The figures were not complete enough from some of the counties and 

 districts to allow of their being used. It will be noticed that for the whole 

 Province 34 per cent. , or about one-third, of the farmers keep sheep, and 

 the average size of the breeding flock is thirteen sheep. For the whole 

 Province 40 per cent, of the correspondents consider sheep more profitable 

 than horses ; 39 per cent, say that the profits are about the same, and 21 per 

 cent, say that sheep are not so profitable as horses. Forty-two per cent, 

 considered the profits from sheep greater than those from cattle ; 28 per 

 cent, considered that they give the same profit, and 20 per cent, think 

 that the profits are less. In comparing the profits from sheep and swine 

 39 per cent, of the correspondents say that sheep are more profitable ; 38 

 per cent, consider them equal, and 23 per cent, say that swine are more 

 profitable than sheep. 



It may be well to note the opinions expressed by some of the cor- 

 respondents with regard to the profits on sheep. A correspondent from 

 the eastern part of the Province says : 



"I cannot give exact figures, but I keep sheep as well as horses, cattle 

 and hogs, and I consider a small flock well kept and well bred pays as well 

 as any kind of live stock, and requires less labor." 



A farmer from Perth County writes as follows : 



"There is more profit in sheep than any other animal on the farm, but 

 farmers have been careless and allowed them to take care of themselves. There 

 is one thing that must not be neglected in keeping sheep ; that is, they must 

 be kept in a close field in the fall, so that no ram can get near them till the 

 end of November. Then the lambs will come on the grass and none will be lost, 

 and you have no trouble ; otherwise, lambs will come in cold weather, and half 

 of them die, and you have to slop the ewes and nurse the lambs till they cost 

 more than they are worth. The early lambs are the largest in July and Au- 

 gust, but when October comes the lambs that came in May are the best, for 

 the reason that they were not stunted at first. Sheep and cows should not be 

 kept in the same pasture field. When the cows have finished the field sheep 

 can be turned in and left for a week or two and then follow the cows in another 

 field, and so on. Sheep and horses are all right together. Another thing in 

 favor of sheep is that they can make a living on the fields two or three weeks 

 longer in the fall, and can be turned out two or three weeks earlier in the 

 spring than any other animal, and they will kill all burdocks and many other 

 weeds. They are easier handled in the winter, and you can feed grain whole 

 to them, thus saving the expense of having it chopped, as you have to do for 

 most other animals." 



From Elgin County comes the following communication : 



"There is more profit in sheep for the small amount invested than any- 

 thing else, and less bother. There are several reasons for the decline of the 

 sheep industry in this locality. (1) Within the last few years dairying has 

 become so profitable that farmers are keeping all the cows their pastures will 

 carry. Those who do keep sheep have only a limited number with the object of 

 . having weeds and other noxious growth kept down. (2) Some farmers who 

 would otherwise keep a flock of sheep claim that they soil the pasture so that 

 cattle will not eat it, and as they have no other available system of manage- 

 ment, they have to dispense with the sheep. (3) A local by-law passed by the 

 township council four or five years ago prohibiting sheep running on the high- 



