18 



Practical Sheep Husbandry 



for its hardy constitution and strength of bone. It belongs to the 

 coarser wooled family, but the wool is finer and thicker than the Cots- 

 wold or Lincoln. It is considered 

 one of the best lowland sheep 

 known, fattens well on pasture, 

 and crosses well with the South- 

 down, Hampshire or Merino. The 

 Romney Marsh is gaining ground 

 in the United States wherever it 

 has been introduced, and will likely 

 fill a greater place as it becomes 

 more generally known in this 

 country. 



Sheep Found Healthy 



I am convinced that the pres- 

 ent rather unfavorable reputation 

 of sheep in this country is the re- 

 sult of false education and lack of 

 knowledge regarding them. It will 

 be my idea to touch lightly on the physical condition of the sheep, al- 

 though I will try to show by conclusive evidence that it is one of the 

 most healthy animals known to man. I will deal largely with the facts 

 necessary to the sheep producer to insure success. If I seem to tear down 

 and condemn certain methods, I wish it understood that it is not in a 

 spirit of condemnation, and that my intention will be to point out a 

 better way. There is a mistaken idea that needs correcting, and this 

 is the generally accepted theory that sheep are sickly, when in fact just 

 the opposite is the truth. It may interest the reader to learn that the 

 U. S. Government reports, under its system of inspection at the big 

 packing plants, where every carcass of cattle, swine and sheep is 

 inspected separately, the condemnation of sheep to be practically nil. 

 Think of it, almost a one hundred per cent health verdict rendered by the 

 medical fraternity! This knowledge forces us to give the lie to the 

 theory that sheep are sickly. We have, then, a perfectly healthy animal 

 to start with ; this much must be admitted by all. The verdict then is : 

 "Mr. Sheep, you are not guilty." The blame must then be placed where it 

 belongs. This we will try to do, regardless of who it may hit. 



Romney Marsh 



On the Market 



It is necessary that we go to the market to get first hand informa- 

 tion regarding the sheep industry in this country. As a salesman on 

 the Chicago market, I have been favored with rather an exceptional 

 opportunity to observe the progress the mutton making industry has 

 made throughout the country. During the past fall and winter (1918- 

 1919), the central states feeders' and farmers' marketable product was 

 deplorably bad ; in fact, during the past few years, there has sprung up 

 a class of feeders and producers that has done the sheep business more 

 harm than good. When the "more sheep, more wool" agitation started 



