No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. «11 



dumb animal, there are a good many things that they learn very 

 rapidly and one of them is how to stand out properly and how to 

 follow the shepherd. A sheep is best made to stand squarely 

 and naturally by putting the left hand under its lower jaw and the 

 other on its loin and gently pressing it. As a natural consequence 

 it spreads out its feet with a view of supporting the extra weight 

 on its body. It takes but very little time for a sheep to learn 

 what is expected of it and to acquire the proper pose; and with your 

 sheep properly fitted and with the expert judge you will come 

 home with a good number of ribbons. 



There is a vast ditTerence in fitting for show and for market; 

 one is only the fair and to be kept for breeding purposes, and the 

 other is to be fitted for the market to be slaughtered. In the first 

 place I would make my selection and it would be lambs raised 

 somewhere in the West, sired by good pedigreed Down rams or 

 some good Western bred ewes with as much as possible Down blood 

 in them. I would have them shipped in some time in August 

 and let them run in the blue grass pastures and on the young 

 clover as soon as they were rested. I would begin to feed about 

 one-fourth of a pound of corn and would keep on by easy stages 

 until thej^ were eating one pound and a half of corn per day until 

 about the first of November, and then I would bring them to the 

 barn and shut them in and all the exercise they would get would be 

 to get water. I would give them a good feed of shock corn in the 

 morning and good clover hay at night and make up the amount of 

 corn to two pounds per day and occassionally give them a feed 

 of oats. Be punctual about your feeding and you will find they 

 have increased 10 to 12 pounds per months. We sow a good deal 

 of rape in the oats and we find out to make money in our feeding 

 operations is to feed the crops we can sow on the farm before we 

 send them to market. We clip and straighten out the tail a little 

 and if it is possible and we have time we trim a little to please 

 the buyer's eye. 



My experience has been that a lamb will not pay for its feed 

 after you have been feeding it all it would eat about 12 to 14 weeks. 

 They cannot be forced to do any good after that time and as I 

 suppose everybody is like myself — does the feeding for the purpose 

 of profit. I tried this season on a seven weeks ration and sent 

 them to show and market, and while I won second they were three 

 weeks behind and not up to condition as they ought to be, and 

 therefore I had to be contented with second ])lace. I have discovered 

 the ewe lambs are much better feeders than the wether lambs, 

 they rest more contented. 



I love it, I love it, and who shall stop 

 Your bard from enjoj'ing- his mutton chop, 

 O, tender morsel, grateful and cheap 

 From the loin of a good fat juicy sheep, 

 To my palate 'tis bound by a thousand ties 

 Of pleasant and succulent memories. 

 Which awake at the sight of a butcher shop, 

 For a sacred thing is my mutton chop. 



