The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1893-02-17
THE AGRICULTURAL WORLD
INTERESTING MATTERS PER-
TANNING TO THE FARM.
Yarding and Shedding Sheep--Tile
Drains--Device for Lifting
Beeves--Triumphs of Science
--Winter Poultry Keeping
--Short Notes.
Yarding and Shedding Sheep,

1 '" "IST EOOlCTy N00PlnR
--Short Notes.
Yarding and Shedding Sheep.
DR.. Henry s. Randall mentions in
his valuable work, "The Practical
Shepherd" that in the year 1862 an
unusually large percentage of the
lambs produced in some counties in
New York were imperfectly formed,
and the mortality among them was
unprecedentedly heavy. In attempt
ing to account for this loss, which
amounted in some instances to SO per
cent. he says that an extraordinary
lily deep snow fell in the early part OF
the winter, and was replenished about
as fast as it wasted away until the
opening of spring.
1t was remarked that most OF the
breeding ewes chung closely to their
stables-doing little more than rising
to eat and then lying down again.
The fiocks most accustomed to yard
ing in many instances did not tread
down the snow dozen yards from
their stables during the winter. But
the weather was steady and cold, so
that they continued to eat we'll,
and thus their inactivity Increased
their feshiness, and their freshness re.
acted and increased their inactivity.
On the opening Of spring they seemed
to be in uncommonly good order but
while they appeared to be we'll, there
were nevertheless, unmistakable SYM
toms Of plethoric habit in the best
fed focks-and it was in the best fed
f1ocks that the loss of lambs was, as
general thing the most severe.
This unusual mortality among
| lambs he thus attributed to the un-
favorable condition of the mothers,
! due to their close confnement-a con-
dition aided by an epizootic influence.
He does not say, though it may per-
haps be properly inferred, that the
eplzootic influence was itself an effect
from the close confinement. He urged
as preventive of such disasters, the
letting out of breeding ewes on the
fields for a limited time each day to
dig in the snow for green food, and
thus secure the daily exercise which
every sheep needs to keepit in healthy
condition.
An Iowa sheep owner, writing to the
Prairie Farmer, goes far beyond this
! conservative view. He believes in
tearing down all sheep sheds and
leaving the flock out OF doors night
and day the year round. And for
| this opinion, which has naturally
aroused much opposition among
sheep men, he presents some pretty
| strong grounds.
His farms are composed of fine blue
grass lands, and he keeps his sheep
| on the sod and not too long in the
same place. They are all Shropshir-
es, and he has four focks of 1000 to
| 1900 each, all either full blood
or grades. These sheep are all fed
out Of doors on the blue grass sod,
and never have seen muddy lots or
sheds.
In answer to an obiector, who said
that the beauties of the no-shed sys-
tenn we're demonstrated in Missouri
short time ago, when one man who
had no sheds lost but of a flock of2OO
ewes twenty-five lambs in as many
hours, he said, the same destructive
storm swept over Iowa, and the open
air advocate had between three and
four thousand lambs out in it, of
which he did not lose one-third as
many as the Missouri man lost, while
a neighbor, whose flock was housed in
one of the finest sheep barns in the
country lost 25 per cent, of his
lambs.
II can demonstrate the fact" he
says, "that ewes running on good
pastures in open fields IN summer and
in winter, and never shielded or
yarded, will grow strong, fat and
healthy, and their progeny will be
stronger, healthier and better
than the progeny OF any sheep
that are compelled to spend half of
their time in close shed or yard.
Their offspring will stand thirty five
degrees more cold than the puny thing
that comes from the housed-up ewe."
Ii, he adds, the money that is today
spent for sheds was spent for barbed
wire and high posts and used to build
fences with twelve wires on them,
strung so close together that dogs
could not get through them, it would
save millions of dollars worth of
sheep that are killed by dogs or lost
by shedding them, which is equally
bad.
The ground Of this contention is
that nature has given the sheep q
warmer coat than any other domestic
animal, and that if the sheep are kept
clean and healthy their wool will be
rich and oily, and will turn any
storms, keeping the body perfectly
dry. These views, though novel, are
certainly worthy OF careful considera-
ton. Their promulgator has had
twenty years experience, and has
tried both systems, so that he is no
mere theorist. It would be a great
gain indeed if sheep sheds could be dis
| pensed with.
| Tile Drains.
All land that has no sand or gravel
| subsoil should be under-drained.
/ The first thing in drainage is good
outlet, whether open ditch or tile;
large enough to carry the water from
/ 49, cv~o 11or lro;-c