BUYING THE FEEDERS 27 



that operate in the different parts of the country. The rela- 

 tive points of each method will be discussed. 



Buying feeding sheep on the range. The main points in 

 favor of buymg direct from the ranges are 



1. The purchaser has no commission to pay. 



2. He can get his feeders when he wants them. 



3. Those that he buys are apt to be quite uniform, being 

 of the same breeding and having had similar care. 



4. The tops are not culled out by the packers, as they 

 generally are if shipped to the market. 



5. In some states the railroads allow those who buy sheep 

 in the West a freight rate direct to market, with a feed-m- 

 transit clause which permits them to unload on their farms 

 and hold the sheep long enough to make a feed, then reload 

 and ship to market. This is very convenient for those who 

 are so situated that they can take advantage of it. 



The disadvantages of going to the range for feeders — 

 and these in the writer's opinion overbalance the advan- 

 tages, especially for the one who only buys enough for his 

 own use — are 



1. Only the large feeder can afford to buy on the range ; 

 for it is seldom that a raiser will split his salable stuff, and 

 most bands number from one thousand up. 



2. The range of selection is greatly limited, it being 

 practically impossible for a buyer to look over Mexicans, 

 Utahs, and Idahos, for instance, when he has to inspect 

 each class on its home range. 



3. When on the range the buyer is at the seller's mercy, 

 for he has to pay the seller's price or go without his sheep ; 

 the seller can be independent. 



4. One who buys on the range must be a good judge of 

 sheep, for there he sees them in their very best condition. 



