232 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA 



best bred sires from eastern stud flocks going to 

 reinforce the blood of the mountain stud flocks. The 

 day seems past when large numbers of eastern 

 farm-grown rams will be used on common range 

 herds since the western rams are in fairly abundant 

 supply and are more efficient. 



THE BBEEDING SEASON. 



On the range rams are turned in usually to bring 

 the lambs in late May or June. It is disastrous to 

 lamb down before the herd is settled on good grass 

 and where it may remain for some weeks with little 

 driving. There is not the objection to late lambing 

 on the range that there is on the farm, since the 

 danger of parasitic infection is escaped in the range 

 flock. This is principally from two causes: first, 

 that the soil is usually too dry to permit the germs 

 to develop upon it, and second, that the sheep are 

 moved often and seldom return to graze over the 

 same ground before an interval of weeks, months or 

 a year. 



VIGOK OF EWES AND LAMBS. 



It is astonishing to see how little difficulty range 

 ewes have in passing through the perils of lamb- 

 birth. There seems seldom a case of wrong presen- 

 tation and often not one ewe is lost from a thousand 

 at lambing time. 



Then the lambs seem endowed with remarkable 

 vigor at birth and not one of a thousand but will 

 get up and find its mother's maternal fount without 



