MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP. 121 



SHEEP-HUSBANDRY. 

 HOOSAC VALLEY. 



[From the Report of the Committee.] 



Your Committee on lambs have attended to the duty as- 

 signed them, and find ten entries, viz., four fine-wools, four 

 middle, and two coarse-wools ; and they are glad to note a 

 marked improvement over the last four years both in num- 

 bers and quality. It goes to show that our farmers are 

 beginning to realize the vital importance of breeding sheep, 

 for which we can always find a ready market at remunerative 

 prices. The specimens of fine-wools shown were many of 

 them as good, in our opinion, as were ever exhibited in the 

 Hoosac Valley, even during the halj^con days of Merinos ; 

 and the coarse and grade wools would cause the lovers of good 

 mutton and lamb to smile at the thought of savory chops 

 and roasts. We would, in this connection, confine our few 

 remarks to the breedinsr and manaofement of lambs. 



The great mistake of most breeders is made in the manage- 

 ment of the ewes and rams in the fall, or coupling-season, 

 most of whom turn their rams loose to run with the ewes 

 through the winter, and in very many cases without extra 

 feed. The result is the loss of vitahty in the ram, and 

 tender and puny lambs, which require the greatest care to 

 preserve their feeble existence. If the farmer wants good, 

 strong, healthy lambs, he must preserve the vitality of his 

 ram by good keeping, and, secondly, by keeping him away 

 from the ewes, with the exception of a few hours each day, 

 or what sheep-breeders more properly term " tending," which 

 is by far the best way. We remember that George Campbell 

 of Westminster, Vt., once told us, that should the best ram 

 in Vermont be turned loose with one hundred ewes, and 

 allowed to run through the winter, he never would be worth 

 a shilling for breeding purposes afterwards ; and we can get 



16 



