PREFACE 



This book is the result of an original investigation carried 

 on by the author, covering a period of about four years. It 

 is based on farm practices as they occur in the United 

 States, — particularly in the jMiddle West, — and their 

 relation to the feeding of sheep for market. 



Its purpose is to furnish to those interested in the feed- 

 ing of sheep for market, whether students or farmers, the 

 information that will enable them to carry on the necessary 

 operations profitably. 



The student desiring to inform himself regarding the 

 most modern and profitable methods for buying, feeding, 

 and marketing sheep, instinctively turns to the literature 

 on the subject. Save for a few bulletins on experimental 

 sheep feeding, he finds that the field has been practically 

 untouched. He sees in our agricultural press frequent 

 reports and comments that seem to point to this phase of 

 farming as not only jjrofitable but also sound, and advis- 

 able from the standpoint of the economical use of crops, 

 the conservation of soil fertility, and the saving of labor. 

 Naturally he desires a reliable and practical source of in- 

 formation on the subject. Hence to the student the author 

 would commend these pages, trusting that in their study 

 he will find the answers to his questions, and facts and 

 plans that will aid him in his future farm operations. 



Men who have watched somewhat closely the sheep-feed- 

 ing industry of our country know that it is rapidly passing 

 from the hands of the professional, the speculator, or the 



