22 



incurred in sending- milk to factory or cream to creamery. The cost of 

 2\ years' old stockers in same sections included two winterings for the 

 steers, the expensive feeding time, and they sold at $14 to $22 each. A 

 hundred of them were sold at $15 for the one at over $20. The five lambs 

 with no costly wintering, make, in less than five months of cheap summer 

 feeding, more money by seven and a half dollars than the average stocker 

 in places mentioned. Need we be surprised in finding that the determin- 

 ation to own a flock is becoming of late as keen as the discarding of sheep 

 was five years ago? 



This may be safely laid down as a foundation principle : there are 

 very few farms in Ontario where sheep cannot be used to add materially 

 to the income, but good judgment must be exercised to get profitable 

 returns. In selecting ewes for a foundation it is well to secure strong 

 young ewes which promise to be good milkers. Large, strong, sturdy 

 and young ones even at a high price are far more apt to please and be 

 profitable than old or delicately-built ewes at any kind of price. It is well 

 in selecting the ewe to look for large feeding capacity, and aim in finding 

 the ram to mate in which a full, fleshy form is well developed. To get 

 the early-maturing lamb a sire need not be large, but he should not be 

 below medium in size for the breed to which he belongs. Grade ewes 

 of the right kind will give as good returns as if registered, and cost not 

 half as much. On the other hand a registered ram and nothing else 

 should be used. Here is where many have made grievous and costly mis- 

 takes, not only in using grade rams, but also what is sometimes worse, 

 pedigreed scrubs. Regret it much as we may, the fact remains, that in 

 all breeds and in most of pure-bred flocks, bad mating produces too many 

 inferior rams which are not fit to use in grade flocks, let alone better ones. 

 Unfortunately too many will look at the ten-cent piece so near the eye 

 that they cannot see the dollar a little way off. They will save a few 

 dollars in the purchasing of a ram, and lose ten times as many in the 

 slow-maturing lambs got by him. An active ram will readily sire 40 to 

 60 lambs each season. The difference of value of one crop of lambs 

 often — quite often — is more than the cost of a good sire. We hear one 

 say, "My ewes are not good enough to justify me in buying a good ram." 

 If not good enough, then by all means get the better ram to make up for 

 the lack in ewes. Poor ewes and a worse ram have little chance to win 

 out against similar ewes and a real good buck to mate them with. A 

 case in mind : One of the best pens of fat wether lambs ever seen at the 

 International Show at Chicago, was shown in a pen adjoining that in 

 which their dams were on exhibition. Good — extra good — as the lambs 

 were, their mothers were the meanest, skinniest and most mongrel-look- 

 ing western range ewes one could possibly find anywhere. The sire (not 

 on exhibition) was said to be an extra good pure-bred one, hence the 

 goodness of the lambs. 



Another consideration in favor of keeping sheep, and a very im- 

 portant one these years with high prices of building materials, is that 



