Nov. 15, 1924 
Relation o f Sheep to Climate 
499 
the other an inclosed barn with a loft 
above for hay and feed storage. In 
order to make corrections for temper¬ 
ature and humidity, a hygrothermo- 
graph was placed in each building, and 
one out of doors, making possible a 
comparison between the shed, barn, 
and outdoor conditions. These hygro- 
thermographs were placed in the pens 
where the sheep were kept; the one 
out of doors was in a shelter about 60 
rods south of the buildings. All of 
the instruments were placed 12 to 15 
inches above the ground because this 
distance is approximately the mean of 
the center of the body of the sheep 
when standing and lying down. The 
records from the three instruments 
began February 1, 1922, and have 
been continued to the present time. 
the barn, which frequently is steaming 
when opened in the morning. Some 
trouble from pneumonia and other 
respiratory diseases has been experi¬ 
enced with the sheep kept in the barn, 
but practically none with those kept 
in the shed. A study of the daily 
range and the maximum and mini¬ 
mum temperatures and humidities 
may also show a greater difference be¬ 
tween the barn, shed, and outside. 
On many farms the housing is inade¬ 
quate, with a resulting detrimental 
effect upon the ewes, especially where 
they are closely confined during very 
cold and snowy weather. After a 
winter of this kind, the lambs are usu¬ 
ally born weak and as a consequence 
are less thrifty. This is possibly due 
also to a lack of exercise. 
Figs. 17 and 18.—Comparison of temperature and humidity in barn, shed, and outside, Urbana, Ill., 1922 
As yet there are not sufficient data to 
make accurate corrections for housing, 
but a marked difference is indicated 
by the records (fig. 17). The mean 
temperature was 3.4° to 10.2° F. higher 
in the barn than outside. The mean 
humidity was more variable, in some 
cases 13.6 per cent higher and others 
6.7 per cent lower than outside. The 
differences between the shed and the 
outside were very small. 
In the barn the temperature and 
humidity are more uniform with much 
less marked fluctuations than in the 
shed or out of doors (fig. 18). The 
barn is warmer than the shed in cold 
weather, but does not become warm 
so quickly on a mild sunny day in 
winter. The humidity runs higher in 
CONCLUSIONS 
The dense centers of sheep popula¬ 
tion in the world are found within 
comparatively narrow limits of tem¬ 
perature, rainfall, and humidity. The 
mean temperature ranges between 28° 
and 77° F.; the rainfall between 0.3 
and 4.5 inches per month; the relative 
humidity between 55 and 70 per cent 
at the higher temperatures and 65 
and 91 per cent at the lower temper¬ 
atures. Such conditions afford mild 
winters, cool summers, and sufficient 
rainfall to provide good grazing. 
Climatic conditions must be favor¬ 
able, especially during the critica 
periods of rutting season, pregnancy, 
lambing, and the growth of the lambs 
