The log cabin Democrat., 1908-10-08
THE SMALL FLOCK OF SHEEP.
\ Missouri FIockmaster Tells Wherein
 They Pay.

For tAe man who urges that sheep 'r net pay the following by A. J. Grimes, prominent sheepman of
 ouri, may be some enlighten- sgnt:
 well fed flock of sheep is the post profitable property farmer can ,wu. The number of sheep has in
 reased over three million in Great ;ritain in the last few years until now here are over three hundred sheep to very square mile. If sheep raising vas looked upon as a primitive indus ny, suited only to barren and waste
 'nds, why is it that in Great Britain he tenat looks on his shepe as the ure5t rent payer on land that is worth from $3t to $500 an acre!
 The sheep business has passed the primitive stage. We can count on we'll established and increasing de nand for our mutton products. The people of the country, and in fact the consumers of all the American products, are demanding more nut. ton, and those who never ate the flesh of sheep before once having tasted tS fine flavor and discovered it's nu- lritiousness, are becoming steady con sumers of it, and not only is this the case, but when this best of all fresh neat is introduced, it stays and the de mand for it increases. We have al ways advocated that any farmer in 1Gr State can keep a small flock with satisfactory success. Failure in the zeeping of sheep invariably happens tn having too large a flock to begin with, for if one is able to keep success July a small flock, which any person with good judgment and good common sense may dc, it is no reason that he can keep a thousand with the same success, for in all arts pertaining to agriculture there is no branch so diff fcult to become proficient in as the shepherds art. This does not apply to sheep alone. Let any man over stock the capacity of his farm with ae95 or cattle and disaster is sure to 'g.low
 In my thirty years of experience in he sheep business I have always found that my sheep made me mora profit for the feed consumed and the capital invested than any other stock. nave made 150 per cent profit on grade ewes raising early lambs for the Eastern market. The sheep is the LOO per cent animal, whether it be 5r1zing on the rocks of the Ozarks pr on the fertile fields of this great State of ours, and there is nothing hat beau0fes or excites the artistic
 ye or makes the farm more attract V" and pleasant than well cared for flock Of sheep.
 There IS every encouragement for q progressive shepherd to start in the sheep business. II you have never had any experience in the business, let me warn you to go easy and buy a rew ewes and figure on improving in the future. One of the principles of suc- cess is to raise each year lambs that are better individuals than their moth CTS. Have your ideal. You know the ones that answer to the accepted type and your ideal. Study your flock; you know the ones that raise the best lambs and shear the heaviest fleece, and you learn to discard the coarse head, the heavy ear, the long leg, the cloudy wool and dark skin. Hold on to the ones that conform the nearest to your ideal, and the most esseneial and important part is good care. As some one has said, a wise shepherd feeds his lambs a month before he sees them and the foolish shepherd a month afterward.
 1 want to impress upon the minds of all that in all my experience the most essential and important thing to re- member to make the sheep business profitable is care. Care will make con- stitution; care will ward off disease care will save feed; care will make fat, and fat will make more and bet ter wool. Yes, and care will convince any man that the sheep is the 100 per cent profit animal. Now in conclusion, let me say that the aim of every farm CT in our State should be to keep a small flock of sheep, and it can be shown by figures of the most truthful character, and that cannot lie or de- ceive, that this can be done in what is now wsated on thousands of Missouri farms, and the profit from the flock well cared for will be 100 per cent, if aOt more.