SHEEP RAISING. 23 



servative plan to keep a small farm flock instead of undertaking to buy 

 feeders for subsequent marketing. 



In the selection of feeders only good thrifty specimens should be pur- 

 chased. They should be from good mutton stock, clear of eye and clean 

 in fleece. A healthy sheep has a pink skin and a bright, lustrous wool. 

 The unhealthy one has a white pale skin, a dead fleece, and the animal 

 lacks in life and in vigor. The form of the feeder should be blocky, low- 

 set, capacious, and not too heavy of wool, which often indicates a light- 

 weight unprofitable feeder. These remarks will apply both to lambs 

 and to wethers. Any one anticipating going into this phase of the sheep 

 business should study thoroughly the demand for the product, the 

 market condition and the grain feed and forage produced on the farm. 

 If plenty of good, clean forage is available at a reasonable price this 

 business may be made a profitable one. It is very likely, however, that 

 this plan of sheep farming will not develop rapidly since the supply of 

 desirable feeders is very small, owing to the small number of sheep of all 

 kinds produced in the State. 



Marking. 



There are various methods in use for marking pure-bred sheep. The 

 button or band in the ear bearing the flock number, the breeder's initials 

 and the registry number of the recording association are quite generally 

 used. The objection to this method is that the buttons or bands are 

 often pulled out and the identity of the sheep lost. 



The notch system, used more frequently in hogs, is sometimes used, 

 but the ear of the sheep being small the marking may disfigure it 

 which makes this system to some very objectionable. 



Paint used on the wool is injurious and the identity sooner or later 

 becomes lost through fading or shearing of the flock. This method is 

 sometimes used to mark ewes during the breeding season to determine 

 the time when they were bred. 



The tattoo marker is the most satisfactory. This consists of a hand- 

 pincer with a frame in the jaws of which may be inserted needles from 

 which the initials of the breeder may be made. These needles are cov- 

 ered with a special kind of India or indelible ink, either white or black, 

 which is impressed in the ear. The pincers should be properly adjusted, 

 else the initials will not be clear and perfect. In England this method 

 of marking is used extensively. 





Shearing and Tagging. 



Usually sheep are sheared once during the year. Some few breeders 

 ractice shearing both in the spring and early fall, but by so doing the 

 value of the staple is decreased, owing to the shortness of the fiber. 

 Sheep should be relieved of their wool in the spring as soon as weather 

 conditions will permit. If the ewes lamb early it is better to leave the 

 wool on until after lambing; however, a careful flockmaster can shear 

 them earlier without doing them injury. The wool should be clipped 

 close and uniformly, either with hand shears or with a machine. The 

 latter can be used by the beginner to better advantage, however, a large 

 number of sheep, forty to fifty, can be sheared by hand in one day if 

 one is expert at the business. 



