Show SHEEP ARE NEGLECTED cur dog parasites and diseases discourage many good management and proper care will control if not eliminate these difficulties animals are good scavengers dy E L SHAW and L L many farmers have disposed ot their flocks and many others have re from entering the business be cause of some of the difficulties that are peculiar to this industry among the most important of these are cur dogs parasites and diseases A certain amount of trouble Is inevitable where these abound but ordinarily thin should not be sufficient to als courage the good man argement and proper care will control it not eliminate these difficulties the flock that must rustle for itself is the one that suffers most from these sources sheep are good scavengers but should not be made to subsist upon weeds alone with little or no attention on the part of the farmer the sooner the owner realizes that his cheep cannot return satisfactory profits under such conditions the combination rack for feeding hay and grain sheep can be fed from either side note construction for keeping chaff out of fleeces by the solid board at the top better it will be for him any extra care and teed given to the flock gen brally yields the greatest returns sheep will increase the fertility of the soil it they are handled properly to do this they should not be per matted to crop off the grass too closely which they will do if the pasture Is overstocked over stocked or it they are kept too long on one field sheep manure with one exception Is the most valuable of all farm manures it la thinly and evenly scattered over the ground and does not produce a rank growth in spots of the pasture as do other ma aures the manure Is also worked into the soil by the sharp hoofs of the sheep so that it la not washed away but becomes available as plant food this quality has well earned for sheep the title of golden hoot in england land which during queen elizabeths reign produced only six bushels of wheat per acre has beep made to yield 30 bushels at the pros ent time by the use of sheep better cultural methods may be the cause of a portion ot this increase but without doubt the sheep are responsible for the greater part of it another equally important way that cheep increase the productivity of the land Is in their destruction of weeds combination hay and grain rack sheep can fed from either side by eating the weeds they make more room for the cultivated crops and ln crease the supply ot plant food and water available tor them by prevent lag the weeds from using it no other class of live stock with the exception of goats will eat as many weeds as sheep by converting these waste products into wool and mutton they are a dource of profit to the owner |