SUMMER CAEE AND MANAGEMENT. 139 



from a diseased flock. None of these diseases 

 originates spontaneously. There are no other 

 known hosts of these diseases than sheep, 

 goats and perhaps deer, so it is merely a 

 question of starting with the lambs, bom free 

 of all parasites, and keeping them in health 

 by putting them on fresh and uninfected pas- 

 ture. 



USE OF SOWN PASTURES. 



The easy way of management is to use only 

 the wild or natural grass pastures, the same 

 ones year after year, but there is often great 

 good resultant from sowing special pasture 

 crops for the flock. Bye sown in the fall will 

 afford very useful pasture before Christmas 

 and again very early in spring. If vetches 

 are sown with the rye in mild latitudes they 

 will together in spring make good grazing, 

 and^ clover sown in March will take the land 

 after the rye is gone. Rye is not a rich graz- 

 ing crop; in fact, is a poor one, but it adds 

 the element of succulence to the diet and thus 

 has its value. Then it gives employment and 

 exercise in the way that the ewe likes best to 

 take it, wandering about the field and picking 

 here and there. Then there is almost no dan- 

 ger at all of parasitic infection from grazing 

 rye, or from grazing any sown crop for that 

 matter. Rye where clover is sown with it 

 should not be too hard grazed after the clover 

 gets started and it is well to cut it for hay 

 before it heads. If permitted to head it be- 

 comes woody and makes very inferior hay, 



