188 Western Live-stock Management 



say, docking and castrating are commonly neglected on 

 the farms, while on the range neglect in this regard is 

 practically unheard of. 



Growing the lamb. 



In order to make the most out of a lamb whether he be 

 a mutton or pure-bred lamb, he must be grown as cheaply 

 as possible, which means to feed him well while he is 

 young, as he then makes the most economical gains. It is 

 well to put as much gain as possible on the lambs during 

 the months of April and May, as these months are when 

 feed and weather are best. The best results on the general 

 farm in the Northwest are obtained when the lambs are 

 grown on sown pastures such as vetch and oats, vetch 

 and rye, clover, and rape and clover. Sheep are commonly 

 kept on the general farms for scavenger purposes, but 

 good lambs cannot be grown in this way. The common 

 system is to have a few sheep to clean up the fence corners, 

 stubblefields, and the like. The lambs receive no care 

 and slowly mature into scrawny brutes of little value. If, 

 instead of raising twenty-five lambs in this manner, the 

 grower were to raise fifty by the more modern method, 

 he would derive a much greater profit, while the ewes 

 could clean up the fields after the lambs are weaned or 

 sold. 



It will be necessary to have several fields for the lambs 

 in order to secure the best gains and that each kind of 

 pasture may be utilized in its proper season. It is also 

 especially desirable to have fresh pastures on which to 

 finish the lambs if they are for the mutton market. Often 

 the lambs do well until about ready for market. Then 

 the pastures begin to fail and the lambs, which were so 

 nearly done, begin to go backward, and the dry season 



