Published by 
The Rural Publishing Co, 
333 W. 30th Street 
New York 
The Rural New-Yoi 
The Business Farmer’s Paper 
rker 
Weekly, One Dollar Per Year 
Postpaid 
Single Copies, Five Cents 
VoL. LXXVII. 
NEW YORK, FERIiFARY 9, 1918 
No. 44GS 
A Little Talk to New Shepherds 
How to get the Sheep Habit 
HANGED CONDITIONS.—Tho st'lliji- 
and taking of slieoi) on slnwos is (luiot now, and 
old hands are good to tlieirs. so it is a safe guess 
that the aninials are seeing tlie happiest Winter 
the.v have known for years. They are worth a little 
something, and it beats all how dollars influence 
men's likes and dislikes. I de;. rly love to see sheep 
high, becau.se it is a torment to see the desolate, 
neglected ones when they are low. Tm-: If. N.-Y. 
deserves some credit for the promotion of the in¬ 
dustry a year ahead of the hoom. at the time sheet) 
were fading away, hut the good-hearted scoffers 
who laughed at the paper ‘‘trying to put sheep over 
them” would better listen next time. Americans 
are cpiite similar to sheep in that neither of them 
can ))e started when standing still, but when they 
staid yon can’t hold them. iMany of the large bands 
were disbanded, or reduced, because settlers crowded 
them off the range, and a large number of ewes 
found new homes east of the IMississii)])!, to fill 
gaps that should never have been made. The 
now, they are the safest "buy" a man can makie 
tfiOITLE IfK()riltEMENTS.—The owners of 
man.v of these new sheep are brand-new shepherds, 
but they will find them the easiest animals on the 
place to take care of, only needing to put feed 
somewhere for them, and have a jilace for them 
out of the storms. The number of lamlis saved 
next Sjiring decides the profit, but there is no 
bab.y creature easier to start than a land). In a 
few days it will make an.vone look pleasant with 
its idiotic gambols. I can hardly wait until they 
are .inmping stiff-leggeil, and circling everywhere. 
There are troubles threatening both them and the 
ewes that ma.v catch sonu' of them, but if they have 
good care, it is unlikely. A starved hog will rant 
and riot until a germ of cholera or a gun gets him, 
but a sheep gives ui) from neglect or abn.se. 'West¬ 
ern ones from the high plains or merinoes in the 
East, if they have enough feed, and any chance, 
seldom have anything the matter with them. 
DISEASE AND 1 )EIUITTY.—Foot rot and .scab 
come from infection. but parasites. nodular 
intestines and intinen/,a from man’s mismaiiiige- 
uient, by mongrel bi'ceding or short feed. A debili- 
spend to care or medicine. I have no doubt that 
some of the sheep in new hands may be out of fix or 
may get that wa.v, but that can be noticed. If the 
wool <loes not look right, or if they are coughing, 
running at the nose or unclean in the rear, I wonh? 
surely .see they had all the good feed the.v would 
eat. and some snlph.ate of inm, tobacco dust and 
sulphur mixed with their salt. Some may have 
brought scab from the "West and dii)ping in .some 
of the preparations for it will cure it. or the.v may 
get sore feet that must be cleaned so they will get 
well. An.vthing that gives misery is a damage to 
health, and when a .sheep’s back bows, and front and 
hind feet stand too clo.se, it is time to find what 
ails it. Neglect has killed more sheep than dogs 
have, but the owner’s eye and his care will keep 
them happy, which means profitable. 
FRESH AIR.—The.v love an outdoor life, and 
should have it ever.v nice 'Winter da.v. The.v 
can stand as much cold as a rabbit if fed right. 
They dearly love to rustle stalks, shock corn or ears 
on the snow or frozen ground. The clean outdoors 
and snow are perfection for them, while stables fit 
on stormy or wot spells, if well bedded and ven- 
Vres-A Illustrattnsr Service 
A Band of Sheep on a Wyoming Ranch. Fig. 71 
Eastern States had plenty until about a geueration 
a'go, and were like the old countries across the water 
before the turmoil. Almost ever.v holding had them, 
and I have .seen where there were but one cow and 
one pig, there was a sheep also. Those people 
never had bunches of politicians with an antipathy 
of sheep, and there were sheep everywhere, if only 
for fillers; sheep on land worth $500 per acre. 
COMING PROFITS.—That i.s the shape we 
should be in and will be when Ave get our right 
mind, and while coming to it enough to see the foll.v 
of pa.ving our money to citizens of Australia. South 
.\merica and Africa for wool wo should grow our¬ 
selves. I want to sa.v something for the welfare of 
the gentle, useful animals. There is money in any 
happy farm livestock on .-Vmerican farms, and as 
much in sheep as the other classes. I am thinking 
of the welfare of tens of thousands that have started 
life with new owners Avho look back .at the prices 
paid for them. That is all right because it will make 
them appreciated, and ver.v few men have ever lost 
money on sheep, at any price, if they stayed Avith 
them and cared for them. From the time the Avriter 
began to associate with them until the long prices 
tated human is liabl(‘ to dcv(‘!o[) an.v ailment com¬ 
mon to man,and a Aveakly sheep troul)les that affect 
their class. Older readers recall ‘“AA'olf in the tail” 
and “holloAv horn” in cattle, after they had had 
hollow stomachs for years. Cattle, like hogs. Avill 
stand a lot of puni.shment, but a sheep gives up and 
die.s. There are a good man.v theories about ‘‘in¬ 
fested ])astures” loading the sheep Avith parasites, 
and all of them are full of OA’ery kind of crawling, 
slidin.g, flying and creei)ing things, but the sheep 
are s ‘fe if their constitutions are right. Our pas¬ 
tures are from ‘25 to 42 .A'cars old. some Avith sheep 
(11 Summer and Winter, and the.v make no com¬ 
plaint. When I bought our stock, instead of grow¬ 
ing it, I had hundreds of tlmm AVitli everything in¬ 
cident to sheep, and most of them got Avell. In¬ 
fested pastures is a myth, and if .a’ou doubt it come 
and see one bunch on a field Avith a barn, used 42 
.Acars, and anorher used 35, and they are yours ir 
.A'ou find a sickl.v sheep on the place. From exper¬ 
ience. it is my belief that mongrel ewes bred to 
mongrel rams of the coarse breed.s. bring debilitated 
constitutions, liable to Avorms and other troubles. I 
have had many of them, and some avouUI not re- 
tilated, but if they inhale odors from manure and 
each others’ breath the.v may cough and snuffle. 
'Then the.v must have exercise, same as other breed¬ 
ing animals. A brood soav’s nest should be a quarter 
of a mile from her feeding place to compel her to 
take it. The old Ava.v of keeiiing sheep Avas to let 
them run out the year round, but they Avere bred to 
lamb late. There Avere three brothers, boys, here 
Avho each fed 150 Avethers in Winter. Two had 
theirs in barn.s. Avhile the .A'oiingest had his fodder 
and hay stacked in an old pasture, behind a hill, 
Avith his troughs near the buildings. The.v fed corn 
run through an old cast-iron mill to shell it. The 
yoiupg felloAv ahvays had the fattest hunch at she.ar- 
ing. His Avith feed. air. exercise and old .grass, the 
latter the best feed ever grown or made, ahvays 
excelled. There is a point there worth notice. The 
man Avho knoAvs how to fix for M’inrer grass, to have 
pasture for nice Winter days, is in better shape than 
one Avho carries an encj-clopedia on “balanced 
rations.” It Avill beat an.v grain, meal, silage, or 
roots. All the present education and practice runs 
to such things, and grass is taken little accotint of. 
The best-fed horses, cattle or sheep aaTU paw through 
