12 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



and in 19 12 the State Assessors give us 133,702, making an 

 increase of 8,263 in two years. If this rate of increase will 

 continue, it will be of great assistance to the welfare of the 

 State. There is much land in Maine suitable for sheep pasture 

 that can be purchased for a very low price and it can be fenced 

 properly without a great expense, and the State law will take 

 care of the dogs. We have very good laws on the protection of 

 sheep against the dog. The owner of sheep does not have to 

 wait until the dog has killed his sheep, as the law states that if 

 a dog worries the sheep he can take action against the owner 

 of the dog, or if it is necessary he can kill the dog. And at the 

 present time the high price of lamb and mutton for footl and 

 the profit on the wool makes the keeping of sheep a good 

 paying investment. Sheep are easily cared for and sheltered in 

 the winter and they will get their living in a pasture a large part 

 of the year; and if our breeders would only raise a few more 

 of their ewe lambs each year they would soon get where they 

 would have large flocks that would pay a good profit. We have 

 at our door one of the best markets in the world and we can 

 demand high prices. The farmer that is a long distance from 

 the railroad can raise sheep and they can be driven to the 

 railroad station with very little expense compared with that 

 of drawing many of our farm products a long distance to the 

 railroads for shipment. 



SWINE. 



There has been an increase in the swine kept in this State 

 the last two years, as the number in 19 10 was 35,329 and in 

 1912, 50,675, making an increase of 15,346 in two years. I 

 think this is a very good increase considering the large amount 

 of hog cholera that has been found in the State. The keeper 

 of swine should not let this disease interfere with his business, 

 for by the use of hog cholera serum it can be prevented, and he 

 will not take chances of losing his hogs. One keeping swine 

 should be prepared to inoculate his hogs at any time there 

 should be any indication of hog cholera, and he should be sure 

 that there is no hog cholera in the herds from which he pur- 

 chased his hogs for breeding purposes. There is not an animal 

 that can be kept on the farm that will turn the waste products 



