Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1869-05-20
SHEEP RAISING.

Mr.. Winnie, at the late meeting OF
the New York State Agricultural So
.icty, stated that he had been most sue
vesstul III this branch of agriculture,
having made money by it, while his
neiyhbors met with no success in it. !
and had given it III rs Improbable.
How he was able to succeed, while
they were not, was question which
M. Winnie has often been called upon
50 answer, and this paper was prepared
with this end in view.
The manner in which ne has achlcv-
ID this success is to large extent IN
dicatea in the following digest of his
interesting paper
STARTING RIGHT.
In all things, Mr. Winnie believed in
Me Importance of starting right, and in
the subject before him, he proposed to
commence IN that way, by commenc
ing a, the beginning. In tn first place,
then. whatevcrthe breed may be. it was
ul the greatest Importance that the
breeder select
COOP sToCk.
II may be necessary TO pay high
prices tor such stock. but they could
rest assured OF the fact, that if there
Was no money in feeding good SO k,
,hcre was none i'll feeding that
which was not good 1t would not
10 TO buy sheep to iced, because they
could be Dough. cheap. 1t costs as
much to winter one dollar as a five
dollar one, and this cost will equal
about Ave dollars tor each head. Then,
in the spring, while the one dollar
sheep, weighing about eighty pounds,
IS sold (at ) cents per lb) tor s5,dl, a
loss of 40 cents on the first cost, the
live dollar sheep, weighing at least one
hundred and twenty five pounds, is
sold at 10 cents per 10, equaling sl2 :
40. or net profit OF 81, 80, beside giving
You a creditahle name for bringing
good stock into market He would
next call the attention of breeders to
the Importance OF having
PROPER COMMENCES.
1t wa- ba lpolicy to attempt to fat
ten sheep in winter without proper
shelter. lie irstancel eases in proof
IT this statement, and proceeded to
describe his own buildings, which,
were arranged with the utmost care,
SO as to afford the sheep not only good
warm shelter, but every facility tor
proper feeding and care. These build
ings were constructed with compart-
ments, each designed for the herding
~ forty sheep. All but one of them
was u,.on the ground floors, which
were continually supplied with an
abundance OF litter, which was kept
can by frequent changing. Tan bark
ani forest mould were used upon
these floors, as best calculated to alb.
sorb the liquid manure, which he con-
si6ess:! Of great value. He had one
pen, in which he kept the sheep de-
signed tor immediate marketing, To-
ra,,a on a scaffold tioo., which was
treated with sprlnklings of bark
anil mould, and kept constantly clean.
FACES FOR FOOD AND FEEDING.
fIu had, in all Of these buildings, ar
rangemcnts made for keeping the grain
roots, etc, for feeding. Every day, at
noon, he was in the habit OF cutting
roo,s-by a machine-and feeding
them at the rate of three or four bush
els 10 every hundred sheep. In the
morning, after the ordinary feeding
and watering, grain was mixed with
oil meal and fed them in troughs ar
ranged in the stables for that purpose.
In the feeding Of meal, he began with
pint. and increased the quantity UNI
iii it reached quart, which was the
MaAimum quantity ted.
III regard TO the matter of feed, be
srre to have plenty OF it, OF good quail
itv and III convenient place. One
da. OF lax feeding will destroy the eff
feet u three days good feeding.
WATERING SHEEP.
W liter too, should be looked after
with regularity. 1t is my rule to have
,he hoys who attend to feeding and
Watering, FL. the trouehs twice IN the
morning after feeding, aud twice in
the afternoon, always commencing
with the first yard, (as is done in feed
ing as well as watering) and ending
with the last.
L!TTERING.
This, too, is something which must
not be neglected. l have stood in the
yard and noticed when the litterng or
bedding was getting dirty, how care.
fully the sheep avoided it, and how re-
l"rtan'iy they lay down upon il; and
as soon as clean bedding was given
them, have seen them drop down
hht;i it, and res, as contentcl and
happily, to all appearance, as an ex-
hausted person upon a bed OF straw.
believe that it is during this PERIOD Of
rest that they acquire flesh, and hence
! would recommend that sheep be kept
as rec from disturbance a. possible.
and allowed to rest as much as they
please. Never allow strangers in the
yard, unless with the feeders. have
40 sheep in the pen, tthe scaffoll pen.)
that are kept absolutely undisturbed
save by the daily visits of the feeder,
and their condition is better than that
VI those IN any other pen, which fact |
sttriLatu who'll. to the silence in which