SUMMARY 



The future wool and mutton supply of the United States must 

 come from farms where small flocks of ewes are kept to grow wool 

 and raise lambs. 



The range flocks of the west are being divided and sold as 

 homesteaders take up the pasture lands. 



Sheep are profitable. The average cost of feeding a ewe for a 

 year and her lamb until it was sold was $4.69. The income from 

 lamb and wool was $11.15. These figures are the average of 

 1,000 reports from Corn Belt farmers in 1916. 



Nearly every farm can keep a small flock of ewes half of the 

 year on weeds and on grass and feed that otherwise would go to 

 waste. Sheep improve the farm's appearance; convert waste 

 into profit. 



Sheep will eat weeds, and weed seeds eaten by sheep never grow. 



The roof is the main part of a sheep house. Many farmers 

 shelter their sheep in straw sheds. 



Sheep must have dry yards and pastures. Muddy yards 

 make sore feet. Blue vitriol dissolved in water is a good treat- 

 ment for sore feet. 



Don't rush into sheep raising by buying a large flock of high 

 priced ewes. 



The best way to start with sheep is to buy a few good young 

 ewes. Get them uniform and of same breeding. Their wool 

 and lambs will be worth more. 



Sometimes the beginner can buy a few old ewes cheaply and 

 by giving them good care get a start of lambs before the ewes get 

 past their usefulness. 



The owner of a large flock will sometimes sell the undersized 

 lambs cheaply at weaning time. The beginner can secure a few 

 small ewe lambs and with good care grow them into a bunch of 

 good ewes. 



At the Missouri Experiment Station lambs sired by a pure- 

 bred ram sold for $2.85 per hundred more than lambs sired by a 

 scrub ram. The mothers of the lambs were alike and all had the 

 same care. This emphasizes the importance of pure-bred sires. 



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