302 
THE RURAb NEW-YORKER 
March 4, 
SHEEP FARMING BY PROXY. 
I have a 40-acre farm in Rockland Co., 
N. Y. About six acres could be put in 
crops—the rest in rocky pasture. We 
have about 12 tons of hay and three head 
of cattle to feed. A relative lives on the 
farm. Could I start with sheep on this 
basis with fair chance of success? If so— 
how ? E. w. 
Sheep farming by proxy, even by 
a city man, ought to be a successful 
experiment, provided the caretaker is 
thoroughly interested in the undertaking 
and also the flock, for interest is of vital 
necessity in all branches of stock farm¬ 
ing as in anything else. You say that 
you have a farm of 40 acres that has 
but six acres of mowing which will cut 
12 tons of hay; this I think offers a good 
inducement for sheep. Judging from 
what you write I should think that your 
pasture was about the size of mine. We 
have kept 'GO head of sheep and lambs, 
besides six cows in our pasture. The 
cattle were taken out of it in August, but 
the sheep would get their own living and 
keep fat' iii it until Winter set in. I 
believe in sheep. I think I would rather 
care for them than for any other ani¬ 
mal. I always make pets of the leaders, 
thereby giving me entire control over 
the flock. 
If you buy a flock of sheep this Win¬ 
ter, turn them at once into your pas¬ 
ture for exercise. Do not let them roam 
at will over the mowings, for if you do 
they will remember the privilege and 
will be likely to give you trouble by 
getting out of the pasture in the Spring. 
Provide a warm place for them to lamb; 
watch thepi closely to see that they are 
placed in it in time, so the young lambs 
will not get chilled. It is often necessary, 
at first,-to .hold the young ewes for the 
lambs to suckle, but if they are alone 
with them they will usually attend to 
them very well. Enclose your pasture, 
before putting in »the sheep, with woven 
wire, which is dog-proof, and you can 
attend to your business in New York, 
knowing that your sheep are in their 
pasture and the dogs are without. There 
is no reason why sheep on a stony, 
bushy pasture will not do well if their 
mortal enemy, the dog, is fenced out. 
You can easily keep your sheep behind 
a wall that is properly strung with wire. 
This is the only fence we have ever 
used; but right here lies our mistake; 
for while it keeps the sheep in, it does 
not keep the dogs out. 
The all-important factor in sheep¬ 
breeding is to own a good ram. Or¬ 
dinary-sized sheep can be bred up into 
being a fine flock if they are rightly 
bred. Twice we spoiled our lambs by 
not guarding against inbreeding. All 
ram lambs must be out of the flock be¬ 
fore September; if they are not re¬ 
moved inbreeding will be the result. It 
is often better if yearling ewes do not 
lamb, as they will gain much by an¬ 
other year’s growth; so do not be dis¬ 
couraged if some should fail to lamb the 
first year. : In case of twins it is often 
better to take one away and bring it up 
as a cosset; for it takes a good mother 
properly to bring up two lambs. You 
did not say whether you thought of hav¬ 
ings cows on your farm also. An old 
milkdd-out cow will probably bring to 
you a fine calf which you can either fat¬ 
ten or raise as you see fit. In either 
way it will be profitable, for you can 
Tatten the cow easily for market in the 
Fall. This is merely a suggestion, but 
it seems to me that such cows kept in 
connection with the sheep, on your farm, 
would be profitable for a man farming 
by proxy. 
I do not like to tell the dark side of 
my experience, as I dislike to discourage 
any one; but I feel as if I ought to 
impress more firmly what I said about 
guarding against dogs destroying in a 
single night the hard work of years. 
This is the only real drawback there is 
in sheep farming. It disheartens the 
farmer, and he is likely to give up just 
when he should keep on. Suppose you 
buy 30 sheep. You could reasonably 
expect them to have thirty lambs; some 
will probably have twins which will bal¬ 
ance the loss of those that do not have 
and those that die. Half of these lambs 
would likely be ewes, which would give 
you 45 sheep for the next year. The 
other half would bring you a nice profit 
and the wool would pay for their keep¬ 
ing. Old sheep do not cut as good 
fleeces as the young sheep, but are us¬ 
ually the best mothers. If the sheep lose 
their wool early in the Spring it is be¬ 
cause they were' thin, but they will fat¬ 
ten quickly on the grass. In this case 
shear them at once and house them 
nights until settled weather. In a good 
flock you will shear about five pounds 
to the sheep, which of late years has 
brought from 25 to 35 cents a pound 
for unwashed wool. Sheep breeding is 
not a royal road to riches, yet it can be 
very profitable. If you have a few head 
of cattle running with your sheep you 
will probably find it more profitable in 
the long run. You will be apt to. receive 
good returns from one or the other each 
season, as prices and conditions on the 
farm will vary from year to year. Sheep 
that run with cows are not apt to prove 
troublesome, and all the calves that you 
can raise by proxy will bring good re¬ 
turns. SUSAN JEWETT HOWE. 
Warts on Heifer. 
I have a heifer two years old which 
will be fresh in February, which has some 
skin disease which resembles seed warts, 
affecting different parts of her body, tail,, 
udder and teats. Her teats are completely 
covered with these pedicles, which are 
seemingly an inch long. I washed the 
affected parts with a solution of bichloride 
of mercury morning and evening for two 
days; then used a mixture of sulphur and 
lard. While it seems to be somewhat bet¬ 
ter, it is not improving fast enough to 
make me believe, my treatment is correct. 
It is worse on the warmer parts of her 
body, making me believe it is something on 
the order of scabies, but it does not yield 
to the same treatment. Please state the 
name and the treatment of the disease. 
West Virginia. T. F. L. 
Scabies, is due to the mites of that 
disease and in no way .resembles the con¬ 
dition you describe. Warts (angle berries) 
are quite common in cattle and are present 
on your heifer. Once or. twice, daily rub 
affected parts thoroughly with best cold 
pressed castor oil and after a time the 
warts will disappear. Warts not on the 
teats or udder may simply-be■ twisted out 
and the bases lightly touched with a red 
hot iron to strip the bleeding. a. s. a. 
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Chicago New York Denver San Francisco 
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