336 Journal of the Department of Agriculture. — Oct., 1922. 



per head of pojjulatiun. Sheep could never keej) a( the price they 

 are, if it were not for the enormous profits wliicli are made by the 

 people who handle them after they leav6 the hands of the growers. 

 They really are the cause of the prices which exist to-day. As the 

 number of sheep increases, gradually will the price obtained by the 

 farmer decline, witliout in any great deg'ree decreasing the profits of 

 the middleman. Tliis state of affairs sliould surely make the farmer 

 think seriously and adopt bettei' breeds of sheep, management, and 

 means of distribution. 



Arguments will be brought ff)rward that rams are not procurable. 

 This can very easily be rectified if farmers will meet and arrange 

 to get them in bulk from England. The price will not be prohibitive, 

 as it will not be necessary to buy high-class stud rams. No doubt 

 there are many thousands that are suitable for our requirements that 

 could be purchased at very reasonable figures. 



Once this line of cross-breeding is adopted, there will be men 

 who will see that it is profitable to breed rams locally, and so benefit 

 themselves and others requiring them. In this way there will spring 

 up such a change in our methods and in our sheep that we shall 

 take a foremost place in the world's markets, thereby resulting in 

 the stabilizing of our local market and the means of unlimited 

 expansion in the sheep industry. 



Tasmanian Sheep-Grading Pens. — School of Agricultun 

 Glen, Orange Free State. 



