Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1929-01-24

1afm income Dy only 90U year,
the buying power Of the county
will be increased by $100,000.)
"Few farmers in this county seem
to realize the large profits that can
be made through the proper method
of raising sheep" says W. l.. Wink
ler, one of the county's most sue
cessful sheep raisers. "The beauty
of it is that this extra profit can be
made through so little extra labor
that it does not in any way inter-
fere with the other activities of the
farm. Almost any farmer in the
county can place a few sheep on his
idle grazing land and add these ex-
ira dollars to his income without di-
minishing in any way his other
sources of revenue. 1t is pure
gain.
"By keeping careful records on
my sheep, l have found that the
wool will pay the whole cost Of
keeping and raising the sheep, leav-
ing the sale price of the lambs as
clear profit. This is not theory, but
actual fact as shown by my records.
I 'sThe average eve will produce
one lamb a year, and some will pro-
tdace two. At the very lowest mark
ct price, this lamb will bring So,
which, as l explained, is clear profit
If farmer has fifty ewes, therefore,
the very lowest profit he can expect,
provided always that he takes the
proper care of his sheep, is S4OO.
Certainly such a profit as this is not
to be despised by farmers of this
county. Even if he has room for
only a dozen ewes, his profit is
nearly S1O0. He raises many other
crops that require much less labor
than sheep with profit smaller
than that.
"Sheep can be raised with less la
Dor and trouble than any other kind
of livestock The fencing is prac-
tically the only labor involved, for
the sheep do not need to be fed eX-
cept during the month just before
lambing time. During this month,
the ewes are weak and need ration
of grain. They should not be over
fed, but the should have a good
substantial ration. At other times
during the year they can support
themselves on good grazing land, in
which this county abounds.
"Another peculiarity of sheep that
makes caring for them easier than
the care of other livestock is that
you can count exactly the time OF
lambing. For sheep is exactly 145
days, and it never varies. You can
keep your records, therefore, and
know exactly when to expect your
lambs. l kept such record one
year, and one night l went out and
brought in nineteen young lambs,
which arrived exactly on schedule.
ga word of warning need be add
ed about sailing. 1t will not do to
put out rock salt for sheep, because
they will stand and lick it until their
tongues get sore. Moreover, they
will get too much and then go to
water and drink so much that you
will have water-logged sheep"
"The grazing land should be a
pasture bordering on a wood. The
sheep are very fond of the grown
up grass which is found on most of
such lands, and in the woods they
find herbs that seem to have a
medicinal quality for them. My OBJ
servation is that nearly every farmer
in the county has just such grazing
lands bordering on woods. In most
cases, these lands are lying idle;
whereas they could be made profit
able with a few sheep.
Moreover, sheep are the best of
all fertilizers. Land on which sheep
have grazed has been found to be
much richer for crops in a few
years than land that has lain fallow.
"Some farmers object, however,
that sheep ruin the grass lands. This
is not true, unless the sheep have
been allowed to Craze on the land
during the month of April. 1t is
during this month that our grass
gets its start every year, and there
fore, the sheep should be kept off
of it during that month. They can
be kept in a pen and fed during that
time. There is another reason for