22 Practical Sheep Husbandry 



noticed that the successful ones always accepted their responsibility 

 and did not cry over its demands. It is requisite and imperative that 

 the shepherd, or master, should be just as willing to "Daddy" the mis- 

 takes and failures, as he is the successes and rewards. Unless the begm- 

 ner can accept this all important working formula, I advise him to let 

 sheep alone. An acute sense of observation is important, but can only 

 be acquired through practise and the desire to succeed. 



More Facts Needed 



The old school of plodders is fast dying out, and men are accept- 

 ing their responsibilities. Beliefs, theories, practises and blind faiths 

 are giving place to knowledge, and men are fast learning to look for 

 the exact cause of every difficulty, and ceasing to be blinded by a result 

 which they cannot understand. Not long ago, a bridge in the process of 

 construction, valued at many millions of dollars, fell into the St. Lawr- 

 ence river. There is little room for doubt regarding the honesty of the 

 engineer who planned the bridge. His faith was probably 100 per 

 cent pure, but all must admit that he was greatly in need of more facts, 

 and that his faith, however strong, did not save his bridge. 



Development of the Western Flock 



There are several reasons why I am addressing myself principally 

 to the corn belt section of the U. S. First because the ranchman has 

 made wonderful progress in the development of his flocks, to meet the 

 market demands, during the last fifteen years, also the ranchman has 

 imported some of the best pure bred rams and has brought his flock 

 up from the old Merino, a good foundation sheep, to a mighty good com- 

 bination wool and mutton animal. The old inbred, white livered, deli- 

 cately constituted sheep of a few years ago has nearly disappeared 

 from the western range. Last year there were sold on fifteen dif- 

 ferent markets a total of 14,929,369 sheep. Out of this grand total, it 

 is pretty safe to estimate that the ranchman contributed sixty to sev- 

 enty per cent. We received on the Chicago market during 1918, 4,629,- 

 736 sheep, and by far the greater part were range grown. Out of this 

 number, 968,000 feeding sheep and lambs and breeding ewes were 

 shipped to the adjacent country around Chicago to be bred and fat- 

 tened for market. A big per cent of the ranchman's shipments were 

 fat and good enough for the killers, and the ones not fat enough to kill 

 were, in the main, a fine quality lot of stuff. 



Quality of Western Sheep 



It is an easy matter, during the fall months, to buy a uniform band 

 of feeding sheep or lambs, all one age and about the same weight. The 

 sheep and lambs direct from the range are, as a whole, an almost ideal 

 lot of feeders. They are bright eyed, rugged, thrifty and healthy look- 

 ing. Some of them are taken out by good shepherds who like sheep, 

 and they fatten and finish them and put them back on the market, a 

 better bunch of stuff than when they were taken out. The finish has 

 improved the quality. A large per cent of these fine feeders, however. 



