246 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



have bought, directly after shearing, of Michigan farmers, and had the sheep pastured 

 till November. By early selecting and buying we are more sure of getting the best 

 sheep, and more easily obtain all wethers, and usually at minimum cost. Merinos 

 crossed with long-wool sheep weighing from 90 to 110 pounds, from 3 to 5 years of 

 age, are the kind we select, as they take on fat easily, and their mutton is preferred 

 in New York and Brighton markets. Long-wool sheep, as we think, are not good 

 feeders; they do not take on fat so easily; and, although they cost more, will not 

 sell higher when we are ready to market them. 



We keep our sheep under cover, and commence to feed lightly about December 1, 

 yarding them close, from 40 to 50 in a pen, always keeping them well bedded with 

 wheat and rye straw or coarse hay. We commence to feed the sheep light with 

 grain, gradually increasing till they eat 1 quart each daily; we seldom give more; 

 the object being to give them all they will eat without cloying. 



In 1871 we fed 200 sheep from December 1, and 85 more from December 24, and 

 sent them to Brighton market April 10, 1872. We fed 725 bushels of corn, with 15 

 tons of hay. From 1865 to 1873 Massachusetts Connecticut River valley farmers fed 

 from 8,000 to 10,000 yearly, mostly coming from Michigan, some from Ohio; but 

 Michigan Merinos crossed with long-wooled sheep are considered the best feeders. 



During those years sheep for feeders found a ready sale, and agents from tobacco- 

 growers would take from one to two months in marketing flocks, and would car them 

 here 1,000 to 2,000 at a time. 



Since 1873, owing to financial causes and their effect, and almost always lower 

 markets for the same class of mutton in the spring than in the fall, the number fed 

 has gradually decreased, till last year only about 2,000 were fatted. Farmers were 

 satisfied to feed when they would receive pay for grain, considering the manure 

 would pay for hay and care of sheep. During the best year of feeding, sheep would 

 sell in the spring for double the price paid in fall ; the average price one-third more. 

 Since 1873 more caution has been taken, the pressure of time being too hard for 

 profitable sheep-feeding. 



The cause for feeding so many sheep for their mutton in this valley is the high value 

 of the sheep manure for tobacco-growers, it having the effect on our light soil to pro- 

 duce dark-colored silky leaf, of good burning quality, suitable for wrapping fine 

 cigars: the tobacco burns white, and has a good, sweet flavor, perhaps owing to the 

 potash it derives from the manure. So valuable do we consider this sheep manure 

 that we have shipped, since 1870, from West Albany, from 50 to 150 cords,, costing 

 from $8 to $10 a cord, every spring. On our light soils, called pine lands, after rais- 

 ing crops of tobacco, 2,000 pounds to the acre, we have sown wheat, yielding 30 

 bushels plump berry, and heavy weight of straw, on land which, without this dress- 

 ing of manure, is fit only for white beans. We of late years feed with our sweetest 

 and finest hay, and mix with our corn one-third cotton-seed meal. By so feeding our 

 sheep fatten more easily, being more hardy and better conditioned, besides increas- 

 ing the value of the manure and rendering it more full of plant food. 



Farmers in hill towns, and some in the valley, are keeping ewes for raising lambs 

 for early spring market; and those farmers who have good pasturage for fall market 

 realize for lambs of from 40 to 70 pounds from $8 to $10 each. 



This branch of sheep-husbandry will undoubtedly increase among farmers, who 

 will keep from 15 to 30 head, notwithstanding the difficulty of good pasturage and 

 the worry and destruction caused by dogs. 



Sheep invariably are the best that are penned in November and December, coming 

 direct from pasture. Having only had light feeding of grain, they car better and are 

 more hearty feeders. The Connecticut River fed sheep have a ready sale, at full 

 market rates, in early and late spring, both in Brighton and New York markets. 



Fattening wethers for market would rapidly increase if the spring market could 

 be more relied upon. Perhaps this reliance will come from the increasing foreign 

 demand for good mutton. 



