SIXTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VIII. 677 



to figure on in building your shed. A well constructed pole and straw 

 sheed answers the purpose very well. 



"The purchase of your feeders is the first important thing after you 

 are ready for them, and nowhere is the old adage more true that 'a thing 

 well bought is half sold.' Usually there is a time in the fall when you 

 can buy wethers, ewes and lambs at the river market cheaper than on 

 the range, and I would especially recommend this course to the new begin- 

 ner, who only feeds a few loads. Go to a reliable commission house 

 ■which makes sheep a specially, and tell them what you want. Of course 

 a good plan to be there yourself and see what you buy, but they will 

 generally save you much more than their commission in making the deal 

 for you. If you buy on the range, be sure and buy by weight, as in almost 

 all cases sheep are overestimated when bought on the prairie. 



"Although scabies, the dread of sheepmen, is now well under control,. 

 thanKs to the efficient services rendered by the Department of Agricul- 

 ture, and especially by Dr. Salmon and his able corps of assistans, it Is 

 best to have your sheep dipped before shipping them in the country. 



Where several thousand are being fed a dipping plant should be built 

 by all means, as scab may break out at any time. There are several 

 good prepared dips on the market, and the old lime and sulphur dip, 

 although a sure cure, is now seldom used in the feed lots. 



"We generally manage to run our bands in the cornstalks and corn- 

 fields for a month or so before putting them up. One man who under- 

 stands his business and has a well trained dog, will easily herd 3,000 

 head. Be sure you have them well filled before you turn them into an 

 unhusked cornfield, and never let them get hungry. A band of big 

 wethers are splendid buskers, and besides cleaning the field thoroughly 

 they board themselves. 



"When putting them up for good we do not like to have more than 

 500 in a lot, and 300 is still better. We always keep salt before them. 

 If the sheep have been in the cornfield they will eat the corn in the yards 

 at once, and there is little danger of overleeding. If not, they should 

 be started slowly, and the ration increased gradually until they eat 

 about a pound and a. half per day. 



"As mentioned before, a ration of shelled corn each day and a little 

 bran or meal, is my favorite ration. We feed grain three times a day. 

 One man can easily attend to 2,500 head in the feed lots. Alfalfa is by far 

 the best roughage for sheep. Where this is not available prairie hay, 

 sorghum or kaffir corn do very well — in fact, I have made very fat sheep 

 on nothing but corn and bright wheat straw. Sheep will get sick and 

 die, and I have never been able to doctor them to any advantage. Regu- 

 lation in feeding and change of feed is a good preventive. Losses f-rom 

 death should not exceed from % to 1 per cent a season. 



"In marketing your fat sheep you should again show conservatism. 

 In my long years of experience I have found that whenever you have a 

 fair profit you should let go, when your sheep are fat and ready for the 

 shambles. A short feed, generally more profitable than a long one, even 

 if the market should go up a few notches. We have had several good 



