COST OF SHEEP KEEPING ig9 



circulating around is. per week, and varying from 6d. to is. 3d., 

 according to the food given and the age of the animals. It is 

 by such a carefully-thought-out estimate, made in conversation, 

 or in a quiet walk among the sheep, that the farmer can best 

 and most truly think out the question as to whether his sheep 

 are paying or not. It is often considered that in ordinary 

 circumstances, if a lot of sheep is paying is. a week per head, 

 they are doing well. 



Applying this rule to the ewe flock, according to the calcu- 

 lations above made as to gross revenue, they pay about gd. 

 per week each. It must, however, be remembered that during 

 by far the greater portion of the year ewes cost only 3d., 

 4d., and 5d. per week, as they seldom receive cake except 

 when suckling their lambs. Calculations on such a subject 

 are, as already mentioned, at best approximative, and it is 

 only when the margin is considerable that we can absolutely 

 affirm that the sheep are paying. It must also be borne in 

 mind that even a profit of 10 per cent, on the capital invested 

 in a flock is not a large income, and that a good profit does 

 not necessarily mean a large sum. 



COST OF SHEEP KEEPING. ^^ 



^^^il 



This subject is worthy of further consideration. So fat as 

 dividing the costs of cultivation in a system of books, we do 

 not consider it practicable. It would only be possible in an 

 elaborate office-kept system of farm accounts, and even then 

 it would be largely composed of guesses and assumptions. As 

 a record of monetary transactions, accounts are of course ne- 

 cessary, and they help to furnish bases for calculations ; but 

 it is a mistake to think that the actual net profits of a sheep 

 flock, or of a dairy, are ever going to be brought out through 

 the processes of double entry. The transactions would need 

 to pass from side to side of the books like a shuttle in a loom. 

 Those who understand double entry will be able to follow 

 me, and will see the insurmountable difficulties in the way 



