DOMESTIC ANIMALS. Wl 



avested, and the least on horses. The following will show what an English 

 /ai-mer thought upon the subject as early as 1523, and also be quite a curiosity 

 to compare the spelling of those days with the present. " Boke," was book, 

 and "cattell," cattle; "shepe," sheep, etc. But it will explain itself: 



Sheep the Most Profitable— Any Man Can Have Cattle (1523) 

 —The "Book of Husbandry," published in the year above named, by Sir 

 Anthony Fitzherbert, who styles himself " a farmer of 40 years' standing," in 

 this work says: "A housebaud can not thryve by his corne without cattell; nor 

 by his cattell without corne." And adds: " Shepe, in my opinion, is the most 

 profitablest eattell any man can have." 



^emar/fcs— Certainly no higher authority nor older testimony need be sought 

 to establish the fact that sheep husbandry is proti table— only use care, as Mr. 

 Green tells us in the first item above, and success is certain. 



Sheep vs. Cows— Comparative Profit of.— This subject having been 

 under considerable di.scussion of late, as to whether there was more profit in 

 keeping sheep than cattle, or cows, I will give an item or two upon this sub- 

 ject. Tlie first is from F. D. Curtis, in Rural New Yorker, compared with 

 cows. He says: " Five coarse-wooled sheep will produce lambs at the rate of 1 

 and }4 to the sheep, but quite often they will double their number. .Alediura- 

 wooled sheep may be .safely relied upon to increase their numbers one and i^, 

 while fine-wooled slieep will return a lamb for a sheep. The value of the lambs 

 depends upon their quality wlien kept for breeding; or on their earliness and 

 condition, when fitted for market. The price of lambs for these various breeds 

 will range from $3 upwards. Wool was worth the past season from 35 to 45 

 cents per lb. Six lbs. of wool per head is not an extra average for a well kept 

 flock. They may be made to average more than that by extra care. A flock of 

 combing wool sheep, with the same care and feeding which a good dairyman 

 would give his cows, will average per sheep at least $10. Tliis would afford an 

 income of $50 on a flock of five in the place of one cow. The proportion of 

 income would not be so great in a large flock, as the average yield of wool 

 would be less. The percentage of increase is likewise reduced, owing to the fact 

 that the ewes receive less care and to their increased liability to accidents. If 

 the flocks should be separated and kept a few in a place, not exceeding 13, a 

 month before weaning time, the losses would be very few." 



Bemarks.—Mi: Curtis being well-known in agriculture, there can be no 

 doubt in his reasoning, and, therefore, his thoughts are valuable. The next 

 item is from the Practical Farmer, in relation to general stock, or steers, more 

 particularly. 



Sheep vs. Cattle— Which Pays Best?— The Practical Farmer gives 

 us the following upon this subject: " How often do we hear farmers ask this 

 question; ' Which will pay me best, cattle or sheep?' " Now there is much dif- 

 ference of opinion on this question. Those that keep cattle claim that they are 

 the most profitable, and those that keep sheep think the same of their flocks. 1 

 claim that sheep are the most profitable, and I will try and prove it. Take, for 

 uistance, a 2-year-old steer, weighing 1,000 lbs., worth 4 cents per lb., or $40. 



