CHAPTER XV 



LUCK WITH SHEEP 



In every locality there are discouraged farmers who 

 say, "I have never had any luck with sheep." A careful 

 investigation reveals that the matter of luck had nothing 

 to do with the failure, but that ignorance and mismanage- 

 ment drove him out of the business. Statements that 

 sheep do not require as much work as other forms of farm- 

 ing are quite true, but this does not mean that they require 

 no care whatever. Turning sheep into a back forty and 

 allowing them to manage themselves is poor business and 

 no profit can be expected from such a system. Sheep 

 should be given the necessary protection from dogs, wild 

 animals, and other peculiar dangers which beset them. 

 All the profits of the flock may be lost in one night from 

 dogs or wild animals. A very common danger to sheep is 

 the " dead furrow." Heavily wooled sheep falling on their 

 backs in a dead furrow or ditch seldom are able to get 

 up and consequently die in a few hours unless help arrives, 

 Many persons think that sheep are difficult to care for, 

 yet this is denied by the most successful sheep-men. The 

 man who willingly gives his sheep the care actually re- 

 quired does not find the task difficult, while the man who 

 tries to shirk and leave something undone finds himself 

 constantly in trouble. Ignorance of these facts or care- 

 lessness in regard to them often costs large sums of money. 



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