ey. Pr Er eric} maya ngs ; : aiiigistatieysgsee eS etre tttr: spapretee oT] } it etets Siserclstasseabsseciee. Ueber bheitirs tl itera rropepe race tes & ayaa cr pee Tren ieee tests Sesion 7 ; sti atetitety esse ese ey ies vi ehh oo btit FS teu . Seay Peatelpeoctes aietate hit ri ais $ mea nen eta me pegs epbehrelie tr i: ET ta teses: sane rer pr, ra =| we at ae a idirawabets roe ; f Ay ay 5 a PTret Reet rete) atetase Mae Tecssbrbtperatitres Cn syst se ecesats SEHR SET Og he ee gd sehinerihtit tes) rats o. Sept “ae ; Werk Tay renee Stiket * breriyy (ae Si lpitki~ Foray | trata ti tyeintlestitsicmcenewe eerer seer heerert oe ore Mise, cererer brerny icivass stat ay ted Pabtbibihth shart PiPER Re teb eine Sererernr bras eetetateaatae Coibe Pee Ptert Reith bined i ecaseisa® ; pt cae] a bshubthe her See erer eter) oe Wists ihe * sere jae ied] ; rererert erent aratatay Spiete bpieth htop reba p btn ‘s ep bit. pa de} qa es ay cerbeprorar betes reer Tet repy ety Stritere tie Preriebibre ret ete tithe ee} cerbess coroner eM ot i ot et tees thy] feitspate fetejtities ysteh fae Besse + 4 edeteeer atch ate ree rar peer et Wear eet rt ets i etgedianelace rer ay Neal “ 4 Sere er hitiebebpabrshel siaatitg ry jatecslaley (ete < Pera ere re er eer unr teeret ty rer at uw rer) S4 sere Barats SPeprertr pat tt Hateasaaaian er ererte| ists rere arabe pcibe os ONGRESS meets teeth minaisita a morierecseenderest te rit eS steep yeast ind ease taeies marepreeert ine fates reeprrtpreynrrs) irre chal 3 MPa rpreeeteey) Baibehiti ys? Rete tess 4 SSSAU ated yarteg maw 4 oN gts a BLee sw Same 1. asetitasat yerreee reer Mri ated nena ece ‘* etaepebr Terereget ir = 2 G al G : ’ z y = a 4 . 5 + os fF =, t ‘ - fe C es] t a a r — * - 2 D: — 2 = i > % ¢ i : Ke ea 4 JOSEPH HE. WING. Sheep Farming In America, @ By JOSEPH E. WING, Staff Gorrespondent of The Breeder’s Gazette. © NEW AND ENLARGED (43d) EDITION. CHICAGO: The. Breeder's Gazette. 1912. Copyright, 1912, BY SANDERS PUBLISHING CO. All rights reserved. GONTENTS. TLIL IETS TANTO RSIS ener, Ci ce Ser ra ee arg aC ree a 11-12 HON MICES INO ARO ING aersre de oes oe eiaieegecerd ole Ghee ao ee an ietolwr a wee aie Greinke esters 13-19 HEMLRODWCRON TO: SECOND, -MDEETON. TAI Re TOS GHAPTER VII. WASHING, SHEABING AND MARKING........ ADEE, DEAE OR EPA IIS IEEE a ATI CAVA Secs cha cate os wie dole intecacd ents dee k ore yous 201 MAN UE yar ies hea tates, aocat oo AOE, he Ee EC EDT ETP 202 SE MUL See EA CHIMCS.c oer IMA ris ic oF oe ee AER Lee ben bis 205 UB SRENSGE? OE) Be BRR EP OLE gas A RS PY es Se a a a 209 METRE WMO EDL LE HG Ueto od on le. o enemacd one Gee a ANG UG lol BOUL ES eae, ase GLA Fate TD hie ote 210 UAL ttioe ELC DLC WiAINDS ois, ooieiers oid oti de Sie-ocv ols sre a%ate edhe PPA 4 GHAPTER VIIL FLOCK HUSBANDBY IN THE WESTERN STATES...000.0000000 0015-260 RO WarNhORICO. 0 cisiero-b50 s.5's.6'o 0.0 ote AU AaB REALS pS) pre 9k ee RO As, Character of Mexican Sheep......-cccere. ee Nae MNS Mie bres 216 “the Good- Old. Times” in iNew Mexico. oi..044 56 ko0 aie 0% .218 WES MOLIMEUNEATIASCUNCIIL : dictate cg coir sed Ld OR Nee RD DE LL ee 218 PISCASCSEOL LNG LE ANSE 5/52, 1s tia bes dun wae bia elo Dobos asia pA dpe) | MES mICAIIe IAMLIUS AS .PCCOCES: ooo is fitints a. edb 0 din o ereea oe tes A Pipspe UES RV IATLACUIIIC? EL CLS oy clorh ose otis le eve bance: b oe ob ed be Pa pbpe UDI Ole GC VASO CONC pies cere ied Hs one ol ols Glelesoe epider 224 ROMEO OLA tC ELOY AS: 2758 Sipe oide des cheb Bibb 68 ion atome aoe Pe IVISIOL, OL, ENE RANSCS noe 5 AO ci Pte OS bee bovdea talon 226 Migntana,. Wyoming and the: Dakotasic 4.075 40 6t creee eos 227 WaAvasitie: Infection of ‘the RanSess sits csccbiccvssoadsoowe 228 Miurure ot the Northern Plains Resion.....4..00.%600000 228 Manacement of the Range Rams. : 9s Jaccdideecvd cee voce , 230 RMI CCONPiGn Eats COMC VNTOUL, 2) 4 oii. b baie o sielacela eco sinbietees 2a CEC CANIS SSCASOI a & Soave nls! Foe See wn ele jolele aie" le oehe bie 232 geal LOW CSV AU AUAINIDS foicice sf tein c ce Dp ob wine bu ie eS we be Den The Busy Shepherd_at Lambing:. Time..........-:-- aig Io oD 8 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA MAGS NCGOYV OLEH Seika eee en ee ae, atte aa ae Dates eat eet alnl Gaye 233 B04 DS siiba aio aul af=amen mel aXe) Ned teh aall OfSieeeneannus eee cy Cee RCN eae Patches oe IN UR Ae 234 Shearime on thie evan sence ee ee tee Ny arrestee (0 ISDE) PD PIUS: = Saale ete chara oeoh owen hem ese cals cok Sine Laas aed a atic ee emer 237 aMlovey AM babies neil aSeShavesjoa ISIeeCler oo coo echo do ou eeu oUe oO UOOS 238 Wins! and] Downs or. the SuUsinesse cesar cain ies 241 Pie sEOpe FUL “OUtlOOle sxeccse eo eeee eee cl sens Seana ae eae chee 242 At NVOLKE tO DOr IDONC ee cae cele trace oie ee eee 242 SheepaAdvances Cattle sRetreaten cn co creer eee eeene 244 VWainterrMeecines Of Sheep, ana. lamlocias cere ens cicnierese cach lel 244 INNGCESSitVachOre Dip DINE so ces eos «slo eee) Soo ete eee ses citesians 246 Selection) ot GeeMens tee te ec se ee ieee ear tee 248 Meedine, Of: Muambs 66 ie. yak scsue op syctei cre steel Wis secre ratte aiareee 260 CHAPTER Lx. NVESDERN TAMB INH EDENG ths colonies oysters icin ene en arcane . 261-310 Pea -Meedine vin sColorados: A. tt eee ae oan TO eas 261 Canadian Peas for Lamb Feeding............. Naan pegs 262 Peas ine the Same luis) Wallies canes orecieastelaieue eacien eaten esha en 263 Amount of Lamb Mutton from an Acre of Peas.......... 266 IN Weevbeeseeoln O@ilorcesyelGy IbEhaNOS 555 cog oou soo oe ou ae bao Soo o0 8 268 Meedines Mall. “Screening srrcc sect ees che penser tekenene ot 275 Sheepaltecedine inetines© orb elite. ken eee eee he error red meienterci 276 WSS HOm GS ClPSME CU CES: oa os sccre cere ee ee elie selec tees eo nseetor sas 295 Meeding S Beet cb iulp ae setae cero ten carole Clr ee secrete] oer cae 295 Causesvot Death ins the) Mecdlotco 45s ee heee sae: 296 PGaSe LOT LIAS als he a eas a asa eee a ee Tadeo au ee ee ee onions 299 Tarn mebee cine: sim plViclelaisane = see ay isa ye nen eat sn siete tee 300 Mhen Business! Of wuamib, Meediie ce ates aie ore eens ee 302 Meedine of Older Sheepnnc 6. cens sepsis sare enen ene nereacrs 302 Meedine. Mature) « Wietlersig tee ce el cngsle oe leleney ce sieteuelie eles 304 CHAP TER oC DIE ACHIS) CV aSisinnoy ho Souues sooo nooo oOo o Gn Oboe o OOOO DO . 911-346 NG LINNVETICS Tae (GeeTVOl all adc scene ees exces ai ola eee one Peon oieeiva omen lotiomallonre ote eke Bali Importance of Post-Mortem Dissection..-...---.-....... SLT OtheraiDiscasesvohs Shee perce ceo yrs cist lier errr pr acet 318 (Sante, Oe MiRWOMIIDI)SS 6c ook oo GHoddo san ceca casos doo dudc™ 319 Er ablovewib atic aveved s etsHo CMM yore Nee er ota ai te ALY Gin s nihn en na ytro-oler OIG Oro 323 Tier mbiuke

cele 195 iclamel Sineeyctraes Meloni domeoue co bo Deon oO Ooo OOo OC 205 2 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA Shearing Black-faced Sheep in Scotland............-... omens DO Vea r lines OXTOLE Py am socks quis: s Sos ie eee eos soetenete oa euatauen Utaleneceiereneione PeZALTS DishleyasMierinos “im HeralnC ees ce sete eetas ees ase Toes a eieecca te ote coueirele PALES) ‘Black-taced: Sheepmin athe wells sana cera nee te telcos eke oO mM kansas Meeding; Yard, Capacity. 18,000) Sheen... ...s4 0656229 AY Sheep * Wazon- on the: Rane vce acl ci cles eae iue how cuetcisil sueseusioe 235 TEAC OME SSRN LSS eve roroie eos eco se ene eneh oetee DSLR UTAG fo Sie er sG onshore teehers 239 An=-sllinois-seecdiney and Slapping eases era ete ete terete 243 Delaine. Merino: wamibs in Calitonmias. s.... Dre Pact ane ane Beant 245 Meedine Corral. with, Straieinity Memcernn ccwiers «cece eee cee 249 A SHOW. OE, COESWOlES oo he eee as he ee ne see ee A a eae ee Aa Shropshire: Hock init Colorado@ecertine > cies: bist ees eer ee 265 Eva Ck store Mee Gime Gray es vere tore cece aiieie atsceaetenue ee oars i epecnens Ne 270 BOx Rack honk Mee dimey elias rerio a teleece ers cece leteioe oieaake cient uceres PAL Side View of Model Sheep Barn, Showing Doors.............. 278 Cross-section of Model Sheep Barn Showing Frame........... ZAD IEWO! VAS WS. OL: Meed Racks cis ane ean Fee Reis ete ai pee oe 281 Acme as Me Sais: Wend sic stave vo voters otic opt oto aoe is el sees scat emeeRars eoen abe 285 Sheep Wagons ....... Be daar g eer oew puree Nee haute RU Neded a gtetemeran Ue emeaann ts 291 Meedinge. Corral, wath Ais zae ener caer erclel obcie ooo crepe de aicre eeeiets 297 AGP aire Or am pshunre sano sreruenccsrstets ceteris cecesteacl ececee ac ehencae toe 303 At sacRoyal Wnelish SHOwescie cissc cies eae 6 eeebaens te cae ere rahe emake 305 AneAnN Sora: Goat: SHOW lec eels 6 Sie ore eee ieieieis eres cianeseieenee eee 2) INTRODUCTION. The traveler in England, Scotland and parts of France and Germany is impressed by the importance of the sheep industry to these lands., Sheep farms are often found close together and of large size with ereat numbers of sheep thereon. The writer has stood on one hill in Dorsetshire and counted eight shepherds, each with his flock of about 400 ewes and their lambs, in sight at one time. Nearby, in an adjoining county, flocks of Hampshires exist as large as 2,500 on farms of not above 1,400 acres of not extra soil. These flocks are very profitable and they make rich soils that without the sheep would be hardly worth cultivating. They exist in wonderful health and vigor on lands that have been sheeped since civilization peopled the land. In Seotland and the Cheviot hilis flocks exist over the entire land, and without sheep the land would almost lapse into wilderness. In France on lands worth $250 per acre great flocks of mutton sheep are kept. The agricul- ture of these countries leans strongly on the sheep. Long experience in maintaining fertility, in creating it, has taught the farmers that without the flocks they cannot continue profitable agriculture. Sheep fit in well to an intensive system of agriculture. They are docile, tractable, easily kept within bounds, not fastidious in their appetites but willing to de- (13) 14 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA vour most weeds along with the good forage, and they leave behind them a wake of fruitful soil. In America sheep farming is little understood. Sheep are kept in a more or less desultory manner, having the run of some hill pasture or woodland, fed at intervals in winter, sold off when prices be- come low, bought up again with the return of higher prices, given small care or encouragement, often afflicted with parasites, internal and external, a side issue with the farmer, profitable in spite of his neglect, yet not often assuming the dignity of a business of themselves. There are several reasons for this state. It is in part a heritage of the days when sheep were little valued for their flesh and were kept mainly for their fleeces. It is in part a result of our once cheap lands and insufficient labor with which to till them. And in large part it is be- cause of ignorance of profitable methods. When sheep thrive their owners gladly reap the profits; when they become diseased and unprofitable it is usually charged to ‘‘bad luck.’’ There need be small element of luck or chance in sheep management. There is always a reason for thrift and for un- thrift in the flock. There need rarely be any disease in the flock. A healthy sheep is certain to be a profit- able one. There is at this time good reason for thinking seriously of these problems of sheep husbandry be- cause of the increase of mutton consumption, and the fact that while there is some increase in produc- tion it does not at all keep pace with the increased INTRODUCTION 15 demand. April 1, 1909, saw about 42,293,205 sheep shorn, according to statistics of the National Asso- ciation of Wool Manufacturers. In five years there has been an increase of about 4,000,000 sheep. Doubtless the hard winter of 1909-10, with the sub- sequent poor lambing, cut these figures down materi- vally. It is notable, however, that there has been a great deal of restocking of eastern farms by sheep | brought from the ranges. In the main, the results : secured have been good, yet the high prices for grain /have caused such a general plowing up of pastures that the movement to restock the East with sheep has been a very noticeable one, except in particular regions like parts of Kentucky, Tennessee and the _Virginias, where early lambs are grown in consider- able numbers. The National Association of Wool Manufacturers supplies the following figures: Montana, 5,000,000; | Wyoming, 4,800,000; New Mexico, 3,200,000; Idaho, 2,800,000; Ohio, 2,500,000; Utah, 2,200,000; Orecor 1,850,000; California, 1,900,000; Texas, 1 ,325,000 ; ‘Colorado, 1,450,000; Michigan, 1,500,000; Penerl vania, 1,000,000; New York, 825,000; Washington, 450,000; Nevada, 875,000; Arizona, 825,000; Indiana, 850,000; North Dakota, 650,000; Iowa, 700,000; Mis- ‘souri, 873,000; Wisconsin, 850,000; Illinois, 700,000 ; Kentucky, 750,000. All other states each below 600,- 000. Tt will be seen that in comparison with the ranges the states make rather a small showing in the sheep industry, Ohio and Michigan excepted. The fact of free grass upon the western ranges and the 16 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA general healthfulness of flocks in that arid region have had a deterring influence upon the sheep in- dustry in the old farming states. Now, however, that the ranges seem unable to supply the mutton that is demanded by our consumers it is time to for- eet their menace and to take up again our old trade of shepherding on our eastern farms. There are several excellent reasons why this is a rational and promising industry in which to embark. The ranges are now fully stocked with cattle and sheep. ‘To increase the numbers of sheep means to drive out more cattle and this the cattle men are re- sisting by armed force. On many of the drier ranges the sheep have overpastured the grass till much of it has been destroyed root and branch, and thus its ecar- rying power is much decreased. Settlers are taking the land in every irrigable valley and fencing it, and there is thus in every way a steady diminution in the numbers of sheep on the ranges. Nor can it be seen how this may be checked and their numbers made to increase, seeing that alfalfa forms almost the sole forage grown in that arid region—and this is not a crop suited to careless grazing of large bands of sheep by hireling herders. Consider again that the prejudice that at one time existed against mutton eating has almost died away. The cities are eating all the mutton that they can eet and are paying for it often more than they are paying for beef or pork. There are doubtless several excellent reasons for this. Fashion is one. ‘The fact that crowds of our people visit England every INTRODUCTION aL year leads them to form the ‘‘lamb chop’’ habit. Mutton is better fattened and prepared than for- merly. There is offered a very much greater supply of lamb mutton than of mutton from old sheep, and that helps. Then the old-time type of small, wrinkly, thin-fleshed sheep has about disappeared and that helps. There is a demand for lambs from babyhood up to a year of age, well fattened; there is demand for mature mutton. Whether the packers have or have not controlled the price of beef they have not been able or desirous of keeping down the price of mutton. For ten years feeders of lambs have pros- pered exceedingly, with occasional discouragements, and there is no prospect of the production of good, well-finished mutton being overdone for some years to come. It cannot be overdone until one or two things happen, either the American people must come into calamitous days or a great number of farmers must turn shepherds and learn the business from the ground up. Neither of these things will happen soon. Sheep husbandry is not difficult but it requires close attention to details and that we will not many of us give. The few who will patiently learn the art will therefore prosper the more exceed-/ ingly. = It is a cheerful thought to look forward to the day when well-kept, happy flocks will abound in our land. Then weeds will disappear to be replaced by luxu- riant grass and forage crops. Then trim fields, each with its appropriate green growth, will be dotted with snowy-fleeced ewes and plump, rollicking lambs, 18 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA each one a picture of health and thrift; shepherds’ neat cottages will shelter an intelligent and thrifty class of farm laborers, great piles of manure will be accumulated in winter time to replenish the old fields, the farm boys will find enough to do and suff- cient encouragement for doing it and will remain on the farms, and then agriculture will be truly an up- building, a creation of fertility and farms where now there is little of profit left to country dwellers. Let no one imagine, however, that these blessings follow the mere fact of buying a flock and placing it upon the farm. ‘‘Sheep are ever an unhappy flock,’’ remarked an old Roman agriculturist, and in no oth- er stock can the ignorant or heedless farmer have so great a variety of misfortunes as with the sheep. Few of these troubles are unavoidable. It is to point the way to success and to indicate the rough places that this little book is written. It is to be regretted that a great change has come over country life. The old intimacy between the farmer and his men, the farmer and his fields, the farmer and his animals, has to an extent gone, per- haps forever. Nevertheless, the farmer who under- takes to keep sheep with profit must go back to the ways of his fathers and his boyhood, he must culti- vate an acquaintance with the individuals in his flock, must learn to know instantly by sight whether or no they are in health, must have their confidence so that he ean without much trouble catch them afield, by aid of the shepherd’s crook or a bit of salt or a handful of shelled corn. Fortunately this inti- INTRODUCTION 19 macy is a delight as well as a source of profit. ‘‘The eye of the Master fattens the flock.’’ Hired shep- herds may be faithful, but they need the suggestions and the inspiration that come from wise co-opera- tion of the employer. Best of all, shepherds are the men who own the sheep. It is a delightful occupa- tion and one that interests the young. There is room for labor, for thought, for growth in this work. Some of the happiest hours and most helpful the author has ever known have been spent in working among his ewes and lambs, or seated beneath a tree watching them graze in the cool of the evening or seeing the lambs secamper up and down the hillsides. Strong men have come from tending sheep. Young David watched his father’s flocks and in his zeal slew the lion and the bear that would have destroyed them. Gazing from his hill ranges afar out over the land he learned to love it well, so that the day came when he emerged from the solitude of the sheep pastures to be the one who should redeem Israel from bondage. Let us hope that in our own times young men may be found who while working with the gentle ewes and innocent lambs may from these scenes of peace absorb sufficient love of home, country and native land that they may come forth strong to help in the redemption and upbuilding of their country. INTRODUCTION TO SECOND EDITION. Since this book was first put out a good deal has been learned concerning practical sheep manage- ment. The problem of the internal parasite, that 20 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA terror that devastated eastern flocks, has been nearly solved, and the author has had the pleasure of pre- senting in this second edition a plan of flock man- agement that will surely avoid the disasters that follow in the trail of the imsidious foe and insure keeping a flock in beautiful health and vigor. Of a life somewhat filled with work and thought, the writer feels this is his chef fruit and it cheers him to think that perhaps he may be able to cause fine, healthy, happy flocks to grow where none grow now, or, worse, where sickly and unhappy sheep are. Of a multitude of friends the writer feels that the ones nearest his heart are the grave and careful shepherds who, loving their flocks better than their ease, make little lambs to grow and play, unafraid, who lead their sheep safely and feed them wisely, and who themselves are led by their life of soheitous eare nearer the good Shepherd of us all. INTRODUCTION TO THIRD EDITION. Tsit to write this on the good ship Verdi, bound for South America, a land of many sheep. Several years have elapsed since the second edition was put before the reader, and in that time I have learned some things new and have had old beliefs more strong- ly confirmed. The past winter (1911) has been spent in journeying from farm to farm among the sheep breeders of Michigan, Ohio and the Virginias. I have been impressed very strongly with the fact that the art of keeping sheep is a simple art that almost anyone can master; that the profit of the flock de- INTRODUCTION 24 pends more on the shepherd than on the breed or lo- cation; that well-kept flocks of sheep bring to any land much fertility, and to the farm homes a good share of comforts and prosperity. /There is money in keeping sheep when one keeps them right; there are loss and discouragement when one keeps them otherwise., The shepherd can and will make money with his flock if he keeps it healthy, uses good rams, at the right time of year, feeds well and not too well, especially if he feeds the lambs well. My work for some months has been to ascertain the cost of producing a pound of wook. In prosecut- ing this search it was necessary to take into account every item of expense, with all details of manage- ment, then to take account of sales of wool and mut- ton and value of manure left. It proved a most in- teresting and indeed fascinating task. Not to go here into detail, I will merely say that one man would come far short if receiving from his lambs and wool what his feed was worth, with a moderate pay for his services charged, while his immediate neighbor under quite similar conditions would make from his flock a substantial profit. The whole dif- ference lay in management—in knowing how. The mistakes that most often led to loss in sheep breeding were, first and most deadly, letting the sheep become parasitic by keeping them too much on the same pasture or by other mistakes in manage- ment; next, in feeding too poorly, so that the ewes eame to lambing time poorly nourished and without milk, which resulted in a poor lambing and a small 22 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA increase. Then came next the failure to feed the lambs well and get a good thing from the mutton. Another blunder occasionally committed was too ex- pensive feeding in winter, resulting in running the cost too high. Too much feed is as bad as too little; indeed it is worse, as it hurts the flock and hurts the pocketbook as well. A frequent source of loss was careless feeding of forage in winter. Racks so made that ewes pulled the hay through between narrow openings filled with hay will be emptied within a few hours, no matter how much is put in them; whereas racks made so that ewes can thrust their heads in and eat will hardly be emptied before the hay is all eaten. I foun’ one man who fed 4 pounds of hay daily to each of his ewes, say 700 pounds per head during winter. This alone would cost about $3.50, and this man also fed more than 1 pound of grain per day to each ewe, or more than $2 worth of grain. Add to this expense his cost of summer keep, and it is clear that he is not making much money in the sheep bust- ness. Other men near by found their ewes maintain well with 14 pound of grain daily and 2 pounds or less of hay. It is clear that the men who fed with the less expense made the more profit. Tt is a curious fact that no experiment station has thus far determined the correct amount of feed for a breeding flock in winter when only economical maintenance with the greatest profit is desired. My own studies have convinced me that there is here a great field for experiment. Breeds differ very wide- INTRODUCTION 23 ly too, and especially does it matter enormously whether the sheep are parasitic or not. If free from parasites, and in good heart in the fall, the ewe flock ean keep in good heart all winter on half the feed that would be required if the sheep were gnawed in- ternally by worms. The result of my investigations has served won- derfully to confirm and strengthen my faith in Me- rino blood as having great possibilities of profit for eastern farmers. Merinos are hardy, very easily kept (the history of the Merino breed since we know of it has been a story of hardships and sparse feed- ing), and fairly resistant to parasites. This last feature is the one that most commends the Merino to eastern farmers. There can be no questio*s that these sheep will be in health and vigor under cond1- tions that would play havoe with sheep of any of the English breeds. If then the most ‘‘muttony’’ of the Merinos are chosen (Delaines, Blacktops or Ram- bouillets), one can get from them lambs that fatten right well (not near so easily as Southdowns, Dor- sets or Hampshires in health, but better than these when parasitic), and the lambs get large enough to weigh as much as the market desires at this time. When good Merino ewes were crossed with good Down or Dorset or long-wool rams, the result was usually a fine profit from the year’s work. The dan- ger of that course of procedure is that one may lose character in the ewe flock, since the half-biood ewes are by no means so resistant to parasites as the pure-bred ones; nor are they as easy keepers, nor 24 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA usually so good shearers; so that it is the almost uni- versal testimony of breeders that the greatest profit is In cross-breeding, involving, however, keeping the ewe flock pure, either by keeping two rams or by purchase from time to time of pure Merino ewes. I learned the curious fact that the most highly- bred of the Merinos, those of the bluest blood and heaviest-fleeced, do not usually in the hands of the farmer make the most profit. At present, I should say that for all the region of the cornbelt and south- ward, with most of Michigan, southern Wisconsin and Minnesota, the easiest sort of shepherding and the greatest chance of average profit are in keeping Merino ewes in flocks of 50 to 100 head, choosing the most ‘‘muttony’’ of the Merinos, valuing them more for their resistance than for their shearing qualities, and cross-breeding them with good rams of the dis- tinctive mutton breeds, selling all of the cross-bred lambs as a general practice and keeping the ewe flock . pure Merino. There is a real and profitable place for the half- blood Merino ewe, on the better-managed sheep farms. There is not a doubt that she is more pro- lific than the pure Merino, a better mother and milk- er, shears a fleece that may easily be worth more than the pure Merino fleece, and unquestionably her lambs will fatten faster than those from pure-bred Merino ewes. They will be heavier too. At the same time, cross-bred Merino ewes will be a trifle less re- sistant of parasites and will consume more feed. | < Surveying the field, it seems clear that there is INTRODUCTION 25 profit in sheep breeding, intelligently done. I have seen with keen delight whole neighborhoods in Michi- gan and Ohio where each farm held its flock, where great barns were stored with forage, the ewes be- neath, and close by stood comfortable farmhouses in which I found intelligent and often cultured shep- herd folk. J. The future holds no menace but hope in- stead. Should wool tariffs be lowered there might possibly be a small decrease in the numbers of sheep in the West. This would in ultimate effect cause mutton values considerably to enhance, so while pos- sibly the American consumer might get his woolen clothing cheaper the sheep-farmer would receive as much for his output of wool and mutton as ever be- fore, and it might well be that he would receive more. With all tariff duties removed, we might pos- sibly sell wool for 15 cents per pound, as they do in Canada, if at the same time mutton prices were enhanced, which in the long run they would assured- ly be. While the fleece of the ewe might bring us 70 cents less, the lamb would bring us from 85 cents to $1.70 more, and the income from the farm flock be increased. The lesson is clear. No matter what ups and downs the sheep market may see in the near future, the wise sheep-owner is the one who stays with his flock and seeks only to make it better and healthier than before. His reward is assured. One of the interesting results of my investigation of the practices of sheep-farmers in Ohio, Michigan and the South was that experience seems against the keeping of large flocks in those regions except for 26 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA winter feeding. In the beginning of the investiga- tion I assumed that I would visit usually men with 100 or more breeding ewes. Later, when in the field, IT found there few indeed who had so many ewes as that; maybe a whole county would show no more than one or two flocks of that size. I learned that experience had shown that on the general farm where sheep were kept as a part of the general farm | scheme flocks of 40 to 50 ewes were most profitable, the easiest kept free from parasites and returning the most lambs and the heaviest fleeces. True, there were here and there men with successful flocks of 100 and more, but they were the exception. They were men of unusual carefulness. I feel therefore in the light of this study that unless one is prepared to give a pasture treatment similar to that outlined on page 175, he will be wise if he limits his ewe flock to about 50 ewes. With that system of pasture management I should not hesitate to keep 400 ewes (the common number given a shepherd in England), or if I could use sown crops and hurdles, as in Eng- land, I should not hesitate, or if I could lamb the ewes very early in winter, preferably in fall, then IT should not care how many I had, so I had fairly roomy range for them in summer. To the novice, the beginner, the man who wishes only a little flock of sheep as a handy thing to consume some forage, keep the farm free from weeds and yield a tidy profit at the end of the year, I suggest the flock of 40 ewes #as being best adapted to his purpose and, decently eared for, certain to return him a good profit. CHAPTER I THE FINE-WOOL BREEDS. It is not thought worth while to present here ex- tensive accounts of the various breeds of sheep; however, some mention must be made of the char- acteristics pertaining to each. Breeds originate from environment, from peculiar characters of soil and vegetation and climate, and from the mental idio- synerasies of the breeders themselves. Each breed has its own particular field where it serves best a certain purpose. For all that, breeds are somewhat flexible and several have a wide range of adapta- bility. Conditions of market and of environment make some breeds more profitable than others in certain locations. What would pay best on the range in some remote state, where wool by its cheap trans- portation brings the major share of profit, might not pay so well in near proximity to large cities where the demand is for quick-maturing mutton. Inverse- ly, sheep are not suited to range conditions that are not good shearers, good to ‘‘herd,’’ that is, having the mental trait that makes them stay close to- gether and an ability to withstand occasional times of starvation. On the farm the utility to live through hard winters on sparse allowance of food (27) 28 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA is not a qualification worth taking into account. Farmers are equipped with shelter and food for their flocks. MERINO SHEEP. Probably the oldest races of domesticated sheep are the various families of Merinos. Most they have felt the molding hand of man, most they seem to diverge from any wild type of which we have knowl- © edge. Very likely Merinos were kept in Palestine during bible times, and it may be that King David when a lad watched beside a flock of Merinos. Under the hand of man they have suffered a degeneration in form, not being as hardy, as vigorous or full of stamina as any wild race of sheep now in existence. Merinos, however, have gained two very important and valuable characteristics: ability to subsist on little feed and that of a coarse nature and compara- tive resistance to internal parasites. This latter feature is really one of priceless worth to the farm- er of the cornbelt where the stomach worm ravages ceaselessly. I had good opportunity in the winter of 1910-11 fo study this very factor in flocks of sheep of many breeds in Ohio and Michigan, West Vir- ginia, and Tennessee. I was continually amazed to see the fine strung flocks of Delaine, Blacktop and Rambouillet Merinos, heads up, eyes bright, skins as pink as cherries, yet received very indifferent eare indeed either in way of pasture, management or feeding. Surrounding these flocks I would find others of the mutton breeds in far less healthy con- dition, showing often very plainly the ravages of THE FINE-WOOL BREEDS 29 the dreadful stomach worm. Merinos are by no means proof against parasites but they are far more resistant than are any of the breeds of English ori- gin. The place for the Merino, its great use, is not so much as a producer of wool alone, as it has been used in old days, but as a hardy farm sheep, pro- ducing both wool and mutton. The wool of the Me- TWO-YEAR-OLD AMERICAN MERINO RAM. rino is the finest and for many purposes easily the best in the world. It should command the highest price and usually does. Merino breeders in the eastern states, however, must compete with pro- ducers of wool in remote and semi-savage lands, Australia, Argentina, Patagonia, the Falkland Islands and parts of our own great West. 30 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA Breeders of Merino sheep have followed many fashions and some that were their undoing. At one time the aim was to secure a fleece of extreme fine- ness, though by this course was secured a sheep of little stamina and of small value for mutton produc- tion. Again the aim sought was an excessive amount of oil or ‘‘yolk’’ in the fleece, which made it heavier. This weakened the sheep, made it sensitive to cold weather and, curiously enough, as the weight of yolk increased in the wool, manufacturers kept apace of the fact im buying, and by paying for 1 on a scoured basis there was nothing at all gained to the grower who sold the excessive grease. A manu- facturer once related to the writer how in the palmy days of heavy fleeces a celebrated ram’s fleece was brought to him to be scoured; it weighed 45 pounds, was probably of 18 or 24 months’ growth and made less than 12 pounds of scoured wool! The farmer then had wasted food enough to produce more than 30 pounds of a product of little utility; in fact, be- ing only a drain on the strength of the animal that produced it. It is of course essential that wool should have a sufficient amount of this yolk to pre- serve the fiber; more than this is a damage in every way. It would seem that now the fads in Merino sheep have nearly disappeared and the breeders of the present time are breeding useful Merinos, with gen- erally more size and better forms and more of mut- ton quality than was once seen. 3 The importance of the Merino breed will be rec- THE FINE-WOOL BREEDS hae b ognized when it is remembered that about 30,000,000 of the sheep of the United States are of Merino foundation. The Merino is the sheep of the range country, hardy im large herds, of long life, though of slow maturity, able to withstand more of ‘‘grief’’ than the mutton breeds, and, most important to the ranchmen, holding their fleeces to quite an age, whereas under range conditions mutton breeds soon become light shearers. However, it is not now be- heved among western ranchmen that the Merino should be bred pure for their purpose. They use large numbers of mutton rams and aim to keep in all their ewes a strain of mutton blood, from 1/4 to 1%, which they find makes the ewes better mothers, being more prolific and having a stronger milk flow. Lambs from such ewes, sometimes from pure-bred mutton rams, form the major part of the supplies received in our great markets from August till June. A flock of ewes from Merino mothers and good sires of one of the mutton breeds is almost ideal for use upon the farm, hardy, healthy, great milkers, good Shearers. When again topped by blocky, mutton- bred sires they produce lambs that are hard to excel. AMERICAN MERINOS. There are a number of families of Merinos. The American breeders divide them into three general classes—the Spanish or American Merino, the smallest in size and heaviest in fleece of any; these sheep were once excessively wrinkled (wool grows upon wrinkles, thus the wool-bearing capacity is in- ayy SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA creased). They usually have a considerable amount of yolk in the wool, though by no means the ex- cessive amount that was once common. During re- eent years the American Merino has undergone quite an evolution, obedient to the command of its breeders, and has a better developed leg, a stronger back, a better sprung rib, more vigor and stamina than before and has, I think, lost little in fleece- bearing powers. The American Merinos are the most highly spe- cialized of all sheep, their wool being best and most abundant. Their breeders do not claim that they are mutton sheep, though they do make good mut- ton; but not so profitably as some lighter shearmg breeds. The American Merino reached perhaps its great- est development in Vermont; in fact, it has often been called the ‘‘Vermont Merino.’’ The object of its breeders was to produce the greatest possible — amount of fleece to a given weight of carcass. Nat- urally excessive wool-bearing somewhat weakened the constitutions of the sheep and in a sense they deteriorated, so far as prolificacy, motherliness and fattening powers went. Nevertheless, sheep of this type when crossed on thin-wooled sheep of unim- proved races did wonders in improvement. Many American Merinos were exported to Australia and South Africa, and in Australia many sheep are of this very heavy-wooled type. American Merinos are not bred in the United States except by a few breeders; their market is THE FINE-WOOL BREEDS 33 still Australia or for cross-breeding on larger Me- rinos where the wool has become light or thin. The breed has a marvelous history and the work of the American Merino breeders is one of which we may well be proud. Unquestionably great improvement was worked in the breed after bringing it from Spain to America. DELAINE MERINOS AND BLACK TOPS. These two families have been bred by selection from the original Spanish; the Black Tops from the importation of 1802, the Delaines from the Black Top foundation, with some outcrosses of other Me- rino blood. The idea in developing these two fami- lies has been to secure a larger sheep than the orig- inal Merino, a better feeder, a hardier sheep and with a ‘‘Delaine’’ wool. This wool should have parallel fibers of sufficient length for combing pur- poses. There is unquestionable merit in these sheep and in the hands of some breeders they approach closely to the mutton type without losing their valu- able fleeces. Delaines are hardy, healthy when rightly managed, their lambs from mutton sires are superior for the market and a well-managed flock of either Delaines or Black Tops has never been un- profitable. The name ‘‘Black Top’’ was given by the originator of the type because his best sheep had a dark erust on the outside of the fleece com- posed of oil and dirt, this crust keeping out weather and serving to shelter the sheep. The Blacktop sheep is essentially an American 34 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA breed, nothing just like it being found elsewhere. That it has not overspread all the region of the corn- belt is singular, since it has great merit. I found these sheep almost lost and forgotten in Michigan and parts of Ohio during my investigations for the Tariff Board, and found them in some neighbor- hoods in great numbers, constituting indeed nearly the whole mass of sheep kept in the country. AI- most without exception, I found them healthy and in fine, strong condition, whole flocks of them shearing 10 pounds per head and their lambs weighing with light feeding at 8 to 10 months old 85 pounds each, and that is as heavy as the market approves. When the Blacktop ewes were bred to rams of one of the English breeds their lambs were very much heavier and finer, weighing often 100 pounds at 8 months of age. The most striking fact concerning these sheep, however, was that they rarely showed signs of para- sites, whereas flocks of other breeds were often badly infested. Blacktops have been developed by men who were not liberal feeders. For hundreds of years these sheep lived on coarse and often seanty fare. While the well-fed flocks looked best and made the ntost profit, yet I saw many flocks that subsisted in winter mainly on straw, a little corn fodder, a very little hay and a wee bit of grain before lambing. T am certain that none of the English breeds could subsist on such fare without coming to sure ruin. The reader may well wonder why these sheep have not received fame and honor before now. Tardy THE FINE-WOOL BREEDS DELAINE MERINO RAM LAMBS. 36 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA though the day is, I look to see them overspread the | farms of the cornbelt and have classes at state fairs and at the International. Certain it is that if their breeders shake off their apathy and begin to let the world know the value of their breed, as have the breeders of Shropshires, Dorsets, Hampshires and Rambouillets, the Blacktops and Delaines will yet come into their own. The reader may here well inquire, Which is the best of the Merinos for me to breed, the one with most profit? The best Merinos are the Rambouillets, especially when of the Von Homeyer type. Large, strong mothers and good milkers, good shearers and hardy, they would seem to surpass all Merinos and rival the English breeds. For use on the ranges they — are clearly the best, as there a large, strong sheep, able to travel far, is needed. On the farm it is nip and tuck in point of profit between the Rambouillet and the Blacktop and Delaine types. The Blacktop breeders claim, with considerable evidence, that their sheep consume far less feed, shear better and their lambs mature earlier than Rambouillets. I think the claim that the Rambouillets require more feed than other Merinos is well founded; it is in- deed the product of high feeding for many years. It is assuredly true that the massive Rambouillet has not been able to displace the little Blacktop on the farms of Michigan. Even when a splendid flock of Rambouillets might be surrounded by flocks of Blacktops, the two types seemed rarely interbred. THE FINE-WOOL BREEDS on, For all that, the Rambouillets are a splendid breed and well capable of making great profit. They are little less resistant to parasites than the Delaines and Blacktops, needing a little more feed and do not shear proportionally quite so much wool. Delaines differ greatly. There are breeders who do not hesitate to slip into them a dash of American Merino or of Rambouillet blood. It is to be feared that either course would bring confusion in the long- run. The American Merino blood would lessen pro- lificacy and the feeding powers of the sheep. The heaviest-shearing Blacktops and Delaines have not the greatest possibilities for profits for the farmer. There must be a happy mean between production of wool and flesh; with markets as they now are the fat lamb far outbalanees the heavy fleece. RAMBOUILLETS. Nearly two centuries ago the French government began importing Merino ewes from Spain and then was laid the foundation of the breed that is called the ‘‘E'rench Merino,’’ or ‘‘Rambouillet,’’ after the village in France where the stud flock has been kept. With different feeds, different ideals and selection, the breed has become quite different from the other families of Merinos, having much greater size and a different type of wool, with coarser fiber, though yet a Merino wool. The Rambouillet is perhaps the most popular to- day of all the Merinos, great numbers being found on the western ranges where there are also great 38 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA breeding establishments. Here thousands of pure- bred rams are grown. Fashions change even on the ranges and at present there is inquiry for Delaines, and many rams of mixed Delaine and Rambouillet blood are used, besides some with an infusion of the blood of the American Merino. Rambouillets are truly wonderful sheep, of great size and unlimited capacity to consume food. With a top of mutton rams they produce great lambs or make superb wethers. Rambouillets have been grown profitably for 50 years in Ohio. There are indeed some farms that have been stocked with these sheep continuously for that length of time, which is unusual in America. In recent years the breed has been considerably im- proved by fresh importations and by careful mat- ings, so that both form and fleece are better than formerly. The eastern Rambouillet growers have for some years enjoyed a very profitable trade in rams which they have sent to the western ranges. However, the large western breeders are absorbing much of that trade of late, so that only the choicest rams are in demand for western shipments. A good flock of Rambouillets will pay for their wool and mutton, and Rambouillet ewes make a most admir- able basis for a cross-bred flock. Rambouillet and Delaine Merino ewes have the ability to conceive early and drop their lambs in the fall or winter. Many Rambouillet breeders make a practice of lambing as many of their ewes as posst- ble in the fall and early winter months, thus getting 39 THE FINE-WOOL BREEDS YEARLING RAMBOUILLET EWES IN FRANCE. 40 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA the young things forward to a good state of growth and development before spring and summer come to bring their problems of management. The early lamb is often worth double the late one, because of the superior healthfulness and vigor of the early born that escape the troubles of parasitism, so dis- tressing to those of late birth. This habit of early weaning also comes in good hand when the Merino ewes are used as mothers for eross-bred ‘‘hothouse’’ lambs, and many growers of these winter months use Merino mothers though the half-blood Merino ewe is better. In truth she is near to perfection for this purpose. It is a curious fact that many old men succeed fairly well with Merinos who cannot make mutton sheep thrive at all. The Merino will withstand more neglect than the English breeds. It will en- dure fairly well a winter ration of bright straw and a little added grain with the run of a hill pas- ture. Formerly thousands were wintered on pas- ture with no feeding at all throughout the hill re- gions of Ohio and Pennsylvania. It was thought that if they had access to hazel brush, where they might shelter and browse a little, and the grass was not too closely cropped in fall they would do well enough. Treated in this manner they must lamb late in the spring, and they do survive and shear quite good fleeces, whereas any breed of mut- ton sheep, so poorly fed, would hardly show any profit at all. Tt is often quite difficult for men who have spent THE FINE-WOOL BREEDS 41 years of their lives growing Merinos under the let- alone, outdoor system to take another breed and make it thrive at all. They cannot bring themselves to give the feed, shelter and attention that the Eng- lish breeds demand. And with Merinos, kindness and care are usually well repaid. There are hill re- gions where the flock may be out of doors almost the whole year, but the grazing should be supple- mented by a regular allowance of grain or early- eut hay, and it is well if the flock can be sheltered from chilling winter’s rains. Merinos live to a greater age than the sheep of other breeds, and the ewes are useful up to an age of 10 years or more. They also retain their wool better, so that one can count on getting good fleeces up to their eighth, tenth or even twelfth year, while with ewes of the mutton breeds the fleece thins and lightens rapidly after the fourth year. We must have the English breeds; nothing else will give us the early-maturing, heavy-weighing, juicy, good-sell- \ ing lambs, yet there 1s hardly room for doubt that where the ewe flock is of either pure Merino (De- laine, Blacktop or Rambouillet) blood or has an ad- mixture of that blood and the rams are downs, Dor- | sets or long-wools, according to the conditions of the sheep-grower, the greatest profit 18 secured. Further, there is not a question that under Amert- ean conditions where flocks of coarse-wool ewes are kept, and the wool clip is too light and the thrift of the flock somewhat below par, an infusion of Merino blood by the use of a good ‘‘muttony’’ Merino ram 42 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA would work wonders, adding to the wool clip on the ewe lambs and the general health and hardiness of all the progeny. CHAPFER Il. MUTTON BREEDS. All of our breeds excepting the Merinos, Tunis and Persians come from England. There the pe- euliar character of the country and the mental traits of the people have united to create a number of breeds, each having its especial excellence for a cer- tain purpose and soil. The Englishman’s ideal in animal form runs, as it does in architecture, to the square, the level, the rectangular. His sheep, his beef cattle and his swine all partake of the same characteristics in form. To successfully judge Me- rino sheep one must be a student of the breed; to judge the mutton breeds practically well one need only to know what is a good animal, after the model of the Angus cow or the Berkshire hog. Add the wool and certain faney points, such as the covering of wool over the head, the size and set of ear, the shape of nose and the coloring and all is told. The novice in sheep breeding, if he knows Angus cattle or Berkshire or Poland-China swine, need have no hesitation in attempting to select a flock of breeding ewes if he can see them without their fleeces. In fact, the owner will betray his consternation before the novice has selected half a dozen and remark, (43) 44 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA ‘You may not know much about sheep, but I can’t let you select from my flock.’’ The English breeds are naturally divided into classes of Downs, Long-Wools and Mountain breeds. THE DOWNS. In the south of England is a chain of chalky hills, covered with fine, short grass. Since history began there has been on these hills a race of short-wooled sheep; in their early history, with horns. From this old type has come the Southdown, the Hampshire Down, the Sussex, Oxford, Shropshire Downs and the Dorset horned. SOUTHDOWNS. This sheep is a striking illustration of what the genius of man can do. Before the day of George the Third the unimproved Downs of Sussex were ‘‘of small size and bad shape, long in neck, low at both ends, ight in shoulder, narrow at the fore end, and shaped like a soda water bottle, small in front and heavier in the middle; large of bone, but boast- ing a big leg of mutton. The fleece was not so close and. firm as now.’’ Once the Southdown was horned, but now there is seldom a scur to remind you of the past. Today the breed is one of the most perfectly formed breeds in existence. The size is but medium to small, but so eompact and thick-fleshed are these sheep and so close to the ground that their weights astonish those who are unacquainted with the breed. The South- 45 MUTTON BREEDS AE PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIES IN DOWN TYPES OF SHEEP. * os we; DOV 46 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA down has a straight back, a thick, muscular neck, bespeaking vitality, a well-sprung rib, giving a ro- tundity of form and a well-filled leg of mutton. The character of the mutton is of the best, being fine- grained, well marbled with fat and lean and tender, sweet and juicy. The wool is short, thick, elastic, of excellent quality, though not so abundant as in some breeds. Southdowns are very vigorous, hardy, ambitious, good foragers, good feeders, always fat if given opportunity, more easily kept in health than some breeds and the rams are excellent for cross breeding, especially where early lambs are desired. There are not so many breeders of Southdowns in America as the merit of the breed would deserve. It is one of the easiest of all breeds to maintain in high-class condition. There is little tendency to- ward deterioration, though there is great difficulty in bringing about change or improvement in type. This is no doubt owing in part to the fact that the breed is absolutely pure, no admixture or infusion of other blood having ever taken place. Therefore, there is less variation of type and it is easier to have a flock of Southdowns of uniform appearance and character than.of most breeds. In Sussex the author has studied Southdown man- agement on their native sod and observed these features of their practice: Dry ewes in summer time were often grazed on the hill pastures, but under the care and observation of shepherds at least part of every day. -Ewes suckling lambs were in hurdles eating sowed crops of clovers, vetches and MUTTON BREEDS AT grass, with a little bit of grain, while the lambs ‘‘ran forward’’ in other hurdle-enclosed bits of grazing. As protection against sun the lambs had small squares of canvas stretched over the corners of their pen. The lambs got a full allowance of ‘‘corn and cake’’; that is, grain with broken linseed oil eake which is much fed in that country and seldom ground into meal. The lambs were as fat and round as little pigs and were sold as they ripened, week by week, on the London market. Of this system of hurdle grazing we will speak later at more length. There are few breeds with more adaptability than the Southdown. It is especially useful on high- priced land and near markets that demand fancy lamb mutton. Though a Southdown flock will not shear so much as some others of the Down family it is questionable whether there is a more profitable breed for the production of fat lambs to be marketed either from their mothers’ side in late spring or early summer or to be fed later and marketed at the age of eight to ten months. Their smaller size is in their favor, seeing that small and very perfect lambs well finished, command a premium always. South- down ewes are prolific and excellent mothers, and the lambs are strong at birth. In America the breeding of Southdown sheep is largely confined to Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Illinois. They are especially liked in the southern states, where they make the bulk of the early lamb mutton coming from that source. They have not been taken much to the ranges, yet in 1906 a carlot 48 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA of cross-bred Southdown lambs from the range eountry was shown at the International Live Stock Exposition so wonderfully good that it is doubtful whether a better was seen. They weighed 79 pounds and won the championship in competition with cross- bred lambs from Shropshire, Hampshire and other mutton-bred sires. To my eye these lambs were easily the best shown that year and demonstrated that if rangemen would test Southdown rams, send- ing all the lambs to market, they would find no cause of complaint in the results. SHROPSHIRES. Farther to the north in England originated the Shropshire sheep. Not unlike many pastures of our country are those about Shrewsbury, affording strong grass, based upon limestone and clay loams. The Shropshire had its origin in a mingling of the bloods of native black or brown-faced and horned sheep called from its habitat the ‘‘Morfe Common sheep.’? They were small and bore light fleeces of not more than 2 pounds. Infusion of Leicester, Cotswold and Southdown blood worked a great change, practically obliterating the blood of the earlier parents and bringing at first great diversity of type. Careful selection toward a pretty well de- fined ideal had by 1853 resulted in fixing a type and it was then advised that the Royal Agricultural So- ciety recognize them as a distinct breed. Since that time they have gone steadily forward in improve- ment and this is especially notable in recent years, MUTTON BREEDS 49 when the breed seems really to have reached its ulti- mate perfection. It would certainly be difficult to suggest any desirable modification of the well-bred Shropshire’s form, fleece or character. The breed is perhaps the most popular in the world today and has the largest number of registering breeders. The Shropshire is a medium-sized sheep, rams weighing from 175 to 225 pounds, and ewes 125 to FARM TRAINING FOR THE SHOW-RING. 170 pounds. They shear well, considerably better than the Southdown, and the wool is of excellent quality. The lambs fatten well and should go to market from their mothers’ sides, else they may reach too great weights for the top of the market. The Shropshire ideal in form is close to that of the Southdown, with a little greater size and a dark- er head and lees, though not so dark as the Hamp- shire or Oxford Downs. The fleece is longer than 50 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA in the Southdown and is not usually so close-set or dense. Certainly there is no more beautiful sight than a well-bred and well-kept flock of Shropshires, the fine matronly ewes with their white fleeces set off by the brown of heads, ears and legs. Their mutton is perhaps not quite so good as the South- down, but there is not much difference in this re- spect, and they are equally prolific, though the lambs may not have quite the same vigor at birth nor do they usually fatten at quite so early an age. The one difficulty with the Shropshire sheep in America is the careless and ignorant shepherd who permits his flock to become infested with parasites or allows his ewes to become so fat that they do not breed well, and such a man might not sueceed with any breed. The greatest field for the Shropshire sheep in the United States is to furnish sires for cross-breeding on grade or pure-bred Merinos. Somewhat safer than the Hampshire in use on Merino ewes, getting lambs somewhat heavier than the Southdown, the Shropshire is destined to very extensive use. Half- blood Shropshire lambs do not at birth have too large heads, they are. very growthy and, well fed, make beautiful specimens and command good prices. Where the half-blood Shropshire ewes from Merino dams have been tried, results have not always been satisfactory, the majority of breeders favoring send- ing all the half-blood lambs to market and keeping the character of the ewe flock strongly Merino, this from a desire for a good yield of wool and because MUTTON BREEDS 51 of their greater hardiness and ability to resist para- sites. The modern Shropshire is so wonderfully wooled over the head and legs it is suspected that there is a slight infusion of Merino blood in the breed as it is today. The diminishing stature would possibly point in that direction. HAMPSHIRES. The study of how this great breed was originated is a most interesting one, though rather too long and complicated to be entered fully into here. The Hampshire is the result of skillful mingling of the bloods of an old white-faced horned race, called the Wiltshire, the Southdown, the Sussex and probably the Cotswold breeds. During many years men worked gradually toward an ideal, making: skillful matings and discarding the inferior offspring as well as those which went toward the wrong type. The result was astonishing, for the Hampshire breeds now remarkably true to type and that type quite unlike any of the ancestry involved in its ere- ation. The Hampshire is the largest and heaviest of the Down breeds, and is only excelled by the Lincoln in weight and occasionally by the Cotswold, among the long-wooled races. It has dark brown or black points, with bold countenance, and a large ear, set on rather low and standing well out to the side. The bone is large, limbs especially strong and well set on; fleece fine and white. It presents a very striking appearance, the rams having bold Roman counte- o2 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA nances, and the ewes characteristic strong but femi- nine faces. The Hampshire is essentially the sheep for the arable farm, fitted by long habit to being put in hurdles, able to consume a large amount of food and to make from it good mutton at an early age. The Hampshire lamb is famed for its early maturity and great weight. There is no breed that exceeds the Hampshire in this respect. Well kept Hamp- shires are among the most profitable sheep in the world. The writer recalls with great pleasure some days spent in the Hampshire growing country of Eng- land. It was much of it a soil of only moderate fertility, resting on chalk, the farms of fairly good size. One especially of 1,400 acres he reealls to mind, for on that farm were 2,500 magnificent Hampshire sheep and lambs. Most of them were in hurdles and following the hurdles were seen great erops of grain. There seemed to be not a single sheep or lamb on this farm that was not in perfect health and vigor. A man ambitious to do the best possible thing with sheep can take up the Hampshire breed with good courage, for they have in them possibilities in the way of great and rapid growth beyond most breeds; perhaps beyond any other breed. On the other hand few breeds degenerate into more un- sightly ‘‘weeds’’ than Badly kept and diseased Hampshires. The Hampshire ram is often used for MUTTON BREEDS 53 eross-breeding and gets fine, vigorous lambs nicely marked with black points. At present Hampshires are enjoying a great wave of popularity, and justly so. In Idaho and other western states, they have been taken in large num- bers, and are used mainly for cross-breeding on grade Merino ewes. They are adapted to condi- tions where ewes can have good winter feed, can lamb early and afterward go to juicy mountain pas- tures. The lambs by Hampshire rams and from smaller ewes are somewhat more difficult to be de- livered than those by Shropshire rams, and often a little personal attention may save the life of both lamb and ewe. Hampshires are in use too among the mountain men in Virginia who breed sheep on rich bluegrass pastures. The Hampshire is not es- pecially resistant to parasites, yet it is not more afflicted than other down sheep, unless perhaps the little Southdown may be somewhat more resistant. Breed Hampshires, if eager to breed one of the most marvelously fast-growing and beautiful of breeds in its finished product (the fat lambs), but no one should breed them who is not willing to give them their due of feed and care. OXFORDS. The Oxford is in appearance a large Shropshire, with a coarser and more open fleece, a larger bone, usually a darker face and coarser ear. It 1s the result of crossing the Cotswold and Hampshire types, begun about the year 1833. The Oxford is a o4 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA noble sheep, having some of the characteristics of the Hampshires; is a good sire with which to cross breed and is often used for that purpose. There is need of a little more care in management with these sheep to avoid parasitism than with some breeds, but no man who has grown Oxfords and kept them healthy but has found them profitable. The lambs are large and growthy, quick to respond to feed and ready for market at an early age, with heavy fleeces. The Oxford is pre-eminently the sheep for cross- breeding. In southern Scotland many Oxford rams are in use, bred to ewes of Cheviot or Border Leicester type, and the cross-bred lambs sold. The lambs from this cross are remarkably large, strong, heavy and immense shearers. In America the Ox- ford is used for cross-breeding on the ranges with marked success, and also to some extent on eastern farms on Meyino ewes or grades. The novice in sheep breeding may here become a little impatient and exclaim, ‘‘What! are all the down breeds then good for cross-breeding? Is there no distinction? Is not the author too impartial?”’ Let us briefly assort things. The Southdown is best for early-maturity and early-fattening; the Shropshire for everyday purpose; the Hampshire where extraordinary goodness with weight is de- sired, and where exceedingly good feed ean be al- lowed; the Oxford where quite heavy good-shearing lambs are desired. Each breed has its field and each its distinctive value separate from any other. The Suffolk makes more flesh from grass alone than the MUTTON BREEDS 5D other downs and is a hearty feeder too; so one pays one’s money and takes one’s choice! SUFFOLKS. To the northeast of London les the county of Suffolk. It is a region of rich grasslands and good SUFFOLK RAM. cattle, with several native breeds of animals, the most noted in America being Red Polled cattle, Suf- folk horses and Suffolk sheep. The Suffolk sheep are downs, very black of head and legs, a little more leggy than Hampshires, but not so woolly as Shrop- 56 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA shires with heads both black and bold. Suffolks have smaller heads than Hampshires, with thinner ears. They differ in other particulars, one being habit of keep. While Hampshires are nearly always with- in the hurdles, Suffolks are nearly always on grass. They have peculiar ability to make much growth on grass alone, and to make with a little added grain splendid gains. Suffolk lambs have more than once won in the carcass contests at the London Smithfield show. The breed is not so common in America as its merits warrant. Perhaps the bare legs, head and light-wooled bellies of the ewes have been displeas- ing to American flockmasters. For cross-breeding on grade Merino ewes there is hardly a better breed, and for this use the amount of wool on the ram cuts little figure, if the lambs are all sold, as they should be. THE LONG-WOOLS. LEICESTERS. The Leicester is an old breed little known in the United States at the present time but much kept in Canada. It-is notable as being the first recorded sheep to feel the improvement of a genius in breed- ing, Robert Bakewell having undertaken the im- provement of the breed in about 1755. Bakewell conceived the idea of improving this old, coarse- boned, long-wooled breed. Just how he did it we would like to know and never will, but it was en- tirely by selection, so we are told, and he evidently had the master eye for seeing virtues in animals MUTTON BREEDS 57 and knowing which would be transmitted. He made such fame as a breeder of sheep that before his death his rams were let for the season for as high as $2,000 each. The Leicester is found in Canada and on some of our western ranches. It is a large sheep, with white points and a long, rather coarse wool. It is finely formed, with an especially wide spread of rib, and has an extraordinary facility for taking on fat. In truth, it is a defect in the Leicester, accord- ing to modern idea, that 1t loads up too much with internal fat. Its best place in our economy is in eross-breeding. Leicester rams on Merino ewes pro- duce superb feeders with a very good class of wool. COTSWOLDS. One of the most common breeds in parts of Amer- ica thirty years ago was the Cotswold. Common they still are in parts of the country. They abound in Canada and in some parts of the West, notably in Utah and Oregon. The Cotswold resembles the Leicester somewhat, being a large sheep with white face and legs and long wool. The face may be gray- ish or even light brown, and there is a tuft of wool on the forehead. The wool is coarse but adapted to certain uses. Cotswolds make gain profitably but are not adapted to the production of very young fat lambs. The best use of the breed is in cross-breed- ing on ewes of Merino foundation, and for this pur- pose it has been extensively used in Montana and other western states. Cotswolds do not thrive when 58 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA kept in large flocks in the eastern states, though they are healthy in Canada, Oregon and other cooler regions. There is hardly any more grand and stately sheep than the well-bred and well-fitted Cots- wold as it appears at our great shows. LINCOLNS. Quite like the Cotswold is the Lincoln. To the careful observer, however, there is a considerable difference in the type. The Lincoln is the heaviest breed, probably, in the world, and in England Lin- eolns have been known to dress 90 pounds per quar- ter. The wool is extraordinarily long, samples be- ing shown of 21 inches growth, and rams sometimes shear the extraordinary amount of 30 pounds. The eross-bred Lincoln-Merino wool is of ligh value. The new Lincoln sheep is the product of Leicester crosses upon the old Lincoln. He is truly a magnifi- cent creation of the long-wooled character, requiring rich pastures and plenty of space. As a mutton sheep he is inferior to the down breeds as far as quality is concerned, but for crossing purposes no class of sheep is in greater demand, and the highest prices in recent years have been paid by Argen- tine buyers for Lincoln rams. In truth, the great mutton exporting business of Argentina is based largely upon the use of Lincoln blood on Merino foundation, and it is not generally known that their sheep are far superior to our own in quality and are therefore much more acceptable in the British markets. Kes) MUTTON BREEDS LINCOLNS IN THE SHOW RING. 60 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA There is little doubt that when we have learned our trade better we will in turn use thousands of rams of both the Lincoln and Cotswold breeds upon our range-bred ewes to produce mutton —_ our own and the foreign markets. DORSET HORNS. Properly, the Dorset belongs with the downs, and indeed the ancestors of the present Dorset Horns were much like the Wiltshire ancestors of the Hamp- shire Down sheep. There is now little resemblance between the Dorset and the Hampshire breeds, though singularly enough each has taken up the same field of endeavor, the production of early lambs. The Hampshire lambs usually come at a later time than the Dorsets and do not go-to market quite so young, but each has the habit of fattening at an early age, and the Dorset ewe has also the way of dropping her lambs at an earler season than any other ewe. Then she is the greatest milker of any of the sheep tribe, and because of this large supply of milk, and because of their vigorous digestion and ability to use grain at an early age the Dorset lambs soon attain to good weights and are usually sold fat from their mothers’ sides. In truth, it is not good practice to allow Dorset lambs to attain to an age of above six to eight months, and most profit comes from selling them at two to four months. The Dorset, like the Southdown, is of unmixed ancestry, and is one of the most ancient breeds in existence, though doubtless much changed by selee- N'IOONIT SINVU S “(OAOqR) N'TOONTT Gt SOLA “(MOLO) MUTTON BREEDS 61 62 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA tion of modern and progressive breeders. Before cows were used in the dairy in Dorsetshire sheep were kept for their milk which, no doubt, accounts in part for the wonderful milking powers of the Dorset ewe. In truth, many of these ewes are such large milkers that it is necessary to relieve them by hand stripping for a few days after the lambs are born until they become able to take all the milk. Dorset Horns are so named because both sexes have horns. The rams’ horns are large and heavy and curved rather closely in front of the head; the ewes have hght horns that should curve toward the front. It is a curious fact that Dorset ewes are as pugnacious as their armament would indicate, often attacking stray dogs and lacking almost altogether that timidity that characterizes other sheep. A sheep-killing dog will sometimes kill Dorset ewes, but it is not probable that any dog would begin a eareer of sheep-killing in a Dorset flock. These facts win considerable favor for the breed in these days of a surplusage of useless curs and many states with unsatisfactory dog laws. The Dorsets have a form not unlike the South- down, though generally more upstanding, and a sim- ilar fleece of close, strong wool, with an elastic fiber which is very white. They shear better than some mutton breeds and the wool is of the first quality. They are very docile and thrive in hurdles or on grass where proper care is taken to keep them from parasites. They have been introduced into several states of our country and have thriven wherever MUTTON BREEDS 63 men have understood their requirements, and have failed wherever in the hands of careless or ignorant shepherds. It is notable that there are now pro- duced in America under the conditions of the east- ern states as good Dorsets as there are in the world, whereas most of the other mutton breeds rely upon importations to maintain their quality. Dorsets find SOME OHIO DORSETS. their best use in America in the hill regions of the South, where early lambs are grown. They are fa- vorites in Virginia, West. Virginia, and so far as tried in Kentucky, and in the northern states they are largely used in the ‘‘hothouse’’ lamb business. Dorsets are excellent for cross-breeding, the lambs erowing well and fattening readily, and cross-bred ewes from Merino mothers and Dorset sires form 64. SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA the best foundation for a flock of producing winter lambs. THE MOUNTAIN BREEDS. CHEVIOTS. The Cheviot is classed as a mountain breed, of which there are a number in England and Scotland, natives of the hill regions. The Cheviot is from the Cheviot hills in southern Scotland and northern England. It is a remarkably hardy, vigorous sheep, standing erect and alert, on strong legs, carrying excellent mutton, and a fine fleece of good wool— rather fine for a mountain breed. There is scarcely anywhere a prettier sheep than the Cheviot. It has such an air of interest and intelligence and seems so wideawake. The Cheviots have displaced the hardier Black-faced breed in all the lower and richer parts of Scotland, though in the colder and more heathery portions this ancient breed still holds its own. The Cheviot has a place in our land. It is well adapted to grass farms, to hill regions and wher- ever sheep are required to make good mutton large- ly from pasture. Naturally the higher and cooler regions are best adapted to this sheep. The breed is quite well rep- resented in America and has thriven in many parts of the country. It is in its favor that it is not too large, seeing that fat lambs, not too heavy, are now most in demand. It is a most curious indication of the long line of unmixed ancestry of the Cheviot sheep that it 1s one LOTAGHO “SAME THE MOUNTAIN BREEDS 65 66 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA of the most prepotent breeds. Crossed with almost any breed, the Cheviot characters stand out con- spicuously ; quite often sheep three-fourths Cheviot ean hardly be distinguished from a pure-bred speci- men. Cheviots, like all mountain breeds, are very alert and inclined to be a bit wild 1f not often han- dled. They should thrive admirably in the moun- tain pastures of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. Bear in mind that the pecular province of the Cheviot is to make fat mutton from good grass alone, though they respond well to feeding. BLACK-FACES. The writer feels that it would cause disappoint- ment among his readers if he did not make some mention of this wonderful little Scotch Black-faced highland sheep. In their own land nothing can take their place. They have the instinets of true wild animals. They love the high peaks and heathery slopes, and, scenting storms, are led by that same ~ instinct to seek the shelter of the glens. These sheep belong with the lands. They pass with the farm from one tenant to the other, when farms change hands. Their love of home is so great that when removed miles away they will often return straight across country to their old haunts, swim- ming rivers if need be to accomplish their desire. The Black-faced sheep are small, moderately well formed, with coarse, long wool. They make good mutton, which commands in British markets a good price, being thought to have a gamey character. They THE MOUNTAIN BREEDS 67 are a comparatively new breed in Scotland, if we accept tradition, having existed there but about 140 years. From whence they came is a mystery. There are no sheep elsewhere in the world like them, the Lonks and Herdwicks of northern England having most resemblance. They seem to be a spontaneous product, creation of environment, to graze those heathery hills. Of course they had to start from somewhere, and the legend that they swam ashore from some sink- ing ship of the Spanish Armada is harmless and as good as any. The management of these hardy Black-faced sheep is simple; every day the shepherd seeks to see each ewe of the flock, climbing high over heather-clad hills with his dog at his side to accom- plish this. It is his part to be sure that none of the ewes have accidentally gotten upon their backs. They are shorn in June or July, being brought down to the farmstead for that purpose. It takes a good dog and an agile shepherd to round them up and bring them down, and it is customary to tie their feet when they are shorn, since they struggle like wild things. In winter they are brought down to the fields and given a bite of hay and sometimes turnips. It is found, however, that too many turnips encourage the growth of horn in the unborn lamb that some- times destroys both the unfortunate lamb and its mother. | Thus it is seen that this most beautiful and pic- turesque sheep is one that presents unusual diffi- 68 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA culties to the would-be breeder in America. He must beware of overfeeding in winter; he will find them hard to drive and pen; he will find them some- what harder than other sheep to restrain within boundaries. And still there are situations, like the mountains in northern Ontario, in the higher regions of California, Oregon and Washington, and along the coast islands of Alaska where undoubtedly the natural character of the Black-faced sheep would make it of great value. John Ross of Mickel Tarrell, Rosshire, Scot- land, who fed many Black-faced sheep in the win- ter, told me that wild as they were in pasture when brought down and put in barns in winter they were the most sensible of all sheep. They fed well. So far as I have seen in America, Black-faced sheep have not when tried been given the right habitat. They need the coolest of mountain pastures, such as may be found in New England or northern New York. They do not thrive when brought to the hot cornbelt. The writer has devoted this space to the breed be- cause of its connection with legend, song and story, which have given it a place in almost every man’s heart, and because he hopes to count loyal Seots among his readers. He will never forget his days spent among the Lammermoor hills of southern Scotland, where the Border Leicesters occupied the lower slopes and the Black-faced climbed the heath- ery heights and their lambs played about the feet of the T'winlaw Cairns. It was a land of peace and THE MOUNTAIN BREEDS 69 quiet, of faithfulness and almost religious devotion to duty. The old steward of the farm had lved there in that capacity for 50 years. His son and grandson worked on the farm. High upon the slope just. below the plantation of fir wood, stood a low stone cottage beaten with rain and wind, where lived the faithful old shepherd and his son, and just above this cottage began a great mountain pasture, enclosed by stone walls, where there were bits of moors from which peat was dug, and great slopes of heather, which is a small, fine and dense-growing bush on which sheep can subsist. Would that we could implant upon our own soil some such spirit as pervaded this place, the quiet and peace, the sim- ple living and high, manly thinking, the honesty and devotion to duty! THE TUNIS AND PERSIAN SHEEP. In Asia and Africa began the first civilization, and there perhaps began the first domestication of the sheep. It is a curious fact that we do not now know whence came the ancestors of our various breeds of sheep, nor do we know certainly whether they all have a common ancestry, though we may infer that it is so from the fact of their readily 1n- terbreeding with each other. All of the wild breeds of sheep at present have short tails, whereas most domesticated sheep have long tails. It is probable that the wild race from which sprung our flocks of today is extinct. . However, it is interesting to note what ad- 70 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA vance has been made by the Asiatic and African breeders of sheep and goats. The Nubian goat is probably the most developed in milking power and fecundity of all breeds of goats, and the Persian and African sheep have also strong development in cer- tain ways fitting them to the climates and environ- ments in which they were produced and to the needs of their owners. The Persian and Tunis sheep have evidently com- mon origins and belong to the same race. In truth, it would seem to the writer that the Tunis breed which has existed in America since about 1799 and which now may need some infusion of fresh blood might with advantage receive an infusion of Persian blood. The Tunis came to America early in the last cen- tury, and was bred near Philadelphia, and after- wards in South Carolina and Georgia, where they proved to be well adapted to the environment. The civil war almost destroyed them. A few survived and were shown at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Soon thereafter some enthusiastic ad- mirers began breeding these sheep in Indiana. It is possible that in their time of adversity the blood of the Tunis was not kept quite unmixed, since there is more variety in type among them than is usual among pure breeds. The distinguishing character of the Tunis breed is the head, which should be hornless, covered with tawny yellowish brown hair, the nose may incline to roman character, the ear should droop and be 71 THE MOUNTAIN BREEDS GROUP OF TUNIS SHEEP ON AN OHIO FARM iQ, SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA rather heavy. The form is much lke other mutton sheep except that the legs are usually long and the neck the same. The fleece is soft, fine, fairly abun- dant, and varies much in color; it may be white, or brown, or reddish, or the colors may be intermixed. In the Persian the same characteristics are noted, with a likelihood of black predominating. The distinguishing feature of the Tunis is the fat tail. This seems to have been originally planned as a store-house to tide the animal over periods of drought and bad pasturage. When tails are not docked they are moderately long and the fleshy part hangs down about six or eight inches. This 1s so inconvenient at the breeding season that ewes usually have their tails docked, besides there is in the United States no popular clamor for fat tails, which are in African and Asiatie regions considered very delicious and are used in place of butter. When the tails are docked there is yet an accu- mulation of fat across the top of the rump. Tunis sheep fatten very readily and their lambs are especially quick to become plump and ready for the fancy hothouse lamb trade. It is for this pur- pose that they are mostly used, though the Tunis rams crossed upon almost any breed of ewes get good lambs. The Persian sheep were introduced into the United States in 1891 and bred in California, Ne- vada and other western states. They are very large, very active, good feeders on the range, and when crossed on Merinos the lambs prove to be very HO OWL V “SNTOONIT ONINNIM-HZ1Ad THE MOUNTAIN BREEDS 73 | 74 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA easily fattened. Of a herd of half-blood Persian- Merino ewes a California owner says: ‘*They are omnivorous feeders and great rustlers for food. If there is anything between heaven and earth to eat they will get it’? The writer has observed a tend- ency among some Persians to foot disease when kept on wet soils. They are true sheep of the desert, and there they would seem to have a useful place. Among the breeds described the would-be sheep owner can choose one and he should stick to that one. Cross-breeding is permissible for the market, but let no one undertake at this day to create a new breed of sheep by mingling the bloods of breeds already having received the care and thought of gen- erations of skillful breeders. One man’s lifetime is too short to establish a breed, and there seems small need of another. It may be well again to remind readers who may happen to be living in the cornbelt or south of 1, that the easiest and surest_ success in breeding and maintaining a mutton flock is to select ewes of the most ‘‘muttony’’ of the Merinos (Delaines, Black- ee or Rambouillets), choosing rams of whatever breed of English sheep best suits his purpose and \situation, and cross-breeding and selling the lambs. Tt is unfortunate that we have too long neglected what may rightly be termed American breeds—the Blacktops, Delaines and in a slighter sense the Ram- bouillets, for in ewes of such type is our best chance for quite easy success in sheep breeding. Naturally there must be breeders of all of the breeds described, THE MOUNTAIN BREEDS 715 or we should have no source of rams. There are too situations where ewes of purely English breeding are successful—in the cool regions along our north- ern border or on mountains or anywhere in small flocks where shifted often from place to place; but for the everyday farmer Merino ewes are safer and surer to bring profit, Cli Ar ak Sil CROSS-BREEDING. Notwithstanding the great excellence of many of the pure breeds of sheep it will be a long time before we will be free from the practice of cross-breeding. There is a necessity for this in sheep breeding much more urgent than in cattle breeding, or, in fact, with any other farm animals. Very few pure-bred sheep reach our markets. Nor will they come in large numbers for many years. The reason for this is to be found in the fact that so large a per cent of our sheep are grown upon the western ranges. There ewe flocks seem most profitable when they have a Merino foundation. Merinos from time immemorial have been range sheep, the only break in their habit being the few decades that they were kept upon east- ern farms. Merinos are hardy, are used to drouths and short feed, have the instinct of herding, are easily managed. Moreover they retain their wool well up to considerable age. Wool is a far greater factor in western sheep husbandry than it is in the country to the east. Flocks must be good shearers, must be hardy, must herd well. But the Merino when kept pure is an inferior mutton sheep. Moreover it is an inferior breeding sheep. An infusion of mutton blood makes the ewe (76) ' CROSS-BREEDING er a better mother, her lambs stronger, she suckles them better. She feeds better, too, and is a ‘‘better rustler.’’ Then her progeny is in large part des- tined to reach the great markets when about six months of age. Therefore the better grown and heavier it is the more money it will bring. Thus there is often sought a class of rams that will make the best lambs—regardless of their fitness for long- continued life upon the range they will not natu- rally remain there more than one summer. Thus the complexity of cross-breeding is increased, for from the mother having in her own body an infusion of mutton blood there is secured a lamb having a sire of pure mutton breeding. What sort of cross makes the best ewe, what sort of cross upon her makes the best market lamb? ‘To this question there would naturally be as many answers as there are supporters of breeds of sheep. There is hardly any commingling of bloods that has not use for some special environment. We may clear the matter up somewhat by discussing a few crosses and their results. At.the outset let it be said that the influence of the sire and dam are theoretically equal. Some hid- den power of the one or the other may seem to cause the offspring to resemble more nearly the one parent than the other, but no man ean safely predict whether this influence will reside in the sire or the dam. Naturally, as she nourishes the lamb, the ewe has greater chance to influence her progeny than the sire. Thus if a ewe of a small race is mated with a ram 78 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA of a large race the lamb must be nourished, both before and after birth, by the smaller ewe. It will grow to be of greater size than its mother, but will not equal the size of its sire. Nor will it be identi- eally the same as though the cross was reversed. That 1s, supposing we are considering the Merino of one of the lesser strains, and the Hampshire, the natural way of crossing is to use the Hampshire ram on the Merino ewe. The result is a lamb that grows to be larger than its mother, and smaller than its sire. Reversing the process, we choose a typical Merino ram and mate him to a Hampshire ewe and get a lamb that may never equal the ewe in stature, but excels considerably its sire, and also excels the lamb of identically the same blood from the Merino mother. The better nourishment both before and after birth causes this result. It is seen then that the better the ewe the better her lamb. Neverthe- less, it may happen that a class of moderately small ewes may yield most profit since they consume for- age about in proportion to their size, thus a flock of 1,000 medium-sized ewes bred to fine, strong mutton- bred rams would very likely yield a better weight of lambs than a flock of 800 larger ewes and consume practically the same amount of feed. In other words, the ram is just half of the flock, and by far the easier half to provide the forage for. Thus the ram cannot well be too good. | To freshen the blood of the pure Merino on the range a number of infusions have been tried. The CROSS-BREEDING 719 Cotswold blood does well; a flock having one-quarter or even one-eighth of Cotswold blood is increased in size and stamina remarkably. ‘To get a flock of one- quarter Cotswold blood one must first get one-half blood Cotswold-Merino rams to use on his pure-bred Merinos. For some exceedingly rich ranges the one- half blood Cotswold-Merino ewes are used and with good success. ‘These ewes are exceedingly good for- agers and raise hardy fast-growing lambs. DISHLEY MERINOS. On page 219 is shown a flock of newly-shorn Dishley Merinos, the breeding of E. Delacour of Gouzangrez, France. I mention this breed not be- cause it is now found in the United States but be- cause it has played some part in the history of sheep breeding, and because assuredly I have never seen a finer flock of sheep than M. Delacour’s. There are some 2,000 of them together, white, clean and plump, their skins pink and eyes bright, with never a trace of stomach worms about them. Dish- ley Merinos are a hybrid sheep, product of mingling the blood of the Merino and the Leicester. The very difficult thing of getting a fusion of these very diverse bloods has been accomplished, although one might well ask, as he studies M. Delacour’s sheep, whether the influence of the Merino ancestry had not been pretty well lost, the present form of the sheep being much that of the Leicester, with, however, a finer, softer and better wool and a smaller body than the pure-bred Leicester. Once this breed had con- SO SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA siderable fame in England and America. It is yet a most worthy sheep. The Lincoln cross aces admirably on some types of Merino ewes and is much esteemed in some re- gions of the West. The Oxford cross has given good results also as a permanent infusion in the range flock. There are a few sheep owners who use the Hampshire for this purpose, though the general opinion is now that the blood of the downs cuts short the yield of wool. The Leicester blood makes an admirable infusion into the range flock. It is said that not more than one-quarter or one-eighth of it 1s needed to give strength and hardiness. The Dorset has been tried and found worthy; some of the best range ewes the writer has ever seen have been in part of Dorset blood. Dorset blood especially helps the milking qualities of Merino ewes and makes them able to push their lambs forward astonishingly. Though the writer knows of no instance of its use he is of the opinion that the use of Cheviot blood would prove a very desirable addition to herds ranging in the mountains of the West. Probably one-quarter of Cheviot blood would be enough. Cheviots make flesh readily from grass alone and are remarkably hardy and are very great rustlers for feed. CROSS-BREEDING FOR THE LAMB MARKET. Considering the western range sheep first, various breeds have been used for production of market CROSS-BREEDING 81 lambs. At one time the Long-wools, Cotswolds, Leicester or Lincoln were considered best for this purpose. Rams of either of these breeds will beget fine, strong lambs that will feed well and grow to large size. They will not be so fat at weaning time nor come into market so early as lambs from one of DORSET EWES. the down breeds, but they do splendidly in the feed- lot and attain heavy weights—in truth, often too heavy weights. The Hampshire gets splendid lambs, well marked with brown points, easily made fat and selling near the top of the market. One ean hardly make a mis- take in using Hampshire rams if he wishes to make market lambs. Hampshire grade lambs will usually 82 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA be fat enough for the butchers when they come from the range, and if they are fed will ripen very early. They attain to large weights. The Oxford ram gets a lamb a little larger, prob- ably, than the Hampshire, a strong, hardy fellow, that feeds well. He weighs heavy and makes good, but not so early as the other downs. He shears heavier. The Shropshire ram gets fine, active, growthy lambs that mature sooner than the Oxfords and sell first rate. They will often be fat enough for the killers when they leave the range. The Southdown gets merry, plump, roly-poly lambs that are fat first of all and are apt to bring most money per pound in the market. They will not weigh quite so much as the Shropshire grades, but will be ripe earlier. The grand champion load of range lambs at the International at Chicago in 1906 was a load of Southdown cross-breed lambs. The western flockmaster need not fear to use South- down rams if he means to sell the lambs. They will make good and that very early. The Dorset gets lambs that weigh unusually well and the ewe lambs should always be saved to be put ¢ in the flock, since Dorset blood in the ewe flock is a gold mine to the flock owner. “At the International Live Stock Exposition in 1910 were exhibited the first carlots of grade Dorset lambs ever shown in America. One lot coming from New York, out of grade ewes, was of great beauty and weighed quite 8 pounds per head heavier than CROSS-BREEDING 83 any other lambs at the show. It is doubtful whether any other breed can produce by cross-breeding a lamb that is better to feed or will attain in a given time to greater weight. Cross-breeding on the ranges is not without its difficulties. The problem is to maintain the original ewe flock in its integrity. Cross-bred lambs that may sell for the top of the market at the river mar- kets may be unfit for retention on the range, be- eause of the too large proportion of mutton blood. The best plan is to breed a portion of the ewes of highest quality from the standpoint of the range man to rams especially suited to range use, and thus to maintain the flock in its required qualities, letting all of the cross-bred lambs go to market. CROSS-BREEDING IN EASTERN PASTURES. There is not the same reason for cross-breeding in eastern lands. In truth too much of that is done at all times and types are destroyed by useless com- binings of bloods. If one starts out with a Shrop- shire flock he should endeavor to make it a better Shropshire flock by purchase of better Shropshire rams than he has been in habit of using. If he needs greater vigor and constitution he can get it probably quite as easily by choosing an unrelated ram breed, it may be, at a distance from him, having first rate vigor and constitution, and of the same breed. The same is true of the Cotswold, Oxford, Southdown, and other breeds. There are not enough of the pure breeds now, and they should not be mixed unless for 84 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA some special purpose, and it must be remembered that as the cross-bred progeny should go to market the process of cross-breeding is a suicidal one. There are occasions, however, when cross-breeding on the farm is desirable. One may'buy western ewes and ship them home. These are destined for lamb-growing exclusively and no attempt will be made to maintain the flock. These ewes then may be mated with a ram suitable to the market and the time of year aimed at. If for hothouse lamb trade a Southdown, Tunis, Hampshire, Shropshire or Dor- set should be used. If to lamb later and grow the lambs mainly on grass the Tunis and Dorset may be eliminated and the Cheviot and Oxford added to the list from which rams may be drawn. Or if the lambs are to come late and be fed the next winter one of the long-wools may be chosen. Or, 1f the flock happens to be placed in one of those rare regions like the hills of Ohio where sheep are yet grown largely for their fleece, the Delaine or Rambouiliet, or Spanish Merino ram may be used. There are regions, however, where cross-breeding is imperatively demanded. That is in the early lamb breeding regions of the Virginias, Tennessee and Kentucky. Here are found types of native mountain sheep of a peculiar character. They may be said to be true ‘‘American’’ sheep, descendants of the ear- lier importations. The unmixed native mountain sheep is leggy, thin in neck, hight in fleece, having somewhat of an open fleece as though coming from an open-wooled breed, and very often the ewes have CROSS-BREEDING 85 horns. It may be supposed that the first colonists sailing as they often did from Bristol and Plymouth, in the south of England, brought with them the na- tive sheep of those regions among which would be the Dorsets and various types of long-wools. These mountain ewes though handsome to look at are bet- ter than they at first appear. They are active, good feeders, very prolific, and good mothers. Their lambs are not of first rate quality unmixed, but when sired by rams of good mutton type they grow finely and sell well. The favorite sire for this busi- ness has been the Southdown, in truth no breed can get a better lamb or one ripening earlier than this old standby. Shropshires are often used, also, and get a heavier lamb. Hampshires are in great favor where tried and Dorsets have their strenuous advo- eates, especially in Virginia, where they have been used most. The advantage of Dorset blood is twofold: first the lambs attain very good weights, usually out- | weighing the progeny of down rams, and the ewe}. lambs if retained on the farm make admirable |. mothers for successive generations. Lambs in these || regions are usually born in March and fattened |' mainly on grass, going to market in June and July. The source of supply of these ewes is from the small farmers in the mountains. Could these men be in- duced to improve their flocks by use of better rams the benefit would be immediate and marked. There is no doubt that an infusion of fresh blood from any of the down or Dorset breeds would greatly 86 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA benefit these mountain flocks. At present they are suffering from the result of long-continued in- breeding. An infusion of fresh and unrelated blood would marvelously improve them. — Earlier in these pages I have in this 1911 edition given some space to the thought that the ‘‘mut- tony’’ Merinos are splendidly adapted to stocking eastern farms. With Merinos, Delaines, Blacktops or Rambouillets the greatest profit comes from eross-breeding. There is fear, however, that in doing this at present, when the ewe flocks of these breeds are in all too insufficient supply, one will lose one’s breed altogether, since the cross-bred lambs had better be all sent to market. The ideal plan to pursue is to use two rams, one the most ‘‘muttony’’ of Merinos of the type of the ewes, breeding him to half of the ewes (the better ones), the other ram of mutton breeding and all of his lambs going to mar- ket, while the pure-bred Merino ewe lambs will be saved to add to the flock. If one cannot follow this course and is uncertain of where one can get a re- newed supply of ewes, one can use a mutton ram one year, marketing the lambs, a Merino the next vear, giving chance to save enough ewe lambs to keep the flock strong. Opinion is much divided as to the wisdom of crossing the families of Merinos among themselves. A dash of Rambouillet blood increases the size of the smaller families of Merinos, and gives better feeding powers and mothering faculties. On Rambouillet ewes a cross of Blacktop is said_ considerably to help the shearing and to make the CROSS-BREEDING 87 lambs earlier-maturing. In general, however, it will be found that breeders of Merinos will be sticklers for pure breeding, not one admitting that the cross of any other Merino family improves his type. From my study of profits in general sheep-farm- ing, | am convinced that Merino ewes ean hardly have too much mutton character; it is not the ex- traordinary fleece that the ewe may bear that makes her profitable. Rather it is her ability to resist parasites, to subsist on coarse food, to raise a good Jamb and withal to yield a fairly satisfactory fleece. CHAP TE Vy. SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT. RESTOCKING A FARM WITH SHEEP. Supposing that we have decided to embark in the sheep industry, and have decided on a breed, the next consideration is how to set about filling the void of sheep upon our farm. Farms differ in size, conformation and soil; conditions vary greatly, so that no rule can be laid down that will be applicable to all places, yet there are a few facts that are of general application. In England and France there are farms almost entirely devoted to sheep; they earry little other stock, and grow crops mainly to be fed to the flock, with only grain in rotation. These farms are very profitable when well man- aged, and greatly build the soil and the fortunes of the owners. We cannot yet advocate the attempt to establish in our land such sheep farms as these; at least the growth of such a farm should be very gradual, and any attempt to at once establish such a one would result disastrously in nine cases out of ten. We have no class of expert shepherds such as would be needed to care for a flock on such a farm, nor would the importation of British shepherds help — us, for we have problems that they know not of, and (88) SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT 89 our range of feeds is quite different from theirs. With a right understanding of the matters and a eradual adaptation of our farms to sheep growing, and a habit of care once formed we can devote whole farms to sheep as well as our British cousins, but that is a work that must come with time and ex- perience. At present, then, the farmer should start with a small flock, letting it increase gradually, and trying to grow in knowledge and experience as the flock 2YOws in size. Nor would it be wise or prudent to begin with a flock of pure-bred ewes. A few pure-breds should be purchased, say ten or twelve, the rest of the flock may well be of grades. The ram should always be pure-bred and of as good quality as can be secured. He is half the flock, and if he is mated with grades and is required to supply all their deficiencies he has great need to be a good one. SELECTION OF THE RAM. Choose not an extra large ram, but one of medium size for the breed selected. Size does not always go with vigor or prepotency, or ability to transmit good qualities. It is rare that the largest ram of a lot has the most vigor or quality. Choose .a ram that has short legs (they go with early maturity), with wide breast, avoiding the rams where ‘‘both legs come out of the same hole in the body,’’ choose the one with well-sprune rib and a level, straight back, looking of course for a good leg of mutton, which is 90 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA after all about all that there is in a sheep, from the butcher’s standpoint. Then be sure that there is a thick, muscular neck, a bright, quick eye, a brisk movement denoting vim and vigor. Such a ram will leave his impress indelibly upon the flock. If one cannot personally select his ram, he may often leave it to the good judgment of the seller, specifying what is wanted, and the novice will generally get better service from the honorable vendor than were he to attempt to select for himself. Fleece is of course important, and minor points, such as markings and absence of scurs or horns on all breeds save Merinos and Dorsets. But first of all in importance is to get a ram boiling over with vim and vigor. , A ram of such character will readily care for 40 or 50 ewes if hand coupling is practiced, allowing but one service to each ewe. He may indeed go to more than that when in his prime, aged from one year to four or five. KEEPING A TYPE. At the showring one often hears a remark from some student of breeds, ‘‘that is a good pen, but off on type,’’ or, ‘‘that is a good sheep, but not of the right type for the breed.’’ What, then, is type? Type is style, conformation, character. It is a something distinct and definite, though hard to de- seribe, that belongs with each breed. It may not always be of much value, from a dollar-and-cents standpoint, yet a flock lacking in type 1s not attract- SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT 91 ive and cannot hope to do much in the showring. For example, a Cheviot true to type has an erect ear, an alert manner, a way of carrying its head. A flock of Cheviots that lacked this erect ear, this sprightliness of look and carriage, would fail very much in type and would not be attractive. Types A RAMBOUILLET RAM. change as ideals change. The Shropshire has under- gone a notable evolution within 20 years, has de- creased somewhat in scale, has gained in compact- ness, in covering, in beauty. The shepherd should study type so as to know what the correct ideal is for his own especial breed and then choose his ram to help him fix that type. 92, SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA This does not mean that he should be a slave to other men’s caprices; there are fashions that are foolish and that sooner or later will work the un- doing of their followers. One is wise to steer clear of them as far as he is able. Or a man may have within him the creative instinet that will enable him to evolve a new and better ideal, and to breed a new and more desirable type. There is need in America of much more independence than exists now in this matter. The last thing has not been learned in sheep breeding, nor in all cases the most profitable type evolved. In England there is a constant evolution going on and breeds do not remain stationary very long. Their work is done in various ways, usually by selection and careful matings, sometimes by judi- cious and skillful introduction of new blood. This is more easily accomplished there than here owing to the lack of prejudice against such practice and the different rules of their flock books. The safe plan here is to work within recognized breeds. Here is an illustration. It throws much light upon the creation of breeds in the good Old World. The writer met a breeder of, let us say, Dartmoor sheep. (In fact 1t was another breed.) This man was exhibiting at the Royal show, and pressed: the writer to visit his pens and inspect the sheep. There was among them an especially good ram and the following conversation took place: Writer, ‘‘He is a splendid animal. I should think he would get first in his place.’’ ‘“Indeed, I hope he will, and championship too, HAL SVM LVHGL NWVY NOIdNVHO « GOOD OOD, LON SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT 93 94 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA and I think he is sure of both if the judge does not think him too good.”’ ‘*But how can he be too good; he is pure Dart- moor in blood, is he not?’’ ‘“Well,’’ cautiously, ‘‘I’ll not deny that there may be a drop of other blood in him, just a drop, and not too much.’’ The writer saw the point, and curiosity led him back after the showing. He found the owner jubilant. ‘‘Did your ram win first?’’ ‘*Indeed he won first, and championship too.”’ ‘And what did the judge say?’’ ‘‘Indeed the judge said that a Dartmoor could not be too good.”’ However, the writer does not by any means advise the ordinary breeder to attempt to help his breed by an admixture of foreign blood. That 1s for the great creators with unusual instinct and insight and patience and perseverance to undertake. FIXING TYPE. Sometimes one has in his flock a few individuals, or maybe but one, that is of unusual beauty and ex- cellence. This may arise from a skillful combining of bloodlines within the breed, or there may be born within the flock an animal different and better than any of the others. We may not be able to point the reason for this difference—this betterment. It is, perhaps, a ‘‘mutation,’’ as the newer students of breeding would say. However it came, it is such that we wish very much to fix it in the flock, to breed many like unto it. How can we accomplish this? 99 SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT SHROPSHIRE EWES ON A CANADIAN FARM. 96 SHEEP FARMING IN: AMERICA To fix it in its entirety may indeed prove impossible, if we have but one animal possessing this unusual excellence. The best that we can do is to breed it, supposing it to be a ram, to a number of the most likely ewes and save the ewe lambs that come near- est the type sought. Should any of these ewe lambs show weakness of constitution they must be rejected, or ot least ignored in this effort, and the strong ones may be bred to their own sire. The progeny of them will carry three-fourths of his blood, and will be much like him in appearance and character. Sup- posing, now, there happen to be two lambs each having unusual quality, possessing this desired type, each sired by the same sire but by different dams. They may be bred together and another step taken towards fixity in character. It is worth considering that in breeding a ewe to her own sire one is not inbreeding more than when he breeds together two animals born from two ewes and having a common sire. The closest inbreeding is when a ram is bred to a ewe having the same mother as well as the same sire. There is absolutely no other way to fix type or to get great uniformity in a flock than this system of inbreeding. It has been adopted to a greater or less extent by all the great improvers of breed. There are certain dangers inherent in a system of inbreeding. Nature permits a certain amount of it, but it is done always under the law of combat. The strongest male gets possession of the females; thus nature’s weaklings, no matter what the form or SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT 97 fleece, are steadily weeded out. Under nature’s system the males of all animals of the deer and sheep families roam far during the breeding season, yet it 1s likely that incestuous breeding is very common. The effect of incestuous breeding is not well understood and there are men who deny its dangers. There seems, however, to be abundant evidence that it develops an accumulation of weaknesses of con- BLACK-FACED RAMS. stitution, it makes the progeny delicate and lessens its size and vitality. Furthermore, it often seems to lead to partial or total sterility. Not to go deeply into this debatable subject we will say that inbreeding is probably abso- lutely necessary in the creation of breeds and in the further development and fixing of types, but that it should be attempted only by the skilled breeder, the man sure that he has a type worth fixing. The man 98 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA who is breeding for the market will find that he will do best to keep as far from inbreeding as possible. And this brings us to RENEWED VITALITY FROM FRESH BLOOD. There is something wonderfully invigorating in the mingling of unrelated bloods. This has long been recognized by the advocates of cross-breeding. It has ideed become a well-known saying that ‘‘eross-bred animals are most thrifty.’’ ‘‘Cross- bred. lambs fatten first.’? Among cattle breeders the truth is admitted, and swine breeders very often cross-breed for greater vigor and thrift. It is not so generally known that the bringing to- gether of unrelated animals, especially of the same breed 1f they may happen to have been grown under different environment, most usually brings as much added vigor and thrift as though two distinct breeds had been brought together. There is great advan- tage in bringmg vigor without losing the breed and its special character and purpose. The man, then, who finds his well-bred flock need- ing a renewal of life, needing a general ‘‘toning up’’ and rejuvenation, should not resort to cross-breed- ing, supposing that he has already a breed of value for his purpose, but should seek within his own breed sires as remotely related as he ean find, and possessing as much health and vigor as he ean find. He will find a marvelous result to come from this new mating with fresh blood. His old flock has in it latent excellencies that lie dormant only because SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT 99 the spark of life has burned dimly for a time. With the renewal of that vital spark and the greater in- tensity of life that results these old and almost for- gotten excellencies will be in a manner revived, so that the progeny may be not merely better than the dams but better than the sire as well. The writer has seen very striking instances of this, when the ewe flock was of good inheritance and only suffer- ing from lack of fresh blood. VEE Any Et EN GV hOr SmREV, DOR. The sheep under domestication is not so strong as we would like to see it. In truth there is no ani- mal under our care with less resistance than the sheep. Men do not enough consider this. They study points, like the quality of the fleece, or the form of the head, the covering of the legs or nose, the shape of the ear, and doubtless these are all of use, but the first and foremost essential in a profit- able flock is vigor, vitality, life. That, if it is abun- dant, will insure strong lambs, will insure ewes with right mother instinct and milk to serve that wil! insure lambs that eat and thrive and grow and fat- ten and bring good prices at the market, no matter whether the ear is true to type or the wool grows on the nose or not. ‘To the market breeder the writer counsels—seek vigor, build constitution, en- eourage health and thrift and the profits will be sure. SELECTING THE EWES. Pure-bred ewes may be selected much as the ram 1s, avoiding overgrown individuals, and seeking for 100 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA uniformity of type and evidence of perfect health. In buying any sheep look well to the skin, that it be pink in color and the fleece bright and elastic, for a pale skin and sunken fleece are sure indications of lack of health and should invariably be rejected, no matter how good the blood or breeding. The grades that are to be made the body of the flock may be of Merino foundation, with excellent ex- pectation of success. If these are not to be found near at home, they may often be bought of good quality at the great markets when discarded by the ranchmen. Usually ewes are sent to market be- eause of their age and beginning lack of teeth, so that it is not profitable to retain them for more than two lamb crops on the farm. They will thrive for that time and, having saved the best of their ewe lambs, there is thus laid the foundation of a useful grade flock, while the mothers:may be fattened and sent back to market. These western ewes have in- deed made good on eastern farms and in the South as well. Having sufficient Merino blood to make them hardy and shear well, coming free from para- sites, they are all ready to make good profit for their new owners. See to it that one does not get old toothless ewes. Do not insist on getting those with black faces. See that on their arrival on the farm they are carefully dipped, to prevent outbreaks of scab; so far as possible put them on fresh, uninfected grass, so that they will not in their new homes pick up internal parasites. Breed them to good rams, sell all of the lambs, and after two or SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT 101 more crops sell the ewes and get a fresh start. Thus treated these westerns are almost sure to re- turn good profits. It is unwise to select ewes shearing too heavy fleeces. A moderately heavy fleece betokens the stronger sheep with greater feeding capacity. Se- lect that sort. Choose the short-legged ewes, with good backs, and as thick as you ean find them. The best time of the year to stock a farm with sheep is in the early fall. Getting the ewes home then, you have time to make their acquaintance while work is not crowding on the farm. Then you can see to the mating, and during the first winter things will go as you plan, and you are certain of one good lamb crop. Your troubles will not begin for six or eight months. They need not begin at all if you will observe carefully some rules for avoidance of parasites, to be laid down later. GETTING HOME WITH THE FLOCK. The writer remembers with delight the day when he drove to Woodland Farm his first flock of ewes. It was a fine sunny day in November. The sheep were well selected and round and plump, all young ewes. They traveled willingly along the country road through a quiet neighborhood where great oaks overarched the way and stopping now and then to browse the green grass among the purpling wild asters. The writer was but a boy then, newly wedded, filled with high hopes and dreaming brave dreams 102 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA of the future. The young wife met him and to- gether they drove home the little flock! Happy be- ginning it proved to be, though many lessons re- mained to be learned and many discouragements to be fought through, yet the coming of the flock meant the beginning of the upbuilding of the old farm and of the fortunes of its owners. IMPORTANCE OF DIPPING. When the flock comes home the first duty is to give it a thorough dipping. There are two reasons for this: the one that there may be ticks upon the sheep; the other because of danger from _ scab germs. Any sheep shipped by rail or penned in stock yards or railway stock pens is hable to be infected with scab germs. One or two scab insects on a sheep may multiply until the entire flock 1s scabby in a few months and entail great suffering upon the sheep and loss upon the owner. Preven- tion is easy and cheap, though cure after the disease has progressed far is harder. Another reason for dipping is the sheep tick. This is a common pest upon farms and greatly interferes with the thrift of sheep, while it is entirely preventable, and in truth upon the farm of the writer with a thousand sheep there are years when not a single tick is to be found. Sheep ticks so far as we know inhabit no other animal and once rid of them you will re- main rid of them unless you buy infested sheep or carry ticks upon your own clothing or they are brought by shearers. SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT 103 It is very easy and inexpensive entirely to rid a flock of ticks and as easy to prevent the attack of seab. THE SCAB GERM. This is a minute form of parasitic insect too small to be easily discovered with the naked eye, which by burrowing in the skin, or, rather, by irritating DIPPING SHEEP AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN. the skin and causing it to form a crust by its own exudations beneath which it burrows, greatly afflicts the sheep, causing intense itching, loss of wool, loss of flesh, and in the end frequently brings death from the result of the distress and emaciation consequent upon its disturbance. The seab germ multiples with fearful rapidity, each female laying in two or three days 15 eggs, of which ten will hatch females and five males. 104 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA These eggs hatch and soon mature insects that begin laying eggs. Gerlach, the German authority, says that in 15 days one female will become the mother of 15, after 30 days of 150, after 45 days of 1,500, after 60 days of 15,000. Up to this time there has not been much seen of the result of the disease, but here begins the wholesale onslaught of the legion upon their hosts, for in 75 days there are 150,000, and in 90 days 1,500,000! Now let them alone for a little longer and the result is sufficiently terrify- ing. The symptoms of scab are first the uneasiness of the sheep, which reaches around to the affected part (that 1s apt to be on the shoulder, neck or side, though it may appear in almost any part, but wher- ever it appears it causes intense itching) and bites at the wool or paws with its foot trying to seratch the spot. If now you will carefully examine the animal you will find under the wool at this spot of infection the skin whitened and perhaps exuding a watery secretion. One cannot with the naked eye see the scab insects at work. A little later this spot if untreated becomes a veritable scab and the adjacent regions are attacked. It rapidly spreads throughout the flock, the affected sheep rubbing against posts and racks, dislodging mites that fasten in turn upon other sheep. To cure seab thorough dipping is necessary. To prevent it all sheep should be well dipped after every railway journey or exposure in infected yards or pens. Dipping for prevention is cheap SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT 105 and easy. Dipping for cure is not so much harder. The main thing is to dip, and dip thoroughly. THE DIPPING VAT. This should be a simple trough of wood or metal or concrete, 16 inches wide, 4 feet deep and as long as one wishes to build. The shorter the vat the slower the process of dipping, as the sheep when seabby must soak for two minutes. For a farm vat a length of 10 to 12 feet will be ample, as time can be allowed them thoroughly to soak. The vat must be narrow so that the sheep cannot turn around in it. It must be deep so that each sheep ean be plunged clear in all over so that no spot will remain untreated. It is not necessary to lower the sheep into the vat or to raise them out again; they may as well be thrown in or made to jump in at one end, and that end of the vat should go down perpendicu- larly; at the other end there must be a gradual in- cline up which they can walk. For a small flock the bottom level of the vat need not be more than four feet long, with an incline beginning there and run- ning gradually to the level and to a draining plat- form from which the drip should be collected and discharged into a vat again. This, 1f true, 1s an interestine and astounding fact. In practice, in America, where sheep are plenty and veterinarians of the finest skill in sheep diseases are costly to employ for such eases, it is best to kill the-sheep for mutton (which is not hurt by the brain hydatid in the earlier stages), feed the head to the fire, and not to dogs, and get some new sheep. It is a safe rule never to allow a dog or wolf to devour a sheep’s head at any time. And dogs about the place may well be treated for tapeworms. Dr. Rushworth thus prescribes for THE DISEASES OF SHEEP B15) tapeworms in dogs: ‘‘The dog to be treated should not be fed for at least twelve hours before receiv- ing the medicine but it can be allowed all the water it chooses. The evening before administering the worm medicine a dose of castor oil is advisable; for large dogs the dose is three tablespoonfuls. Then in the morning take of kamala 3 drams, gruel 1 ounce; mix and give as a dose. With a me- dium-sized dog two drams of kamala will be suffi- cient. This is a very effective taeniacide.’’ As to the cure of disorders of sheep caused by overfeeding in the barn or feedlot. Cases will oe- cur in the best regulated barns, not very many when things are carefully done, but always some. The writer and his brothers and neighbors have lost hundreds of sheep and lambs from this cause and tried many reputed remedies. He does not now be- heve he has ever benefited a sick sheep by medicine or treatment when the cause was due to serious de- rangement of digestion. Death is almost sure to follow no matter what you may do. If there is virtue in anything it is in simply taking the sheep away from all grain whatever and letting it alone. If there is not too much internal disorder this will suffice, but in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred when the sheep is sick enough to be very noticeable it will die no matter what you may do. So pre- vention, not remedy, is the rule for disorders of the digestion. These cases come from gorging with erain and there is probably some toxic poison formed, for in many instances where the writer has 316 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA made post-mortem examinations of afflicted sheep immediately after death no morbid condition was apparent save a slight inflammation of some part of the intestinal tract, and sometimes even this was not in evidence. Disorders of the bladder causing stoppage of the urine are caused by the deposit of limy substances in the bladder, which become washed into the urethra where they lodge, causing inflammation, stoppage of the urine, a period of suffering accom- panied with great distension of the bladder, then death. The reason for this disorder seems to be in some instances the eating of too many mangels rich in lime, the eating of too much salt, or the drinking of water too ‘‘hard’’ with lime. The worst instance that ever came under the writer’s observation was in his own feeding barns where he had a great store of oat hay, put up so very moist that to save it, it was liberally sprinkled with salt. The salt was greatly in excess of the needs of the animals and made them consume much more water than they otherwise would. Very many of the wether lambs became afflicted with this distressing malady and many remedies were attempted to save them. Some few may have been benefited, though the writer doubts it. It is recommended to cut off the vermi- form appendage in the end of the penis, and to slit the penis, opening the urethra, to free it from limy substances that obstruct. The writer advises pre- vention, and in his own experience with thousands THE DISEASES OF SHEEP Sui of sheep and lambs under observation fed by his brothers for some years, good plain practice, using the same water supply, has resulted in not one in- stance of ‘‘water belly.’’ The writer has been in- formed of other instances where oat hay had seem- ingly caused this disorder without the aecompani- ment of an overdose of salt. In not one instance in thousands will the use of elover or alfalfa hay with corn silage in not too great quantity and corn, with oats or bran if de- ‘sired, cause this disorder. This is not a treatise on starvation, but it may be as well to drop here a hint that sheep that have been starved near to death for some time are not usually profitable animals to buy, since they take a long time to recover and many will die in the process unless great care is used in building them up again. The writer has known instances of fam- ishing sheep being bought for a few cents each on some dried-up and overstocked range, shipped to other more fruitful ranges distant some ways and there turned out on good grass. They died rapidly, however, and continued to die for some time after being placed on the good feed. IMPORTANCE OF POST-MORTEM DISSECTION, The novice in sheep breeding and feeding, or the old hand for that matter, should take frequent op- portunity of post-mortem examination of a sheep recently dead, seeking to see whether the cause of death is from disordered digestion or parasitic in- 318 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA fection. It is useless to dissect a sheep that has been dead for some days, and even after the lapse of a few hours there will often be misleading ap- pearances, as of blood settling in one part or an- other, that will cause him to form very curious con- clusions as to the cause of death and miss the real cause entirely. It would be amusing if it were not so annoying to read the letters from sheep owners attempting to describe the symptoms of their sick sheep and the results found after making crude post-mortem examination. Let us rest the case here; that only careful, reg- ular and judicious feeding will prevent death in the barn and feedlot and that medication for ‘‘water belly’? or retention of urine and for serious indi- gestion has never yet proved of use. The fact is that the sheep suffering from slight indigestion is not readily detected among hundreds, and when its ease is obvious it is generally too far gone to be helped by any known treatment whatever. OTHER DISEASES OF SHEEP. Of a long list of diseases that sheep may some- times be afflicted with, such as rheumatism, apo- plexy, goitre, pining, humping, erysipelas, actino- mycosis, tetanus, rabies, sheep pox, and a lot of other diseases usually catalogued, the writer has seldom seen an instance in his own flocks, and if he had seen it would have felt powerless to help, with all the knowledge of specialists available. Sheep are said to suffer sometimes from blackleg, but it THE DISEASES OF SHEEP 319 is rarely if ever reported in America, and in Eng- land, on the extremely fertile pastures of Kent, sheep suffer from anthrax. This disease is rare in- deed in America among sheep. Sheep do not suffer from tuberculosis, at least the disease is exceedingly rare among them in America or elsewhere. In truth, of the long list of diseases usually eata- logued as occurring in sheep the shepherd will not in his lifetime observe more than one or two, always excepting the diseases that come from internal or external parasites, from unwise feeding and from garget of the udder. It is wise, therefore, to study carefully the ques- tion of the internal parasite and to learn ways of management that will avoid them. This learned, all the long catalogue of diseases may repose serenely upon the hbrary shelf, since the occurrence of an instance of any of them save one in the flock will be of the rarest. GARGET OR MAMMITIS. This is a disease that affects the udders of the very best and largest milking ewes, preferring those that are best bred and most coddled. The symp- toms are a hard, distended udder, from which watery or serum-like milk may be drawn, which often becomes streaked with blood and sometimes with pus. The flesh of the udder is often red or purple and upon pressure can be dented with the hand. The ewe has fever and distress, milk secre- 320 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA tion ceases, the udder mortifies and if the ewe lives long enough it sloughs off, leaving a sore slow to heal. In mild cases the symptoms are very much less severe and the ewe soon recovers, losing per- haps the use of one quarter of her udder. One of the causes that led the author to attempt this work was his despair of finding heght on this and some other subjects in any existent book that had come to his notice. The causes usually assigned to the production of garget are lying on the cold ground, bunting by lambs or from having too much milk for the lamb to take clean. Doubtless all these things are evils, but the writer is convinced that the cause of garget 1s something quite apart from any of them. Probably there are two foun: of garget, caused by different things and running different. courses. Too much milk in the udder caused by the death or removal of a lamb, may cause caked bag and injure a portion of the udder, but that is a far different disease from the malignant garget that has often nearly broken the heart of the writer and of his younger brother, upon whose shoulders the mantle of shepherding on Woodland Farm has fallen. In- deed, excepting that the seat of the disease is in the udder, there are no symptoms in common with the two diseases. The writer has never seen a case of caked bag result fatally and but one or two of real garget recover—those after a long period of healing when the entire udder had sloughed off. The writer believes that all the cases of malig- THE DISEASES OF SHEEP BPA nant garget that have come under his observation have had a common cause (not one mentioned in the books), a sudden increase in the food of the ewe, resulting in perhaps some morbid change in her blood that gomg to the udder, shortly after her lambing (the period has sometimes been as long perhaps as two weeks thereafter) and finding there the causative germ has set up there the great and rapid destruction of live tissue that is seen. Doubt- less the disease is caused by the multiplication of microbes coming from an introduced germ, equally doubtless the conditions must be right for the de- velopment of that germ. And the right conditions seem to be the derangement of the blood by too much food, especially by feeding with corn (maize). A skilled veterinarian once related to the writer that he had never dissected the udder of a cow without finding therein, within the milk ducts, germs or bacteria that he considered the agents that cause bovine garget. How the germs got there he could not tell. When conditions were right for the germ it multiplied and did its work of destruc- tion. When conditions were right for the cow it remained, waiting. This is probably the explana- tions also in the case of the ewe. Corn feeding of milking ewes has apparently in- duced most of the cases of mahgnant garget that have come under the writer’s observation. Indeed he has seen a fine ewe, proud of her two beautiful lambs, with an udder like a Jersey cow, break into the lot of feeding lambs and gorge herself with corn; 322 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA he has predicted at once that she would come down with garget, and has seen his sombre prediction ver- ified; has had the sad task of trying to find mothers for the two worse than orphans and nursed the mother for weeks till at last, ghost of her former self, she went with the flock again, her udder com- pletely gone and only a partly healed surface to show where it had sloughed off. The books prescribe for malignant garget hot water, camphor, applied externally, and epsom salts | and iron and quinine taken internally. The writer after faithful efforts with hot water and all the rest of the remedies does not feel that he has ever in one instance even mitigated the horrors of this form of garget, so will not burden the reader with his recipes. Let the shepherd experiencing his first instance of trouble resolve that hereafter his ewes shall have the most gradual increase in feed after lambing; that they will be given little corn and more bran, oats and early-cut clover or alfalfa hay, with roots or silage to make milk and that by this means he can prevent future inflictions of this na- ture. For the simpler forms of caked bag, however, hot water applications are doubtless good, with rub- bings of camphor and belladonna, and some have recommended counter irritants like kerosene oil. This form will never occur either if the shepherd will keep the ewe milked out after lambing, and perhaps sometimes just before lambing if she is a wonderful milker, and will feed right, taking care | THE DISEASES OF SHEEP 323 also at weaning time that the udder does not become congested with undrawn milk. GRUB IN THE HEAD. Most of the sheep books have chapters on this disease. It seems therefore the duty of the writer to speak of it also, though he must confess that his practical experience with the pest has been very small. This may be because his flocks have almost always had shade or dark barn basements in which to he during the heat of the day, conditions not con- ducive to the deposition of the eggs that hatching in the nostrils of the sheep crawl up into the sinuses of the nose and form the mature grubs. It may be, also, that well nourished sheep the more easily repel the grubs, or endure them with least inconvenience. There is no cure for grubs, once they are estab- hished. They cannot crawl into the brain of the sheep. They will come out of their own accord in due time. They change into a fly that in turn lays egos for more grubs. You cannot do anything ex- cept to feed well the sheep. ‘‘Grub in the belly 1s a cure for grub in the head’’ is an old saying. ‘Tar on the noses will let the sheep eat in comfort; once shepherds bored holes in logs and put salt in the bottom of the holes and pine tar around them. Sheep eating the salt got the tar around their nos- trils. These supplies needed replenishing daily, or oftener. Easier is the darkened shed for the sheep to he in. The shepherd is apt to forget to freshen the tar. Moreover the shade, especially the dark- 324 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA ened barn basement, conduces to the general comfort and thrift of the sheep. : LIVER FLUKE.— ‘THE ROT.’’ This terrible disease has caused in the past great havoe in the old world. It is less prevalent there since men underdrained their lands. It is a para- sitic disease; the parasite passing one stage of its life in the liver of the sheep, the other in the body of a snail. If there is no water for the snail (a water species is chosen) the flukes cannot propa- gate. There is very little if any of the disease in America. NODULAR DISEASE. This is the disease commonly ealled by butchers ‘knotty guts.’’ It is characterized by small tu- mors on the intestines, the tumors filled with a greenish cheesy substance. The disease is caused by a small worm about an inch long, called oesoph- agostoma columbianum. The worm thrives in spite of its name. This worm seems a distinctly Ameri- can species, inhabiting deer, goats and sheep, possi- bly rabbits. What it does to the sheep is to interfere with the digestion and assimilation of food. It works its way gradually into a flock and brings ruin to it. There is said to be no cure. Its prog- ress is usually slow and it takes as a rule years to kill a sheep. The way of spreading is by infecting the soil and grass through the excrements of the afflicted sheep. Therefore when sheep are so man- aged that lambs do not graze much behind their THE DISEASES OF SHEEP BYAND) mothers they will not become affected. Presuma- bly the contamination of the soil will not last longer than one year. This poimt we hope will be demon- strated by our national or state experiment stations before long. It is a vital necessity to know that of both the nodular disease and the stomach worm. Thus it is evident that a healthy flock can be pro- duced by keeping apart the infection-free young sheep from the infected older ones, and fattening and marketing the older ones as fast as_practi- eable. Little or nothing in the way of medication ean be done to cure the afflicted sheep. Prevention of the disease by right treatment of the young ones is the thing to be aimed at. TAPEWORMS. There are occasionally outbreaks of disease caused by tapeworms. Montana and the Dakotas have suffered from these outbreaks, also various regions in the eastern states. The writer has never observed a case of this kind upon the farm occu- pied by himself and his brothers and attributes this freedom from infection in part at least to the free feeding of pumpkins in the fall of almost every year. Pumpkin seeds are well-known vermifuges of great value. The tapeworm of sheep, tania expansa, varies in length from three to six yards. It is from one twenty-fifth of an inch in breadth at the head to one-half an inch at the tail. In appearance it is a dull white. It causes scouring, loss of red blood, 326 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA white skin, emaciation, weakness and sometimes death. Treatment should be given to each one of the affected flock. Prepare them for treatment by fasting for 12 hours. After being treated they should be confined for 24 hours so that the seg- ments of the tapeworm expelled will not be scat- tered over the fields to further infect them. The sheep should after treatment has been deemed sat- isfactory be put on clean fresh ground. Dr. Rushworth always prescribes kamala for tapeworms. The dose is three drams mixed well in three ounces of linseed gruel, this dose for adult sheep. Lambs will require from one to _ two drams, according to their size. Any medicine administered to a sheep should be given with the sheep standing in a natural position, with its head raised not too high, and given slowly, so that it may pass at once into the fourth stomach. If it passes into the paunch it will probably not do much good. If the kamala does not prove effective Rushworth advises giving ethereal extract of male shield fern, one dram; eastor oil, four ounces; mix and give as a dose to mature sheep. Lambs can have from one to three-fourths of this dose. A tonic is then prescribed consisting of salt, 2 pounds; epsom salts, 1 pound; sulphate of iron, one- half pound; powdered gentian, one-half pound; nitrate of potash, 4 ounces. This is to be mixed to- gether and fed to 100 sheep, in oats, bran or other THE DISEASES OF SHEEP 327 feed. The writer believes good feed and change of pasture will make unnecessary much tonic. HUSK, HOOSE OR PARASITIC BRONCHITIS. There is a minute parasitic worm called Strong- ylus filaria that inhabits the bronchial tubes, caus- ing the animal to cough and run at the nose, some- times bringing death. In the opinion of the writer this is fortunately not a very prevalent disease in America. The remedy is thought to be to fumigate with sulphur. The writer has tried the remedy and though the lambs treated did not have the disease for which he treated them they mostly survived the operation. What they had, and what most coughing, emaciated lambs have, is a related para- site, of far more import to us all, the dreaded stom- ach worm. THE STOMACH WORM. This little worm is but 34 of an inch long and about as thick as a hair. It lives in the fourth stomach and especially afflicts lambs. It causes the diseases (or symptoms, rather) of ‘‘paper skin,”’ lickeescours. lami cholera,” and so 20m.) lt attacks lambs at any age after they begin to nibble grass until cool weather comes in the fall. It is the smallest parasite yet mentioned in this list of diseases and has wrought a hundred times the havoe that all others have together. It has devastated whole regions so that the sheep industry has been given up and men have taken to breeding swine in- stead. The stomach worm is responsible for gullied 3828 SEIEEP FARMING IN AMERICA hillsides, abandoned farms, and boys leaving the farms. It is not a new pest but in olden time when sheep suffered from it men did not know the cause. Many years ago it swept over Ohio, decimating the Merino flocks, and over all the states of the corn- belt. Then no remedy was known, nor was it un- derstood whence came infection or how immunity could be had. Now we know all this and the stom- ach worm has lost some of its terrors to the intelli- gent and watchful shepherd. This fourth stomach of the sheep is just where the intestines attach and where an important part of the digestion takes place. When it is filled with these tiny worms digestion is wonderfully disturbed and the lamb loses tone, the wool appears dead, the skin loses its pinkness, the appetite is deranged. The lamb may scour or may be constipated. It eats earth or rotten wood in the latter stages of the disease. There may come a dropsical swelling beneath the under jaw. This is not a disease, onlv a symptom of the disease. Depend upon it, if it is May, or from then till October, and your lambs are droopy, languid, their wool dead looking, their skins chalky, they have stomach worms. Just catch one, kill it, dissect it at onee and examine the fourth stomach with care. You will surely see there the little writhing ser- pents that do the mischief. These worms inhabit old sheep too, but do not do much harm. The life history is like this: the worms become mature in the body of the older THE DISEASES OF SHEEP 329 sheep and pass out, laden with eges about to hatch. The little worms do something, we do not know what, to get back into the sheep again. Probably they erawl up a little way on the grass. The lambs come along and nibbling close on tender grass where the ewes’ excrements have been dropped take in the worms. They mature in the lamb and raise havoe there as we have said. Fortunately cold weather either numbs or de- stroys these worms so that there is no danger of infection in winter, late fall or early spring. Elsewhere, in management, the prevention of stomach worms is deseribed. Here we will concern ourselves with the cure of. afflicted lambs. The writer has dosed hundreds. For a number of years he has on the same farm had no cases to doctor. Moral: there is something in management. But there is something in cure also. Therefore the writer appends parts of bulletin of the U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry prepared by B. H. Ransom, March, 1907. The writer has faith in the gasoline treatment and was the first man in America to ad- minister it. His brother has had better success with earbolie acid than coaltar creosote, using 12 drops for a mature sheep, given in milk. The bul- letin follows: The stomach worm of sheep, known to zoologists as Hemonchus contortus, is generally recognized as one of the most serious pests with which the sheep raiser has to contend. Sheep of all ages are sub- ject to infection, and cattle and goats as well as 330 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA various wild ruminants may also harbor the para- site. The most serious effects of stomach-worm in- fection are seen in lambs, while full-grown sheep, although heavily infested, may show no apparent symptoms of disease. It is from these, however, through the medium of the pasture, that the lambs become infected. SYMPTOMS AND DIAGNOSIS. Among the symptoms which have been described for stomach-worm disease probably the most fre- quent are anemia, loss of flesh, general weakness, dullness, capricious appetite, thirst, and diarrhea. The anemic condition is seen in the paleness of the skin and mucous membranes of the mouth and eye, and in the watery swellings which often develop under the lower jaw. A more certain diagnosis may be made by killing one of the flock and opening the fourth stomach. The contents of the fourth stomach are allowed to settle gently, and by care- fully watching the liquid the parasites, if present in any considerable numbers, will be seen actively wriggling about like little snakes from one-half to 114, inches long and about as thick as an ordinary pin. LIFE HISTORY OF THE STOMACH WORM. The worms in the stomach produce eggs of mi- eroscopic size, which pass out of the body in the droppings and are thus scattered broadcast over the pasture. If the temperature is above 40° to 50° F. the eggs hatch out, requiring from a few hours THE DISEASES OF SHEEP pel: to two weeks, according as the temperature is high or low. When the temperature is below 40° F. the eges remain dormant, and in this condition may re- tain their vitality for two or three months, after- wards hatching out if the weather becomes warmer. Freezing or drying soon kills the unhatched eggs. The tiny worm which hatches from the eggs feeds upon the organic matter in the manure, and grows until it is nearly one-thirtieth of an inch in length. Further development then ceases until the worm is swallowed by a sheep or other ruminant, after which it again begins to grow, and reaches matu- rity in the fourth stomach of its host in two to three weeks. The chances of the young worms be- ing swallowed are greatly increased by the fact that they crawl up blades of grass whenever sufficient moisture—such as dew, rain, or fog—is present, provided also that the temperature is above 40° F. When the temperature is below 40° F. the forms are inactive. The young worms which have reached the stage when they are ready to be taken into the body are ereatly resistant to cold and dryness; they will stand repeated freezing, and have been kept in a dried condition for thirty-five days, afterwards re- viving when moisture was added. At a tempera- ture of about 70° F. young worms have been kept alive for as long as six months, and the infection in inclosures (near Washington, D. C.) which has been pastured by infested sheep did not die out in over seven months, including the winter, the inclo- Bon SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA sures having been left vacant from Oct. 25 to June 16. It is uncertain whether infection in fields from which sheep have been removed will die out more rapidly during warm weather or during cold weather; experiments on this point are under way, but have not been sufficiently completed for definite statements to be made. It is, however, safe to say that a field which has had no sheep, cattle, or goats upon it for a year will be practically free from in- fection, and fields which have had no sheep or other ruminants upon them following cultivation may also be safely used. The time required for a clean pas- ture to become infectious after infested sheep are placed upon it depends upon the temperature; that is, the field does not become infectious until the eggs of the parasites contained in the droppings of the sheep have hatched out and the young worms have developed to the final larval stage, and the rapidity of this development depends upon the tem- perature. It may be stated here that neither the eges nor the newly hatched worms are infectious and only those worms which have reached the final larval stage are able to continue their development when swallowed. This final larval stage is reached in three to four days after the eggs have passed out of the body of the host if the temperature re- mains) constantly at about 95° Wy At. 70; aie = cikx to fourteen days are required, and at 46° to 57° F’., aggregating about 50° F., three to four weeks are necessary for the eggs to hatch and the young worms to develop to the infectious stage. At tem- THE DISEASES OF SHEEP 333 peratures below 40° I*., as already stated, the eggs remain dormant. METHODS OF PREVENTING INFECTION. It is evident from the foregoing statements that in the northern part of the United States, under usual climatic conditions, infested and non-infested sheep may be placed together in clean fields the last of October or first of November and kept there until March or even later, according to the weather, with little or no danger of the non-infested sheep be-. coming infected. If moved then to another clean field they may remain there nearly the entire month of April before there is danger of infection. From the 1st of May on through the summer the pastures become infectious much more quickly after infested sheep are placed upon them, and during May it would be necessary to move the sheep at the end of every two weeks, in June at the end of every ten days, and in July and August at the end of each week, in order to prevent the non-infested sheep from becoming infected from the worms present in the rest of the flock. After the Ist of September the period may again be lengthened. This method of preventing infection in lambs would require a considerable number of small pastures or subdivi. sions of large pastures, and in many instances could not be profitably employed, but in cases where it could be used it would undoubtedly prove very effec- tive. By the time the next lamb crop appeared the pastures used the year before would have re- 334 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA mained vacant long enough for the infection to have disappeared, and would consequently again be ready for use. By continuing this rotation from year to year, not only would each crop of lambs be protected from infection, but as reinfection of the infested ewe flock is prevented at the same time, the para- site would in a few years be entirely eradicated from the flock and pastures. The result to be gained is worth the effort where this plan is practicable. If such frequent rotation is not possible or prac- ticable, a smaller number of pastures may be util- ized, after the ewe flock has been treated with ver- mifuges. The treatment may be given either before or after the birth of the lambs. If before, the ewes should be treated before pregnancy is too far ad- vanced in order to avoid possible bad results from the handling necessary in treatment. Probably the best time for treatment is late in the fall or early in the winter. The treated sheep should be placed immediately on clean pasture in order to avoid re- infection. The object of treating the ewes is to get rid of the worms with which they are infested, and thus remove the source from which the pasture be- comes contamimnated. If it were possible by treat- ment to entirely free the old sheep from stomach worms, it 1s evident that the lambs would remain free from infection, provided, of course, that the flock were afterwards kept on clean pasture. Un- fortunately, there is no vermifuge known which ean always be depended upon to remove all of the worms, but it 1s possible to get rid of most of them, THE DISEASES OF SHEEP Bo) and thus greatly reduce the amount of infection to which the lambs will be exposed. Two other methods may be suggested by which lambs can be kept free from infection with stomach worms. 1. Itis assumed that a large pasture is available which has had no sheep, goats, or cattle upon it for a year, if a permanent pasture, or since cultivation, if a seeded pasture. This pasture is subdivided into two by a double line of fence, and a drainage ditch is run along the alley between the two fences. At _ one end of the alley between the two subdivisions a small yard is constructed, communicating with each of the subdivisions by means of a gate. When the lambs are born they are placed in one of the subdivisions and the ewes are placed in the other. The small yard should be kept free of vegetation and must not drain into the lamb pasture. As often as necessary the lambs are allowed in the small yard with the ewes for sucking. The rest of the time the lambs and the ewes are kept separate in their respective pastures. By this arrangement the lambs are exposed to infection only while they are in the small yard, where they may become in- fected either by embryos of the stomach worm pres- ent on the manure-soiled skin of the infested ewe, or by embryos picked up from the ground which has been contaminated by the droppings of the ewes. The chances of infection from the skin of the ewe are so slight that in practice this source of infection need not be considered. The danger 336 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA of infection from the ground may be avoided by frequently removing the manure from the yard and keeping the surface sprinkled with lme and salt. The lambs and ewes will soon learn the way to their proper pastures, and after a few days little diffi- eulty will be experienced in separating them each time after the lambs are through sucking. 2. Another plan which may be followed where the climatic conditions are suitable—that is, in re- cions where there is a cold winter season—is that of having the lambs born at a time of year when there will be no danger of their becoming infected during the sucking period, and weaning and separating them from the rest of the flock before the advent of warm weather. Under the usual climatie conditions of the State of Ohio, for instance, if the lambs are born in the latter part of October or the first of November they may remain with the ewes on fields which have not been previously occupied by sheep, goats or cattle within a year—or, if cultivated fields, since cultivation—until the following March without danger of becoming infected, since the eggs in the droppings of the infested ewes will not hatch out during this time of year because of the cold weather. The use of fields not previously occupied by sheep, goats, or cattle within a year, or since cultivation, is necessary, since otherwise the fields might be al- ready infected with young worms which had hatched out and reached the infectious stage before the be- sinning of cold weather, and the lambs would pos- sibly be liable to infection from picking up these THE DISEASES OF SHEEP BE! young worms, which are not killed by cold weather after they have reached the final stage of larval development. When they are weaned the lambs must, of course, be placed on clean pasture, if they are to continue free from infection. With this method only two clean pastures are necessary, one in which the ewes and lambs are placed in the fall, and another for the lambs when they are weaned in March. Thus started in life free from the chance of infection, the shepherd may more surely count on profit from his lambs. Fortunately for this scheme, it is always possible to have lambs born early during the winter season; and with additional clean pastures a modification of the foregoing method may be used in the case of lambs born toward the end of the winter or in the spring. In the northern United States lambs born the first of February for example, may be kept with their mothers in a clean field or pasture until the last of March, as in the case of those born at the beginning of winter, but unlike the latter they will not then be old enough to wean. . Shepherds of old, 19. ( Shepherd, the westerns, 238. Shropshires, 48. Silage, experience wiii, 133, 134, 290. Silo, 292. Skin, look well to the, 100. Skinner, Prof. J. H., or silage, 134. Smith, Prof. W. AN on Silage, 134. Sore mouth in lambs. 168. Southdowns, 44. Soybeans, 147. Sterility and inbreedin,s, 97. Stomach worms, 164, 49, 330, 338. Suffolks, 55. Sussex, management in. 46. Swedes for sheep in Enrg.iand, 135. Tails, cutting off, 159. Tapeworm, 112, 325. Tattoo marks, 210. Teats, sore, 138. Tents, lambing, 196. Texas, number of sheep in, 15. Tick, dipping for the, 102, 246. Trailing sheep, 223. Trimming feet, 192. Trochar, using for bloat, 185. Troughs for corn on grass, 154. Trough for treating foot disease, 193. Troughs, V-shaped, 120 Tunis sheep, 69. Turnips, 135. Ty pe— fixing, 94. keeping a, 90. what is? 90. Utah, Ventilation of sheep barns, 128. Vetch, hairy, 147. Vigor necessary in flock, 99. Vitality from fresh blood, 98. Von Homeyer Rambouillets, 36. number of sheep in, 15. Wandering range flocks, 222. Washing sheep, 200. Washington, number of sheep in, 15. Water, amount of in a fleece, 121. Water, pure for lambs, 147. Weaning, 161. Wethers, feeding mature, 304. Windbreaks in Colorado, 271. Wisconsin, number of sheep 12, 15. Woodland Farm, silage on, 334. Wool— eost of producing, 21. 25. important in West, Té Merino, 29. tariffs, 25. washing, 200. Worms, lung in grass, 158. Wyoming, number of sheep ‘a, 15. 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