latter part of March and the beginning ot April, the greatest care 

 must be given the sheep, as it is the time for lambing, which, if 

 not properly attended to, will cause great loss to the sheep owner. 



OPEN SAGEBRUSH COUNTRY. 



During the early spring months the sheep are usually in the 

 undulating, open sagebrush country, in the vicinity of a dip and 

 shearing camp, so that the different bands may be easily called 

 on in turn to be sheared and dipped, and then started for the 

 mountains with their lambs. In the middle of summer this 

 region might be called a semi-desert country; but from the winter 

 rains and snow the soil has become thoroughly soaked, so that 

 the roots of the Indian millet grass, dwarf fescue grass, the false 

 tickle grasses and the bunch grasses are well supplied with 

 moisture and are able to produce a short growth of rich, green, 

 tender forage. Following these closely come the lupines, 

 "filaree " and many annual plants which furnish a large portion 

 of the forage at this season of the year.- There is but little doubt 

 that considerable harm is done to the forage on the range at this 

 time, as the close grazing of these grasses, followed by a long 

 period of drought, makes it almost impossible for the plants to 

 produce a good growth again, so that they can bear seed that year. 



OPEN FORESTS. 



But little difference is noticed in the character of the vegeta- 

 tion until the timber line is reached. Here may be found open 

 spaces in the forests on which are growing abundantly patches of 

 lupines, sunflowers, tomato plant, members of the parsley family 

 and a number of nutritious, succulent clovers near the springs and 

 creeks. The soil on these lands in the latter part of June is for 

 the most part rather dry on the surface, so that the grasses whose 

 roots do not penetrate the soil to any depth have become dried up 

 and are not eaten to any extent by the sheep. It is on this char- 

 acter of vegetation that the lambs are finished off and made ready 

 for the market. The shipping of the lambs usually begins about 

 the middle of June and continues until about the middle of July, 

 or even later. The ewes and lambs are gathered into corrals, the 

 lambs counted, and then both are driven to the shipping point. 



