The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1913-11-14
Need for and Care of Sheep in the South


From the Progressive
for market, giving the sheep raiser
little more of the needful at sea-
son of the year when a little extra
money comes very handy on most
farms.
Third, mutton is one of the most
healthful meats and can be produced
by the Southern farmer at less cost
than any other class of meat.
Fourth and last, but by no means
the least, sheep are needed on every
Southern farm because they help to
maintain the fertility of the farm and
make it possible to grow more cot
ton, corn, hay and other farm prod
ucts because of the fertility added
to the land and by the destruction
of noxious weeds and vegetation that
other stock will not eat.
| know from experience that
given acreage of meadow will fur
nish more grazing for cattle, hogs
and horses with limited number OF
sheep or goats running on same than
it will without sheep, as the sheep
eat and keep down the weeds that
would otherwise choke out more of
When we consult the census re-
ports and realize the comparatively
few sheep in the Southern states then
it is that one realizes that the masses
of the Southern farmers do not real
ize the need of sheep, as they should.
hNrC h
are needed in the South.
First, sheep are needed on every
Southern farm because the net reVe-
nue. derived from a flock of sheep is
greater than from any other stock
that can be grown. When I say net
revenue | of course mean in proper
ton to the outlay and cost Of main
tenancs.
Second, because they give their
owner an income at a season when
there is generally but little income
from any other farm product. In
March or April the sheep gives the
farmer a fleece of wool that is as
ready money as cotton or any crop
he can grow on the farm. And again
in May or June the lambs are ready
the grass and clover than the sheep
consume. Again, the sheep are their
own manure spreaders, scattering
their droppings as they travel over
the land in this sunny Southland of
ours. Sheep can be kept out doors
almost the entire season, and on open
days through the winter season they
will be top-dressing the meadow for
the farmer and at the same time
cleaning a good part of their living
from material that other stock will
not eat and that would go to waste
were it not for the sheep, and when
fed good hay or grain they convert it
into the highest class of fertilizer.
AS has been said of old, the sheep is
indeed the animal with the golden
hoof
After the cotton or corn has been
planted in the spring, if the weather
is favorable and before the grain be-
gins to come up, the sheep can be
turned into this field and the fence
corners, ditchbanks and other waste
places are cleaned Of the young vege-
tation. Even should there be no real
profit in this it adds materially to
the good looks of the field. With
flock of sheep, on the farm, the cut
ting out of fence corners becomes a
thing of the past after the sheep has
access to them for a few years.
AS to the care of sheep in the
South, I have no hesitancy in saying
that it requires less care for sheep
and goats than for any other stock
raised, but at the same time it re-
quires care and attention. This is
one of the great reasons that there
is today no more sheep in the South.
Too many Southern farmers have
started up a flock of sheep with the
/ idea that they did not require any
care and attention, and have made a
/ failure, and the result would have
been the same with any other kind of
stock. After the lambs have all come
in the spring and the sheep have
been clipped then they can be put OUT
/ to pasture where they can have plen-
ty to eat, shade and water, and they
require no further care except salt
ing until chilly winds of winter be-
gin to whistle, when they should
have access to a good shelter to pro-
tect them from the rain and snow.
If some of the cotton or corn land
has been sown to winter oats, wheat
or rye, in September, so that they
can have that to Craze on in addition
to the run of the meadow land, they
will need but little grain or hay ex-
cept on bad days, when they should
mot be let to run at large. Threshed
oats is the most preferable grain ra-