l. INTERIOR VIEW OF A SECTION OF THE SHEEP FEEDING STATION 

 AT MONTGOMERY, lu,. CAPACITY OF THIS STATION, 75,000 SHEEP 



THE NATURE OF THE SUPPLY OF SHEEP RECEIVED AT THE 

 CHICAGO MARKET 



As already intimated, the greater number of sheep reaching the 

 Chicago market are produced in large bands on the western ranges. 

 These are known as western sheep. When these western sheep are 

 fattened on the farms or in the feed lots of the central and eastern 

 states and returned to the market, they are still regarded as western 

 sheep. The sheep produced usually in small flocks on the farms 

 of the central and eastern states are called natives. It is difficult 

 to describe all the differences between native and western sheep so 

 the reader may fully understand what they are. Western sheep 

 bear evidence of Merino blood which may be noted in the fineness 

 and compactness of their wool, occasional folds or wrinkles on their 

 necks, and the fine, silky appearance of the hair on their faces and 

 legs. As a rule, Merino blood is less evident in the sheep of the 

 native flocks, hence their wool is more open and they are compara- 

 tively free from folds and wrinkles. However, many producers of 

 natives are purchasing western ewes, and their lambs are almost, if 

 not quite identical in breeding with that of many western lambs, 

 but there are differences due to feed and management which are 

 readily detected by men on the market. 



The number of lambs received by the large markets greatly ex- 

 ceeds the number of sheep. Before the west turned to mutton pro- 



