33 



Sheep delight in browsing weeds and undergrowth, and are in their 

 element where cattle and horses cannot live. In a few years' time 

 they would bring these old pastures to the point where good pasture 

 grass could grow, and make them more profitable than ever, particu- 

 larly if they were given a little grain and clover hay while doing the 

 cleaning up work. 



Every farmer who does any general farming should raise a few 

 sheep. Their advantages are easily seen, they do much of the cleaning 

 up work spoken of above, and the wool which an ewe clips will often 

 pay for her keep during the year. They can well be kept for the sole 

 purpose of keeping the meat bill down, as they give a carcass which 

 can be used before it spoils in the summer months, something that no 

 other farm animal does, and the pelts of those so used may be sold to 

 the hide man and bring additional income. 



On farms where the owner desires to make sheep a chief industry 

 there are only two principal lines that are profitable, the raising of 

 lambs for the summer market or the production of winter or "hot- 

 house lambs." It is not possible to buy lambs for feeding, native 

 lambs not being available, and the cost on the nearest general market, 

 Buffalo, being so high as to preclude buying them and shipping them 

 to New England to fatten. Necessarily the only profitable meat pro- 

 duction with our conditions is where the product is matured at as 

 early an age as possible. The cost of grains is considerable, and the 

 largest gains from a given amount are made when the animal fed is 

 young. We must therefore get our product to market at as early an 

 age as possible. It is not practical to keep sheep in Massachusetts for 

 their wool alone, in fact, it was wool that destroyed the sheep industry 

 in this State in the first place. Wool can be grown to a profit only on 

 the western mountain ranges, where land is cheap, and where there is 

 little competition with other more intensive industries. In choosing 

 a breed for this State it would, however, be well to choose one which 

 would shear as heavily as possible and yet not interfere with its 

 mutton-producing qualities. In other words, a mutton-general- 

 purpose sheep is most desirable. 



This brings up the question of what breed is best suited to the New 

 England States in general and Massachusetts in particular. The con- 

 siderations desired are a mutton sheep which carries a good fleece, 

 both as to staple and quality. The fleece should be made up of wool 

 which is most often called for in the market, so as to insure an easy 

 sale at a profitable price. The quality of the mutton is also a point 

 which merits consideration. If a local market is sought, as is almost 

 necessary, the quality of the meat must be high, the texture fine, fat 

 well distributed, to give juiciness to chops and roasts, and the whole 

 cut tender. Young animals usually give the most tender meat, and 

 various breeds are noted for the flavor of their flesh. The prolificacy 

 of the breeds is another point meriting consideration, as intensive 

 methods must be followed here in all lines. A flock averaging a lamb 

 and a half to a ewe is evidently more valuable than one averaging 

 only a lamb to a ewe. Much depends upon the comparative strength 

 of the lambs in the two cases, but as a rule those breeds which average 

 as high as a lamb and a half per ewe bring forth quite strong and well- 

 growing young. A further requirement is that the breed should be 

 able to pick up a rough living on the hills and be adapted to the climate 

 of the region. With these points in mind a description of a few of the 

 more prominent breeds of mutton sheep will be given. 



Mutton sheep will be divided, according to the length of their wool, 

 into two classes, — the long wools and the short, or, as they are more 



