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The Rural Publishing Co. 
333 W. 30th Street 
New York 
The Rural New Yorker 
The Business Farmer’s Paper 
Weekly, One Dollar Per Year 
Postpaid 
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Von. LXXVII. NEW YORK. APRIL (?, PILS No. 4470 
" The Shepherd’s Busy Time 
When the Lambs Arrive 
AMP.IXG PENS.—The t<tork is leaving ns ahtiut 
a dozen lambs daily, and after a little human 
attention to some of them, they all appear glad that 
they are in Ohio. It must ho an old curmudgeon of 
a farmer who is not delighted to see an infestation 
of his premises with young animals, and the inno¬ 
cent-looking lambs are the dearest of all. Nature 
does her best on the brand-new farm stock, colts, 
calves, lambs and even little pigs, if the little rascals 
are studying destruction and riot before the.v are 
able to walk. I read many suggestions for hurdle 
lambing pens, so will .give our methods these days. 
We keep a set of hoards for two lanes parallcd with 
the foundation wall that we take down and ri.g up 
cnch Spring before nocnled. They make two walls 
four feet wide and three feet high when naih'd 
lightl.v to uiu’i.ghts. and then gates four feet wide 
movin.g amon.g them, makin.g it c'asy for maniiiula- 
tiou. It is a .great mistake to Ir.v to work with all 
classes mixed, because they each nec'd dilTerent care, 
and with 110. when a lot of lambs were lying, play- 
in.g and sneakiu.g amon.g them, we would have an 
.awful mess, and none of the nc'edy could he seen 
to ri.ght. P>y this sc'par.atiou we caui watch the lambs, 
their mothei's, and the owes to come, for their dif¬ 
ferent calls. 
APRAXGEWENT OF STAPLE. — The stable 
proper is 40 by 42. with a shed l:l by 40. room to 
w.aste in the he.ginning of Winter, hut when the 
slu'ep put on 20 i)ounds each and the wool gro\vs, 
space is at a premium. The hunch yet to lamb is 
let out every nice day for exercise at fodder, hut it 
is not safe to lU'olong the time, since that would 
moan hookin.g a horse to a boat and some transpor¬ 
tation. The ewes with lambs ai'o kej)! in until later 
with the shed extra for all the outlet tlu'y need, and 
in the pens, the little fellows are lying in the cor- 
that is weakly, or .an unfoiduuate with paralyzed 
h'.gs or a stiff nc'ck. They seldom .get right, hut wlnm 
f. ewe loses her lamb, or we are sui'e it is a gouer, 
we .grab off the film on a ncnv twin's nose and paste 
it on her nostrils and put the twin with her. It 
sometiimvs woi-ks at once, and a.g.aiii it lake's i)a- 
tiemee, which is a great c'ducator in the formation 
of charactei'. 
THE DANGER OF PNETAK )XIA.—About the 
worst trouble is piummonia. hec.ause it is fatal. It 
comes later and it hurts like everything to lose a 
nic(\ big lamb after it has i)r('-empt('(i a jdace in the 
flock. It comes h.v the little idiots running outside 
until hot and exhaustc'd. and then .getting chilled 
lying on the ground restin,g. The lungs of a lamb 
are soft as .felly. Then all real, good land)s .are li.ahle 
to so-called “lamb cholera” after .a few weeks old, 
■and some of them .get it. I believe it comes from too 
much rich milk witli tlu' otlu'r food they have. Pneu¬ 
monia is fatal, l)ut if the other is di'tected early .and 
of Shropshire Etres on a Fiirni hi Wesiern Indionn. Fifi. . 2 . 7 . 0 . 
and three high are hinged every four feet to the 
side walls. The.se can he opeiu'd and hun.g along 
the sides, or closed across, makin.g pens four feet 
square. Either immediately hc'fore or after a ewe 
needs her compartment, she .goes to the one farthest 
back, the letting-out pl.ace for all, as they are ready 
to turn with the hunch. In a day, or longer, as soon 
as the lamb is stron.g enough, and owned, it and 
mother are let out. Xine got freedom today and a 
few weakly fellows were mo\ed to another lane of 
pens for longer time. The object is to have as many 
empties us possible, for “we know not what a day 
may bring forth.” 
SEPARATIXG TlliS NURSERY.—The part of tne 
stable they are turned into is fenced with racks from 
the original flocks, so that neither the mothers nor 
lambs will bo in the Avay of new arrivals, making it 
better for all parties. As the new flock grows in 
nnmbers, the racks are moved to give more room 
which the dwindling bunch does not need, and they 
are all so tame they are almost indifferent to our 
ners, or st.a.g,goring about, whih' the mothers ai’e 
looking for wisps of Alfalfa, little boxes of feed, or 
the water bucket. If the ni.ght is cold, a roof is 
made with canvas and blanki'ts wlu'iv the heat^of 
the ewes keep the little chaj»s warm, .and the.v must 
forego strict rules of proiK'i* ventilation theji. Our 
aim is to have them all arrive in March to have 
them strong when .gra.ss come.s, to give extra wool 
next Sj)ring .and have them off our hands for crop- 
])ing this one. 
CARE OF LAMBS.—The lambs have their “creep” 
and the oats with Alfalfa leaves mixed taste good 
after stealing through holes to it. The aim is to 
grow all our feed, but we geiu'rall.v bii.v ,a few bags 
of bran to mix for both ewes and lambs at this 
time of year, but we will positivel.v ])uy no com¬ 
mercial feeds now. Thei’e is one drawback that 
stays Avith us; Ave cannot see how to keep the little 
craAvling. jumping felloAvs from tram])ing on the hay 
in the feed racks, but can take considerable from 
lambs. There are other troubles, like one of .‘i pair 
.some bakin.g so<la wat('r .given, it ma.A' cure. Also 
the OAves’ rations are cut doAvn, and for fear th.'re 
is iin acid condition in their milk, they have soda 
mixed in their fml. 
THE YEARLINGS.— Across the road, in the other 
barn, are the old “lambs” tlnit came a .vear ago, 
that Avere still lambs to us until this invasion, but 
are uoav big duffers, Avith bodies Avei.ghing 7.“ pounds, 
covered Avith 12 poAinds of avooI. We seem to have 
lost them entirel.v and got sheej) in their i)lace, sheep 
that stick to us as though the.v had knoAA'ii u.s all 
their lives, but it seems as if they came from far 
UAA'ay to u.s. It is like Avheu a neAv h.-ih.A' comes to 
a home the old baby becomes a chunk of a boy or a 
girl, and its .autocracy is forever past. I’arasites 
are another enemy of lambs. When I formerly 
bought all kinds of sheep, some of the lambs Avere 
loaded Avith them and Avere Avorth m)thing, hut if 
ours have any the.v are saying nothing about them. 
Well-kept Delaines are immune from them, or at 
least from evil result'! from them, hut Avhen they 
