INTRODUCTION 21 



pends more on the shepherd than on the breed or lo- 

 cation; that well-kept flocks of sheep bring to any 

 land much fertility, and to the farm homes a good 

 share of comforts and prosperity. 



There is money in keeping sheep when one keeps 

 them right ; there are loss and discouragement when 

 one keeps them otherwise. The shepherd can and 

 will make money with his flock if he keeps it healthy, 

 uses good rams, at the right time of year, feeds well 

 and not too well, especially if he feeds the lambs well. 



My work for some months has been to ascertain 

 the cost of producing a pound of wool. In prosecut- 

 ing this search it was necessary to take into account 

 every item of expense, with all details of manage- 

 ment, then to take account of sales of wool and mut- 

 ton and value of manure left. It proved a most in- 

 teresting and indeed fascinating task. Not to go 

 here into detail, I will merely say that one man 

 would come far short if receiving from his lambs 

 and wool what his feed was worth, with a moderate 

 pay for his services charged, while his immediate 

 neighbor under quite similar conditions would make 

 from his flock a substantial profit. The whole dif- 

 ference lay in management in knowing how. 



The mistakes that most often led to loss in sheep 

 breeding were, first and most deadly, letting the 

 sheep become parasitic by keeping them too much 

 on the same pasture or by other mistakes in manage- 

 ment; next, in feeding too poorly, so that the ewes 

 came to lambing time poorly nourished and without 

 milk, which resulted in a poor lambing and a small 



