Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1908-02-08
SHEEP RAISING IS A
PROFITABLE INDUSTRY
And Wisconsin is the Right
Place for it.
Chas. Case Gives Reasons for This Be.
lief and States Some Very Inter-
esting Facts

Paper read by Chas Case, Lancaster. be
fore she recent Farmers Institute
In taking up the subject of sheep,
l do not think it necessary to go
back and give the history OF the
sheep, but will say a few words on
sheep raising in Wisconsin, and let
me say that ] do not think YOU
could find a better place than Wis
cOnsin for the raising of sheep, nor
a place where they have any better
sleep than we have here. AID to
prove the statement: look at the re-
cord Wisconsin has made at the
| Worlds Fair and ct the Fat Stock
shows, and at the State fairs, and
you will see that Wisconsin has
taken more premiums that any
other state and more than Canada,
where they have showed at the
same place. And other adjoining
states have recognized the fact that
Wisconsin is ahead and have formed
isheep breeders associations to try
and improve their sheep so WiscOn-
sin cannot come in and carry off
their best premiums Now, why is
it that we have ten head of cattle to
one of sheep when our winter gar
ments cost SO must and mutton sells
higher than beef, and the expert
ment station tells us that we can
put pound of gain on the sheep
cheaper than we can on a steer?
s BREEDS OF SHEEP.
There are great many varieties
of sheep but they are divided into
three classes, the long wooded, the
medium wool, and the fine wool.
The most popular of the long wool
in Wisconsin is the Cotswold and
Lincoln; of the medium wool, the
Oxford Down, the Shropshire Down,
the Hampshire Down and the South
Down; of the fine wool, they are of
the Merino breeds of which there
are great many different varieties.
In staftlng IN to raise sheep, | would
advise any one to get the breeds he
thought the best aud then strive to-
make them better
| Taking the financial point. / do,
not find anything on the farm that
will pay SO large q profit as the
sheep, for what they consume; and
they take tbs least time and care.
Ia the spring we get the wool which
ON good flock of graded sheep
should bring from 50 25 to So. 90 per
head, the way the wOol market has
| teen for the last several wears. and
| IN the summer aud fall we have
crop of lambs TO sell that should
bring from SIS 90 to SO 90 per head.
| if they have had good pasture and
you will hardly see what they have
cost You,
BREEDING OF SHEEP.
The idea that a sheep is a sheep"
has been mostly done away with
and You cannot find but very few
fiocks today but what are pretty
we'll graded up. md one should be
careful in breeding and try to i'm
prove their flock. We should use
only pure bred sires ard look well
to the quality OF tAem The old
saying that the sire is half of the
flock is only true when the ewes to
be mated with are well bred, SO they
will bave an equal Influence on the
offspring But where one side is
scrub or grade and from that point
the average farmer starts his flock,
that saying is not true; then the sire
becomes all OF the flock as far as
blood lines are concerned.
FEEDING AND CARE OF FLOCK.
Sheep should have clean, dry
shed or barn. IL does not need to
be warm unless you intend to raise
winter lambs. but should be dry ana
they should have clean, dry place
to lie so as to keep clean. They
should have the run of the fields in
winter and they will pick most of
their living and be healthier than
if shut in a yard where they get but
little exercise. For feed, clio yer, hay
and corn fodder are good. Hay
should be fed in racks so the sheep
cannot run over it. A good rack is
made of narrow boards nailed up
and down, and about three inches
apart. If you intend to raise early
lambs warm place should be pro
vided for them and the ewes should
be fed some grain for two or three
weeks before Landing so as to have
a good flow of mllK. A good grain
ration for this feed is ground oats
and bran, equal parts by weight
with little oil meal added, about
one tenth part by weight. The
ewes and their lam BIZ should be
shut up by themselves for two or
three days and then care should be
taken when turned with the rest of
the flock that older lambs do not
rob the little ones. A place should
be fixed to feed the lambs as soon
as they are old enough to eat, and
lamb three weeks old will commence
to eat. A place should be fixed to
let the lambs through and close
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