﻿THE MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP ON THE FARM. 3 



DESTRUCTION OF WEEDS. 



Another equally important way that sheep increase the produc- 

 tivity of the land is in their destruction of weeds. By eating the 

 weeds they make more room for the cultivated crops and increase 

 the supply of plant food and water available for them by preventing 

 the weeds from using it. No other class of live stock, with the excep- 

 tion of goats, will eat as many weeds as sheep. By converting these 

 waste products into wool and mutton they are a source of profit to 

 the owner. 



It has been estimated that sheep will eat 90 per cent of all trouble- 

 some weeds. They are, in fact, commonly used in cleaning up weeds 

 from fields, fence rows, road sides, stubble fields, and corn fields. The 

 common belief among farmers is that weeds eaten by sheep are so 

 broken up in the digestive processes that the seeds will not germinate 

 after passing through the body as in the case of other live stock. 

 However^ weeds are rarely permitted to go to seed if enough sheep are 

 turned in -the field while the weeds are young and tender. 



In some investigations carried on -by the Canadian Government 

 among a considerable number of sheepmen to determine the-kinds of 

 weeds eaten by sheep, it was generally agreed that sheep would con- 

 sume all but a very few extremely unpalatable ones, such as mullein, 

 Scotch thistle, etc. Upon inquiry as to the specific kinds eaten, one 

 farmer replied that he could not give any definite information on the 

 subject as the sheep kept his farm so free from weeds that he could 

 not see what kinds they actually ate. 



Where sheep have been kept, but where for some reason they have 

 been disposed of ; a striking difference has usually occurred in the 

 appearance of the farm. Weeds have sprung up and grown where 

 they had formerly been kept in check. There is no better solution to 

 the weed problem than a flock of sheep. 



ESTABLISHING A FLOCK. 



In establishing a flock it is better for the farmer to start on a small 

 scale, unless he has previously had experience. When one is dealing 

 with small numbers, a mistake in management or an error in judgment 

 is not of so great importance as where larger numbers are involved. 

 Starting with a small flock requires less capital also. If it is desired 

 to augment the size of the flock, this can be done by the natural 

 increase, the best ewe lambs being selected each year for the purpose. 

 This should prove more economical than buying all the breeding 

 stock outright. Where the stock is produced on the farm, only the 

 cost of production can rightly be charged against it, but where it is 

 purchased the cost of production plus a profit and very often the 

 price of the reputation of the breeder must be paid. By producing 



