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i lessee and Western North Carolina, on the table lands, that will feed twa 

 or three sheep to the acre by keeping a winter pasture of blue or native 

 grasses untouched from August for the flock. The soil, water and cli- 

 mate are all that can be wished, and if you proceed with caution, and at 

 first get experience, and don't hope to make money the first year, I have 

 no doubt of your success. Your plan is sound, and I am sure you have, 

 as you say, studied my little book with profit. I would get 100 or 200 

 native ewes, pick out those with neat heads, deep flanks, the broadst backs, 

 shortest necks, and not too leggy. These will be easy feeders, and more 

 gentle to control than the deer-legged and thin-backed ones, which are 

 restless creatures. You can as easily manage 200 as 100, and the expense 

 of management will be halved. If you can find any with brown or 

 spotted faces, choose those, and take ewes with fleeces free from coarse 

 hair on their buttocks and shoulders. These are apt to convey a bad 

 quality of wool to the lambs; these hairs are called ' kemp," and depre- 

 ciate the price of the wool, being also hard to breed out. You should 

 have a good man to help you, but you will probably be able to pick up a 

 boy cheaply near you who is accustomed to keeping his father's flock, and 

 will be more apt and less fussy than an English shepherd. These require 

 two or three years to lose old notions and take on our ways, and are very 

 obstinate besides. I have a Pennsylvania man with my flock in Kansas, 

 whom I trained in this way when living in Pennsylvania some years ago, 

 and he is now able to go along alone, working my flock on shares. You 

 should not have lambs until the weather is warm, and there is good grass. 

 April would perhaps be the best time, but you could do an excellent busi- 

 ness in raising early lambs for Washington market possibly by having 

 some come in February, or sooner even. All that you would need 

 would be some cheap shed and a yard for shelter for the dams. I 

 will gladly post you on this subject when you wish. You are near enough 

 to markets to raise mutton and wool both, and a half-bred Merino is not a 

 bad mutton either. 



The run now is for combing wool, that is Merino wool three inches or 

 two and a half in length, for manufacturers have begun to comb even 

 Merino wool, and the half-bred is called delaine wool, and brings the 

 highest price in the market Choose rams with wool three inches long 

 when spread out, fine and well curled, and with plenty of yolk, but not 

 too much wrinkled, also with deep sides, and with wool on the legs and 

 bellies, also on the heads and faces. The weight should be be at least 120 

 pounds. These are now the profitable kind. The Cockrills should be 

 able to furnish you with these. When you get fully into your business, 

 you can pick out such a ram as you would like. 



All the shelter you will want is a few rough sheds to preserve from 

 rain and snow. A piece of woodland with serve-pole and thatched sheds, 

 that you and your man can make, will be amply sufficient. It would be 

 safe, and perhaps necessary, to grow about one bushel of corn per head 



