258 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA 



lose their usefulness. Merinos taking long time to 

 mature are sometimes productive for 16 years or 

 more. Downs and Dorsets are usually past their 

 usefulness at ten years. In general it is good prac- 

 tice to discard ewes upon farms at about the age of 

 six to eight years. To return to our yards : there is 

 a vastness about it and a bewilderment that appalls 

 the man fresh from tranquil fields where a flock of 

 500 sheep seems large. On some single days there 

 will be received at the big markets as many as 35,- 

 000, or even more, and in a single brief forenoon 

 most of them will be sold and many of them dis- 

 persed, some to the killers and some to the dipping 

 vat and on cars again to go out to country feeders. 

 It is a confusing place to the countryman and he is 

 wise to choose some skilled commission man to go 

 with him and make his purchases, helping, too, in 

 making selections. 



It is not always wise for the feeder to go in per- 

 son to buy in the market, though he should make it 

 a point to be there once or twice a year to study 

 types and results of other men if possible. Contact 

 of this kind with the market is very helpful. 



The advantage in leaving the purchase altogether 

 to an honest and capable commission man (there 

 are such in most markets) is that the commission 

 man may take advantage of heavy runs and de- 

 pressed markets to secure for the feeder his sup- 

 plies at the lowest price. Naturally when the man 

 goes himself to the market place he desires to make 

 his purchase and get away whether conditions seem 



