374 



Missouri Agricultural Report. 



the middle west two types of sheep husbandry particularly are 

 common. The first type includes the keeping of a small flock of 

 sheep on a general farm, either a grain farm or a stock farm, and 

 this type of sheep husbandry is very common throughout this sec- 

 tion. To be distinguished from this is the special sheep farm on 

 which sheep are the principal source of revenue, and the cropping 

 systems of the farm are arranged with a view primarily to their 

 adaptability to the feeding and handling of sheep. 



Both wool and mutton are items of profit to the sheep farmer 

 of the middle west, but it is probably correct to say that in very 

 few cases are sheep now reared for wool alone in the north central 

 states. The most common type of sheep farm in the middle west 

 at present, is one carried on primarily for the production of mut- 

 ton lambs, either to be sold in the spring as so-called winter or hot 

 house lambs, or to be carried through the summer and either sold 

 to feeders to fatten during the winter or to be fattened by the 

 owner. It is this type of farming particularly considered in this 

 bulletin. 



SELECTING THE EWE FLOCK. 



The kind of ewes to select for the commercial production of 

 mutton on the middle west farm is a matter of first importance in 

 beginning the business of sheep raising. The available supply of 

 ewes is to be secured from two sources, first western ewes, and 

 second, natives. The selection of western ewes as a foundation 

 flock for mutton production has som.e advantages not possessed by 



HIGH CLASS SHROPSHIRE EWES. 

 Owned by the Department of Animal Husbandry, University of Missouri. 



