380 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



aged to handle 150 high-class breeding ewes and fatten their lambs 

 annually. In addition four or five brood sows and their litters 

 could be raised and fed off each year. 



Perhaps the best result of all in this system is that the soil 

 will unquestionably improve in fertility. This applies particularly 

 to soils that are somewhat run down or worn out. 



WINTER CARE OF THE EWE FLOCK. 



In handling successfully a flock of breeding ewes it must never 

 be forgotten that they are breeding animals, and that the kind of 

 treatment most successful for the production of strong, healthy 

 lambs is not necessarily the best treatment for a flock of fatten- 

 ing lambs or wethers. A prime essential for the successful hand- 

 ling of breeding ewes is abundant exercise throughout the year, 

 and especially during the winter. It is a grave mistake to con- 

 fine the ewe flock to limited quarters during winter. Shelter is 

 necessary, but warm shelters are to be avoided. An ideal shelter 

 for sheep of any kind is a shed tightly built on the north, east and 

 west sides, but entirely open to the south. Sheep suffer more 

 from cold, wet rains than from any other cause in the winter. 

 If they can be protected from such rains and given a dry place 

 wherein to lie down they will have been supplied with the best 

 possible conditions for such animals. 



DIPPING. 



Sheep often suffer severely from external parasites, as well as 

 from internal troubles. The most common external parasite is 

 the ordinary sheep tick (Melophagus ovinus). This pest is near- 

 ly always present, especially in flocks of open-wooled sheep. For- 

 tunately, it is comparatively easy and inexpensive to check the 

 ravages of this mite. In the ordinary course of sheep farm man- 

 agement it is good practice to dip all sheep on the farm in the fall 

 before putting them in winter quarters. In order to accomplish 

 the dipping with the least expense and labor, a dipping tank of 

 some kind is necessary. Galvanized iron tanks may be purchased 

 which are made especially for this purpose, or they may be made 

 of concrete or of any material which will make a tank of the right 

 shape and size. 



A good form of dipping tank is ten feet long at the top, four 

 feet deep, sixteen inches wide at the top and six inches wide at the 

 bottom. One side of the tank should be built on an incline, and on 



