112 Circular No. 18. 



the practicability of doubling or trebling our number of sheep 

 without interference with any other of the farm enterprises. 



In some sections of England, Scotland and New Zealand, 

 sheep farming is the principal enterprise, not only on the 

 rougher land but also on the most expensive land in the 

 country. Sheep are adapted not only to extensive farm opera- 

 tions, but more especially to intensive farming, because of 

 their low cost of production and high returns on investment. 



Advantages of Sheep Production. 



The advantages of sheep production are self-evident to 

 any thinking person, and only a hurried summary of the most 

 important is necessary: 



(1) Paying investment. Probably no other line of farm 

 enterprise has paid as high returns during the past five years 

 as sheep raising. Prices have been almost universally high and 

 lambs and wool always in demand. 



(2) Sheep are a fixture in a permanent system of farm- 

 ing ; they are one of the best soil upbuild ers known. 



(3) Returns from sheep are twofold; wool and mutton, 

 both of which find an excellent, ready market. 



(4) Sheep are economical producers and require very 

 little expensive, concentrated feed. 



(5) Money from sheep comes in at a time of year when 

 other farm products have been sold and when ready cash is 

 hard to get. Both wool and lambs are sold in spring and early 

 summer, just at the time when new repairs and equipment are 

 needed and the farmer's cash is low. 



(6) Still another advantage is that of cleaning up the 

 weeds. According to Professor A. M. Patterson, of the Kansas 

 Experiment Station, sheep will eat 576 of the 600 varieties of 

 weeds known to man. Turn them into the weedy yards, lanes, 

 fence rows, stubble fields, meadows, roadsides and corn 

 fields and note the difference in a few weeks ' time. In central 

 Kentucky it is common knowledge among farmers who are 

 raising blue grass seed and hay crops for market that sheep 

 turned on meadows in the spring and fall are of great value 



