Range Sheep 147 
On the other hand, some may not give any salt at all and 
claim they secure better results by allowing the sheep to 
find alkali licks than by supplying them salt. Where the 
alkali licks are abundant, and when this alkali contains 
as much as 85 per cent common salt, it must be considered 
as entirely satisfactory, but where the alkali is not very 
abundant or when it is composed largely of carbonate of 
soda, sulfate of soda, or Epsom salts, it cannot satis- 
factorily take the place of artificial salt. 
WEANING 
The lambs are ordinarily weaned at the time when they 
are brought off the summer range. The lambs are sep- 
arated and taken some distance away from the ewes. 
The process of weaning is simple, as at this time the ewes 
are not giving a large quantity of milk and consequently 
the lambs are not very dependent. 
MARKETING MUTTON STOCK 
Mutton lambs are either marketed at weaning or are 
placed in the feed-lot and sold ninety to one hundred days 
after being placed on feed. Big breeders usually divide 
their lambs into three lots; one lot consists of ewe lambs 
which are to be kept for breeding purposes; the second, 
lambs which are fat enough to ship direct to market; 
while the third lot consists of those lambs which are too 
thin to go for mutton and which must be put into the 
feed-lot. In addition, there is sometimes a fourth lot 
consisting of wether lambs which are to be held over and 
run as yearlings the next summer. This fourth division 
is growing constantly smaller and in practically all cases 
consists only of those wether lambs which show no evi- 
