Vol. LXII1. No. 2865. 
NEW YORK, DECEMBER 24, 1904. 
?! PER YEAR. 
A FARMER'S FLOCK OF SHEEP. 
farmers could be induced to put a small flock of sheep 
on their farms sentiment would soon be molded to back 
such a law. Now the dog owners are in the majority 
and sentiment trends the other way. The same com¬ 
plaint may be made in most sections of the country. 
GENERAL CARE.—I have mentioned grade sheep, 
as they are cheaper and in most ways satisfactory. As 
THREE PARTNERS IN SHEEP RAISING. Fig. 422. 
experience leads to improvement of flocks, purebreds 
can be indulged in for show purposes and selling breed¬ 
ing stock, for which there will always be a demand, 
l he greatest profit in sheep lies in ridding the farm of 
brush and noxious weeds. The owner must not, how¬ 
ever, make the mistake of thinking he can make sheep 
A GOOD FLOCK OF SHEEP. Fig. 423. 
do his grubbing by scant diet. The more sheep are 
fed the more brush and weeds they will destroy. 1 have 
17 acres in young orchards, the trees from one to six 
years old. I have allowed the sheep the run of this 
land for several months past; not a single tree has 
been injured. They are allowed in the orchard only 
part of the time, and an abundance of pure water is 
supplied to them. Many people think sheep do not need 
water; this is a mistake, for they require water (and it 
must be pure; they will not drink impure water), al¬ 
though they will manage to live on short rations of it. 
If you can get sawdust, several inches of it on the 
floors of the sheds you winter them in will be a great 
help in keeping them clean, and make manure in the 
Spring suitable for any crop. Sheep make the most 
attractive feature on any farm; nothing adds more to 
its beauty and homelike aspect. A sheep is the most 
defenceless of all living creatures when attacked by a 
dog; they make no sound, and an old sheep-killing dog 
will do an immense amount of damage in a marvelously 
short space of time. On a farm which I sold a few 
years ago there was a shallow ravine running up to the 
barn. It was not more than 250 feet wide. My orchard 
ran along one side of the ravine, and a cornfield on the 
other side. In this ravine I placed four ewes I prized 
very highly, so I could watch them conveniently, as it 
was near yeaning time. A man was at work in the 
orchard and one in the cornfield. The men were not 
300 feet apart, and every part of the ravine in plain 
sight of both men. I passed through the ravine and 
the ewes were peacefully grazing very close together. 
I returned in less than 30 minutes, and all four were 
lying dead, mangled and covered with blood. Dog 
tracks in moist earth not far from them showed the 
cause of their deaths, but no dog in sight. Neither of 
the men saw or heard anything of it, although they 
were less than 150 feet away. 
CULLING hOR QUALITY.—The flock should be 
culled every two years, and the ewes that have proven 
poor mothers and those that are not thrifty fattened and 
sold. 1 his culling should be done in September or 
October; the surplus lambs can be sold at the same 
time. I dip the sheep after shearing them in the dips 
that are advertised in The R. N.-Y.; this kills the ticks 
that would otherwise go on to the lambs. I use fine 
tar on any cut places when shearing, and cut the tails 
from the ewe and ram lambs I intend to keep. This is 
best done with a sharp chisel and mallet. 
Draw the skin back so it will cover the end 
of the tail after cutting, putting some pine 
tar on the wound. I do pot cut the tails of 
ram lambs if intended for slaughter, as they 
bring the same price either way, and the 
shock sometimes causes a check in their 
growth. Sheep increase very rapidly if the 
dogs let them alone, and it is very easy to 
overstock a farm. No more should be kept 
than one can take good care of, and a small 
flock well cared for will yield more profit 
than a large one neglected. d. w. brattin. 
Indiana. 
The Dog Nuisance; Its Remedy. 
PROFITS AND POSSIBILITIES.—I have been 
raising sheep in a small way for the past 20 years. My 
father was a breeder of Merinos in Ross County, Ohio, 
45 years ago. Dogs, the bane of sheep raising, were as 
bad then as now. But for the dogs sheep would be 
the most profitable stock a farmer could have; they more 
than pay for their keep in destroying bushes and weeds. 
No other stock can equal them in this respect. The 
wool and lambs are clear profit. Good grade sheep will 
clip an average of six pounds to the fleece. The price 
ranges between 20 and 25 cents per pound in our sec¬ 
tion. With good care one can count on an average of 
one and a half lamb to the ewe. If April lambs they 
will be worth $3 per head September 1. Sheep require 
little care as compared with other stock. - A shed at¬ 
tached to the barn, both sides and one end enclosed, 
for them to run in in stormy weather, and at lambing 
time, is all the shelter required. Small mangers and 
troughs should be provided for them, so they can be fed 
when confined in the shed. 
CARE AND FEEDING.—They should be looked 
after in cold wet freezing weather, as when the wool 
becomes water-soaked and freezes they suffer much dis¬ 
comfort, and lose in both flesh and fleece. Late Fall 
and early Spring are the most trying times on sheep; 
they get enough green stuff to make them dissatisfied 
with dry food, and they refuse it, but do not get enough 
green food to do them much good. They lose flesh 
rapidly and are a long time in recovering. It is best to 
remove them from the pasture as soon as the grass gets 
too scant to supply them a sufficient quantity to thrive 
on. Corn fodder, bright straw, clover hay and clover 
haulm are all good for sheep, the latter best of all, but 
the clover should be cured as for hay, and either stacked 
or put under shelter until hulled; the haulm should be 
kept under shelter. Oats are fine for the ewes before 
yeaning time. Small nubbins of corn should be fed to 
them in the late Fall, after taking from the 
pasture, and also in early Spring. The ram 
should not be put with the ewes until October 
for best results; the male should be changed 
every two years. Rams should be two years 
old; if younger the lambs are likely to be 
weak and result in losses. My preference is 
Oxford and Shropshire, and if a cross is de 
sirable use a Cotswold ram. If intended for 
show purposes or to sell for breeding stock, 
they should be purebred. If for wool and 
mutton, or to clear land of brush and weeds, 
any good sheep will do. They can be graded 
up by using purebred rams. I have been 
little troubled with disease among my sheep; 
the most serious was from stomach worms 
a few years since. I tried the gasoline and 
milk treatment, and changed pastures, and 
have not been troubled since. Sheep should 
not be kept too long on one pasture; a change 
is beneficial to both pasture and sheep. 
DOGS AND SHEEP.—The only cure for 
the dog evil is a law requiring the owner oi 
one male dog to pay a small sum for a metal 
tag, with the name and address of the owner 
and the date, placing a practically prohibitory 
tax on additional dogs and female dogs, mak¬ 
ing it the duty of the proper officers to kill 
all dogs not tagged. When a dog is killed 
while worrying sheep or other domestic animals or 
fowls, the tag would show the owner and recourse could 
be had for damages done. A law something like this 
was on the statute books of Indiana several yeai„ ago 
and worked well; the revenues from that source were 
trebled, and the dog population decreased two-thirds, 
but some reason it was repealed. If a majority of 
A NEW YORK DAIRYMAN TALKS. 
1 here are not so many cows producing 
milk for the milk station nor so many pa¬ 
trons as a year ago. A few of the former 
patrons of the station take their milk to the 
creamery. “Cows are not doing well,” are 
words used by all milk producers in this sec¬ 
tion. 'I he food that is most essential in 
milk production—clover hay—is almost an 
unknown quantity this year. All the silage is 
from frosted corn, and some of that was not 
put in until nearly a month after the frost. 
Here are reasons enough for a small flow of 
milk. Anyone who has ever fed cows and 
observed the effect of different feeds on milk produc¬ 
tion knows that only the brightest and the best will 
prove economical in the long run. This year it is not 
a question of what we would, but what we can do. If I 
were to have a choice of foods for cows, to produce 
greatest flow of milk, I would prefer early-cut second- 
growth clover (or Alfalfa) to feed once a day in the 
