SHEEP 



579 



This gives them a special value for turn- 

 ing upon stubble fields, and pastures 

 badly infested with weeds which they 

 will clean out in a season or two. 



They are also of considerable value in 

 clearing out brush on new lands. Sheep 

 can be made to live entirely on brush, 

 but will not do their best under such 

 conditions. If confined entirely to brush, 

 they are apt to get poor and the lambs 

 will not make the best growth. An all 

 brush pasture seems to shorten the milk- 

 supply of the ewes. 



If confined upon brush in sufficient 

 quantities, the sheep will quickly destroy 

 it, but it is not to be expected that sheep 



be bought at this time for $3.50 to $4.50 

 a head. 



Start with good sheep — The beginner 

 should start with grade sheep, preferably 

 fine wooled ewes, having a large per- 

 centage of mutton type blood. It will 

 not usually pay to start with full blooded 

 ewes, since there are many things in 

 sheep farming that must be learned by 

 experience, and these lessons can be 

 learned more economically with cheaper 

 sheep. By starting with grade ewes and 

 using pure blooded bucks, a flock can 

 be built up within four or five years 

 which will be practically pure bred. 

 Pure bred ewes cost about $15 a head. 



Fig. 366 CHEVIOT RAM 



will get fat on this material. Better re- 

 sults will be obtained if the sheep are 

 browsed on brush up until the middle of 

 July or while it is succulent or tender. 

 After this the brush becomes dry and un- 

 palatable, and the sheep should be turned 

 upon other pastures. 



BEGINNING SHEEP FARMING 



The late summer, when pastures are 

 short and it looks as though some fodder 

 must be fed to the flock to keep them 

 growing, is a good time to go into the 

 sheep sections to buy up a flock of ewes. 

 Ewes are usually cheaper then than at 

 any other time of year. Good grade 

 ewes, two to three years old, can usually 



In selecting the ewes, see that they 

 have good udders and give promise of 

 being good milkers. Ewes that have 

 plenty of milk for their lambs and have 

 a dense fleece for their own protection 

 are the most profitable for lamb raising. 



If it is intended to grow sheep for 

 both wool and mutton, select grades of 

 good size that have a dense, compact 

 fleece. A compact fleece insures better 

 protection against storm and indicates a 

 hardy animal, capable of withstanding 

 exposure. The body should be well cov- 

 ered all over with a close, even fleece. 

 Look well to the denseness of the fleece 

 on the belly, head and inside of the legs 

 where it is likely to be thinnest. A 



