40 FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 



should never be sold except in the form of beef. Raise as many kinds of 

 stock as can be made profitable always being sure to keep no more of any or 

 all kinds than you can keep well. Always have a variety of products to 

 depend upon as with some of each you cannot miss of having the most pi-ofit- 

 able. 



Sheep are a necessity, as they are needed +o keep the farm free from weeds 

 and other foul stuff, and as they also yield a semi-annual return — wool in 

 the spring and lambs in the fall, if sold. Always keep in mind the maxim: 

 " When everybody wants to sell, then is the time to buy, and when every- 

 body wants to buy, then is the time to sell." The wool industry is no more 

 depressed than a great many other industries, yet farmers have been getting 

 rid of their sheep at a sacrifice, thereby killing the goose that has been lay- 

 ing the golden egg, and these very same farmers will soon be trying to pur- 

 chase another goose at a much increased value. The mutton breeds of sheep 

 have their uses, and in certain localities are preferable to the Merinos, but 

 that they can become the universal sheep for this country is entirely 

 imaginary. The available sheep lands in the other parts of the world are on 

 a rapid decrease, and the demand for the wools from the sources of our for- 

 eign supplies is on a rapid increase. Foreign wools will no longer be so 

 cheap or abundant as in the past, and it follows, then, that the supply must 

 be made good at home. We have plenty of cheap lands west, we have plenty 

 of good sheep lands in Michigan, which are being depleted by this depres- 

 sion and scare, and you and I who have kept our flocks intact, or added to 

 them, because we could buy so low, will in a short time be called upon, at 

 good prices, to make this depletion good. It is claimed by some that the 

 west shouhl raise our wool and the east the mutton. The history of the past 

 proves that improvements in sheep breeding have not been made in the west, 

 where everything is done on a large scale. The great improvements in our 

 highly valued Merino have been made where farms were small, flocks few in 

 number, and by men who gave their personal care and best thought to their 

 improvement. So it will always be. The east will still be called upon to 

 furnish the choice specimens of her thoroughbreds to improve the common 

 flocks of the west, and the demand will be imperative and profitable to the 

 breeder who stands by his sheep through fair or foul weather; never losing 

 sight of the fact that half the battle is in favor of him who never falters in 

 well doing. To the breeder of the thoroughbred .Merino, I would say, don t 

 be discouraged ; stick by your pets and they will pay you well. When they 

 are low, increase your flocks; for the day is not far distant when there will 

 be a good demand for all of your surplus. Look over any wool circular, and 

 you will see fine wools strong, combing and delaine wools scarce, while if 

 there is any stagnation in price, it is on middle and coarse wools. Feed 

 those sheep getting old; also the light shearers, for the butcher. Weed out 

 the short fleeces, yellow-colored, long-legged, bare-faced ones, and feed them 

 also, as they have no business in a good flock of sheep. Breed from no 

 males but thoroughbreds. Increase the size of your sheep by proper selec- 

 tions and by liberal feeding. Grade Merino wethers may be made to weigh, 

 when three years old, from 125 to 1-iO pounds, and in our markets the price 

 will average well with those called the mutton breeds. Usually towards 

 spring they bring more per pound, owing to the fact that they are as desir- 

 able mutton for the average American, and their pelts are worth very much 

 more, owing to the larger amount of desirable wool. Another thing to be 

 taken into consideration is the cheapness with which the Merino wether can 



