159 



from Pennsylvania indicate average condition with, few extremes. In 

 Tirgiuia, in counties wliicli practice wintering sheep without shelter, 

 some of the bad results are as follows : In Westmoreland, flocks which 

 started in the winter fat are now thin and in low condition, and 

 though more grain than usual has been fed, some sheep and 

 many lambs have perished ; in Greenville they have suffered greatly, 

 while many are losing their wool, and ewes are "too poor and weak 

 to sustain their lambs;" in Northumberland they are also poor, and 

 the loss is 20 per cent, greater than last year, while in Cumberland it 

 is 10 per cent, less, and the condition good, •' owing to better protection." 

 Like effects from the same causes are reported from the Caroliuas and 

 the Gulf Sta^tes. In Texas, Crittenden reports that while three-fourths 

 are poor, those properly cared for are in fine condition. In Kusk they 

 do well when fed with turnips and cotton-seed ; in Walker their condition 

 is fine, and the lambs are healthy ; in Gillespie the good condition is 

 limited to those sheltered and fed on rainy days ; in Bee, where the 

 whether has been cold and wet, fl.ocks in sheltered places suffered but 

 little, but on the open plains some lost more than one-half. Dallas, 

 Live Oak, Bexar, and De Witt are among those which return a superior 

 condition. 

 The following suggestive report is from Laclede, Missouri : 



The condition is better than for years. Previously most of the farmers have left their 

 flocks without shelter or sufficient feed, and let wethers, ewes, lambs and all run together 

 the whole year round. The result was that they " had no luck." They raised but few 

 lambs and "little wool. But last fall they generally built sheds, and so arranged them that 

 they could separate their flocks. The consequence is that their " luck" has changed. They 

 have raised nearly all their lambs, and the woo-lclip will be uiuch heavier. 



In Benton, Iowa, about 5 per cent, have died for want of shelter ; also 

 many in Calhoun, and "quite a number of early lambs" in Des Moines. 

 Throughout California sheep are reported as having passed through the 

 winter in a condition of extraordinary thrift. The return from Sacra- 

 mento states that " the increase of the flocks will be greater this season 

 than ever before known. The lambing season is well past, and good 

 luck is reported everywhere." 



LOSSES OF CATTLE AND SHEEP. 



As there has been a remarkable exemption from diseases among both 

 cattle and sheep the past winter, losses, except incidental, have resulted 

 almost exclusively from a want of due shelter, feed, and care. The fol- 

 lowing table affords a condensed, general indication of relative losses 

 in the several States : 



