CARE OF SHEEP. 793 



experience is, that a good hog will produce, by proper shelter 

 and care, ten pounds of pork for one bushel of corn, and will 

 produce twelve pounds for the same amount of grain ground 

 and soaked or cooked. 



SHEEP. 



Sheep are an important item, and no farm in this section 

 of country should be without a well bred and properly cared 

 for flock. It is idle to suppose that sheep require no attention 

 and but little feed, for there is nothing on the farm that will 

 pay better for a little extra feed and shelter than a flock of 

 sheep. They yield a double income — wool and increase — either 

 of which will repay proper care and management. My flock 

 are mostly Cotswolds, with a few South Downs, all imported 

 stock. The Cotswold is the most popular breed in this region, 

 as it is a good wool and mutton producer, both of which com- 

 mand high prices. 



The South Down is a much more hardy sheep, adapted to 

 larger flocks, and is second to none for mutton qualities, but is 

 not so heavy a wool producer. A cross of the two breeds 

 makes a very desirable sheep, and I am at present experiment- 

 ing in that direction. 



My ewes are bred in September, and most of the lambs 

 come in February. I do not experience any trouble in saving 

 my lambs, as good close sheds are provided, and a piece of blue 

 grass or rye is saved for them for early Spring use. The ewes 

 I feed hay, sheaf oats and corn, up to the time of lambing, 

 when bran is preferable for producing milk. The early lambs 

 are often very much constipated for a few days after they 

 come, which can be corrected by the use of a syringe and fresh 

 milk with a little molasses. 



This is a mild remedy and almost always effectual. The 

 lambs I have weaned in the month of August, and a little extra 

 feed is given them, so that by Winter they will thrive on dry 

 feed. The ewes are bred to have lambs when two years old. 

 I do not think it profitable to breed them younger than this. 

 I have had considerable experience with Merino sheep, and 

 find them superior to all others where large flocks are herded 



