Care Of Sheep

At the iinnual meeting of the southwe-urn sheep breeilers' association, Mr. Hobart Jackson rcad a paper on this subject wMicli wc liiul puhlished in the Kala IDHCoe Tulegraph. Afu-r u few preliiniiiaiy obèervatlon?, he proceeded : The great secret of succtas lies ürat in the selcction of ewes and I i mis, and second in the care and management of tlnrk. The lamba should be put into ( Uicir yards in November, ccording to , the Hcather, but should have grain and what hay ihey will ent up clen every ulglll nr soiiiutiwe beton-; t is better that , ram lanibfl have a separate pen fi om the ewes. The late lanías, if any, should , have a pen by themselves ttiat they may have brttcr care. The feed - dover hay three tlinrs a day, oats or oats and bran (two parts of oats and one of bran) twice a day. Lambí should be tagged when ( put Into the yards or pens. In no case over f eed a ram - not even for a heavy fleece. Many of the best hum are ruined by this crowdlnjr process - syerfeeding in winter and lack of pasture and care in slimmer. In i.iring for tlie breeding ewes they thoolii have the warmest place in the barn, Tlie more exerclse the better. A tred of oornslalks in niornii'g in a field away from the barn, etruw in the yard at midi, with uil the hny they can clean Up at niyht in the barn; grain at least onoe H diiy. Three or fuur weeks before the lanili art) droppeil ald bran to the feed of grain and incieasi' the feed of dover liay. The ba n s ïould be kept free from nianure. ¦¦ the gasi-s are injnrioiis to lamba. Wlieii the lambs are two weeks old 1V cl the ewes more ;rrain to liwrèi(c flow of inilk; goxl niilkinj.' qualities in the rwes is one of tlie most important potnU. live siiwn in the tall before to turn ihe ewes on, thus gcttiug them outo grown feed before rrnss Rtarts, is a frod plan. Special pains should be taken to ki'cp the lanibs growing steadily from liirlii to maturity. ]{oots are good feed for sbeep, old or young. I prefer the fugar beet. Mangle wurzel are also jfood. Sbeep should have free arooM to snit and water. Ram should be sheared the mlddle of April; rest of the flock by tlie Ift of Mny. Don't wash grade flocks. If flocks vrere sheared before turninir out to pasture t h ere would be less dirt in the wool. If a barn Is near the pasture let sheep have free acoess to barn and yard for ibeller for heat of day and cold of nijiht, etc. If the flock are grades and are tuined in a pasture away from the burn It in h good plan to afford tbem the shelter of woods, thus escaping In a degree tlic heat of the sun and dangers from the rly. Tl ey niay be turned to low land, hut not confiued to such land. L-inibí should bi' docked when two or tli ice weeks old. Troughs should be low for feeding ewes 80 tlie lamba may lean to eat as soon as they wlll. In eummer slucp should have their noses tarred every two or three weeks to protect atralnst the fly and for general good healtli. Litnbs should be weaned in August and given the best pasture - the ewes put on short pasture for a while to stop the flow of milk. In three or four days afler tlie lnmb may be turned in with the ewes for a short time. About Sept.l, stock rams should be taken from the flock of rams and rained night nnd inorninjf, oats with a small amou'it of wheat. After this time breedInf! ewes should have rrain once a day. JuM grass pasture is best for them. Sliould be breil durlng üctober and November. Keep sheep out of the fall rains. In the selectlon of a stock ram we should consider that we match the value of the ewes igainsl the value of the ram, and exercise can? in the selectlon. Have an ideal sheep and breed for it; stand by the cour9 till you see the result of labor; then if you see j'ou are breed ing wrong, stop. Visit other sheep farms and learn what 8 best from other breeders. Discusión followed. Mr. Kirby deprecated the cros-ing of covrse rains and merino ewes. Bnmetiuies he had uscd coarse rams vlth lower grade ewes but where this couree was followed he favored the disposal of the product as lambo. He objected to crossing high grades with merino ewe. In fattening he had observed tint althouh multon Iamb8 gave a slijjlit increase in flesh from a eorrespondinj; use of grain, tlie Increased value of the wool product from the merinos fully compensated. He spoke of 200 merino weathers, the beft lot of sheep he ever fattened mak ing a gain per head of 41 poumn and ihesrlnx heavy fleeces of high grade wool. Mr. Morrlson, of Pavillion, said that (hoy wcii' using a Shropshire ram with mui ino cwes berause he could raise pjor? lamlis of halfbreeds, and that they made greater tr"i"K "¦ inutton producers. He had flifüVulry In raUinjl merino lambs, and they proposed to carry the crossing of Shiopsliircs with merinos further and to higher gradee Mr. Hammond gave nn instance of thorouuhbred merino weathers which he fed during the wool depression of '68-9 in the game pens with Mlchisran wethers and tliey leached as heavy wclghts and sold for 1 cent per pound more in Albany than Michigan breeds. The sllent man may be ovorlooked now, but he will get a hearing by and by.