Thf Farm

Mteh lias been said and written in regard to the successful wintering of sheep, but one of tlie most important things may be summed up in two woiSè - love them. lt is love for our pursalt that iusures its success, for that love ever prompts to constant care and niakes labor a pleasure. To those who have been long m the business, I need not repeat the advice- take good care of your sheep and they will take goodcare of you; but those just starting will be the gainers by remembering üiat a sheep well started in the fall is ' lf wintered. Siieep should have better care in early winter than farmers are in the habil of bestowing. Wintering sheep to ïn.&e them liveonly, is not attended witli profil, let prices rule high or low. Sheef are commonly neglected more in ëarljywiater than any otherfarm stock, for S&y are often the very last taken from the pastures. If sheep go into winter quarters in a declining state, the result is a demand for extra feed and care during the winter, and a light clip of wool in the spring. When a sheep is thriying, wool grows rapidly ; when a sheep is declining the growth is checked. If kept fat, large fleece; if poor a light one. Sheep should havealittle grain eveiy day, from the time grass begins to fail in the fall until it has a good star; in the spring. I would rather my sheep would have a gilí of corn or oats per day from the middle of November till April, than a pint a day from January till June. Tliere should be one object constantly before the mind of the flock-master, and that is, to keep his sheep in a thriving condition, Shelter is one of the flrst objects in wintering sheep successfully. Farmers often condemn barns and sheds as uiiuealthy places for sheep, when it is a want of ventilation that does the injurp. It is no argument against housing because some people keep them so po'uly ventilated as to injure their health. Nor is it an argument against shelter for stock, because it ia improperly used. I am no believer in having sheep simt up too closely. I like warm comfortable quarters for them at night, but they should not remain there all day. They should go out, get some exercise, and have some sunshine after a storm. We ought to know and appreeiate its benficial effects on animáis. Too large a number of sheep should not be wintered together. I believe seventy-flve is enough for one lot ; by no means let there be more than one hundred. There is much more danger of disease in large flocks'than in small ones. The proportion of sheep that do nq)t thrive is always greater in large fl(fcks than in small ones. Tíie división should be made so as to put sheep of about the same strength together. I .ambs should be by themselves, witha i tew tame old sheep ia keep them tame. i AH large and strong vï j"1"'"1 VI" i jj ,?.„,,,,„„, „mu all breeding ewes. By this system of división all have an equal chance which is impossible where large numbers of all ages and conditions run together. Feeding sheep cannot be too caref ully and scientiflcally done, lt should be ittended to, as near as possible, at the same time every day. Sheep, above all other animáis, should have a variety ol food. They are naturally very particular about their diet, are fond of dainty bits, and ref use everything not clean and wholesome; they will go hungry before they will eat musty hay or grain, or that which has been trod under foot. No other animáis should be tolerated in a yard with sheep, for it will only result in vexation and loss. Keeping sheep is pleasant and profitable if attended to properly. Wool is a sure thing, every year, and brings cash. It has its ups and downs, but Int any man make up his mind that none but his wife or administrator shall sell his wool for less than fifty cents per pound, and he will come out all right. I have Bred all kinds of stock in the last thirty years. My flock of sheep was originally bought of Archers, of Virginia, and the Lees of Washington couqty, Pa. I have no sheep for sale, but if I was a young man, and beginning with the knowledge I have gained, I would go into sheep and stick to sheep through thick and tilín.-