SHEEP RANCHES IN PENNSYLVANIA. 
WHAT BETTER ANIMALS FOR HILL-SIDES ? 
The Breed; the Fence; the Care; the ShepherdI 
How the Matter Stands. 
S. S. A., Mansfield, Pa .—There is a great deal of hill and 
mountain land in northern Pennsylvania, from which the 
timber has been cut, leaving a growth of brush, briers, 
etc. This land can be bought at from $2 to $10 per acre, 
while some portions that have been cleared enough to per¬ 
mit of pasturing can be rented at from fifty cents to one 
dollar per acre, the renter to maintain the fences. It is 
good grass land well watered. Good hay can be bought, 
one year with another, at from $5 to $10 per ton delivered, 
while lambs find a ready sale at the railway stations at 
from $3 to $4 apiece. Now Mr. Terry says, “ Every man to 
his local possibilities,” and 
as this is naturally a grazing 
country, I am led to ask what 
would be the chances for suc¬ 
cess at sheep raising under 
such conditions, to the right 
sort of person, at the prices 
named. If likely to pay, what 
breed would be recom¬ 
mended ? What would be 
advisable for fencing? Would 
barbed wire answer ? I am 
satisfied that sooner or later 
much of this section will be 
turned into ranches. 
Advice from a Veteran 
Sheepman. 
There Is no better sheep 
land in the world than that 
which is quite rolling or even 
broken, and if this Pennsyl¬ 
vania land is good grass land, 
well watered, S. S. A. cannot 
fail of success, providing he 
is a natural sheepman, or 
has the gumption to become 
properly posted. 
Whether it is better to buy 
or rent depends upon the 
man, the land, and its posi¬ 
tion as regards markets, and 
its accessibility to places 
where hay can be bought or 
cut. Rent at the rate of 50 
cents per acre is equivalent 
to five per cent on $10 land, 
and if the ranter has to main¬ 
tain the fences, he would 
have to do as much as if he 
were the owner. So if the 
land can be bought at an 
average of between $6 and 
$10 per acre, I would advise its 
purchase if one has the requi¬ 
site means; if not, then he 
should rent it for a few years 
with the privilege of buying 
it at a fixed price, because as 
soon as the land is pastured 
with sheep, and the bushes 
are cut in spring, it will rap¬ 
idly increase in value on account of the extermination of 
the bushes and the substitution of good grasses. If the 
land is bought at $6 per acre, and posts can be got at 10 
cents each or less, the outlay for purchase and fencing will 
not be over $7.50 per acre, in tracts of one square mile each, 
and an area of this size of “good grass land,” even if 
almost wholly covered with “brush and briers,” should 
be ample range for 1,000 sheep, if the brush and briers are 
cut when the sheep are turned on in spring, and if at 
the same time a quantity of grass seed be sown, the grass 
will come in so fast that in a couple of years it will past¬ 
ure 2,000 or 3,000 sheep. 
But as sheep do much better by frequent changes, or 
even an occasional change of pasture, I would advise the 
division of the square mile in the center each way, making 
fonr pastures, and taking half as much fence as was re¬ 
quired in the beginning. By this division the sheep could 
be changed each week to a fresh pasture, and go over the 
whole place once a month, thus keeping the pasture la the 
best possible condition. 
There is no doubt that a dog-proof fence can be made 
with barbed wire; but when their wool is well grown, 
sheep care very little for the barbs, and if they get in the 
habit of going through the fence, they can hardly be re¬ 
strained, but by putting posts one rod apart, and using 
galvanized wire netting with two or even four-Inch meshes, 
made of wire about two sizes heavier than “chicken 
netting,” one can make a fence that will stop any dog or 
sheep, and if it is four feet wide, no dog can well get over 
it; or if one wishes to be absolutely safe from the dog 
nuisance, a barbed wire can be stretched one foot above 
the netting, and then no dog can get over or through it. 
It can be bought in quantities at from one-half to one cent 
per square foot, which would make the fence cost but little. 
Although it does not look nearly as well, dogs can be 
effectually fenced out with the combination wire and 
picket fence and this can be built ready for attaching to 
the posts; if one owns a machine and can buy pickets for 
$2 per 1,000, the cost will not be over 30 cents per rod. On 
many of these slashings an abundance of posts for fencing 
can be cut from the second growth of chestnut and the 
butts of these may be sawed into pickets for the com¬ 
bination fence, thus considerably reducing the cost. In 
setting up the combination fence it should be inclined 
slightly outward; for then no dog can jump over it. 
“ What breed would be recommended ? ” Ah ! there’s 
the rub. All will depend on the man and the markets. 
If the sheep are expected to “ rustle for themselves and 
pick their own living,” and are to be seen only when it is 
necessary to “salt” them, then no breed will equal the 
American Merino. On the other hand, if they are to be 
kept and treated as English sheep are at home, having a 
little “corn ” (some sort of grain) daily in addition to the 
pasture, then some of the English breeds would probably 
be more profitable. But if S S. A., is a beginner, it is 
safer for him to start with a flock of good, straight, blocky 
Merino ewes—such as are usually called Michigan sheep, 
and on these use some of the mutton rams. My own ex¬ 
perience has shown me that there is nothing quite equal 
for this purpose to the Dorsets, and next to these the 
Hampshires and then the Shropshlres. 
I would further advise that some sort of a barn be pro¬ 
vided for winter—one that can be kept sufficiently warm 
so that water will not freeze, and that the sheep be con¬ 
stantly housed in winter with a daily feed of roots or 
ensilage. In this way the lambs can be dropped in March 
or April, and be ready to go to pasture as soon as the 
grass is large enough and they are able to take care 
of themselves. 
I have mentioned grain feeding as supplementary to the 
pasture. I believe that at the 
prices named for the lambs 
and the present prices for 
wool, it will pay well to give 
a small daily ration of bran, 
oil meal, oats or other feed; 
even when they are in the 
flushest feeds, it will pay by 
the increase of growth both 
in lambs and wool. In buy¬ 
ing hay for the winter feed¬ 
ing of sheep, nothing should 
be looked at except clover, if 
that can be obtained even at 
the same price as Timothy. 
With proper houses for 
feeding and proper selection 
of foods I would be loth to 
sell lambs at $3 or $4 per 
head. They can, if of the 
crosses named—Dorset on 
Merino or Hampshire on 
Merino—be readily made to 
weigh from 100 to 120 pounds, 
on an average, and sell at 
from 634 to 734 cents per 
pound, by February or March. 
This, besides paying a good 
profit on the feed used will 
give employment for winter, 
which is far better than hold¬ 
ing down a packing box in 
some corner grocery. 
After looking the whole 
situation over, I might be 
able to give more explicit ad¬ 
vice, but I am firmly con¬ 
vinced that the “chances 
for success at sheep raising 
under such conditions to the 
right sort of person,” and 
even “ at the prices named,” 
would justify the attempt. 
.r. s. WOODWARD. 
Niagara Co., N. Y. 
The Coming American 
Breed of Sheep. 
Under such circumstances 
S. S. A. should be able to 
make sheep-raising immense¬ 
ly profitable. There is a good 
profit at the prices named ; but If he is fairly adapted to 
the raising of good stock, he can realize much better prices 
for all he can raise, and with a fair prospect of their con¬ 
tinuance. I think northern Pennsylvania, in fact a good 
portion of the State, is well adapted to sheep, and I be¬ 
lieve there is a good deal of money in the business to any 
man who is a close observer and who will give careful 
attention to it. We look after our sheep every day, and 
don’t wait for them to get sick ; if they hang their heads 
and are dumpish, we take them right in hand, and have 
never lost one. Quite a large percentage of farmers will 
agree that there is money in sheep, but a good many say 
it with an “ if,” that is, “ If you can keep the dogs away.” 
Now it is generally conceded that dogs operate during the 
night or early morning, and by using a dog-proof corral at 
night, this difficulty can be largely overcome; but farmers 
say to do this is too much trouble, yet these Bame men 
SOME LIEUTENANTS IN AMERICAN SHEEP HUSBANDRY. Fig. 270. 
Upper left-hand corner, Shropshire ; right-hand, Merino : center, Dorset; right-hand lower, South Down ; left-hand, “ Native.” 
