332 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



presented to his vision than those represented by the various groupings and gambols of the 

 young lambs ranging from two to six weeks old, in flocks of from two hundred to three hun 

 dred each. A recent writer gives the following graphic description of such scenes : 



&quot;With the true gregarious instinct of their species, they range in flocks, or gangs, and 

 are fuller of life, animation, agility, and grace than any mortal thing on earth. To see a 

 snow-white squadron, two or three hundred strong, suddenly make a dash from a state of 

 repose, and scamper, like mad race-horses, along the edge of a precipitous bluff, until the mad 

 gallop of their twinkling feet is lost in the distance perhaps a good half-mile away and 

 the green herder rises from his couch on the green grass, and girds up his loins preparatory 

 to going after the runaway rascals when, presto ! here they come again, leaping, and glanc 

 ing, and darting, and stamping, right back to the place from which they started, and suddenly 

 stop, and loqk, with wonderful, inquiring eyes, upon the astonished herder; and, before he 

 knows what to make of it, are off on the same racket again, kicking and flinging and caper 

 ing and pushing each other to the edge of the bluff, which, however, they are far too well 

 posted to fall over. There may be prettier sights in the animal world, but we have yet to 

 see them. Then how they stretch themselves upon the grass and lie in the warm rays of the 

 life-giving sun, sleep till they get tired of sleeping, and then make a break for suction, divid 

 ing their time, like good, natural infants, between the two great props of physical existence, 

 sleeping and eating; while their mothers good, staid, sober, honest souls forgetting, per 

 haps, that they were once lambs themselves crop, contentedly and assiduously, the juicy 

 pastures, and keep strictly to the real business of life their life viz., converting as much 

 as possible of the vegetable world into mutton for the use of somebody else a worthless 

 coyote, or a worthless man; but yet recognizing the grand fact that their children are about, 

 and not getting, too far away, as they would be prone to do under other circumstances.&quot; 



The largest flocks of sheep in the world are to be found in Australia, some individuals 

 there owning more than half a million sheep. The flock of Mr. Robert Campbell, residing 

 there, numbers 300,000; another owned by a -private firm consists of 200,000, while flocks 

 numbering from 50,000 to 80,000 owned by single individuals are not uncommon. The 

 figures given above are from the published official tax-lists of Australia. 



Wool Eating. This pernicious habit is occasionally seen in individuals of a flock, and &amp;lt; 

 if not checked in proper time will be liable to extend to large numbers, and sometimes by its 

 effects upon the stomach results in the loss of animals; it is also an injury to the fleece of the 

 flock. It does not seem to be affected by medical treatment, and cannot be really treated as 

 a disease. It appears generally to begin with a single animal, and gradually spreads by way 

 of imitation. The usually sure method of stopping it is to early remove all such offenders 

 and keep them in entire isolation until they forget the practice, or if all other means fail con 

 vert them into mutton. Where a valuable sheep that the owner is unwilling to lose is 

 addicted to this habit, it will pay the trouble of a few weeks isolation, rather than killing the 

 animal. Sheep will sometimes form the habit of wool eating when out in a severe snow 

 storm where food is scarce, and will continue it afterward when they have an abundance. 

 The following remedy is given by an experienced wool grower in Colorado as generally 

 effectual in curing the evil. Mix together equal parts of powdered chalk and common salt, 

 and place a liberal quantity in different places on boards or in troughs in the sheep pen where 

 they can have free access to it, and in about two weeks the habit will be abandoned. We 

 have never tried this remedy ourselves, and therefore cannot vouch for its value, but presume 

 it may prove efficacious in many instances. A mixture of cayenne pepper and lard applied to 

 the wool is also a good remedy, since, having tasted it once, they rarely prefer a second dose. 



Cotted Wool and its Causes. It sometimes happens that an occasional fleece in a 

 flock will become more or less cotted, often to the extent as to be nearly or quite worthless. 

 This condition may be due to several causes. If sheep are too much exposed to the storms 

 or inclemency of the weather, and allowed to lie in damp places, are poorly fed, or otherwise 



