SHELTER FOR SHEEP SUMMER AND WINTER 325 



country with but a limited amount of precipitation in win- 

 ter. Such a structure is ill-adapted to a climate with 

 heavy precipitation in winter owing to the difficulty of 

 preventing leaking in the early spring. It may be con- 

 structed of almost any kind of poles that may be obtain- 

 able. In western areas these are usually cottonwood or 

 poplar that may be cut by the streams. They are built 

 up in the form of a square, or at least of a pen of three 

 sides. If built as a square a doorway must be cut open 

 in the front side, or the poles on that side should not 

 come within 3 or 4 feet of the ground. The structure 

 should be 7 or 8 feet high. Strong poles should be laid 

 across the top rails to support the straw roof. When the 

 poles have been put in place, a heavy covering of straw 

 is built all around the structure, save on the front side. 

 The straw above should be built so as to shed water, as 

 far as this may be attainable. Such a covering may usu- 

 ally be most cheaply provided at the season of threshing. 

 It may shelter a small flock quite satisfactorily as long as 

 water does not percolate down through the roof. 



The building of sheep sheds by using baled straw 

 has been advocated in the press and on institute plat- 

 forms, more especially in areas where the winters are cold 

 and straw is so abundant that it is usually burned to get 

 it out of the way of the husbandman. Thus it is that 

 straw is disposed of more commonly in the Northwestern 

 states and the western provinces of Canada. This method 

 of providing shelter for sheep and for cattle in such areas 

 would seem to be not only feasible but commendable. 

 Notwithstanding, the sheds that have been constructed of 

 this material are very few. This, however, does not prove 

 that these would be undesirable to the keeper of live 

 stock. But few sheep are kept as yet in the grain- 

 growing areas of the prairie, hence the need for such shel- 

 ter has not been an important question. Sheds made of 

 baled straw are furnished with a roof of rafters covered 

 by boards with battens over the cracks or other rain- 



