The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1883-08-10
Management OF Sheep in Summer.

An important point is certainl,
gained when the stOck-maSter has pro
vided well drained and nutritious gras.
ranges for his fiocks. But there ait
other considerations to claim attention
The proper stocking of pastures is
matter TO be looked after. The ex
tremes of overstocking and understock
ing must be avoided for best results
Overstocking, the more frequent error
causes 4 scarcity of pasture and = Ge.
ticieut supply of nutriment- The sheep
also take up sand and earth into theiI
stomachS with their food. and this cause.
disease. On the other hand, when the
pasture is not cloSe-cropped. the herb
age becomes hard and more or less in.
digeStible. so that sheep do not thrive
upon it. There Is an old adage, fami
liar TO many shepherds. that twenty
four hours pasture Is best for sheep anC
eight DAYS grass for an OK" In s
word. the close bite of sheep should be
furnished with close heritage. the ten
der growth of thick, short pasturage
Pastures not closely cropped ought Il
be either moved or pastured down by
cattle before the sheep are turned on it
It paws. aS 4 rule, To divide the iocks
paSturing the younger and less vigor
Gus animals together: in a word. sort
ing lambs and yearlings from mother
and older ewes. and giving the former
the best pasturage.
When the range Is limited or the past
ure Is not ample, additional food should
be supplied in way of corn. oats, braI
or oatmeal The day the pastures
begin to fail. if provision i
not made for sufficient nutriment
the quality OF the wool Will begir
TO deterio-ate and what is known a.
'.break in the WOOL viii be the result
Care must also be exercised when extrs
food is supplied TO proportion it to the
real need of the sheep An over supply
will result in 81 equal disadvantage. eS
peciallv when there i Overfeed one dav
and little or nothing next dav. For
evenness in the fleece sheep must be fec
regularly-that Is TO say, they must from
pasture, range or feeding trough obtain
a due amount Of nourishment daily. !
There is no question but that irregular
feeding not only affects the health and
flesh of the animal but diminishes the
growth and weight of fleece and weak !
ems its fibre.
When pasture Is insufficient, an Geo.
nomical plan is TO supplement it BY
sowed green crops to be fed on the I
ground or cut and fed in racks. Roots /
are also largely cultivated for this pur-
pose.
A very important item Is the supply /
of water OF course. when nature pro-
vides living springs or clear. flowing 1
streams, these are the best source OF /
supply. StagnanI water Is decidedly /
Objectionable Most shepherds give the 1
preference 70 hard water over soft
water, when either can be had. on the .
score that the former contains min
ersl matter. Waters containing 4
goodly percentage OF lime, soda. mag
nesia. iron, sulphur, etc. are positive /
source of noarishment to sheep. A de-
ficiencT in mineral matter NAV be OBJ /
Waited BY giving the sheep an occasional
mixture of common salt. sulphur. phos-
phate of line, bone dust. etc. A CON-
mon source OF disease among sheep Is
pond or marsh water and water living
in the holl0ws of undrained pastures
The exposure of pasture also has its
effect upon sheep. Pastures near the
seaeoast exposed to moist sea-breezes
render the wool harsh. Sheep exposed
70 north wInds ere Ifghter IN weight
and less healthy than tfocks on SOUTH
ern exposure. Long-eontinued winds
are productive not only of discomfort
but sickness in 4 fOck.-N- !. World.