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lost, and when the habit of changing their quarters in this manner is once established, it is 

 the source of great trouble and annoyance to the owner. The sanitary condition of the flock 

 should receive constant attention, and should any become diseased they should at once be 

 separated from the others, and kept by themselves until entirely well. Contagion can in this 

 way be avoided. A lack of oversight in this respect is sometimes the loss or damage of 

 nearly an entire flock. Sheep should never be kept in marshy, wet lands; no stock can be 

 kept healthy in such localities. They will subsist on poor pasturage, but it must be on dry 

 soil to be favorable to the health of the animals. 



Sheep Folds. In some sections it is customary to put sheep in a fold every night as 

 a precaution against the depredations of dogs, or other animals; in newly settled localities 

 they are very essential as a means of protection against wolves and other wild animals. A 

 fold can be made to last a number of years at slight expense and labor. Commissioner J. B. 

 Killebrew, of Tennessee, has described, in his treatise on &quot; Sheep Husbandry,&quot; the manner 

 of constructing a sheep-fold, as follows: 



&quot;Select a suitable spot near the dwelling as may be. Let it slope so that it will not 

 become muddy or sloppy. Let it be in size to suit the number of sheep intended to protect. 

 An acre of ground will suffice amply for from one to five hundred sheep. Let it be enclosed 

 by any means that will exclude a dog. One used for years by the writer was made of 

 pickets, cut eight feet long and put two feet in the ground, well packing and stripping it on 

 the inside. It is not necessary to sharpen the ends, as, if closely put together, it will never 

 be passed by dogs. Have an entrance by a door, so that when shut the fold is closed. If 

 pickets are not convenient, a plank fence will answer equally well, only it will require more 

 constant care to keep it in repair. About 1,700 pickets are required to make a fold, worth, 

 when of cedar, $3 per hundred. It will cost seven cents a yard to dig the trench and put 

 them up. The strips, four inches wide and one inch thick, will cost $1.50 per hundred feet, 

 and the nails will cost about two dollars more. So a good substantial fold made of cedar, 

 which will last, with slight repairs, at least twenty-five years, will cost say $75, which is a 

 very small sum to pay for security and peaceful nights. 



If one wishes to economize, he can either enclose his barn with such a fence, or some 

 other of his outbuildings that require an enclosure, and thus save a double expense. Thus, 

 while his neighbors are continually annoyed by dogs, and sustaining heavy losses with 

 destroyed or harrassed sheep, he can turn the key on his flock and quietly go to bed, satisfied 

 his flock will be safely in the fold next morning. 



The fold should be also sheltered on the inner side, to allow the sheep to feed during 

 the long nights and be protected from the rain, as well as have good dry hay to go to. The 

 shelter should be not more than four feet high, and the length of two boards will be sufficient. 

 Next the fence racks can be constructed in the following manner: A round pole from the 

 woods or a heavy scantling is laid against the bottom of the pickets, and secured there by 

 stubs driven in the ground. Then bore one and a half inch holes in an oblique direction, so 

 that slats or rounds driven in the holes will have a slant of about forty-five degrees from the 

 fence. Then fit on the other ends of the rounds a companion scantling, about four feet from 

 the ground pole. This scantling will then serve as a support for the roof, letting one board 

 extend from the scantling to the fence, and another outwards, with the outer ends resting on 

 a plate two inches square, which is itself supported by stakes, at intervals of six or seven 

 feet, firmly driven into the ground. 



At intervals of eight or ten feet place some two or three boards nailed together, but 

 movable, so they can be raised to put the hay in the rack. Then nail two planks, seven or 

 eight inches wide, together by the edges so as to form a V-shaped trough, supporting or 

 bracing it by nailing strips across at intervals of twelve inches, which will serve not only as 

 a brace, but also prevent the sheep from throwing their food out. Nail this trough firmly to 



