No. 4.] SHEEP TOPICS. 399 



may be used on his offspring, provided they are exceedingly vigorous, 

 but such use is rarely advisable. It is preferable to use another ram 

 of even better breeding on the young ewes, and continue this process, 

 getting as good a ram whenever needed as can be obtained. In this 

 maimer the quality of the flock will be continuously improved. It is 

 their devotion to the highest grade of stock that has made the English 

 breeders so successful, while our indifference to this point has pre- 

 vented our attaining the same measure of success. 



Ewes should be bred so as to drop lambs in March, or earlier if 

 possible, because it is to the man first in the spring market with good 

 lambs that the greatest profits go. Keep the prospective mothers in 

 good condition before breeding, and if any appear thinner than is 

 desirable, "flush" them with grain, as they breed better when in 

 fairly good flesh, coming in heat more easily and conception being 

 more certain. After turning the ram with them for a week or so 

 sei)arate them again and begin preparing for the lambs. A clean, dry 

 shed, where the snow and rain cannot beat in, with openings and pens 

 for exercise on the south, should be furnished for lambing. If lambs 

 are due in February or early March a closed room, which can be 

 artificially heated, will be the means of saving many a lamb that would 

 otherwise become chilled and die. A breeding register is very con- 

 venient, and will result in saving a good many lambs that are dropped 

 weak. If a breeding register is kept there must be some way of mark- 

 ing ewes as they are served. As convenient a way as any is to smear 

 the belly of the ram with red paint or lamp black and oil, so that when 

 the ewes are served some of this will rub off on the rump. Those 

 served may then be cut out daily, and an accurate record kept of when 

 the lambs should be dropped. Guess work is done away with at 

 lambing time, and the ewes are not shut into the lambing pens until 

 the proper time. A good shepherd will watch every ewe until she 

 yeans, and will see that the lamb stands and takes nourishment before 

 he leaves. This trouble is well paid for if only three or four lambs are 

 saved, especially if intended for winter lambs, which often sell at from 

 $6 to $8 per head at ninety days from birth. 



After the birth of the lambs if the weather is severe and damp, as it 

 sometimes is in February and March, the artificial heat should be kept 

 up for two or three days, but after this period it is no longer necessary 

 if the ewe and her youngster are removed to a clean, dry pen. The 

 time when harm results from chilled lambs is immediately following 

 birth, or when the little ones become wet in cold weather. 



In preparing the lamb for market one should begin as soon as it is 

 born. After parturition feed the ewe well, so as to induce a strong 

 flow of milk. The more plentiful supply she has the faster the lamb 

 will grow and the earlier he will reach the market. After two or three 

 weeks he will begin to nibble at grain and eat small quantities. A 

 "creep" should then be built, so that he may have access to finely 

 ground grain, which should be of a somewhat different mixture from 



