14 
grass of the plains begins to dry up, the bands, again readjusted (ewes 
and lambs together) and commonly varying in number from 1,800 to 
2,700, the average being about 2,200, are driven toward the mountains. 
The average rate of travel is about 8 miles per day, varying with 
the heat, the feed, and the watering places. The usual practice is to 
start a band early, between daylight and sunrise, and let them travel 
slowly, grazing as they go, until about 9 o’clock. They then lie down, 
during the warmer part of the day, until 3 or 4 o’clock in the after- 
noon, when they start again and go on till sundown or a little Jater. 
They are watered once a day, if possible. Seldom earlier than the 
10th of June and seldom later than the Ist of July they reach their 
Summer range in the timber. 
The bucks are kept in summer in inclosed pastures, or sometimes 
when an owner has a large enough number to warrant it or when 
several owners put their bucks together they are run in bands, but 
they are always kept separate from the ewes and lambs. 
DUTIES OF HERDERS AND PACKERS. 
It is the duty of the packer, who is often also the owner, to find new 
grazing places as fast as the feed is eaten off by the sheep, to move camp 
to these spots, and to keep the herder, or herders (one man sometimes 
packing for two bands), and himself supplied with provisions. A sad- 
dle horse and two pack horses are commonly used by the packer. 
The herder’s duty is to keep his band on good feed, keep the sheep 
in one body, bring back those that have strayed away, look out for the 
appearance of disease and apply the necessary remedies, and join the 
packer in the cooking and other camp work. If the sheep are to graze 
2 or 3 miles from camp (about the maximum distance) and in the forest, 
they are often driven away as early as sunrise; but if the grazing is 
nearer camp, and especially if it is on open meadow land, the sheep 
seldom start out before the dew is off the grass. They graze a few 
hours, lie down during the middle of the day, graze again, and finally 
return to their bedding ground, situated usually near the camp. 
The practice of herders in handling their sheep varies widely. Some 
are constantly with their bands, watching them closely throughout the 
day, carefully guiding them from one choice feeding ground to another, 
keeping them rounded up with a dog, and sleeping among them at night. 
Others leave a band to pick out their own feeding area, to take care of 
themselves largely, and even to select their own bedding ground, attend- 
ing only in a general way to their location and seeing that the band does 
not divide. Sheep managed in this way are said to be better able to 
take care of themselves, to be less easily frightened by wild animals, 
to be less worried by the dogs, to trample the feed less, and to come 
out in quite as good condition at the end of the season. Hach system 
doubtless has its advantages. 
