12 



BULLETIlSr 397^ U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



There is practically no loss from stomach worms before the lambs 

 are 5 months of age. The greatest losses occur in the fall and winter 

 before they are 1 year old. This loss is so great that in many places 

 it is not practicable to raise any breeding ewes, and it also prevents 

 keeping the pastures stocked to their full capacity. Frequent 

 changes of the grazing lands or a larger grazing area for the same 

 number of sheep are the best preventive measures for the trouble. 



Table II gives the returns from pasturing sheep on a few fields. 

 It is difficult to obtain definite data in regard to sheep, as few farmers 

 keep them for an entire year without other stock on the same grazing 

 field. The cost of wintering sheep is very low. They graze the 

 pastures all winter and during the cold months are also allowed to 

 graze any small grain, such as wheat or rye, that may be on the farm. 

 Extra feeding must be done when the ground is coveied with snow, 

 and also at lambing time, to keep the ewes in good condition. The 

 total outlay for wintering, besides what is obtained from the pas- 

 tures, seldom exceeds $1 a head, and usually averages about 75 

 cents. 



Table II. — Pasturing sheep on six pastures in the bluegrass region. 



Pasture. 



Number 

 of ewes. 



Wool 

 produced. 



Number 

 of lambs 

 raised. 



Weight 

 Of lambs. 



Returns. 



No. 



Area. 



Total (wool 

 at 25 cents 

 and lambs 

 at 7 cents 

 a pound). 1 



Per acre 

 of 



pasture. 



1 



Acres. 

 30 

 450 

 220 

 19 

 50 

 210 



22 

 200 

 200 



20 

 112 

 ISO 



Pounds. 

 92 



825 

 800 

 88 

 560 

 810 



34 

 210 

 300 



31 

 132 

 250 



Pounds. 

 2,720 

 15, 700 

 24,000 

 2, 325 

 9,900 

 20,000 



.?213. 40 



1,305.25 



1,880.00 



im. 75 



S7.ll 



2 



2. 90 



3 



8.55 



4 



9 79 



5 .... 



833 00 12 66 



6 



1.602.50 7.63 









I The prevailing price for lambs at the time these data were collected was considerably higher than 

 that used in the table. 



MAINTAINING THE FERTILITY OF THE SOIL. 



There is no system of agriculture that maintains the fertility of the 

 soil better than grazing, especially where the animals are kept con- 

 tinually on the pastures. Some of the best pastures in southwestern 

 Virginia have been grazed for at least 100 years. Many of them 

 have never been plowed. The difficulty in getting a good sod on 

 land that has been cropped with grain for a few years has proved the 

 wisdom of keeping the land permanently in grass. It must be borne 

 in mind that there are striking differences in methods of grazing. 

 Where beef cattle or sheep are grazed, aU of the resulting manure is 

 left on the pastures, and the land is further enriched if the animals 

 are given additional feed during the winter. This is usually not the 

 case on dairy farms, where the cattle spend much of the time in yards 



