130 State Horticultural Society. 



of his farm to fruit. Some lands and some localities are adapted to the 

 profitable growth of grain, but more is adapted to the grazing of sheep 

 and cattle. I do not speak of grain farms and stock ranches, nor of the 

 orchards that cover hundreds of acres. The owners of these are speci- 

 alists, and I hope make both ends meet and lap a little; but some years 

 there is need of a connecting link, even with them. I speak more 

 especially to the farmer who has 160 acres or less, and makes fruit a 

 leading business. It goes without saying that he keeps a team and two 

 or three cows, and considerable pasture land. At long intervals, even 

 the apple orchard grows' weary, and it is better to plow and prepare other 

 fields for fruit, and pasture what was the old orchard. 



We are not all prepared to follow intensive farming, and I know of 

 no better way to rest a long cultivated field than to seed it to a variety of 

 grasses, and when well established let the sheep have it. 



I do not mean to lose sight of horticulture. Our Ozark hills and 

 plains are especially adapted to fruit, but as I stated before, there are 

 years when the horticulturist gets but little income from his orchard. 

 A small flock of sheep does not require much outlay of work or build- 

 ings. The care required is mostly in the season when the orchards need 

 the least work and pasture they take is partly weeds and bushes that 

 should be fed off anvwav. 



I intimated that a good sheep would pay for his keeping with wool 

 and the increase and sales were profit. This is true to a certain extent 

 but because money is made by keeping twenty or thirty sheep, it does 

 not follow that the flock can be doubled or quadrupled with the same 

 profit per head. It is better to keep below the happy medium than to 

 rise too far above it. 



While sheep are not great feeders, they suffer from a starvation diet 

 as badly as anybody. They need a dry shelter for winter and during 

 severe storms, but they do not need very tight stables. Any one who 

 takes an interest in sheep and uses good common sense can learn to care 

 for sheep well. Like other stock, if they are comfortable they thrive 

 well, and if they are uncomfortable from cold, hunger, or other mis- 

 treatment, they do not thrive well. With proper care, in a hilly or 

 well drained country, sheep are almost exempt from disease. 



