Kentucky's Opportunities as a Sheep State. 115 



vented. By the dipping of sheep, all trouble from ticks and 

 scab can be eliminated. 



Feeding and Care. 



Feeding and care are necessary to successful sheep farm- 

 ing. They go hand and hand and the man who considers his 

 sheep simply as scavengers cannot expect from them a large 

 return. No matter in what line of business one is interested, 

 care and attention are absoultely essential and sheep left to 

 shift for themselves will never be entirely successful. 



In the management of the flock it is a good plan to cull 

 out the old and diseased ewes every summer and to substitute 

 the best ewe lambs, thus improving the flock. 



Increasing the Quantity and Quality of Both Wool and Mutton 



Kentucky's average weight of fleece for 1916 and for sev- 

 eral years previous was five pounds, which is two pounds be- 

 low the average of the United States. This is due, no doubt, 

 to the fact that the majority of the sheep raised are of the 

 mountain type, a mixed breed with a very open, light fleece. 

 By the use of pure bred rams of good wool and mutton qualities, 

 this yield of wool could be very easily and quickly increased. 



In experimental work done at the Kentucky Experiment 

 Station with thirty-five mountain ewes, w^hose fleeces averaged 

 five pounds, it was found that by using pure bred rams of dif- 

 ferent breeds it is possible to raise the average by first cross 

 to over 8 pounds, or an increase of 3 pounds in one year. If 

 all our scrub ewes were bred in this manner, it would mean 

 that, counting only a two pound increase per head, instead of 

 025,000 head yielding 3,125,000 pounds of wool, they would 

 produce 4,375,000 pounds, an increase of 1,250,000 pounds. 

 This amount, valued at fifty cents per pound, would bring 

 .$625,000 additional to the wool growers of the State, without 

 at all increasing the number of sheep. Besides the increase in 

 quantity of wool, the lambs sired by pure bred mutton rams 

 are much superior in size, quality and fattening character 

 to the serub lambs. 



