Rural School Leaflet 1169 



of defense and which seem to be legitimate prey of larger and fiercer 

 animals. With its large pouch for carrying undigested food, the sheep 

 can graze at night or at short intervals during the day, then retire to 

 its coverts and chew and digest at its leisure. 



Sheep do not seem lo have an over-abundance of intelligence and 

 are shy, weak creatures. Therefore they should be handled carefully 

 and easily. The nocking habit is very strong with them and is one of 

 the habits which help in their management on the large open ranges. 

 With the aid of dogs, large flocks can be easily worked from place to 

 place, the dogs guiding the flocks and keeping the stragglers hemmed in. 



Sheep are excellent grazers, and the grazing habits of their early 

 ancestors are still to be clearly seen in the domestic strains. They 

 still prefer the highlands and open places, although in some countries 

 the different breeds have been accustomed to different kinds of country 

 so that we now have breeds that develop and grow well on lowlands, 

 Sheep are accustomed from their origin to eat herbage of greater variety 

 than do cattle; hence by taking advantage of this habit we can use them 

 to clean up weedy and run-out farms and graze down coarse lands 

 on which cattle cannot thrive. 



WEASELS 

 A. H. Wright 



The small brown weasels, or Bonaparte's weasels, are dark brown above 

 and white on the underparts in summer, with a black tip to the rather 

 short tail. The winter coat is white except for the terminal third of 

 the tail, which remains black. There is a difference in size between the 

 males and the females, the former being uf inches in length, the latter 

 only 10 inches. Their food consists mostly of mice, moles, shrews, small 

 birds and birds' eggs, and insects, chiefly beetles. They have never been 

 known to attack poultry or the larger mammals. In character they are 

 inquisitive and not especially wary. They allow a person to approach with- 

 in a few feet before they run for shelter, but if a person makes a squeaking 

 noise they will stick their heads out of some hole or opening so as to inves- 

 tigate. They are ever on the alert and disappear instantly if their sus- 

 picions are aroused. Their nest of leaves and herbage is warm and dry, 

 and is usually placed in some hole in a bank, dry ditch, or hollow tree. 

 There are four to five young in a litter, and two or three broods a season. 



The New York weasels are larger than the small brown weasels and are 

 often known as " ermine," In length the males are 16 inches, the females 

 13 inches. Like the smaller weasel, they are dark chocolate-brown above 

 and white underneath. They become white in winter except for the 

 black tip of the tail. Thf "black tip is longer in these weasels, and the 

 tail is also longer in proportion. They have a well-developed scent gland. 



