LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 < - A. 
 
 OF 
 
 tiUa^^ 
 
 Accession " vt 4 5 
 
UNITE J18ITY 
 2*CAUFOS> 
 
-BY- 
 
 H. H. MILLEIR, H. P. MILLEIR, 
 
 J. El. WING, 
 
 NEWS PRINT, 
 
 Ml < II \NI< Sl.l K.,. O. 
 
 19O1. 
 
Preface. 
 
 It has seemed to the authors that, with all the long list of works 
 on sheep, nothing quite met the case of the Dorset Sheep under 
 American conditions. This work is the result of their experience. 
 They have purposely given prominence to things that in their experi- 
 ence have proved important and slighted others that have not seem- 
 ed of much importance in their management. Failures with Dorset 
 sheep are usually the result of ignorance. Methods that will result 
 fairly well with some breeds, for instance with Merinos, will not do 
 for Dorsets if one wishes to get from them their peculiar possibilities 
 in the way of profits. Finally we submit this as an effort towards 
 help and feel that the breeder must be a past master in the gentle 
 art of shepherding not to find some hints here that will be useful to 
 him. And we crave your kind indulgence if we have slighted some 
 things and magnified others, we have spent the most time telling of 
 the turns v\ here we ourselves missed the right turnings. 
 
THE DORSET EWE. 
 
 COUNTY DORSET is one of 
 
 \ .% the most southerly of the coun- 
 
 ties of England. It is a warm, 
 sunny, sheltered county, having 
 hills and valleys, arable lands 
 and pastures. It is one of the 
 oldest civilized parts of England-. 
 Here the Romans landed; here 
 they builded cities and walled them; to-day some of the walls are 
 standing, and the roads are often as laid off by them. 
 
 When the breed of Horn sheep was first introduced into Dorset- 
 shire history does not recount. Doubtless the breed was there in 
 Roman days. It has been there ever since. No other breed has 
 been able to supplant it, though at different times other sheep have 
 been popular in parts of Dorsetshire for a time. They have always 
 had to give way, however, to the old breed of Dorset Horns. Why 
 is this ? 
 
 THE DAIRY SHEEP. 
 
 Go back half a century and more. Sheep were the dairy ani- 
 mals of Dorset, and parts of the adjacent counties of Somerset and 
 Devonshire. The best milking ewes were selected, their ewe lambs 
 were retained. Already the Horns were famous for their milking 
 qualities. This use intensified the qualities. From this time and 
 this custom then comes the wonderful milking properties of the Dor- 
 set ewe. "I was raised on Dorset milk," remarked Dick Stone to 
 the writer. This milking trait, once so well established, formed the 
 foundation for the somewhat later development of the early fat lamb 
 business. 
 
THE EARLY LAMB. 
 
 Sheep in a state of nature drop their lambs on grass, and it is 
 hard to induce them to conceive to drop them earlier. The Dorset 
 is so much an artificial production, has been so long under the mould- 
 ing hand of its shepherds, that it has lost this instinct and now the 
 lambs come in the late Fall or early Wtnter months. The shep- 
 herds have provided abundant winter food for so long, the ewes 
 have learned to look for it; the habit has been so firmly fixed that 
 Dorset ewes habitually lamb in November, December and January. 
 And they will lamb earlier than that if rightly treated. This habit 
 is of the utmost importance and value. It isthis habit that gives the 
 Dorset ewe her great value in her native land. There her lambs 
 are born out of doors, preferably in the pretty wind-protected val- 
 leys it is a mild clime, in these sheltered valleys there is generally 
 some grass, there are turnips, and hay, and the little lambs are fed 
 with their mothers upon our corn and what they term "cake," that 
 is oilmeal. The little lambs grow prodigously, filled to bursting by 
 their mother's milk, and eating grain like little pigs. Lambs in Dor- 
 set will even get too fat to walk, as little pigs will sometimes in our 
 land. In winter and early spring these round, plump, sweet, juicy 
 lumps of baby mutton go to the London butchers. They bring good 
 grices, what would be considered fabulous prices in our country. 
 
 Thus it is that the shepherds of Dorset stick by their Horn 
 sheep. It is, perhaps, first a sentiment, it is next a matter of profit. 
 No other sheep in the world has in it the capacity for profit that the 
 Dorset Horn has. And this is true in America as well as in her 
 native county of Dorset. 
 
 GETTING FALL LAMBS 
 
 In taking the Dorset away from her native hills it must be borne 
 in mind that you have changed the conditions materially. To get 
 the same results that have been gotten in Dorsetshire, then you 
 must in some measure supply similar conditions. How are we to do 
 this? Well, let us start from what we might call, a basis of com- 
 parison. In Dorsetshire the ram is usually coupled with the ewes 
 during June and July, but in this climate (referring to the Eastern 
 and Middle States) that any large and uniform success in breeding 
 
Dorsets as late as June and July will result, we think improbable. 
 Why? Because it is too hot then. Now most seeds require great 
 warmth to germinate; some, like the sweet pea, prefer cool condi- 
 tions, so we plant them early. The same reasoning applies to sheep. 
 Their natural time of mating is fall, October and November, cool 
 months. So if we want them to breed in the spring we should se- 
 lect cool periods. This seems a simple thing. Yes, it is. And 
 like many simple things is overlooked. When we started with Dor- 
 sets we were told and read they would breed any time of the year; 
 also, that June was the month to mate them for fall lambs. We 
 tried them in June for several seasons, but with partial success only. 
 This experience convinced us that while Dorsets will, in isolated 
 
 YEARLING RAMS. 
 
 -:ases, breed any time of the year, that for uniform and complete 
 success the "any time" must be a time when conditions are right. 
 We were now on the true track and realized that for spring breed- 
 ing we must select a time as near like the natural period of fall as 
 possible, and (equally important) have the ewes as near like their 
 natural fall condition as possible. To meet these desired conditions 
 we suggest the observance of the following : 
 
 i st. Have the ram with ewes not earlier than middle of March, 
 not later than middle of May. 
 
 2nd. Put ram with ewes nights, not days. 
 
 3rd. Use young ram, and feed him well while in service. 
 
 4th. Do not have ram too fat. 
 
 5th. Do not have ewes too thin. 
 
6th. If ewes were not shorn in fall, shear as early as you dare. 
 
 7th. Feed ewes green food, such as ensilage, turnips, carrots, 
 mangles, etc., with some corn. 
 
 If ewes lambed previous fall and are dry, this feed is not neces- 
 sary until a few weeks before you are to put the ram with them. 
 But no matter what the condition of ewes, no matter what you have 
 been feeding, increase the quantity at this time. For remember that 
 during fall a ewe is naturally gaining flesh, while during spring the 
 tendency is to lose flesh. Reverse this tendency as far as a little 
 feed will do it, and make that extra food as nearly "green as grass" 
 as you can. And remember, never, NEVER let lambs be born later 
 than April or before September. Separate your rams from your 
 ewes the first of November. Any ewes not with lamb then will 
 breed for next fall and late lambs are of little value as a rule and to 
 be discountenanced among Dorsets. 
 
 GETTING THE PROFITS. 
 
 I have mentioned the feeling of sentiment that doubtless con- 
 tributes to the persistency with which the shepherds of Dorsetshire 
 cling to their favorite breed. In our country there is little of senti- 
 ment in sheep breeding; we are newer at the business; we have an 
 immense expanse of land; a varied climate, and nearly all breeds of 
 sheep in all parts of the country. There is none of that confining 
 of a certain breed to a certain county, or even state or section. And 
 it is this faith in the breeding of one kind of sheep by the inhabit- 
 ants of a limited area that creates sentiment. But of profit well, 
 if all haven't it, all want it. And I say again, no breed has a great- 
 er capacity for profit than the Dorset. Properly understood, and 
 consistently handled on the basis of such understanding, a small flock 
 will surely add a pleasing sum to the annual income, while a good 
 sized flock, such as the average farm of the Eastern and Middle 
 States could surely carry, will represent a good living. For instance, 
 1 know of one man who for years has realized about $2,000 annual- 
 ly from a flock of about 100 ewes. This is equal to the sales from 
 a good sized dairy, yet the cost of feed and labor would be much 
 less. Surely as an early lamb raiser the Dorset is a money maker. 
 When you have studied the breed and business, make a start, you 
 will then realize fully the pleasures and profits. 
 
RYE AND OATS PASTURE. 
 
 Here is a combination that will furnish most excellent fall pas- 
 ture. And how the ewes and lambs will relish it ! Winter rye is 
 often pastured in -the spring; but with oats, sown as a catch crop on 
 odd bit of ground it is especially certain and cheap as a fall pasture. 
 Unlike rape, rye will grow on poor land, while oats in the fall will 
 grow wherever they're dropped. Everyone can find a place for few 
 acres. If no other available land, after corn is cut, run cultivator or 
 riding harrow over corn stubble and sow broadcast. If your corn is 
 cut clean, not too many ears lying on the ground, you can turn in 
 few hours each day before husking; however this practice requires 
 watchfulness, for while it will take the lambs a long time to discov- 
 er and eat corn ears, the ewes will soon nose them out and if left 
 
 too long at a time may eat too many. When they do get to eating 
 them, if you leave them all day, you'll very likely find a dead ewe 
 or so at night. Some may say, why not pasture a regular crop of 
 rye and not bother with this extra piece? Well, you can; we have 
 ourselves, but the practice has many objections. The crop may not 
 be much injured if it has good top, the young timothy (usually sown 
 with winter rye) will though, and then the ground will be compact- 
 ed so as not to be in as good condition for clover seeding the follow- 
 ing spring. It is much better to have a piece by itself, you'll get 
 two or three times the amount of feed from it and won't worry over 
 possible injury. Just make up your mind to have it and you'll find 
 the land. Sow any time during September, use twice as much rye 
 
as oats, put on thick, not less than three bushels to the acre. When 
 up so as to look green and grassy turn on; don't be afraid as there 
 is no more risk than with grass. It is good practice though, with 
 any special fall pasture, to turn on grass first for a few hours. Your 
 other pasture will last longer, and your sheep will do better. 
 
 SUMMER CARR OF PREGNANT EWES. 
 
 Good summer care is a very simple matter. Three things are 
 necessary, grass, water, shade. In the matter of grass, either good 
 native pasture or a run in clover or alfalfa will do. There is this 
 danger of clover or alfalfa pasture for the ewe not giving suck to a 
 lamb, she is apt to become too fat. There is nothing equal to blue 
 grass at this period. But in using it one should remember the dang- 
 er of parasitic infection that comes from the use of blue grass. We 
 will speak of this later. Water should be clean, as fresh as is pos- 
 sible to supply, kept in raised troughs that can not become fouled 
 with excrements. There is danger of parasitic infection from the 
 drinking water. This is especially true when the sheep are requir- 
 ed or allowed to suck up their drink from marshy seeps, tiny streams, 
 grass-borded or stagnant pools. The excrements roll down and 
 pollute the water, the germs that they doubtless contain are hatch- 
 ed there, the sheep take them in again and in ever increasing num- 
 bers. And while mature ewes will not often pine away and die as 
 lambs will, yet none the less is it weakening to them to be preyed 
 upon by these internal parasites. Not only stomach-worms but 
 tape-worms are spread by the too continual use of pastures. It is a 
 safe rule never to stock a pasture to its capacity with sheep. Bet- 
 ter always keep half on it what it would carry and graze it also with 
 cows, or perhaps horses. 
 
 vSHADE. 
 
 You may depend upon it that your tlock will seek shade and 
 will need it. If you are wise you will train them to come to the 
 bam, or to sheds, where they will get the most comfort and their 
 droppings will be under cover. There are two things gained by 
 this. The manurial value of the droppings is saved, whereas if 
 they are piled year after year beneath forest trees they do you very 
 little good, and the damger of infecting the land is much reduced. I 
 
10 
 
 know of fields where ewes always lie along the old fences seeking 
 shade. There is a strip of very rich, rank grass along these fences. 
 This grass is deadly to lambs and dangerous to ewes because of the 
 parasites that it harbors. The lamb is often hungry. He lies down 
 
 a little while, then jumps up, goes a little way and nibbles the grass. 
 He takes in the germs and perishes from them in due time. This, if 
 there was no other reason, would lead me to condem the practice of 
 allowing ewes to shade along fences. 
 
1 1 
 
 PUMPKIN FEEDING. 
 
 As fall comes on the grass is perhaps short and dry and there 
 is room for some artificial feeding. Of all the substances that may 
 be grown and fed to ewes and lambs in the fall none compare with 
 pumpkins. First, they may be grown so cheaply. Our practice is 
 to grow them in the corn where they are a catch-crop- of almost 
 clear profit. We find it necessary to plant a great many seeds in 
 order to get what pumpkins we need, owing to the ravages of the 
 small striped bug, and this is the only secret we have ever observed 
 in getting a crop of pumpkins. Certainly, they need rich soil. In 
 feeding we never remove the seeds as they are the richest parts 
 and the part that give to pumpkins their great value to the shep- 
 herd. Pumpkin seeds are among the best vermifuges known. They 
 destroy and expel tape worms and I think clean out many forms of 
 worms, certainly I do know that you may take an old ewe, her skin 
 white, her eye dull, every appearance of her being diseased, feed 
 her all the pumpkins she will eat for a few weeks and she will re- 
 new her youth. When we have them in abundance we haul them 
 out by the ton, simply strewing them about the pastures and allow- 
 ing the sheep to gnaw into them at their pleasure. 
 
 CARE IN PUMPKIN FEEDING. 
 
 Like many another good thing, however, pumpkin feeding may 
 be carried too far. There is danger that the pregnant ewe may be- 
 come too fat if allowed all the pumpkins she will eat. This is the 
 only danger and the remedy is easy. 
 
 PUMPKINS FOR MILKING EWES. 
 
 After the little lambs come is the time when pumpkins come in 
 good play. There is nothing so good for the milking ewe. Soon, 
 too, the little lamb will begin to nibble them. They will do him no 
 harm, though he will need stronger food with them, grain of some 
 sort. These pumpkins will keep indifmitely, and may be used until 
 about Christmas. 1 give this much space to the pumpkin because 
 it is of such easy culture and surely no farmer who is keeping sheep 
 need try to do without this help. 
 
THE RAPE PLANT 
 
 Quite often rape will be a great help. If a 
 small field can be sown early to tide over the hot, 
 dry part of summer and fall it will be of great use, 
 and it may be sown in the corn at the time of last 
 cultivation where it will to a large extent keep 
 down weeds and after the corn is cut it will come 
 on if the season is favorable, and make a lot of 
 fall and early winter pasturage. It will be nec- 
 essary to haul away the corn before sheep can 
 be turned in, as they soon learn to hunt for the ears and gorge them- 
 selves. In truth in cutting the corn, or in husking it from the stalk, 
 unusual care should be taken not to let too much corn remain scat- 
 tered on the ground. Dorset ewes have the sharpest eyes and the 
 best appetites of any sheep and will gleam every ear before they do 
 much else. There is danger, of course, of their getting too much 
 corn. Rape is generally safe feed, though there are times when it 
 will bloat the ewes. It is not usually safe to allow them to remain 
 constantly on it for they will become too fat. This is not true after 
 lambing. We have, seen them bloat to distress on rape but have 
 never had any die, and there is probably little danger from feed- 
 ing it at any time. It should never be turned on when frozen, not 
 that it will hurt the ewes so much but each leaf that is bent or dis- 
 turbed when frozen, will be killed and wasted. It takes a cold of 
 about 12 degrees to kill rape. In selecting a field for rape good land 
 should be chosen and it should be remembered that ewes will need 
 to run thereon when it is moist so that if it is a field of clay, apt to 
 pack hard, it may be unwise to sow to rape. If the sheep are taken 
 off at Christmas, however, there will generally be time for frost to 
 liven up the packed land. 
 
 "Rape may be sown with oats, barley, winter rye or wheat. 
 If sown with winter rye or wheat, harrow the rye field in early 
 spring and sow about two pounds of rape seed per acre, harrowing 
 lightly again after the seed has been sown. Such harrowing will 
 usually be helpful to the rye crop. Rape seed can be sown with 
 oats or barley, but if this is done the growth of rape is liable to be- 
 
13 
 
 come so rank, especially if the season is a wet one, that the plants 
 will grow as tall as the oats or barley. When this happens trouble 
 occurs at harvest time owing to the green rape plants being cut and 
 bound in the sheaves, causing them to rot under the bands. The 
 following is a better plan: Eight or nine days after sowing the oats 
 or barley, when the young grain plants are three or four inches high, 
 run a slant-tooth harrow over the field to loosen the soil. Then 
 seed two or three pounds of rape and harrow lightly again. By 
 seeding in this way the grain crop has so much the start of the rape 
 that the latter is kept small and spindling until the grain is harvested. 
 After harvest the rape plants getting the benefits of sun and moist- 
 ure begin to grow, and in good season the field will soon be covered 
 with green forage. Rape seed can be sown broadcast any time 
 from April until August. For broadcast seeding prepare the land as 
 for oats and sow three or four pounds of seed per acre and harrow in 
 lightly. Land on which rape is sown broadcast should be compara- 
 tively free from weed seeds and in good condition generally." 
 HENRY. 
 
 CARE OF FALL AND WINTER LAMBS. 
 
 Fall lambs come strong and can look after themselves; there is 
 little or no trouble with the ewes, the most important thing is to 
 watch their udders, for they have full ones at that time. We make 
 a practice of putting the ewes on thin pasture a few weeks before 
 the lambs are due, then as fast as they drop the lambs we take them 
 to the barn, where they are kept for a few days, getting a bite of 
 hay and a bit of grain. As soon as the lambs take all the milk, the 
 ewes can be put on full pasture of grass, rye and rape, until snow 
 flies. One thing to bear in mind is, these lambs should never get 
 wet; fall storms are not like summer showers, and they are very 
 severe on young lambs, even the heavy dews of fall nights where 
 the pasture is tall and heavy should be avoided. For this reason 
 and also because it is safer for the ewes, pasture the rye, rape and 
 new seeding of grass during the day, and put them on the short 
 grass at night. The best way of all is to bring them to the barn for 
 over night, they will have shelter in case of sudden storm, and any- 
 way when the lambs are a few weeks old you will want to teach 
 them to eat grain; the bam is the place to do this. They should 
 
M 
 
 have a room or space all to themselves; it should be shut off from 
 the main building by a door that slides up and down. This door 
 should have a space for a creep that can be opened and shut inde- 
 pendent of the door. When all the lambs are in their room, shut 
 the door and make them stay there until they have eaten all their 
 feed. The creep can then be opened so they can run in and out to 
 nibble at the hay. This method is much more effective in results ob- 
 tained than using the creep alone. With the latter only many of 
 the lambs, especially the younger ones, will spend most of their 
 time creeping in and out, while the others eat all the feed or muss 
 
 A GOOD TYPE. 
 
 what they do not eat. Another advantage with Dorsets is that less 
 horns are broken, the lambs never rushing and crowding through 
 the creep. It is very easy to teach the lambs to go into their own 
 room. At first you may have to catch a few, but they will soon 
 learn to run right in, one following the other. 
 
 The time the ewes and lambs can run on pasture will of course 
 vary with the seasons. But as long as they are on pasture one 
 feed of grain per day will be sufficient. And the way the lambs 
 will grow with the pasture and the one feed will be a revelation to 
 all who have only handled spring lambs. 
 
GRAIN FEEDING BEFORE LAMBING. 
 
 If ewes are in good heart it is never necessary to feed grain be- 
 fore lambing unless in small amounts. It is not often safe to feed 
 much grain to the pregnant Dorset ewe. The result of too much 
 grain feeding is apt to be a weak lamb, hard to induce to live, 
 whereas Dorset lambs are when their mothers are rightly managed, 
 the strongest lambs in the world. Dorsets are hungry sheep. They 
 will always, if not sick, eat everything before them. There is no 
 sheep with a better appetite or digestion. The inexperienced shep- 
 herd is quite apt to over-feed them. Good, sound clover or alfalfa 
 hay is quite good enough for the pregnant ewe after green stuffs 
 are gone. Let her have a plenty of it. If you must feed some 
 grain to keep her in flesh because of the badness of your hay, feed 
 oats and bran, equal parts by weight. There is no sheep easier 
 kept in flesh if she is not worm-infested. If she is cared for as she 
 should be she will not be that. 
 
 HOUSING. 
 
 It is not well to keep the pregnant ewe very closely housed. 
 She ought to have a good run and every day when it is not actually 
 storming she should be out. Sometimes the run of a dry feed-lot, with 
 coarse fodders to pick over in the yard, will be sufficient, and this 
 course has the advantage of the flock being always in view and 
 stray lambs being born are apt to be seen. With others a bit of 
 grass of ten acres or more, not too closely grazed in the fall, will be 
 provided and on this the ewes will take a great deal of pleasure and 
 get quite a good deal of nourishment. They must at all times be in 
 the mind of their shepherd, for lambs may be born out on the grass 
 or in the snow, but you must not let this fear deter you from giving 
 them their daily run out of doors. It must not be thought, however, 
 that because a certain amount of out-door life is good no shelter at 
 all is better. A comfortable barn is needed, and, in truth, in the 
 Northern states indispensable. 
 
 SHEDDING. 
 
 A comfortable shelter, closed tight on the north, west and east 
 sides, with chance to open well on the south and preferably with 
 considerable glass where it will let in the sun is what you need. It 
 
:_ - 1 7 
 
 need not be an expensive structure, It is better to have storage for 
 hay above. There must be ample provision for fresh air, to come 
 in from the south so that cold blasts will not come with it. Let 
 there be a yard attached, preferably on the sunny side. Water 
 may be in the barn, or in the yard unless in a very cold country. 
 Every night the flock should be confined to their barn. It will be 
 found that the lambs will mostly come in the night. And if the doors 
 are open it will generally be found that the ewes will come to the 
 barn to drop their lambs. Too close shutting in will work harm to 
 the flock. Too much exposure will cost you their thrift and the loss 
 of some lambs in severe weather. In the South, Dorsets thrive 
 with no shelter at all save that afforded by hill, tree and shrub. 
 Yet, in general, it will be found that it will take less feed and the 
 flock will keep in better condition to shelter them especially from all 
 rains in cold weather. 
 
 WINTER FEEDS ENSILAGE- 
 
 There is great diversity of opinion as to the value of ensilage for 
 sheep, or rather to be more accurate, the difference of opinion is 
 more 'as to whether it can be fed with safety, for the ensilage itself 
 is generally admitted to be a good feed. Some sheep feeders will 
 not use it at all, some of our experiment stations condemn it as a 
 sheep feed. For our part, we have fed it for many years to both 
 lambs and ewes, and consider it both safe and of much value, espec- 
 ially so, for ewes with lambs by side. But it must be used with 
 judgement, which means not to feed too much or too often. Our 
 practice is to feed once a day during winter or cold weather only; 
 we take daily from the silo the amount of a day's feed, put it by its- 
 elf and let it remain for a few hours until it becomes cool to the 
 touch. Late in the spring or during hot weather we would not feed 
 it to sheep Also, let sheep feeders beware of it when taken from 
 near the bottom of the silo, it is then very wet and chuck full of 
 acidity, a slow poison for sheep. You don't need a silo in the sheep 
 business, but you can use one if you have it and want to. If you 
 keep Dorsets they will thrive without ensilage, so will you. 
 
 ROOTS. 
 
 Sheep without roots! Hamlet without the Ghost! Carrots, 
 
 ITS1MIITY 
 
 - 
 
 f UNIT 
 
 ti& 
 
iS 
 
 turnips, mangles, there is no question about the value and safety of 
 this trio. I name them in the order of their excellence as sheep 
 feed. I might add that carrots are the hardest to grow, the best to 
 feed; turnips the easiest to grow, the most universally fed; mangles 
 
 the surest to grow, the poorest to feed. They all need rich ground, 
 all will do better on a rather heavy soil, but you can get a good crop 
 from light soil well enriched. Carrots should be sown about corn 
 planting time in rows two and a rulf feet apart, the rows slightly 
 
19 
 
 ridged, this ridging facilitates weeding, makes easier pulling; sow 
 quite thick to insure good stand, as they are shy starters, when up 
 few inches thin with a broad hoe leaving little bunches between 
 strokes of hoe, thin these bunches by hand to one plant. After 
 this there is little work. Use the large stock varieties, not the table 
 carrot. Turnips can be sown from middle of June to middle of July 
 in rows two and half or three feet apart, either flat or ridged high; 
 sow them thin but even, they are quick, easy starters, when well 
 up, thin at once (don't let 'em get big) with hoe to one plant twelve 
 or fifteen inches apart. An occasional cultivation afterwards is all 
 that is needed. Use the Swede varieties. Mangles should be sown 
 early in the spring; sow same as turnips, only thicker as they are 
 slow to start and many seeds will not sprout if a bit dry, care for 
 them same as turnips, but thin further apart. The ewes and es- 
 pecially the lambs will be crazy for the carrots, and you are not apt 
 to have enough to feed too many. They will eat the turnips eager- 
 ly too, and many shepherds think you can't feed them too many; 
 we have had large experience in feeding turnips, having used them 
 in unlimited quantities for ewes, rams and lambs. We think preg- 
 nant ewes can be fed too many, and that it is better to limit them to 
 one moderate feed per day until after lambing, when they can safe- 
 ly have as many as they'll eat. Mangles contain the most water of 
 the three, and are rather chilly eating on a cold winter's day, they 
 are perhaps the best keepers though, and are very acceptable to 
 sheep in late spring, although we have the idea they do not like 
 them as well as turnips, and know that carrots are "pie" to them 
 compared with mangles. Care must be used in feeding mangles to 
 rams, as in quantity they have deleterious effect upon the bladder. 
 If you keep Dorsets, grow some kind of roots. Dorsets are the 
 alchemists among sheep, and will turn them into gold for you. 
 
 CLOVERS AND LEGUMKS 
 
 You are engaged, now, in making milk and baby flesh. Each 
 is largely composed of protein, to produce which you must feed pro- 
 tein. That means to buy large amounts of wheat bran, gluten feed 
 or oil meal, or it means to produce your own protein supply. You 
 can do this most easily by growing red clover, alfalfa, soy beans or 
 cow peas. 
 
20 
 
 ALFALFA. 
 
 This is the richest and most easily grown hay in the world. 
 Sheep love it. It is the best maintainance ration for ewes before 
 lambing in winter and the best basis for any combination of feeds 
 
 for them after lambing. An 3 almost anyone can grow it who has 
 sheep. The reason is that it requires, MUST have, rich soil and 
 sheep make manure that will enrich that soil. Take an acre or two 
 
 s 
 
as a beginning, on dry, pervious soil, where it is dry and firm in 
 winter, apply manure liberally, plow deep in early spring, work 
 down to a good tilth and sow one or two bushels of spring beardless 
 barley to the acre and 15 pounds of alfalfa seed. Cover the seed 
 lightly. Roll it if not too moist. Cut the barley for hay or grain 
 and mow the alfalfa close once or twice that summer after the bar- 
 ley is taken off. Keep all stock off during cold or wet weather, in 
 fact keep them off at all times for the first two years. You will now 
 have a set of alfalfa that will give you from three to eight tons per 
 acre the second year and for many years thereafter. Mow the al- 
 falfa as soon as bloom appears in the spring and at intervals of about 
 thirty-five days thereafter. And sow another acre or two as you 
 get the manure and the experience. Woodland Farm begun ten 
 years ago with an acre and now cuts near 250 tons yearly besides 
 pasturing a good deal. 
 
 There is absolutely no danger in feeding alfalfa hay but there is 
 need of care in pasturing green alfalfa. The danger comes from 
 bloat and that is the result of indigestion, caused by the animals eat- 
 ing too greedily of the delicious green feed. We let the alfalfa grow 
 up about twelve inches tall, then when the sheep are full of green 
 grass and at about ten o'clock, when the sun is warm, turn them 
 into the alfalfa. They remain there constantly except that they 
 come to the barn to shade during the heat of the day. They go back 
 as soon as they care to graze. Treated in this way we have had no 
 loss from bloat but have had magnificent results in development of 
 our young sheep. CAUTION. After frost alfalfa should never be 
 grazed as it is apt to cause indigestion and death. There is no crop 
 that will return so much feeding value per acre as alfalfa, if you are 
 on alfalfa land, or will take the trouble to make your land alfalfa land. 
 If your land is deficient in lime it should be well limed AFTER it has 
 been well manured, lime alone will not make alfalfa land of it. If 
 it is based on shale, close to the surface, it may not pay to sow al- 
 falfa which roots quite deep. 
 
 RFD CLOVER. 
 
 What will secure a stand of alfalfa will also secure a stand of 
 red clover though as it is a bi-ennial it need not be expected to re- 
 
22 
 
 main in the soil more than two seasons. It has a rich nutritive value 
 and should always be cut for sheep before the heads are brown. 
 
 SOY BEANS. 
 
 In the Northern states the soy bean is a rich gift. Planted in 
 drills about 22 inches apart, cultivated once or twice, cut with a 
 binder and threshed, they yield from 15 to 30 bushels per acre of 
 extremely rich beans which will go far towards balancing a ration. 
 
 Ready for New York and Good for $10.00. From Peelle's Place. 
 
 Sheep are very fond of these beans and also of the leaves and stems, 
 if saved without rain. John B. Peelle, who is a leading hot-house 
 Dorset lamb producer relies greatly on his soys and saves immense- 
 ly in his feed bill thereby, besides producing $10.00 lambs in abund- 
 ance. Sow early varieties north. 
 
 cow PEAS. 
 
 In the Southern states and along the border there are regions 
 where neither red clover nor alfalfa are to be depended upon and 
 
2 3 
 
 where soils need building up to fit them for other crops. Here the 
 cow peas come in exceedingly well. They are great soil builders, 
 rich in protein, make good summer or winter forage and are the 
 great reliance of the Southern shepherd. Cow-peas sown among 
 ensilage corn help to balance that ration, sown among soiling crops 
 of rape or sorghum serve to balance them and enrich the soil at the 
 same time. They must not be sown until after the land is warm in 
 the spring. 
 
 CANADA FIELD PEAS. 
 
 There is sometimes a confusion of terms, the Canadian field peas 
 are much like ordinary garden peas and must be sown very early, 
 on good soil, with oats or barley as a soiling or pasture crop. Cow- 
 peas are really beans, must be sown late, will grow on soil that will 
 not produce Canada peas. The Canada peas and barley make an 
 ideal soiling feed, or the lambs may run through creeps and eat the 
 mixture and will thrive thereon first rate. The advent of hot, dry 
 weather finishes the Canada peas, however. 
 
 PUTTING THE LAMBS FORWARD 
 
 A good old English practice is to hurdle the field with creeps so 
 that the lambs may "run forward" of their mothers, thus getting 
 the first bite of the fresh feed. From time to time the hurdles, or 
 panels of movable fence, are moved up and the lambs' ewes 
 clean up what the lambs have been over. This is a good way to 
 make fine lambs at small expense and to keep them free from para- 
 sites. The best of all for the babies always. 
 
 SHEARING. 
 
 There is no sheep easier to sheer and sheer well than the Dor- 
 set. The wool cuts easily, the operator can as well as not leave a 
 smooth, close-cut surface. The machines work well on Dorset 
 sheep and some of the best American flocks are shorn by machines 
 altogether. The use of the machines is most discouraging to ticks, 
 which are almost certainly cut in two and destroyed. Care should 
 be taken not to shear too close after flies are troublesome as there 
 is not enough wool to protect the sheep after the machine shear has 
 been over her back. The last week in March or early in April is a 
 
fl^ 
 
 good time to shear the flock, in warm climates it is often well to 
 shear again in late August. This couble shearing does not make 
 much more wool, perhaps no more at all but it is a relief to the over- 
 burdened sheep. 
 
 MARKIN'i 
 
 The English method of marking by branding figures in the horn 
 is a good one but slow and necessarily the horn must first grow so 
 that some means of marking the lambs must be adopted. Ear labels 
 of various sorts are on the market and all are open to the objection 
 that they lose out. Some breeders use the tattoo mark with suc- 
 cess though others fail in using it The secret of success with the 
 tattoo mark is, first, see that the jaws are exactly parallel. They 
 may be made so by careful use of the file. The points of the letters 
 should indent evenly a thick piece of paper. Next, plenty of India 
 ink should be used. The points should be firmly pressed in and im- 
 mediately the ink must be rubbed into the wounds. The advantage 
 of the tattoo mark is that it does not deface the ear, is absolutely 
 permanent and can not be transferred by any trickster from one 
 sheep to another. Tattoo markers are make by F. S. Burch, 178 
 Michigan Street, Chicago, 111. The first cost is rather heavy but in 
 the long run there is a saving as the ink is cheap. 
 
 WRANTNG. 
 
 Don't be in a hurry to wean lambs that are to be kept. There 
 is nothing like mother's milk, unless it is more mother's milk! Let 
 the lambs have access to all the bran and oats they can eat, all the 
 green feed and the mother's milk too. You can shorten the time of 
 development at least one year by liberal feeding. It takes less feed 
 to make a sheep if it is fed in one year than if it had been fed in 
 
35 
 
 two years. When the lambs are separated from 
 their mothers take away the ewes, the lambs 
 fret very little. If there is yet milk in the ewes 
 remove it a few times, not quite clean. 
 
 DIPPING. 
 
 "A man ought to bathe once a year, wheth- 
 er he needs it or not." So of the sheep, dip 
 them once a year, whether they need it or not. 
 There are almost surely a few ticks, maybe a few lice on them. 
 Dipping costs but a trifle. Provide a steel tank, galvanized. Sink 
 it in the floor of your sheep house. When not in use cover it with 
 good planking. A tank six or eight feet long will answer for a small 
 flock and as they are all narrow it takes but little stuff to fill them. 
 Have the draining pen long and narrow so that as the sheep walk up 
 one at a time they may be let out ahead. Pen with movable hurd- 
 les or panels. Half a day with three active men will dip a flock of 
 a hundred. The carbolic dips are safe and good. There is no prof- 
 it in ticks, though there is much money in them, at present ! 
 
 MATING. 
 
 "The sire is half the herd, if he is a poor one he is all of it." 
 Get a vigorous sire. Do not think too much of size. Look that he 
 is active, muscular, alive all over. See that he is big through the 
 heart. See that he has a straight back, a well sprung rib, a good, 
 short, straight leg. See that his horn is strong, well turned. See 
 that his neck is thick and muscular. Have him well wooled all over. 
 Study your scale of points. Don't quibble about the price but be a 
 stickler for quality. If he is not right you will regret it all your life, 
 maybe, for it takes ten year's weeding to undo one year's bad 
 breeding. And every year send to the butcher the ewes that you 
 know are inferior. 
 
26 
 
 SCALE OF POINTS 
 
 Adopted by Continental Dorset Club. 
 
 HEAD neat, face white, nostrils large, well covered on crown 
 
 and under jaws with wool 5 
 
 HORNS small and gracefully curving forward rather close to 
 
 jaw _ 5 
 
 EYES prominent and bright 2 
 
 EARS medium size covered with short white hair 2 
 
 NECK short, symmetrical, strongly set on shoulders, gradual- 
 ly tapering to junction of head 5 
 
 SHOULDERS broad and full, joining neck forward and chine 
 
 backward with no depression at either point, (important) 15 
 
 BRISKET wide and full, forward, chest full and deep 8 
 
 FORE FLANK quite full, showing little depression behind 
 
 shoulder 8 
 
 BACK AND LOIN wide and straight, from which ribs should 
 
 spring with a fine, circular arch 10 
 
 QUARTERS wide and full, with mutton extending down to 
 
 hocks 10 
 
 BELLY straighten underline 3 
 
 FLEECE medium grade, of even quality presenting a smooth 
 
 surface and extending over belly and well down on legs. 12 
 
 GENERAL CONFORMATION of the mutton type, body 
 moderately long; short, stout legs, placed squarely under 
 body, skin pink, appearance attractive 15 
 
 Total _. . 100 
 
27 
 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 
 
 THIS is not meant for a scientific discussion 
 of diseases and remedies; it is merely an ef- 
 fort to group the common ailments under their 
 common names in alphabetical order. The 
 remedies given are tried ones and the direc- 
 tions are brief and simple, just as if we were 
 talking to each other. Where there is no 
 practical, tried remedy known, no attempt is 
 made to appear erudite by naming possible ones. In such cases 
 prevention is indicated, which after all is the Great Sheep Remedy. 
 
 ABC Ailments and Remedies. 
 
 Abortion Strictly speaking this is not a disease, but the result of 
 disease or accident. Among sheep it is seldom epidemic. If 
 the contagious form appears the cause must be ascertained in 
 order to apply any remedy for checking the spread. In cases 
 of epidemic abortion you should get the advice of a veterinary. 
 Individual cases are mostly the result of crowding the animals 
 through narrow spaces; rough handling; fright or injury from 
 any cause. 
 
 Braxy This is a disease of sheep; but the term is so variously ap- 
 plied in different section, that is not wise to specify causes or 
 remedies. 
 
 Bloating Give tablespoonful baking soda, and half tablespoonful 
 ground ginger in pint of water. Fasten mouth open with band 
 of straw or piece of corn cob; straddle the animal and gently 
 but regularly knead or work the extended sides. Use the trocar 
 as a last resort. 
 
 Barren Ewes Too much flesh is usually the cause. Force constant 
 exercise; reduce feed for month or more before breeding; then 
 feed liberally. 
 
28 
 
 Choking Give small doses of linseed oil, and work throat gently 
 with hand. As a last resort, bunch securely a rag on end of 
 piece of whalebone or other flexible substance, oil, and push 
 carefully down throat. 
 
 Casting the Withers See prolapsus uterus 
 
 Diarrhea-Scours Give teaspoonful to tablespoonful castor oil to 
 sucking lambs. For older sheep change pasture or feed. Protract- 
 ed cases can be helped by giving handful wheat flour in feed. 
 
Diarrhea of weaned lambs and mature sheep is often caused by 
 worms, also by certain weeds in pasture or hay. In such cases 
 the cause must be removed. 
 
 Docking Use the docking irons or pincers. About a week old is 
 good age to operate. But if the lambs are strong any age from 
 few days to fortnight will do. 
 
 Foot Rot Cut carefully away every particle of the diseased part, 
 and apply salve made of blue stone and lard. Tie coarse bag- 
 ging around foot to keep salve on and dirt out. When the rpt 
 extends into the flesh above the hoof, wash with a 50 to i solu- 
 tion of carbolic acid, and apply powdered burnt alum. Running 
 sheep through fresh slaked lime watered to the consistency of 
 paste, is great preventive of foot rot. Dry lime put around 
 feeding and watering places is helpful also. 
 
 Garget This often follows neglected caked-bag, particularly apt to 
 if ewe is exposed to wet and cold. If udders are properly look- 
 ed after at lambing and weaning time, it will seldom occur. 
 For general treatment see Caked-bag. 
 
 Goitre There is no known remedy that will prevent this serious 
 trouble. Fortunately it seems to be prevalent only in certain 
 parts of this country. As it is hereditary, affected animals 
 should never be used for breeding purposes. Iodine will reduce 
 the swellings. 
 
 Constipation For sucking lambs give castor oil, teaspoonful to 
 tablespoonful according to age and severity of trouble. For 
 mature sheep use epsom salts, 4 to 6 ounces in pint of warm 
 water. Never give salts when there is evidence of pain. Sub- 
 stitute raw linseed oil or better yet castor oil. The use of 
 stimulants in small quantities, such as brandy, gin or whiskey 
 will increase the action of the cathartics. 
 
 Castration From two to four weeks old is convenient and safe age 
 to operate. Apply an antiseptic after operation, such as the 
 carbolized non-poisonous sheep dips. 
 
 Colds Give teaspoonful carbonate iron, as much quinine as nickel 
 
will nicely take up, and wine-glassful of whiskey. Repeat 
 every other day for a week or so. 
 
 Caked-bag Keep udder milked out, and do not allow ewe to be ex- 
 posed to cold and wet. Apply to udder a liniment made by 
 mixing i quart tincture of arnica, 6 ounces tincture of belladon- 
 na, and 4 ounces spirits of camphor. Rub on vigorously with 
 palms of hands. If a ewe has a very large extended hard feel- 
 ing udder before lambing, do not hesitate to milk it out some. 
 Never change suddenly from low feeding to high feeding in a 
 Dorset ewe, the result is apt to be caked-bag. Too much corn 
 
 CROSS-BRED DORSET-SHROPSHIRE LAMBS 
 
 Ready for Market on Woodland Farm 
 
 feeding is inducive to this trouble. 
 
 Grub in the Head This term is usually applied to a grub that is laid 
 alive in the sheep's nostrils by the Sheep Gad Fly, during the 
 hot months of summer. The grub works its way upwards 
 causing much distress and "snotty noses." There is no com- 
 plete cure. The preventives are any contrivances that help 
 the animal to escape the fly. Tar on the noses repels the fly; 
 but it is a difficult thing to keep the noses always tarred. 
 Shady places and strips of plowed ground to lie on, and long 
 
grass are helps to the sheep. Death seldom results; but great 
 distress and worry does. These grubs cannot possibly reach 
 the head proper or brain cell. There is a grub though, that 
 gets there by way of the spinal canal. There is no practical 
 cure for this kind of grub in the head. It is sure death to the 
 animal. A skillful surgeon might resort to trepanning; but 
 aside from the expense, this would be a doubtful operation, as 
 often the grubs are three, four or more in number, and lodged 
 in different parts of the brain cell, so all could not be removed. 
 
 Gid or Staggers Some authoritiss call grub in the head by this 
 name, as in its advanced stages the sheep's brain is affected 
 and it staggers about. These symptoms follow the grub in the 
 head proper, not the grub in the nostrils, which commonly goes 
 by the name of grub in the head. There are several ailments 
 which cause sheep to stagger and stumble, and each of them is 
 often called by this name. Highly fed sheep will sometimes 
 accumulate blood too fast, and it will go to -the head causing 
 this staggering symptom. Generally when the sheep acts this 
 way it is going to die sure, no matter what the cause. 
 
 Hoose or Husk Another name for lung disease. See paper skin 
 for treatment. 
 
 Impaction Young sucking lambs are subject to this, especially the 
 richly nourished ones. The milk becomes hard or impacted in 
 the intestines. When a fat lamb hangs its ears and mops 
 around it is very likely impaction. Give tablespoonful castor 
 oil; if this does not move the bowels, give injection of warm 
 soap suds. For mature sheep give wheat bran with little salt 
 made into a mash. For severe cases, two or three ounces each 
 of raw linseed oil and molasses will make a strong purgative. 
 Mature sheep are not subject to this ailment if fed at all prop- 
 erly. 
 
 Inflammation of the Stomach This may follow neglected cases of 
 impaction. The sheep's evidence of distress and pain in the 
 stomach will indicate this trouble. Two ounces castor oil with 
 half once of laudanum will relieve somewhat the pain. If there 
 
is fever, as probable, five to ten drops of aconite will be of help. 
 Keep all feed away for day or so, and then feed lightly of suc- 
 culent, laxitive food. 
 
 Knotty Guts See Nodular disease. 
 
 Liver Fluke This is a disease of the liver caused by internal para- 
 sites. In its advanced stage it is hopeless to give medicines. 
 
 The source of infection must be ascertained and destroyed or 
 sheep removed from same. The drinking of stagnant water is 
 common cause. 
 
 Lice Use any of the standard sheep dips as directed. Dalmation 
 powder applied with powder gun is effective for red-headed 
 louse. 
 
___^__ . 33 
 
 Lung Disease This is a disease of the lungs caused by internal 
 parasites. Some writers refer to it as paper skin. The animals 
 lack blood, the skin looks white, also the lips and eyeballs un- 
 der the lids. As with most other internal parasites there is 
 no known cure for this. For general treatment of anaemic con- 
 dition see paper skin. 
 
 Nodular Disease Knotty guts: This is a disease caused by inter- 
 nal parasites. An examination of the intestines will reveal 
 numerous little tumors or knots growing to same. Many sheep 
 are more or less affected with this, and no apparent harm re- 
 sults. At times and in certain sections it is very destructive. 
 No positive remedy is known. All that can be done is to give 
 extra care, change of pasture, and avoidance of any possible 
 source of infection. This disease is more common and fatal in 
 the South than in the North. 
 
 Paper Skin Properly this is the name for lung disease. Generally 
 though; it is applied to sheep in an anaemic condition, and this 
 condition is the result of various diseases. There is a lack of 
 blood in the system, causing the skin to appear white and life- 
 less like. Carbonate of iron is a blood builder and a tonic of 
 this with equal parts each ground ginger and gentian is very 
 excellent for the anaemic condition. A tablespoonful of the 
 mixture once a day in feed for a week or so. A sheep in good 
 health has a pink, inviting skin. When the skin gets pale or 
 white it is a sure sign of some ailment. As soon as this symp- 
 tom appears start at once and give extra care and attention, and 
 feed with above tonic. 
 
 Prolapsus Uterus Falling or protruding of the womb. Many cases 
 called this are merely the inversion of the vagina literally the 
 turning inside out of the the lining membrane. The rectum 
 also sometimes protrudes. Give laxative foods. Thoroughly 
 cleanse the protruding parts, anoint with raw linseed oil with 
 little laudanum in it, knead gently and return. Give internal- 
 ly four ounces of raw linseed oil with tablespoonful of laudanum. 
 If above is not successful after a few trials, it will be necessary 
 to fix straps or harness so as to hold the protruding parts in for 
 a few days. 
 
34 
 
 Rheumatism Young lambs are occasionally affected with a stiff- 
 ness and lameness of joints. It may be lamb founder; but in 
 early spring is apt to be caused by lambs lying on cold, damp 
 ground. Keep yards well bedded with corn stalks or other 
 roughage, so lambs cannot lie on bare ground. 
 
 Scours See Diarrhea. 
 
 Scab Use any of the standard dips as directed. 
 
 Sore Mouth Rub scab off and apply a non-poisonous carbolic sheep 
 dip. Powdered burnt alum is also effective where it can be 
 made to remain on. The seat of this trouble makes it difficult 
 to apply remedies. It will, however, usually disappear of its- 
 elf. 
 
 Sore Eyes Cleanse with warm water and drop little witch-hazel in 
 and around eyes. 
 
 Scum on Eyes Usually will disappear without treatment. Intro- 
 duction of any substance to cut the scum is cruel practice of 
 very doubtful necessity. Relief can be given by washing as 
 for sore eyes. 
 
 Snotty Nose A symptom of grub in the head or a bad cold. For 
 treatment see both these headings. 
 
 Swelling Under the Jaw This is not a disease, but the symptom of 
 several ailments. Often it accompanies an anaemic condition. 
 For general treatment see Paper Skin. 
 
j 35 
 
 Scanty Urine Rams and wethers may have trouble in making 
 water. Give from one-half to one ounce sweet spirits of nitre; 
 put pinch of powdered salt-petre in feed for several days. Do 
 not feed mangels. 
 
 Stone in the Bladder This is another ailment of lambs and weath- 
 ers. Like goitre it seems to be largely confined to certain sec- 
 tions of country. There is no positive cure for this ailment. 
 Mangels cause it, and aggrevate mild cases, so they should not 
 be fed in any great quantity. 
 
 Stomach Worms There are many kinds of stomach worms. Usu- 
 ally though the term is applied to the strongylus contortus, 
 among lambs, one of, if not the most fatal of all internal para- 
 sites. An effective remedy is benzine or gasoline given in 
 sweet milk for three consecutive days. A dose is from tea- 
 spoonful to tablespoonful according to age of lamb. Add to 
 each dose about half glass of sweet milk. Shake well together. 
 Shut lambs up over night so as to give on empty stomach. 
 Have assistant set lamb on rump when you give the medicine. 
 And be sure he holds head in natural position for the posture, 
 otherwise strangulation may result. See chapter on Parasites. 
 
 Ticks Use any of the standard dips as directed. 
 
 Tape Worm At times and in some localities this worm proves very 
 destructive. Ordinarily though a few tape worms seem to be 
 a necessary accompaniment of a lamb's growth and do no harm. 
 If numerous they can be expelled with any recognized vermifuge, 
 such as powdered araca nut in one to two dram doses on empty 
 stomach. Follow in -from twelve to twenty-four hours with a 
 cathartic. Pumpkins are good, as the seeds act as vermifuge. 
 
LAMB FOUNDER. 
 
 There is a peculiar disease of 
 lambs that causes them to become 
 very stiff in their joints. It may 
 attack one joint or all the limbs 
 may be affected. They lie around 
 a great deal and move painfully. 
 They seldom die but are checked 
 sadly in their development. The 
 cause of this distressing ailment is 
 to be sought in the ewe. She has 
 been unwisely fed. Most probab- 
 ly she has been allowed to gorge 
 herself on grain, or her feed has 
 been changed abruptly from a light 
 ration to a heavy one. This cre- 
 ates indigestion and a peculiar poi- 
 son in her system that shows itself 
 most in the lamb. There is no 
 
 The Lambs so Gentle the Girls Pet Tnem. CUTC but time, and ail avoidance of 
 
 the contributing causes. So far as we have observed a high feeding 
 of corn is most apt to cause this disorder. 
 
 While the suckling ewe should be well and even highly fed she 
 should never be changed suddenly from a light ration to a heavy 
 one nor should she ever have a large allowance of corn. 
 
 BROKEN HORNS 
 
 may cause the death of the lamb. Sometimes a sort of blood-poison 
 sets in that causes the head to swell so that the eyes are even 
 swelled shut. There is no help for it but time after the infection 
 has occurred but if at once when the horn is noticed to be broken 
 the stub be smeared with some carbolic sheep dip there will be no 
 infection and no bad results. One should plan his pen so far as 
 possible to be tight and smooth so as not to catch and break the 
 horns which are very tender at a certain stage of development. 
 
 DOCKING TAILS. 
 
 There is but one right way to dock tails, that is with the dock- 
 
37 
 
 ing pinchers made by F. S. Burch, 178 
 Michigan Street, Chicago, 111. These 
 iron pinchers are heated to redness and 
 the tails severed, no bleeding occurs and 
 the tails may be made very short. This 
 is best done at about ten days of age. 
 If there are flies a smear of tar or sheep 
 dip will deter them until the wound is 
 headed. It heals very quickly when the 
 pinchers are used. Take a board six 
 inches square, bore an inch hole through 
 the middle of it, thrust the tail through 
 
 this hole and cut as close as you can. The board holds the tail and 
 
 prevents scorching the lamb. 
 
 CASTRATION. 
 
 For the winter market to go from their mother's sides it does 
 not much matter whether the lambs are castrated or not. Some 
 growers always castrate, others never do. It is probable that if the 
 castration is done carefully and soon enough the lamb may fatten 
 faster than if his testicles were left in. The castration of lambs a 
 week old or less is a simple matter, the end of the scrotum is cut 
 off, the testicles drawn out, cord and all, a little lard and turpentine 
 placed in the wound and in a short time the wound is healed. 
 
 Later in the season when ram lambs have been let go and some 
 have turned out badly and are not fit for breeding rams they are 
 hard to castrate without loss but the docking pinchers may be used 
 again, taking off the entire scrotum as you would dock the tail. I 
 have never seen ill results follow this operation and have castrated 
 rams six years old in this manner. Care should be observed to 
 the have pinchers quite hot. 
 
 SORE MOUTH. 
 
 There is a contagious sore mouth that affects lambs and some- 
 times sheep. Warty scabs form on the lips and nose making it dif- 
 ficult for the lambs to eat. Similar sores appear on the ewe's teats. 
 The cure is simple, rub off the scales and apply some carbolic sheep 
 dip. Milk-oil, made by F. S. Burch, 178 Michigan Street, Chicago, 
 
38 
 
 has proved effective in the experience of the writer and one applica- 
 tion has always been sufficient. There is another form of this sore 
 mouth, that is confined to the lambs. It is more difficult to cure; 
 but after running its course will quickly disappear. 
 
 SORE EYES 
 
 The contagious sore eyes that sometimes appears among the 
 flock in Winter is also easily and quickly cured by a tiny drop of 
 sheep dip dropped in the eye. It should be diluted about ten times 
 with water and not only a little allowed to penetrate the eye but 
 the face should be scrubbed with it especially wherever the tears 
 have run down the cheeks. There is no excuse for allowing these 
 
 A GRADE "RENT PAYER." 
 
 and similar petty diseases to spread and become formidable, a little 
 watchful care, a little disinfecting with a carbolic dip and the disease 
 is cured and its spread stopped. Milk-oil, or some similar carbolic 
 preparation should always be at hand in a bottle, or better, an oil- 
 can on a shelf in the sheep barn. 
 
 INTERNAL PARASITES. 
 
 Would it were as easy to keep the inside of a sheep clean as 
 the outside. Unfortunately this is not so. Sheep suffer greatly 
 from a number of internal parasites but in America the chief and al- 
 most only important one is the tiny stomach-worm. The lambs 
 that are dropped in fall and kept on clean pastures until cold weath- 
 er are seldom troubled with these pests, the lambs dropped early in 
 
___ 39 
 
 winter and fattened and sold before June are safe but the late lambs 
 that must run with their mothers on grass are apt to become affect- 
 ed. The symptoms are a general lack of thrift, a sunken condition 
 of the fleece, a paleness of the skin, the eating of earth and rotten 
 wood, a slight cough, sometimes scours, at other times constipation, 
 emaciation and often death. 
 
 One should never see a lamb die on his place without dissect- 
 ing it to learn the cause. If it is stomach-worms they may be easi- 
 ly found in the small fourth stomach, the place where the intestines 
 begin. Stomach-worms are small, hair-like worms, about three- 
 fourths of an inch long, twisted in the middle, from which they take 
 their name, Strongylus Contortus. They may be present in sheep 
 having apparent good health, they may even in small numbers dis- 
 tress the lambs, they may be found in immense multitudes, block- 
 ing the intestinal canal. They seem to greatly disturb the digestion 
 and assimilation and no lamb will thrive with these pests within 
 him. 
 
 The infection is nearly always from the grass or from stagnant 
 water fouled by sheep's excrements. The ewes are apt to be 
 slightly affected, the worms discharge immense numbers of eggs, 
 perhaps at all seasons, certainly in spring and summer. The imma- 
 ture worms in some way cling to the grass and are taken in by the 
 lambs when grazing. In some mysterious way nature aids the old- 
 er and stronger sheep to throw off most of these pests, while the 
 smaller and weaker lambs become affected very easily. The lesson 
 is that all small, grassy yards, where sheep love to He and where 
 the grass is thick and tender, are unsafe, almost surely fatal to the 
 lambs. Unfortunately the short, sweet grasses, such as Kentucky 
 blue-grass and white clover are the very worst and most dangerous 
 from the point of infection, as the sheep bite them so close. Red 
 clover, alfalfa, orchard grass, bromus-inermis, timothy, oats and 
 barley and rape, are all bitten higher up and there is much less risk 
 of infection. Also in soiling sheep there is hardly any danger if the 
 racks are not soiled by the sheep's excrements. On Woodland 
 Farm there has been a notable decrease, almost a disappearance of 
 this pest since alfalfa pasture has been the main reliance. It is also 
 a good plan to let the sheep shade in the barn, as than their drop- 
 
40 
 
 pings are not soiling the grass about some shady tree, where the 
 grass will grow up rank and sweet and be nibbled at by the unsus- 
 pecting lambs with fatal results. Care should at all times be taken 
 that the sheep should not drink from stagnant pools or small, slow 
 streams fouled by the droppings. Troughs are much the safest 
 watering places, and they should be kept clean. 
 
 As to medication, it should be prompt upon the first sign of in- 
 fection. The old remedy of turpentine and milk is rarely effectual. 
 It is not worth administering. The only things that have seemed to 
 do good are Toxaline, a preparation made by F. S. Burch, of Chica- 
 
 Dorset and Shrop Blood Mingled. 
 
 go, and gasoline or benzine, which was discovered by M. Julienne, 
 in France and first introduced by us into America. In case infec- 
 tion is discovered it is wise to treat the entire flock. Be careful not 
 to strangle the sheep by rough or too hasty drenching. 
 
 Either benzine or gasoline may be used. The dose is two tea- 
 spoonfuls to a 5olb lamb, mixed with four ounces of either sweet 
 milk or thin flax-seed tea, (cold) well shaken together. Give after 
 fasting for 16 hours. Be careful not to strangle by pouring down too 
 fast or getting in wind-pipe. Repeat the dose daily for three days. 
 It has no ill effects on the health of well lambs and is sure to rem- 
 edy the drooping ones, if stomach-worms are the cause of their ill- 
 ness. Dose the old sheep as well. They will take a tablespoonful. 
 Better to use a 5c measuring glass (sold at druggists) rather than 
 try to measure in a spoon, which holds an uncertain amount. 
 
GRADE DORSET EWES, 
 
 While pure-bred Dorsets are extremely profitable to those who 
 will give their care and while there must of course be breeders of 
 registered stock to supply the need of Dorset rams, yet it must be 
 remembered that the grade ewe is the rent-payer, the money-maker, 
 and in commou hands more profitable than the puru-bred ewe. In- 
 deed there are some curious things about the grade ewe. If she is 
 a Merino grade, from large, roomy Merino ewes and blocky, vigor- 
 ous Dorset ram; she will arove a snrer breeder if pcssible, than the 
 pure-bred Dorset ewe. In truth, not many growers of winter hot- 
 house lambs but prefer Dorset grades from the Merina foundation to 
 any other ewe, the pure-bred ewe not excepted. These ewes are 
 again bred to pure-bred Dorset rams and the result is a very blocky, 
 easily fattened lamb, born at the right season and ripe for the right 
 market. These grade ewes are great milkers and hardier than pure- 
 bred ewes and altogether more desirable for mutton-makers. There 
 will come a time when rancbe-men will make a specialty of produc- 
 ing ewes of this type, as there is already a demand for them in all 
 ths early lamb-producing regions and they are hard to buy. These 
 grade Dorset ewes will continue profitable for at least ten years and 
 often longer. 
 
 Another very profitable grade Dorset ewe is the Dorset-Shrop- 
 shire grade. This is a magnificeat ewe, lambs early but not quite 
 so regularly as the Dorses-Merino, is a better mother than the Shrop- 
 shire with more milk. Ewes of this cross are becoming quite com- 
 mon now.. They are usually white or light brown in face and horn- 
 less. Sometimes the ^ -blood Dorset-Shropshire have horns. These 
 are better ewes than the first cross, having indeed many of the best 
 characteristics of the pure-bred Dorsets. 
 
 USING GRADE RAMS 
 
 However profitable grade ewes may be it is never safe to use 
 grade rams. They will revert in unaccountable ways to remote an- 
 cestors and there is simply no telling what the product will be. 
 
 Of grade Dorsets John B. Peelle, a famous hot-house lamb 
 grower, says : 
 
 "The grade Dorset with me is not a question of sentiment; but 
 
one of business. The questions I ask of a ewe are: Can you pro- 
 duce lambs in November or December? Can you produce one or 
 more at a time? Can you provide the lambs with an abundance of 
 milk, so that they will be ready for market in sixty or seventy days? 
 It is only the ewe that can answer all these questions "yes" that is 
 at all desirable as a mother of hot-house lambs. 
 
 The first question is most important of all. The best and only 
 remunerative market for hot-house lambs is during the first ten 
 weeks of the year, so the lambs must be here before the snow flies 
 
 J:>hn B. Pcelle's Man Utilizing Spare Milk After Her 
 Lamb Has Gone to Market . 
 
 if we want large profits. The October lamb is too early and will 
 only sell as a lamb and not as a fancy product and the late January 
 and February lambs are too late in the season for the high prices. 
 So far as I have been able to learn the Dosets and their grades 
 are the only breed of sheep that will breed with any reliability at 
 the right time. The hot weather that causes most sheep to miss 
 the oestrual perioJ does not seem to affe:t the Dorsets. In fact 
 the mating often occurs during the hottest of hot weather. Twenty- 
 
> 43 
 
 four lambs is the record of one of our Dorset rams on one of the hot- 
 test of June days and this occurred in a flock of fifty ewes. 
 
 It is not claimed that no other variety of sheep will breed in hot 
 weather, but that the Dorsets will breed more readily and uniformly 
 than any other. If the lambs come scattering along all winter they 
 are a constant care and worry, but when they come in a shower as 
 ours usually do, it is a pleasure to care for them. 
 
 In regard to the number of lambs produced, single lambs from 
 mature ewes are the exception. Triplets are common. Thomas 
 Shaw says: "The Dorsets will probably drop and raise more lambs 
 than any other breed." 
 
 As Milkers The Dorset or grade always has an abundance of 
 milk. Some are such persistent milkers that it takes several weeks 
 to dry them up, but this is a good thing for pets and thieves (see cut 
 opposite page.) It is easy to teach the lambs whose supply is short, 
 to come at the call. I mean the twins, triplets, and those whose 
 mothers are out of condition, and then while you hold the ewe the 
 lambs do the rest. Often the best milking ewes can be made to 
 raise another lamb after her own goes to market. 
 
 Recapitulation The virtues of the grade Dorset may be sum- 
 med up as follows: She has size and that counts when she is put 
 on the market as mutton. She has constitution and vigor and that 
 means long life and lots of service. A nine-year-old gummer rais- 
 ed the best part of lambs we had this year. It is no burden to shell 
 corn for her. She is a good rustler. One season's experience 
 showed us that the Dorsets and Merinos have no business in the 
 same barn. The Merinos simply had no show in the rush for feed. 
 She will produce her lambs at the proper time for them to reach the 
 market when prices are highest. She is a fluent milker, the more 
 milk the quicker the lamb goes to market. Our best ewes, if per- 
 chance, they have single lambs, will have them ready for market 
 in less than fifty days." 
 
44 
 
 BUILDINGS. 
 
 One can do with a very common and cheap building or he can 
 use a good, warm, convenient building to good advantage. The 
 more expensive buildings are needed in the cold, frozen North, in 
 the South very slight protection against cold is needed but wet is to 
 be guarded against. A safe rule is NEVER to allow the flock to suf- 
 fer a wetting, unless the wool is very short at the time. It is a very 
 depressing thing to a sheep to carry about a wet fleece, and unfor- 
 tunately not all or many sheep know enough to come in out of the 
 rain. The illustration of the barn at Woodland Farm (page 10) 
 shows one type well adapted to a Southern situation. The barn is 
 36 feet square, 18 feet to the eaves, with a half-pitch roof and an 
 open center. The lower story is 8 feet in the clear and divided by 
 means of racks into compartments as desired. It will be seen that 
 it is light and airy and cool in summer and when the doors are let 
 down it is fairly warm in winter. This barn cost to build less than 
 $200.00 with a good shingle roof, no floor but natural earth below 
 and rough flooring for the mow. It accommodates fairly well about 
 75 ewes and their lambs. The hay is taken in from the end and the 
 open dorway is turned to the south-east so that little or no storm 
 ever blows in. It could easily be closed, however. 
 
 noasi 
 
 Ui 
 
 M 
 
 
 Rl rtf.0 . 
 
 
 PA* iAof 
 
 UOIM 
 I- 
 
 H* 
 
 l*r,e cmiP 
 
 T=T 
 
 PLAN OF BARN AT FILLMORE FARMS. 
 
45 
 
 THE BARN AT PILLMORE FARMS. 
 
 Fillmore Farms, (W. G. Appleby, Manager, Bennington, Vt.) 
 Mr. delegate's place has an ideal large barn for cool climate. The 
 ground plan shows quite clearly the arrangement of the lower story, 
 
 45x100 feet. This barn shuts up tight in cold weather, four venti- 
 lation shafts run up the purlin posts and then to cupolas, taking off 
 the foul air and not making drafts. The outer doors slide and there 
 
4 6 
 
 are slatted doors that also slide up out of the way, when it is warm 
 the solid doors are back and the slatted ones in place. The root 
 house is not a cellar, though dug down the depth of the foundation, 
 but is double boarded with paper between and two air spaces and 
 is frost proof. It is convenient to store wool in and the feed room is 
 a good shearing floor. The passage is a handy place to pen and 
 catch sheep when shearing. 
 
 The feed racks used on Fillmore Farms, the Tranquillity Farms 
 
 DIAGRAM OF COMBINATION FEEDER. 
 
 and some other places are illustrated herewith. There is probably 
 nothing better for Dorsets as the lambs can not soil the hay nor 
 are horns broken in this rack. Here are the specifications: 
 
 Trough is 6 inches wide at bottom 14 inches at top, on slant. 
 
 Trough is 7 inches high at front 1 1 inches at back. 
 
 Slats 2 inches wide, i inch thick, rounded slightly at corners. 
 
 Spaces between slats 3 inches. 
 
 Slanting board at bottom of rack i inch thick. 
 
Slats are of hard wood; rest of trough may be soft wood or not, ac- 
 cording to price, etc. 
 
 Front board of trough is beveled at top. 
 
 Frame 2x3 or 3x3. 
 
 Trough may be made any length to fit spaces, or in 8, 10 or 12 foot 
 lengths to be easily moved around and back to back they 
 make partition with feed trough and rack on each side. Or 
 can be put out doors and make yard with rack, etc. 
 
 Cheapest in end. Last forever. No waste hay. Feed roots, 
 grain or anything without loss. 
 
 COMBINATION FEEDER. 
 
4 8 
 
 The Ideal Low-Cost Sheep House. 
 
 For the following plan we are indebted to the Breeder's Gazette 
 where it is illustrated in issue of April 10, 1901. It combines low 
 
 OQ 
 
 CV) 
 
 04 
 I 
 
 ^ 
 
 _J 
 O- 
 
 
 
49 
 
 cost with convenience and usefulness of high order. The building 
 is 20 feet wide, as long as desired, 16 feet high at the eaves with a 
 lower story eight feet in the clear and an upper story with half-pitch 
 
roof and 15 feet in height at the peak. There are no obstructing 
 cross-ties and the hay carrier works on the track in the peak with- 
 out hindrance. The floor joists are put in length-ways of the build- 
 
ing and are of 2x8 or 2x10 while the joist-bearers are 2x16 and the 
 manner of spiking through the joist-bearers into the ends of the floor- 
 joists making the upper edges flush saves quite a good deal of head 
 room. This is clearly illustrated in the cut, the floor joists are spik- 
 ed to the joist-bearers before it is let down to place, then all is firmly 
 spiked together. No floor is used but the hard earth which is better 
 if rounded up a little so that water will run away from all sides and 
 a generous projection of rafters helps the appearance and the use- 
 fulness materially. There are no divisions to the house except such 
 as are made by the placing of racks or panels across. Hay is thrown 
 down at convenient places through chutes reaching up to the rafters 
 and at the bottom a pen of hurdles should restrain the sheep from 
 getting on the hay as it is thrown down. 
 
 HOW THE SASH 
 OPEN5.ANP 
 JHl/TS 
 
 Device for Opening Sash- 
 Ideal Sheep House. 
 
 Putting in Floor Joists Ideal Sheep House. 
 
 At each side there is a continuous window three feet high with 
 sash and glass hinged at the bottom and opening inwardly so as to 
 allow a continuous stream of air to pass over the sheep. These sash 
 are fastened by means of a jointed rod to a continuous rod running 
 through the barn, the familiar green-house sash fixtures, and by 
 turning the rod all the sash are opened at once, either a tiny crack 
 or wide to let the summer breezes through. While this feature may 
 be omitte 1 and wooden windows opening at the bottom and hinged 
 at the top be substituted, yet I think the satisfaction of having it 
 right will in a short time pay for the sash and fixtures, which may 
 be had of any builder of green-houses. 
 
 Doors permit the driving of teams clear through the building to 
 clean out the manure and the over-hang of the roof protects the up- 
 per doorway through which hay is taken. This building finished 
 well 2OxCo should cost about $300.00. 
 
Dorsets for Crossing a^nd on the R&nge. 
 
 While the down ram on the Dorset ewe gets fine lambs yet the 
 reverse cross is as good, Dorset sire on Down ewe. The lambs of 
 this cross grow very rapidly and fatten very easily and are usually 
 hornless with white or gray faces. A neighbor who used one of our 
 Dorset rams on pure-bred Shropshire ewes lambed in May, sold the 
 lambs before Christmas at 115 pounds average weight, from grass 
 with a trifle of grain at the latter end of their feeding. 
 
 On the range the Dorset is "new yet but wherever tried the 
 lambs, usually from grade Merino ewes, have been more than satis- 
 factory. In Colorado, L. E. Thompson, of Las Animas, reports that 
 his grade Dorset lambs are first to become fat and go to market. 
 
 PRIZE WINNERS AT THE ROYAL. DORSET-SHROPSHIRE CROSS BREDS. 
 
 They are in demand among Colorado lamb feeders, wherever they 
 have become known. The Range Valley Cattle Co., of Woodside, 
 Utah, has this season a lot of grade Dorset lambs, in comparison 
 with lambs from Shropshire and Rambouillet sires. The Dorsets 
 are much the most blocky, smooth and heaviest, the best sellers. 
 There is need, however, of care in taking Dorset rams to the ranges, 
 they ought to be young, they ought to be sent to the "buck herd" 
 at least a month before needed to get accustomed to range life. It 
 would even be better if they were grown on the range. There is 
 no sheep such a rustler as the Dorset and this makes him pre-emi- 
 nently suited to range conditions. The ranche that is marketing 
 feeders or fat lambs can not afford to overlook the Dorset. 
 
__ ^ _ _ 55 
 
 AS THE EWE LAMBS 
 
 it is well to have some close pens for use in cold weather, these may 
 be made of matched lumber six or eight feet square and a very little 
 ventilation will suffice. By putting a ewe in here and hanging up a 
 lantern above her, her lamb will not chill in the coldest night. Some- 
 times one can tell when a ewe is about to lamb and separate her 
 from the flock. This is not always practicable, however, for many 
 ewes will apparently be all ready for weeks and others that have 
 made little show will lamb before them. Let them alone at lamb- 
 ing time, yet keep near by and watch them. If they have not been 
 frightened by dogs or crowded through gates they may not have 
 wrong presentations and the lambing give no trouble, especially if 
 the ewes are strong but not too fat and have had plenty of out-door 
 exercise is the danger of trouble lessened. Yet now and then a lamb 
 will be presented wrong and your help will be needed. The right 
 presentation is head first, front feet on each side. Hind feet first can 
 be taken with no harm to lamb or ewe. Other presentations must 
 be straightened out. Don't wait too long to do this, be slow, care- 
 ful, think what you are doing, use plenty of lard on your hand you 
 may save a valuable ewe and her lamb too. 
 
 A CHILLED LAMB 
 
 will be found now and then. If it is too stiff to suck take it at once 
 to a large bucket of hot water, not warm water, but hot as you can 
 bear your hand in. Immerse him all but his nose. Put in more hot 
 water after he has cooled it off. I have revived them after they 
 were apparently dead. Dry thoroughly, perhaps give a wee drop 
 of whiskey, then the mother's milk. Don't ever give anything but 
 the mother's milk if you can avoid it. If you must give cow's milk 
 dilute it half with warm water and add a tiny bit of sugar. A lamb 
 that can't have a good lot of some ewe's first milk is not apt to live. 
 
 Another handy thing for lambs not so badly chilled is a half 
 barrel with a lantern or jug of hot water in it and a blanket thrown 
 across it. When the ewe has twins you can keep one warm while 
 she is licking off its mate. Once dry and full of milk there is not 
 much danger of chilling in the most severe weather. 
 
 In lambing a lot of ewes in cold weather one loses very few 
 lambs if he will go to the fold at 10 in the evening and again at 4 in 
 
56 
 
 the morning. If the lambs are sired by a vigorous ram, the ewes 
 treated right, not one lamb in ten will need your attention or help. 
 First lambs are often more trouble. But remember, ALWAYS milk 
 out the ewe after the lamb has filled up and do this not once but 
 daily for a week if she has surplus milk. Stagnant milk in a gorged 
 udder is surely fatal to the lamb. And Dorset ewes, if rightly fed 
 are great milkers. It is more trouble at first but when the lamb 
 does take it what a pleasure to see him swell and grow! 
 
 If you have a large number of ewes to lamb in winter you 
 should provide a lot of pens, about four or six feet square. These 
 are best made of little panels three feet high and four feet long, 
 hinge two of them together at one end and then they shut up and 
 lay away until needed when they are opened out and hooked to the 
 
 L 
 
 Panels Opened To Make Pen. 
 
 corner of the barn, enclosing a space four or six feet square. An- 
 other pen goes alongside and so on as there is need. Ewes with 
 twin lambs ought always to have one of these pens to keep her fam- 
 ily together until they know her. 
 
 TRANSFERRING LAMBS 
 
 Supposing you have a ewe that loses her young lamb, you 
 should at once remove its skin, taking it off as near whole as you 
 can, rub it dry on the flesh side and sprinkle it with salt, take a 
 twin lamb that needs more milk and slip it into this skin, put the 
 ewe and odd lamb in a pen together and the chances are mighty 
 good that she will adopt the stranger with joy. After a few days 
 the skin may be removed, though it is well to take it off a piece at a 
 time. 
 
 If the ewe has a large lamb to die this plan may not work, but 
 to put her in a pen and confine her head between stanchions, which 
 may be two small round stakes driven into the earth and confined 
 at the top with a cord will be the surest and easiest plan. Turn the 
 lamb with her, she can not refuse to let it suck, after a time when 
 her milk has given it a new odor she will own it. This takes from 
 two days to a week. 
 
 ALWAYS separate the ewes with lambs from the ewes ^yet 
 to lamb. You can't feed the same ration to each lot with success. 
 
57 
 
 THE WINTER LAMB 
 
 By H. P. MILLER. 
 
 BOUT ten years ago 1 first learned that a few men in New 
 York were raising what were called ' 'hot-house" lambs which 
 they sold at what seemed to me fabulous prices. They were said 
 to get eight to ten dollars each for lambs as many weeks old when 
 hog-dressed and sent to New York City. I thought the demand only 
 a passing one and that the supply would soon exceed it, so was slow 
 to engage in it. There were other reasons for my delay. Dress- 
 
 WOODLAND DORSETS ON ALFALFA. 
 
 ing them seemed to demand the services of an expert. I could dress 
 a sheep for our own use but I was not an expert butcher. Then the 
 distance from Central Ohio to New York City seemed too great to 
 safely send dressed meat. Again I did not see how I could find a 
 market for them. I did not realize that they were a regular product 
 upon the provision market and could be sold through commission 
 
58 
 
 merchants. But the prices that were obtained y,ear after year by 
 those engaged in growing this product, incited me to read everything 
 1 could find about the business. I found that the market was in- 
 creasing, that I was only a few hours from New York, that some 
 commission merchants were as honorable as men in other business. 
 I finally had the whole theory but did not have the lambs. We had 
 from my earliest recollection been growing Merinos of the Delaine 
 type, having the lambs born in March and April. We let a flock of 
 ewes run over one fall without breeding, and turned the ram with 
 them the following Spring. We found they conceived as well in 
 May as in October. Bear in mind our ewes at that time were all 
 pure Merinos of the Delaine type. A further surprise, and one 
 quite as agreeable, was that the lambs born in the fall grew more 
 rapidly and when sent to market at three to four months old brought 
 more than lambs of the same breeding born six to eight months earl- 
 ier. Still we did not get the prices we had read about. We used a 
 mutton sire of a Down breed, but our lambs were not prime. The 
 lambs had too mnch wool before they had size or were fat enough. 
 The ewes were not good enough sucklers, to make the lambs choice. 
 It seemed reasonable that the pure or grade mutton breeds would be 
 more profitable for this business. We provided ourselves with small 
 flocks of three of the leading mutton breeds but February with an 
 occasionsl lamb in January was as early as we could get lambs from 
 them. That was not early enough for best prices. 
 
 One year I tried twenty-five young Merino-Southdown ewes, 
 putting them with an equal number of pure Merinos and turned ram 
 with them in June. The first lamb from the cross-bred ewes was 
 dropped in March after most of the lambs from the Merinos were 
 marketed. 
 
 We had before this learned the merits of the Dorset and had se- 
 cured a ram. The half-blood lambs pleased us in appearance and 
 in profits. The next step was to get some half-blood ewes. We 
 have them, use them and are satisfied. The Merino-Dorset ewe is 
 the right one for growing winter lambs. 
 
 May is a favorable month with me for breeding. I would pre- 
 fer to breed a month or six weeks later but the ewes or ram, or 
 both are not so favorable to it. I would prefer not to have the lambs 
 
59 
 
 born until the ewes go to their winter quarters. The lambs then 
 entirely escape the stomach worms and they can be gotten to eating 
 grain younger. The only special treatment I have found necessary 
 to induce the ewes to breed is such care as will insure improvement 
 in condition. They do not need to be fat but should be GETTING 
 fat. Indeed 1 have found it advisable to put the ewes on a very 
 light, dry ration as their lambs are slaughtered so as to reduce their 
 condition. Then remove their fleeces with the first settled warm 
 weather in April and turn upon good pasture. 
 
 I endorse the recommendation given on page 6 in reference to 
 breeding but it is hot always practical to remove the ram every 
 morning and return him to the flock in the evening. You can 
 change rams once a week, or if rams are cheaper than your own 
 time place two with the flock at once. Jealousy will incite them to 
 watch the flock closely. This of course is hard on the rams and rec- 
 ommended only as an expedient. At this point re-read the chapter 
 on Summer Care of Pregnant Ewes. As the lambs appear remove 
 them with their mothers from the main flock. With the Dorset and 
 grade Dorset ewes, if they should have but a single lamb their ud- 
 ders will need to be watched for the first week and surplus milk re- 
 moved. There will nearly always be some lambs in the flock that 
 will need it and will quickly learn to take it as shown on page 42. 
 As soon as the lambs are taking all their mother's milk feed the ewes 
 to produce all the milk they will take. The ewes need a milk cow's 
 ration. So long as the grass remains good supplement it with corn, 
 oats or barley and wheat bran. Or substitute for the latter three 
 gluten feed in small quantity. It is worth about twice what wheat 
 bran is to feed in connection with corn and should be mixed with 
 corn in proportion of one to two. 
 
 The lambs will begin to eat at about three weeks of age, some 
 of them younger. There is nothing they like better than cracked 
 corn and wheat bran. We occasionally add to this combination, 
 oats, barley or gluten meal or feed. A variety induces them to eat 
 more, and the more the better at this early age. I have never 
 known one to over eat. We formerly used a self feeder, that is a 
 trough so devised that the feed becomes accessible as fast as eaten, 
 but have discarded it as the feed was liable to become foul. We 
 
6o 
 
 find the lambs do better if the feed is given them fresh in a clean 
 trough three times a day. Nice clover hay is almost indispensable 
 for both ewes and lambs. Alfalfa or soy bean hay may be substi- 
 tuted. The lambs must not be compelled to eat their hay close. 
 It must be changed three or more times a day. The little lambs as 
 well as their mothers need to have both salt and water accessible. 
 We have fed ensilage three winters with entire satisfaction. Indeed 
 we would not think of trying to raise winter lambs without it. It is 
 altogether the cheapest feed we can prepare, is relished perfectly by 
 the sheep and little lambs as well and it makes fat lambs. We feed 
 it twice a day with a little gluten meal sprinkled over it. With a 
 light feed of hay once a day this constitutes the entire ration of the 
 ewes after they go to winter quarters. Neither the ewes nor the 
 lambs leave the barn from the time they enter it until after the lambs 
 are slaughtered. Some other nitrogenous feed might be substituted 
 for the gluten meal. The determining consideration is the cost. The 
 term "hot-house" formerly applied to these early lambs led many 
 people to think they must have an artificially heated house. This 
 is not necessary. They need a stable into which the wind cannot 
 blow, one with considerable glass on the south and west sides. But 
 the stable does not want to be closed all the time, only indeed upon 
 very cold days. Pure air is essential. If the air is ever noticeably 
 foul on entering the stable from the outside get some pure air into 
 it at once. To prevent the escape of ammonia from the accumulating 
 manure there is nothing else as effective as acidulated phosphate 
 rock, just such as is sold for fertilizer. The free sulphuric acid in it 
 combines with the ammonia in a somewhat stable combination, yet 
 one that is available as plant food so that the fertilizer is not lost. 
 Bedding should be used in sufficient quantity only to keep the stable 
 clean. Any excess encourages heating. If possible have the lambs 
 private apartment where they are fed hay and grain so situated that 
 the direct rays of the midday sun fall into it. This should be shut 
 off from the old sheep by a creep. Make this of slats placed per- 
 pendicularly eight to ten inches apart. Let nothing disturb the 
 lambs or their mothers. The lambs should do nothing but eat and 
 sleep, not even play. During the early part of the season forty-five 
 pounds live weight is large enough. But weight is not the only con- 
 
6 1 
 
 sideration. They must be fat. There is a very limited call for 
 them for Christmas dinner but the general demand opens after peo- 
 ple have recovered from the poultry glut of the holidays. The de- 
 mand for them continues strong unlil settled warm weather. 
 
 Arrangements should be made with some reliable commission 
 firm unless fortunate enough to get a good private customer. The 
 commission charged is five per cent. They must be shipped to ar- 
 rive at the commission store as early as Friday morning. We form- 
 
 A PEN OF ROYAL WINNERS. (COURTEvSY FARMER'S ADVOCATE ) 
 
 erly shipped by express at the rate of $1.50 per hundred, but the 
 past year they went through in equally good condition by refriger- 
 ator freight at just half the charge. 
 
 The preparation for market requires some skill, yet only such 
 as almost anyone can develop after carefully studying directions. 
 We have greatly simplified our method of preparation and the lambs 
 apparently sell as well. 
 
 It is very important to have them thoroughly bled out. To se- 
 cure this we have found it advantageous to suspend the lamb by the 
 
62 
 
 hind feet in killing. Suspend a short single-tree about six feet from 
 the ground. Loop a small rope or strong twine about each hind leg 
 and attach to the hooks of the single tree. With a sharp pointed 
 knife sever the artery and vein in the neck close above the head. 
 Be sure to sever the artery. Bright red blood is the assurance. The 
 venous blood is dark. Severing the head with a broad-ax would 
 perhaps cause less suffering and insure a thorough bleeding. I re- 
 move the head with a knife as soon as the lambs quits struggling. 
 Clip the wool from the brisket and strip four or five inches wide up- 
 ward to the udder or scrotum, also from between the hind legs as in 
 tagging sheep. Now open the lamb from the tail to the brisket. 
 Slit the skin up the inside of the hindquarters about four inches and 
 loosen the skin from the underlying muscles for two inches on either 
 side of the openings in the skin for the attachment of the caul fat. 
 This should be removed from the stomachs before they are detached 
 and in very cold weather placed in warm water until ready to be used. 
 Next remove the stomach and intestines. In the early part of the 
 season the liver, heart and lungs are not removed but when the 
 weather gets warm they must be. Carefully spread the caul fat 
 over all the exposed flesh. Good toothpicks should be provided for 
 attaching it and holding in place. Make small slits in it over the 
 kidneys and pull them through. This part of the work is the one 
 that requires skill to make the carcass look attractive. Now 
 hang it in a cool place for 12 to 24 hours. In extremely cold weath- 
 er 12 hours will be enough but better make 24 the rule. Then neat- 
 ly sew a square yard of clean muslin about each lamb so as to cover 
 all exposed surface. We formerly wrapped each one in burlap and 
 attached to a stretcher, but now place three in a light crate and tack 
 the burlap over the top. We line the crate with heavy paper. Pre- 
 pare them as shortly before shipping as possible. In warm weather 
 ice may be put between the lambs, not in them. Send them as 
 they are ready, three or six at a time. The market varies greatly, 
 depending upon weather and the number arriving. It is useless to 
 try to get them all in on a high market. Aim to slaughter regularly 
 each week if you have lambs in condition, and keep your commiss- 
 ion firm informed as to how many you will probably send and when. 
 Attention to details is the secret of success. 
 

 THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW 
 
 AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS 
 
 WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN 
 THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY 
 WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH 
 DAY AND TO $1.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY 
 OVERDUE. 
 
 MAR 12 1936 
 
 LD 21-100m-7,'33