18 



FARMERS BULLETIN 1)29. 



FIG. 3. A flock scene at salting time. The rough, stony pasture, which is more typical 

 of New England than the one shown in figure 2, affords considerable feed, hut has to 

 he supplemented hy other feed much sooner. The mistake is often made of leaving 

 sheep on such pastures too late in the season, which is good for neither the sheep nor 

 the pasture. 



is to be had, but little other pasture is necessary. In less favored 

 sections, where pastures do not hold out throughout the summer 

 (see fig. 3), other feed should be provided. It has been found im- 

 practical in most cases to keep sheep in New England unless pas- 

 turage can be depended upon during the entire pasture season, or at 

 least until after the field crops are harvested, when the sheep can 

 be allowed for a time the run of the entire farm. Some make a prac- 

 tice of pasturing sheep with other stock, while others prefer to have 

 them alone. Sheep are known to eat a great variety of herbage, and 

 the majority agree that sheep render a valuable service in keeping 

 down weeds that cows will not eat. On the other hand, it is known 

 that sheep crop much closer than do cows, and it is agreed by the 

 majority -that for this reason cows do not do as well, unless the 

 pasturage is luxuriant, when pastured with sheep. 



It is especially important that plenty of pasture be provided dur- 

 ing the late summer and fall when the lambs need to be put in shape 

 for market and the rest of the .flock kept in the best of condition 

 for breeding. At this season of the year the regular pastures usually 

 afford but little feed, and- that of an inferior quality, so that it is 

 necessary for good results to make provision for other than the 

 regular pasture. A good practice among many growers is to sep- 

 arate the lambs from the ew r es about a month before marketing time, 

 pasturing the lambs on second-growth clover, or in many instances 



