252 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA 



not so strong. Again we see the bidders bidding 

 high for the tops. Then goes up a sigh as you re- 

 linquish them, and you look on down the line. Ah ! 

 Here are the beauties! They are from Merino 

 mothers, evidently, and their sires were Shrop- 

 shires, or maybe Lincolns or Cotswolds and they 

 are small and in rather thin flesh, so there is a 

 chance. They have been born late and their tops 

 have been selected and sold, these younger ones re- 

 maining. 



If we get them we have done well. They will 

 grow and fatten admirably and be our pride and joy 

 all through the feeding season. When fat they will 

 command the top price. If we buy them we will take 

 350 (which fills a car) or maybe 700 or 1,050, and 

 we may need to buy some smaller lots to make the 

 number come out even. 



But hold! Those lambs were after all priced 

 pretty high, and here are some lively little fellows, 

 not so well bred, quite, but yet giving evidence of 

 good blood. They are late born and small, pretty 

 thin, too, weighing less than 50 pounds. What of 

 them? It depends upon what is stored at home in 

 the barn. If there is abundance of good alfalfa, if 

 there are silage and perhaps roots, and loving care 

 and generous shelter and long time, take them! 

 They are the best. But if the feeding season must 

 be short, if there is little clover or alfalfa, take the 

 other lot. 



And here is yet another sort. They must have 

 come from a terrible range where grief has been 



