THE FARM AND GARDEN, 



wool sheep were not only selected, but were fitted 

 with clothes in cold weather to keep the wool 

 from injury. Since the introduction of silk and 

 cotton, the finer grades of wool are \e^s in de- 

 mand, and coarser, long wools have taken the 

 lead in the market. The dififerent breeds are not 

 of similar constitutions. The Merino will thrive 

 in the heat of plains and flourish on the driest 

 sands; while it can be reared on the highest 

 table-lands, it will also thrive in low altitudes. 

 So long has the breed of Merinos suffered climatic 

 changes, and been bred in ages past, that the.y 

 suffer perhaps less from varied climate than any 

 other breed, which may be due from the half- 

 wild character of the people, whose herding 

 from plain to mountain, in wild, savage life, 

 produced a strain of sheep that are but little af- 

 fected by climate except by moisture and wet, 

 in which respect they are inferior to the 

 English breeds. 



Among the influences of climate as affecting 

 Bheep, may be mentioned a wet one, producing 

 foot rot; while a hot or dry one is injurious to 

 the English breeds. All breeds bear renioval 

 better in parallels of latitude, although, with 

 care, any breed will bear a reasonable cliange. 



BREEDS FOR SPECIAL CON- 

 DITIONS.— The stockman who 

 keeps vast herds on tli 

 range, or the breeder on the 

 plains, where pasturage is 

 short and flocks must all 

 be herded, needs sheep of 

 gregarious habits, who 

 will keep in flocks and not 

 wander away; other- 

 wise herding is difficult, 

 not to say almost impos- 

 sible. For that reason 

 the Merino has the ad- 

 van tage over most 

 breeds for large ranges. 

 While for the rich lands 

 of the farm, where grass 

 grows in luxuriance, the 

 Merino will, from its. rov- 

 ing habit, trample and 

 waste ]nore than it con- 

 Buroes. In such localities 

 the English breeds are v 

 desirable, not only for their 

 large size and valuable 

 wool, but also for their /, 

 quiet habitus. Being re- 

 strained by fences, their 

 desire to separate into 

 small bands does not 

 affect their keeping. 

 The Cotswolds and Ox- 

 fords waste but little 

 grass by tramping over 

 the flelds, and that is a 

 valuable characteristic 

 of the English long- 

 wools and Downs. 

 "Where pastures are ex- 

 tremely wet, the Lei- 

 cester is perhaps best 

 suited, if sheep must be 

 kept, but we do not advise sheep-raising under 

 such circumstances. 



EASTERN SHEEP BREEDING. -We in the East, 

 with dear land, and smaller farms than other 

 Bections, dear feed and hay, lands well fenced, 

 also have a good market for lambs and a growing 

 demand for mutton. Under these conditions, 

 grade Merinos are purchased in summer and 

 bred to full blood Southdown bucks. The sheep 

 are well cared for and the early lambs are dis- 

 posed of to butchers in the large cities, at good 

 paying prices, which good, early spring Iambs 

 are sure to command. The business pays well 

 for the outlay, for the sheep in the fall consume 

 much of the waste pastures,— briars and weeds 

 that the cattle refuse,— and if kept a few years in 

 succession will do more to eradicate useless 

 weeds from a farm than any animal in the 

 farmer's field. We know oT*Tarms overgrown by 

 briars and bushes and fences overgrown with 

 bramble, that were entirely subdued by sheep, 

 and the farm appeared as4f possessed of a new 

 owner. The large amount of excellent manure 

 sheep produce must not be lost sight of in the 

 East, where manure is so valuable and difficult 

 to procure. Next to hog-pen manure, that of 

 sheep is most valuable, and will more than pay 

 for the care of the flock. By the use of sheep as 



I 



manure-makers, the farm will be rapidly im- 

 proved. The poorest of the old sheep are sold, 

 after lambing, as soon as fit for market, and the 

 best are kept over another year. Then such addi- 

 tions are made by purchasing of the drovers as 

 the farmer can handle and keep. This industry, 

 though in proportion is small, yet, it is a sure 

 and profitable investment. 



WESTERN SHEEPGROWWG. Wherefarmsare 

 larger and feed and pastures more abundant and 

 cheap, the soils rich, deep, and fertile, and the 

 area more extended, the Majestic Colswold is at 

 home, and the Oxfordshire and other large breeds 

 arrive at their highest perfection. This section 

 from its evident advantages can produce the 

 best wools and muttons at lowest possible cost. 

 Here also we look for the large breeds that 

 weigh from 'JoO to 8(MJ pounds each and shear 

 fleeces of wool weighing from flfteen to twenty 

 pounds. Here the growing of the larger breeds 

 can be carried on with few or no drawbacks, and 

 the large breeds arrive to such perfection that 

 the growing of large sheep is made easier and 

 profitable. 



SHEEP-RAISING ON THE PLAINS. —Large ranges, 

 dry climate, elevated plains and mountain 

 ranges, wild .and isolated, are the features oC- 

 sheep-growing in the far West. The absence 

 of water, scantiness of herbage— though 

 rich in feeding qualities, makes the sys- 

 tem ditTerent from the ones we have 

 described. Frequently the preemp- 



CoP\f\iG-KTED ISSS" 



Scotch go lly 



BOBBIE" 



-»=— l/V\pol\TED BY 



W.Atlee Burpee s^co.phila 



tion of a watercourse or even a depression or 

 pond of water may give the control of large 

 territory near it to the fortunate claimant. 

 For without water herding is not possible, 

 and he who controls the water in s:uch cases also 

 controls the pasturage of leagues of adjacent 

 government land. Woe to the unfortunate herder 

 who trespasses with his flocks, dying with thirst 

 it may be, upon the water rights of his neighbor. 

 Such freedom is never permissible. It may be 

 said that he who owns the water holds all the 

 lands that lie around it. Here the warfare be- 

 tween sheepmen and cattlemen wages the 

 fiercest, and complaint of the cattle herder that 



the -sheep eat the pasture so closely that they kill 

 the grass, is a frequent cause of disturbances, 

 and the quarrels are so interminable that they 

 attbrd all the excitement so desirable in border 

 life. The grass on the plains, from the almost 

 continued absence of rain, grows in bunches or 

 round spots a few feet to a few inches in diame- 

 ter; very short, but as nutritious as grain. These 

 spots, or patches of grass, rise above the level ot 

 the plain, leaving the bare alleys or walks be- 

 tween them, and when cropped too closely, fail 

 to grow again, and the pasturage ceases for years. 

 If these areas were not so vast, herding would 

 be impossible for such vast flocks of siieep. _The 

 usual shelter from winter storms and cold, is the 

 south side of sheltered hills or that of the open 

 corrall. Sheds are too seldom seen, in fact, the 

 range is so large and the distance so great that it 

 is not easy to shelter the sheep. Yet, here sheep 

 are grown at less cost than anywhere in the 

 United States, and' if, as it frequently happens, 

 thousands perish from cold and snow in the win- 

 ter, yet the increase is so great that the flock- 

 master does not appear to regard it as a matter of 

 serious consequence. In Texas and New Mexico 

 rains occur more frequently, and the two rainy 

 seasons give moisture enough to raise mesquite 

 and grama grasses that afford the richest of pas- 

 tures. While the sheep husbandry of the plains 

 may be rude, yet, the profits are great, and if the 

 location is a good one. fortunes are speedily made. 

 In California and Oregon, the mountain ranges 

 and valleys so traverse the country, that the 

 ian of the ancient shepherd is revived, that 

 I' driving the sheep in summer to the 

 mountain ranges, in winter, seeking 

 the valleys for pasture and shelter. 

 In southern California, drouth deci- 

 mates the flocks frequently, yet. 

 that State produces thousands 

 of sheep that are sent to the 

 North-west and distributed 

 over the country. A vast 

 amount of wool is pro- 

 duced on the Pacific slope, 

 and the sheep are very 

 healthy and are, perhaps, 

 more exempt from disease 

 t h a n anywhere i n the 

 Union. 



FOREIGN SHEEP GROW- 

 ING.— We shall deal with 

 foreign sheep-growing, 

 that the American reader 

 can see where the com- 

 petition of foreign wool 

 hurts him. No one who 

 has not investigated the 

 increase of the sheep and 

 the area extended, can 

 form a just idea of the 

 vast increase of foreign 

 territory now devoted to 

 sheep. Australia takes 

 the lead, not only foj the 

 vastness of its flocks and 

 limitless territory, but 

 the numbers owned by 

 one person. As many as 

 3'30,O00 sheep are credited to a single owner, and 

 there are many others who have flocks nearly as 

 large. The sheep runs or stations are leased from 

 the government in large sections, at the low rate 

 of about ?2.50 per square mile, and on long leases. 

 Some of the larger runs embrace as much as 2000 

 square miles, an area nearlj' as large as some of 

 our smaller States. These sheep runs or farms 

 are so numerous, and the amount of wool pro- 

 duced so enormous, that its eflect on the market 

 is felt all over the world. Buenos Ayres, Para^ 

 guay, and Uraquay in South America, are be- 

 coming important sheep districts. From the 

 richness of soil, temperate climate, owners will 



r/fftxe m^ition THE FA RM AXD dAUDEX. 



:e.tti^e southdown sheep 



^llf WALSINGHA 

 ^T^^ FOR SALE. 



WILLIAM CROZIER. NOUTHPORT. N, 



SHEEP ! SHEEP ! 



LINCOLN, HAMPSHIRE DOWN, AND 

 SOUTH DOWN SHEEP a specialty. 



We liav(; sf>me veryrlioice l.tiiibs of ibe ahovelliroe 

 bree^l^ ready for sliippm^', aiul can mate thoiii in trios 

 lint akin. Also a lew learliiias of both sexes. 

 ()t'<Ier Noon if rou wish i« srciirc the best. Address 



T. WALTER & SONS, WEST CHESTER, PA. 



BRANDYWINE FLOCK. 



PURE SOUTHDOWN SHEEP. 



A liuiuber of clioice rams, ot different at^es. lor sale. 

 The sires and dams recorded ill 1st and 2d vol. American 

 fSoutlidown Record. Also two recorded rams. Owe 

 received first prize at Ppniisvlvania Slate Fair, liSlM; the 

 other first at Chester County Fair, 1883, Bred and lor 

 sale bv JESSE K. COl'E, Wes t Chester, Penna. 



gENTON GARINOER, WASHINGTON. C. H., OHIO., 



POLLED ABERDEEfANGUS CATTLE, 



SHROPSHIRE DOWN SHEEP, 



And IHESTEU WHITE HOliS. 



Its' Choice Hlock Jw Sale. '^S^ 



