135 



basket — if a mishap befalls tlie basket all of the eggs are 

 broken aud lost. So if the season should happen to be un- 

 favorable for the growing of cotton the man who depends 

 altogether upon cotton for a living finds that, at the end 

 of the season, he has but a limited bank account to carrv 

 himself and family through the winter months. If tlus 

 farmer has some pigs to sell, or a mule colt, or some wool 

 or a few lambs, the short cotton crop will not be of so much 

 importance. The farmer who is interested in more than 

 one farm product suffers very much less in time of unfavor- 

 able seasons than the man who grows but the one crop, cot- 

 ton. Even though it be too wet for the cotton to do its 

 best, it may be, and probably will be, a very favorable sea- 

 son for the pastures, and the man who has a good flock 

 of sheep out on the pastures raising some good fat lambs 

 will not worry so much about the unfavorable season for 

 cotton, as he feels that, although the cotton may be a par- 

 tial failure, the sheej* will bring him excellent returns. 



There is yet another advantage in the sheep business. 

 Spring is the time when the average farmer has not a cent 

 coming in. This is the very time when the heavy expendi- 

 tures must he made for machinery. Tertilizers, mules, har- 

 ness, etc.. and to obtain these things the farmer usually 

 asks some merchant to credit him until fall. The 

 sales from the flock of sheep come in just when the 

 money can be used for the above purchases. Both the 

 wool and the early lambs are ready to sell and the 

 money derived from these sales can be used to fit up the 

 farm for spring work. From 100 ewes th^re could be sold, 

 by the middle of April, from sixty to eighty dollars worth 

 of wool and as many dollars from the early lamb sales, 

 and probably much more from the lambs, provided they 

 were dropped at a very early date. 



Ob.TBCTS of ExPERIiNIEXT. 



Realizing the importance of the sheep industry to the 

 Stnte this Station began, four years ago, some experimental 

 work with the following objects in view: 



