A HERD OF SHEEP CLEANING UP AN OLD PASTURE 



In some of the older States of the Union, much of the pasture land has deteriorated until it 

 has become almost worthless, producing little but weeds. A small flock of sheep will fatten 

 on the weeds, and bluegrass will follow in their footsteps. Even a dozen sheep, properly 

 handled and moved to fresh land every year or two, will be a valuable asset on a farm. The 

 view here shown is in North Carolina. Photograph from the U. S. Department of Agri- 

 culture. (Fig. 4.) 



The present sensational "boom" in 

 the sheep industry is, therefore, an 

 increase in national assets. Besides 

 furnishing the necessary mutton and 

 wool, it will have several indirect 

 advantages : 



1 . It will diminish the amount of grain 

 and expensive concentrates fed for live- 

 stock, thus leaving more food for the 

 human population. 



2. It will reclaim or increase the value 

 of millions of acres that are now lying 

 idle or, as pasturage, are giving little 

 income. 



3. It will help to diminish the serious 

 shortage of farm labor, since sheep 

 require less labor than any other im- 

 portant branch of animal husbandry. 



THE QUESTION OF PRICES 



But will the price of mutton and wool 

 drop ? 



Probably not in the near future. 

 Meat is in too much demand, and the 



number of lambs marketed is likely to 

 diminish, as the ewes will be sold for 

 breeding instead of butchering. 



The wool market is pretty certain to 

 show a further rise, instead of a fall, 

 until some time after the war. The 

 amount of wool needed for military 

 purposes in the United States' is esti- 

 mated to be equal to an entire year's 

 clip of this country. It is a long time 

 since the United States produced enough 

 wool for its own needs. Imports have 

 been getting heavier each year. As a 

 war measure the British Government 

 placed an embargo on wool exports from 

 its colonies. Although this was raised 

 under certain limitations for some 

 American manufacturers, it left South 

 America the only large, free market, 

 and here great quantities of wool were 

 bought up and stored by Germans, to 

 keep it from reaching their enemies. 



From the day America entered the 

 war, it was evident that, in the ordinary 



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