228 SHEEP b^arMing In aMerica. 



good management, we will turn off our ewes 

 young enough so that they may be finished 

 easily into prime mutton and will not have 

 become "shelly." The number of lambs that 

 can be taken .from a ewe varies somewhat with 

 the breed. Those that mature quickly the 

 sooner lose their usefulness. Merinos taking 

 long time to mature are sometimes productive 

 for 16 years or more. Downs and Dorsets are 

 usually past their usefulness at twelve years. 

 In general it is good practice to discard ewes 

 upon farms at about the age of six to eight 

 years. To return to our yards, there is a vast- 

 ness about it and a bewilderment that appalls 

 the man fresh from tranquil fields where a flock 

 of 500 sheep seems large. On some single days 

 there will be received here as many as 25,000, 

 or even more, and in a single brief forenoon 

 most of them will be sold and many of them 

 dispersed, some to the killers and some to the 

 dipping vat and on cars again to go out fo 

 country feeders. It is a confusing place to the 

 countryman and he is wise to choos,e some 

 skilled commission man to go with hiln and 

 make his purchases, helping, too, in making 

 selections. 



It is not always wise for the feeder to go in 

 person to the market, though he should make it 

 a point to be there once or twice a year to study 

 types and results of other men if possible. 



The advantage in leaving the purchase alto- 

 gether to an honest and capable commission 

 man (there are such in most markets) is that 

 the commission man may take advantage of 



