No. 4.] SHEEP TOPICS. 393 



not representing the value of the animals lost to the breeder, particu- 

 larly where pure-bred sheep are kept. Much harm may be done in a 

 single night by a worthless cur, and often the well-bred dogs kept by 

 sportsmen are equally dangerous and determined in their work. For 

 protection against this menace the best remedy is a well-trained 

 Scotch collie, or other sheep dog. Fences, well made and high, form a 

 fairly satisfactory barrier, but if these cannot keep out the marauder, 

 a corral, into which the flock is driven every night, is the only pro- 

 tection. 



The lack of fences is another drawback on many farms. Low walls, 

 even if well made, form slight obstacles to sheep, and woven wire is 

 ordinarily required. This can, if the walls are well laid, be made to go 

 on top, so as to keep the sheep in, and, to quite an extent, the dogs 

 out, by setting posts down the side of the wall and fastening the 

 fencing to these above the top of the wall. On many farms the ex- 

 pense of this sort of fence would be heavy, because there would be 

 division fences between the different fields. Movable hurdles may 

 often be used when desired to pasture the ewes on rye or other green 

 forage, in the "flushing" season, or when the permanent pasture 

 becomes short in feed, and such hurdles are less expensive than per- 

 manent fences around all fields. 



More losses in the whole country are annually caused by parasites 

 than by dogs, wolves and thieves. The pastures become infected from 

 the droppings of the sheep, and where the surface drainage is poor, or 

 a low pasture receives the drainage of surrounding upland pastures, 

 infection is very probable. Sheep are close grazers and so are more 

 liable to such infection than other kinds of stock. Drinking water 

 from standing pools in the pasture is another prolific source of in- 

 fection. The parasites affecting the alimentary canal are those most 

 dreaded by flock masters, among them being the stomach worm, the 

 liver fluke, the hook worms, gids, etc. By rotation of pastures, using 

 upland, well-drained fields, and allowing only running streams to 

 furnish water supply, serious trouble may be prevented. 



Another dangerous parasite is deposited in the nostrils by flies, in the 

 larval form, and gradually works up the nasal passages, and some- 

 times into the brain cavity, where it begins to grow. Lime given the 

 sheep in their grain causes them to sneeze, thus dislodging these larvae. 

 Holes bored in timbers, with salt deposited in them and the edges 

 smeared wnth tar, are also used as preventives, the noses of the sheep 

 becoming smeared with tar, the odor of which keeps the fly away 

 from the nostrils. 



All these obstacles can be easily overcome if due care is exercised in 

 watching the flock, changing pastures and keeping up fences, — 

 things which are, after all, but a small part of the flock master's work. 



There is a great demand for pure meats of any description in the 

 country at present, and New England is situated at a considerable 

 distance from the sources of supply. The supply of sheep is at present 



