WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. x 981 



of a hired man and team during the summer season, the sheep paying 

 to the owner about as much as the owner would have to pay the hired 

 man and keep of the team. 



There is great diversity of methods. I will give, as illustration, that 

 of the owner of a 200-aere grain farm near Salem. He keeps 75 to 

 li'o head. His arrangements for their care are, roomy barn set on the 

 south side of a lot 1 acre or more in extent, the most of which is thickly 

 occupied by mixed oak and fir trees. Into this barnyard the sheep are 

 brought every night in the winter season. The barn doors are left open 

 and whenever it is probable the sheep will eat hay, it is placed in the 

 racks. It is rare that a lamb yeaned during the night is not found in 

 the barn with its dam in the morning. A door from the south end of 

 the barn opens into a lot of some 4 acres, always sown early to winter 

 wheat, which is perhaps the very best pasturage for suckling ewes. 

 Thus, with the least possible outlay of labor, the man saves about 100 

 per cent of lambs from the ewes bred. He prefers a cross of the Cots- 

 wold and Merino, the latter blood predominating, giving a carcass at 

 one year old of 100 pounds live weight, and a fleece of 9 to 9J pounds of 

 long, light, combing wool, selling at 22 cents in the grease. His last 

 year's lambs sold at $4 when eleven months old. He deems all he gets 

 from his sheep clear gain, as their services as scavengers during sum- 

 mer are worth more than their winter cost for keep. 



Seventy-five ewes, at $4 per head $300.00 



Interest, at 10 per cent 30. 00 



Two hundred, pounds of salt 1. 60 



Shearing, at 7 cents per head 5. 25 



Total outlay 336. 85 



CR. 



By 712 pounds wool, at 22 cents 156. 64 



By 39 eleven-months-old lambs, at $4 per head 156. 00 



Total income 312.64 



Taking this man's estimate of the value of these sheep on his farm, 

 they yield him 84.16 each annually. In my judgment he could keep 

 300 head of the same kind of sheep on the same farm, and at the same 

 prices for wool and mutton get a return of $3 per head, and not mate- 

 rially diminish the grain product of the farm, but probably increase it. 

 This, however, would involve the hire of a first-class man, whose duty 

 it would be to watch over the sheep as to feed, shelter, and all that 

 would insure their welfare. The case given is one of actual results at- 

 tained this season of 1891. 



The measure of returns from sheep, as a rule, diminishes as one re- 

 cedes from the chief markets, until the rough lands surrounding the 

 valley of the Willamette are reached. There sheep are kept in some cases 

 as aids to clear the land of fern and other coarse growths, but more 



