Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-06-03
A TIMELY TOPIC.
selecting Improbable Sheep and Cows eoe
Summer Slaughter.

Summer Slaughter.
Farmers who keep sheep would do
well at shearing time to pass judgment
on the value of each one as the fleece
Is removed. If the fleece is light in
weight and poor in quality the prob
ability is that the sheep from which it
was taken is not worth keeping. 1t is
not q good animal to breed from, as
''hke produces like" and there is no
prospect that it will produce more or
better wool in the future. 1t is not .
good sheep for wool, and the only
chance to make money out of the an
lmal is in preparing its flesh for food.
1t will be best to mark it to distinguish
1t from the sheep that produce wool
enough for the food they eat and tho
trouble they make, and to place it
where it will become fat as soon as pos
slbie. A farmer who keeps hundred
sheep can select enough at shearins
time to supply his family with fresh
meat during the summer and fall with
out greatly lessening the value of his
flock for producing wool. Hone fleece
in every ten is very poor in quality it
will bring down the value of the others
when the entire is offered for sale.
Every sheep-keeper should endeavor to
improve. year by year, the quality of
the wool, and shearing time affords
the best opportunity to select the ami
mails that make poor return for their
keep. BY putting them into a good
pasture and feeding them some grain,
they can be fattened in a few weeks at
very small expense. The butchers in
small towns generally have trouble to
tlnd mutton to supply their customers.
and are prepared to buy fat sheep Of
farmers who live near them. Withers
can be made fat by the 1st of July,
but ewes that have lambs must be kept
till later in the season.
AS the weight and quality of the
wool obtained at the annual shearing
should decide whether it is profitable
to continue to keep certain sheep in
a flock, so the amount and richness of
the milk given by cows during several
weeks should determine whether they
are profitable tokeep in dairy herd. A
milk-producer can not afford to keep \
COW that onlyifurnishes small amount
of poor milk during few months
in the year. Neither will he find profit
in keeping one that is a hard mixer,
one that is inclined to kick on very
slight provocation or one whose milk
ing period is quite short. Cows whose
record is bad in either Of these respects
are not worthy place in dairy herd,
nor are they desirable as breeders of
for filing the beef barrel and not the
pail. The sooner they are con-
verted into beef the smaller will be the
loss to their owner. The value of
cow as a mixer can generally be de-
termined during the summer after she
has her first calf. She will probably
give more milk the second season than
the first, but if her milking record is
very poor the first year it is quite GER
tain that it will never be very good in
any subsequent year. 1t is best to de-
eide within three months after cow
has had her first calf whether she will
be profitable for member of dairy
herd. An intelligent opinion can be
formed by accurate weighing or meas
ureing her milk. by seeing how much
cream it produces. and by comparing
them with the milk or cream furnished |
by superior cows. A cow that fills |
the milk pail twice day during eight
of the year consumes hardly any |
more food than one that only half fills
it during much shorter period. She
requires no more room in the stable, |
and quite likely requires no more of the
time of the man who milks her.-Chi-
cago Times.