb wholly through the sense of smell, but in a few days she can dis- tinguish it at sight. In cases of perplexity, however, she always relies on her nose for recognition. Apparently the odor by which a ewe identifies her newly-born offspring is due to something coming from her, for in case she refuses to own her lamb she may be in- duced to receive it (but not always), by placing some of her milk GREGARIOUSNESS 67 on its rump, the point where she usually sniffs at the lamb to recognize it. Gregariousness. — Sheep have the gregarious instinct; that is, they like to keep together. The nocking instinct is not so pro- nounced in some breeds as it is in others, but there is no breed or variety known that does not possess it. Of the well-known breeds, the Merinos have this trait most strongly developed, for, as stated in Chapter I, they stay close together whether grazing or resting. On range where herding is practiced this statement applies to the whole of a large band. On the other hand, nearly or quite all of FIG. 36.— Following the leader. (By courtesy of The Country Gentleman, Philadelphia.) the English mutton breeds are less inclined to stay close together while grazing. Flocks of any of the mutton breeds seem to prefer to spread out over a rather large area while feeding, yet if some- thing frightens them, as the bark of a strange dog, they show their gregarious instinct by bunching up as fast as they can. One of the breeds least inclined to close nocking is the Black-faced Highland, a mountain breed of Scotland. In their native country, one may see the hill or mountain sides dotted with small groups consisting of from three to ten of these sheep picking at the heather, apparently oblivious of their flock-mates more than half a mile away. The flocking instinct is so strongly implanted in sheep that when an individual is separated from the flock, it is an indication that 68 THE NATURE OF SHEEP something unusual has happened. The first thought of the trained shepherd when he sees a sheep alone and some distance from its mates is likely to be that it is ill or has been injured. The instinct to flock in large numbers is of great value where herding is practiced, as in the western part of the United States. In extensive., unfenced, and undeveloped lands any herder would lose large numbers from his band ftirough straying and through the attacks of predatory animals if his sheep were not disposed to con- tinue in a rather compact body. Closely associated with the gregarious instinct of sheep is its instinct to follow a leader. There is an old saying, " Where one sheep goes, all others will follow," which really is not an exaggera- tion. If the leader passes on, the others will take a chance on a long leap, a narrow path, or even a plunge into the water in order to follow (Fig. 36). Timidity and Defenselessness. — In the presence of foes sheep are sadly lacking in ability to defend themselves and they become so frightened that they run wildly hither and thither. Although they fear all animals disposed to prey upon them, their worst enemies are the wolf and kindred animals, such as the coyote, the dog, and the jackal. The jackal furnishes trouble for the sheepmen of South Africa; the dingo, a wild dog, makes depredations on flocks in Australia, and the wolf and particularly the coyote, seriously handicap sheep raising on the western ranges of the United States. In farming communities the dog is the worst hindrance to the keep- ing of flocks. While any of these animals may kill outright, their attacks are almost as deadly if they only chase and bite because the sheep are badly frightened and run so hard that a physical break- down is likely to fo^ow. In case they are bitten, death may result from infection of the wound. Other predatory animals in the1 western part of the United States are the bob-cat and mountain lion. In New Zealand and Australia the kea (a parrot-like bird) often attacks sheep on the back in the region of the kidneys. Being easily stampeded by fear, sheep really encourage dogs to chase them, for if a dog full of vigor and eager for exercise, but with no intention of mischief, enters a field where sheep are feeding or resting, the entire flock may dash away at top speed at the sight of him. Their action stirs the dog to the depths of his desire for the chase, and he is after them in what he considers a rollicking good game, but it means disaster to the owner of the sheep. QUESTIONS 69 Horned breeds of sheep are said to be less afraid of their enemies than hornless breeds. Strong, masculine rams are also more aggressive and somewhat less afraid than ewes; but spirited ewes with lambs at side will defend their young. Both ewes and rams, in their attempt to scare away the enemy, have a habit of vigorously stamping the forefeet. Non-Resistance to Disease. — Sheep do not show much evidence of illness until they are very sick, and this is perhaps the reason for the oft-repeated statement, "A sick sheep is as good as dead." A careful and observant shepherd, however, takes many a sick sheep in hand in time to save it and any sheep raiser to be successful must learn to discover that something is wrong with his sheep before they are " as good as dead." Certain breeds apparently resist disease better than others; hence it seems probable that general hardiness may have been more or less disregarded in the development of some of our modern breeds. QUESTIONS 1. Can you tell how a healthy sheep acts when it is separated from its fellows? A sick one? 2. Why are the attacks of predatory animals so injurious to sheep? 3. Do you know what parts of the sheep's body are most frequently bitten by dogs? 4. By what may the age of a sheep be estimated? 5. Compare the period of growth in sheep with that in man. 6. Can you give reasons why sheep select high, well-drained places for sleep and rest? 7. Do sheep prefer extensive or limited range? 8. How do they graze over hills? 0. Do you know how a goat grazes over a hill? 10. In what seasons are lambs born in the United States? 11. How many lambs can a ewe conveniently nurse? 12. What proportion of lambs to ewes have you observed? CHAPTER VII TYPES The term type as applied to •sheep is used in various ways. Breeds developed primarily for mutton are grouped under the mutton type, and those developed especially for wool belong under the wool type. As regards development for mutton and wool, a few breeds are dual in type, but the term dual-purpose type has not yet been widely applied to sheep. An acceptable specimen of a breed possesses what are termed breed characteristics. These con- stitute breed type and serve to distinguish the specimen from indi- viduals of other breeds and of no breed. Sexes differ in 'other char- acters than sex organs, so there is what may be termed sex type. There exists a market type which coincides in most respects with the mutton type, but, because of special emphasis laid on certain points, is somewhat different. The Mutton Type. — The ideal type, which is sought in all of the prominent mutton breeds, consists of a relatively broad and deep body and such a development of head, neck, legs and body parts that the whole conformation suggests symmetry, thickness, compactness, and quality. This is regarded as the most suitable type for producing growth and finish economically and for yielding the kind of carcass the consumer wants (Fig. 37). Head. — As between the different breeds, the head varies more in shape and size than any other part of the animal, but in general it is short and wide, and its various features are developed and pro- portioned so as to suggest hardiness and strength. The mouth is large ; the nostrils are well expanded ; the eyes are large, round and bright ; the nose is short, rather wide, and varying in profile from slightly dished to pronouncedly Roman, and both the .eyes and the ears are wide apart. The ears harmonize in size and quality with the other features of the head and are set so as to contribute to the carriage and style characteristic of the breed to which the animal belongs. The neck, though free from coarseness, is strongly muscled and joined neatly to both the head and shoulders. It is comparatively straight underneath from the junction with the jaw to the brisket, 70 THE BODY 71 and there is no depression on the top just in front of the shoulders. Breeds differ with respect to length and set of neck, but in general a short neck is preferred provided it carries the head stylishly. In no case should the neck be placed so that the head is carried lower than the top of the body. The body, consisting of the fore quarters, hind quarters, and middle or barrel, possesses lines and dimensions which indicate sub- FIG. 37. — The mutton type — wide, deep, compact, evenly d stance, capacity, and vigor. It is broad, deep, and of medium length and its lines are comparatively straight. Low and full flanks and a short space between the last rib and the hip contribute to the thick, compact appearance of the body. The fore quarters, which include the shoulders and the brisket, fit up smoothly with the neck in front and with the middle behind them. The shoulder blades come snug to the spine and level with it, thus forming a smooth, compact, wide top which is covered with 72 TYPES flesh and fat. The sides of the shoulder also are well covered and free from prominence of bone. The brisket is wide, full, and extends well in front of the legs, and its anterior contour is rounding rather than pointed. In fat sheep there is no depression between the brisket and the lower part of the shoulder. The parts forming the middle or barrel of the body are the ribs, back, loins, and flanks. The ribs aft long and widely arched, a con- formation that gives pronounced width to the back, which extends from the shoulders to the loins, and also forms a deep, wide, capacious chest indicative of stamina and constitution. The back extends from the shoulders to the last ribs and the loins) from the last ribs to the hips. Besides being wide and level, both are covered with firm flesh and fat to such an extent that the processes of the spine are scarcely noticeable to the touch. Since the back and loins contain valuable cuts, their extreme development is always sought. The floor of the body is wide and slightly convex. The parts of the hind quarters are hips, rump, thighs, and twist. The hips are level, wide in proportion to the width of the body, and free from prominence at the points. The rump, which extends from the hips backward, is long, level, wide, and thick at the dock. Sheep with this conformation of rump produce more mutton, and the ewes have slightly less trouble in giving birth to their young than those with peaked or drooping rumps and with low-set tails. The thighs, which join the rump a few inches below the top line, are full and wide at the top, while down toward the hocks they stand out boldly, indicating sturdiness and strength. The twist, formed by the meeting of the thighs at the rear of the body, is wide, low, and relatively firm to the touch. If the rump, thighs, and twist are not well developed, a leg of mutton from the carcass cannot be first class in form nor up to proportionate weight. The legs, both in front and behind, are straight, strong, free from coarseness at the joints, and placed far apart, with the pasterns strong and the toes neither close nor sprawling. In front the arm is full and heavily muscled. Behind, the hocks are straight and placed so that they neither bow outward nor come in close to each other. In a ram, particularly, either sickle-shaped or badly placed hocks are serious faults because they are likely to render him in- capable of service. Quality. — Although some of the mutton breeds have large, strong bones and rather large, bold head features, qualitv receives THE WOOL TYPE 73 important consideration in each and every breed. In all cases coarse- ness, as characterized by rough legs with large joints, fat heads and faces, coarse, staring hair on the face and legs, and soft tallowy flesh, is to be avoided. Skin, Wool. — In general, pink skins of fine texture are preferred because they indicate health, quality, arid disposition to make good use of food. The wool of the mutton breeds varies greatly in length FIG. 38. — The extremely developed wool type — with large wrinkles on ail parts of the body the pelt (skin and wool) of this sheep constitutes a large per cent of its total weight. and fineness, but in all breeds clean, white wool free from kemp and dark fibers is sought after. The Wool Type. — Fineness, density, and weight of fleece have been the prime objects of those who have developed the wool-type breeds and in these particulars breeds of other types do not equal them. Because of dissimilarity in form, skin, and wool, the extreme wool type is markedly different in' appearance from the mutton type of sheep. But increasing consideration is being given to muttoij 74 TYPES form and quality in breeds belonging to the wool type; hence the difference between the two is not quite so pronounced as it once was (Fig. 38). Comparison with Mutton Type. — As compared with the mut- ton type, the wool type lacks in straight ness or evenness of lines, fullness of outline, and disposition to lay on a great deal of external fat. It is common for the spine rfl project considerably above the shoulder blades, for the back to sag slightly, for the ribs to be flat, and for the rump to droop sharply. Often, the body as a whole lacks in width or thickness, the ribs being rather flat, the shoulders thin, and the thighs hollow. Since the floor of the body lacks width, the legs in most cases are close together and frequently very close at the knees and hocks. As a rule, the face of the wool type is pro- portionately longer than that of the mutton type and the same can be said of the neck. Less stress is laid upon the smooth junction of neck and shoulders and frequently there is a depression in the neck just in front of the shoulders. Although sheep of the wool type differ so much from the mutton type in form, they are neverthe- less hardy, and quite as carefully bred for what they are intended as any of the breeds belonging to the mutton type. Folds and Wrinkles. — In the wool type there are usually parts of the body on which the skin forms wrinkles or folds, thus giving proportionately more surface on which to grow wool than in the mutton type. Sometimes the wrinkles extend over nearly all parts of the body, but there is an increasing tendency to eliminate them al- most altogether from the body proper and to permit of only a few large wrinkles or folds on the neck and perhaps one on the body just behind the shoulders and one or two more at such places as the thigh, dock, and rear flank. Although high-class specimens possess- ing very many wrinkles are still rather numerous the owners of commercial flocks are finding less and less use for them, and unless demand changes so as to make the production of wool relative to the production of mutton much more profitable than it has been during the past two decades the preference for smooth bodies will continue and it will sooner or later prevail in determining type. Breed type is determined by considering, in connection with the general type to which the sheep belongs, the standard adopted for the particular breed in such matters as size, style or carriage, general quality, color of skin and hair, size and shape of head, length of legs, and the wool with respect to length, fineness, and extension SEX TYPE OR SEX CHARACTER 75 over various parts. When a sheep is judged as a representative of a breed it should not be favorably considered if it is very poor in either general type or breed type. In a breed belonging to the mut- ton type, such as the Shropshire, an individual having a bare, nar- row, sagging back should not be rated high no matter how nearly perfect it may be in those features characteristic of the Shropshire breed. On the other hand, should it be perfect in mutton type, but markedly deficient in features pertaining solely to the Shropshire breed, it should not receive favorable consideration as a Shropshire sheep. And a fault in breed type may be such as to disqualify an animal as a breed representative. No enlightened judge would per- .mit a sheep with a pure white face to take a place in a ring for Shropshires because the typical face color for this breed is deep, soft brown. The general type and the breed type are inseparable and a problem constantly arising in judging is to know just how far per- fections in the one recompense faults in the other. It is easy for the student fresh in the study of judging sheep to ask such a question as how much should the shape of head be sacrificed for filling at the twist, but only a few, if any, of long experience would attempt to give him a definite answer. Constitution is weighted most when considered in connection with breeds, and is, therefore, closely associated with breed type. To properly estimate constitution the whole make-up of the sheep must be considered. Were a low-headed, wobbly-gaited, flabby sheep perfect in spring of rib and extension of brisket, it would not be rated high by a competent judge because he would know that such a specimen is lacking in stamina. Compactness of build, strong, well-placed legs, large, firm muscles, wide loins, and a properly molded head are quite as important in determining constitution as a deep, wide chest. Objectionable Points. — In considering breed type it is very necessary to know what supporters of the breed are trying to get rid of. Dark skins are discriminated against more in some breeds than in others; kemp (structureless fibers) is very objectionable in the fleeces of the fine wool breeds, and vestiges of horns are not tol- erated in certain breeds. Sex Type or Sex Character. — Whenever a sheep is judged as a breeding animal, the development of certain of its features, aside from sex organs, should clearly indicate the sex to which it belongs. 76 TYPES This development is known as sex character or sex type; in rams it is called masculinity and in ewes femininity. Pronounced masculinity is indicated by boldness and ruggedness of head features; strong, thick neck, massive development in the fore quarters; a proud, stylish, active, and bold carriage which suggests domineering disposition. In general, a ram with a truly masculine head has a fairly large Aouth ; big, round, well-expanded nostrils; a pronounced spread of nose (commonly called the knob) just above the nostrils if the animal is mature; wide-open, bright, prominent eyes; and pronounced width between the eyes and ears. The strongly masculine neck sets to the shoulder so that the head can be carried well up. The neck is very thick at the junction with the shoulders, so thick, in fact, that there is scarcely any depres- sion between it and the shoulders. On the top of the neck just behind the head there is usually a rise or prominence which really appears more like a feature of the head than of the neck. (1ommcni on the massive development in front is hardly necessary, but per- haps it is well to call attention to the full, strong forearm which should accompany the wide, deep chest, and the full, rounding, well- extended brisket (Fig. 39). In order to have an active, bold, or fearless carriage, the ram must have a deeply-muscled body supported by strong, well-placed legs. When one touches a ram possessing outstanding masculinity, there is the sensation of having in hand an individual with the fibers and sinews of a giant. The study of such an animal is never finished, for there is something present which defies accurate meas- urement with the hand, and the 'whole make-up of the animal sug- gests something which is beyond the estimate of the eye. No ram is really masculine if his sex organs are not well de- veloped. Undersized testicles indicate sex weakness, and when they are less than normal size the animal is usually lacking in strength of features about the head. English shepherds often comment on a ram having a deep bleat as a sheep with a real ram's voice. In the breeds in which the males have horns, the development of horn should be in harmony with the other features of strength about the head. Importance of Masculinity. — Experienced breeders usually select rams showing much masculinity because they believe such in- dividuals will impart more vigor and transmit their characters to their offspring in greater degree than rams that are weak in mas- IMPORTANCE OF MASCULINITY 77 78 TYPES culinity. Several years ago, while visiting various pure-bred flocks in Great Britain, the writer was greatly impressed by the unusual masculinity of most of the stud rams he inspected. It seemed to him then, as well as now, that the English sheepbreeder places higher value on masculinity than the American breeder. This is a matter to which American breeders shoul^ give careful consideration, with a view to determining whether they or the British breeders are more nearly right. Femininity is manifested by refinement of features, matronly appearance, and relatively great development in the hind quarters. All of the above characteristics combine to produce an effect which is quite the opposite of that produced by masculinity. The truly feminine ewe has proportionately less substance in her neck and front of body than the masculine ram, her features are much less rugged and her body lines are more gracefully turned. But the refinement characteristic of femininity is not over refinement to the point of delicateness. At this point the breeder needs to exercise care. Strong bone, provided it shows quality, size of body, or roominess, with features to match do not necessarily indicate lack in femininity, but rather that very essential development of characters which should be associated with it (Fig. 40). Mild expression has often been spoken of as indicative of femi- ninity in ewes. If this term implies meekness and submissiveness, then it is wrongly applied, because the desirable breeding ewe pos- sesses vigor and snap. She is upheaded, alert and conscious of what is in progress around her almost to the point of appearing to be nervous. She may be of retiring disposition so long as she is not a mother, but with her young at the side she is courageous and stands between her young and what she senses as danger with defiant fearlessness. In parturition such a ewe is very nervous, apparently so anxious to see her lamb that she cannot wait for it to come ; but when it does come she usually not only protects it, but also feeds it well. Successful breeders discard masculine or " staggy " ewes because usually they are not profitable as producers. Often they do not breed at all. When they do, they may have trouble in lambing; and they are usually poor both in maternal instinct and milking properties. Wethers (castrated males) if unsexed when only a few weeks old, tend to resemble ewes in the various characters influenced by IMPORTANCE OF MASCULINITY 79 80 TYPES FIG. 41. — A wether. Not so strongly developed in the head and neck as a ram, but coarser in these features than a ewe should be. sex. But a wether cannot be ,said to possess femininity; in fact, it is decidedly uncomplimentary to a ewe to say that she looks like a wether. That is, the wether retains a little of the masculine in his various features (Fig. 41). Market Type. — The mutton type approximates closely the mar- ket type. But in fat sheep the market puts more stress on eondi- Fio. 42. — Market sheep carrying the degree of fatness desired by American consumers of mutton. QUESTIONS 81 tion, quality, and weight than on form. . Market quality consists in freedom from coarseness and from undue weight of pelt (skin and wool combined), while in the mutton type a heavy fleece is not necessarily a criticism against quality. Ideal market condition requires an even, firm covering with fat, but it does not call for' excessive fatness such as is expected of breed specimens and fat wethers in classes for single sheep at large exhibitions. The fact is that show specimens are often made too fat. The weight desired of market sheep is a matter that varies with the different classes, lambs, yearlings, wethers, and ewes; it is also a matter that varies somewhat with the different seasons (Fig. 42). In selecting feeder sheep, condition, quality, weight, form, and thrift are the factors to be considered. The ideal feeder should not be fat, neither should it be so thin as to seem lacking in vigor and health. Its quality should correspond with that of the fat sheep and it is best in form when it corresponds to the description 'of form given under mutton type, but perfection of form cannot be ex- pected in a sheep that is not fat. QUESTIONS 1. Which is easier to determine, general type or breed type? Why? 2. List the large differences between the mutton type and the wool type. 3. Which would grade the higher on the market, the wool type or the mutton type? WThy? 4 Compare the head of a ram with that of a ewe of the same breed. 5. How are the differences noted to be accounted for? CHAPTER VIII JUDGING SHEEP Preparation for Judging. — Regardless of whether judges arc born or made, skill in judging sheep is attained at the expense of •much practice. The men who judge best are nearly always at it, not in the arena, of course, but wherever they see sheep. It is this irresistible tendency constantly to compare and contrast animals that builds up in the mind of the judge a rich store of experiences which serve him well, and in fact come to his rescue when he is making awards where competition is keen and close. These ex- periences mold his standard and set it out in bold relief. Organized class study, although of great help, is after all only one step toward proficiency in judging. It is a step which many of the best judges hate never taken, and one which is not used to proper advantage unless it is supplemented by extensive practice in field and fold (Fig. 43). Examining the Sheep. — Capable judges, realizing the impor- tance of careful examination, first look the sheep over from a dis- tance and then go over it with their hands. It does not make any difference which view of the animal is noted first so long as the examination is thorough and systematic. The writer prefers to begin with the front of the sheep, then observe its sides, and lastly its rear, for the reason that in handling he examines the rear first. Looking the Sheep Over. — Following this plan, there are cer- tain points which should be noted from each view. (1) The front view gives the best opportunity to study the make-up of the head, the width and depth of brisket, and the length, shape and placing of the forelegs. Very close attention should be given to the head because its quality is indicative of the quality of the animal and in breed specimens it reveals a great deal of what is known as breed type. The stamina or constitu- tion of the animal is also indicated in the way certain features of the head are developed. (2) Side. — In taking a side view, the size, style, and general lines of the sheep attract attention first. Then comes an analysis of the general impression thus gained which takes note of the 82 LOOKING THE SHEEP OVER 83 length and depth of body, the carriage of the head, the length and setting of the neck, the extension of brisket, the evenness or true- ness of top and bottom lines, and length and shape of legs, and 12 13 14 FIG. 43. — The external parts of a sheep. 1, muzzle broad, lips thin, nostrils large; 2, face short, features clean-cut; 3, eyes large and clear; 4, forehead broad; 5, ears alert and not coarse; 6, poll wide; 7, top of shoulder compact; 8, neck short, thick, blending smoothly with shoulder; 9, shoulder thickly covered with flesh; 10, back broad, straight, thickly and evenly covered; 11, ribs long, well sprung, and thickly covered; 12, loin broad, thick, and well covered; 13, hips wide and smooth; 14, rump long, level, and wide to dock; 15, dock thick; 16, twist deep and firm; 17, thighs full, deep, and wide; 18, legs straight, short, and bone smooth; 19, cod or purse in wethers, scrotum in rams, udder in ewes; 20, flank full and deep; 21, forelegs straight, short and strong; 22, chest deep, wide, and full; 23, forelegs wide apart and forearm strong; 24, brisket full and rounding in outline; 25, breast well extended. lastly, the relation of neck, shoulder, middle, and rump, in turn, to total length. 84 JUDGING SHEEP Sample Score Card Useful as Beginning Step in Judging MUTTON SHEEP MARKET SCALE OF POINTS Perfect Score Student Score Corrected Score 1 2 1 2 GENERAL APPEARANCE— 37 per cent. 1 Weight pounds *• 2. Form, straight top and underline; deep, broad, lowset, compact, symmetrical. . . . 3. Quality, hair tine; bone fine but strong; features refined but not delicate; pelt light 12 10 15 4. Condition, deep, even covering of firm flesh. Points indicating finished condition are: thick dock, thick covering over loin, back, ribs and shoulders, fullness between shoulder and brisket HEAD and NECK— 9 per cent. 5. Head, features clean cut; mouth, large; lips, thin; nostrils, large; eyes, large, clear; face, short; forehead, broad; ears, alert, not coarse, considerable width between 6. Neck, short thick, full at junction with 4 8 1 1 : 6 G 1 5 5 5 1 3 3 3 FORE QUARTERS— 10 per cent. 7. Shoulders, covered with flesh; compact on top, smoothly joined with neck and body 8. Brisket, rounding in outline and well ex- 9. Legs, straight, short, wide apart, strong, full forearm bone smooth BODY— 18 per cent. 10. Chest, wide, deep, full 11. Ribs, well sprung, long, close and thickly covered 12. Back, broad, straight, thickly and evenly covered 13. Loin, thick, broad well covered HIND QUARTERS— 17 per cent. 14. I'ips, far apart, level, smooth 15. Rump, long, level, wide to dock thick at dock 16. Thighs, full, deep, wide 17. Twist, plump, deep, firm 18. Legs, straight, short, strong, bone smo; th . . WOOL— 9 per cent. 19. Quantity, long dense, even in density and length 20. Quality, crimp distinct and even through- out fleece 21. Condition, slight amount cf yolk, foreign material not excessive Total 100 STUDENT. DATE. .. HANDLING THE SHEEP 85 (3) Rear. — From the rear the width and evenness in width of body are to be noted; then the development of rump, thighs and twist, and the placing of the hind legs. Handling the Sheep. — After surveying the animal in this sys- tematic manner the judge is ready to verify his visual impre'ssions by handling. This is necessary because the wool may cover defects in form and handling is the only sure way to determine the amount and quality of flesh. In the show ring it is a common practice to FIG. 44. — Laying the hand on deliberately and firmly with the fingers together is the best way to measure the amount and quality of flesh. trim the wool in order to conceal defects in form. Then, too, the wool and skin should be inspected at close range (Fig. 44). The proper way to handle a sheep is to keep the fingers together and lay them down flat on the animal except where it is necessary to grasp the parts, as is the case with the lower thighs. This manner of handling gives the most accurate impressions and does not disarrange the wool. Correct touch is a matter of study. The hands should be laid on deliberately and firmly, but without undue pressure, and pounding or clawing are entirely out of order. At the same time the judge must keep his mind with his hands, com- paring the information they give him with the impression he 86 JUDGING SHEEP already has of the animal. If he really has his mind on just what he is doing there is no possible excuse for anything but a correct touch (Fig. 44). After looking the sheep over as is suggested here, the logical place to begin handling is at the rear, and a right-handed judge should stand on the left side of the sheep. (1) The Rear, Including Thighs, Twist, Dock., and Rump. — The first thing to investigate with the hands is the development of FIG. 45. — Left hand on back of thigh, right hand at rear flank to measure the lower thighs. the lower thighs. This is done by putting the left hand at the back of the thigh and the right at the rear flank (Fig. 45). In this way the amount of flesh on both the outer and inner thighs can be ascertained. Next, the right hand should press upward on the twist to estimate the amount and firmness of flesh at that point. The development of the upper thighs is determined by placing the hands flat on them and pressing the hands toward each other. In- stead of doing this, many judges press one hand against the thigh while resting the other on top of the rump (Fig. 46). HANDLING THE SHEEP 87 After finishing with the thighs, the judge may either examine the rump or pass one hand along the entire top of the sheep to get an idea of its levelness and covering. The first movement in judg- ing the rump is to grasp the dock with one hand and note its size and fullness. A wide, thick dock is taken to indicate deep, strong muscling along the spine (Fig. 49). A good filling of fat on either side between the dock and the rump indicates high condition ; hence a great deal of importance is attached to this part of the investi- gation. The next- thing is to determine the width at the hips and FIG. 46. — Determining the amount and firmness of the filling at the twist and the depth from the top of the rump to the lower boundary of the twist. the evenness with which this width carries back. This is done by pressing one hand on either side of the rump from the hip points to the dock (Figs. 47 and 48). (2) The Middle, Including Loin, Back,, and Ribs. — The loin is examined for width and thickness by placing one hand straight down on either side of it. This movement is often difficult for be- ginners, who are unable to hold the hands straight and who have considerable difficulty at first in correctly estimating width. Ex- perienced judges often get an idea of width and thickness of loin by reaching across it with one hand. The covering of loin is judged by placing the fingers flat over the spine and noting whether the 88 JUDGING SHEEP FIG. 47 FIG. 48 FIG. 47. — Pressing the upper thighs between the hands. FIG. 48. — Press? ng the rump between the hands to note how the rump carries in width from the hips to the dock. bones are prominent or cushioned over with flesh and fat. The back may have been examined already for levelness and covering, but re-examination will do no harm. Width of back, a good point in any breed, seems to depend mainly on long ribs, HANDLING THE SHEEP 89 arching high and wide as they leave the spine, and special atten- tion should be given to the degree of arch, or rather of width, just back of the shoulders (Fig. 51) . There are two ways of ascertaining this: First, place the fingers of the hand on one side of the spine and the thumb on the other ; or, second, place one hand on either side of the spine. The spring of the last rib should also be noted carefully as the width of a properly shaped barrel or body increases gradually from the shoulders back to the last ribs (Fig. 50). In addition to being long and arching well, the ribs should be covered with firm flesh and fat, and the spaces between the ribs FIG. 49. — A wide dock; a narrow dock. A wide dock indicates deep muscling along the spine; a dock well cushioned over with fat indicates that the animal is in high condition. should be well filled and firm. These points can be determined by rubbing the hands back and forth over the ribs. If they are prominent to the touch and if the flesh and fat are soft, the covering is poor in both extent and quality. In examining the ribs the hands should also be placed over the fore flanks to proximate the width of chest (Fig. 52). (3) The Front, Including Shoulders, Chest, Brisket, Neck, and Head. — By placing one hand on top of the shoulders it is possible to learn how compactly the shoulder blades are set up against the spine and how well these parts are covered with flesh (Figs. 53 and 54). Next, the hands should be placed first on the sides of the shoulders to examine the depth of flesh, then they should be moved 90 JUDGING SHEEP Fia. 50 FIG. 51 FIG. 50. — Examining the loins for width and depth. FIG. 51. — A hand on either side of the spine just back of shoulder to note whether the ribs spring high and wide from the spine. forward to the neck vein to determine whether the neck blends smoothly with the shoulders as fullness here indicates both high condition and well-muscled neck. The lower points should next be HANDLING THE SHEEP 91 touched to note whether or not the bones are unduly prominent and coarse. Finish or high condition is estimated by placing the hands just in front of the lower points where the brisket joins the lower part of the shoulders. At this point there is a noticeable depression in the thin animal which is scarcely discernible in the fat one. One hand should be passed on down to the floor of the brisket and chest to examine width. By keeping the other hand on the top of the shoulders, a notion of the depth of chest can be gained. The front FIG. 52. — Placing the hands on the ribs to determine the depth and firmness of covering. of the brisket should be touched for the purpose of getting an idea of its extension and contour (Fig. 55). A good way of determining the setting and size of the neck is to grasp it on top, with one hand, just in front of the shoulders at the neck vein. With the thumb on one side and the fingers on the other, a good idea can be gained of its fullness, both at the top and on the sides. A similar grasp should be made just behind the ears to ascertain whether the neck is coarse or smooth where it joins the head (Fig. 56). It is not necessary to handle the head much, but in woolly- headed breeds handling helps in estimating the width of head, and 92 JUDGING SHEEP HANDLING THE SHEEP 93 touching the various features assists in determining quality. In judging rams of the hornless breeds, it is always advisable to place the fingers in the horn holes to note whether there is any growth of horn. Most judges practise parting the lips and looking at the teeth for the purpose of estimating age. This is necessary even though the teeth do not proximate age closely. While handling the head it is a good thing to examine the eyes closely. (4) Fleece and Skin. — After the conformation of the sheep has been determined, the fleece and skin must be examined. Since the best wool grows on the side of the shoulder or just behind it, the fleece is first opened in that region. This should be done by laying the hands down flat on the surface of the fleece and gently forcing it to part so that the density, quality, color, luster, and condition of the wool,1 and the color of the skin can be noted (Fig. 57). Similar examination should be made at mid-side and on the thighs in mutton breeds, and in wool breeds at the points mentioned and wherever else the judge deems necessary, but especially along the spine, at the hip point, dock, and on the belly. In breeds in which dark fibers in the wool and dark spots on the skin are likely to be present, the fleece should also be parted on the top of the head just behind the ears, on the fore part of the shoulder, and just above the hocks. (5) Noting Defects. — In connection with the handling of rams it is advisable to note whether the scrotum is normally developed. Occasionally the testicles are very small. When this is the case, the features about the head usually lack masculinity. Again one testicle 1 Density of ileece is determined wlien the wool is parted. The smaller the amount of skin exposed the denser the wool. Or density can be esti- mated fairly well by grasping a portion of the Ileece between the thumb and fingers; if the wool feels compact and fills the hand well, it is likely to be dense. Quality of fleece is indicated by the waves or crimps in the wool fibers. If these are short, carry regularly from the skin to the outer tips of the fibers, the wool is fine and even in quality. Luster is a factor in the quality of luster wools. It is a brightness, similar to that of polished metals and its presence depends on the size and shape of the cuticle cells or scales forming the outer layer of the fibers. It is most marked in the longer, coarser wools, and least in the fine, short wools. Condition of fleece refers to color, yolk, and the foreign material in the wool. To be in good condition t'ie wool should be bright, not dingy; it should be practically free from dirt, chaff, and burrs; and the yolk should be evenly distributed. JUDGING SHEEP HANDLING THE SHEEP FIG. 57 95 FIG. 58 FIG. 57. — Examining the wool and skin. FIG. 58. — Detecting overdone condition which is characterized by soft, flabby fat that can be shifted by pressure with the hand. may be abnormally small or not let down in the scrotum sack. Such defects are to be discriminated against largely according to their intensity. The testicles may be so small that the judge feels con- 96 JUDGING SHEEP fident that the ram is not a breeder, in which case he should not be awarded a prize. In judging ewes, it is well to examine the udder. If it is hard or otherwise defective some discrimination should be made. There are also such defects as large, lumpy growths under the throat, which because the wool is trimmed closely or because it hangs over them in large mases as in the long- wool breeds, may not be discovered except by handling. Wrinkles under the throat in breeds not supposed to have them are often so well concealed by close trimming that they can be discerned only by touch. Soft, blubbery fat, due to " overdone " condition, often escapes the notice of beginners in judging. There are two places on the body where this fat is present in largest quantity; namely, on the fore ribs and on the rump. A good way to get an estimate of this soft, blubbery fat is to place one hand near the top of the animal and the other lower down and push them toward each other. In the United States and Canada it is not customary to award a prize to sheep in badly "overdone" condition (Fig. 58). The judge should always know the sex of the animal he is examining. Faults of Beginners. — Beginners especially possess the fault of viewing too little and handling too much. Before getting a good impression of the animal they pounce upon it and begin to handle. Defects easily discovered by viewing may be entirely overlooked. It is hard for the beginner to understand why viewing before handling is of importance, because many experienced judges appear to lay all of the emphasis on handling, but the old judge sizes the animal up quickly and he is soon ready to see whether handling will confirm his impression of it. QUESTIONS 1. From what view can you best determine whether a sheep has strong or weak pasterns? Sickled hocks? Sprawling toes? 2. From viewing how would you determine whether a sheep has a narrow chest? 3. Describe the difference in feel between a bare and a well-covered back. 4. Determine the difference in width between a wide and a narrow sheep. 5. Handle a sheep carefully along the top and determine whether the wool is uniform in length at all points. 6. Handle two sheep over the ribs and describe the difference you note. 7. Write up a comparative study of the heads of two sheep, noting differ- ences in ears, eyes, profile of face, nostrils, mouth, width between ears, and between eyes. PART III BREEDS CHAPTER IX THE MUTTON BREEDS ALL of the mutton breeds kept in the United States, excepting the Tunis and Corriedale, were developed in Great Britain. Be- ginning with Bakewell the era for evolving these breeds covered almost; a century. Roughly speaking, they were evolved from two general types. One of these was a large, coarse, slow-maturing sheep, growing long, coarse wool and yielding a fleece weighing from seven to twelve pounds. With the exception of a few dark spots, the black hoofs and black skin around the nostrils, its face and legs were white. It was kept principally on the low fertile lands in the counties of Lincoln, Leicester, and on the hills of Gloucester. The other type, being .smaller, was suited to the hills and lighter soils. It grew short, fairly fine wool and produced a fleece weighing from two to five pounds. Some strains had black faces and legs; others were white in their markings, and still others had speckled or gray faces and legs. As a rule the sheep belonging to the smaller type were good travellers and were adapted to herding on the commons or downs in fairly large number,*. A rather common practice was to fold them on the arable land at night in order to get the manure for field crops, and to drive them several miles out during the day to feed on the downs. From the large, coarse-wool type such breeds as the modern English Leicester, the Border Leicester, Cotswold, Lincoln, Romney Marsh, Devon Long Wool, South Devon, and Wensleydale have been developed. From the smaller type producing short and fairly fine wool we have secured most of the down breeds, such as the South- down, Shropshire, Hampshire, Suffolk, and also such breeds as the Dorset Horn and Ryeland. In a few cases a breed has been de- veloped by crossing improved' sheep descended from each of the old types. A notable case is that of the Oxford Down, produced by crossing the Hampshire with the Cotswold. British breeders are thoroughly grounded in the belief that dif- ferent environments demand different types of sheep. In their opinion sheep adapted to the lowlands are not profitable in the hills and on the mountains. And the soils in regions of similar elevation 99 100 THE MUTTON BREEDS QUESTIONS ''IS! may be so different as to demand different types. Consequently many breeds have been developed as is indicated by the fact that twenty-five breeds, all native of Great Britain, have been given a place in the premium lists of the annual show of the Royal Agri- cultural Society of England (Fig. 59). QUESTIONS 1. Why were so many different breeds developed in Great Britain? 2. When did Bakewell live? 3. Was he interested in other classes of livestock besides sheep? 4. Make a list of the breeds of sheep kept in the United States. 5. Which were developed in Great Britain? 0. Where wore the others developed? CHAPTER X THE SOUTHDOWN • History. — Of the widely distributed improved mutton breeds, the Southdown, next to the Leicester,, is the oldest. John Ellman, who lived in southeastern England near Lewes, Sussex County, on the hills known as the South Downs, began to improve the old Southdowns or native sheep of Sussex in the latter half of the eighteenth century, and Arthur Young, who saw this flock in 1776, pronounced it the best in the country. Forty-five years later (1821) Jonas Webb, living 100 miles further north in a more fertile country, near Cambridge, purchased Ellman sheep and further improved them. Although other men had something to do with the improve- ment of the Southdown, most of the credit for developing it to its present state of mutton perfection is usually given to Ellman and Webb (Fig. 60). The Southdowns are low, chalky hills which Ellman described as being twenty-six miles long and five miles wide. In his day about one-half of the land was arable and the other grass land. Wheat, oats, barley, clover, vetches, or tares, and roots were some of the more common crops cultivated, while the grass land grew a short, fine, sweet herbage. The vegetation which was not rampant was better suited to a small active breed such as the old Southdown was than to a larger, heavier breed. Ellman most likely recognized this fact and probably it had some weight in his choice of the stock he selected for improvement. He took note of the hardiness of the old Southdown, of its ability to thrive when the land was heavily stocked; of its fine fleece; and of its good leg of mutton. On the other hand, he clearly saw its two worst faults, an ill form and a light fleece. The Old Type. — As a type the old Southdown was small, with long, slim neck, light fore quarters, bowed back, narrow body, low- set tail, coarse bone, and thick leg of mutton. The fleece, though fine, was short, thin, and did not extend over the lower parts of the body. In face and leg markings there were variations ranging from white-brown mottled to solid deep brown or almost black. 102 IMPROVEMENT BY ELLMAN 103 Improvement by Ellman. — Long before Ellmjan began his work there was a widespread conviction amongst sheep raisers on the Southdowns that fine fleeces and ill forms were closely associated, and hence that in order to grow fine wool ill-formed sheep had to be tolerated. But Ell man did not believe this and he proposed to make out of the old Southdown a better sheep by improving both its form and fleece. In connection with the improvement of mut- ton form he also sought more fattening power and quality with respect to the percentage of offal in dressing. He rapidly attained FIG. 60. — Southdown ram exhibited by Robert McEwen, Byron, Ontario. The thick, compact body, combined with the quality denoted by the trimness about the head are characteristic of the breed. considerable improvement and, so far as is known, entirely by selec- tion, although it is probable that the selections he made resulted in inbreeding or line breeding. He selected the best for his pur- pose wherever he could find it, but always within the native Sussex breed. He fixed a type which was shorter in neck, thicker in fore quarters, more nearly level on top, wider sprung in the rib, and better in fleece with respect to length, quality, density and exten- sion than the original stock from which he started. Mr. Ellman's career as a breeder extended over a period of 54 years or more. In 1829 he dispersed his flock of about 1400 head. He died in 1832. 104 THE SOUTHDOWN DESCRIPTION 105 Improvement by Webb.— Mr. Webb, who carried on the im- provement of Southdowns from the point where Ellman left it, studied matings closely and never allowed price to keep him from buying the best rams. Being in a country where the soil was more, fertile and where the liki-ng for large sheep was more pronounced than in Mr. Ellman's region, he bred for more size. He practically perfected the breed as regards mutton conformation and quality. FIG. 63— S9uthdown ewe bred and exhibited by Robert McEwen, Byron Ontario def tedV t0™ at leading fairs in Canada and the United States in 1915 and 1916, was defeated but once. Fortunately he lived to reap the fruits of his good work, for his ram lettings and sales became noted events in the world of animal breeding. He was also very successful in the show ring and, being of persuasive personality, he did much to popularize the breed. His flock was dispersed in 1862 at a memorable auction sale (Fio-s 61 and 62). Description.— Form and Weight.— The best specimens of the present-day Southdown closely approximate the ideal ,mutton type 106 THE SOUTHDOWN in form. The body, which is oval on top, is wide, deep, low set and evenly covered with deep, firm flesh. The neck is short, thick, and placed to the shoulders so that the head is carried just a little above them. The legs are placed far apart, thus giving to the body width at the bottom about equal to that at the top. The arch of rib, the smoothness at hip and lower shoulder point, the fullness at fore- arm, thigh and twist suggest a rotund rather than a rectangular conformation. A compact, symmetrical block of mutton fittingly summaries Southdown form. Mature rams in breeding condition weigh from 185 to 220 pounds; ewes from 135 to 155 pounds. Features. — The features are neither refined nor coarse, but are developed to harmonize with those of the body. The mouth and nostrils are fairly large and the lips somewhat thick as compared Fio. 64. — Southdown ewes bred by the University of Illinois. Note the width and compact- ness, both typical of the breed. with the development of other features. In ewes the profile of the nose or face is slightly dished ; in rams it is almost straight. The eyes are large, round, bright, and prominent, suggesting alertness. The ears are short and erect, giving an expression of smartness. The legs are short and straight. As a rule the bone of the fore legs is a little more nearly round than in the other mutton breeds (Fig. 63). Markings, Wool, and 8Hn. — The color of face and legs varies from light steel gray to a light soft brown, frequently referred to as a mouse brown. The face should not approach black in color nor be speckled with white. Clear, pink skins are preferred, as sheep having dark skins are regarded as hard feeders. The weight of HARDINESS AND FEEDING QUALITIES 107 fleece ranges from 5 to 8 pounds and in twelve months it attains a length of about two inches. In addition to covering the neck it extends as clean white wool over the head to form a cap on the fore- head and a covering on the cheeks, but it does not extend down over the face much below the eyes. Below it extends to the knees in front and to the hocks behind. Frequently a downy, incipient growth of wool runs down on the hind legs to the pasterns. Disqualifications. — The English Flock Book publishes the foL lowing reasons why judges should not at breeding stock shows award a prize to otherwise good sheep : (a) Horns or evidence of their presence. (b) Dark poll. FIG. 65. — Southdown lambs bred by the University of Illinois. These lambs won first prize in the competition for pen of four Southdown lambs at the 1917 International Live Stock Show, Chicago. (c) Blue skin. (d) Speckled face, ears, and legs. (e) Bad wool, probably meaning decided departures from typical Southdown wool (Fig. 64) Properties. — The Southdown is preeminent among mutton breeds for the quality of its mutton. It is famous for the fine-grain, firmness and juiciness of its lean and for the whiteness, flakiness and sweetness of its fat, which is not excessive in amount. Whether it is consumed as baby lamb, ordinary lamb, or mature mutton, these qualities are present to the satisfaction of the most exacting epicure. Hardiness and Feeding Qualities. — On the whole the South- down is considered hardy, but it is not adapted to the rigorous con- 106 THE SOUTHDOWN in form. The body, which is oval on top, is wide, deep, low set and evenly covered with deep, firm flesh. The neck is short, thick, and placed to the shoulders so that the head is carried just a little above them. The legs are placed far apart, thus giving to the body width at the bottom about equal to that at the top. The arch of rib, the smoothness at hip and lower shoulder point, the fullness at fore- arm, thigh and twist suggest a rotund rather than a rectangular conformation. A compact, symmetrical block of mutton fittingly summaries Southdown form. Mature rams in breeding condition weigh from 185 to 220 pounds; ewes from 135 to 155 pounds. Features. — The features are neither refined nor coarse, but are developed to harmonize with those of the body. The mouth and nostrils are fairly large and the lips somewhat thick as compared FIG. 64. — Southdown ewes bred by the University of Illinois. Note the width and compact- ness, both typical of the breed. with the development of other features. In ewes the profile of the nose or face is slightly dished ; in rams it is almost straight. The eyes are large, round, bright, and prominent, suggesting alertness. The ears are short and erect, giving an expression of smartness. The legs are short and straight. As a rule the bone of the fore legs is a little more nearly round than in the other mutton breeds (Fig. 63). Man-kings, Wool, and Skin. — The color of face and legs varies from light steel gray to a light soft brown, frequently referred to as a mouse brown. The face should not approach black in color nor be speckled with white. Clear, pink skins are preferred, as sheep having dark skins are regarded as hard feeders. The weight of HARDINESS AND FEEDING QUALITIES 107 fleece ranges from 5 to 8 pounds and in twelve months it attains a length of about two inches. In addition to covering the neck it extends as clean white wool over the head to form a cap on the fore- head and a covering on the cheeks, but it does not extend down over the face much below the eyes. Below it extends to the knees in front and to the hocks behind. Frequently a downy, incipient growth of wool runs down on the hind legs to the pasterns. Disqualifications. — The English Flock Book publishes the fol- lowing reasons why judges should not at breeding stock shows award a prize to otherwise good sheep : (a) Horns or evidence of their presence. (b) Dark poll. FIG. 65. — Southdown lambs bred by the University of Illinois. These lambs won first prize in the competition for pen of four Southdown lambs at the 1917 International Live Stock Show, Chicago. (c) Blue skin. (d) Speckled face, ears, and legs. (e) Bad wool, probably meaning decided departures from typical Southdown wool (Fig. 64) Properties. — The Southdown is preeminent among mutton breeds for the quality of its mutton. It is famous for the fine-grain, firmness and juiciness of its lean and for the whiteness, flakiness and sweetness of its fat, which is not excessive in amount. Whether it is consumed as baby lamb, ordinary lamb, or mature mutton, these qualities are present to the satisfaction of the most exacting epicure. Hardiness and Feeding Qualities. — On the whole the South- down is considered hardy, but it is not adapted to the rigorous con- 108 THE SOUTHDOWN ditions under which some breeds are able to live. At birth the lambs weigh about eight pounds and, as a rule, they are strong, active, eager for feed and disposed to grow from the start. Both the mature sheep and the lambs take kindly to all well-known sheep feeds and they are especially fond of grazing on pasture grasses, to which they are perhaps somewhat better adapted than to luxuriant forage crops. Under average conditions with respect to feed and shepherding, it is characteristic of the mature sheep to remain plump and in good condition through practically all seasons, and the lambs early attain plump form and a firm, ripe condition which give them distinction as a prime baby lamb product. The lambs do not attain weight as rapidly, however, as do those of some of the FIG. 66. — Grade Southdown lambs bred by University of Illinois. The granddams — the western ewes in Fig. 138. These lambs, two crosses removed from Western ewes, possess the characteristics of Southdowns to such extent that none except expert judges could distinguish them from pure breds. other breeds, but unquestionably they make good use of the food they consume. In America they weigh approximately 50 pounds when three months old (Fig. 65). Breeding Qualities. — In Southdown flocks, the per cent of lambs born to the number of ewes bred ranges from 125 to 150. The ewes are good mothers ; they seldom disown their lambs and they suckle them well. When in the lambing fold, the ewes, although smart and alert, are not wild, nervous or reckless to the detriment of their lambs. In cross-breeding and in grading up, Southdown rams are ex- tremely prepotent. No matter what kind of ewes they are mated with, their offspring bear unmistakable resemblance to the South- QUESTIONS 109 down breed not only in external appearance, but also in manner of feeding and growth, and in quality of mutton. For this reason Southdown rams are especially suited to crossing on Dorset Horned and Merino ewes when early or winter lambs are desired for special markets (Fig. 66). Distribution. — The Southdown has been introduced into prac- tically all countries where the production of mutton has received attention. But in spite of its trimness, which is always a delight to the eye, and its superior quality of mutton, it has not become the prevailing breed in many regions outside of its native hom'e. In America, and in various other countries as well, England excepted, its distribution is characterized by occasional flocks. The reason for this is that it is not big enough and its fleece is too light in weight to suit the average sheep raiser. But unquestionably there are many places in the United States where the grain and grass crops are admirably suited to the Southdown, and .since the Amer- ican markets always welcome neat, tidy lambs, there is no good reason why pure and grade Southdown flocks should not be more numerous. Both in England and in the United States societies have been organized for the promotion of the breed. The English society^ which succeeded the English Southdown Sheep Breeders' Associa- tion, organized in 1890, is known as the Southdown Sheep Society and it annually publishes a volume enittled " The Southdown Flock Book." The American society was incorporated in 1882 as the American Southdown Association, and its annual volume is entitled " The American Southdown Kecord." QUESTIONS 1. Compare the work of Ellinan and Webb. 2. What desirable features did the old Southdowns possess? 3. What undesirable features? 4. Enumerate the superior points of the Southdown as a mutton sheep. 5. What criticisms have been made against the Southdown? 6. On what kind of land do you think Southdowns would return as much or more than any other breed? 7. On what kind of land do you think it would be inadvisable to keep them? 8. Would you gather from the history of the Southdown that it strongly impresses its characters when crossed with other breeds? 9. What can be said of the prolificacy and milking qualities of Southdown CHAPTER XI THE SHROPSHIRE History. — Old Types. — The Shropshire was developed into a distinct breed in the counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire, in central western England. Because of extensive areas of pasture on both hill and cultivated lands, flock husbandry was a prominent feature in the agriculture of these counties long before the time of modern Shropshire. Certain types of sheep were confined to different parts, the more important of these being Morfe Common, Cannock Chase, Long Mynd, and Whittington Heath. The sheep were named after the locality to which they belonged, and, although they bore an unmistakable resemblance to each other, they were somewhat different and were regarded as separate types. It is also probable that they were not markedly unlike the old stock on the Southdown Hills from which the Southdown breed was developed. They were active, hardy, accustomed to running at large without a shepherd, and little subject to scab or foot rot. They yielded from two to three pounds of wool, which was graded with the choicest produced in England. As a rule, they matured slowly and when fatted at two or three years of age, weighed from 75 to 110 pounds. Lack of width and a drop behind the shoulders were their most pronounced faults in conformation. They varied in face and leg markings from spotted to dark brown or black, and with the excep- tion of the Cannock Chase, they were horned (Fig. 67). Method of Development. — Writers are not agreed as to the way in which the Shropshire was made. Some maintain that it was formed by selecting and mating the best from the old native breeds of the two counties, while others say that it came into existence through the crossing of improved Southdowns. Leicesters, and Cots- wolds on the native stock. Alfred Mansell, Secretary of the .Eng- lish Shropshire Sheep Breeders' Association, and a leading author- ity, states that there are no reliable records she-wing how improve- ment in size, in uniformity of character, and in value and weight of fleece was effected. He further says : " In the early days, some his- torians say that the Southdown ram was introduced for this purpose, whilst others equally well qualified to express an opinion assert that 110 METHOD OF DEVELOPMENT 111 uniformity of character and perfection of form are the result of selection from home-bred sheep of the best type. Speaking from personal knowledge far back into the last century, I am in a position to assert that no one who has achieved any success as a breeder or exhibitor has deviated from a line of pure breeding for the past 60 or 70 years" (Fig. 68). There seems to be a preponderance of evidence, however, that cross breeding was practised prior to and during the time the breed was coming into existence. Wilson, Plymley, Tanner, Melden, FIG. 67. — Shropshire ram, Tanner Royal. First prize, two shear ram, English Royal and International Show in Chicago, 1913. Bred by Alfred Tanner, England. A great-sire in the flock of Arthur Broughton and Sons, Albany, Wis. Clarke, Spooner, and Wrightson are practically agreed on this point. John Algernon Clarke states that two of the most celebrated found- ers of the breed, Samuel Meire and George Adney, practised crossing, the former using both Southdown and Leicester blood, and the latter only the Southdown cross. W. C. Spooner in an article on cross- breeding, published in volume 20 of the Koyal Agricultural Society Eeport, quoted the following as a part of a speech that M. J. Meire made before a farmers' club in Shropshire County : !) Pro- fessor F. W. Wilson gives the following account of the American Tunis : " The .history of Tunis sheep in America dates from 1799, when General William Eaton, U. S. Consul at Tunis, bought ten head of the fat-tailed sheep of that country from the Bey of Tunis and sent them to America on the man-of-war Sophia. Only one pair, Car- melli and Salena, survived the voyage. They were placed on the farm of Judge Richard Peters, of Belmont, near Philadelphia, and lived to a ripe old age, when both were killed by dogs. Selena raised her last lamb in her sixteenth year. " Judge Peters offered the free use of his rams to breeders, and was so well patronized that, in a short time, flocks had found their way to Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia. During the Civil War the breed was exterminated with the exception of the sheep held by Col. Maynard R. Spigler, of Columbia, South Carolina. The present Tunis blood in America has been preserved through this flock of Colonel Spigler, who bred them for over fifty years. Several other importations of Tunis sheep have been made; namely, in 1806, by Commodore Barren, of the U. S. Navy, to Virginia and the District of Columbia; later, a ram and a ewe by President Jef- ferson, and, in 1825, thirteen head to New York, one pair of which was sent to General Rensselaer, of Albany. " In 1894, J. A. Guilliams, through correspondence with Colonel Washington Watts, of Laurens, South Carolina, learned of the flock of pure-blood Tunis sheep on the plantation of Colonel Spigler. He bought ten head and shipped them to Putnam Count}7, Indiana. They were exhibited at the fair at Crawfordsville, Indiana, where they attracted much attention. Their quaint conformation and lack of wool, however, gave them an unfavorable introduction. Nevertheless, Charles Roundtree, near Crawfordsville, Indiana, who is now the largest breeder of Tunis sheep in America, purchased additional animals from the Spigler flock, and with several other farmers became interested in the breed. He conceived the plan of 184 Fia. 129. FIG. 128. — American Tunis ram. The hair on the face and legs of the Tunis is usually reddish brown. FIG. 129. — American Tunis ewe. The long pendulous ears are typical of the breed. 186 THE AMERICAN TUNIS improving the breed by introducing outside blood, and for this pur- pose selected two Southdown ewes. The Roundtree type contains one-sixteenth Southdown blood, and is a marked improvement over the original Tunis breed" (Fig. 128). Description. — As suggested in the above account, Tunis breeders are attempting to breed a sheep that approximates the ideal mutton type in conformation. In most "pecimens, however, the neck is rather long, the chest lacks somewhat in width, and the legs tend FIG. 130. — American Tunis ewe and her lamb. Note the tendency toward excessive fatty development at the dock of the lamb, which is more or less characteristic of the breed. to be close together at the knees and hocks. With the exception of the long, pendulous ears, the head features indicate quality. In rams the face profile is slightly Roman, while in ewes it is almost straight, Mature rams in breeding condition weigh between 150 and 175 pounds ; ewes about 125 pounds. As a whole, the breed is horn- less, but stubs of horns occasionally appear in the males. The color of the hair on the face, ears, and legs varies from a reddish browri QUESTIONS 187 to white and not infrequently a wide bar of white hair extends from the nose to the forehead while the remainder of the face is brown (Fig. 129). The Tunis has a long, combing wool which is to be criticised for coarseness. As a rule it is white, but in every flock there is to be found a number of gray fleeces. At birth the lambs are either spotted or a reddish brown. Judge Richard Peters, writing of the Tunis in 1810, said that the lambs were white, red, tawny, bluish, and black and that all except the black lambs grew to be white in general color of fleece, though most commonly they were colored in spots, and around the cheeks and shoulders either tawny or black wool appeared. The fleeces average from eight to ten pounds in weight. Properties. — Hardiness, prolificacy, early maturity, and good quality of mutton are the properties which Tunis breeders emphasize as characteristic of their sheep. Professor Wilson also shows that the Tunis sheep more than any other breed except the Merino remain in a compact band while feeding on the range. In their North African home, the Tunis breeds twice a year, and American breeders maintain that this property has been retained. The lambs are strong at birth and the ewes are good nurses; hence, the Tunis ewe has, to a certain extent, met with favor in America as a producer of winter lambs (Fig. 130). QUESTIONS 1. Locate the country of Tunis. 2. Give the favorable qualities of the Tunis as advocated by Tunis breeders. 3. Criticise the Tunis. CHAPTER XXIV BREEDS OF THE WOOL TYPE ALL of the existing wool breeds have descended from the Merinos of Spain, hence wool sheep and Merino sheep are practically synony- mous terms. Outside of Spain, distinct types have been developed in Germany, France, Australia, and North America. Origin of Merinos. — There is no definite information as to just how the Merino came into existence, but it is thought that it was developed from sheep imported into Spain from Italy and Northern Africa centuries ago. There were two great groups of Merinos in Spain, the Estantes, or stationary flocks, and the Tran- shumantes, or travelling flocks. The latter, owned by the nobility and the clergy, outnumbered the former four to one and were con- sidered the more important. They were maintained in very large flocks numbering into the thousands, and. they were handled by shepherds who herded them over a range of two or three hundred miles, so that they obtained their living almost entirely by grazing. The owners of these flocks did not make a practice of going to out- side sources for their breeding stock; hence each flock possessed a type peculiarly its own. Yet all of them were maintained for the distinct purpose of producing fine wool. Merinos in Various Countries. — When other countries took up Merinos they drew from various flocks in Spain, and in many cases Spanish types were commingled to breed the kind of sheep most de- sired. In Saxony, Germany, close attention was given to fineness of fleece, the result being the Saxony Merino which possessed wool finer than any produced by the Spanish flocks. In France attention was given to size and form in the hope of producing both mutton and fine wool; the result was the Kambouillet, now famous as a large mutton-type Merino. In Australia three types were developed : one comparatively small and growing very fine wool impregnated with much yolk or oil ; another a large, robust sheep having coarser and longer wool and much less yolk; and the third a type midway between the two already mentioned. In North America emphasis was first placed upon weight, length and fineness of fleece, the result 188 QUESTIONS 189 being the American Merino, a rather small sheep with great folds or wrinkles on the neck and body, and dense fine wool heavily impreg- nated with yolk. Another evolution was the American Delaine, with a smooth mutton-like body and long, fine wool suitable for combing into worsteds. QUESTIONS 1. Review Chapters I, III, and VI for additional information on Merinos. 2. Where did Spanish breeders procure breeding stock? 3. Can you give reasons why various countries developed special types of Merinos ? 4. Select a characteristic which you think distinguishes the Merino from all other strains of sheep. CHAPTEE XXV THE AMERICAN MERINO History. — -Importations. — Merino sheep were brought to the United States as early as 1793, but they did not begin to get a substantial footing in this country until commercial difficulties arose with England and France in 1807. In that year the Embargo Act was passed and wool soon rose to one dollar per pound. This started a boom for Merinos which resulted in the importation of 6000 to 8000 head in 1809, 1810, and 1811. Before the close of the War of 1812, wool sold for two and one-half dollars per pound. During the period, 1808—1813, it was no unusual thing for im- ported Merino rams to sell for a thousand dollars each and ewes sometimes sold for as much. Then came the Peace of Ghent (1815) which reopened commerce and practically ruined the infant manu- factures of the United States. The decline in value of raw wool was so violent that before the close of the year 1815, pure-bred Merino sheep sold for one dollar per head. According to Kandall, wool did not materially rally in price for nine succeeding years, and during that period most of the full-blood flocks of the country were broken up or adulterated in blood. Stephen Atwood. — During those dark and discouraging years one man, however, held on faithfully to his Merinos and pursued a definite policy in breeding. This was Stephen Atwood, of Wood- bury, Connecticut. For foundation stock, Mr. Atwood purchased a six-year-old ewe in 1813 and five ewe lambs in 1810. These females were descendants of the very choice sheep imported by Colonel David Humphreys, of Derby, Connecticut, in 1802. All of Atwood's breeding rams were also descendants of Humphrey's stock and when he could no longer find pure Humphrey's blood in other flocks, he resorted to his own for sires. He was a progressive breeder, pro- ducing better and better sheep as years advanced, but his great contribution to the evolution of the American Merino lay in the fact that he preserved a pure strain of Spanish Merinos through a dark period when all but a very few either crossed their Spanish sheep with Saxony Merinos or in various ways permitted their flocks to degenerate. 190 POPULARITY OF THE HAMMOND SHEEP 191 Edwin Hammond,1 of Middlebury, Vermont, a customer of Atwood for the first time in 1844, is regarded as having done more than any other one breeder in developing the American Merino. Randall said of him that he effected quite as much of an improve- ment in the American Merino as Mr. Bakewell effected among the long-wool sheep of England. Using Atwood sheep, he wrought great improvement in both form and fleece in a comparatively short time. He purchased " Old Black " in 1849, a sheep described as being "long, tall, flat-ribbed, rather long in the neck and head, strong-boned, a little roach-backed, deep chested, and moderately wrinkled ; his wool was about an inch and a half long, of medium thickness, extremely yolky, and dark colored externally ; face a little bare and not much wool on shanks. He weighed about one hundred and thirty-five pounds and cut about fourteen pounds of wool unwashed." Contrast with " Old Black " the ram " Sweepstakes " bred by Hammond in 1856 and regarded by many as one of the best he produced. " Sweepstakes " weighed about one hundred and forty pounds and was almost perfect in form, being defective in no essential particular. His head and belly were admirably covered and he was strongly wooled to the feet. In full fleece, his wool was two and one-half inches long, fine and extremely even, and he yielded a year's growth weighing twenty-seven pounds. Popularity of the Hammond Sheep. — Prominent breeders began to be attracted by Mr. Hammond's, sheep about 1850. In a few years they were eagerly sought by both home and foreign breed- ers. On several occasions he could have sold his breeding rams for as much as $2500 each. So many visitors came to his place that his hospitable home is reported to have resembled a prosperous hotel. Through the hundreds of people who inspected his flock and the many sheep he distributed far and wide, the distinctive type he bred came to be pretty generally known and was regarded as better suited to American conditions -than the old Spanish type. As suggested elsewhere in this chapter, Mr. Hammond's sheep were different from their Spanish ancestors, both in form and fleece. They were thicker, shorter in neck and legs, stronger in bone, and somewhat heavier. They were more nearly perfect in wool covering and much superior in length, density, fineness, and weight of fleece. 1 Associated with Edwin Hammond was his brother William, who acted as shepherd and manager. 192 THE AMERICAN MERINO Their greater weight of fleece was due not only to increased density and length o¥ wool, but also to the development of larger and more wrinkles or folds in the skin, thus giving a greater surface upon which to grow wool. Other Pioneer Breeders. — Although the prominent part Ham- mond had in developing the American Merino is generally acknowl- edged, it is perhaps too sweeping to say that it originated solely from his work. For, during his time and shortly after, there were a number of capable breeders who deserve mention as belonging in the pioneer ranks. Not all of them can be mentioned here, but important ones include the names of Charles Rich, of Shoreham, Vermont, and his sons, John T. and Charles, and also his grand- sons, J. T. and Virtulan; Tyler Stickney, also of Shoreham, and William R, Sanford, of Orwell, Vermont. All these stand out prominently in the history of the American Merino. For years Vermont was a Mecca for Merino breeders in search of stud stock, but there were many splendid flocks further west in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and a few in Illinois and Wisconsin. In fact, in order to be just to New York, Ohio, and Michigan, they should be mentioned with Vermont as the regions in which the American Merino attained its highest degree of perfection (Fig. 131). Description. — A single description will not fit the American Merino of to-day, or of any other time for that matter. This is true because breeders vary type somewhat with respect to form of body, wrinkles or folds in the skin and properties of fleece. Ham- mond kept three strains of blood, the representatives of which AVCMV said to be easily distinguishable because of differences in external characters. In the best of flocks three types are usually to bo found. These have come to be known as the A, B, and C types. Since they come from the same parent stock, they are very much alike in many respects. The rams, as a rule, have heavy, spirally- turned horns and the ewes are hornless. The hair on face, ears, and legs is white, fine and silky, although reddish-brown spots sometimes appear around the muzzle and eyes, and on the ears ; the lips, nostrils, and skin are deep pink and the hoofs are white. The wool completely covers the body and extends well over the face and legs, and although it varies with each type in length, density, fine- ness, and amount of yolk or oil, it has a marked resemblance in all three types. The wool is very fine and uniform in structure, as is THE A-TYPE 193 indicated by the evenness with which the waves or crimps are carried along the whole length of the fibers ; and there is an unusual degree of uniformity of fineness of fibers throughout the fleece. In the best specimens there are no kempy fibers, that is, coarse, hair- like fibers and bluish-white, structureless, tender fibers that will not take the vegetable dyes used in coloring wool. Because the yolk is liquid and comparatively free from coloring matter, the wool is a rich, creamy white. This is not true, however, of the external appearance of the fleece, because the yolk, upon coming to the FIG. 131. — A-type Merinos bred by S. M. Cleaver, Delaware, Ohio. Although these sheep are covered with folds and wrinkles they are thick and compact, showing that extreme development in wool need not be wholly divorced from mutton qualities. outer end of the wool fibers, hardens and darkens into a dark gray or brownish-black. The A-Type. — Extreme development of folds on neck and body is the outstanding characteristic of the A-type Merino. Because of its great surface of skin, dense wool, and large percentage of yolk, it yields a very high percentage of unsecured wool to weight of body. In twelve months the wool attains a length of about one and one-half inches. Rams will shear from 25 to 30 pounds of grease wool (wool just as it comes from the sheep's back) and ewes from 15 to 20 pounds, but exceptional specimens have yielded consider- ably more than the weights mentioned here. The shrinkage of the wool in the process of scouring is often as much as 75 per cent. The description already given of the conformation of the wool 13 194 THE AMERICAN MERINO FIG. 132. FIG. 133. FIG. 132. — A-type ram. The A-type Merino is distinguished by the folds and wrinkles extending over the entire body. FIG. 133. — A-type Merino ewe. THE A-TYPE 195 EIG. 134. — B-type Merino ram. The B-type has heavy folds on the neck and few wrinkles on the body. Fia. 135. — B-type Merino ewe in field condition 196 THE AMERICAN MERINO type in Chapter VI fits the A-type Merino fairly well. Mention should be made, however, of its deep body and comparatively short legs. Mature rams in full fleece weigh from 130 to 160 pounds and ewes from 90 to 125 pounds (Figs. 132 and 133). The B-Type. — As compared with the A-type, the B-type carries more mutton and fewer folds or wrinkles. Three to four large folds are to be found on the neck* fairly prominent ones appear at the flanks and around the dock, and a goodly number of small ones on the thighs and sides of the body. As a group, the representa- tives of the B-type are somewhat fuller in the thighs, wider and higher sprung in the ribs, and perhaps slightly thicker through the shoulders than those of the A-type. Mature rams weigh from 140 to 170 pounds and ewes from 100 to 125 pounds. In most respects the wool of the B-type is similar to that of the A-type, but the fibers tend to be a little longer and there is slightly less yolk, which, together with the fact that the surface of 'the skin is relatively less, makes the percentage of fleece to body weight less than in the A-type. The average run of stud rams will shear close to 25 pounds and the ewes about 16 pounds (Figs. 134 and 135). The C-Type or Delaine. — The body of the C-type is free from folds and only two or three small ones appear on the neck. It is considered objectionable if the neck folds are at all prominent on top of the neck. As compared with the B-type American Merino, the C-type is more desirable as a mutton animal not only because its pelt is smooth, but also because its body is wider, the thighs better filled, and the flesh thicker. Most C-type strains are somewhat larger than the A-type sheep. Earns range from 150 to 200 pounds in weight, and ewes from 100 to 150 pounds. The rams are both horned and hornless, as the owners of the various strains are not agreed on the matter of horns in males. All of the ewes are hornless. The wool of the C-type is at least three inches long when of twelve months' growth. All things considered, it is the best grease wool, i.e., wool just as it comes from the sheep's back, produced in America, being fine, strong, soft, and of lighter shrinkage than other fine wools. To be typical the fleece should be carried evenly with respect to length and fineness over all parts of the body and it should extend well over the face and legs. Earns shear from 15 to 25 pounds of unwashed wool and ewes from 10 to 15 pounds (Figs. 136 and 137). THE C-TYPE OR DELAINE 197 FIG. 136. — C-type Merino ram. With the exception of slight folds and wrinkles on the neck the C-type is smooth. FIG. 137. — C-type Merino ewe. 198 THE AMERICAN MERINO Properties. — Hardiness is an outstanding property of all three types of the American Merino. The lambs are somewhat tender at first, but after they are a few days old they are hardy and no breed in America is equal to the Merino for withstanding indifferent care and at the same time yielding fairly good returns. Its dense, oily coat is a good protection against rain and fluctuations of tempera- ture; therefore, it can stand outdoor exposure under conditions wholly unsuited to a number of the mutton breeds. The Merino also fares pretty well when forced to subsist on a scanty supply of feed. Fine-wool breeders have observed that when their sheep are given just a little more feed than is necessary for maintenance, they produce finer wool than when they are liberally fed. Between 1820 and 1830, when the Merino breeders of Saxony received great prices for their exceedingly fine wool, they resorted to light feeding in order further to increase the fineness of fleece. And so accus- tomed were the old Merino breeders in the United States to light feeding that they vigorously contended that liberal feeding would have a pronounced effect toward reducing the vitality of the flock. The twinning habit has not been bred into the Merinos, hence their prolificacy is not marked, nor are their milking properties any too well developed. At birth the lambs weigh about eight pounds. They do not mature rapidly, but apparently their longevity is com- pensation for their slow rate of growth. Sometimes the ewes are not bred until they are well past two years old, but many a Merino ewe is sound and in her prime as a breeder when eight years old. Because of their slow rate of growth they do not yield their heaviest weight of wool until about the third fleece, while in the mutton breeds the first fleece is as heavy as any other. Distribution. — At the present time, Ohio, Vermont, and New York are the strongholds of the pure-bred flocks of American Merinos. Because of the demand for mutton they are not as popular as they used to be, the A-type particularly, but there is fair demand for them in the regions in which they are produced and in a few places in the West. Prior to the outbreak of the European War in 1914 annual exportations of these sheep were made to South Africa. The Merino breeders of the United States deserve the compli- ment of having developed consummate skill in sheep breeding, but they have never been closely and efficiently organized. Such men as Atwood, the Hammonds and the Riches, were extremely indi- QUESTIONS 199 vidualistic and, therefore, poorly adapted to promoting a breed organization. The strength of their personalities showed not only in the sheep they bred, but also in the manner in which the American Merino was developed and promoted. There came to be known the Eich Merinos, the Hammond Merinos and many others, taking, as a rule, the name of the man who developed them, and each individual's sheep possessed certain peculiarities which made possible their existence as a separate family or strain. Then state organizations came into existence under various names, some of which suggested an attempt to gather all of the breeders of the country under the same banner, but if such was the hope it was never realized. What more could have been accomplished had breeders efficiently organized themselves in a national society is, in part, a matter of conjecture, but had such action taken place, surely some of the conservatism, which resulted in clinging blindly and doggedly to certain types long after their appropriate day, would not have developed. In the writer's opinion this conservatism has been responsible to a degree for the passing of the Merino from many sections. Had the type been modified to more nearly suit conditions it would have stayed longer and much to the advantage of the sheep industry of the country. QUESTIONS 1. Indicate the formative period of the American Merino. 2. What circumstances led up to the first wave of popularity for Merinos in the United States? 3. Contrast the work of Atwood and Hammond. 4. Compare the A-, B-, and C-types of American Merinos and indicate the conditions under which each would be most popular. 5. Compare the prolificacy of the American Merino with that of the Shropshire. 6. Compare the milking functions of Dorset Horns with American Merinos. 7. Suggest a breed that is more efficiently promoted than the American Merino. 8. What breed seems to you as most unlike the American Merino in rate of growth? CHAPTER XXVI THE DELAINE MERINO History. — The Delaine Merino is a pure Merino descended from the same original stock as the American Merino, but distinguished from it by its smooth body and its long, fine wool, which attains a length of three inches or more in twelve months. Breeders devel- oped the smooth bodies in order to get a sheep suitable for mutton, and they bred for long, fine wool with a view to getting a product suitable for making worsteds, a type of cloth requiring wool long enough to be combed out so that the fibers are arranged parallel to each other. There are several types of Delaine Merino to which various names have been given. These types have been supported by different societies, but they are very similar and really should be considered, not as separate breeds, but as strains of the same breed. Some of the original importations of Merinos were bred to maintain a smooth body and a neck with a light fold, which were characteristic of the sheep as they were bred in Spain. A notable example was the flock of Counsel Jarvis, but the owners of flocks of this sort did not aim consistently at increasing the length of fleece or at improving the mutton conformation. The breeding which resulted in the development of the real Delaine Merino occurred in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. About 1809, W. R. Dickinson, of Steubenville, Ohio, got possession of some of the sheep that Humphrey imported in 1802. He maintained these in their purity until 1830, when he disposed of his flock-. At the time the flock was dispersed, Adam Hildebrand, formerly in the employ of Dickinson, bought a few of the ewes, and James McDowell, who also had been in the employ of Dickinson and was then working for Hildebrand, received as a part of his remunera- tion two of the best ewe lambs and the second best ram lamb in the last crop bred by Dickinson. These lambs were sired by a large, fine ram known as Bolivar, and it is said that they were the foundation from which the Dickinson Delaine descended. Over in Pennsylvania, the foundation stock was an importation made in 1820 by R. W. Mead. The sheep first came into the 200 PROPERTIES AND DISTRIBUTION 201 hands of Alexander Reed, and their descendants were furnished to a half dozen or more breeders, who developed important flocks, but the final steps in developing the real Delaine type in the Pennsyl- vania flocks consisted in using two rams, one being Spanish Black Top, a ram bred by C. J. Beal, of West Virginia, and used in a flock belonging to the sons of Ebeneezer McClellan, and the other a Spanish ram named Victor, bred by J. M. Miller and used by R. H. Russel and J. C. McNary. Just what is meant by the term Spanish and Black Top as descriptive of the breeding of these rams is difficult to explain, but it seems that Victor and the Beal ram more nearly resembled the American Merino in folds and properties of fleece than the smooth ewes upon which they were bred. In fact many Delaine breeders, after years of experience, have advo- cated the use of rams bordering on the American Merino type, when the ewe flock begins to slip backward in weight of fleece. They observe that such a cross greatly improves weight of fleece without having a material adverse effect on the length of wool and the mutton properties of the carcass. In Volume 2 of the Standard Delaine Register this statement is made : " It is with great diffi- culty that covering and density can be kept up in the absence of all folds." And there appears another statement to the effect that breeding a ram of the class B Merino on ewes free from folds has been most satisfactory and encouraged by Standard Delaine breeders. Both the Black Top Spanish Merino and the Improved Black Top Merino are smooth Merinos of the Delaine type and should be regarded as belonging in the Delaine group. Their distinctive character is their very dark exterior due to a rather abundant clear, flowing yolk that becomes very dark in color when it hardens on the surface of the fleece. These sheep were first selected out from their lighter colored flock mates because they seemed more hardy. As separate strains they are unusually well developed in mutton prop- erties, for they carry even, solid backs and well-filled thighs. Description. — The description of the C-type American Merino coincides with that of the Delaine. Properties and Distribution. — In producing the Delaine Merino, breeders have sought to produce a useful farmers' sheep. Therefore, they are more prolific, heavier milkers, and more reliable mothers than the American Merinos. Also the lambs are stronger at birth and hence more easily raised. 202 THE DELAINE MERINO It is doubtful whether a better breed than the Delaine could be found for certain sections in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Vir- ginia, and farmers who own them in these regions will do well by going slow in deciding to replace them with some other breed. Delaines have been very popular in various regions of the West, one especially being the interior of Oregon, which served as a breeding ground from which sheepmen of Washington, Idaho, and Montana drew heavily. At the present time it is impossible to make a sharp distinction between the C-type American Merino and the Delaine in either appearance or breeding. QUESTIONS 1. What characteristics distinguish the Delaine from the A-type American Merino ? 2. What characteristics in the Delaine were of especial importance to farmers? CHAPTER XXVII THE RAMBOUILLET History. — The Rambouillet, a pure descendant of the Spanish Merino, originated in France. In 1785, Louis XVI, being im- pressed by the importance of wool and wool manufactures in the industrial growth of his country, asked the King of Spain, as a per- sonal favor, for " permission to import from the celebrated Spanish flocks a flock of sheep with the highest quality of fine wool." His request was granted, and in October, 1786, 318 ewes and 41 rams, representing the best that M. Gilbert, the French agent, could find, were quartered in their new home on the government farm at Ram- bouillet, near Paris. Henceforth, these sheep were to take the name of this farm, which was formerly the property of the Marquis de Rambouillet, the famous Savant of the time of Louis the XIV, but taken over by the government during the French Revolution and ever since maintained for experimental purposes. With the possible exception of the Leicesters, no other well- established breed of sheep has been developed with as definite a purpose in view, and beyond any question the progress of any other breed has not been so faithfully recorded as that of the Rambouillet in its original home. From 1786 to the present time the carefully kept records of the French flock have been preserved without a break. It is only by taking into consideration the various changes in directors, periods of discouragement and depression, and especially the recklessness and confusion of the Napoleonic wars, that one can realize what it has meant to keep these records. The purpose uppermost in the minds of those who directed the making of the Rambouillet was to produce a fairly large, robust sheep yielding a fine fleece of good weight and a carcass of desirable mutton. In other words, they aimed at a dual-purpose sheep. In certain periods the emphasis seemed to be laid somewhat more strongly on the fleece than on the carcass, and in others the emphasis seemed to be reversed, but the net result has been a sheep suitable for both wool and mutton. It is doubtful, however, whether the carcass was ever developed quite so much for mutton in the gov- ernment flock as it was in some of the privately owned flocks first of France and later of Germany. 203 204 THE RAMBOUILLET Most of the privately owned flocks of France were founded on stock bred at Rambouillet, and probably all of them secured animals from that source. These were either sold or distributed as gifts for the purpose of encouraging the keeping of improved sheep. During the rule of Napoleon, and immediately afterwards, a great many Spanish Merinos were driven into France and blood from this FIG. 138. — Rambouillet ram, B-type; a prize-winner bred by F. S. King Bros. Co., Laramie, Wyoming. The heavy folds on the neck and the wrinkles on the body back of the forelegs, on the thighs and at the dock indicate that this sheep is a B-type. source may have been commingled with that received from the gov- ernment farm. The Germans got their foundation stock from the privately owned flocks of France, but they called it Rambouillet just as the French breeders had done. Importations to the United States. — Rambouillets were brought to the United States in 1840, but at that time the American IMPORTATIONS TO THE UNITED STATES 205 Merino was coming to the front and the French sheep did not get a favorable reception in the East. When California began to be a place of importance, shortly after the gold craze of 1849, these French sheep were gathered up and sent to the Pacific coast, where they served as the foundation stock of the California French Merinos. Although a few breeders in Ohio and Michigan bred Eambouillets in a rather quiet way, it remained for a German, Baron Von Homeyer, to introduce 'the Rambouillet as such to the United States FIG. 139. — Rambouillet ram, C-type. Bred by University of Illinois, sold at auction, Salt Lake City, August, 1917, for $675. This sheep shows no wrinkles on the body and his conformation indicates the mutton qualities characteristic of the C-type. and to attract the attention of the sheep breeders of this country toward them. This he did at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 through W. G. Markham, of Avon, New York, who acted as his American agent. Baron Von Homeyer's sheep were so excep- tional in size and shape that people gazed on them in wonder. To the breeders of American Merinos they seemed an almost impos- sible creation out of Merino blood. But they were what was wanted, for the wool market was depressed and the demand for mutton was rapidly growing, and just as soon as the country began to recover from the financial panic following 1893 these sheep attained a popularity that has never waned (Figs. 138 and 139). 206 THE RAMBOUILLET Description. — Compared with other fine-wool breeds, the Ram- bouillet is a big sheep, somewhat upstanding, strong in bone, and distinctly robust in appearance. It bears evidence of mutton char- acteristics in thickness of body and fullness of thighs. The sheep with smooth bodies show more mutton than those tending toward numerous folds in the skin ; in fact, many of the smooth Rambouillets have almost as good backs as some*of the prominent mutton breeds. Mature rams in full fleece, and in good breeding condition weigh from 225 to 250 pounds, and ewes from 140 to 170 pounds. Show specimens usually exceed these upper limits in weight, and it is not uncommon for pregnant flock ewes to tip the beam at close to 200 pounds. Most of the rams have large spirally-turned horns, but the ewes are hornless. In twelve months Rambouillet rams grow from 15 to 25 pounds of wool, and ewes from 10 to 18 pounds, but exceptional individuals often greatly exceed the upper limits given. The length of fleece varies from one and one-half inches to three or even more. The wool of the average Rambouillet is not as fine nor is it as even in structure throughout the fleece as that of the American and Delaine Merino. It is also more often open to criticism in color on account of the deposition of gummy yellow yolk. Most Rambouillet breeders emphasize great extension of wool over face and legs, a matter which has been carried too far for prac- tical purposes. Many specimens being completely covered with wool over the head and face are blind, and a blind sheep in a flock or band is a nuisance because it is crazy. Extreme covering over the legs collects mud and snow and hence is an inconvenience. It is time for Rambouillet breeders to revise their notions a little on head and leg covering. The color of hair on face, ears, and legs of the Rambouillet is white, and the hoofs are also white. Either deep or light brown spots sometimes appear on the lips, ears, and around the eyes, and occa- sionally there are stripes of black in the hoofs. These small areas of dark pigment in either the hair or hoofs do not amount to dis- qualifications, but they are tolerated rather than desired. Soft, silky-like hair is regarded favorably, but, taken as a whole, the Ram- bouillet does not grow hair on face and legs as fine as does the American Merino (Figs. 140 and 141). Type. — No standard of excellence has ever been constructed for the Rambouillet and, with respect to folds in the skin, the breed TYPE 207 FIG. 140. — Rambouillet ewe, B-type, bred by the University of Illinois. This ewe is what may be termed a light B-type. Note the heavy folds on the neck and the fold dropping from the underline. FIG. 141. — Rambouillet ewe, C-type. Note the smooth mutton-like body. 208 THE RAMBOUILLET varies almost as much in type as the American Merino. Certain breeders favor very strong folds on the neck and also a few on the body at such places as the dock, upper thighs, and fore and rear flanks. Such sheep when shorn may show many small wrinkles (called pin wrinkles) on the body. These heavily folded Ram- bouillets carry comparatively dense and oily fleeces and the wool tends to be shorter than in the snfobther types. On the outer sur- face of the large neck folds, the wool is often so coarse that it is more like hair than wool. This kind of growth has been encouraged by a few breeders because they consider it indicative of a robust cpn- FIG. 142. — Rambouillet ewes bred by University of Illinois. The strong, rugged features of the head are characteristic of the breed. stitution, but it is a bad fault that should be discouraged, for it reduces the value of the fleece. Certain other breeders do not favor the type showing folds on the body and still others go so far as to object to pronounced wrinkles on the neck. As a rule, the smooth or plain Rambouillets are the more popular in the West because, with their better shape and lighter pelts, they sell for more as mutton and professional shearers object to shearing the wrinkled kind. In Ohio, New York, and Michigan, where sheep with heavy folds and wrinkles have been kept for a hundred years and where there was export demand for heavy fleeced sheep before the outbreak of the war, Rambouillets carrying wrinkles and folds are favorably regarded. Many breeders think they cannot produce heavy fleeces by using smooth rams. An inspection of flocks throughout the country would PROPERTIES 209 probably show that all but a small percentage of the ewes are com- paratively smooth over their bodies and there would not be a large percentage with large wrinkles or folds on the neck. In other words, breeders differ with respect to type, mainly on the make-up of breeding rams used in stud flocks, some being willing to sacrifice considerably in mutton for the sake of extreme fleece qualities, while others insist upon a well balanced sheep as regards wool and mutton (Fig. 142). The Ohio State Fair management has provided two classes for Rambouillets known as Class B and Class C. Class B includes the FIG. 143. — Rambouillet lambs bred by Purdue University, LaFayette, Indiana. Note the small wrinkles on the body which disappear as the wool grows longer. sheep having the more extreme development in fleece as indicated by wrinkles on the body, density and extension of wool over the body and the amount of yolk in the wool, while Class C includes the smooth sheep carrying only a few light folds on the neck and no wrinkles on the body (Fig. 143). Properties. — Rambouillet mutton does not rank so high as that of the leading mutton breeds, but when well finished it is good mut- ton, good enough to satisfy an educated and discriminating palate. Of the fine wool breeds, all of which are hardy, none are more so than the Rambouillet. Being large, strongly muscled, and capable of a long stride, they are able to travel far and to handle various kinds of forage. The ewes are fairly prolific, and the number of lambs, born to the number of ewes bred, ranges from 125 to 150 per 14 210 THE RAMBOUILLET cent. They are also good in maternal instinct and fair in yield of milk. At birth the lambs are strong and large, averaging about 10 pounds. If well fed they grow rapidly, and few if any of the mutton breeds produce lambs that increase in weight more rapidly after they are four or five months old. Bambouillets, like the other fij,ie-wool breeds, stay close together when on the open range, and of course this trait helps to make them popular in the West. But at present they are more popular in our FIG. 144. — Rambouillet ram, Big Chief, bred by F. S. King Bros. Company, Laramie, Wyoming, and sold at auction, Salt Lake City, August, 1917, for $1300. This elephantine specimen of the breed weighed 375 pounds and walked with ease, showing that he was in no wise fatted to overdone condition. range regions than the other fine-wool breeds, due doubtless to their superior size, greater prolificacy, and mutton qualities equal to the Delaine and C-type American Merino. When crossed with rams of the mutton breeds, the ewes produce excellent market lambs (Fig.^144). Distribution. — Eambouillets are still kept in considerable num- bers in France and Germany. Of both the older and newer countries the United States is their stronghold, but they have attained promi- nence in the Argentine, and South Africa is trying them out now. QUESTIONS 211 The American RambouiUet Sheep Breeders' Association is the most prominent organization promoting this breed of sheep. QUESTIONS 1. How was the RambouiUet breed developed? 2. When and why did the RambouiUet become popular in the United States ? 3. In what respects do the Rambouillets differ from the American Merino? 4. In what parts of the United States are Rambouillets most popular? CHAPTER XXVIII THE KARAKUL (A FUR-BEARING BREED)1 • History. — The Karakul 2 comes from the province of Bokhara. Its history is not definitely known, but it is thought that the foundation stock was the Arabi, whose blood has been combined with that of the Black Danadar to produce the sheep in the vicinity from which the Karakul derives its name. It is said that owners of sheep in Bokhara do not follow systematic methods of breeding and that on this account the Karakul can be regarded as a breed only in a general sense (Fig. 145). Description. — The conformation of the Karakul clearly indi- cates that it has not been bred for mutton production because the top of the body is too narrow and too uneven to permit of a large quantity of meat in the regions of the valuable cuts. As a rule the leg is lacking in fullness, the rump is steep, the loin high, and the back depressed just behind the shoulders. It is characteristic for a triangular mass of fat weighing five or six pounds to develop at the upper part of the tail, and hang down toward the hocks. Because of this characteristic, the Karakul is known as a broadtail breed. The wool of the mature sheep is very coarse and wiry, and it is brown in color. When the lambs are born, they have lightly curled, glossy black coats; and in order to get good fur they should be slaughtered before they are five days old, for if they are allowed to live longer their coats rapidly deteriorate as a fur product. Properties. — Undoubtedly the Karakul is hardy and suited to arid and semi-arid conditions. It has been observed in the United States that the lambs grow rapidly until they reach about 100 pounds, which is almost the mature weight of females. Whoever contem- plates growing Karakuls should bear in mind that although thev are hardy, they have been accustomed to arid and semi -arid con- ditions and hence may not do well in a moist climate. In the main, 1 See account of Karakul in 1915 Yearbook of U. S. Department of Agriculture. 2 The word Karakul is derived from Kara Kul, the name of a village in the eastern part of Bokhara. 212 DISTRIBUTION 213 it is yet to be seen to what extent they should be introduced into countries where improved breeds are widely distributed (Fig. 146). Distribution. — Several countries have recently become inter- ested in the Karakul on account of the value of the skins of the young lambs. Large numbers have not been brought into the United States because of the long distance from Bokhara, and other diffi- culties incident to getting sheep out of that country. About fifty- four head have been imported and at present the number of pure- FIQ. 145. — Karakul ram. The great gaudy rump consists of a mass of fatty tissue breds cannot be large. The pure-bred rams have been crossed with the well-known breeds of sheep, such as the Merino, Cheviot, Lin- coln, Leicester, and Cotswold. The best results for fur bearing have been obtained by crossing with the long-wool breeds producing luster wools, and the poorest with the Merino cross. Just how valuable the crosses and grades are as breeding animals has not yet been definitely determined. It seems, however, that half or three-quarter blood rams, when crossed upon ewes containing no Karakul blood, are of little or no value as sires of fur-bearing lambs. 214 THE KARAKUL Types of Lamb Fur. — The fur taken from young lambs is known as Persian, Astrakhan, Broadtail, and Krimmer, and with the exception of Krimmer, which is supplied chiefly from the Crimean peninsula, it is obtained in large part from the Karakul, of Bokhara. Since they have the best defined, most uniform, and tightest curl, the Persians are of greatest value. The Astrakhans FIG. 146. — Karakul ewe and lamb. The wool of the mature sheep is coarse and wiry, but the lamb has a soft, glossy, black coat which can be made into valuable fur if the animal is slaughtered when it is only a few days old. have less luster or gloss, longer hair, and a more open curl than the Persians. The Broadtail skins, which are taken from lambs pre- maturely bom, are soft, pliable, and light in weight, with shorter hair than the Persian, and instead of being tightly curled have a very attractive wavy pattern. The Krimmer is a gray fur, while the other types are black. Lambskins vary greatly in value, according to quality. At the annual summer fair at Nijni Novgorod, in Eussia, where prac- tically all of the Bokhara skins are sold, the average wholesale QUESTIONS 215 value of skins in 1913 was $6.25. By the time they reach New York, the best dyed skins sell in small lots at from $12 to $20, while the inferior ones may sell for no more than $3. QUESTIONS 1. In what particulars is the Karakul different from any other breed of sheep you have studied? 2. Where is the native home of the Karakul? What of its climate? 3. W7hen should the Karakul be slaughtered to yield good fur? 4. WTiat crosses have been made between the Karakul and other breeds with a view to producing fur? 5. What do you think of the Karakul as a mutton sheep? PART IV THE MANAGEMENT OF THE FLOCK CHAPTER XXIX ESTABLISHING THE COMMERCIAL FARM FLOCK Methods of Establishing the Farm Flock. — There are two methods of establishing the farm flock. One is to begin with a few ewes and through increase of progeny gradually build up in numbers until the flock is of suitable size. The other method con- sists in beginning with as many ewes as the farm should maintain in the system of farming being followed. For the beginner with sheep, the first method is the better, particularly if he has had little experience with other classes of livestock, because in the small flock the performance of individuals can be studied, while in a large one observations have to be limited largely to the performance of the flock as a whole. When the flock is small the owner can easily become familiar with the character- istics of the best and the worst ewes. He fixes in mind the kinds that produce the largest, fattest lambs and yield the heaviest fleeces. He also takes note of the kind that remain rugged through a long period of profitable production. Then, too, he becomes so familiar with each of his sheep that he develops the power to detect slight disorders in his flock, and this power is a fundamental qualification of the successful shepherd. But not all of the advantage lies with the man who begins with the small flock. He who buys a flock of the size he thinks suitable for his farm has assurance of keeping his land stocked more nearly up to its capacity than can he who adds to his flock slowly. He also has an advantage in that he can make more economical use of his labor and can market to better advantage. The man with the small flock often is embarrassed in attempting to find an outlet for the few lambs he has for sale, while the owner of a large flock may have enough lambs to justify shipping to a central market. Whether the beginner starts with a few or with all he should ever have, really depends on whether or not he counts on perma- nently staying in the sheep business. If his plans are temporary and his intentions more or less speculative, he had better begin fully equipped ; if he aims at permanence he would do well to begin 219 220 ESTABLISHING THE COMMERCIAL FARM FLOCK modestly in order to educate himself through observing the per- formance of particular individuals. Should he begin with only a few he should plan ultimately to have a flock of sufficient size to make it well worth his while to give it adequate care. When the flock is very small, the temptation to neglect it for larger interests is strong when labor is costly or scarce. Where Ewes for the Farm Ffcck May Be Secured.— There are two main sources from which to draw ewes for the farm flock. FIG. 147. — Fancy selected native breeding ewes, showing uniformity in breeding. (Illinois Station Bulletin 129.) First, they may be secured locally in almost every part of the country where farm flocks are kept. Second, they may be purchased during the summer and early autumn months on the large livestock markets where both native and western ewes are sold as foundation stock for farm flocks (Figs. 147 and 148). Selecting Ewes for the Farm Flock. — One of the first features to consider in selecting ewes for the breeding flock is uniformity. They should be as nearly alike as possible in breeding and size because uniformity in these particulars is necessary if a uniform lot of lambs is to be secured. When the owner has a uniformly SELECTING EWES FOR THE FARM FLOCK 221 good lot of lambs he can market all of them at the same time and such lots always meet with ready demand on the market. Should the ewes be very unlike in breeding their lambs are almost sure to lack in uniformity, even though they are all by the same sire. Then, too, the wool from ewes lacking in uniformity of breeding is likely to vary so much in quality that it can not be disposed of to the best advantage. Second, ewes selected for the farm flock should be well grown and thrifty. If they look as though they have been well cared for and have had a chance to become fully developed, the owner has FIG. 148. — Choice Western breeding ewes suitable for producing prime market laml when mated with pure bred rams of proper mutton type. See lambs from these ewes in frontispiece and in Figs. 75, 85 and 89. reason to feel that their inherited maternal powers will function to full extent. Sometimes stunted ewes are good producers of lambs, but more often they are not. It is seldom advisable to start with unthrifty females for the reason that they are usually infested with internal parasites, such as stomach worms, lung worms, and tape- worms. Unthrifty ewes may do exceedingly well when placed where sheep have not been grazed for years, in which case their purchase seems to be a bargain, but they are likely to infest the pastures with the result that before the owner is aware of it he is beset with parasitic troubles (Fig. 149). Third, breeding ewes should be not only well grown and thrifty, but they should also bear evidence of strong constitution. They 222 ESTABLISHING THE COMMERCIAL FARM FLOCK should be active in their movements and alert to strange sights and sounds. They should carry their heads well up ; their chests should be wide and their bosoms full; their legs should be fairly short, wide apart and placed so that they support the body well. Their whole contour should suggest style, compactness, capacity, and vitality. Without hardihood and productive power, breeding ewes are of little use to their owners, and these properties are not present to the fullest extent in ewes having weak constitutions. FIG. 149. — Old thin ewes past their day of usefulness for breeding purposes. As a rule such ewes do riot have good teeth nor sufficient vitality for growing either lambs or wool. (Illinois Station Bulletin 129.) Fourth, ewes selected for raising market lambs should possess good mutton form. If they are undesirable in form their lambs, even though sired by a ram that is ideal in form, may reach market finish and weight too slowly, or they may not be sufficiently good in form ever to develop into a choice or prime market product. Fifth, ewes intended for the farm flock should have dense, com- pact fleeces. Wool, being a non-conductor of heat, tends to lessen the effect of sudden changes in temperature on the body and the structure of the wool fiber is such that to a certain extent it holds water and foreign substances away from the skin. Therefore, sheep that are clothed in dense, compact fleeces extending over all parts SELECTING EWES AFTER THE FLOCK IS ESTABLISHED 223 of the body are much better prepared to withstand the hardships brought about by changes in weather than are those bearing scant, open fleeces. It should also be remembered that even though wool may be comparatively low in price, it brings in some revenue and helps somewhat toward making the flock profitable. The best types of wool for farm flocks are those that grade from " one-fourth blood," "three-eighths blood" or "half blood" combing. These wools range from two and one-half inches to four inches in length, and in fineness they correspond to the wool produced by the Down breeds. • Sixth, the flock mothers should be of quiet disposition. This statement is in no sense a contradiction to what was said in dis- cussing the constitution of breeding ewes. We are here distinguish- ing between the ewe possessing sense and the one devoid of sense. Reject the fools; they are always upsetting something, most often the shepherd's temper. Seventh, breeding ewes should be sound and in their prime. Their teeth should be in good condition, that is, they should be intact and not worn down short. Their udders should be soft and pliable, the teats intact and free from hard cores. Very fat in- dividuals should be rejected, for they are either non-breeders or so filled with internal fat that their lambs are likely to be small and weak. It is not safe to buy ewes that are lame or addicted to coughing. As a rule, ewe lambs should not be selected for breed- ing, as they are too young to be sufficiently developed al lambing time. Hence, they are likely to have trouble in lambing and to be deficient in maternal instinct. Eighth, the purchaser of breeding females should know his needs and select accordingly. If he is in a neighborhood of good lamb raisers he would do well to buy ewes that will produce lambs about like those of his neighbors. By so doing, he will be in position to cooperate with them in the disposal of his lamb crop. If he has a great deal of heavy, coarse feed to dispose of he can handle large ewes to advantage. If he has hilly, extensive range with sparse vegetation, smaller and more active ewes are what he should select. If he wishes to engage in a specialized business, such as winter lambs, the selecting of his ewes is a special problem requiring a great deal of painstaking: care. Selecting Ewes After the Flock is Established. — There may be two reasons for selecting breeding owes after the flock has been 224 ESTABLISHING THE COMMERCIAL FARM FLOCK established. One is to increase the size of the flock, the other is to replace individuals which for good reasons should be disposed of. For example, it is advisable to dispose of ewes which do not pro- duce regularly, that is, raise a lamb or lambs each year. Such ewes are often the handsomest in the flock, and because of their good appearance the owner may be tempted to keep them, but if he acts wisely he will let them go. Again there are ewes inclined to breed late and out of season with the main flock. When it is appar- ent that a ewe is fixed in this habit she should be rejected, because her lamb, coming late, will not be ready for sale when the main part of the lamb crop is ready to go to market. Then, also, ewes that are failing in general condition should be " culled out " of the flock, because they are becoming more susceptible to disease and are likely to get too low in condition to nourish lambs well. In case the owner replaces ewes " culled out " or adds to his flock with ewes of his raising, he has an opportunity to take ad- vantage of several important factors. First, he should select early maturing ewe lambs of approved type. By so doing he will accom- plish something toward building up a flock which will produce early maturing lambs. This is a matter of no little importance, for the lambs which grow into a marketable product in a short time are likely to be the most profitable. Second, the ewe lambs should be from heavy milking dams. This will be accomplished if early maturing lambs are selected because they are usually well fed on mother's milk. But, since desirable milking properties, as such, should be sought by the man who aspires to grow a good lamb crop, he should know whether or not the dams of the ewe lambs he pro- poses to reserve for breeders are desirable milkers. Third, the ewe lambs reserved for the breeding flock should be nearly of the same age, and preferably from the first, rather than from the last of the lamb crop. By all means, the very late born ewe lambs should not be retained, for there is a tendency for them to breed late and they oftentimes fail to develop into large, thrifty ewes. Those of nearly the same age may be expected to breed at about the same time and hence contribute toward a crop of lambs that is uniform with respect to age. Young ewes are not sufficiently mature to place with the ram until after they are one year old. Selecting the Ram for the Farm Flock. — The ram should be pure bred and of correct market or mutton type. It has already been conceded that the ewes of the farm flock are likely to be grades SELECTING THE RAM FOR THE FARM FLOCK 225 which, if true, make it imperative that the ram be a pure-bred. If the ewes should be pure-bred, it would be ridiculous, of course, to FIG. 150. FIG. 151. FIG. 150. — Pure-bred Shropshire ram suitable for siring market lambs and. sire of lambs in Fig. 75. FIG. 151. — Pure-bred Southdown ram, sire of lambs shown in frontispiece. advocate Ihe use of a grade ram. A pure-bred ram should be used in the grade flock because he carries a greater concentration of blood than a grade ram. When bred to grade ewes his get have a 15 226 ESTABLISHING THE COMMERCIAL FARM FLOCK FIG 152. — Pure-bred Hampshire ram suitable for siring market lambs and sire of lambs in Fig. 85. FIG. 153.— Pure-bred Oxford-Down ram which is the sire of lambs in Fig. 89. SELECTING THE RAM FOR THE FARM FLOCK 227 tendency to resemble him in greater degree than they resemble their dams (Figs. 150-153) while such is not likely to be true of the get of the grade sire. Since lambs sired by a pure-bred ram will so often resemble him, it is necessary, indeed, that he be of desirable market or mutton type. He should be wide and deep for his length. He should be symmetrical, that is, evenly developed. Well sprung ribs, wide loin, well-filled thighs, a wide, full twist, and a deep, even covering of firm flesh are all points of mutton excellence which should be sought. He should be active an:i vigorous in order to sire lambs FIG. 154. — Common rams with shallow bodies and narrow chests. Mixed in breeding. The kind that should never be used for breeding purposes. full of life and vigor, the kind of lambs that will have the advantage in the race toward market perfection. Indications of activity and vigor are bold, brisk, direct movements, stylish carriage, wide-open, bright eyes, wide nose and well-expanded nostrils, deep chest, and well-extended brisket. As in the case of ewes selected for the flock the ram should be well grown, though it is not necessary that he be an unusually large representative of his breed. In fact, it is safer to select a ram of medium size, since the over-large animal is in many cases coarse, and this coarseness, if transmitted, will reduce the value of the lamb crop when it reaches the market (Fig. 154). If the owner intends to reserve ewe lambs for breeding purposes, 228 ESTABLISHING THE COMMERCIAL FARM FLOCK he should select a ram with a compact fleece of good length, quality, and weight, but if he plans to sell the whole lamb crop he can afford to disregard fleece qualities. He can also afford to ignore breed type in the ram to considerable extent. It would not be advisable to select an individual so badly " off type " that he does not show to what breed he belongs. There is often an opportunity, however, to buy a ram of excellent conformation but deficient in some of the " fancy " points of the breed and such an animal would no doubt beget first-class offspring for market purposes. If the ewe lambs are saved for breeding purposes it is desirable that the successive rams be of the same breed so that a uniform flock may be secured. FIG. 155. — Range rams, Hampshires. These rams are pure-breds, uniform in type and thrifty and hence highly satisfactory for range or any other breeding for market purposes. It is well to select the ewes before choosing the ram to mate with them. If they are inclined to excessive length of neck and legs, particular emphasis should be placed on short legs and neck in the ram. Whatever the general defect in the ewe flock, an attempt should be made through the ram to correct this fault in the off- spring. But in so doing, it is not advisable to use a ram with any pronounced defect merely because he happens to be strong where the ewes are weak. Remember that the lambs may inherit the defects of both parents, hence the necessity of using a sire well developed in all his parts. Selecting Ewes for Range Flocks. — In selecting ewes for range flocks about the same rules apply as in the selection for the farm flock. If the range flocks are to be handled by herders on un- enclosed land it is necessary that the sheep have enough Merino QUESTIONS 229 blood to preserve their herding instinct and to prevent their fleeces from becoming too open and dry. As range ewes must be able to travel, their feet should be sound and strong. They must also be able to withstand rather hard conditions. Knowing this, the range- man never selects old ewes. Selecting Rams for Range Flocks. — As a rule rams are sub- jected to very hard service on the range, and unless they are acclimated to range conditions, they are likely to be of little use. All those qualifications which are indispensable in the rams for i I »** FIG. 156. — Range rams, Rambouillets, bred by Butterfield Livestock Company, Weiser, Idaho. farm flocks must also be possessed by the ram selected for the range flock, with special emphasis placed upon activity and hardiness (Figs. 155 and 156). QUESTIONS 1. What are the methods of establishing farm flocks? 2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each method; which method would you follow were you establishing a flock? 3. Where would you secure ewes to establish a farm flock? 4. Name the features to consider in selecting the ewes. Discuss each. 5. After the flock is once established need the owner practice selection? Why? 6. What are the advantages of raising your own ewe lambs? 7. Discuss the selection of the ram. 8. When is it necessary to pay particular attention to the character of the ram's fleece? CHAPTER XXX THE BREEDING SEASON • Condition of the Ewes. — To be in proper condition at mating time, ewes should be gaining rather than losing in weight. When they are thriving instead of " standing still " or " going back " in condition, they are more likely to come in heat and the whole flock will breed within three or four weeks. As a result the owner suc- ceeds in having the lambs come at the time desired and, since they are all of about the same age, they develop into a uniform lot with respect to size. It is also reasonahle lo suppose that the condition ol' the ewes at the time of mating will have an influence on (he number of offspring she will produce, for if she is well supplied with healthy blood and gaining in weight she will likely secrete more reproductive cells (ova) than she would were she in unthrifty con- dition. But should this not be true, it is certainly true that the healthy, thriving ewe at mating time is in proper condition to give the developing foetus a good start toward becoming a lusty, vigorous offspring at birth (Fig. 157). How to Condition the Ewes. — As the time for breeding ap- proaches, ewes that have raised lambs are often in thin condition, l:ut since the breeding season usually comes at a time when the days and nights are becoming cooler, all healthy ewes are disposed to take on flesh if sufficient feed is available. Hence, about ten days before the ram is to be turned with them, it is advisable to begin giving them extra feed by turning them into more luxuriant pasture than they have had, or by giving them a light grain ration of about one- half pound per head daily in addition to their usual pasture. Pumpkins broken and scattered over the pasture serve as a supplement to it, and when fed in this way furnish a means for "flushing," as this practice of stimulating the ewes with extra feed is called. Fresh growths of rape can also be utilized to advantage. In England, white mustard seed is frequently mixed in the feed for the purpose of inducing the ewes to come in heat, and there are also other stimulants, but natural feeds should be tried before these more or less artificial measures are employed. 230 PREPARING THE EWES FOR MATING 231 Very succulent grazing, such as green second-growth clover, even though it be of rampant growth, is not very satisfactory for ewes at breeding time. They do not improve in condition on such feed to any great extent and they often come in heat several times before getting in lamb. As regards other green growths, however, there is no other way of flushing which is more efficient or as convenient as turning the ewes in on a fairly luxurient pasture of bluegrass, timothy, or mixed grasses. Sometimes good producing ewes are inclined to be overfat. They should be kept on very scant grazing for some time before the breeding season, and then, about the time the breeding season begins, }> laced on good feed. FIG. 157. — These ewes being thrifty and gaining in flesh are in proper condition for mating. Feeding the Ewes Just after Mating. — Mansell, a prominent English authority, advocates keeping ewes on a rather scant ration for several days after they are mated with the rams. He thinks that continuing them on abundant and stimulating feed causes them to recur in heat two or three times and thus the time of becoming pregnant is delayed. Preparing the Ewes for Mating. — If the owner wishes to keep an accurate breeding record, he should place numbered metal tags in the ears of the ewes and on their sides he should stamp num- bers corresponding with those on the tags with either wood or iron stencils. Then by turning the ram in with the ewes for an hour or so each day the owner can manage to keep a record of the service (Fig. 158). It is always well to clip the wool close around the docks of the 232 THE BREEDING SEASON ewes ; it prevents them from befouling themselves and removes ob- stacles for the ram in serving. In case ewes are very fat and gaudy at the rump, the wool should also be clipped close on the top of the rump (Fig. 159). Condition of the Ram. — The ram should be active, vigorous and in medium flesh during the breeding season. To do effective service, he should be strong in his pasterns and well supported by his hind legs (Eig. 160). FIG. 158. FIG. 159. FIG. 158. — It is easy to record the date of breeding of a ewe with stencil mark on her side. FIG. 159. — A ewe thus trimmed around the dock is properly prepared for mating with the ram. Feed and Exercise. — In many flocks the ram is turned in with the ewes and allowed to go without any special attention. Such a method seems careless and inadvisable ; nevertheless, it possesses some merit. Usually an active, vigorous ram is of nervous tempera- ment and if he is removed from the flock for a part of each day he spends the time in worrying. Sometimes he may even refuse to eat while away from the flock, and he reduces in condition faster than if he were allowed to remain with the ewes. With such a ram it would be better to allow him to remain with the ewes most of FEED AND EXERCISE 233 the time, taking him away just long enough each day to have a feed of grain. Should the ram be of quiet disposition and not disposed to fret when taken from the flock, it is advisable to keep him by him- self for about half the time, or with wethers or perhaps with two or three ewes in a lot where he will take a moderate amount of exercise. It is not always possible to have the ram in good condition in the breeding season. He may be old or lame, or for unknown reasons thin in flesh. Pie may be fit for some service, but in order to have FIG. 160. — A vigorous, active ram in proper condition for breeding season. him sire a considerable number of lambs his energies must be con- served. He should be allowed with the flock for only an hour or two each day and should have a liberal supply of choice green feed. Whether or not the ram is allowed to run with the flock in breed- ing season practically all of the time he should be given grain, the amount to depend on his size. If he be of medium size, he should eat at least one pound per day of some such mixture as three parts oats and one part wheat bran by weight. These feeds are excellent for a ram at service, as the bran acts as a mild laxative and the 234 THE BREEDING SEASON oats are invigorating. In case the ram is in thin flesh, it may be well to add corn and linseed oil meal to the grain part of his ration, making a mixture of corn, five ; oats, ten ; bran, three ; and oil meal, two parts by weight. Preparing for Mating. — As a rule the ram will copulate with greater ease if the wool on his belly is clipped short for several inches • in front of the penis. Fat, clumsy rams should be shorn close all over the body, as they are more active and less subject to overheating after the fleece is removed. In England what is known as a "teaser" is em- ployed if the breeding ram is so fat and heavy on his feet that circulating through the flock in search of ewes "in heat" tires him. The "teaser," a light, active ram with an apron tied in front of his penis so that he can- not effect copulation, is allowed to circulate through the flock in order to locate the ewes "in heat." By removing and placing them in a small pen or lot with the breeding ram his strength is conserved and he can breed many more ewes than would other- wise be possible (Fig. 161). By smearing a paint, non- injurious to the wool, between the fore legs of the ram each day, a paint mark will be left on all the ewes he serves. This is a material aid in keeping a record of the breeding service which English shepherds use extensively. At the end of every sixteen days they either change the color of the paint or smear it where it will mark the ewe in a new place. Then it is possible to discover which ewes recur in heat (Fig. 162}. The number of ewes a ram will serve in a season depends on his age and vigor, and to a certain extent upon his breeding.* Western sheepmen claim that a ram of any of the English mutton breeds will serve more ewes than a Merino of similar age and state of thrift. FIG. 161. — Wool sheared from belly of ram prepares him better for breeding service. QUESTIONS 235 The method of handling the ram also has an influence on the num- ber he will serve. If he is allowed with the flock a short time each day his energy will be conserved to such an extent that he will get more ewes in lamb than if he were allowed with them all the time. .-• , FIG. 162. — Smearing paint on ram in order to mark ewes when mating. The above statement may not hold for a very nervous ram. A vigor- ous ram from one to four years of age is sufficient for 35 to 50 ewes if allowed to run with them all the time ; if allowed with them for a short time each day he is sufficient for 50 to 75 ewes. QUESTIONS 1. Discuss the necessity of having the ewes in a gaining condition in breed- ing season. 2. How would you condition the ewes? 3. What is the advantage of keeping the ewes on rather scant rations for a few days directly after they are mated? 4. Outline a good method of keeping records on the ewes at mating time. 5. Discuss the condition of the ram at breeding time. 6. When is it advisable to turn the ram in with the ewes at breeding time and let him go without any special attention? When is it not advisable? 7. Would you give the ram grain during the breeding season? Why? 8. What is a "teaser"? 9. Is it possible to have the ram mark the ewes at the time of service? 10. How many ewes will a ram serve in one season? 11. Upon what factor may this depend? CHAPTER XXXI CARE OF EWES DURING PREGNANCY Condition. — Ewes should not be given a fattening ration during the period of pregnancy, but they should be put in rather high con- dition, for the following reasons : First, they are more likely to give birth to strong, vigorous lambs, and to have the amount of milk necessary to make their offspring grow rapidly. Second, being well- fed, and having an adequate supply of milk, they are less likely to disown their lambs than are thin, improperly nourished ewes. Third, when the lambs are born, the ewes should have a considerable reserve of fat to assist in carrying them through the suckling period, for this is a time when the demands on them are so great that they usually fail to maintain their weight even though they are liberally fed. So important is this matter of proper condition at lambing time that in ease a number of ewes are in very thin condition at the close of the breeding season they should be taken out to themselves and given an extra amount of feed (Fig. 150). Feed in Fields. — On most farms, particularly in the corn belt of the United States, there are pastures, oat or wheat stubble, and corn stalks to be utilized in the fall of the year. It is the best policy to make use of the stubble and stalks as early as possible before they have deteriorated in feeding value through exposure to rains and frosts. Bluegrass and timothy pastures and even old clover fields can be left for use until late autumn and early winter in case the stubble and stalks furnish an abundance of food. In fact, pastures in the corn belt can be grazed with sheep most of the time during all of the winter months, but they should not be injured by over-pasturing and, unless they constitute a large acreage for the number of sheep kept, they should not be depended upon as the only source of feed during that time. If the amount of pasture is limited, some succulent autumn and winter feed may be obtained by sowing rye late in August or early in September at the rate of one bushel per acre. In the northern states, however, rye as a winter pasture should not be regarded as a feed 236 HARVESTED FEEDS 237 of considerable sustaining and fattening power, but it furnishes some succulence, and grazing gives ewes the exercise they need. Harvested Feeds. — Ordinarily it is best to begin feeding preg- nant ewes grain or hay or both not later than January first, and often it is advisable to begin a month earlier than this. In fact, it is impossible to set a definite time for beginning to use harvested feeds, and the owner must be guided solely by the supply of feed in the fields and the condition of his flock. Unless the ewes are in thin flesh the amount of grain fed should not be more than five-tenths to seven-tenths pound per head per day to individuals weighing FIG. 163. — Ewes in proper condition for lambing. These ewes are in rather high condition with respect to flesh and fat and being so will have enough milk for their lambs. 140 to 175 pounds. Whole oats are always considered good feed for sheep, but other grains and concentrated feed products can be used. Corn alone is not considered by many of the best shepherds as a good grain feed for breeding sheep because they "think that it is too heating. Tbe writer, however, believes corn has been too harshly criticised by many shepherds, for it is a good feed when used with discretion. If it is mixed with oats or with several concentrates palatable to sheep, it can form a useful part of the ration. Breeding sheep will do fairly well on a moderate amount of grain composed entirely of corn, provided good leguminous hay is fed. Economy and efficiency are what the owner must think of when compound ino; rations. Such feeds as linseed oil meal and bran are usually costly and hence, when placed in the ration, add to the cost of maintaining the-flocL If the flock can be kept in good condition 238 CARE OF EWES DURING PREGNANCY with less expensive feeds than oil meal and bran it would be better not to use them. In most cases, it is possible to keep pregnant ewes in desirable condition by feeding oats, corn, and some leguminous roughage, as clover, alfalfa hay, soy bean or cow pea hay. Indeed, it is often unnecessary to feed any grain when these roughages are available, but should it be desirable to make use of less nutritious roughages rather low in protein, »s oat or wheat straw (and there should be a desire to use these roughages), then it is advisable to put easily digested feeds of high protein content in the concentrate part of the ration. It is better, too, to make use of the poorer roughages before lambing time than it is after, because, owing to the many demands made upon them, ewes with lambs at side should have nutritious, easily digested feeds. Silage.1 — Of late years the question has been frequently asked : " Is corn silage a good feed for pregnant ewes ?" Indeed, it is a good feed, provided certain precautions are observed- in making it and feeding it. It should be made when the grains on the ears of corn are passing out of the dough stage and beginning to harden. In the process of making it the corn plant should be cut very fine and distributed evenly in the silo so that there will be a minimum of moldy silage. In feeding it care should be taken not to give the sheep any that is moldy or frozen, and in no case should it be fed to excess. For ewes weighing about 150 pounds one and a half to three pounds per head daily is enough, although it may be possible to feed more with safety. Along with the silage the ewes should get some palatable dry roughage, and they should also have some grain, for silage is essentially a roughage and should not be regarded as a substitute for grain. Because of its- succulent nature the use of silage should make ewes more healthy and thrifty, particularly if no green feed is available in the fields. And in the northern states there are nearly always periods in winter when the fields either contain no feed or when for some other reason they should not be pastured. Silage is regarded as a cheap feed. On this account it should re- ceive favorable consideration as a part of the ration for pregnant ewes. But it is doubtul whether the owner of flocks of one hundred ewes or less can afford to build a silo solely for his sheep, becaiLse with a small number it is difficult to feed the silage off fast enough 1 See Chapter XXX T'X for further discussion on silage and roots. ROOTS 239 to keep it in good condition. In most instances, however, this trouble does not arise, for owners oi' farm Hocks usually have other classes of livestock that will help in eating the silage. Roots. — In England, Canada, and northern United States, roots are an important sheep feed. Swedish turnips and mangels are the kinds most commonly used. For pregnant ewes the turnips are preferable, because the mangels require a long period of storage before they are sufficiently ripened to be liberally fed without in- jurious results. The chemical analysis of roots shows them to be comparatively low in food nutrients. Mr. John Campbell, of Canada, who was regarded as one of the most successful sheep raisers in America, said that there is something in roots good for sheep which chemists have not found. That was his way of em- phasizing their importance. In the corn belt region of the United States and in other regions having about the same weather with respect to summer temperature, much of the growing season is too hot for Swedish turnips. Instead of growing firm and solid they become hollow and worthless. Mangels, however, can be grown suc- cessfully in the corn belt and in other regions of similar climate, but the yields are not as large as in regions farther north. More- over, they, and turnips as well, require a great deal of hand labor, which is very scarce on American farms. Hence in corn-growing regions silage largely takes the place of roots. But if the flock is small and if no other classes of livestock that consume silage are kept it will pay to seed an acre or two to mangels. The writer was taught by R. J. Stone, Storiington, Illinois, that the best yields of mangels are secured in the corn belt when the seed is sown as early in the spring as possible. Silage and roots are similar in that each furnishes succulence, the importance of which has long been emphasized by many of the most successful sheepmen, and, like silage, roots must be fed with care if good results are to follow. In regions where large root crops are grown there is a temptation to save the hay and grain and to feed roots to excess, which, if yielded to, often results in abnormal losses of both ewes and lambs at lambinfe time. Wrightson in his " Sheep, Breeds, and Management " advises against feeding more than twelve pounds of roots per head daily to pregnant ewes, and he advocates this quantity only for a short time before the parturition period. That quantity would seem excessive to most sheepmen, and evidently Wrightson refers to sheep of great feeding capacity. Most 240 CARE OF EWES DURING PREGNANCY American sheepmen would not feed more than three or four pounds per head daily. Water. — Plenty of good drinking water is very necessary to the health and thrift of pregnant ewes ; in fact, some one has made the apt remark that good drinking water is the cheapest of all good sheep feeds. In coldest weather ewes receiving nothing but dry feed will drink from two to four quarts per* head daily. They should not be made to depend on snow and ice water when water of proper drinking temperature can be had. Exercise. — Daily exercise is good for pregnant ewes because it stimulates the circulation of blood and assists in keeping the diges- tive organs in good condition. It does ewes the most good when they take it upon their own initiative, but if they are not inclined to exercise, which is often the case toward the close of the pregnant period, they will be benefited some by being driven from fifteen to thirty minutes each day at a moderate pace. It is not always ad- visable, however, to follow this practice, because some ewes become so heavy and clumsy that they ought not to go more than a few steps at a time. A good way to induce ewes to take exercise is to scat- ter their dry roughage over the ground for a considerable distance. This can be done without wasting feed if the ground is frozen, and corn stover is one of the best roughages to use in this way. Another good scheme is to have the hayracks distributed over a well-drained and well-bedded open lot. In moving from one rack to another the ewes get about all the exercise they need. Still another scheme is to have a feed lot some distance from the place where the ewes are kept the greater part of the time and to give them a little feed in this lot each day. They go to and from this lot of their own accord and hence get exercise in a manner which is good for them. The writer has found that corn stover set up in the form of a huge shock in a lot of this sort serves as a strong objective for the ewes and they feed upon it without causing excessive waste. All violent exercise should be avoided, particularly after their pregnant condition becomes apparent. Few things can be more disastrous to the prospective lamb crop than to have the ewes chased by dogs. The effects of such an experience are abortion and defec- tive lambs. It is a mistake to allow pregnant ewes to walk through deep stiff mud. In so doing there is danger of straining to such an extent that abortions may result. The same thing may occur SHELTER 241 if ewes are made to jump over obstacles or if they are allowed to crowd through narrow doors (Fig. 164). Shelter. — It is necessary to protect pregnant ewes from the cold rains of autumn and winter. Many people make the mistake of not housing their ewes until they have become wet, when practically all of the damage has been done. As soon as it begins to rain they should be driven to shelter and kept there until the storm is over. Snow, unless very wet and heavy, does little harm to ewes because FIG. 164. — Ewes advanced in pregnancy should travel at a leisurely gait. they shake off that which collects on their backs. As a rule, they like to bed down in a deep, dry snow, and generally they may do so without injurious results. The barn or shed provided for ewes should be well ventilated but free from strong draughts that blow directly on them. The floor should be dry, and the surrounding lots should be well drained. 16 242 CARE OF EWES DURING PREGNANCY During the pregnant period there should be no particular effort to make the shelter warm, as the chief danger with respect to tem- perature lies in making it too warm (Fig. 165). The Ram. — As to what should be done with the ram after breeding season depends upon his disposition and behavior toward the ewes. If he becomes " bossy " and butts and crowds them about lie should be removed and placed fh a separate pen. In case the owner prefers not to have very late bom lambs in his flock it will FIG. 165. — A good barn for pregnant ewes — note the wide doors. be necessary, of course, to take the ram from the flock after the breeding season is considered closed unless it is certain that all of the ewes are with lamb. Rations for Pregnant Ewes. — The following tabulations indi- cate the amount of feed given to pregnant ewes in various experiments. (a) From the Illinois Station : Table 1. — The ewes in this experiment were two-year-old west- erns, weighing 100 pounds. They were on experiment for 84 days previous to the time they began lambing. All feeds tabulated aro given in pounds and refer to the daily feed per ewe : RATIONS FOR PREGNANT EWES 243 Ration No. 1 Ration No. 2 Corn silage 9 Corn silage 2 Clover hay , 2.0 Clover hay 4 Daily gain 0.1 Pasture in old clover field and in corn stalks. Daily gain 00 Ration No. 3 Corn silage 5 Clover hay 7 Pasture in corn stalks. Daily gain 07 Table 2. — The ewes in this experiment were three-year-old west- erns, weighing 115 pounds, and they were fed for 100 days previous to the time they began lambing. Ration No. 4 Ration No. 5 Shelled corn 55 Cottonseed meal ,. .125 Alfalfa hay 2.5 Alfalfa hay 2.5 Daily gain 25 Daily gain 15 Table 3. — The ewes in this experiment were four-year-old west- erns, weighing 115 pounds. They were fed for 114 days previous to the time they began lambing. Ration No. 6 Ration No. 7 Shelled corn 25 Shelled corn 30 Alfalfa hay 2.50 Alfalfa hay 1.50 Daily gain 17 Oat straw 1.25 Daily gain 08 Ration No. 8 Shelled corn 06 Bluegrass pasture and corn stalks. Alfalfa hay 80 Very little grain and roughage fed Oat straw 25 in the barn until the last 40 days. Daily gain 07 (b) From the Annual Report of the Wisconsin Station for 1902 : Table 4. — The average weight of the ewes was 145 and 147 pounds. Ration No. 9 Ration No. 10 Shelled corn 5 whole oats 5 Corn silage 2.5 Corn silage 2.5 Mixed hay 2.0 Mixed hay 2.0 Daily gain .23 Daily gain 23 244 CARE OF EWES DURING PREGNANCY Ration No. 11 Wheat bran 5 Corn silage 2.5 Mixed hay 2.0 Ration No. 12 Dried brewers' grains 5 Corn silage 2.5 Mixed hay 2.0 Daily gain 20 Daily gain 24 (c) From the Indiana Station, Bulletin 147. natives, weighing about 160 pounds : 2 Table 5. — Feeding period, 90 days. The ewes were Ration No. 13 Oats 35 Corn silage 1.70 Mixed hay 2.96 Daily gain 16 Ration No. 14 Oats 35 Corn stover 90 Mixed hay 3.10 Daily gain 12 Table 6.— Feeding period, 130 days. Ration No. 15 ( oats — 2 parts ) Gram J COrn— 1 part > L35 ( bran — 1 part ) Clover hay 3.17 Corn silage 3.95 Daily gain 18 Ration No. 16 ( oats — 2 parts ^ Grain J bran— 1 part >• • 1-57 ( corn — 1 part ) Clover hay 4.78 Daily gain 14 Table 7. — Feeding period, 120 days. Ration No. 17 ( oats — 2 parts } Grain J bran— 1 part > • • • i-05 ( corn — 1 part ) Clover hay ... 2.53 Corn silage 4.59 Daily gain 17 Ration No. 18 ( oats — 2 parts ) Grain J bran— 1 part >- 1-04 ( corn — 1 part ) Clover hay 4.00 Daily gain 14 Writer's estimate. QUESTIONS 245 QUESTIONS 1. What pasture crops can be utilized to good advantage by pregnant ewes in the fall? 2. Of what value is rye as a late fall and winter pasture crop for pregnant ewes ? 3. Is it advisable to feed the ewes grain during the period of pregnancy? 4. How should the owner be guided with regard to feeding harvested feeds to pregnant ewes ? 5. What is the average grain requirement for a pregnant ewe for one day? 6. Discuss the value of corn as a feed for pregnant ewes. 7. What precautions should be taken in making and feeding silage? S. Why are roots important as a sheep feed? 0. Outline a method whereby the ewes will receive plenty of exercise dur- ing the period of pregnancy. 10. When is shelter necessary for sheep? 11. Under what circumstances should the ram be removed from the flock as soon as the breeding season is over? CHAPTER XXXII THE LAMBING PERIOD Preparation for Lambing. — Quarters. — Lambing is usually conducted under shelter and more space is needed for the flock at this period than at any other time of the year. It should be broken up into smaller divisions and ewes should be taken from the flock and penned with their offspring. Under such circumstances every nook and corner of the barn is occupied. If lambs are born in cold weather warm quarters are a necessity. The young lamb is most in need of a warm place immediately after it is born, because it is wet and, not having had a fill of its mother's milk, is more susceptible to the cold than at any other time. When the weather is cold, the ewes almost due to lamb should be placed in the warmest part of the barn and watched very closely. If it is very cold it is well to place a comparatively large number together so that the heat from their bodies will furnish enough warmth for new-born lambs. The barn, as a whole, may be too open for lambing in cold weather. But it should be possible to make a section into a warm room by partitioning off that part which is most protected from the cold winds, and by closing up the cracks and crevices that admit the cold. Such a room will be warm enough unless the weather should be extremely cold, in which case boards can be nailed about four inches from the walls of the room and straw stuffed in between them and the walls. In the attempt to make the room warm pro- vision for ventilation should not be overlooked (Fig. 166). Lambing Pens.1 — The lambing pen is a necessary part of the equipment for early lambing. Before or soon after a ewe has lambed she should be placed in a pen about four feet square and having no openings large enough to allow the lamb to escape. In this small pen the ewe and her lamb become acquainted and accustomed to each other much more quickly than they do when they are with the flock, for upon first getting to its feet the lamb is without its " bear- 1For construction of lambing pens see chapter on "Buildings and Equipment." 246 SUPPLIES 247 ings " and is inclined to wander wherever its legs will take it. It is such an awkward little thing that the ewe has difficulty in getting it to nurse and in protecting it. It is likely to be bunted over or trampled by other ewes, or it may creep under a trough or through an opening and become chilled. Should the ewe have two lambs they may wander apart so that she cannot give adequate attention to either. Under these circumstances she tends to abandon one and give her undivided attention to the other, the result being that the shepherd has a disclaimed lamb to deal with. Thus it is apparent that the small enclosure, known as the lambing pen, is effective because it keeps mother and offspring together. It is effective also FIG. 166. — An open-shed type of shelter with lambing apartment for cold weather. (From Kentucky Agricultural College.) because it directs the attention of the shepherd to the ewe and her lamb, should anything be wrong with them, more quickly than if they were with the whole flock or a portion of it. And if they need his special attention he can care for them more easily when they are in the lambing pen (Fig. 167). How long the ewe and her lamb should be left in the lambing pen depends on the readiness with which they become accustomed to each other and on the strength of the lamb. As a rule they can be placed with the other ewes and lambs when the lamb is three or four days old. Supplies. — There are a, few drugs and appliances which should be secured before the lambing season starts. The more important drugs are carbolic acid or liquid sheep dip, to be used as a deodorant and disinfectant ; epsom salts, castor oil, and raw linseed oil, to be 248 THE LAMBING PERIOD used as physic; olive oil (sweet oil), to form the body of useful lotions ; fluid extract of belladonna for dilation of parts ; sweet spirits of nitre for urinary troubles ; tincture of iron, gentian and ginger, to be used as a tonic ; soap to be used in making an enema for animals suffering from constipation ; vaseline to use on the hand if it is neces- sary to give the ewe assistance in lambing; a mixture of lead acetate, zinc sulfate and boric acid to be use6 on inflamed udders; and tinc- ture of iodine, to be used on umbilical cords and swollen udders. FIG. 167. — A lambing pen showing an arrangement for converting it into a lamb creep. When used as lambing peri, the larger opening is closed with the wide board. The following appliances (Figs. 168, 169) are important: Rub- ber nipples, a glass graduate sufficiently small that a nipple can be slipped over it, small necked bottles, a small and a large syringe, a funnel, three or four feet of half-inch rubber tubing, a sheep pelt with a good lot of wool on it, a large jug, and facilities for heating water. The small graduate is useful in case the lamb will not nurse from the teat or if the ewe has very little milk. By milking into the graduate and adjusting the nipple the lamb can be given a little milk without delay. This cannot be done so easily with a bottle, but in case a rather large amount of milk is to be fed the bottle is prefer- able. The large syringe is needed in case the ewe should need injec- tions or " flushing out," as are also the funnel and rubber tubing. SUPPLIES FIG. 168. 249 FIG. 169. FIG. 168. — Appliances for lambing. 1, syringe with long small nozzle—suitable for treating lambs or grown sheep with injections; 2, swan-bill nipple; 3, rubber piping; 4, small glass graduate over which a nipple may be placed; 5, a type of docking iron; 6, drenching or nursing bottle; 7, syringe with large nozzle — suitable for drenching or giving injections to grown sheep. FIG. 169. — Appliances useful around the sheep barn at nearly all times in the year. 1, sheep shears; 2, knife for trimming feet; 3, punch for making holes in ears, or for notching ears; 4, pruning shears— suitable for trimming feet; 5, drenching horn — type used in Austra- lia; 6, drenching or nursing bottle; 7, wooden stencil for painting letters or figures on body of sheep. 250 THE LAMBING PERIOD The small syringe is useful should the lamb be constipated and need injections of soapy water. Warm water, the sheep pelt, and the jug are brought into service in reviving a chilled lamb. The Shepherd. — No matter how good the equipment may be, the preparation for lambing is poor if the flock is without a good caretaker. He needs to be a man who knows how to take ewes through the lambing period and he must*be willing to stay on the job both day and night. It is no time to leave home when the lambs are coming. For this reason alone it is advisable to have the lambs come early if the shepherd must help in the fields when the crop- ping season begins. The right kind of a shepherd has the confidence of his flock ; he knows when lambing is to begin; he sees to it that there are no openings in the barn walls close to the ground that are large enough to let a young lamb creep through ; and he keeps his flock where pigs can not get to it, for he knows what a dainty morsel a young lamb is for a pig (Fig. 170). Caring for the Ewe. — Before Parturition. — During the last days of pregnancy the ewe should be where she can be quiet and contented. She should have plenty of room so that all jamming and crowding can be avoided. Her ration should consist mainly of clean, palatable roughage, such as clover hay. A little grain and succulent feed will do her no harm, but it is dangerous to be gen- erous as to quantity of grain, as some who have neglected their ewes are inclined to do, because milk fever may develop after parturition. When the ewe is very woolly about the udder she should be sheared in order to allow the lamb to get to the teats. A new-born lamb will suck a lock of wool almost as readily as it will the teat, and thus lead the shepherd to believe it is getting its feed. But an experienced shepherd cannot be fooled in this way, and it may not be necessary to shear the udder until after the lamb has come. It is not advisable to shear off a large amount of wool because the udder may be injured from exposure to cold. FIG. 170. — The good shepherd has the confidence of his flock. CARE DURING PARTURITION 251 Care During Parturition. — It is easy to tell when the time for giving birth to the lamb has arrived. The ewe becomes uneasy and paces about or turns around a great deal. She is very likely to paw at the bedding with her fore feet and if she is possessed of a great deal of mother instinct, she looks about and bleats for her lamb. In advance of any of these indications, however, the physical appear- ance of the ewe often shows that the time of parturition is very near, for she is usually abnormally sunken in front of the hips and on the rump at either side of the spine. When the ewe is of the right conformation, vigorous, and in good condition as a result of proper care, she seldom has difficulty in lambing unless the lamb is not in proper position for birth. Dur- ing the first stages of labor she should not be disturbed, but she should be helped if she labors hard and shows little progress after the normal lapse of time. Or if she quits laboring for a longer period than the normal intermission between the recurrence of labor pains an examination should be made to see whether the lamb is alive and in normal position. If it is in normal position the fore feet are coming first and the nose is placed down snug on the fore legs. Occasionally the head is back over the shoulders, or one leg is back, or the body -is doubled up with the back coming first. If possible the shepherd should insert his hand, push the lamb back and get it into normal position. Before this is done the shepherd should take proper precautions to guard against the infection of either the ewe or himself by trimming his nails close and bathing his hand and arm in disinfectant. He should also grease them with vaseline to make the entrance easier. It is usually easier to introduce the hand if the head of the ewe is lower than her rump. In case the pressure of her labor is too great to permit the introduction of the hand it is advisable to elevate her rear parts high enough to cause the lamb to fall back into the womb. If this takes place it will then be compara- tively easy to introduce the hand. After the lamb is placed in normal position birth will probably be effected without further diffi- culty. If it is found that the breech is coming first it may not be necessary to put the lamb in normal position, as it is often possible . to safely deliver it when it is in this position by getting hold of the hind legs and pulling steadily outward and downward toward the udder (Fig. 171). Frequently ewes have trouble in lambing because the lamb is too large to pass through the parts. If the attendant can get the fore 252 THE LAMBING PERIOD legs and head delivered it is usually comparatively easy to complete the birth, although there are cases where the shoulders are so large that it is hard to get them through. One of the best ways to assist in the delivery of the head is to pull steadily on the fore legs and press in on the vulva just back of the lamb's head. Professor Kleinheinz,2 of the University of Wisconsin, says that he has found it to be of assistance to smear rifw linseed oil in the outer part of the vagina just above the lamb's head. This makes the interior of the vagina more slippery and serves to dilate it further. After FIG. 171. — Proper position of lamb in the uterus of the ewe for normal birth. the head and feet are delivered, the shepherd should pull on the fore legs outward and down toward the ewe's udder in order to deliver the shoulders. After the shoulders come through, the birth of the lamb is practically completed. There are instruments for dismembering the foetus in case either the ewe or the lamb is so abnormally developed that delivery cannot be effected in any other manner. This is a last resort and since the life of the ewe is the whole consideration great care should be taken to avoid such injury to the womb as will cause her death. Just before starting to operate the instruments should be sterilized and 2 See "Sheep Management and Breeds of Sheep," by Kleinheinz. WATER 253 the hands of the operator thoroughly disinfected with a two per cent solution of carbolic acid or some other good disinfectant. Every shepherd should realize the importance of skill in de- livering the lamb. In pure-bred flocks, particularly where it is nearly always advisable to retain good breeding ewes long after they have begun to decline in vigor, the ability to know when things are not going right in lambing and the further ability to make them right are invaluable. Some are blessed more than others with the natural ability of knowing what to do and how to do it, but it requires much practice on the part of any one to develop the skill necessary to deal successfully with the various emergencies that arise. Dia- grams and written descriptions will give some assistance, of course, but the skill is developed by actually handling cases. After Parturition. — -For several days after the lamb is born the shepherd should keep the ewe under close observation. He should see to it that she casts the placenta (after birth) ; that her bowels and udder are in good condition; that she is not exposed to cold draughts, and that she is properly provided with drink and sound, easily digested feed. Feed. — AVhen the ewe is in good condition it is well to feed grain sparingly or not at all for the first three or four days after the lamb is born, but if she is in thin condition and has very little milk it may be advisable to begin giving her grain when the lamb is only a few hours old. Sometimes the ewe has no appetite, in which case she should be offered the most palatable and most easily digested feeds such as bran, linseed oil meal, and the very best clover or alfalfa hay. Loss of appetite for a few hours may not be a serious matter, but if the ewe continues to have no desire for feed the shep- herd should note whether or not her bowels are in good condition. A good physic with 4 ounces of raw linseed oil or 4 ounces of epsom salts 3 often brings a ewe to her feed in a short time, and a teaspoon each of tincture of gentian and ginger in a half pint of tepid water given three times daily will stimulate her appetite. If she is thin in flesh a teaspoon of tincture of iron added to each dose may assist in building her up so that she can take care of her lamb. Water. — Since she is usually in a feverish condition the ewe is very thirsty just after parturition and, although she should be 3A quick acting physic is made by mixing 2 ounces of raw linseed or castor oil with 4 ounces of Epsom salts. An injection of soapy water is good in case the ewe is constipated. 254 THE LAMBING PERIOD allowed to drink, she should not be permitted to take a large " fill " of water. She should not be given very cold water, and if the shepherd has the time one of the best ways to treat her with respect to drink is to give her about a quart of almost tepid water at intervals of about two hours until her thirst is satisfied. Caring for the Ewe That Has Had Difficulty in Lambing. — The ewe that has considerable difficulty in lambing is likely to be- come very weak and in need of a stimulant. Two tablespoonfuls of whiskey or gin in a little water are the stimulants most often given by professional shepherds. If the ewe fails to regain her strength the dose 'should be repeated after about an hour. A ewe that has assistance in lambing is likely to be more or less lacerated inwardly, and hence in need of something soothing and healing for the torn places. A good remedy is a wash composed of one-half ounce zinc sulfate and two ounces of tincture of opium in a quart of water. If the ewe is lacerated or if she fails to cast the afterbirth soon after the lamb is born she should be " flushed " once or twice daily with the zinc sulfate and opium wash or with a care- fully prepared one per cent solution of carbolic acid or other suitable disinfectant. A disinfectant rather than the zinc sulfate-opium wash is advisable if there is an offensive odor. The flushing, which can be done either with a large syringe or with rubber tubing, should be continued until all odors and unnatural discharges have ceased. In case the tubing is used the part inserted should be coated with vaseline. The other end, in which a small funnel is in- serted, should be held well up above the ewe while the solution is being poured into the funnel. Injected washes should be lukewarm. Occasionally a ewe suffers from eversion of womb after lambing. As a rule this is caused by great difficulty in lambing. For treat- ment " Shepherd Boy " in " Modern Sheep : Breeds and Manage- ment " gives the following directions : " The operator should have an assistant who lays the ewe on her back and, grasping her hind legs gently, lifts her hind quarters about a foot from the ground. By this method the organs can be readily replaced. The operator should next take a pint of lukewarm water and put into it two teaspoonfuls of sugar and one of pulverized alum and inject the same into the womb twice a day. In stubborn cases a leather band may be placed so as to prevent the womb from coming out." Two stitches across the vulva are effective. UDDER TROUBLES 255 Udder Troubles.— After the lamb is born, if the shepherd does not give close attention to the ewe's udder serious disorders may gain considerable headway before they are discovered. The udder may become very much inflamed and so sore that the ewe refuses to allow the lamb to suck. This condition, known as garget, may be brought on by bruises, colds, chills, lying on wet ground, and inability of the lamb to take enough of the milk. As soon as the trouble is discovered the udder should be thor- oughly milked out, and if the swollen part is feverish it should be reduced by the applica- tion of hot compacts wet with a solution of a tablespoonful of equal parts of lead acetate, zinc sulfate and boric acid in a quart of water. Keep the compacts in place all the time by placing over the udder an apron which can be held in position by at- taching it to a harness fitted to the body of the ewe (Fig. 172). In case the swollen part is not feverish it can be reduced by rubbing twice a day with tincture of iodine until the swelling begins to subside. Thereafter one application daily is sufficient until the treatment can be discontinued. This treatment is also good for feverish, swollen udders. Since tincture of iodine is rather expensive, it woi'ld not be recommended were it not powerful in re- ducing inflammation. Should pus form, an opening should be made in the udder to permit drainage and the diseased part should be thoroughly disinfected once a day with a one per cent carbolic acid solution or some other effective antiseptic wash. If mortification sets in the discolored portion should be kept painted with iodine. Whether or not garget is contagious seems to depend on whether it results from bruises and colds or from erysipelas. If due to the latter, the disease may spread very rapidly. Since it is difficult to distinguish one form of garget from the other it is best to isolate all ewes whose udders are affected. It is also well to wash the udders FIG. 172. — An apron over the udder to keep compact in place. 256 THE LAMBING PERIOD , of the other ewes in the flock with disinfectant and to disinfect the pens from which the diseased ewes are removed. Close watch should be kept for fresh outbreaks of the disease. From instances noted in the lambing fold and from experience with other classes of animals it would seem best to prevent the lamb from sucking the diseased side of the udder, because in the majority of cases the lamb becomes so poisoned from the milk that it either dies or makes very little growth. A very common trouble with the suckling ewe is sore teats. This condition may arise from either of two causes. One is the chewing or biting of the teats by the lamb and the other results from pock-like sores that appear on the teats and on the udder. Should the soreness arise from the lamb biting the teats it is well to examine its teeth. If they are long and sharp the cure may be effected by filing them off. This is not always successful, however, and it may be better to dispose of the lamb than to allow it to ruin the udder of a good ewe. If the trouble arises from pock-like sores, the best proceeding is to open these sores and wash them with a disinfectant. A solution of liquid sheep dip made up of one part dip to about twenty-five parts water is very good for this purpose and a few applications usually effect a cure. The shepherd should watch every day for sore teats, for it is a trouble which appears suddenly and causes a great deal of loss and annoyance. If the sores become large the udder is almost sure to be injured and not infrequently it is spoiled, thus making the ewe practically worthless for breeding purposes. Occasionally a ewe fails to give milk through what seems to be a sound teat. Upon close examination it is found that there is a hard core in it. Some authorities state that the insertion of a small, hot rod, such as a knitting needle, will open the teat so that the milk can be drawn. The writer has never tried this remedy, but he knows of persons who have tried it without success. A teat that has had the end cut off rarely functions satisfactorily. Caring for the Young Lamb. — As soon as the lamb is born the mucus should be wiped from its nose and mouth. It is not impera- tive that the shepherd perform this duty, for it is well known that many a lamb not receiving this attention comes through safely, but occasionally the amount of mucus in the mouth and nostrils is suf- ficient to cause strangulation. If the ewe is strong and possessed of mother instinct she gets to her feet and devotes her attention to HELPING THE LAMB TO NURSE 257 the lamb shortly after- it is born. If she is too exhausted to arise the shepherd should place the lamb near her nose. In fact, it is a good practice to pinch off the umbilical cord about four inches from the body and place the lamb at the ewe's nose before she has time to arise, for then she can both rest and give the lamb the attention which is prompted by her mother instinct. As soon as it is apparent that she intends to care for her lamb it is best to go away and leave them for from twenty to thirty minutes. During this interval the FIG. 173. — The kind that needs no help. His legs are sturdy and strong, his chest is deep and wide and his head carried high bespeaks health and vigor. ewe removes much of the mucus from the lamb's body, and by so doing she hastens drying and arouses the lamb's instinct for feed (Fig. 173). Helping the Lamb to Nurse. — If the lamb is able to nurse without the assistance of the shepherd, well and good, but often assistance is necessary. Sometimes the ewe, especially with her first lamb, refuses to let it nurse because she is nervous and desires 17 258 THE LAMBING PERIOD to see it. When this is the case the shepherd is obliged to hold the ewe while the lamb takes its first feed, but if it is strong and an eager feeder the one holding is usually all that is necessary. Often a strong lamb, eager to feed, but unable to find the teat, can be trained by being helped once or twice. When assisting such a lamb it is best to let the ewe stand rather than to lay her on her side. By backing her into a corner and placing a knee against her brisket to hold her the shepherd has both hands free to guide the lamb to the teat, which should be done by gently pushing the lamb at the tail with one hand and holding obstructions away from the teat with the other. Helping a Weak Lamb. — A strong lamb is up on its feet, bleating and searching for food a few minutes after it is born. A weak lamb (and there are almost sure to be a few) is very slow in getting to its feet; its bleat is feeble and it does not have much desire for food. Often the teat has to be placed in its mouth and some milk squeezed into its throat before its appetite is aroused. Since it cannot stand while it nurses, the shepherd, if he is without a helper, usually has to lay the ewe on her side in order to get the lamb' to the teat. But if it can be avoided it is better not to put the ewe on her side, because the lamb will learn to help itself much more quickly if she is left in normal position. A good fill of mother's milk generally works wonders for a weak lamb. After it has had its feed it should be placed where it will keep warm and can have an undisturbed sleep. In about two hours after the feed is taken it is usually markedly improved in strength. By the time three or four feeds have been taken the weak lamb, possessing an appetite, is about able to get to the teat unassisted. The weak lamb, unwilling to feed, presents a more serious problem. Usually such a lamb cannot be induced to suck, and enforced feeding must be resorted to. If the shepherd squeezes some of the ewe's milk into a small glass graduate, slips a swan bill nipple over the end, places the nipple in the lamb's mouth and pours the milk down its throat, the lamb will gain some strength and perhaps will develop such a desire for food that subsequent feeding will be easier. Occasionally lambs are so weak as to appear almost lifeless at birth. A careful shepherd can often save such lambs by quick action. Eespiration can best be started by blowing into the lamb's mouth and by gently beating it on the chest. After the breathing becomes YOUNG LAMB TROUBLES 259 normal the procedure is the same as outlined above for weak lambs. When a lamb is born with a thickened tongue it is impossible to handle it successfully. Although strong, it is drowsy and utterly unable to nurse. It is best to give up a lamb of this sort at once. Handling the Chilled Lamb. — If the lambing occurs when the weather is cold there will probably be some chilled lambs. There is hope for the chilled lamb as long as life is not extinct. One of the best ways to proceed with it if it is badly chilled is to immerse all but its head in water as warm as the elbow can bear. As the water becomes cool hot water should be added to maintain the proper tem- perature. The purpose of the bath is to start and to invigorate the circulation, hence when the lamb becomes somewhat lively it should be removed. Immediately upon being taken from the water the lamb should be enveloped by a large towel and rubbed briskly until dry. It should then be fed and placed in a warm spot for its sleep. If the lamb is not so badly chilled as to require the bath it may be revived by wrapping it well and giving it a stimulant, such as a teaspoonful of gin or whiskey in a little warm milk. If it is placed near a heated stove it should be well wrapped in a cloth or a sheep pelt, because the air currents about the stove and direct contact with the heat seem to have a detrimental effect. Joe Wing advocated placing a chilled lamb in a barrel half filled with bran and containing a good sized jug of warm water; and Herbert Radwell, shepherd for R. J. Stone, Stonington, Illinois, keeps a barrel half filled with straw near the furnace in the base- ment of the house. If a ewe lambs on a cold night he takes her lamb away from her before she has seen it and keeps it in this barrel until morning. He says he avoids a great many cases of chill- ing in this way and the ewe never refuses to own her lamb when it is returned to her. One important thing to remember about the chilled lamb is that it should be fed as soon as it has become revived. Another im- portant thing is that it should be kept away from its mother no longer than is absolutely necessary, for there is danger (Radwell's case excepted) of her refusing to own it if it has been away from her very long (Fig. 174). Young Lamb Troubles. — The Disowned Lamb. — It is very annoying to have a ewe disown her lamb, because it not only brings about trouble, but her desertion of it appeals to one as being unjust. We do not know what makes a ewe refuse to claim her lamb. Many 260 THE LAMBING PERIOD cases have come to notice in which a ewe has taken one of a pair of twins and has refused the other, an action which is scarcely trace- able to lack of mother instinct. Again, a ewe may be very good to her lamb for the first two or three days of its life and then turn against it. It is not an uncommon occurrence for young ewes to fail to claim their lambs, this being particularly noticeable in ewes that are only a year old when ftie lambs are born. Such ewes are not sufficiently mature to have the maternal instinct well developed. The first duty of the shepherd toward the disowned lamb is to try to make the mother claim it. As soon as the lamb is born it is a FIG. 174. — A lamb blanket used in the West to avoid chilling. A young lamb thus blanketed can withstand rough weather. good practice to take some of the mucus from its mouth and nose and smear it over the nose of the ewe as a case of disowning may be avoided in this way. For the first few days the ewe seems to recog- nize her lamb solely by means of the sense of smell, and smearing her nose with the mucus from the lamb seems to aid her in recog- nizing it. If she refuses to own her lamb after it is dry she may be induced to take it after some of her milk has been rubbed on the lamb's rump and also on her nose. She turns her head to smell of the lamb -when it is placed to the teat, and the odor of the milk being both on her nose and on the lamb frequently serves to estab- lish recognition of her offspring. In case the ewe seems undecided whether or not to claim her lamb, another means for forcing her to take it is to tie a strange dog in a pen next to the one in which YOUNG LAMB TROUBLES 261 she and her lamb are confined. The fear of the natural enemy makes her seek the companionship of her offspring and arouses her latent mother instinct. Use this as a last resort. Sometimes it is possible to induce a ewe to take her lamb by keeping her and the lamb in the lambing pen and by holding her frequently to allow the lamb to nurse. This plan will work if the ewe's antipathy for her lamb is not marked. After the lamb becomes pretty strong and has learned well the source of its feed it will persistently tease at the mother for the privilege of nursing, which helps to break down her stubbornness and hastens the time when she will claim her lamb. Sometimes the ewe exhibits great dislike for her lamb, and she does all she can to prevent it from nursing. She bunts it over when- ever she has opportunity; she may even savagely trample it under foot. An extended struggle is usually necessary for inducing such a ewe to own her lamb. She should be tied up short so that she has small chance to harm the lamb. As often as the shepherd can get around to her he should force her to allow the lamb to nurse, since in so doing he may make progress in breaking down her stubborn- ness. It may be necessary to build a device which will not allow her to move the rear of her body from side to side. As a last resort she may lie down to keep her lamb from nursing, in which case some- thing should be placed under her to hold her up. After every scheme has been tried, from the mildest to the most severe, the ewe may still remain unconquered. But if her lamb is strong and plucky it may manage to get along if the shepherd can find time to hold the ewe for it to nurse several times each day. When it happens that a ewe refuses to own one of a pair of twins the shepherd finds himself in an exasperating situation, especially during the first few days after the lambs are born, be- cause the more the ewe dislikes one lamb the more she seems to like the other. She attempts to give the favored lamb a great deal of nursing, thus exhausting her supply of milk, so that there is noth- ing for the disowned lamb when the shepherd comes around to give it assistance. But if the unclaimed lamb can be carried through until it has learned to go after food when its mate does the ewe will soon be obliged to allow it to feed. The unclaimed lamb can be given an equal chance with its mate by keeping both lambs in a pen close to the mother where she can see them. Then when the 262 THE LAMBING PERIOD shepherd comes around he can put both lambs with her and see to it that the chances of each for food are equal. The Orphan Lamb. — A lamb may be orphaned through the death of its mother or because of her inability to suckle it. In caring for it the shepherd's first thought is to find a foster mother and it may be that some ewe has lost her lamb about the time the orphan was born. If so, the dead lamb should be skinned and its pelt kept on the orphan for a few days. The scent from the pelt will cause the ewe to think the orphan is her own lamb. Should it happen that the ewe lost her own lamb some time before a certain lamb became an orphan she may be induced to become its foster FIG. 175. — Wearing a dead lamb's skin to induce the mother of the dead lamb to believe that, her offspring is still living. mother by some of the methods already outlined for making the ewe claim her lamb. Another plan is to rub sassafras oil or kerosene on the lamb and also on the ewe's face and nose. Every shepherd should endeavor to keep a lamb with each ewe that is able to raise one. Should there be no orphans at the time a ewe loses her lamb it is advisable to place with her one of a pair of twins belonging to some ewe that is unable to suckle two lambs well (Fig. 175) . If there is no chance to place the orphan witW a foster mother it will have to be fed by hand on cow's milk. Several authorities state that to prepare cow's milk for lambs it should be diluted with an equal amount of water, but since the analysis of ewe's milk AILMENTS AND DISEASES 263 shows it to be richer in fat, sugar and total solids than cow's milk this practice is entirely unnecessary.4 Casein and No. of Water Albumin Fat Sugar Ash Analyses. Per ct. Per ct. Per ct. Per ct. Per ct. Ewe's milk (Sartori) 2,700 78.70 6.30 8.94 5.06 1.02 Cow's milk (Konig) 705 87.27 3.39 3.68 4.94 .72 For the first week the orphan should have some ewe's milk. A good way to get it is to take the lamb to ewes whose lambs are not yet old enough to take all of the milk.* The orphan should be fed milk often, but it should not be given a large amount at one time until it is two or three weeks old. On the first day of its life an ounce (two tablespoonfuls) is a liberal feeding, and it is safer to feed only half that amount. But it should be fed at least every two hours. It is most convenient to feed the milk from a bottle to which is attached a medium sized nipple of the rt swan bill " type. The bottle should be kept thoroughly clean and- the milk should be fresh and at natural temperature; that is, at approxi- mately 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In order to maintain this tem- perature the bottle containing the milk should be kept in a vessel partly filled with water heated to 100 degrees Fahrenheit or slightly above. After the lamb is two or three weeks old it is not necessary to feed it more than three times a day (Fig. 176). Sometimes a ewe has two lambs and only enough milk for one. In such a case, it is usually possible to bring the lambs along nicely by supplementing her supply with cow's milk. At first they may be reluctant to nurse from the bottle, but by persistent en- couragement they soon take to the additional feed eagerly. As they learn to eat grain and hay the milk feeding can be gradually dimin- ished and finally discontinued (Fig. 177). Ailments and Diseases of Young Lambs. — Pinning.— «-What is known as " pinning " is the collection of feces at the anus so that evacuation cannot be accomplished. The first feces voided are almost as sticky as glue and hence often cling to the wool and skin of the tail. When this happens the anus is " plugged " and the lamb, unless attended to, may pine away and die. All the treatment that is necessary is to scrape the collection away with a stick or cob and wash with warm water. ^Composition of ewe's and cow's milk (from "Feeds and Feeding," by- Henry and Morrison ) , 264 THE LAMBING PERIOD Constipation. — Young lambs may be constipated. The symp- toms are straining and distress in the attempt to pass feces. Usually this trouble is relieved by injections of warm, soapy water. If this treatment fails, a half to a tablespoonful of milk of magnesia (sul- fate of magnesia) or a teaspoonful of castor oil may effect a cure. White Scours. — White scours are caused by digestive disorders in the stomach, which usually resist from mistakes in feeding the FIG. 176. — Happy orphans. ewes. If they be given clean, wholesome feed and if the nature of their ration is not changed abruptly, white scours do not often occur in the lambs. In fact, nearly all digestive disorders in very young lambs may be due to the feed and physical condition of the ewes. Sulfate of magnesia, given as in constipation, may be of some help to lambs suffering from white scours. Indigestion. — Sometimes lambs are seized with a violent attack AILMENTS AND DISEASES 265 of indigestion. It is marked by great distress and frothing at the mouth. Castor oil (a tablespoonful) is the most efficient remedy the writer has found. Sore Eyes. — Lambs are frequently afflicted with sore eyes. The eyes take on a milky appearance or, in very severe cases, an angry reddish hue. Tears flow profusely. A few drops of silver nitrate solution, known to all druggists as an " eye wash," placed in the eye each day usually relieves the trouble. Argyrol, a preparation FIG. 177. — A milch goat is useful in lambing time. often used as a remedy for sore eyes in people, is also a good remedy for sore eyes in lambs. Wing, in " Sheep Farming in America/' says that a strong solution of sheep dip is a sure cure for sore eyes. He states that the disease is due to the presence of bacteria which will be destroyed by a thorough bathing with the dip in and all around the eyes. A strong solution of dip applied to the eyes is very painful and hence the other remedies mentioned are to be preferred to using the dip. 266 THE LAMBING PERIOD Sore eyes are often caused by the eye lashes turning inward against the eyeball. The remedy is to sew the eye open with a needle and silk thread by stitching the loose turned in part of each eyelid to the parts above or below. In a few days the stitch will come out, but in the meantime the eyelid will have thickened so that the lashes will not turn inward. Sore Mouths. — Scabs and pock»like sores on the lips and nose are also common afflictions of young lambs. Undoubtedly this trouble is traceable to bacteria. Before treatment the scabs should be rubbed off and the sores opened. A thorough application of sheep dip will soon effect a cure. A solution of copper sulf ate of medium strength is also a good remedy, but care should be taken not to allow the lamb to swallow any, for it is poisonous. Navel III. — This disease is characterized by swollen knee and hock joints, and it results from infection through the umbilical cord. It can be avoided by disinfecting the cord with tincture of iodine shortly after the lamb is born. QUESTIONS 1. Describe a lambing pen and its use. 2. How long should a ewe and lamb be left in the lambing pen? 3. What general supplies and drugs would you have in the medicine chest in the lambing season? 4. Discuss the management of the ewe just before parturition. 5. If it is necessary to help the ewe at the time of parturition how would you proceed? 6. How should a ewe be fed the first few days after lambing? 7. What is garget? Discuss causes and treatment. 8. What are the general causes of sore teats? 9. In case the new born lamb gets chilled how should it be handled ? 10 What causes a ewe to disown her lambs? Discuss remedies. 11. How would you handle the orphan lamb? 12. Discuss the feeding of an orphan lamb. 13 Name six common ailments of young lambs. 14. What is pinning? 15. Give remedies for constipation and white scours. 16. How should sore eyes be treated? CHAPTER XXXIII GROWING THE LAMB Importance of Growth. — In producing lambs for the market an effort should be made to keep them growing rapidly until they attain the weight desired. A lamb that is strong and hearty at birth begins to gain at once if it is properly fed, and it pays to feed it well while it is very young, for at that time the cheapest growth can be secured because the lamb is capable of making its highest rate of gain for the amount of feed it consumes. If there are exceptions to that part of the above statement which pertains to cost of growth, they occur under. circumstances when feed is abnormally high while the lamb is young, and unusually cheap when it grows older. Methods of Feeding. — There are two ways of feeding lambs: First, indirectly through the ewes ; second, directly by giving them feed such as grain and hay as soon as they are able to take it. Both ways of feeding should be followed if the lambs are to be marketed before they are five months old. Feeding the Ewe.1— In order to do her best for her lamb the ewe must have good feed in liberal quantities, because she is not only producing milk, but she is also growing wool and maintaining her own body. If possible her ration should be made up of several feeds rather than of one, because variety stimulates the appetite and assists in keeping the body in good thrift. She should have a ration fairly rich in protein, for sheep's milk is rich in nitrogenous substances and fat. Some succulent feed, such as roots, silage or pasture, should be a part of the ration for the sake of the influence on the amount of milk produced and also for the toning and regu- lating effect these feeds have on the body. Too often American flock-owners are disposed to overlook the importance of succulence in the rations of nursing ewes. They rely too much on grain and on fields whose plant growth early in the spring is of questionable value; but now that silage is coming into more general use we should be able to compound a better ration with respect to succulence. On beginning to feed after lambing, the concentrate part of the ewe's ration should be light in nature and small in quantity. 1 A #00(1 suckling ewe gives about 3 pounds of milk daily, 267 268 GROWING THE LAMB Although not indispensable, bran is one of the very best concen- trates to begin with. After feeding it for a day or two, oats can be added, and in about a week corn and linseed oil meal can be introduced. Not all of these concentrates are absolutely necessary, and whether or not they are to be used should be determined by their cost and by the nature of the succulent feed and roughages available. The best roughages are leguminous hays, such as clover, alfalfa, cowpea, and soybean hay. The hay should be sweet and clean, for damaged hay is always likely to lead to digestive troubles, both in the ewes and in the lambs. When plenty of choice leguminous hay is available there is less need for nitrogenous concentrates. Carbonaceous roughages, such as corn stover and straw can be used, but when they are fed the concentrate part of the ration should be rich in protein and if possible these roughages should be used up while the ewes are pregnant. Just how much suckling ewes should be fed depends on so many variable factors aside from their variation in size and condition, that the owner must make a special study of his flock after the lambs are born. If the lambs are born early, say in February or March, and if the weather is cold, making what is called a backward spring, the demand of the ewes for feed will be heavy. If there is a large percentage of twins, more feed should be given than when such ;s not the case. In England it is common practice for the ewes with twins to be placed in a separate flock in order to give them more feed than is given to the ewes with but one lamb. This is a prac- tice which could undoubtedly be followed with profit in many Amer- ican flocks. In the foregoing it is assumed that stored feeds, such as grain, hay, roots, and silage are referred to. If climatic con- ditions have been favorable for the growth of grass or forage, such as rye, and if there is a considerable area of these growths available, the demand on the stored feeds is much lessened. But too much reliance is often placed on field growths early in the spring before the growing season begins. If the pasture is good when the pastur- ing season opens it should not be necessary to continue longer to give stored feed to the ewes. An abrupt change in the rations of suckling ewes may cause digestive disturbances, the effects of which may be transmitted to the lambs through the milk. In spite of the fact that sheep are unequaled among domestic animals in their power of adaptation to grazing it is not always best completely to set them at liberty DRY LOT RATIONS 269 from the dry lot into pasture, for they may get indigestion from gorging themselves on green feed. This is particularly true of suckling ewes. If they have been confined in the dry lot for several weeks it is best to let them pasture at first for only an hour or two a day. Variety of feed has often been confused with change of feed. That is, a ration composed of several feeds is advisable, but chang- ing every little while from one feed to another is inadvisable. If possible, before lambing, the ewe should be placed on the kind of ration she is to receive after lambing. If it is a good ration there is no danger of her tiring of it or of failing to thrive on it. Water and salt are indispensable to all classes of sheep, but their value for suckling ewes should be especially emphasized. When confined in the dry lot they drink large quantities of water, and also when they are in the pasture, if the weather is hot and the grass has become rather dry. In spite of liberal feeding, ewes are inclined to lose in weight during the first few weeks of the suckling period. No other fact so strongly emphasizes the need of having them in rather high con- dition when the lambs are born. If such is the case one need not be so much concerned when he observes them losing in condition and the criterion by which one should judge as to whether the ewes are being properly fed is to note whether or not they are growing their lambs well. Dry Lot Rations. — The following rations taken from various experiments are regarded as satisfactory for suckling ewes. All weights of feed are given in pounds and in terms of "per ewe" " per day." (a) From the Illinois Station : Table 8. — The ewes in this test were two- and three-year-olds from western ewes and by pure-bred Shropshire and Southdown rams. The ewes weighed 130 pounds and were fed in the dry lot for 56 days. The water consumption does not make allowance for what was drunk by the lambs. Ration No. 19 Ration No. 20 ( linseed oil meal — 1 part ^ ( linseed oil meal — 1 part ") Grain \ corn— 3 parts L I.Q Grain •< oats— 6 parts (. 1>0 ( oats — 6 parts ) ( corn — 3 parts j Alfalfa hay 4.0 Corn silage 4.0 Water 14.0 Alfalfa hay 2.0 Water . 12'.0 270 GROWING THE LAMB Table 9. — The ewes in this experiment were westerns weighing 110 pounds, that were fed in the dry lot from about March 27 to May 5. Shortly after being turned out to pasture they were given no additional feed. Ration No. 21 Shelled corn 5 Whole oats 5 Alfalfa hay 3.0 Ration No. 22 >Shelled corn 5 Whole oats 5 Corn silage 3.0 Alfalfa hav . .1.5 (b) From Ohio Station, Bulletin 270: Table 91/2. — The ewes in this experiment were grade Delaine Merinos weighing about 85 pounds. They were on experiment (># days, from December 19 to : e'.n-uary 19, and they made an average daily gain of .095 pound. they would consume. '1 hey were given all the hay and silage Ration No. .>,! (shelled corn — 4 parts ) n Grain.},. >-.99 j linseed oil meal — 1 part) Corn silage 3.23 Alfalfa hay LOG Ration No. 24 (^helled corn — 5 parts I oats — 2 parts j wheat bran — 2 parts i linseed oil meal — 1 part .00 Corn silage 3.30 Alfalfa hay 1.0'S Table 10. — The ewes in this experiment were grade Delaine Merinos weighing a little more than 90 pounds. They were fed for 95 days, from December 24 to March 28. Their average daily gain was .013 pound. Ifntiini \o. .><} Ration No. 25 (corn— 5 parts ) ( corn-j— 4 parts j oats — 2 parts I ,.~ in ( linseed oil meal— 1 part > >6 Grain wheat bran— 2 parts j ' ' Hay (clover and alfalfa) ....... 95 Corn silage ................. 3.26 ^linseed oil meal — 1 part J Hay (alfalfa and clover) ...... 97 Corn silage .................. 3.35 Feeding the Lamb. — Quarters. — Lambs born in cold weather (January, February, and March) should remain in the warm part of the barn until they are at least a week old. After this time they are able to withstand considerable cold, but they should not be FEEDING GRAIN 271 exposed in severe weather nor housed where they are not well pro- tected from cold draughts, for they will not make rapid growth when they are uncomfortably cold (Fig. 178), Aside from food, nothing seems to " tone " lambs and invigorate more than a good sun bath, and in order to permit of every oppor- tunity to have the sunshine, their quarters should be arranged where there is a south exposure (Fig. 179). Quarters for lambs should be well bedded with straw. Whoever FIG. 178. — A temporary shelter; well bedded and comfortable for lambs past two weeks old. Shropshire ewes and lambs on the farm of J. C. Andrews, West Point, Indiana. has observed lambs has learned that they seek a dry place for sleep- ing; in fact, they often bed down in the soft warm wool on their mother's back. Feeding Grain. — Lambs intended for market should be fed grain as soon as they will eat it, and they will begin to nibble some when from 10 to 16 days of age. At first there is a little advantage in feeding ground grain, but after the lambs are five or six weeks old whole grain is as good or better than the ground grain. Sheep and lambs with good teeth masticate their feed thoroughly. Ex- periments conducted at the Illinois Experiment Station indicate that western lambs six months old or past will make more gain from whole shelled corn than they will from ground corn. A good grain mixture for lambs just beginning to eat is ground 272 GROWING THE LAMB corn, two parts; crushed oats, two parts; linseed-oil meal, one part; and wheat bran, one part. The wheat bran is very essential to this mixture because it contains the mineral matter the growing lambs need and being somewhat like a roughage it adds bulk to the ration and aids in developing capacity for feed. The hulls from the oats serve the same purpose. Lambs can be successfully raised without the use of bran, but if it is not to b5 had, leguminous roughages such as clover or alfalfa hay of the very best quality should be used. Even if bran is available some first-class leguminous hay should be FIG. 179. — Enjoying a sun bath. placed where the lambs can get it, for they will take to it as soon as they do to grain. The idea has been advanced that the different kinds of grain to be fed to the lambs should be placad in separate compartments so that each lamb can feed on the kinds it likes best. The writer has had some experience along this line with corn, oats, bran, and linseed oil cake (pea size). The difficulty lay in the fact that the lambs preferred the most expensive feed, oil meal, and they did not make enough more gain than lambs that were fed on a grain mixture to justify feeding according to the free-choice system. Lamb Creeps. — In order to feed the lambs grain and hay so that they can eat at will, prepare a feeding place for them where their mothers cannot follow. Such a place is called a creep. It should be placed in the most comfortable part of the barn where HOW TO FEED THE LAMBS 273 the lambs would choose to play and sleep. If there is a somewhat sunny place, that is the best spot for the creep. In construction the creep is very simple.2 The only point to be taken into consideration is that there are to be openings through which the lambs but not the ewes may pass. Inside the creep there should be troughs for grain and racks for hay. A flat-bottomed trough, nine inches wide, three or four inches deep, with a six-inch HHffiHBSf FIG. 180. — A partition in a box rack making it possible to feed little lambs grain on one side and hay on the other. board supported eight inches above to keep the lambs from placing their feet in the trough proper, is a suitable type. Any device for the hay which will keep the lambs from wasting or befouling it is satisfactory. Combination grain and hay racks may be used, but in most cases it is better to feed grain and hay separately, because in the combination rack the hay becomes mixed with the grain and this seems to make the feeds less palatable (Fig. 180). How to Feed the Lambs. — Cleanliness should be the motto of any sheep feeder, but special emphasis should be placed on this 2 For details see chapter on buildings and equipment. 18 274 GROWING THE LAMB motto by the caretaker of young lambs. The troughs and racks should be carefully cleaned every day, and it is a good policy to scrub them with lime-water whenever they become noticeably soiled. The lime seems to make the odor about the troughs pleasant to the lambs. Any surplus feed taken from the troughs and racks can be fed to the ewes, or used for bedding. When beginning to feed little lambs, only a small amount of grain should be placed in the bottom of the troughs. They are very curious creatures and are inclined to do a great deal of investigat- ing, so that it is not long until some lamb is nibbling at the feed. They are also much given to imitation and on this account often learn to eat through imitating either their mothers or the lamb that first takes to the feed. The writer has induced lambs to start eating grain by quietly offering it to them from his hand. Their curiosity caused them to sniff about the hand with the result that they took to the feed. Scattering a little sugar over the grain may serve to get the lambs started on grain. It is better to give them about the amount of feed they will clean up in a day than to place a large quantity before them to nose over and spoil. The ewes will eat the feed the lambs refuse unless it is mixed with dung, but it is not as palatable as fresh feed. After lambs learn to eat they increase rapidly in their power to consume feed. Whether or not they should be given all they want depends on the end in view. If they are to be marketed as fat lambs, they should be liberally fed with grain until they are of marketable weight and condition. If all of them are to be marketed, a large part of the grain ration should be carbonaceous in nature, like corn, but if a number of the ewe lambs are to be retained for breeding purposes, not more than half of the grain mixture should be corn, the other half consisting of oats and possibly bran and oil meal. Amount of Feed Consumed by Lambs. — At first the lamb eats only a very little, but by the time it has been nibbling at grain for three or four weeks it will be eating about one-fourth pound daily. If it is confined in the dry lot all the while and is permitted to have about all the grain it wants it will consume about three-fourths of a pound of grain daily in the seventh week after it has begun to eat. When it is on grass or forage it will not eat more than half as much grain as a lamb of the same age confined to the dry lot. Green Feed Before Grass Season. — Eye, old clover, and grass pastured before the beginning of the grazing season are good for FEEDING LAMBS ON GRASS 275 both ewes and lambs. Such feeds do not produce much growth, but the exercise the lambs get and the regulating effect of what they consume are beneficial to them. It is doubtful whether ewes with lambs at side should be out in rye and clover fields throughout the day so early in the season, for the ground is very cold and damp. From two to four hours is long enough. If it is possible, however, they should be allowed their own choice between the time spent in the field and in the barn. .Feeding Lambs on Grass. — When lambs are intended for market at weaning time they should be fed grain up to the time they are to be shipped, for they not only make larger gains, but they ship with less shrinkage and make a better meat product than do lambs finished without grain. If they are to be taken entirely away from the barns or sheds, a creep should be placed somewhere in the field where they are to graze. One of the best locations is a place where the flock rests and sleeps because such a place is one of the highest and driest spots in the field, and the lambs will take to the creep and feed while their mothers are resting. Lambs upon pasture should have plenty of shade, and if there is no natural shade in the pasture an improvised shed should be built near the creeps. Such a shed can be built at small expense and arranged so that it can be transferred from one pasture to another. As suggested above, lambs eat a great deal less from the creep after they are turned to grass or forage than they do before that time, and unless the creep is well located they may cease eating grain altogether. The grass is so tender and palatable that they are inclined to forget the grain, and hence it is necessary to exercise care in locating the creep and in keeping the grain fresh and clean. Occasionally it may be a good plan to cease feeding grain through May and the first week in June when the grass is most sweet and tender and then commence again and continue until the lambs are sold. If the lambs are born late so that the flock is placed on grass by the time they are learning to eat, it is almost impossible to make use of the creep. Sweet, tender grass and the mother's milk seem to satisfy all demands for feed. Since late-born lambs cannot be marketed until autumn or winter, there is really no need to feed grain while they are very young. The writer has found, however, that it is rather difficult to get late-born lambs to eat grain in the 276 GROWING THE LAMB late summer and autumn months even though the pastures are very short and dry. In fattening such lambs a plan worth trying is to place them in the dry lot and limit the amount of roughage fed and thus force them to develop an appetite for grain. After this is done it may be possible to give them the run of the fields and still get them to consume enough grain to fatten them. Pastures and Forage Crops.—The standard pasture in nearly all parts of the United States where farm flocks' are kept is blue- grass. Sheep relish it and thrive and fatten on it if kept free from the parasites so harmful to them, but being a permanent pasture grass it is difficult to handle so that these parasites will not be present in such numbers as to greatly reduce its value. It is best in the spring and fall and is not an all-season pasture unless there is a very large area available. In midsummer it is too dry, too fibrous, and too unbalanced in nutrients to be an ideal feed for growing lambs or an economical maintenance feed for ewes. There- fore, it is inadvisable to depend on bluegrass alone for carrying the flock through the entire pasturing season. When bluegrass is young and tender, which is in May and the first half of June in the northern states, it is so palatable that lambs abandon almost all other feeds for it, but later they tire of it (Fig. 181). Timothy is excellent pasture in the spnng, for it is very palatable and nutritious. When it gets above six inches in height, it becomes too coarse for lambs ; when it begins to head it is not a first-class pasture for older sheep. In midsummer it makes so little growth that its feeding value is very low; but should there be suffi- cient moisture, it makes an ideal fall pasture. Timothy is damaged if kept grazed down very closely by sheep, because the grass blades grow from bulbs which the sheep will eat when the pasture is very short. Mixed pastures are not very common in the United States, but they are prevalent in England. The writer has had limited experi- ence with a pasture composed of blueglass, timothy, Italian rye- grass, and white clover. It made splendid feed and was capable of carrying a large number of sheep and lambs. The Italian rye-grass coming on very early made this pasture ready for grazing at least two weeks earlier than the regular season for blueglass and timothy. The rye-grass, being rather coarse, was not so palatable as the other grasses and there was a tendency to graze the bluegrass and timothy too close. By rather heavy stocking, however, it was possible to CLOVER AND ALFALFA 277 graze the rye-grass down and then by resting the pasture for two weeks, it was at least as good as average grass. When growing lambs for early summer market, the two weeks of early grazing is important and it may pay well to have a small pasture composed of some mixture such as the one mentioned here. Clover and alfalfa may be classed either as pasture or as forage crops. On account of being so watery while very young they are best in feeding value when above six inches in height. Except for a tendency to cause bloat, both are good feed for sheep and lambs. There is little danger of the lambs bloating, however, so long as they are getting milk. There are fewer fatal cases of bloat from clover than from alfalfa; in fact, sheepmen are not FIG. 181. — On the blue grass. much afraid of clover, but they are afraid of alfalfa. Clover seldom causes severe bloating except when it is very wet, but alfalfa in any condition will develop bad cases. Some of the worst cases have been caused by grazing in the afternoons when everything except the green alfalfa plants was dried and parched. The danger is greatest, however, when the alfalfa is wet, and no matter what condition it is in, it is inadvisable to turn the sheep on it when they are very hungry. It is said that there will not be so much bloating if sheep are kept on alfalfa all the time while it is being grazed. Alfalfa is freakish in causing bloat. Flocks may have no losses from it in one season and then suffer severe losses the next. A prominent sheepman in the western part of the United States who uses alfalfa extensively as pasture, said, upon being asked whether he lost many sheep from bloat : " Oh, in some summers I hang lots of pelts on the barbed wire, and in others, none." Keeping alfalfa grazed down close will kill it. This, together with its tendency to cause bloat, does not permit it to be regarded as 278 GROWING THE LAMB a dependable sheep pasture. In most regions, more good can be secured from it in the form of hay. How to Treat Bloated Sheep. — When sheep are grazing on pasture that will cause bloat, they should be watched closely, for dangerous cases develop very rapidly. Many methods of treatment have been given, but the one whic.li is most likely to be successful is the trocar and canula. These should be inserted three OT four inches in front and a little below the hip bone on the left side of the animal. The writer uses the trocar as a last resort because of bad after-effects. It punctures the paunch and it is several weeks before the wound heals. In the meantime, a part of the contents of the paunch may run out into the wool and cause an offensive odor which attracts the flies that cause maggots. Kleinheinz 3 says that freshly drawn cow's milk will cure all but the very worst cases of bloat. He emphasizes the need of having the animal heat in the milk in order to have it absorb a maximum amount of gas. One-half pint should be given and if the bloating does not begin to go down in a few minutes, another dose should be given. A man once told the writer that he had reduced bloat in western lambs by putting a whole egg in the mouth of the animal and forcing him to crush and swallow it. Probably the egg, like the milk, absorbs the gas. Another method of reducing bloat which has been employed with success is to put a round stick about three-fourths of an inch in diameter in the mouth just as one would place a bridle bit, except that the stick is drawn up close to the corners of the mouth. A heavy string, a small rope, or a light strap can be used for a head stall to attach to the stick in order to hold it in place. The stick, by keeping the mouth open and the jaws working, assists in expelling the gas. Sometimes the gas can be expelled by pressing in on the sides of the sheep. This should be done, no matter what other method is employed, except in cases where the amount of bloating is so great that pressure may cause suffocation or the walls of the paunch to burst. The Kentucky Station tried a two per cent solution of formalin as a method of reducing bloat in cows. A quart of the solution was given to the cow and a stick placed in her mouth. In a short time after the formalin was given all signs of bloat had disappeared. It 3 "Sheep Management and Breeds of Sheep." RAPE 279 was assumed that the formalin stopped the rapid fermentation of certain sugars contained in the green feed which had been eaten. Sweet clover is more like a forage crop than a pasture. Not much is known about its value as a green feed for sheep and lambs, but they will eat it and it has been used here and there with success. It makes luxuriant growth and undoubtedly has high carrying power for a short period at least. Because of its tendency to grow rank and coarse, one should start pasturing it rather early and a comparatively large number of sheep should be kept on it. From present indications, it would seem that a small area of it would be a splendid asset in dry seasons as in fertile soil it makes a good growth in hot, dry weather. In the corn belt and similar regions, an early spring seeding of sweet clover makes good feed from about the middle of June until late fall. Little lambs and, in fact, old sheep are not fond of sweet clover, and its use is more or less questionable. Rye. — In the northern states, rye is of most use in the early spring months. If the pasture season opens about the first of May, one can place the sheep on rye about March 25. When it begins to joint it is not palatable ; hence, to get the most out of it with ewes and lambs, it must be kept closely grazed. The animals must not be moved to some other green feed with a view of bringing them back to the rye later, for then they will not eat it. In central Tennessee, rye is used all winter as pasture. It is an important factor in producing the early fat lambs which come from that region. Winter oats furnish good forage in the winter and spring in many parts of the South. Rape is one of the best known forage crops for sheep and lambs, and since it is hardy it is suitable for sowing early in the spring. If sown early it attains sufficient growth to supply feed before the lambs are old enough for market. For this purpose it should be sown just as soon in the spring as it is advisable to work the ground into a good seed bed. Three to four pounds of seed should be sown to the acre and covered lightly by harrowing. Being a luxuriant grower, rape is adapted to a fertile soil and a plentiful supply of moisture. When sown in unfertilized, poor soil it is almost sure to prove a disappointment and a financial loss. Sheep and lambs should not be turned on rape until it has attained a growth of six or eight inches because it produces so much more feed if allowed to 280 GROWING THE LAMB develop a great deal of leaf surface. Some care must be exercised in feeding rape in ^rder to avoid bloat, scours, and poisoning. The worst cases of bloat and scours occur when the sheep are allowed to feed on it when it is wet. Frozen rape is very likely to cause death if eaten by sheep that have not been feeding regularly on unfrozen rape for several days or weeks. In getting sheep accustomed to rape, it is best to tifrn them on it for an hour or two each day after the dew is gone and after the sheep have had a partial fill of hay or grass. Best results come from rape when it is alternated with something else, such as timothy, bluegrass, or clover. In hot weather par- ticularly, a field of tall rape drenched with clew is a poor run for sheep. They should be kept on the grass until the rape is dry, because first getting wet and then being exposed to the hot sun is hard on them. Rape has a great deal of fattening power; for this reason it is ;i good feed during the last few weeks before the lambs are to go to market. Eape is often sown in corn just before the corn is cultivated for the last time. When sheep and lambs are turned in the com the rape serves as a first-rate supplement. Being hardy, it is good feed until well into the winter, provided the sheep have become accustomed to it before it becomes frosted or frozen (Fig. 182). Oats and Canadian peas sown together make a good green feed for ewes and lambs, but they are better suited for soiling purposes than for grazing. The peas should be sown two and one-half inches deep and the oats covered lightly by harrowing so that they will get a start before the peas come through the ground. Sow four perks each of peas and oats to the acre. This mixed growth is best for sheep feed when the oats are about ready to head. Before that time the oats are so soft and watery that it takes a very large amount to satisfy the appetite. Soybeans, either broadcasted or sown in rows, make a fairly good forage crop in late summer and early fall. When sown in corn they serve as an excellent supplement to the corn for fattening lambs. If pastured by alternating the grazing in different parts and not allowing any particular section to be too closely eaten, a field of soybeans may be used for a fairly long period. When most of the leaves have been eaten off, it is time to move to a fresh portion of the field so that the plants on the grazed part will have a chance GRASS AND FORAGE CROPS COMPARED 281 to leaf again. A heavy fill of wet soybean forage may cause bloat. As the pods begin to develop, the grazing must be limited to a short time each day or the sheep will get too much of the grain. Soybeans cannot withstand frost. Cowpeas have many of the same qualities as soybeans, but they are not so palatable and they require a warmer climate. Missouri lamb feeders have made good use of this crop by plant- ing it in the corn, thus producing a great deal of forage which FIG. 182. — In the rape at the University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois. remains green until frost. The ripened pods make an excellent nitrogenous supplement to the corn. This is excellent feed for ewes that are being conditioned for the breeding season, but it is difficult to get native lambs to eat cowpeas when other, more palatable, feeds are available. Grass and Forage Crops Compared. — It is impossible to make a clear-cut comparison between grass and forage crops as sources of green feed for sheep and lambs. Permanent pastures are old standbys which nothing else can completely replace as convenient feeding grounds, for they can be, and usually are, made use of in every month of the year. Their worst feature lies in the fact that parasites harmful to sheep accumulate in them. In many instances 282 GROWING THE IAMB they become so badly infested as to be almost useless. Fortunately there are permanent pastures in regions where sheep parasites are to be found that for some reason do not become badly infested. Sheep thrive on them year after year, On the other hand, annual forage crops and such crops as clover and alfalfa are by no means parasite proof, but if they are in a rotation system of cultivation, the chances are that they will not become so badly infested as permanent pastures. In recent years many permanent pastures in the middle west of the United States have had to give way to grain crops. Instead of roomy pastures once so common, are now seen little cramped, over- stocked grass lots. These are undoubtedly relatively less efficient for sheep than larger pastures, because the grass is not allowed to get enough leaf surface to grow well, and the ground, besides becoming badly infested with parasites, is tainted with the droppings from the sheep and other farm animals. The circumstances related above, coupled with the fact that such pastures as bluegrass do not last through all of the grazing season, raises the question as to whether sheep husbandry can be successfully followed by depending largely on forage crops. Un- doubtedly, it can. Prime lambs can be produced on farms that do not have a foot of permanent grass, and the future will furnish numerous instances of it. With clover, alfalfa, sweet clover, rye, rape, soybeans, and cowpeas to work into a scheme for handling the flock, it will be possible to produce better lambs in the central part of the United States than have been produced in that region during the last twenty years. It is possible to raise choice market lambs in the dry lot, and the time may come when it will be found profitable in certain regions to grow them in this way. Or they may be grown on a partial dry- lot basis. That is, the ewes may be kept in the dry lot and the lambs let out to pasture, or vice versa (Fig. 183). The writer would not belittle the value of permanent pasture. There are places where nothing else equals it and sheepmen living in such placs are happily located. The only interest they have in forage crops is to see whether they can use them to supplement their pastures. Docking and Castrating Lambs. — A necessary operation in the production of lambs is docking and castrating. Owners of farm DOCKING AND CASTRATING 283 flocks often fail to do this, but they are always criticized as being guilty of neglect. It is better to dock and castrate when the lambs are from eight to sixteen days of age, as the resulting " set-back " in growth is least at that time. For the sake of convenience, both docking and castrating should be done at the same time. Opinions vary as to whether the operation should be performed early in the day or in the evening, but it seems that the lambs bleed less if they are operated upon either before they become active in the morning or when they are about to bed down for the night. A bright clear day with a prospect of several more to follow is the best kind of FIG. 183. — Raised in a dry lot, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois. weather for docking and castrating; healing proceeds faster then than when the weather is damp and cold. The operation should be conducted under sanitary conditions. While the wounds are healing the lambs should not be exposed to storms and they should be on dry, clean bedding at night. In docking, the tail should be cut about an inch from the body, leaving it a little shorter on the side next the buttock. The opera- tion can be performed with a knife, chisel, or docking iron. The latter is an instrument with a blunt blade, which upon being heated to a dull red, burns its way through the tail and sears over the stump or dock so that there is no bleeding. At present a number of sheepmen in the western part of the United States are enthusi- astically advocating the use of the docking iron (Figs. 184 and 185) . In castrating, the end of the scrotum should be cut off so as to permit drainage. The testicles should be grasped firmly between the thumb and fingers and drawn out. The work should be done 284 GROWING THE LAMB quickly but not roughly, and the wound should be bathed with an antiseptic wash (Fig. 186). There are many methods of castrating and there have been pro- longed controversies as to which is the best, hence, it does not seem advisable to outline any particular method. FIG. 184. FIG. 185. FIG. 184. — Docking a lamb with knife. FIG. 185. — Docking a lamb with iron. The tail should be severed about one and one- fourth inches from the body. Market Lambs at Weaning Time. — As a general rule, it is better to have the lambs in farm flocks come early (February or March), for then one can devote more time to them. They learn to eat grain before the grass season opens and are ready to market whei} they are old enough to wean, which is when they are from three to four months of age. At this time they should still have their "baby fat" and they should weigh 65 to 70 pounds. In regions where the summers are hot, lambs make very little gain RATIONS FOR SUCKLING LAMBS 285 through July, August, and early September, in fact they may lose in weight. During this time they are likely to become infested with parasites, and as a result some die, others lose weight, and only a few remain thrifty and plump. Some of them may be killed by If they are sold more feed is left for the ewes and the ewe FIG. 186. — Holding a lamb for castrating, (a) head up, (b) head down. The operator cuts off the end of the scrotum and draws out the testicles one at a time. The work should be done quickly and carefully. lambs that are to go into the breeding flock. If the owner has extensive grass lands and is not in position to grow grain and hay, he may have good reason for handling late-born lambs. Otherwise the comparatively early lamb looks to be the better proposition. Rations for Suckling Lambs. — The amount of feed consumed by lambs from the time they were old enough to eat until they were 286 GROWING THE LAMB ready for market at weaning time is reported below in pounds per head per day. (a) From experiments conducted at the Illinois Station: Table 11. — The lambs in this experiment were by a pure-bred Shropshire ram and out of western ewes weighing about 115 pounds when pregnant. RatiortNo. 27 Lambs and ewes kept in the dry lot Period 1st Age Weight At beginning At close 2-6 wks. 16.0 29.5 Feed Consumed Daily 2 parts bran 2 parts cracked corn 2 parts oats 1 part L.O.M. 4 .09 alfalfa hay .12 grain 2nd 3rd 6-10 wks. 10-14 wks. 29.5 45.0 45.0 5.9.0 3 parts corn grain ^ 2 parts oats 1 part L.O.M. .3 alfalfa hay C 6 parts corn 1.0 grain J 3 parts oats ( 1 part L.O.M. .7 alfalfa hay Ration No. 28 Sixteen ewes and twenty lambs pastured on 1 acre of rye, 1 acre of alfalfa, and 1 acre of rape Period 1st Age Weight At beginning At close 2-6 wks. 16.5 30.0 Feed Consumed Daily ,2 parts bran .06 grain]2 Parts cracked corn \ 2 parts oats (l part L.O.M. .05 alfalfa hay 2nd 3rd 6-10 wks. 30.0 48.0 10-14 48.0 63.0 .3 grain .4 grain 4Linseed oil meal. 3 parts corn 2 parts oats 1 part L. O. M. 6 parts corn 3 parts oats 1 part L.O.M. RATIONS FOR SUCKLING LAMBS 287 Ration No. 29 Lambs and ewes in dry lot first four weeks; on bluegrass second and third periods of four weeks each. Feed Consumed Daily 2 parts bran 2 parts cracked corn 2 parts oats 1 part L.O.M. .10 alfalfa hay Period Age Weight At beginning At close 1st 2-6 wks. 16.5 30.0 .14 grain 2nd 6-10 wks. 30.0 44.5 f 3 parts corn .10 grain J 2 parts oats ( 1 part L.O.M. 3rd 10-14 wks. 44.5 50.5 f 6 parts corn .15 grain J 3 parts oats ( 1 part L.O.M. Table 12. — The lambs in this experiment were by a pure-bred Hampshire ram and out of western ewes weighing about 115 pounds when pregnant. Ration No. 30. Lambs and ewes kept in dry lot Feed Consumed Daily Period Age Weight At beginning At close 1st 2-6wks> 15.5 28.0 "2 parts cracked corn 1 2 parts crushed oats 1 part bran 1 part L.O.M. .16 alfalfa hay .11 grain 2nd 6-10 wks. 28.0 46.0 ,2 parts corn 2 parts oats 1 part bran 1 part L.O.M. .46 alfalfa hay .50 grain 3rd 10-14 wks. 46.0 60.0 1.0 grain 1.0 hav 6 parts corn 3 parts oats 1 part L.O.M. 288 GROWING THE LAMB Ration Jf.o. 31 Sixteen ewes and twenty lambs pastured on 1 acre of rye, 1 acre of alfalfa, and 1 acre of rape Period Age Weight At beginning At close 1st 2-Gwks. IS 35 Feed Consumed Daily 2 parts cracked corn 2 parts cracked oats 1 part bran 1 part L.O.M. .04 alfalfa hay *.08 grain 2nd (MO wks. .45 grain 52 C 2 parts corn 2 parts oats 1 part bran I part L.O.AI. .40 alfalfa hay 3rd 10-14 wks. 52 72 i 0 parts corn .7 grain J 3 parts oats ( 1 part L.O.M. .2 alfalfa hay Ration No. 32 Lambs and ewes kept in the dry lot and given free choice of the different feeds. Compare with Ration No 30, where the same feeds were given but the concentrates were mixed Feed Consumed Daily 1st Period 2nd Period 3rd Period (Lambs 2-6 wks. old) (Lambs 6-10 wks. old) (Lambs 10-14 wks. old) Shelled corn 02 Ground corn 01 Whole oats 04 Ground oats 02 Bran 03 Linseed oil meal . . .09 Alfalfa hay 25 Weights at beginning 15 Ibs. Weight at close .13 .04 .18 .03 .07 .24 .4.1 28 Ibs. .330 .180 .380 .007 .110 .540 .570 45 Ibs. 60 Ibs. QUESTIONS 289 (&) From Ohio Station, Bulletin 270, by J. W. Hammond: Table 13. — The lambs in this experiment were by a pure-bred Southdown ram and out of grade Delaine Merino ewes weighing about 85 pounds. The lambs were developed as winter or hot-house lambs, and were fed all they would eat from December 19 to February 18 in a dry lot. Since it is very difficult to breed for fall lambs, it is almost impossible to have a considerable number of them born within a brief period. These lambs ranged from 2 to 9 weeks in age when the experiment began. They averaged 27 pounds in weight at the beginning of the experiment and they were slaugh- tered when they attained a weight of about 55 pounds. Ration No. 33 Shelled corn ................ .'65 Alfalfa hay .................. 05 Daily gain ................. 441 Mothers were fed grain mixture consisting of corn, 4 parts; linseed oil meal, 1 part; corn silage and alfalfa hay. Ration No. 34 Shelled corn ................. GO Alfalfa hay .................. 07 Daily gain ................. 411 Mothers were fed grain mixture consisting of corn, 5 parts; oats, 2 parts; bran, 2 parts; oil meal, 1 part; corn silage and alfalfa hay. Table 14. — The lambs in this experiment were similar in breed- ing to those in the experiment referred to in Table 13. They were fed 95 days, beginning December 24. Their initial weight was about 16 pounds, and since they were not intended for hot-house lambs, they were not forced so rapidly as were the lambs in the experiment given in Table 13. Ration No. 33 Shelled corn .................. 333 Alfalfa hay .................. 343 Daily gain ................. 322 n Ration No. 36 Corn — 5 parts Oats— 2 parts Bran— 2 parts ^Oil meal — 1 part Alfalfa hay .................. 325 Daily gain ................. 315 QUESTIONS 1. What are the general methods of feeding lambs? 2. At what time during the suckling period should the ewe receive the most grain? 3. What feed would you use to keep up the milk flow? 4. Discuss the most useful roughages to use at this period. 19 290 GROWING THE LAMB 5. How much silage may be fed to a ewe during the suckling period ? 6. Is a variety of feed necessary for the ewes at this period ? Why ? 7. Give six rules that may be applied to the feeding of suckling ewes. 8. When will the lambs begin to eat grain? 9. What are lamb creeps? 10. Describe a method of starting the lambs on grain. 11. How does a pasture crop affect the^ consumption of grain by the lambs? 12. Of what value are forage crops in producing market lambs? 13. Name six common forage crops and the time of year they are available for pasture. 14. Is it necessary to dock and castrate? Why? 15,. Describe common methods used in docking. 16. In castrating. 17. Give five reasons why it is advantageous to sell market lambs early in the summer. CHAPTBB XXXIV SUMMER MANAGEMENT Weaning the Lambs. — Proper Age for Weaning. — When the lambs are not taken from the ewes and sent to market, provision must be made for weaning them. They should not be weaned before they are three and one-half months old, and if they are doing well, and the ewes are still furnishing them with a good quantity of milk, it may be best not to wean them until they are four or five months old. Oftentimes the lambs are not separated from their mothers early enough. The ewes reach the point where they no longer give much milk, and the lambs, depending more than they should upon what little they can get, annoy them by persistently wanting to nurse. When a ewe without much milk nurses a pair of robust lambs weighing sixty-five pounds or more, she goes through a pretty rough experience that is none too good for her udder, because the lambs in suckling hunch at the udder so hard that the rear parts of the ewe are almost lifted from the ground. In hot weather, if only a little milk is to be had, it does a big lamb, old enough to wean, little good to keep thrusting its nose after the teat under the hot flanks of the ewe. Both mother and lamb are better off if separated. There is a natural weaning period, that is, there comes a time when the ewes will wean the lambs, but they ought to be weaned before this time comes. If the lambs are weaned fairly early and placed on pasture or forage that has not been grazed by the sheep, they are less likely to become badly infested with parasites. This is an important con- sideration in places where parasitic troubles must be kept constantly in mind. If the weaning is not delayed beyond the proper time, the ewes will have time to recuperate and get in proper condition for the breeding season. If possible, all of the lambs should be weaned at the same time, but in case there are some very late ones, they should be allowed to stay with their mothers until they are of sufficient age not to be checked in growth or stunted by being deprived of milk. Procedure in Weaning. — In flocks kept primarily for produc- 291 292 SUMMER MANAGEMENT ing market lambs, it is best to separate the ewes and lambs and not allow them to be together again. The ewes should be taken from the lambs, that is, the lambs should not be removed to quarters entirely strange to them. A week or so before they are to be weaned, they should be allowed to graze on the feed intended for them through the weaning period. If it is not possible to do this, they should be left for a few days on the field to which they are accus- tomed, as they do not seem to miss their mothers so much when they are in familiar surroundings. It is better, however, to have them where the feed is fresh and good, even though the place is strange to them, than to leave them where the feed is poor. Another method of weaning is to get the ewes and lambs gradu- ally accustomed to being separated. This is a very good method if it does not cost too much in labor, for one can begin when the lambs are not old enough to do without milk. A fine opportunity is afforded to place the lambs on the cleanest, best pasture while the ewes are finishing up the old second-rate pasture. By beginning early enough, and by allowing the ewes and lambs to be together only when they are in the dry lot, one can in large measure keep parasites out of the lambs. For this purpose, the plan is even better than the English method of hurdling, in which the lambs are allowed to run with the ewes and also ahead of them on fresh forage. Feeding Lambs after Weaning. — In addition to the best of pasture or forage, lambs should receive some grain during the wean- ing period and all through the hot months. Oats, corn, wheat, and barley can all be utilized as well as such concentrates as wheat bran, linseed oil meal or cake, and cottonseed meal. Usually it is not necessary to feed more than one-half pound grain per head daily if the pasture or forage is good. Oats alone will serve as a good grain feed. If the forage or pasture is a leguminous crop, corn alone will do very well as the grain part of the ration, but usually a mixture such as oats, five parts; corn, five parts, and wheat bran, two parts, by weight, is preferable to any one feed. Linseed oil meal or cottonseed meal should not form the sole grain ration, as they are not suitable for using in large quantities in summer. Feeding the lambs a little grain each day affords an opportunity for seeing them often and hence for detecting troubles before they become unmanageable. Salt and good water are just as essential to the thrift of lambs at weaning time as at any other period of their lives. SHELTER AND SHADE IN SUMMER 293 Separating Lambs. — In case some of the male lambs are left entire, which should be the case only in pure-bred flocks, it will be necessary to place them by themselves when their sex instinct becomes marked. This is necessary because some of the older ewe lambs are likely to breed in the autumn months and also because the ram lambs will cause both themselves and the ewes to lose flesh by almost constantly teasing the ewes. Treatment of Ewes after the Lambs are Weaned. — When taken from the lambs the ewes should be placed upon rather dry, scant pasture in order to reduce the secretion of milk. Every two or three days those that have full, tight udders should be milked. After the secretion of milk has been checked so that there is no danger of the udder spoiling, the ewes should be given good graz- ing in order to get them in fairly good condition before the beginning of the breeding season. Ewes enjoy gleaning over the farm, and after the lambs are weaned, no other run is better for them. At this time they are active and hence able to feed over large areas. If given the job of cleaning up the neglected fence rows, nooks, and corners, they do so with much relish and to their own benefit. When handled in this way they often eat down the weeds along the fence rows to such extent that mowing is not necessary. In this way weeds are prevented from forming seeds and their spread over the farm is greatly reduced. Insect breeding places are also destroyed. If it is not advisable to allow the ewes to glean over the farm after the lambs are weaned, they should be given good pasture. They do not need as succulent pasture, however, as is needed by the lambs, and they often fatten on what seems to be a dry, unwhole- some pasture of bluegrass or timothy. Like the lambs, the ewes should have access to salt and good water throughout the summer season. Shelter and Shade in Summer. — Shade is of great importance in summer to both ewes and lambs. No field in which they are confined during the day should be without protection from the hot sun (Fig. 187). There is difference of opinion as to what constitutes the best shade. Trees, of course, are natural provisions for escape from the intense heat of the sun, and to the lover of sheep there is no more comely sight than a well-fed flock contentedly lying beneath the 294 SUMMER MANAGEMENT widespreading branches of a big shade tree. It is not always con- venient or economical to have ample shade trees in every field, besides, there is a reason for partly condemning trees for shade because they cannot be moved from place to place. On this account the grass around them is likely to become so badly infested with parasites that they are undesirable^ as resting places for the flock. By exercising proper precautions in guarding against parasites, this FIG. 187. —A good shade tree. last objection does not necessarily obtain, in which case a good shade tree should be regarded as beneficial to the flock (Fig. 187). It is more difficult to provide shade in fields having no trees and so situated that the sheep cannot conveniently come to the buildings. In such fields, shades should be built, either temporary or permanent in nature. A cheap permanent shade can be built by simply setting posts in the ground to serve as a support to a roof made of boards. In rainy weather, however, a roof of this sort lets the water through and the resting place of the sheep becomes muddy. At somewhat increased cost, this fault can be remedied by covering the boards with roofing paper. A shade similar to the one above can be placed on dimension pieces four by six inches and thus be made movable. Roofing paper does not necessarily need to be SHELTER AND SHADE IN SUMMER 295 placed on the movable shade because it can be moved when the ground beneath it becomes muddy (Fig. 188). Light movable shades can be made by using hurdles covered with burlap. . Set up such a hurdle with the length running north and south. Then lay a hurdle on top of this one so that the two form a T- This arrangenient furnishes shade for both forenoon and afternoon, and one man can do all the work involved in setting it up. There are still other types of both permanent and movable shades V FIG. 188. — A movable shade. A shade of this sort can be moved from time to time to the spots in the fields that are mot in need of manure or to places where the circulation of air is best. It thus has some advantages over the shade tree. (From Pennsylvania State College Circular 49.) that are quite as good, and possibly better than the types dis- cussed here. Protection from Summer Rains. — Sometimes in summer there are protracted periods of excessive rainfall to which the sheep should not be continually exposed. It is well to draw them in close around the barns and allow them to stay under shelter the greater part of the time. The' severest of all times for sheep are periods of ex- cessive heat accompanied by great humidity. Such periods are still more severe upon them if they are constantly wet from rain. A well-arranged barn is always a convenience in summer as a refuge both from the sun and rains, and an attempt should be made to have pasture or forage near it so that in the worst periods, this can be utilized bv the flock. 296 SUMMER MANAGEMENT Summer Enemies of the Flock. — After the shepherd has pro- vided ample pasture, forage, water, salt, shade, and shelter for his flock in summer, he must still remember that there are certain insidious enemies which he must guard against. Most, of these enemies are parasitic in nature and hence hard to combat. The most common and the most dreaded of these parasites in farm flocks is the stomach worm. Stomach Worm. — The stomach worm (Hcemonchus contortus) made its first deadly attack upon the flocks in the central part of the United States in 1893 and 1894. It was probably brought to this country in sheep imported from England. At any rate, it was a new enemy to those who had handled Merinos, and when the savage attack of 1893 and 1894. came, nearly all flock owners in the middle-western section of the United States were nonplussed and helpless. Thousands of lambs and many old sheep died in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. Hundreds engaged in sheep rais- ing were so discouraged that they closed out their flocks and gave up sheep forever. Since that time, a large percentage of the native lambs sent to the open markets have been badly infested with stomach worm. Being unthrifty and unfinished, they have been the object of scathing criticism on the part of commission men and buyers for the packers. Sheepmen are gradually learning how to keep the stomach worm in check, but it is still an insidious enemy that is sure to bring trouble to the farm flock owner who is not always keenly alive to the possibility of its presence (Fig. 189). Life History of the .Stomach Worm. — To Ransom,1 of the Zoological Division of the Bureau of Animal Industry, more than to anyone else, belongs the credit of determining the life history of the stomach worm. He learned what takes place from the time the worms mate until the sheep become infested, or perhaps reinfested. The mating process takes place in the abomasum (known as the fourth or true stomach of the sheep), -where all of the worms live while in the host, except a few that drift over into the duodenum. The eggs, which are microscopic, are deposited in the abomasum and pass out of the body in the feces. Heat hastens the time of hatching, which may occur in a few hours, days, or weeks, accord- circulars 03 and 102, U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry, Washington, P. C. LIFE HISTORY OF STOMACH WORMS 297 ing to the temperature. Either dryness or freezing temperature will kill the eggs and the very young larvae. The newly hatched larva feeds upon the fecal matter in which it lives until it de- velops into the final stage outside the sheep or host. This is called the final free living stage, and the time from hatching until this stage is reached is also a matter of temperature, ranging from a few days to a few weeks. On attaining the final free living stage the FIG. 189. FIG. 190. A EC FIG. 189. — Stomach worm (Hcemonchus contortus), A, female larva X 5; B, male; C, anterior end of body showing: n.r., nerve ring; c.p., cervical papilla; es, oesophagus. (From Bureau of Animal Industry Bui. 127.) FIG. 190. — Ensheathed stomach worm. In this stage the worm is highly resistant to iiot, cold and dry weather, and hence is hard to destroy. (From 22d Annual Report South Carolina Station.) larva becomes enveloped in a thin, horny-like coat, called a chitinous sheath, is no longer able to take in food, and hence must obtain its nourishment from material stored up in its own intestine (Fig. 190) . At temperatures above 40 degrees F. the ensheathed larva or embryo can move about, very slowly of course, and it becomes more active as the temperature rises. It is very unlike the newly hatched larvae and eggs in that it is not killed even by long periods of freezing or drying. When the vegetation is wet from rain or dew, 298 SUMMER MANAGEMENT the sheathed larvae crawl up grass or weed blades and stems, coming to rest when the moisture evaporates and resuming the journey when the vegetation is again wet. In this way they get up high enough to be taken in by a sheep or lamb when grazing. After being swallowed, they continue their development and attain ma- turity in two or three weeks (Fig. 191). All that is known of the life kistory of the stomach worm has been very briefly reviewed in the foregoing. So far as the writer is aware, no one has yet determined how long an individual worm FIG. 191. — The ensheaved larva of the stomach worm on grass blades. (From Bureau of Animal Industry Circular No. 93.) may live in the stomach of the host. If, as is maintained, none of the eggs hatch in the stomach, then it would seem possible to determine this point, and it would be valuable information. The writer has observed very heavy infestation in sheep after they have been confined continually in dry lots during the winter months. Lambs born in the same dry lots were carried through entire summer seasons without becoming infested. Therefore, it would seem that the worms that were in the sheep when they came from the pastures remained in them throughout the entire winter. Examining for Stomach Worms. — Mature stomach worms are from three-fourths to an inch in length. They look like a red and a white thread intertwined. In conducting a post mortem for the purpose of determining whether there is an infestation of stomach ERADICATION OF STOMACH WORMS 299 worms it is well to examine the animal shortly after death — be- fore it has become cold, if possible — for otherwise the worms may be dead and disintegrated beyond recognition. Before opening the stomach, it should be placed so that a slit can be cut in it which will permit of examining the liquids before they escape. If many live worms are present, they can be seen wriggling in the liquids, and are found on the inner wall of the stomach. How the Worm Does Harm. — How does the stomach worm do harm? By sucking blood from the mucus lining of the stomach. It has a spear-like instrument called a buccal tooth, which it thrusts into the blood-vessels and draws nourishment from the blood of the host. After knowing the manner in which the worm lives, we can easily understand why a sheep or lamb heavily infested may have a pale skin, lusterless wool, very little blood in the veins of the white of the eye, disordered digestion characterized by a depraved appetite for dirt, or by scours. It is also easy to understand why heavily-infested animals get so thin in flesh and why lambs' become so weakened that they die. When any of the above symptoms appear, an examination should be made to ascertain whether the worms are present even if it involves killing one or two of the most suspected animals. If an animal is heavily infested, hundreds of worms are present. A hundred or less would of themselves check the well- doing of a lamb but little, although the presence of such a number is indicative of the possibility of gathering more from the pastures on which the animal has been running. Eradication of Stomach Worms. — Unfortunately, we have not learned how totally to eradicate stomach worms from a flock of sheep, nor have we learned how to handle pastures or other growths from which sheep graze, so that we can feel sure they will not pick up a new infestation. But we have learned how to hold the infestation in check to such extent that except in occasional instances, the flock will appear thirfty and the lambs will grow into a choice product. Changing Pastures. — Undoubtedly changing often to new graz- ing grounds helps a great deal to check infestation. If it were pos- sible to move to new pasture every ten days, the lambs would seldom, if ever, have outward indications of stomach worms. Such a method of handling may be impracticable for all except owners of pure-bred flocks, but a rotation on three to five different grazing grounds would help a great deal. On a well-fenced farm where 300 SUMMER MANAGEMENT diversified farming or livestock farming is practiced, this much rota- tion is perhaps possible without involving too much expenditure in fencing. The number of grazing places can be increased by the use of temporary fencing if there is a field which is to be used by sheep only. A fence three feet high and made of No. 11 wire serves admirably for temporary use and with it the flock can be placed on fresh grazing every few days. In* this method of handling, shade and water often have to be provided. Light, movable shades can be made at moderate cost, and since sheep are not heavy consumers of water, the problem of drink is seldom serious. Plowing the land and sowing to forage crops upon which sheep can graze helps a great deal in keeping down infestation. For example, a pasture in which there are many stomach worms may be thoroughly plowed and sown to rye which will furnish pasture in late autumn, through the winter, and in early spring. Then the rye may be turned under and the land sown to rape, which will furnish a great deal of green feed in summer and early autumn. But there is danger of over-estimating the protection these growths give against stomach worms. Evidently some have assumed that the ensheathed larvae do not crawl up rape and rye stems and blades, but they do. One of the worst infestations the writer has ever seen in lambs came from grazing continuously on a small rape lot for several weeks, and the veteran Shropshire breeder, George Allen, states that he had a similar experience. In case animals are infested when they go on such a growth, it is obvious that they will become reinfested just as soon as the worm eggs they cast in their feces hatch out, attain the ensheathed stage, and crawl up on the plants upon which the sheep or lambs feed. Nevertheless the man who uses forage crops rationally will have in his flock fewer stomach worms than the man who depends on old permanent pastures. Keeping Host Animals Off Pastures. — Is there a way of ridding an old pasture of a bad infestation of stomach worms? There is. It consists of keeping sheep and other animals which serve as host to the worm entirely off the pasture for practically one year's time. Stomach worms also infest cattle, goats, deer, American bison, etc., and therefore none of these animals should graze on the pasture, but horses and hogs could be allowed upon it. Drenches. — Infestation of stomach worm can also be held in check by drenching, and there are a number of proprietary remedies ERADICATION OF STOMACH WORMS 301 (salts, powders, and liquids) which many farmers evidently believe help in keeping the worm under control. (1) Gasoline. — Of the drenches, gasoline is the one most com- monly used by flock-owners in the United States. It should be given on three successive mornings after the animals have been kept away from all food and drink for 16 hours, and after the dose is given they should be fasted for two or three hours more. Each dose should be measured separately and given in milk, linseed oil, or flaxseed tea. Whole sweet milk, about five ounces with each dose for both sheep and lambs is the medium most frequently employed. One-fourth ounce of gasoline for lambs and one-half ounce for sheep are the sizes of doses most frequently advised. The writer, how- ever, after considerable experience, has adopted larger doses because they seem more effective. Lambs at weaning time are given one- fourth ounce on the first morning, one-half ounce (one tablespoon- i'ul) on the second, and three-fourths ounce on the third. Sheep are given one-half., three-fourths, and one ounce, respectively, on succeeding mornings. Just before drenching, the gasoline and milk or other medium should be shaken vigorously in order to have the gasoline mixed with the medium while the drench is being swal- lowed. It is said that gasoline should never be given with water. (2) Coal-tar Creosote. — Coal-tar creosote solution is made by shaking together one ounce of coal-tar creosote and ninety-nine ounces of water. The doses of this one per cent mixture recom- mended by Stiles are as follows : Lambs 4 to 12 months old, 2 to 4 ounces ; sheep, 3 to 5 ounces. Coal-tar creosote, so-called, seems to vary considerably in composition and this has been a serious objection to its use. (3) Copper Sulfate. — Copper sulfate solution is prepared by dissolving one pound of pure copper sulfate crystals finely pow- dered in 9% U. S. gallons of warm water. It is better to dis- solve the crystals in a gallon of boiling water and then add cold water and mix thoroughly. The dose for a three-months-old lamb is % ounce; for a six-months-old lamb, iy2 ounces; a yearling 2y2 to 3 ounces, and an old sheep 3% ounces. As with gasoline, the animals should be deprived of all feed and water prior to the drenching, if either coal-tar creosote or copper sulfate is given, and those treated with the latter should not have water for from 12 to 24 hours after dosing. But unlike gasoline, neither of these remedies must be given on three successive days. 302 SUMMER MANAGEMENT How to Drench,. — The animal should be allowed to stand while being drenched, as it is less likely to become strangled. It should be backed into a corner or against a wall and the man giving the drench should stand astride or at the side in order to \eep it from twisting about. The nose should be lifted no higher than neces- sary to get the dose down, for the higher it is lifted the greater the probability of causing strangling. If the drench is given from FIG. 192. — Drenching a sheep. Back the sheep into a corner so it cannot twist about, keep the head in as nearly natural position as possible, introduce the neck of the bottle at the corner of the mouth— tip the bottle up and down to prevent the liquid from running into the throat too fast. a bottle it should have a long, slim neck which should be inserted at the corner of the mouth. In order not to give the dose too fast, the bottle containing it should be tipped gently up and down while the drench is being swallowed (Fig. 192). A metal syringe with a nozzle about three inches long and a barrel large enough to hold one dose (i.e., the milk and gasoline) is a splendid instrument for drenching, although the work proceeds a little slower than with a bottle. By placing the dose in a glass graduate, such as druggists commonly use, the gasoline and milk NODULE DISEASE 303 can be thoroughly churned together by working the piston of the syringe. Then too, when drenching, the pressure from the piston forces the liquid so far down the throat that the sheep or lamb does not seem to notice the gasoline. This is an important point, for if the animal is not excited and struggling when the dose is being swallowed, it goes directly to the fourth stomach, where the worms are located, but otherwise it is likely to go into the first stomach, or paunch, where it will do practically no good. When to Drench. — The whole flock should be drenched at wean- ing time and again about ten days later. In case the infestation is very bad, it may be necessary twice or three times more at intervals of about thirty days. Prevention of Stomach Worms by Use of the Dry Lot. — There is one way in which it is possible to raise lambs so that they will be practically free from stomach worms, even though their dams are badly infested. That way is to raise them in the dry lot — a lot in which no plant is to be found growing. Such lambs have all the manifestations of health and post mortems show them to be almost free from infestation. Out of a number of stomachs examined, 22 was the largest number of worms found in any individual by the writer, and this animal had a wool ball in its stomach. In case of pure-bred flocks becoming heavily infested, it may be advisable to raise a crop of lambs in the dry lot, for in §0 doing, clean, vigorous breeding animals can be secured. Then^too, other un- desirable internal parasites may be avoided at the same time. Nodule Disease. — Nodule disease is due to a parasite (CEsoph- agostomum columbianum) , the embryos of which form knots or con- cretions inside both the large and small intestines. In the worst cases these concretions are thickly studded on the -intestine along its entire course, and their harmful effects come from their interfer- ence with the processes of digestion and absorption of food materials. The life history of the parasite which causes nodule disease is not well known. It seems that the mature female lays her eggs in the intestine, where they hatch in a short time, and in some manner pass through the mucus lining of the bowel and become embedded or encysted in the intestinal wall. As nearly as is known the irrita- tion caused by the embryos give rise to the concretions. Dalrymple, of the Louisiana Station, found that the parasite which causes nodule disease is swallowed by the sheep .while grazing; what hap- pens to the parasite from the time it leaves the concretion in the 304 SUMMER MANAGEMENT intestine until it is swallowed by a grazing animal is unknown. The parasite is beyond the reach of drugs while it is encysted in the walls of the intestines. The effects of an attack of nodule disease are not immediate, since it takes some time for the knotty concretions to develop. Nor is the attack often fatal in the north central and eastern states. But deaths frequently result from the Cfisease in the southern states. Its effects are most injurious when combined with those of other diseases such as stomach worm or tape- worm (Fig, 193). FIG. 193. — Nodule disease. Note the knots or nodules that have been caused by the parasites. (From Louisiana Experiment Station Bulletin 143.) If one has a flock badly infested with nodule disease he can secure a crop of lambs free from it by raising them in a lot entirely free from vegetation. Tape-worms are of six types. They are found in sheep in nearly all parts of the world. In the United States it is somewhat more common in the western than in the central and eastern parts, where stomach worms are worse. In the adult stage, it inhabits the small intestine, and since it develops great length of body (sev- eral feet), it is needless to say that it is a greedy feeder and that it saps the vitality of the host. The symptoms of tape-worm are very much the same as those of stomach worm, except that the infested THE MAGGOT FLY 305 animal often has a rapacious appetite. Ransom, of the United States Bureau of Animal Industry, after making an extensive study of tape-worm in sheep, did not advise a remedy that will remove it from the live animal. However, the following is recommended by several writers : Oil of male shield fern, 1 dram ; raw linseed oil, 2 to 4 ounces. Give the dose after the animal has been fasted 16 to 20 hours. Some types of tape-worm infest sheep in the cyst or- larval stage only, the adults living in dogs, etc. The cysts are found in brain, liver and muscles, and may cause sheep much discomfort. Grub in the Head. — The sheep bot-fly (Estrus ovis) deposits larvae instead of eggs. Its favorite place for deposition is in the nostrils of the sheep whence the larvae work their way up into the nasal cavities. The fly causes the sheep a great deal of annoyance at the time it deposits its larvae, both by its buzzing about, and by its coming in contact with the sheep's nose. Anyone who has ob- served sheep much in summer has seen certain individuals in the flock stamping their feet, ducking their heads, and rubbing their noses in the dust or dirt. All of these actions are caused by the bot-fly. After the larvae have reached their destination, up in the nasal cavities, they fasten themselves to the lining membranes by means of little hooks. These, along with the pressure of the growing grub, cause a great deal of irritation, and the sheep resorts to a violent snorting cough in its effort to dispel the grub. Not infrequently the grub so affects the brain as to cause death, and they always cause much discomfort, which is attended by loss of flesh. The most effective means of combating bot-fly is to keep the noses of the sheep smeared with pine tar through the summer months. The tar repels the fly and the larvae are not deposited where they can gain access to the head. Some sheepmen say that the sheep will attend to the smearing of their own noses if salt or grain is placed in a trough containing tar. It is doubtful whether bot-fly causes as much trouble on the prairies as it does in wooded regions. In fact, the writer does not recall having seen flocks affected with grub on the prairie farms of Illinois. The Maggot Fly (Musca vomitorium). — Wounds and places befouled by dung or urine are likely to attract the maggot fly. The oily, gummy wool about the base of Merino rams' horns may also 20 306 SUMMER MANAGEMENT attract them. The larvae hatch out within a lew hours after the eggs are deposited in the befouled places. They grow very fast and cause the sheep a great deal of discomfort. They can be killed by applying a strong solution of sheep dip or spirits of turpentine. Kerosene is also effective in killing them. The dip, mixed one part to fifty parts of water, is to be preferred to the other remedies as it is less severe on the skin of the sheep. A sheep plainly shows when it has maggots by squirming and twisting in an effort to get its mouth to the irritated spot. Maggots should not be allowed to remain on the sheep long, since they soon eat through the skin and recovery from the injury is very slow. After they have been killed, the injured place should be treated with some soothing ointment, such as carbolized oil or vaseline. Saratoga ointment, a rather expensive remedy, is very effective in restoring the broken skin and in bringing the injured part back to normal condition. Ticks, Lice, and Scab Mites are external parasites that' may give trouble at any time of the year. They should be exterminated in the summer or fall while the weather is warm and the wool is short. Lice (Trichoceplialus sperocephalus) . — Sheep lice are white and reddish-brown parasites having almost the same color as the skin of the sheep. They are about one-twentieth of an inch long, but be- cause of their color are rather hard to see when on the sheep. They are usually present in largest numbers on the back just behind the shoulders, but in bad cases they are on nearly all parts of the body. On account of the irritation they cause, the sheep is very uncom- fortable and often rubs out a large portion of its fleece in trying to get relief. A thorough dipping will kill lice, but since the eggs are not destroyed by the dip, it requires a second dipping completely to get rid of them. It pays well to dip lousy sheep, for if it is not done, a great deal of the wool crop will be lost, and if nothing more were accomplished than the relief to the animals, the dipping would be well worth while. When dipping is not possible, Baker 2 advises rubbing the affected parts with a mixture composed of equal parts of lard and sulfur (Fig. 194). Ticks (Melopliagus ovinus). — The sheep tick is a flat, brownish, wingless fly that subsists on the blood it sucks from the skin of the 2 Baker, "Sheep Diseases," 1916. THE SCAB MITE 307 sheep. It travels all over the sheep's body, but it seems to have a preference for the belly and under side of the neck. In piercing the skin, it causes more or less irritation, and a sheep with many ticks on it 'suffers and loses in weight and strength. It also loses wool from rubbing. When the first warm days come, the ticks leave the old sheep, and take to the lambs. If they are not eradicated, the lambs are checked in growth and stunted. Ticks seldom prove fatal to the host and are such common pests that flock-owners are many times unaware of the amount of injury they do. By consistently following the prac- tice of dipping it is possible to eradicate them and there is no- good excuse for having them in the flock. The whole flock should be dipped shortly after the shearing has been completed. At that time the weather is usually warm and favor- able for dipping; the old sheep just out of their coats carry very little of the dip out of the vat, and most of the ticks have gone over to the lambs, making it imperative that they be dipped. Ten days after the first dip- ping, the whole flock should be dipped again to get rid of ticks hatched from eggs that were deposited before the first dipping. In the autumn before the warm days have passed, careful examination should be made for ticks and lice, and if any are present, the whole flock should be dipped twice as before. When sheep are badly infested with ticks in winter, it is good practice to remove the wool if warm quarters can be provided. Many of the ticks are taken off with the wool and the sheep destroy with their teeth most of those left on the body (Fig. 195). The Scab Mite (Psoroptes communis ovis). — Scab mites are much smaller than either ticks or lice, but if they are placed on a dark background they can be seen with the naked eye. They are light-colored and the females are about one-fortieth of an inch long and the males one-fiftieth of an inch.3 By piercing the skin of the sheep in the act of feeding, the mite causes inflammation and irrita- tion. As the mites multiply, serum oozes from the skin, and as the FIG. 194.— Adult sheep louse. (From Kentucky Station Bulletin No. 143.) Baker, " Sheep Diseases," 1916. 308 SUMMER MANAGEMENT exudation dries a scab or crust is formed. Beneath this crust the mites continue to irritate the skin and to multiply with great rapidity. As they increase in numbers, they spread over the body of the sheep until practically the whole of it is covered unless some method is adopted to check them. The wool drops off where the scab or crust forms, and the sheep presents a very haggard and sorry appearance. But the disease oughf to be detected long before this stage is reached. The first symptom of scab is uneasiness caused by itching, which FIG. 195.— Adult sheep tick. (From Kentucky Station Bulletin 143.) the sheep tries to allay by biting or pulling at the wool near the affected spot and by rubbing. This scratching and rubbing against posts, fences, and buildings will distribute many of the mites, which adhere to the bits of scab and wool that have been rubbed off. It is largely in this way that other individuals become infested. When scab is found in a flock the only thing to be done is to dip the entire flock before the trouble has time to spread farther. This work must be thoroughly done. Since many of the mites are under the scabs, they are hard to reach with the dip unless the scabs are first soaked or broken down by rubbing with some rough object, such as a corn cob or piece of wood. One dipping is not sufficient in that it does not destroy the eggs. After the first dipping the sheep should be turned back into their pen, where they LIME-SULFUR DIP 309 will continue to rub and disinfect the walls or fences. The second dipping should occur ten days after the first. Scab has been eradicated from most sections of the United States. By enforcing dipping and quarantine, the U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry has done a splendid piece of work in cleaning up the flocks of the western states. In this work lime-sulfur dip has been used more than any other solution (Fig. 196). FIG. 196. — Sheep scab mite, dorsal view — male and female. Industry Bulletin 142.) (From Bureau of Animal Lime-sulfur Dip. — The formula for the lime-sulfur dip used by the U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry is as follows : Unslaked lime 8 pounds Flowers of sulfur 24 pounds Water 100 gallons In preparing the mixture, slake the lime in a little water, to which add the sulfur slowly and stir constantly. Transfer the mass to a vessel containing thirty gallons of hot water and boil for two hours with frequent stirring to prevent the lime-sulfur paste from caking on the bottom of the vessel. Add water from time to 310 SUMMER MANAGEMENT time to replace that lost by evaporation. The boiling causes the lime to combine with the sulfur, making calcium sulfide, which is the active agent in the dip that kills the mite. This mixture, a chocolate-colored mass, is then transferred to a barrel and allowed to settle for several hours, after which the clear solution is dipped from the top of the barrel or else drawn from it by making a hole in the side about three or four inches*from the bottom. The sediment is largely uncombined lime and sulfur, and if stirred up into the clear solution will injure the wool. Enough water should be added to the clear solution to make 100 gallons. The water added should be hot enough so that the temperature of the preparation in the vat, after being well mixed, will register from 100 to 105 degrees F. Kentucky Station Bulletin 143 gives the following comment on lime-sulfur dip: " This well-known dip is very effective in the treatment of sheep scab. It is also one of the cheapest of dips. It does, on the whole, a slight damage to the wool, even if properly prepared — more noticeable in fine than in coarse wools. It is caustic to the oper- ator's hands. Some dealers object to it because it gives the wool a washed appearance, consequently the sheep do not look in as good condition for immediate market as where some other dip is used. " The U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry has reached the con- clusion that it has but little effect in destroying the sheep tick, hence should not be used if the sheep are afflicted with both scab-mite and tick. However, with these objections to the lime-sulfur dip, a few of the large sheepmen in this state use it when their sehep have become badly affected with the scab mite." Tobacco dips are effective remedies for scab and they are said to be non-injurious to the wool. The active agent in them which kills the scab mite is nicotine. These dips also kill sheep lice and ticks, and, therefore, can be made use of as general dips. Various arsenical dips have been prepared, but as home-made decoctions prepared by a formula little use has been made of them. If the writer mistakes not the famous proprietary dip manufactured by William Cooper and Nephews is regarded as an arsenical dip. The various coal-tar dips are among the most pleasant to use. They are easy to prepare; they are healing and disinfecting, and they leave the skin in healthy condition. Many of the manufactured or proprietary dips contain coal-tar products. Manufactured Dips. — Various prescriptions are available for OVERHEATING 311 making dips at home. But in treating for lice and ticks (scab is rare in the United States, except in a few states) it is cheaper and more satisfying to rely on the manufactured dips. As a rule, they are efficient, and reliable directions for their use are always sent out with them. Foot-rot is an old, old ailment with sheep, and directions for its control have been written for centuries. There are two forms: One, non-contagious, caused by too much wet weather ; the other is contagious, and is caused by the microorganism, Bacillus necropho- rous. The contagious form is hard to deal with, as in. the worst cases the animal is very lame for a long time. The foot is hot and swollen around the coronary band. In this region soft, greenish spots develop which break and emit pus having a very putrid odor. A good remedy is a strong copper-sulfate solution applied once or twice daily. In chronic cases a good method of treatment consists of packing copper-sulfate crystals in the pus openings around the coronary band. These crystals attack the dead tissue and destroy the cause of the trouble, the bacteria. Sheep having contagious foot-rot should not be allowed to run with the flock. Goitre. — Sheep sometimes develop goitre. The writer is in- debted to E. J. Stone for the following remedy : Iodine ( crystals ) 1 oz. Potassium iodide 6 drs. Vaseline 4 oz. Mix thoroughly. Shear off the wool and apply with a swab every other day. Overheating. — When the temperature gets above 88 degrees F. and the humidity is great, there is danger of one or more members of the flock becoming overheated. An overheated sheep or lamb is stiff. It trembles while on its feet and is unable to walk far without lying down. The first thing to do for it is to carry it to a cool, shady place. It should then be given Epsom salts, dissolved in water (two and one-half ounces for a lamb and four ounces for a sheep) and a teaspoonful of tincture of aconite. When an overheated sheep is so badly affected that it can not get up, E. J. Stone gives the following treatment : Strychnine, one- fiftieth grain, three times a day for three days, then one-twenty- fifth grain at night, and one-fiftieth grain in the morning and at noon, and increasing gradually to one-twenty-fifth grain three tirnes 312 SUMMER MANAGEMENT daily until recovery or until the animal is able to walk about. Re- duce doses gradually for about one week. It is advisable to shear an overheated sheep, but care must be used because the animal will die if it gets excited and exerts itself much. Predatory animals are a menace to the flock in all seasons of the year, but especially so in sunfmer when the sheep are in the fields far out from the winter quarters. Of all the predatory animals, the dog is the worst in the middle west and eastern parts of the United States, but in a few places between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains wolves and coyotes must be contended with. In many places farmers have been forced to quit keeping sheep because of dogs. Were dogs controlled, farm flocks would be much more numerous than they are. In 1914, the United States Bureau of Animal Industry, upon inquiring as to what prevents the keeping of sheep on farms, received many replies, over 58 per cent of which gave dogs as the cause. These replies vividly picture the need of laws that will eliminate cur dogs and keep all other dogs under proper control. When good laws are secured, sheepmen must have courage enough to have them enforced. There is no way of equipping the flock to insure it against an attack of dogs. Putting bells on a number of sheep assists some, but the discordant jangling characteristic of American sheep bells will not stop a bold dog bent on mischief. If the field in which the sheep are running is near the farm residence provision can per- haps be made for allowing them a road to the farm buildings, so that when they are chased by dogs they can come near enough to awaken someone to come to their rescue. But this plan cannot be depended upon, as often neither the sheep nor the dogs make enough noise to awaken persons sound asleep. One other recourse is to place the flock in dog-proof pens at night. This requires a great deal of labor, and it prevents the flock from feeding at the most desirable time. As soon as it is discovered that sheep have been wounded and worried by dogs, they should be brought to the barns, where there are conveniences for giving them the necessary attention. The first thing to do is to locate all the wounds, including even the slightest tooth marks, and to rub them thoroughly, though gently, with carbolized oil (olive oil, 99 parts; concentrated carbolic acid, QUESTIONS 313 1 part). Keep up this treatment every day until the wounds are healing nicely. Thereafter, treat occasionally to insure keeping the wounded places disinfected. For some time after sheep have been worried by dogs they are very nervous and become easily excited even though the cause is slight. Therefore, they should be kept in a quiet place where they may receive nutritious feed and where it is not necessary to take more than a moderate amount of exercise. Coyotes, wolves, bobcats, and mountain lions are a great annoy- ance and expense to the owners of sheep in the western part of the United States. The coyote is the worst in the lot, and an organized effort to exterminate it is being prosecuted. The Federal Govern- ment is assisting by appropriating money to pay trained hunters and trappers. Several states give liberal bounties for coyote scalps and the sheepmen themselves are doing all they can, not only to ex- terminate the coyote, but also other predatory animals. QUESTIONS 1. When should the lambs be weaned? 2. What are the disadvantages of weaning lambs too early? 3. Discuss the two methods of weaning as practiced by shepherds. 4. Of what value is bluegrass as a pasture? 5. What are the dangers of pasturing alfalfa and clover ? 6. Discuss fully the treatment of bloat. 7. Name three common forage crops for summer pasture. 8. What feed should be given the lambs when they are weaned? 9. Of what value is shade in summer? 10. What are some of the common summer enemies of the sheep? 1 1. Give the life history of the stomach worm. 12. What are the symptoms of stomach worms? 13. Give a treatment for stomach worms. 14. Where does' the sheep bot-fly deposit its larvae? 15. In what way would you treat a sheep with maggots? 16. How do external parasites injure sheep? 17. How can the presence of lice be detected? 18. What is the remedy for scab? 19. What are the best times for dipping sheep? 20. What are the symptoms of overheating in sheep? 21. What predatory animals give the most trouble to the sheepman? CHAPTER XXXV THE WOOL CROP • Importance of Wool. — A statement often made in favor of keeping sheep is that they yield two products, mutton and wool; but, in many cases, the wool crop is taken as a matter of course and its value is not fully appreciated. In flocks where the production of lambs for market is the chief object, the income from the wool is about thirty per cent of the total income from the flock. This estimate is based on the assumption that the average weight of fleece is eight pounds and that there will be one lamb marketed for each sheep shorn. If receipts were carefully itemized for a series of years, they would very likely show that the wool constitutes more than thirty per cent of the total income from the flock, for the breeding ewe produces one fleece before she raises a lamb. Further, she always produces a fleece, but she does not always raise a lamb. By giving careful attention to the wool product, the income from the flock can be materially increased. Ewes should be selected for their wool characteristics as well as for their mutton character- istics ; there should be an ambition to market not only prime lambs, but first-class wool as well. The Requisites of Wool. — (Jood wool is true in structure, uniform in fineness, strong, not excessive in yolk, and comparatively clean. Trueness of Structure.1' — A fleece is not true in structure if it contains " off-colored " fibers and kemps. Kemps are abnormal fibers composed of horny material, which are objectionable because they are brittle and do not take dyes well. They indicate inferior breeding. Wools containing them in quantity are worth several cents per pound less than they would otherwise be. Black fibers or " off-colored " fibers mixed in with white wool reduce the value because the wool cannot be used in making white cloth. Yellow- ish, buff-tinged, and1 dingy wools are often less desirable than white because they do not always scour out pure white (Pig. 197). 1For structure of wool fibre see Chapter V. 314 STRENGTH OF FIBER 315 Uniformity. — A fleece is uniform in fineness when all the fibers are about the same in diameter. It is practically impossible to get absolute uniformity in this respect throughout the fleece and it is not expected. The wool on the hips seldom equals that on the shoulder in fineness, but the variation in the wool grown on these two regions of the body is much less in some individuals than in others, and when this is the case, the fleece as a whole is much more nearly uniform in quality. Strength of Fiber. — Wool is regarded as strong when individual fibers do not have a weak place somewhere in their length. These weak places are due largely to periods of sickness and undernourish- FIG. 197. — Kemp, structureless like fibers that are brittle and do not take the color dyes. A, longitudinal section, B, cross-section, compare with Fig. 24. (From "Structure the Wool Fiber," Bowman. Courtesy of The Macmillan Co.) ment, or to abrupt changes from dry to green feed, or vice versa, while the sheep is growing the wool. Hence, strength of fiber is a factor which depends more or less upon good feeding and shep- herding; and the kind of care necessary to produce a good crop of lambs is the best for growing wool. Tender wools, especially if they are two and one-half inches or more in length, sell for less than wools of similar length and finish because they break in the process of combing and must be used as short wools. It is often possible to see the weak or tender place or to deter- mine its location by pulling on a lock of wool and noting where it breaks. Such a test is only an approximation of whether the 316 THE WOOL CHOP wool is too weak at its tenderest point to stand the strain of combing in the process of manufacture. Strong, well-nourished wool, upon being released from pressure, springs back to its natural bulk. It thus displays life or loftiness, a very desirable character- istic. Another way to determine the strength and life of wool is to twist a number of fibers into a cord and then note the sound this cord gives off when it is drawn tight and touched much as one would touch the strings of a violin when tuning it. If the sound is somewhat like a metallic ring instead of a dull thud, FIG. 198. — Well-grown wool, even in strength as indicated by the waves or crimps of even length from the bottom to the top. (U. S. D. A. Bulletin 206.) one may be sure that the wool is sound and strong (Figs. 198 and 199). Condition, which depends on the amount of yolk and foreign matter in wool, is a very important factor in determining its value. If the amounts are excessive, the shrinkage in weight from scouring is great and hence such wools are worth less in the unsecured state than lighter shrinking wools. A certain amount of e< free- flowing " yolk is necessary to keep the wool fibers in good condition, CLEANLINESS 317 but there should be no justification for breeding excessive quanti- ties of it merely for the sake of increasing the weight of the fleece. Cleanliness. — Dirt, sand, burs, straw, and chaff in wool not only decrease its scoured yield, but also affect its value. It is impossible completely to scour out burs, straw, and chaff, and if the wool con- taining them is to be made clean it must be treated with a weak solution of sulphuric acid and heated, a process known as car- bonizing and one which is likely to weaken the wool. The con- ditions under which the sheep must be kept may make it impossible FIG. 199. — Tender wool, showing break caused by disease or improper nourishment of the animal on which the wool was grown. (U. S. D. A. Bulletin 206.) to keep out dirt and sand ; on some of the ranges in the western parts of the United States, it is not altogether possible to keep out burs, but on farms the presence of chaff, straw, and burs in wool is largely the grower's fault. Backs should be used that will not let chaff fall into the wool on top of the neck and shoulders and the flock should not be allowed to feed continually at stacks of straw. Branding sheep with insoluble paint is very detrimental to the condition of wool because the paint cannot be scoured out. 318 THE WOOL CROP The only way to get rid of it is to clip it off, an expensive process because it must be done with hand labor (Fig. 200). Classes of Wool. — Wool is classed either as combing or cloth- ing. Combing wools are used in worsted manufacturing where it is necessary to place the fibers parallel to each other in the yarn. In order to meet the combing requirements, the fibers should be strong and two and one-half inches or more in length. The broken, short, and tangled fibers are discarded as " no?. Is " to be used in the manufacture of woolens. What is known as the French combs can make worsted yarn from wools somewhat shorter than two and one-half inches; nevertheless, length and evenness in strength of fiber remain important factors in estimating the value of wool. Clothing wools are shorter than combing wools. They are used in the making of woolens, felts, and fabrics of similar type. No attempt is made to keep the fibers parallel; in fact, the more they can be mixed in every direction the better they serve the purpose desired. Combing wools are worth from two to six cents per scoured pound more than clothing wools. On this account it is generally advisable to attempt to grow combing wool, but it is not always possible to secure the length and strength of fiber necessary to put wool into this class. This is especially true of wools from flocks where Merino blood predominates, and unless care is used in selecting breeding stock with wool having adequate length of fiber a considerable percentage of the fleeces in flocks where Down blood predominates (Oxford Down excepted) will be classed as clothing. Age is another factor which influences the class of wool that may be produced, for old sheep past their prime of life do not grow as much length of fiber as do young sheep of similar breeding. Coarse, kempy, poorly-bred wool is classed as carpet wool. It is not produced except in very small quantities in regions where improved methods of breeding and feeding are followed. Grades of Wool. — The wool that comes under each class is divided into various grades according to fineness. Trade journals giving reports of wool sales on the large markets contain a maze of quotations arranged so as to bewilder rather than to enlighten persons not thoroughly familiar with the wool trade. But when GRADES OF WOOL . 319 reduced to simplest terms, these quotations indicate the classes and grades of wool to be as follows : 2 Classifications and Grades of Wools Produced by Flocks in the Eastern, Middle Western, and Southern Parts of the United States. — Combing Wools Delaine, the finest combing wool; sometimes quoted as fine Delaine and medium Delaine. Half-blood. Three-eighths-blood. Quarter-blood. Low quarter-blood. Braid, the coarsest combing wool. Clothing Wools XX and X, washed or fine unwashed; the XX and X are used almost exclusively to refer to wool from sheep that were washed before shearing. Half-blood clothing. Three-eighths-blood clothing. Quarter-blood clothing. At one time these last three terms were supposed to refer to wool from sheep of half, three-eighths, and one-quarter blood Merino but they have no such significance now. Classifications and Grades of Wools Produced on the Ranges of the "West and Southwestern Parts of the United States.: — Combing Wools Fine staple ^ Fine medium staple \ Usual]y ™e grade. Half-blood staple. Three-eighths-blood staple. Quarter-blood staple ) Low quarter-blood staple f Often one -rade' Coarse, common, low, or braid. " Staple " as applied to wools coming in the above classification refers to combing wools. 2 See U. S. Agr. Bulletin No 206 by F. R Marshall and L. L Heller. 320 THE WOOL CROP Clothing Wools Fine clothing. • Fine medium clothing. Half-blood clothing. Three-eighths-blood clothing. Quarter-blood clothing, or Short quarter blood. Practically all the wool of these last two grades is of combing length. Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, and Wash- ington wools are called "territory wools " in distinction from the clips from Texas, California, Oregon, New Mexico, and Arizona. Quotations are often given for the wools from different states. While these wools undoubtedly differ somewhat, it is almost impos- sible to tell in general descriptive terms what the differences are, and to be able further to subdivide the classifications given above requires an expert knowledge of the whole wool trade. United States Department of Agriculture Bulletin 206 gives the following description of how the quality of foreign wools is often designated by the counts or number of hanks to the pound. "The coarser wools are represented by the lower counts, as 18's, 24's, 36's, etc., and the finer ones as 64's, 70's, 807s, etc. These numbers or counts represent the hanks per pound of top into which the wool is supposedly capable of being spun, each hank representing 560 yards. Thus, wool of 50's quality should spin 50 X 560 yards per pound to top, if spun to the limit. This classifi- cation is based on the worsted system of manufacture. " Foreign Wool Classes and Corresponding Counts for American Qrade American grades. Foreign classes- Counts often top-maker's spun to in quality. America. Fine 60's-70's 50's-60's Half-blood 56's-60's 40's Three-eighths-blood 50's-56's 36's Quarter-blood 46's-50's 32's Low quarter-blood 40's-46's 20's Low, coarse, common, or braid 3G's-40's 16's " As a matter of fact the top-maker's quality does not actually represent the counts to which the wool can be spun. The lower GRADES OF WOOL 321 grades will not spin up to their number, while the finer ones will spin much higher than their designated numbers. Some fine Ameri- can wools have been spun to 200 counts for exhibition purposes. Short wool will not spin as high as similar wools of greater length, hence this factor also influences the counts to which the woo] will spin. " Another fact worthy of mention is that the wools are rarely spun to their limit; that is, to as fine a yarn as is possible to spin. Wool can be spun several counts higher in England than it can in America. This is due to the fact that the air is moister there and that the labor of the mills is more capable than in the United States. This does not imply that American fabrics are inferior to imported, as a better cloth results if the wool is not so highly spun." The following interesting tabulation on the grades of wool from the different breeds of sheep is taken from United States Department of Agriculture Bulletin 206. It is made clear in the bulletin, however, that it is imposible to grade wool solely on the basis of the breeding of the sheep, and that in the mutton breeds particularly there are wide variations within a breed and even within flocks. Breed Grade of wool produced Merino (eastern states) . . . Delaine, XX, X, or fine unwashed, etc. Merino (range states) Fine and fine medium staple or clothing. Rambouillet Fine and fine medium staple or clothing and a small amount of half-blood. Southdown Half and three-eighths blood ( chiefly three- eighths combing or clothing, chiefly clothing). Shropshire Mainly three-eighths-blood, combing or clothing. Some quarter-blood. Hampshire Three-eighths and quarter-blood combing or clothing. Dorset Three-eighths and quarter-blood combing or clothing. Suffolk Three-eighths-blood combing and clothing. Cheviot Quarter-blood combing. Oxford Quarter and low quarter-blood combing. 21 322 THE WOOI/ CROP Corriedale Three-eighths-blood combing. Cotswold ^| Lincoln v. Low quarter-blood combing or braid. Leicester I Crossbred: Long wool on Merino or Rambouillet. Half-blood, three-eighths-blood, and quarter- Crossbred: Shropshire or blood combing. Hampshire on Merino or Rambouillet Half-blood and three-eighths-blood combing or clothing. Shearing. — To a limited extent, the condition of the wool de- pends upon the time when the shearing is done. It is not always possible to shear at the time when the wool is in condition to most nearly suit market requirements. Oftentimes in the western part of the United States, the shearing must be done either be- fore the sheep are started from the winter range or while they are being moved from the winter feeding grounds to the spring or summer range. If this were not done the sheep would get so far away from railway lines that the cost of hauling the wool would be greatly increased. Besides this, various other factors are involved in determining the time when the shearing shall be done. It is different, however, in regions where farm flocks are kept, and if good shelter is available, it is possible to shear more nearly at the time when the wool is in best condition for being removed1. The usual time for shearing in the middle western and eastern parts of the United States is from the middle of April to the middle of May, after the cold weather is over and there have been a few d'ays a little too warm for the comfort of unshorn sheep. On the whole, this is a good time to shear, as the oil has risen in the wool in sufficient quantity to make it " full of life " and the shearing easy. If shearing is deferred too long the wool be- comes dead and lifeless. As a rule the wool from breeding ewes would be in somewhat better condition if they were shorn before they lamb because the feverish condition frequently resulting from lambing often causes them to lose some of their wool. Moreover the wool that is grown while they are expending so much energy in the production of milk is likely to be tender. With early shearing there will be fewer dung tags if it is done before the sheep are turned out to pasture. The extreme succu- lence of the fresh young grass causes the feces to soften and collect PLACES FOR SHEARING 323 around the rear parts, and if the stained wool is not trimmed off when the feces first start to collect, a great mass will accumulate and greatly damage the wool. If the weather should be warm, the dung will also attract flies and the sheep will be attacked by maggots. There are some objections to shearing early, one of which is that the weight of fleece is considerably lighter than it would be later on because there has not been enough warm weather to cause the yolk to rise in large quantity. Hammond, of the Ohio Station, lias experimented on this point and his conclusion printed in Ohio Station Bulletin 294 is as follows: "Washed sheep shorn April 12 produced more grease wool than did washed sheep shorn June 1, while unwashed sheep shorn April 12 produced less grease wool than did unwashed sheep shorn June 1." This indicates that between these two dates there was an increase in weight of fleece due to the accumulation of yolk or other foreign matter in the wool. In feeding a lot of western lambs, the writer3 sheared half of them March 1 and the other half May 25. The late shorn fleeces contained a much greater amount of yolk and they averaged 2.6 pounds more in weight than the early-shorn fleeces. In this case the difference in weight was due to the difference both in the amount of yolk and in the actual amount of wool. From Ham- mond's conclusion, however, it is clear that there would be no advantage in securing the greater weight of fleece from late shearing if wool were purchased strictly on the scoured basis. With small lots but very little discrimination is made in this respect unless the wool is excessively heavy in amount of yolk. But, even if wool were purchased on the scoured basis, it would not always pay to shear early, for there are places where the spring season is so variable that shelter will not adequately protect the health of shorn sheep. Sudden changes from warm to cold, windy weather may cause colds in the worst form, and when this happens, fatalities are almost sure to occur. Places for Shearing. — Where large bands of sheep are kept, as in the western part of the United States, sheds are built solely for the purpose of shearing, but where small flocks are kept the shear- ing quarters are usually of a temporary nature. In arranging a B 111. Sta. Bull. 167. 324 THE WOOL CROP place, every precaution should be taken to keep the wool clean. While the fleece is being removed the sheep should be placed on a smooth board platform about ten feet square; the sheep awaiting shearing should be penned where they will not drag manure and litter with them as they are brought to the shearing place. Requirements for Good Shearing. — A good job of shearing consists in cutting the wool off snfoothly close to the body. The power machine will cut closer than the hand shears, but satisfactory work may be done with the latter if the operator is careful and possesses some skill. It is the tendency of the unskilled shearer, whether using the machine or hand shears, to fail to cut close to the sheep's body. For example, the shearer may start to cut close to the body, but in advancing the shears he cannot follow the shape of the animal, and hence some of the wool is cut from a half to an inch away from the skin. He can, and usually does, back up and cut close where he failed in his first attempt. This makes what is known as second cuts. Because they are so short they are of low value for manufacturing purposes. It is also obvious that the evil of making second1 cuts makes the fibers in the main body of the fleece shorter and uneven in length, and therefore less desirable. In doing good shearing it is also necessary to get the fleece off without getting it torn apart. After setting a sheep on its rump, there is a knack of holding it so that it will not kick and struggle violently. Its body should be tilted1 back towards the knees of the operator so that its hind legs cannot get sufficient contact with the floor to make effective resistance. It is the adjustment of this position that is equivalent to the knack of holding. Power shearing machines are gradually replacing the hand shears. The power machine does smoother work, makes fewer second cuts, and does not cut the skin of the sheep so badly. The amateur shearer can do much better with the power machine. In various places in the western part of the United States, the hand shears are still used because the power machine cuts so close that the sheep will blister if it turns hot or they will suffer if it turns cold. If thick combs are used, however, it is not necessary to cut extremely close with the power machine. Tying the Fleece. — Several things must be done to make a good job of tying the fleece. First, in order to make an honest package, all tag lots must be removed whether they be of dung, TYING TWINE 32S or of grease and dirt. The tags have about one-third the value of clean wool. Second, the fleece should be carefully rolled up by hand with no ends and stray locks protruding and with the flesh side out. -This greatly adds to the appearance of the fleece. It also prevents mixing the wool in different fleeces. Third, the fleece should be tied with a hard glazed twine, not larger than one-eighth inch in diameter. Special care should be taken to make a firm hard knot that will not slip (Fig. 201). Tying Twine.4 — " The use of wrong kinds of tying twine has caused the manufacturer more trouble than any other one thing, with the wools marketed from the farms of the central and eastern FIG. 200. FIG. 201. FIG. 200. — Insoluble paint in scoured wool due to paint that was used in branding the live sheep. FIG. 201. — A fleece properly tied, the flesh side outward, no loose locks straggling, the whole fleece flufly or soft in appearance. (From Illinois Station Circular 161.) United States. A hard, glazed twine should be used in order to avoid getting any of its fiber mixed with the wool. In recent years paper wool twine has been introduced which is entirely satisfactory to the manufacturer. Rough, loosely woven twine made of vegetable fiber is not desirable because some of the fiber gets into the wool. It is impossible to remove it. It will not take the dyes used in coloring wool and it is detrimental to the strength and finish of the cloth. The only way to get rid of it is to pick it out of the finished cloth, which is an expensive process. Sisal twine is the most objectionable of all employed for tying wool. The mills have objected to it so strenuously that its use is being largely discontinued. In no event should it be used; better not tie at all than use it. There have been placed on the 4 111. Sta. Circ. 161. 326 THE WOOL CROP market jute products, called wool twine, which are not at all satisfactory. They are so loose and rough that many of the fibers cling to the wool and cause defects in the goods. Undoubtedly the wool trade the world over will institute a war against this type of twine. These so-called wool twines are also unnecessarily heavy. The best wool buyers obiect to excessive size and length of string. A well-known wool house in the middle west informed the writer that they had removed more than one pound of twine from a single fleece. The use of so much cheap stuff amounts to unfair packing. It is not necessary to wrap the string more than three times around the fleece — twice is usually sufficient — and the size of (he siring should be no greater than needed to give it the strength to stand the strain of drawing it in tightly on the wool for the purpose of tying. As stated above, it should not be more than one-eighth inch in diameter. India three-ply size No. 41/2 is a type suitable for tying wool; so are the paper wool twines. Some of the latter, however, are still', and therefore difficult to tie in a firm, hard knot that will not slip and release the wool. In selecting from them care should be taken to secure a kind that is soft and pliable (Fig. 202). " Packing and Storing. — When packing, the fleeces of ewes, lambs, rams, and wethers should be packed separately. In small flocks it is hardly advisable to pack them in separate bags, but they can be separated in the bag by sheets of stiff, strong paper so that they can be easily sorted at the market. A bag containing a certain kind or kinds of wool should be marked so that its con- tents are known. Tags and wool from dead sheep should be packed separately. FIG. 202. — Wool twine. A, taken from a fleece and showing the use of an excessive quan- tity. B, showing the proper kind and quantity to use in tying a fleece. (From Illinois Sta- tion Circular 161.) GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN THE WOOL TRADE 327 " Black or gray fleeces should not be allowed' to come in contact with white fleeces; burry fleeces should be packed to themselves (Fig. 203). " If the wool is not sold immediately after shearing, it should he stored in a clean, dry place. It should not be left on the bare ground even though it is placed in bags. It is best to store and market wool in bags, as it is the more likely to be kept clean. The bags should be closely woven, so that they will effectively keep out dust and dirt. They should also be of a type that will not shed particles of fiber into the wool. The loosely woven jute bags com- monly used, are satisfactory in neither particular." FIG. 203. — Wrong method of packing wool. Various grades and colors varying from 9 to 24 cents per pound in value packed in the same bag. Marketing Wool. — The claim is made that there is no open market for wool in the United States. For this reason it is difficult for the grower to know what his wool is worth. An open market would be a great help to the grower, but without a knowledge of about how much his wool would shrink in scouring, he would still be more or less in the dark. Owners of small clips are, as a rule, at great disadvantage in selling, for they cannot get in touch with agencies whose chief business consists in handling wool. With the development of more interest in farm flocks, conditions for selling small clips will undoubtedly improve. Glossary of Terms Used in the Wool Trade. — Bulletin 206, United States Department of Agriculture, gives the following glossary of terms used in the wool trade: Black Wool. — Includes any wool that is not white. Braid Wool. — Grade name, and synonym for luster wools. Brilcli Wool. — Wool from the lower thighs of the sheep ; usually the coarsest on the body. 328 THE WOOL CROP Carbonized Wool. — That which has been treated with a solution of aluminum chlorid or sulfuric acid to remove vegetable matter. Carbonizing is rarely practiced with worsted wools. Carding. — Consists of opening the wool staples, separating to a certain extent the fibers, and condensing and delivering the opened wool in a continuous strand or sliver. Carpet Wool. — Low, coarse wo be large, as the fleeces can be packed into a comparatively small space. Equipment Outside of the Barn. — Silo. — In case a silo is desired, it should be located outside the barn close to the feeding room ; in fact, the chute should be arranged so that the silage will fall from the silo into the feeding room. Dipping Plant. — -In connection with every sheep barn there should be an inexpensive dipping plant, located where it will not interfere with every- day handling of the flock. Portable galvanized iron vats can be purchased from supply houses, which are ade- quate for dipping flocks of ordinary size. When set in 'place, the top of the vat should be about six inches above the ground. At one end of it there should be a small pen to hold sheep awaiting dipping, and at the other, a draining platform where the sheep are allowed to stand for a few minutes after they are dipped, in order to let the liquid drain out of their wool and run back into the vat. A walk-way can be built as an ap- proach to the vat, and there are vari- ous devices for sliding the sheep into it. But, if the sheep are not let down gently into the liquid, a great deal of it is splashed out and lost. In dipping small flocks it pays to lift each sheep and carefully place it in the vat (Fig. 249). Fences and Hurdles. — If possible sheep should be protected by boundary fences that will exclude dogs. (It is doubtful whether I .*. FIG. 252.— The iron post. The bottom wire of the fence is caught in the crotch formed by the junction of the elbow piece with the long rod and the top wire rests in the notch indicated in the diagram. 448 BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT FOR FARM FLOCKS any fence is absolutely dog-proof.) The fence shown in Fig. 250, having a barbed wire close to the ground and three barbed wires at the top would be found proof against most dogs. Division fences FIG. 253. — A wooden panel, suitable for temporary fencing. (From U. S. D. A.Bulletin 810.) thirty-six inches high and made of woven wire are adequate for keeping most sheep in place. These fences may be either temporary or permanent in nature, or the temporary fence may be made of wooden panels (Figs. 250-253). The iron post shown in Figs. 251 and 252 was designed by the writer to use with temporary wire fencing. QUESTIONS 1. Enumerate the essential features of a sheep barn. 2. Why is it possible to build a good sheep barn at comparatively low cost? 3. What are the essential features of a good sheep rack? 4. Why should the bottoms of troughs be flat? 5. How much floor space do mature ewes require? CHAPTER XLV PREPARING MUTTON ON THE FARM Importance of Mutton and Lamb in the Meat Dietary. — Mutton and lamb form a very small part of the meat diet of farmers in the United States. The chief reason why they eat so little of these meats is that they believe all mutton and lamb has the so-called disagreeable " woolly flavor." In the majority of cases, this belief is based merely on the " say so " of some one else, but it is so firmly fixed that few attempt to prove or disprove it for them- selves. It, no doubt, originated in the early days of sheep hus- bandry when the wool breeds were popular and mature sheep were the chief source of the mutton supply. The introduction of mutton breeds and the increased demand for mutton and lamb in the larger cities has brought about a great improvement in the quality of the mutton produced, and to-day this " woolly flavor " is almost never noticeable in lambs and yearlings, and seldom in mature sheep (Fig. 254). Another reason why the farmers have not utilized this source of meat supply is because they think it difficult to properly slaughter and dress a sheep. This, however, is even more fallacious than the belief regarding flavor, for neither the process of slaughter nor of cutting the carcass is any more difficult than killing a hog and cutting and curing the meat, a task which is ordinarily considered quite simple. Care Before Slaughter. — The animal to be slaughtered should be in healthy and as nearly normal condition as possible at the time of slaughter. It should be handled carefully to prevent bruises on the carcass ; all undue excitement should be avoided, and if possible, it should be fasted from eighteen to twenty-four hours, but allowed free access to water. Attention to these details facilitates thorough bleeding, insures more rapid cooling of the carcass, lessens the danger of cutting the internal organs, and tends to prevent the disagreeable flavor of the meat caused by the fermentation of feed material in the stomach. The fleece should be dry and reasonably clean, as it is practically impossible to hang up a clean carcass if the fleece is wet or dirty. Shearing is often advisable, since the pelt 29 449 450 PREPARING MUTTON ON THE FARM is easier handled and removed with the wool out of the way, and the wool alone can usually be sold for as much or more than the un- sheared pelt. Method of Slaughter. — Equipment Required. — A clean, dry place to work is the first essential. A low bench or box upon which to lay the animal, a sticking knife, and some provision for hanging the carcass is all the equipment required for slaughtering a sheep. Method of Sticking.— The sheep is laid on a low box or bench on its left side with the head extending over the edge. It is held in this position by standing behind the sheep and placing the right Fio. 254.— 4, mutton deficient in quantity of fat; B, properly finished mutton; C, mutton carrying too much fat. knee in the fore flank. The lower jaw is grasped with .the left hand and the knife is stuck into the neck just back of the angle of the jaw slightly below and behind the ear. The knife should go through the neck at one thrust, with the edge of the knife toward the head. If desired, the beginner may then turn the knife and cut out through the neck, thus severing all the blood-vessels. To stun the sheep after sticking, the neck is broken by either placing one hand on the fore- head and pulling up on the jaw, or by severing the spinal cord at the atlas joint with the knife (Fig. 255). Removing the Pelt. — The removal of the pelt is begun at the front legs by cutting out a narrow strip down the front of the leg from the neck to the ankle joint, holding the foot, in the meantime, between the knees. The legs, the point of the brisket, and the un- der side of the neck are then skinned. Following this the flesh of REMOVING THE PELT 451 FIG. 255. — Slaughtering. 452 PREPARING MUTTON ON THE FARM the neck is cut through in order to loosen the windpipe and gullet. In lambs and yearlings the feet are removed at the " break joint " x by cutting across the raise on the cannon just above the ankle and twisting the foot. In mature sheep, this joint will not break, and the feet are removed at the ankle-joint. The removal of the pelt at the hind legs is begun by cutting out a strip of skin down the back of the leg from the anus to the lowest point where the feet are removed. The feet should never be removed at the ankle-joint, because the tendons will pull out when the carcass is hung. The hind legs should not be skinned out to as great extent as the front legs ; the pelt should be merely loosened along the sides and back of the leg. The leg of mutton is a valuable cut, and by leaving the pelt on as long as possible, it is much easier to keep it clean. Beginning at the brisket and cod, or udder, the pelt is loosened over the belly by forcing the fist between the skin and flesh. Like- wise the pelt over the sides is fisted off, care being taken not to tear the thin muscles at the flanks. This is easiest avoided by fisting first down over the center of the side, and then working each way from this point over the flank muscles. The tendons in the hind leg are loosened between the hock and the ankle by cutting between them and the bone. The legs are then tied with a cord and the carcass hung at a convenient height. The pelt is further removed by splitting it down the center and fisting it off over the sides, flanks, and legs, and working up over the hind flank and leg, and down over the shoulder. Next the hide is loosened around the tail with the knife and the pelt is pulled down the back to the neck, where it is removed with the head at the atlas joint (Fig. 256). Removing the Viscera. — The first step in removing the viscera is to cut around the rectum and pull it out a short distance to loosen it. The carcass is then opened down the middle line from the cod (or udder) to the breast-bone, care being taken to shield the point of the knife between the fingers to avoid cutting the intestines. The large intestine is then pulled downward carefully to avoid loosening the kidney fat. The operator uses the knife to 1 The " break joint " or " lamb joint " is a temporary cartilage which forms a dentate suture in tbe head of the shank immediately above the ankle. It will not break in mature sheep because the cartilage is knit or ossified (Illinois Bulletin 147). CARE OF THE CARCASS 453 detach the paunch and liver from the back, pulls the viscera for- ward and either cuts the gullet or pulls it out with the stomach. The liver upon being removed from the viscera and the gall-bladder cut away from it should be placed in a pail of cold water. By cutting around the diaphragm the heart and lungs are removed. The in- side of the carcass is then carefully wiped out with a damp cloth, care being taken to see that the chest cavity is thoroughly drained. To facilitate rapid cooling, the breast-bone may be split and a short spread stick used to hold the carcass open (Fig. 259). FIG. 256. — Removing the pelt. A, skinning around forelegs and neck; B, skinning around hind legs. When dressing sheep for market, the forelegs are folded back at the knee and fastened to the shank with a skewer. This gives the carcass a thicker and neater appearance. Likewise, lamb carcasses are given a fatter, more finished appearance by spreading the caul fat over the legs and flank (Fig. 260). Care of the Carcass. — The mutton or lamb carcass should be allowed to hang until it is thoroughly cooled, at approximately 40 degrees F., if possible. After it is cooled throughout it may, in the winter months, be allowed to freeze and can be preserved almost indefinitely if a frozen condition is maintained. Alternate freezing and thawing is detrimental to the quality and flavor of the meat. If carefully protected from flies by some such means as wrapping a 454 PREPARING MUTTON ON THE FARM FIG. 257. — Last four stages in removing the pelt. A, "fisting" over belly and sides; B, cutting through skin on ventral side; C, "fisting" over shoulder; D, "fisting" over hind legs. METHOD OF CUTTING THE CARCASS 455 piece of cheesecloth loosely about it, the carcass may be cooled in the cellar in the spring and summer months. Method of Cutting the Carcass. — The sheep carcass is very easily divided into the various cuts for table use, since each main division yields a cut of suitable size for the average family (Fig. 258) . FIG. 258. — Mutton and lamb cuts. Each half carcass is divided into: 1, leg; 2. loin; 3, rib; 4, shoulder; 5, breast. The additional equipment required for cutting are a sharp butcher knife, a meat saw, a cleaver, and if possible, a solid bench or block upon which to work. There is a thin, papery membrane covering the entire carcass known as the "fell," which should always be removed from every 456 PREPARING MUTTON ON THE FARM •••••••••I FIG. 259. — Removing viscera. FIG. 260.— The carcass, a, showing spread stick in place; 6, showing how forelegs are folded. LOIN 457 FIG. 261. FIG. 262. FIG. 261. — Dressed for special market. The pelt is not removed and the caul fat is spread over the opening in the ventral side. FIG. 262. — Wrapped first with muslin and then with burlap in preparation for shipment to special market. 458 PREPARING MUTTON ON THE FARM cut of mutton and lamb before it is cooked. It is 'very tough and the woolly flavor is often attributed to its presence. For home use, the carcass should first be divided into halves. With the carcass hanging, the aitch bone is cut through with a knife. The hind legs are spread apart and the carcass sawed down the center of the backbone. Each half of the carcass may then be further divided into the following cuts: Breast. — The breast consists of the flank, plate, and front shank. It is the cheapest cut of the carcass and is used principally for stews. To remove this cut the operator starts at the cod (or udder) and cuts straight forward through a point just above the elbow- joint. The excess fat is then trimmed off and the thin, tough mem- brane on the inside of the flank is removed, after which the ribs are cracked with a cleaver and the fore shank is sawed through in OIK; or two places. Leg. — The leg of mutton is used chiefly as a roast, but may be used for steaks. Because of the thick lean and small amount of bone, it is the most popular roast cut of the carcass. The point at which it is removed varies with the size of roast desired. Ordinarily it is cut off on a line parallel with the ribs at the point where the spinal cord bends upward. The shank may either be removed at the stifle joint and the strip of shank meat skewered over the joint (American or plain trimmed), or it may be sawed off just above the hock and the meat scraped off the bone for a distance of three- fourths to one inch (French trimmed). The most desirable roast for carving is made by removing all bones and tying the meat in a roll. In all cases the thin flank muscles, the tail bones, and excess fat should be trimmed off. Loin. — The most palatable mutton or lamb chops are cut from the loin because it contains the most tender muscles of the carcass. It extends from the leg to the twelfth or next to the last rib. In preparing this cut the kidney is removed and the chops are cut across the loin about three-fourths of an inch thick. The loin also makes a good roast, although the lean is not as thick as that of the leg or shoulder. To prepare a loin roast, the joints of the backbone are cut through with the cleaver or may be removed and the roast tied in a roll. Boneless rolled chops may be cut from a boned loin, skewers being used to hold them in shape. Rib. — The rib extends from the last to the fourth or fifth rib and is used for chops and roasts. Rib chops are cut one rib wide, and the roasts prepared in the same manner as those of the loin. A SLAUGHTERING LAMBS FOR SPECIAL MARKETS 459 crown roast is also made 1'rom the rib cuts. The flesh is rolled back from the lower end of the ribs, the spinal process sawed off, and the two cuts tied end to end, bending the ribs backward. Shoulder. — The shoulder is used for either roasts, chops, or stews. The large amount of bone it contains makes it undesirable for roasting unless boned and rolled, when it practically equals the leg in quality. If not boned, its preparation consists of trimming off the neck square, and cutting through the joints of the backbone with the cleaver. Shoulder chops are cut either parallel to the ribs or across the lower part of the shoulder at the point where the shank was removed. Slaughtering Lambs for Special Markets. — Prime young lambs weighing from fifty to sixty pounds that are ready for sale from one to three months before the regular crop of lambs is large enough to market, are often slaughtered on the farm and sold direct to clubs and high-class hotels in the larger cities. They are marketed with the pelt on and are ordinarily wrapped in two separate covers for shipment, the inner consisting of tough paper or muslin, and the outer of burlap or sacking. This keeps the carcass clean, prevents excessive drying out, and furnishes so-me protection against bruises. In dressing the carcass, a strip of skin four or five inches wide is loosened along the underline, and the skin from around the rectum and from the inside of the legs is removed. The feet are cut off at the ankle- and knee-joints, leaving a small flap of skin to fold back over the joint. All the internal organs are removed except the pluck, which consists of the heart, lungs, and liver. In warm weather these, too, should be removed to insure thorough cooling of the car- cass. The breast-bone is then split and the carcass is spread open with backsets.2 The caul fat is placed over the exposed flesh and the carcass allowed to cool thoroughly before shipping (Fig. 261). A square yard of muslin is sufficient for wrapping one lamb, and should be neatly sewed on so as to cover all the exposed parts of the carcass. The burlap wrapping over the muslin is sometimes omitted and two or three lambs placed in a light crate lined with heavy paper (Fig. 262). - Backsets are sharpened sticks 15 to 18 inches long with a shoulder about an inch back from each point. The points are inserted in the loose skin near the breastbone and the turned-back flank on the opposite side oj' the c:i rrass. rros-sm«; them over the back. 460 PREPARING MUTTON ON THE FARM QUESTIONS 1. Is mutton popular with country people? 2. What equipment is necessary to slaughter a sheep? 3. What equipment is necessary to cut up the carcass of a sheep? 4. Which is more palatable mutton, mature sheep, or lamb? 5. How are lambs dressed on the farm prepared for shipment? INDEX Accumulating stations, 357 Afterbirth, 253, 254 Age, effect of, on rate of growth, 369 indications of, 61 the break-joint, 62 teeth, 61 Alfalfa, a cause of bloat, 277 and corn, proportions of for fatten- ing, 374, 377 experiments of Illinois Station, 374, 377 feeding value of, 277 American Merino (see Merino), 191 Tunis (see Tunis) Ancestral history (see Pedigree), 39 Anus, plugged, 263 Argentine Republic, sheep raising in, 16 Arsenical dip, 310 Astrakan fur, 214 Atwood, Stephen, 190 Auction sales of wool at shipping points, 415 Australia, sheep raising in, 13 present importance of, 14 Bacillus necrophorous, 311 Bakewell, Robert, 7 method of, in improving Leicester breed, 150 Barley, feeding value of, 380 Beans, feeding value of, 381 Bedding, for fattening sheep, 360 Beet by-products, feeding value of, 381 Berkshire Knots, 122 Blackface, Highland, 168 description, 168 distribution, 169 history, 168 mutton, 169 properties, 168 "Blackfaces," 137 Bloat, due to clover and alfalfa, 277 to rape, 280 to soybeans, 281 treatment of, 278 cow's milk, 278 in cows, formalin solution, 278 Bloat, treatment of keeping mouth open, 278 pressure on animal's sides, 278 trocar and cannula, 278 Bluegrass, fattening value of, 276, 387 Bot-fly, sheep, 305 Bovidae, family, 45 Branding, detrimental to wool, 317 Break-joint, 62, 452 Breed type of sheep, 74 and general type inseparable, 75 constitution of, 75 objectionable points, 75 sex character, 75 femininity, 78 masculinity, 76 Breeding, adaptability of sheep, for, 33 of England, 34 of Italy, 34 importance of, in United States, 35 neglect of, 35 Spanish Merinos, 34 ancestry, value of, in, 38 methods of, 37 cross, 40 in England, 42 in United States, 41 of Cotswold, 41 of Hampshire, 40 of Oxford, 41 of Shropshire, 40 trueness of type after, 41 in-and-in, 40 line, 40 of Shropshires in England, 40 mass, 37 merit of, 38 prolificacy, 32 selection of stock, 37 Breeding habits, 64 climatic influence, 65 gestation period, 65 heat, duration of, 65 period of, 64 recurrence of, 65 lambs, number of, of one birth, 66 461 462 INDEX Breeding qualities, of Cheviot, 148 of Dorset Horn, 144 of Oxfords, 135 of Shropshires, 119 of Suffolk, 137 Breeding powers, determined from offspring, 39 unlike in animals of same pedigree, 39 Breeding problems, 27 adaptability, 33 importance of in United States, 35 neglect of, 35 mutton, and wool combined, 33 improvement of, 30 prolificacy, 32 wool, improvement of, 27 fineness, 27 color, 28 qualities combined, 29 Breeding season, 230 ewes, condition of, 230 influence on offspring, 230 how to condition, 230 extra feed, 230 ram, condition of, 232 on western ranges, 410 Breeding stock, raising of, 25 Breeds of sheep, 99 fur-bearing, 212 Karakul, 212 mutton, 99 American Tunis, 184 Berkshire Knots, 122 British, not widely distributed in United States, 168 Corriedale, 163, 180 Devon Long Wool, 175 Dorset Down, 173 Exmoor, 172 Herdwick, 172 Kerry Hill, 175 Lonk, 169 Ryeland, 173 Scotch Blackface Highland, 168 South Devon, 179 Welsh Mountain, 172 Wensleydale, 175 Cheviot, 145 Cotswold, 156 Dorset Horn, 140 Hampshires, 122 Kent, 164 Leicester, 150 Breeds of sheep, mutton, Lincoln, 161 Oxford, 132 Romney Marsh, 164 Shropshire, 110 Southdown, 102 Suffolk, 137 on western ranges, 401 wool, 188 Merinos, 188 American, 190 Delaine, 200 Rambouillet, 203 Broadtail fur, 214 Bucks, 341 Buildings for sheep, 435 barn, shape of, 435 dryness, 437 feed racks, 439 combination, 440 for roughage, 439 floors, 437 space required per animal, 438 interior arrangement, 438 lamb creep, 443 lambing pens, 441 light, 437 location, 435 outside equipment, 447 dipping plant, 447 fences and hurdles, 447 pasture, nearness to, 435 silos, 447 shearing floor, 446 troughs, feeding, 441 watering, 445 ventilation, 437 warmth, 435 wool room, 446 Camp tenders, kind of mm employed, 404 of California, 405 of northwestern ranges, 405 of western ranges, 403 Canterbury lambs, 182 Castration, 282, 283 Cheviot, 145 breeding qualities of, 148 cross-breeding of, 148 with Border Leicesters, 154 description, 145 distribution, 148 half-breds, 148 hardiness of, 147 INDEX 463 Cheviot, history, 145 markings, 147 mutton or lamb, 148 origin of, 145 properties of, 147 skin, 147 wool, 147 Clover, a cause of bloat, 277 and corn, in fattening process, 376, 379 feeding value of, 277 sweet, feeding value of, 279 Coal tar dip, 310 Commission houses, wool marketing through, 414 Concentrates for fattening, 379 barley, 380 commercial, 381 beet by-products, 381 molasses products, 381 wheat bran, 381 screenings, 381 composition of, 382 emmer, 380 grains, 379 kafir corn, 380 oats, 380 peas and beans, 380 Constipation, in young lambs, 263 Cooperative selling of wool, 415 Corn, and alfalfa, for fattening, 374, 377 and clover hay, 376, 379 forms of feeding, 375 Cornfields, value of as feeding fields, 388 Corn harvesting with lambs, 388 Cornstalks, feeding value of, 390 Corriedale, 41, 163, 180 breeding qualities, 182 description, 180 distribution, 183 history, 180 importation into U. S., 182 mutton, 182 properties of, 182 Cotswold, 124, 156 breeding qualities, 158 cross-breeding, 159 description, 156 distribution, 160 formation of, 41 history, 156 markings, 158 Cotswold, mutton, 159 properties of, 159 skin, 158 transition from old to modern type, 156 wool, 158 Cowpeas, feeding value of, 281 Coyotes, depredations of, 424 Creep, 272 construction of, 273 Cross-breeding, 40 for wool and mutton combined, 33 in England, 42 in United States, 41 of Cheviot, 148 of Cotswold, 41 of Hampshires, 40, 130 of Karakul, 213 of Leicesters, 153 Border and Cheviot, 154 of Oxford, 41 rams on Merino ewes, 135 of Shropshire, 40 of Suffolk, 139 trueness of type after, 41 Devon Long Wool breed, 175 Digestible nutrients, in fattening ra- tion, 377 balance in, 379 protein, 378 in roughages, 385 in succulent feeds, 385 in various concentrates, 382 Digestive tract of sheep, 57 Dip, arsenical, 310 coal-tar, 310 lime-sulfur, 309 manufactured, 310 tobacco, 310 Dipping, for destruction of lice, 306 of maggot fly, 306 of scab mite, 308 of ticks, 306 on western ranges, 419 plant, 447 Docking, 282 ' operation for, 283 Dogs, a menace to sheep raising, 312 Dorset Down, 173 Dorset Horn, 140 . breeding habits of, 64, 144 Delaine Merino cross, 144 description, 141 464 INDEX Dorset Horn, distribution, 144 form, 141 history, 140 markings, 142 modern, development of, 140 old stock, 140 properties, 143 size, 141 skin, 142 standard of excellence for breed, 142 wool, 141 Drenches, 300 coal-tar creosote, 301 copper sulfate, 301 gasoline, 301 how to give, 302 when to give, 303 Dry lot, 355 for nodule disease, 304 for prevention of stomach worms, 303 Ellman, John, 102 Southdowns improved by, 102 Embargo Act of 1807, influence of, 9 Emmer, feeding value of, 380 England, cross-breeding in, 42 the center of mutton improvement, 32 the home of mutton breeds, 8 sheep of, adaptability of, 34 . sheep raising in, 6 events affecting, 6 Bakewell's improvement of breed, 7 grant of protection to weavers, etc., 6 plague of 1348, 6 root and clover crops, in- troduction of, 7 Ewes, as a market class, 341 care of, after difficult lambing, 254 afterbirth, 254 flushing, 254 lacerations, 254 stimulants, 254 womb, eversion of, 254 after parturition, 253 feed, 253 udder troubles (see Udder troubles), 255 water, 253 Ewes, care of before parturition, 250 ration, 250 shearing of udder, 250 during lambing period (see Lamb- ing period), 246 during parturition, 251 delivery, assistance in, 251 birth difficult, 251 birth impossible, dismember- ing foetus, 252 during pregnancy, 236 condition, 236 economy and efficiency in compounding rations, 237 exercise, violent exertion harmful, 240 feeds, harvested, 237 corn, 237 oats, 237 if pasture is limited, 236 in fields, 236 rations of Illinois Station, 242 of Indiana Station, 244 of Wisconsin Station, 243 roots, 239 caution in feeding, 239 roughages, 238 silage, 238 shelter, 241 draughts and warmth, 241 water, 240 shelter and shade, 293 conditioning of, for mating, 230 avoidance of over-fat, 231 extra feed, 230 feeding of, after lambs are weaned, 293 after mating, 231 salt and water, 293 suckling ewes, 267 abrupt changes inadvisable, 268 concentrates, 267 dry lot rations, 269 from Illinois Station, 269 from Ohio Station, 270 quantity, 268 roughages, 268 variety of feed, 269 water and salt, 269 femininity in, 78 masculine, discarded, 78 INDEX 465 Ewes, preparing for mating, 231 clipping around dock, 231 recording of service, 231 selection of, for farm flock (see Farm flock), 220 for mating, 38 for range flocks, 228 woolly-faced, not heavy milkers, 128 Exmoor breed, 172 Eyes, sore, of young lambs, 265 due to eyelashes, 266 Farm flock, buildings and equipment for, 435 commercial, establishing the, 219 methods of, 219 with full flock, 219 with small flock, 219 ewes, culling out of, 224 replacing of, after, flock is estab- lished, 223 early maturing stock, 224 from heavy milking dams, 224 of uniform age, 224 selecting of, 220 constitution of animal, 221 disposition, 223 feeding conditions and purpose, 223 fleece, 222 growth and thrift, 221 mutton form, 222 physical condition, 223 uniformity in breeding and size, 220 sources for securing, 220 ram, selection of, 224 • activity and vigor, 227 breed type, 228 fleece, 228 if ewe lambs are saved for breeding purposes, 228 mutton type, 227 pure-bred animal imperative, 225 size, 227 with regard to defects of ewes, 228 Farm flock method of sheep raising, 22 Fattening, 369 age, effect of, on growth, 369 on rate and economy of gain, 371 30 Fattening, concentrates, value of, commercial, 381 beet by-products, 381 molasses products, 381 wheat bran, 381 screenings, 381 comparison of, 382 corn harvesting with lambs, 388 digestible nutrients, 377 feeder lambs, 369 grain, feeding value of, 379 barley, 380 emmer, 380 kafir corn, 380 oats, 380 protein requirement, 378 age influence on, 379 roots, 383 roughages, 382 carbonaceous, 383 comparison of, 385 legume hay, 382 prairie hay, 383 sorghum hay, 383 straw, 383 timothy hay, 383 silage, 383 corn, 384 pea, 384 sorghum, 384 field feeding, 387 cornfields, 388 cornstalks, 390 gain in weight from, 390 general suggestions, 390 grass, 387 bluegrass, 387 timothy, 387 rape, 387 feeds, concentrates, 379 commercial, 381 condition of, 377 corn, 375 corn and clover hay, 376, 379 form to be given, 374 grain and roughage, proportion of, 373 ground, 375 protein, 378 roots, 377 roughages, 376 silage, 376 466 INDEX Fattening, succulent feeds, 376 comparison of, 385 old ewes, 370 rate and economy of gain, factors affecting, 369 self-feeders, 372 sex influence, 371 wethers and ewe lambs, com- parison of, 372 shearing, influence of, 372 shifting from fields to dry lot, 390 yearlings and wethers, 370 scarcity of, 370 Feed, amount consumed by lambs until ready for market, 285 rations, experimental, 285 Illinois Station, 286 Ohio Station, 289 condition of, for fattening sheep, 377 field, 387 bluegrass, 387 corn, 388 rape, 387 timothy, 387 for ewes, after mating, 231 after parturition, 253 for conditioning, 230 cowpeas, 281 in breeding season, 230 in pregnancy, 236 corn, 237 economy and efficiency in compounding rations, 237 experimental rations, of Illinois Station, 242 of Indiana Station, 244 of Wisconsin Station, 243 oats, 237 roots, 239 caution in reeding, 239 roughages, 238 silage, 238 for lambs, 271 for rams in breeding season, 232 grinding of, 375 corn, 375 succulent, comparison of, 385 racks, 439 combination, 440 for roughage, 439 Feeder sheep, 349 common grades, 354 condition, 353 constitution of, 352 Feeder sheep, form in, 352, 354 grades of, 351 choice, 351 quality of, 352 selection of, 81 weight, 353 of fancy selected lambs, 354 Feeding, 26 • accustoming animals to feeds, 365 and drinking habits, 62 change of feeding ground, 63 short herbage preferred, 63 water requirement, 64 and shepherding, 37 business of, a fattening process, 360 bedding, 360 equipment for, 360 influenced by market indications, 358 by general level of meat prices, 359 by general prosperity of people, o59 by price of wool, 359 by supply of feed, 359 of feeder sheep, 358 of other meat animals, 359 nature of, 358 success of feeding operation, 358 sheds and lots, 362 daily rations of Illinois Station, 365 even conditions, importance of. 367 feed supply, 360 feeding period, length of, 364 field, 387 cornstalks, 390 general suggestions for, 390 first steps in, 365 dry roughage, 365 full feed, 366 free choice system, 272 general considerations, 355 hand-feeding, 367 in autumn and winter, 355 increasing feed, 366 of late-born lambs, 275 "off feed," 368 quiet surroundings, 367 ration, manner of giving, 367 regularity, 367 salt, 361 INDEX 467 Feeding, self-feeder method, 367 sorting out marketable animals, 365 troughs and racks, 364 types of, 355 dry lot, 355 feeds, concentrates, 355 harvested or stored, 355 over fields, altogether, 357 feeding period, 357 first, then under shelter, 356 pea hull silage, 358 specialized plants, 357 under shelter, 356 advantages of, 356 water, 361 Feeding plants, specialized, 358 Feeding stations, 357 Feeding value of alfalfa, 277 barley, 380 beans, 381 beet by-products, 381 bluegrass, 276, 387 clover, 277 sweet, 279 concentrates (see Concentrates), 379 corn, 237, 374, 377 kafir, 380 cornstalks, 375, 390 cowpeas, 281 emmer, 380 field feeds, 387 grain (see Grain), 379 hay, legume, 382 prairie, 383 sorghum, 383 timothy, 383 molasses products, 381 oats, 380 rape, 387 roots, 239, 377, 383 roughages (see Roughages), 238, 268, 376, 382 rye, 279 silage, 383 corn, 384 pea, 384 sorghum, 384 soybeans, 280 straw, 383 succulent feeds, 376 timothy, 387 wheat bran, 381 screenings, 381 Femininity of ewes, 78 mild expression indicative of, 78 Fences and hurdles, 447 Fleece (see Wool), Flocking instinct, 67 value of, 68 Flushing, 230, 254 feeds for, 230 Folding habits, 64 Foot gland, 46 Foothills and mountains for range feeding, 393 Foot-rot, 311 contagious, 311 non-contagious, 311 Free-choice system of feeding, 272 Fur-bearing sheep, 212 Garget, 255 contagiousness of, 255 effect of, on lamb, 256 treatment of, 255 Gestation period for ewes, 65 Glands, foot, of goats, 47 of sheep, 46 functions of, 46 skin, of sheep, 55 suborbital face, 46 Glossary of terms used in wool trade, 327 Goats, foot glands in, 47 Goitre, sheep, 311 Grain and roughage, proportion of, in fattening process, 373 feeding value of, 379 barley, 380 corn, 237, 374, 377 emmer, 380 kafir corn, 380 oats, 380 Grass, fattening value of, 387 bluegrass, 387 timothy, 387 Gregariousness, 67 Grub in the head, 305 Habits of sheep, 62 breeding (see Breeding habits), 64 change of feeding ground, 63 feeding and drinking, 62 nocking instinct, 67 value of, 68 folding, 64 following the leader, 68 468 INDEX Habits of sheep, non-resistance to disease, 69 recognition of young, 66 short herbage preferred, 63 timidity and defencelessness, 68 water requirement, 64 Hair of sheep, 52 cortex, 53 cuticle, 53 follicle, 52 medulla, 53 Hammond, Edwin, 191 American Merino of, 191 Hampshire breed, 122 breeding qualities, 129 ewes, 129 description, 127 distribution, 131 early maturity, cause of, 126 for cross-breeding, 130 form, 127 history, 122 old stock, 122 work of Humphrey, 124 lambs, 129 making of, 40 markings, 128 mutton, 129 properties of, 129 rate of growth, 129 skin, 129 weight, 127 wool, 127 Hay, feeding value of, legume, 382 prairie, 383 sorghum, 383 timothy, 383 Heat of ewes, duration of, 65 period of, 64 recurrence of, 65 Herders, of California, 405 kind of men employed, 404 Mexican, 404 on northwestern ranges, 405 on western ranges, 402 Herding, on western ranges, 411 Herdwick sheep, 172 Highland sheep, black-faced, flocking habit of, 67 Horns and hoofs, 55 Hurdling method of sheep raising, 23 objects of, 24 Humphrey, work of, 124 Improvement of sheep, methods of, 37 In-and-in breeding, 40, 50 Indigestion, in young lambs, 264 Inheritance, differences in, with same pedigree, 39 Interdigital pouch, 46 Intestines of sheep, 58 instruments for dismembering foetus when delivery is impossible, 252 Italy, sheep of, adaptability of, 34 Judging sheep, 82 faults of beginners, 96 fleece and skin, 93 mutton breeds, 93 wool breeds, 93 density of, 93 handling, 85 correct touch, 85 fat estimation, 96 the back, 88 the front, 89 the head, 91 the middle, 87 the neck, 91 the rear, 85 the ribs, 89 the rump, 87 looking animal over, 82 front view, 82 rear view, 85 side view, 82 noting defects, 93 preparation for, 82 student's score card No. 9, 84 teeth, 93 Kafir corn, feeding value of, 380 Karakul, 212 cross-breeding, 213 description, 212 distribution, 213 history, 212 lamb fur, 214 types of, 214 value of, 214 properties, 212 wool, 212 Kemps, 314 Kent breed (see Romney Marsh), 164 Kerry Hill breed, 175 Krimmer fur, 214 INDEX 469 Lamb creep, 272, 275, 443 construction of, 273 feeding, amount of feed consumed, 274 methods of, 267 creep, 272, 275 direct, 271 grain, 271 grain mixture, 271 free choice system, 272 indirectly, through ewe (see Ewes, suckling, feeding of), 267 grass, 275 green feed before grass season, 274 learning to eat, 27 salt and water, 293 fur, 214 Astrakan, 214 Broadtail, 214 Krimmer, 214 Persian, 214 value of, 214 in meat dietary, importance of, 449 joint, 452 troubles, 259 disowned lamb, 259 arousing mother instinct, 259 one of twins, 261 milk supply of ewe insufficient for twins, 263 orphan lamb, 262 feeding with cow's milk, 262 foster mother, 262 Lambing, difficulty in, 251 care of ewe after, 254 afterbirth, 254 flushing, 254 lacerations, 254 stimulants, 254 womb, eyersion of, 254 dismembering foetus by instru- ments, 252 preparation for, 246 appliances, 248 drugs, 247 ewe, care of, before, 250 quarters, 246 warmth necessary, 246 the shepherd, 250 supplies, 247 on western ranges, 416 docking and castrating, 418 equipment required, 409 Lambing, on western ranges, extra helpers during, 417 handling, method of, 417 labor required during, 406 last task of, 418 location for, 416 percentage of lambs, 419 protection from predatory ani- mals, 416 rate of births, 417 shelter, 416 pens, 246, 441 period, 246 on western ranges, 416 Lambs, as a market class, 340 care of, 267 docking and castrating, 282 how to feed, 273 quarters, 270 shelter and shade (see Shelter and shade), 293 summer management, 291 feeder, 369 growth, importance of, 267 late-born, feeding of, 275 losses of, on western ranges, 424 marketable at weaning time, 284 feed consumed until, 285 rations, experimental, 286 Illinois Station, 286 Ohio Station, 289 number of, at one birth, 66 slaughtering of, for special markets, 458 dressing the carcass, 458 weaning of, 291 age proper for, 291 early, advantages of, 291 feecting after, 292 procedure in, 291 separation, of ewes for breeding, 293 from mothers, 292 of rams from ewes, 293 young, ailments and diseases of, 263 constipation, 263 indigestion, 264 navel ill, 266 pinning, 263 "plugged" anus, 263 sore eyes, 265 due to eyelashes, 266 sore mouth, 266 white scours, 264 470 INDEX Lambs, young, caring for, 256 assistance to nurse, 257 at birth, 256 disowned lamb, 259 orphan lamb, 262 weaklings, 258 feeding enforced, 258 first feeding, 258 respiration, 258 when chilled, 259 with thickened tongue, 259 Leicester sheep, 150 comparison of, with Lincoln, 161 cross-breeding with Merinos, 153 distribution of, 154 mutton, 153 properties of, 153 pure-bred flocks, 154 types of, 150 Border, 150 Cheviot cross, 154 description, 153 history, 153 English, 150 Bakewell's improvement of, 150 description, 152 history, 150 markings, 152 skin, 152 wool of, 152 Lice, sheep, 306 Lime-sulfur dip, 309 Lincoln sheep, 161 comparison of, with Leicester, 161 cross-breeding with Merinos, 163 description, 161 distribution, 163 history, 161 markings, 162 Merino cross of Argentine, 163 properties, 163 skin, 162 wool, 161 Line breeding, 40 Shropshires of England, 40 Lonk sheep, 169 Maggot fly, 305 Market, for wool, 327 Market classes of sheep, 340 breeding sheep, 340 bucks and stags, 341 Market classes of sheep, ewes, 341 feeder sheep, 340, 349 condition of, 353 constitution of, 352 form in, 352, 354 grades, 351 choice, 351 common, 354 • weight, of fancy selected lambs, 354 to be considered, 353 lambs, 340 main classes,, 340 mutton grades, 340, 342 common, 347 condition, 344, 346 dressing percentage, 349 fancy selected, 342 form, 342 handling necessary to grade, 345 intermediate, 347 lamb, prime, 341 fat indications on, 345 Mexican, 344 pelt, 343 prime, 342 form, 342 quality, general, 343 pelt, weight of, 343 of flesh and condition, 344, 346 weight, 345, 347 sub-classes, 340 wethers, 341 yearlings, 341 Market lambs at weaning time, 284 Market type of sheep, 80 Masculinity of rams, 76 importance of, 76 pronounced indications of, 76 Mass breeding, 37 merit of, 38 Mating, study of, 38 Merino, American, 190 Atwood's development of, 190 breeding qualities, 198 description, 192 distribution, 198 gestation period for, 66 gregariousness of, 67 hardiness, 198 history, 190 importations of, 190 INDEX 471 Merino, American, "Old Black," 191 pioneer breeders, 192 properties, 198 "Sweepstakes," 191 types of, 192 A-type, 193 wool of, 193 B-type, 196 wool of, 196 C-type (see Merino, Delaine), 196 Hammond's, 191 Black Top, Improved, 201 Spanish, 201 California French, foundation stock of, 205 cross-breeding with Leicesters, 153 Delaine, 200 description, 201 distribution, 201 history, 200 origin in Ohio, 201 properties, 201 types of, 200 Black Top Improved, 201 Spanish, 201 Dickinson, 200 for western ranges, 200 importation to North America, 9 introduction of, in Australia, 13 in South Africa, 17 types, 17 in South America, 16 importance of, 16 life of, 61 of New Zealand, 14 of Saxony, 9 of Spain, 3, 188 adaptability poor, 34 characteristics of, 5 Estantes, 188 Transhumantes, 188 origin of, 188 skin of, 51 time of development, 59 wool of, 56 surface of growth, 55 Mexican herders, 404 Milk, ewe's and cow's, analysis of, 263 Molasses products, feeding value of, 381 Mouths, sore, in young lambs, 266 Mutton, demand for, beginning of, 33 importance of, in meat dietary, 449 Mutton, improvement of, 30 changes involved in, 32 combined with wool, 33 England the center of, 32 preparation of, on farm, 449 carcass, cutting of, 455 breast, 455 leg, 455 loin, 455 rib, 458 shoulder, 458 slaughter, care before, 449 method of (see Slaughter), 450 of lambs for special markets, 458 dressing the carcass, 458 Mutton breeds, 99 characteristics of, 70 body, 71, 72 fore quarters, 71 head, 70 hind quarters, 72 legs, 72 neck, 70 skin and wool, 73 comparison with wool type, 74 England the home of, 7 English, skin of, 51 environment in relation to type, 99 form of prime animal, 342 gregariousness of, 67 handling necessary to grade, 345 life of, 61 market grades of, 342 common, 347 prime, desirable weights for, 347 of Australia, 14 of New Zealand, 14 of North America, introduction of, 10 of South America, 16 origin of, 99 quality of, 72 flesh and condition, 344, 346 general, 343 pelt, weight of, 343 Southdown, 102 Navel ill, 266 New Zealand, sheep population in, density of, 14 sheep raising in, 14 472 INDEX Nodule disease, 303 effects of, 304 parasite of, 303 life history of, 303 North America, sheep raising in (see Sheep raising in North America), 9 Oats, feeding value of, 380 and Canadian peas, 280 winter, 279 Over-heating, 311 symptoms of, 311 treatment for, 311 Ovis aries, species, 45 Oxford or Oxford Down, 132 breeding qualities, 135 ewes, 135 rams, 135 description, 132 distribution, 135 form, 132 history, 132 markings, 134 properties of, 134 size, 132 skin, 134 wool, 134 Parasites, sheep, 296 bot-fly, 305 Estrus ovis, 305 Hsemonchus contortus, 296 lice, 306 maggot fly, 305 Melophagus ovinus, 306 Musca vomitorium, 305 CEsophagostomum columbianum, 303 of nodule disease, 303 Psoraptes communis ovis, 307 scab mite, 307 stomach worm, 296 tape-worm, 304 Tenia expahsa, 304 ticks, 306 Trichocephalus sperocephalus, 306 Parturition, 253 care of ewe after (see also Ewe, care of), 253 feed, 253 water, 253 care of ewe before, 250 Parturition, care of ewe during, 251 birth, difficult, due to abnormal development, 251 impossible, dismembering fcEtus, 252 delivery, assistance in, 251 skill in, 253 indications of, 251 Pastures and forage crops, 276 alfalfa, 277 bluegrass, 276 clover, 277 sweet, 279 comparison of, 281 cowpeas, 281 mixed grasses, 276 oats and Canadian peas, 280 parasites, infestation by, 282 rape, 279 caution in feeding of, 280 fattening power of, 280 sown in corn, 280 rye, 279 sheep husbandry not dependent on permanent grass, 282 soybeans, 280 timothy, 276 winter oats, 279 Peas, feeding value of, 381 Pedigree, 38, 39 in relation to breeding qualities, 39 overestimation of, 39 Pelts, 343 value of, 343 weight of, 343 Pens, lambing, 246, 441 Persian lamb fur, 214 Pinning, in young lambs, 263 Placenta, 253, 254 Plains for range feeding, 393 Poisonous plants, 423 Political unrest in leading sheep countries of South America, 15 Predatory animals, 312, 424 coyotes, 313 dogs, 312 Pregnancy, care of ewes during (see Ewes during pregnancy), 236 Prolificacy in breeding, 32 Protein requirement for fattening, 378 Pure-bred flock method of sheep raising, 25 Racks, for sheep feeding, 364 INDEX 473 Rambouillet sheep, 203 breeding qualities, 209 description, 206 distribution, 210 early records preserved, 203 i export of, to South Africa, 17 French flocks, 203, 204 gestation period for, 66 importation to United States, 204 markings, 206 mutton, 209 Ohio State Fair classification, 209 origin of, 203 popularity of, 210 properties, 209 purpose in breeding, 203 type, 206 folded or wrinkled, 208 smooth or plain, 208 wool, 206 Ram, care of, after breeding season, 242 on western ranges, 410 condition of, for service, 232 exercise, 232 feed for, 233 masculinity in, 75 number of ewes served by, 234 influenced by method of hand- ling, 235 preparation of, for mating, 234 clipping, 234 painting between fore-legs to mark ewes, 234 teaser, use of, 234 running with flock, 232 selection of, for farm flock (see Farm flock), 224 for mating, 38 for range flocks, 229 Range flocks, ewes, selection of, 228 rams, selection of, 229 Range method of sheep raising, on enclosed lands, 20 advantages of, 22 supplemented by cultivated crops, 20 using herders, 20 Ranges, western, breeding of sheep on, 399 breeding season on, 410 rams, care of during, 410 Ranges, western, breeds for, 400 herding qualities, 400 Merino, 400 mutton breeds, 401 changes in past twenty-five years, 426 added 'cost, 427 charges for lands, 427 for maintenance, 427 investment in land, 428 of trailing from one range to another, 428 affect, on cost of production, 431 on cost per head, 431 allotments by National Forest service, 427 beneficial, 430 cultivated crops, 430 railway facilities, 430 greater investment required, 430 in range areas, 426 labor, better provision re- quired, 429 cost of, 429 inefficiency of, 428 occupancy by homesteaders, 426 classes of sheep on, 401 cultivated areas, 395 dipping, 419 equipment required, for lamb- ing, 409 for handling a band, 407 summer, 407 winter, 407 harvested crops supplementing winter range, 395 herding, 411 lambing, docking and castrating, 418 hurdling, method of, 417 last task of, 418 location for, 416 percentage of lambs, 419 period of, 416 extra helpers during, 417 shelter during, 416 rate of births, 417 leasing of, cost of, 399 from U. S. Government, 395 474 INDEX Ranges, western, management of, 402 basis of, 402 fall and winter, 410, 411 herders and camp tenders, duties of, 402, 403 kind of men employed, 404 Mexican, 404 of California, 405 of Northwest, 405 provisions for, 405 labor required to handle a band, 402 in shearing season, 406 in lambing season, 406 losses, by "strays," 423 from coyotes, 424 from lack of shelter, 422 from poisonous plants, 423 from predatory animals, 424 from snowstorms, 421 of young lambs, 424 problems in, 421 losses, 421 selling price, 425 shortage of feed, 424 ranch headquarters, 406 size of band, 402 spring and summer, 416 summer range, 421 transfer to, 419 wages per month in various states, 406 nature of range, 393 ownership of, 395 private, 399 railway land grants, 399 U. S. Government, 395 predatory animals, protection from, 416 profit and loss on, 421 shearers, 413 carelessness of, 413 hand, 412 nomadic life of, 413 shearing, 411 camps, 411 hand and machine, 412 number of fleeces removed per day, 412 types of land utilized, 393 foothills and mountains, 393 plains, 393 Ranges, western, wool, marketing of, 414 by auction sales, 415 by commission houses, 414 by contracting, 414 by cooperative selling, 415 expense of, 416 Rape, a cause of bloat, 280 t caution in use of, 280 fattening power of, 280, 387 feeding value of, 279 growing of, 388 sown in corn, 280 Rations, dry lot, for suckling ewes, 269 of Illinois Station, 269 of Ohio Station, 270 Record of service, keeping of, 231 Roots, a sheep feed, 239 feeding value of, 383 in fattening process, 377 Romney Marsh sheep, 164 description, 164 distribution, 166 history, 164 native home of, 164 old type, 164 properties of, 165 breeding qualities, 166 hardiness, 165 mutton quality, 166 resistance to disease, 165 superior as a grazing sheep, 166 wool, 165 Roughage and grain, proportion of in fattening process, 373 Roughages, comparison of, 385 feeding value of, carbonaceous, 383 for fattening, 382 legume hay, 382 Rye, feeding value of, 279 Ryeland breed, 173 Salt, feeding of, 361 Scab, eradication of from U. S., 309 symptoms, 308 treatment, 308 Scab mite, 307 dips for destruction of, 309 Scotch Blackface Highland sheep (see Blackface), 168 Self-feeders, 367, 372 Sex influence in fattening sheep, 371 INDEX 475 Sex type or character, 75 Sex weakness in rams, 76 Seymour, Richard, 140 Shearers, carelessness of, 413 hand, 412 on western ranges, 413 Shearing, 322 early, objections to, 323 good, requirements for, 321 hand shears, 321 power machines preferable, 321 influence of, on fattening sheep, 372 of breeding ewes, 322 on western ranges, 412 places for, 323 time for, 322 farm flocks, 322 range sheep, 322 Shearing camps, 411 Shearing floor, 446 Shearing machines, power, 321 Shearing season, on western ranges, 411 labor required during, 406 Sheep, a, ruminant, 45 and lamb feeding (see Feeding), 26, 355 breeding of, on western ranges, 399 breeds of for range, 400 buildings for (see Buildings), 435 class of, on western ranges, 401 difference of, from other Bovidse, 45 enemies of, 68 fattening of (see Feeding), 355 feeder (see Marlet classes), 349 fine-wool of Italy, 34 adaptability poor, 34 . habits of, breeding (see Breeding habits), 64 feeding and drinking, 62 water requirement, 64 feeding ground, change of, 63 flocking instinct, 67 value of, 68 folding, 64 following the leader, 68 non-resistance to disease, 69 recognition of young, 66 short herbage preferred, 63 increase in value of, 13 judging of (see Judging sheep), 82 life of a, 59 age, indications of, 61 break-joint, the, 62 Sheep, teeth, 01 old age, 59 change of surroundings bene- ficial, 59 of slow development, 61 time of full growth, 59 management of, on western ranges (see Ranges, western), 402 market classes of (see Market classes), 340 mutton, grades of (see Market grades), 342 native home of, 63 nature of, 59 of England, adaptability of, 34 position in zoological scheme, 45 problems in improvement of, 27 structure of, 45 digestive tract, 57 intestines, 58 stomach, 58 teeth, 57, 61, 62 glands, foot, 46 functions of, 46 suborbital face, 46 hair, 52 cortex of, 53 cuticle, 53 follicle, 52 medulla, 53 hairy covering, variations in, 55 horns and hoofs, 55 interdigital pouch, 46 skeleton, 47 ribs, 48 sternum or breast-bone, 48 variations in effects of, 48 vertebrae, 47 skin, and appendages, 51 color of, 51 glands of, 55 upper lip, 63 wool, 54 function of, 54 irregularity of growth, 55 variations in, 55 summer enemies of, 296 teeth of, at advanced age, 62 at various ages, 61 timidity and defencelessness of, 68 types of, 70 breed, 74 and general type inseparable, 75 470 INDEX Sheep, types of, bre and Spain, dissimilarities of, 5 events affecting, C> Hakewell's improvement of breed, 7 grant of protection to weavers, etc., li plague of I.'MS, (i root and clover crops, ml rod net ion of, 7 in farming regions, b> in New Zealand, I I density of sheep population, 15 paddock or fencing system, 1.1 in North America, !) colonial lime , 9 t he 1'lmbargo Act, S Merino:,, imporlal ion of, 10 mill Ion breeds, ml rodncl ion of, i:; in South Africa, Hi conditions unfavorable, 17 in South America, 1.1 mutton breeds, l(i present stal us, 1(> political revolutions a hin- drance to, Hi Soul lidowns, Mi in Spain, l{ Merino, .'{ monopoly of, 1 • broken, .1 stationary (locks, b' increase in value, !.'» |)resent types of, in leading sheep countries, 20 farm Hock method, 22 hurdling met hod, 2.'i objects of, 21 pure-bred (lock method, 2"> range method, on enclosed lands, 20 advantages of, 22 supplemented bv culti- vated crops, 20 using herders, 20 prolificacy in, .T2 Sheep wagon, 107 Shelter and shade, 2M INDl'iX 477 Shelter nnd shade, for fattening sheep, 862 type of, 363 for lambing, '1 Id lor pregnant ewes, 241 in pasture, 275 losses due to lack of, 121! movable, 29-1 protection from summer ruins, 206 I rees, '-".K! parasites, danger of, under, L>(.M Shepherd, the, 250 Shepherding and feeding, 'M Shropshires, 1 10 breeding qualities, 119 ewes, I 19 rams, 120 descrip! ion, 1 II development, method of, 1 10 cooperation of breeders, 112 cross-breeding;, 111 distribution, 121 form and weight, 1 15 format ion of breed, 40 history, 110 horns, 118 line breeding in England, 40 markings, I IS of present day, 115 old types, I 10 prolificacy of, 1 1(.» properties of, hardiness and feed- ing, 118 mutton, 1 IS recognition as a breed, 1 14 skin, IIS style, 1 Hi uniformity of type, 41 wool, 1 Id color of, 117 Silage, feeding value of, 383 com, 3xi pea, iiSl pea hull, 358 sorghum, iiSl for pregnant ewes, 238 in fat lening process, 376 Silo, local ion of, 1 17 Skeleton of sheep, 17 ribs, 48 sternum or breast-bone, 48 variations in effects of, 48 vertebra1, 47 Skin of sheep, .">! Skin and appendages, 52 color- of, f)| Slaughter, care of animal before, 449 equipment required for, 450 met hod of, 450 carcass, care of , 453 cutting of, 455 breast, 458 leg, 458 loin, r,s ribs, 458 shoulder, 1:7.) removal of pelt, 450 of viscera, 452 sticking, 450 of lambs, for special markets, 458 South Devon breed, 17!) Southdown, 102 :i preeminent mutton breed, 107 breeding qualit ies, HIS cross-breeding, 10S description, 105 disqualifications, 107 distribution, regional, 109 features, 100 form and \\ciglit, 105 gestation period for, 66 hardiness and feeding qualities, 107 history of, 102 improvement by Ellman, 103 by Webb, 105 in South America, introduction of, r, markings and skin, 106 old type, H)2 properties of, 107 .societies for promotion of breed, 10!) South Africa, sheep raising in, 16 South America, sheep raising in, 15 Soybeans, a cause of bloat, 2S1 feeding value of, 280 Spam, sheep raising in, :; the Merino, 3 monopoly of, 4 broken, 5 stationary flocks, 5 Spanish Merinos, adaptability of, 34 Stags, :;n Stomach of sheep, 58 Stomach worm, 29(5 eradication of, 299 changing pasture, 299 478 INDEX Stomach worm, eradication of. drenches, 300 coal-tar creosote, 301 copper sulfate, 301 gasoline, 301 how to give, 302 when to give, 303 keeping host animals off pas- tures, 300 plowing the land, 300 examination for, 298 harm done by, 299 life history of, 296 eggs, 296 larvae, ensheathed, 297 temperature, effect of, on, 297 young, 297 mature worm, 298 prevention of, by use of dry lot, 303 symptoms of, 299 Straw, feeding value of, 383 Strays, losses by, 424 Student's score card No. 9, 84 Suborbital face glands, 46 Suffolk breed, 137 breeding qualities, 137 description, 137 distribution, 139 for cross-breeding, 139 hardiness, 139 history, 137 mutton quality, 137 properties, 137 Summer enemies of the flock, 296 Supplies for lambing, 247 Tape-worm, 304 symptoms, 304 Teaser, 234 Teeth of sheep, 57 indicators of age, 61 of advanced age, 62 Territory wools, 320 Ticks, 306 Timothy, fattening value of, 387 feeding value of, 276 Tobacco dip, 310 Troughs, feeding, 364, 441 watering, 445 Tunis, American, 184 breeding habits of, 64 description, 186 Tunis, history, 184 properties, 187 wool, 187 Twine tying,, 325 Types of sheep (see Sheep, types of), 325 Udder troubles, 255 garget, 255 inflammation, 255 teats, hard core in, 256 sore, 256 United States, cross-breeding in, 41 sheep raising in, adaptabiii^. important, 35 Water, for fattening sheep, 361 Weaning, 291 feeding lambs after, 292 procedure in, 291 proper age for, 291 separation of lambs from ewes, 292 treatment of ewes after, 293 Webb, Jonas, 102 Southdowns improved by, 105 Welsh Mountain sheep, 172 Wensleydale sheep, 175 Wethers, 78, 341 fattening of, 370 feeder, scarcity of, 370 Wheat bran, feeding value of, 381 screenings, feeding value of, 381 White scours, 264 Wiltshires, 122 Womb, eversion of, after lambing, 254 treatment of, 254 Wool, best types of, 223 branding with paint detrimental to, .317 classifications and grades of, 318 classes of, age influence on, 318 carpet, 318 clothing, 318 combing, 318 comparative value of, 318 noils, 318 cleanliness, 317 color, 28 condition, 316 counts to which it will spin, 320 cross-bred, 30 fibers, off-colored, 314 strength of, 315 tests for, 315 INDEX 479 Wool, fine, 27 production of, by Romans, 28 importance of, 28 foreign, classes and corresponding counts for American grade, 320 counts or number of hanks to pound, 320 function of, 54 grades of, 318 importance of, 314 in new countries, 8 improvement of, 27 combined with mutton, 33 effect of newer manufacturing processes on, 30 irregularity of growth, 55 kemps in, 314 marketing of, 327 expense of, 416 from western ranges, 414 auction sales, 415 commission houses, 415 contracting, 414 cooperative selling, 415 of American Merino, A-type, 193 B-type, 196 C-type, 196 of American Tunis, 187 of Australian Merino, 13 of Cheviot, 147 of Corriedale, 180 of Cotswold, 158 of Delaine Merino, 196 of Dorset Horn, 141 of Hampshires, 127 of Karakul, 212 of Leicester, 152 of Lincoln, 161 of Oxfords, 134 of Rambouillet, 206 of Romney Marsh, 165 of Shropshires, 116 Wool, packing, 326 separation of grades and color, 327 requisites of, 314 shearing (see Shearing), 322 storing of, 327 structure of, 54 trueness of, 314 tabulation of grades produced from different breeds of sheep, 321 territory, 320 texture, variations in, 55 trade names, 327 tying, 321 twine, 325 uniformity, 314 various properties of, combined, 29 Wool breeds, 73, 188 comparison with mutton type, 74 Merino, American, 190 A-type, 193 B-type, 196 C-type, 196 Black Top, Spanish, 201 Improved, 201 Delaine, 200 Rambouillet, 203 skin folds and wrinkles of, 74 Wool crop, 314 Wool growing, Australian, 13 improvement in, 27 in various countries, 29 Wool room, 446 Wool trade, glossary of terms used in, 327 Wounds, caused by dogs, treatment of, 312 Yearlings, 341 fattening of, 370 feeder, scarcity of, 370 Young, recognition of, by ewes, 66 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY Return to desk from which borrowed. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 24 LD 21-100/n-9,'47(A5702sl6)476