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Rural School Leaflet. 



to the New York market. The other is the ordinary sheep farming as 

 practiced by farmers generally throughout the State. The first kind 

 of work is a highly specialized industry and is deserving of our attention 

 although not practiced to a great extent as yet. 



Hot-house lamb production. — What do we mean by the name " hot- 

 house " lamb? We must say that the name is a misnomer. The quar- 

 ters for hot-house 

 lamb production 

 need not be much, 

 if any, warmer 

 than those ordi- 

 narily used for 

 carrying sheep 

 through the winter. 

 The main require- 

 ment is that the 

 quarters for the 

 ewes must be dry 

 and well ventilated. 

 The name " hot- 

 house" lamb comes 

 from the fact 

 that the lamb is 

 "forced." The 

 New York market 

 requires that the 

 lamb must be on 

 the market at a 

 dressed weight of 

 thirty-five pounds 

 or thereabouts dur- 

 ing the month of 

 January in order 

 to get the best 

 price. Not many 

 lambs are marketed during November or December. The first quota- 

 tions come in January. The prices received for these young lambs are 

 very good, reaching as high as $i8 a head. As the season advances the 

 price falls until it is the same as the price paid for the early spring lambs. 

 The main difficulty in hot-house lamb production is to have the lambs 

 born early enough. The season for sheep to bear lambs naturally is in 

 the spring, and if we get them to bear lambs early in the fall we are chang- 



FiG. io6. — Sheep farming in New York Stale 



