SHEDS OB STABLES ON THE PEAIKIES. 259 



weaker and smaller to be pushed about and driven from the 

 choicer portions of the feed by the strong, heavy wethers. 

 Most flock-masters aim, however, to draft occasionally from 

 the flock any that become poor or feeble, and to make some 

 separate arrangement for them. 



The object of the prairie farmer is to have his sheep 

 consume as much corn as practicable ; for it is more profitable 

 to convert it into animal products than to sell it at ten cents 

 a bushel. * A good sized grade Merino fed exclusively on it 

 will consume and waste from three to three and a half or 

 four bushels during the winter, and the stalks on which it 

 grew. If the corn is good, the proportion of ears to stalks is 

 greater than it should be for the benefit of the sheep. Some 

 farmers provide for this by making enough "tame hay" to 

 give their sheep one feed a day ; some make a quantity of 

 prairie hay ; and others, instead of burning their wheat straw, 

 according to a prevalent, wasteful method, thrash and stack 

 it in the feeding lot, so that the sheep can get to it at will, or 

 so it can be conveniently fed to them when necessary. If the 

 straw should be slightly brined when stacked, and the sheep be 

 fed salt in no other way, it would prove an acceptable 

 fodder for them, and would be sufficiently nutritious to meet 

 their wants when accompanied with so much corn. 



SHEDS OB STABLES. As has been seen, these are also 

 mostly for storms and for lambing time, because the Western 

 farmer feels that at the high prices for lumber which prevail 

 in almost all our prairie regions, and with the high price and 

 actual scarcity of the labor necessary for housing winter feed, 

 he can not afford to build regular sheep barns with room for 

 in-door feeding for his great flocks, or to bestow the time 

 necessary for housing his feed. Besides, his favorite corn 

 feed would not bear housing in great masses without injury. 

 Well shocked, it winters in the field without any serious loss. 



Accordingly, the prairie sheep shed is but one story high, 

 and generally not more than seven or eight feet between the 

 ground and the eaves. It is made with a roof pitching both 

 ways ; is generally, at the best sheep establishments, closed 

 up all round ; and is long and comparatively narrow, so that 

 by a proper arrangement of fences, portions of it can be made 

 accessible to different fields. The stable room required by 

 sheep has already been considered. 



* Or to have it consumed for fuel, as has repeatedly been 'done, because it made 

 the cheapest fuel attainable in badly wooded regions. Will this fact be credited in 

 Europe ! 



