SHIEEIP. 



TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS IN SHEEP HUSBANDRY.— As 



the raising of sheep has become so common on almost every farm, we have 

 thought we could not do better than to devote a few pages to this impor- 

 tant subject. First, we will give a paper read before the Farmers' Insti- 

 tute, at Hudson, Mich., Jan. 10, 1880, by Sidney Green, the well known farmer 

 of Pittsford, Hillsdale County, whose experience of 28 years will give valui, 

 ble hints, to say the least, upon almost all the important points of sheCf 

 husbandry, so that new beginners may avoid the mishaps which Mr. Grea- 

 and others have fallen into for the want of this very experience in their begil. 

 ning. He says: 



I. Introduction. — "Ladies and gentlemen, I want to say right here 

 that what I have to say will be largely in the line of my experience, and the 

 way that I have managed my own flock of sheep during the past 28 years. 



"A year ago last July, a friend of mine living in Missouri, wishing to 

 engage in the business of sheep raising on a large scale, and knowing that 

 I had been somewhat successful on the small scale in the same business, 

 wrote to me asking advice, and, in fact, asked of me just what this Insti- 

 tute now asks. I complied with his request, and my whole essay was com- 

 prised of but one word, and that was "Care." If every man, woman and 

 child that owns a sheep, or even ever expects to, will take that one word and 

 make it the key note of every move they make, guided by their best judg- 

 ment and discretion, I will guarantee success in this important branch of 

 farming. 



II. Care— What it Will Do.— "Care will make carcass; care will 

 make constitution, care will save fodder; care will ward off disease; care will 

 make fat, and fat will make wool and grease, and wool and grease will make 

 money, and that is what we are after. Yes, care will do one other thing, 

 care will make blood. 



"Were it not for the promise I have already made that I would relate 

 my 28 years experience with sheep, what I have already said, carried out, 

 would accomplish a better purpose than anything I could add, and this paper 

 would be complete. It is true that we are guided to some extent by the 

 experience of others. 



III. When and How He Began.— "In the fall of 1852 I bought 

 in Oakland county, this State, 53 ewes of common stock for $1 per head, 

 and one ewe, said to have been a pure cross between the Spanish and French 

 Merino, for which I paid $25. I drove them to this county (Hillsdale) in the 



winter of 1853. 



725 



