1905.] SHEEP. 55 



As I suggested in the opening, they must have some moisture 

 once in forty-eight hours, and it should be left where they can 

 get at it. I doubt, however, if the flock will ever touch water 

 to any such extent as some of our friends think. I have rea- 

 son to know that they do not. Still, without water, in a per- 

 fectly dry place, where they could get neither dew nor water, 

 they would die much quicker than the ox or horse. 



Another thing : it is important to keep salt before your sheep 

 all the time. If I had a flock of sheep out on the mountains 

 and could only get to them once a week, I should make it a point 

 to salt them at least once a week. It is better, however, to 

 have a box of salt in the field where they can get at it. If your 

 sheep have not had any salt for some time, and it is then given 

 them, they are apt to overeat it. But if you keep a box in the 

 field, where they can get it when they want it, they will never 

 overeat. 



Another thing, of course, which is a great element in the 

 success of sheep breeding, is to have a good market. You 

 must have a good market. I apprehend that Hartford and 

 New Haven are as good markets for sheep as exist anywhere. 

 But you must have a good market, and then you want to deal 

 with reliable dealers. I would not send a poor sheep to market. 

 It pays to put only a first-class article into the market. Turn 

 out a good- article and the people will soon find it out, and you 

 will be getting good prices for your mutton. 

 1 There is a gentleman here who is to follow me, who will 

 instruct you on the question of lamb raising. That is a branch 

 of the business that I know very little about. Therefore, I 

 have avoided that subject. I know of many men who have 

 been very successful, and in Connecticut today I think an old- 

 fashioned flock of sheep, from which you can turn off part of 

 your wethers, and turn ofif an annual supply of wool, with some 

 lambs, will abundantly repay you for your labor. 



Now, just a word or two in closing on the subject of 

 diseases. You may think of all the ways you can to prevent it, 

 and do everything you can to keep disease out of your flock, 

 and yet sometimes it will strike you in spite of all you can do. 

 That is quite true, however, of any live stock. I do not know 

 that sheep are more likely to be stricken with disease, or are 

 more susceptible to disease, and I am rather inclined to think 

 perhaps they are not so much so as some other domestic ani- 



