SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 65 



hundred sheep will " herd " or keep nearly together * within 

 a space which the shepherd can easily move around. When 

 driven out on the range from the camping-ground, they are 

 kept constantly moving for a mile or two ; the shepherd con- 

 tinually moving around the flock, which is guided by his 

 voice. They snatch their bites of grass as they go slowly 

 along. They return in the same way, slowly feeding, to the 

 camping-ground, generally selected on the southerly side of 

 some creek, or under the shelter of the prairie-timber. In 

 rainy or cold weather, the sheep travel much more briskly 

 than in warm. In very hot, dry weather, they often will not 

 feed by day, making up for it by feeding late in the night. 

 Thorough-bred shepherd dogs have been hired ; but have been 

 found useless, except to relieve lazy shepherds, who can do 

 the necessary guiding much better than the dog. The flocks, 

 however, are usually attended by cur dogs, which are useful 

 for frightening away wild animals. These curs, having been 

 suckled when young upon goats, continue to attach them- 

 selves to the flock. The shepherd dogs were discarded, be- 

 cause it was found that, when they drove the sheep, they 

 caused them to huddle together, thus making a great loss of 

 feeding time. It is of the first importance to keep the ani- 

 mal fat. Its fat condition not only makes the fibre strong, 

 but enables the sheep to resist the storms and cold. If sheep 

 are fat, they are also better able to endure occasional drouths. 

 All the sustenance in the country in question is supplied by 

 the natural pasturage, which consists of different varieties 

 of the mesquite grass. A great superiority of these grasses 

 over the annual grasses of California consists in their being 



* Mr. Shaeffer gives a satisfactory reason for the fact, often stated without 

 explanation, that the English races of sheep, the Cots wolds, Leicesters, &c., can- 

 not be kept in large flocks. The reason he gives is, that the Cotswolds will not 

 " herd " or keep together, like the merinos. While feeding, they invariably scat- 

 ter over a wide domain. A Cotswold, if tired, will lie down, and cannot be 

 driven up by the shepherd ; and, when it recovers, is liable to wander off and join 

 another flock. Mr. Shaeffer thinks that the Cotswold blood should never be in- 

 troduced into large flocks of merino sheep. Without greater care in breeding 

 than the ordinary flock-master can exercise, they will make the wool of the 

 flocks uneven, and ultimately ruin them. 



