Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1911-11-02
More Sheep in Minnesota.

No branch of animal husbandry
more invites the attention of the pro-
gressive Minnesota farmer, today,
than does the keeping Of sheep. AS
compared with cattle raising, it holds
out the lure of double return; a
crop of wool to be marketed in the
spring; bunch of lambs to be mar
keted little later. The labor in
volved in caring for flock of fifteen
or twenty sheep is less than that re-
quired by an equivalent number of
cattle, Sheep will thrive on pastur-
age which is insufficient for beeves;
they are great destroyers of weeds;
and beyond all other animals they en-
rich the land by their droppings. Hilly
or rolling land, such as abounds in
some sections of Minnesota, is their
favorite abiding place.
There are at present not more than
Is sheep to the square mile in Mime
sofa. There should be four times
as many. The perfect adaptation Of
surface and climate, supplemented by
the use of correct methods in breed
ing, feeding and shelter, should make
of Minnesota shepherds paradise
The present backward status of the
sheep-growing and wool-producing in
dustry in our state, is probably at.
tributable, first, to the pre-0ccupation
Of our farmers with other work; Sc
cond, to the destruction wrought in
years past, by dogs: third, to the
failures Of a number of men who,
without previous experience, went
into the business on a large scale, and
who found, when too late, that they
had bitten off more than they were
prepared to chew.
We would invite no one to turn
aside from successful cattle-raising >r
dairying to venture upon what may
be to him an untried experiment in
DuC Ou u1dny d udll
farm, and especially on farms with
insufficient live stock, there may be
room for a small bunch of sheep; and
the study and care of these may de-
velop such results as point the way to
the keeping Of larger numbers.
AS for dogs, the farmers Of our
State have of late recognized the
tramp dog, or any dog which will
| worry stock, as an intOllerable NUS
ance, and have tacitly united for his
determination. And then, if the pos
sibility of such killing remains. it is
Offset by the fact that a good shep-
herd dog, like the collie, for instance,
will protect the flock against all Ca
! nine intruders; as will billy-goat
put to pasture with them
Fifty or twenty ewes, and ram,
will constitute about the right-sized
flock with which to begin. They
must have abundant shelter from the
rain and snow but it need not be in
a warm barn. Wet, whether from
above or under-foot, is to be scrupu-
lously guarded against by the sheep
owner. Exposure in a cold rain is
bad for g. horse or steer; it is doubly
| bad for sheep. The sheep-sheds
should be on high, we'll drained site
Indeed, sheep should be allowed to
run over no low, wet land, no matter
how attractive the herbage thereon
may be.
Except that the ram should have a
little grain now and then, to maintain
| his virility, and the ewes a little at
lambing time, the flock will require
only pasturage for the greater part of
the year, with clover hay or like
roughage for winter feeding. The far
mer with only himself and child or
[ two to carry the burden Of caring for
animals, will often find the keeping
of sheep more advantageous than the
keeping of cattle.
An increase in the number of sheep
kept in Minnesota would be attended
| with the organization of marketing
agencies, for both mutton and wool,
along lines SO much more economical
than those at present existing as to
increase by a considerable amount
i the sheep-groWer's prof1t-C. R.
Barns, Elk. Div. MINI. Col. of Ag.
One Of the best investments that
any farmer can make, with a view to