No. 4.] SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 129 



To fence a square lot of 1,000 acres, without posts (trees) five 



wires, $416.00 



Cost per acre, six wires, .49 



Cost per acre, five wires, .41 



So you see it does not take a fortune to fence a large lot. 

 And this, remember, is a dog-proof fence as well as a sheep- 

 proof fence. 



The Chairman. Well, gentlemen, we have not only found 

 that we can afford to raise sheep in Massachusetts, but we 

 have found out by actual figures that it is cheaper to build 

 a dog-proof fence than it is to lay up a stone wall. 



Mr. Grinnell. Does anybody know the cost of a board 

 fence built of boards say six inches wide, four on a post? 



The Chairman. Mr. Horton, will you kindly tell us the 

 expense of a board fence ? 



Mr. Horton. It is very easy to get at the expense of 

 such a fence as that. The boards for a four-board fence with 

 us cost on an average about $16 per thousand feet, which 

 would be $1.60 for a hundred feet of fence. It takes double 

 the number of posts that it does for a wire fence, and the 

 posts require to be better posts than for a wire fence. 

 Under ordinary circumstances a board and post fence four 

 feet high would cost something over a dollar a rod, — from 

 $1.06 to $1.10, using good material. Figuring it upon that 

 basis, it would cost about three times what it would to make 

 a wire fence. 



The Chairman. And, instead of keeping dogs out, it 

 invites them to jump through. Gentlemen, we want to cover 

 the ground of sheep husbandry as carefully as we can, and I 

 will call on Mr. J. D. Avery of Buckland, who has been a 

 practical and successful shepherd for a good many years. 



J. D. Avery. Mr. Chairman, some few weeks ago I 

 received a line from the essayist suggesting that I make a 

 comparison between dairying and sheep growing. I attempted 

 to do this, but have not succeeded, for the reason that the 

 dairymen were not prepared to give me figures showing 

 their receipts and expenses. I have figures from three sheep 

 farmers, showing their receipts, and in one instance the 

 writer gives me his expenses, and it may be interesting to 

 you to hear those figures read. 



The first flock to which I will call your attention consisted 



