The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-04-06


All the stock keepers aim at getting
pay for their expense and labor, But the
methods Of doing this arc widely different,
There is quite a large class who seem to
think that the profit is inherent in the
animal, and that 1t only requires 30 many
sheep on q farm to make a certain gain,
and II the profit is not found 1t Is the fault
Of the sheep. This class never study the
nature and wants Of an animal, and then
provide for them in generous way, that
they may produce generous return
They often lay great stress upon the
breed, but none upon the care and feed,
This class will never make anything by
keeping stock Of any kind. They believe
something comes from nothing, In mira
Clcs and not In works.
But the class that can mako sheep pay
believe that every pound Of mutton and
every pound Of wool represents certain
amount Of food and care, They believe
much in breed, but that every breed has
been produced by intelligent selection
and generous treatment. They have no
faith that any breed can produce carcass
Of 200 pounds weight and fleece Of
l2 to 10 pounds, without eating the
amount Of food required for that weight
Of carcass and fleece. They know that
time is u most important element in the
growth Of all animals, and that the short
or the tinO required To reach certain
weight, the greater the profit, This prin.
cipIo once established, they are not look
ing for sheep that cat but little, but those
that can cut and digest the most, They
naturally regard the capacity to cat and
utilize food as the miller does tho CapaCi.
ty OF his mill to grind. II II will grind
thirty bushels per hour, he secs much
larger profit than In one that will grind
only ten. II takes u certain amount Of
food to support respiration and the live
weight Of the sheep, without any growth,
and the gain must all come from the food
eaten beyond this; II II eats little II gains
little, and what II does eat il mostly lost.
IT, by generous keeping, sheep can reach
the weight ut II months that II would
reach IN IS or q months with u mcagrc
diet, who does not BCo the advantage Of
full feeding? Now, that flock master will
succeed best who produces given amount
OF mutton and wool from the least amount
Of food. .
Well kept CotswOld ewes will average
at 20 to "a months, $50 pounds; shear ut
the end Of the first year 10 lbs, and sec.
ond year ~ lbs; making % lbs. Of wool,
which will always bring DO cents per
pound, or $ll; will raise lamb the sec
ond year, worth, for tho butcher, at six
months, 50 to IS, and the carcass Of the
eve, II fat in the fall, is worth, at leaSt
six cents per pound; or Sl5; making al!
aggregate Of $50 to 1874, for two years mud
half keeping, starting from q lamb, o
$40 per head per year: and II kept till
i've years old, will pay IN wool and lambs
about the same, 40 that Sl2 per head may
be asstinled as the average yield, per year
ola Cotswold. Now II We compare this
product OF long wool sheep with that
from the dairy, md estimate sheep rs
equal, In consumption Of food, to a COW, VI
have $64 as the product OF tho sheep rep
resenting the cow This il not inferior
in profit to the dairy, since the average
income, In our best dairy district, does
not exceed $50 per COW. But we must
not suppose that this average Of Sl2 per
sheep can 10 reached with common,
Indifferent management, We should
expect small degree Of carelessnesa or
ignorance in the management OF Cots
wolds, or other long wool sheep, to re-
duce this figure oho.half. or to 50 per
head, Just as the same sort Of manage
ment will reduce the produce Of cows
from $50 to $50, which represents the
average Of many dairy districts. The
weight mentioned at two years, 25C
pounds, Is only obtained by generous
feeding from the birth Of the lamb; and
this food must not consist OF two largely
concentrated food, such as Indian corn
but must, 10 some extent, consist OF green
succulent food, even in winter such ~
roots, pumpkins OF oil meal. The oil
meal Which We send 10 England for {
market, would make millions Of ponnd
Of mutton and wool, and leave tis mucl
richer both In money and soil II fed n
home, and there Ia probably no ANNA
that Ii more benefited by the use Of thi
food than the sheep during our COLI
seasun.-BufdtO Lire Stock Market.