192 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



later period. By this method of feed- 

 ing, money is turned over twice as fast 

 as by the normal method of feeding and 

 the profits are considerably greater. 

 Heifer calves can also be forced in the 

 same manner as steers. 



HORSE FARMING 



While horses are used all over the 

 country, the states most largely engaged 

 in raising horses for market are the corn 

 belt and western states. The important 

 centers for the horse trade are Chicago, 

 Omaha and Kansas City. Most of the 

 pure bred horses are produced east of 

 tbe Mississippi river, but much the 

 larger part of the grade market horses 

 are grown on the ranges of the West, and 

 the basis of the western horse industry is 

 the native range horse. 



The range horses trace back in their 

 origin to a small breed of animals 

 known as mustangs, which escaped from 

 the early Spanish settlers of the South- 

 west. "With tbe advent of eastern set- 

 lers many horses of larger and better 

 breeds escaped and served to modify to 

 some extent the character of the early 

 Spanish horses. These breeds, thus de- 

 veloped in wild and semi-wild condi- 

 tions are known in different localities 

 as cayuse, bronchos, mustang and 

 Indian ponies. At the present time 

 these breeds are being greatly improved 

 by the use of pure bred sires of practi- 

 cally all the different prominent breeds 

 of horses. 



Under range conditions horses can 

 take care of themselves better than cat- 

 tle, especially in winter time, since they 

 are able to paw away the snow to the 

 grass underneath. The improved siren 

 are not allowed to run wild with the 

 herd, but are kept stabled- or pastured 

 and the mares rounded up twice a year 

 for breeding purposes. In some states, 

 laws have been passed prohibiting the 

 running at large of native wild sires. 

 The horses thus grown are brought east 

 and sold in great numbers for all the 

 various purposes for which horses are 

 used. 



Farm horse breeding—Farmers all 

 over the country when they own good 

 brood mares raise one or more colts 

 nearly every season, and many men now 

 make a special business of breeding 

 horses for market. Colts are marketed 

 when four to five years old, after first 

 breaking to work in harness. It costs 

 but little more to grow a horse to ma- 



turity than to grow a steer and the 

 horse usually sells for four to six times 

 as much. Where a farmer has only a 

 few mares he must depend largely on 

 such service as the community affords. 

 As a result of this he seldom produces 

 a high-priced market horse. Where a 

 man has sufficient mares to warrant 

 keeping a pure bred sire, he can pro- 

 duce a definite market class of horses 

 and can, moreover, match them to bet- 

 ter advantage. 



Mule growing i s confined quite 

 largely to the corn belt and southern 

 states. The mule is produced by cross- 

 ing the male ass or jack on mares and 

 the business is carried on under practi- 

 cally the same conditions as horse breed- 

 ing. (See Chapter on Horses and 

 Mules.) 



SHEEP FARMING 



In nearly every state the general 

 farmer maintains a small flock of sheep 

 as a part of the stock of the farm. Sheep 

 are the farm scavengers. They keep 

 down the weeds and pick up a living in 

 the wood lot and the rough lands that 

 cannot be plowed. In winter they eat up 

 the oat and bean straw and a portion of 

 the corn fodder and cheaper feeds. They 

 supply both a crop of wool and a crop 

 of lambs and, under general farm con- 

 ditions, pay as well as any stock on the 

 farm. 



Sheep are most extensively raised in 

 the northern and western states. Owing 

 to dogs and various diseases they are 

 less grown in the South. A good many 

 farmers devote their whole attention to 

 sheep, the sheep being grown for both 

 wool and mutton. 



Illustration of sheep farming — One 

 of the well-known eastern sheep farms 

 is that of Joseph E. Wing in Ohio. The 

 farm consists of 260 acres. About 75 

 registered Dorsets are maintained on the 

 farm and in addition 700 to 1000 west- 

 ern range lambs are fed each winter. 

 The lambs when bought, average 40 to 

 55 pounds in weight each. They are 

 fed about four months at the end of 

 which time they weigh from 70 to 95 

 pounds. The principal crops grown on 

 this farm are alfalfa, corn and beardless 

 barley. Alfalfa is the crop of first im- 

 portance. The home flock is pastured 

 on alfalfa, and alfalfa hay is fed to all 

 sheep in winter. From 1,000 to 4,000 

 bushels of corn are bought in addition. 



The lambs are fed not quite all the 

 corn they will eat up clean. In winter 



