THE MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP ON THE FARM, 5) 
DESTRUCTION OF WEEDS. 
Another equally important way that sheep increase the produc- 
tivity of the land is in their destruction of weeds. By eating the 
weeds they make more room for the cultivated crops and increase 
the supply of plant food and water available for them by preventing 
the weeds from using it. No other class of live stock, with the excep- 
tion of goats, will eat as many weeds as sheep. By converting these 
waste products into wool and mutton they are a source of profit to 
the owner. 
It has been estimated that sheep will eat 90 per cent of all trouble- 
some weeds. They are, in fact, commonly used in cleaning up weeds 
from fields, fence rows, road sides, stubble fields, and corn fields. The 
common belief among farmers is that weeds eaten by sheep are so 
broken up in the digestive processes that the seeds will not germinate 
after passing through the body as in the case of other live stock. 
However, weeds are rarely permitted to go to seed if enough sheep are’ 
turned in the field while the weeds are young and tender. 
In some investigations carried on by the Canadian Government 
among a considerable number of sheepmen to determine the kinds of 
weeds eaten by sheep, it was generally agreed that sheep would con- 
sume all but a very few extremely unpalatable ones, such as mullein, 
Scotch thistle, etc. Upon inquiry as to the specific kinds eaten, one 
farmer replied that he could not give any definite information on the 
subject as the sheep kept his farm so free from weeds that he could 
not see what kinds they actually ate. 
Where sheep have been kept, but where for some reason bee have 
been disposed of, a striking difference has usually occurred in the 
appearance of the farm. Weeds have sprung up and grown where 
they had formerly been kept in check. There is no better solution to 
the weed problem.than a flock of sheep. 
ESTABLISHING A FLOCK. 
In establishing a flock it is better for the farmer to start on a small 
_ scale, unless he has previously had experience. When one is dealing 
with small numbers, a mistake in management or an error in judgment 
is not of so great importance as where larger numbers are involved. 
Starting with a smail flock requires less capital also. If it is desired 
to augment the size of the flock, this can be done by the natural 
increase, the best ewe lambs being selected each year for the purpose. 
This should prove more economical than buying all the breeding 
stock outright. Where the stock is produced on the farm, only the 
cost of production can rightly be charged against it, but where it is 
purchased the cost of production plus a profit and very often the 
price of the reputation of the breeder must be paid. By producing 
