clearly the increasing demand for sheep for food purposes. A quarter 

 of a century ago, in 1888, 2,611,543 head of cattle were received at 

 the yards. Last year 2,652,342 were received, or an increase of but 

 1.6 per cent. In 1912, 7,180,967 hogs were received as compared 

 with 4,921,721 in 1888, an increase of 46 per cent. These increases 

 are unimportant as compared with those of sheep. The receipts of 

 sheep in 1888 were 1,515,014 and in 1912, 6,055,546 head. This is 

 an increase of 4,540,532 head or approximately 300 per cent. 



It is also of interest to note that very few sheep have been found 

 to be affected with any infectious disease when slaughtered. Agents 

 of the Bureau of Animal Industry inspected more than thirteen million 

 carcasses of sheep in 1911, and found no evidence of tuberculosis in 

 a single carcass. Large numbers of meat consumers have turned to 

 mutton on account of the high cost of beef and pork in recent years 

 and in the change, made temporarily for economy, have acquired the 

 "mutton chop" habit and have been educated to the healthfulness, 

 high nutritive value and relative cheapness of mutton for a part of the 

 human diet. 



Industrial changes and uncertainty as to tariff policies have rend- 

 ered wool values less certain and stable, and have correspondingly given 

 prominence to sheep as meat producers. There is little danger that 

 wool values will fall so low as to prevent the fleece from meeting the 

 larger portion and frequently all of the cost of the ewe's keep on the 

 average farm. The shortage in beef cattle cannot be overcome for 

 several years, and hog cholera and other unfavorable factors in the 

 hog business, will tend to maintain an. equilibrium in pork production. 

 It is very evident to those who are in touch with the situation that the 

 Idaho farmer is certain to find his mutton in pretty fair demand. 



WHY FEED LAMBS 



The lamb is one of our most economical producers of edible 

 meats. In a comparison of lambs and steers coming two years old at 

 the Iowa Experiment Station it was found that the average steer 

 required 8.9 pounds of dry matter for each 100 pounds of gain while 

 the lamb required but 7.37 pounds. The cattle consumed 19.6 pounds 

 of dry matter per 1000 pounds of live weight as compared with an 

 average of 29.07 by the sheep. The daily gain of the sheep was 3.73 

 pounds per 1000 pounds of live weight and the cattle was 2.14. The 

 sheep, therefore, ate 48 per cent more than the cattle and gained 75 

 per cent more. Lambs are popular with experienced feeders because 

 of their established position as good feeders and economical producers 

 of gain. Figures compiled by the Idaho Wool Growers' Association 

 show a total shipment out of Idaho in 1912 of 5121 cars of sheep 

 from Oregon Short Line Railroad points alone. Assuming that the 

 cars were double decked and each carried 200 sheep, approximately 

 one million head of sheep were shipped from the state over this one 



