"Knowledge never learned of schools, Of the tenants of the wood. "For eschewing books and tasks, Nature answers all he asks. Hand in hand with her he walks, Face to face with her he talks; Blessings on the barefoot boy." The farm offers the best opportunities for the physical development of the boy or girl. A gymnasium is a good place to develop the body; physical culture is excellent, but the boy or girl on the farm, while performing the daily tasks or running wild in the fields and woods, has a better chance for physical development than any course in gymnastics can give. And, best of all, this development goes on without his giving attention to the fact that he is developing muscle; whereas, in taking a course in gymnastics, the work is likely to grow monotonous, as it is done merely for the exercise. Concerning manual training a word should be said, as it is being introduced into our schools. To the farmer boy it matters not whether it is pursued in the schools or not; he gets it at home. If you do not want him to exercise his propensities for constructive work, you must keep your tools securely locked up. As for the girls, they have a chance to learn as much about domestic economy as in the best equipped schools. Not every home offers this opportunity, but every home should, if possible, for the sake of the girl, for the sake of the home and for the sake of the future home. Whether mother needs the help of her girls or not, she ought to let them help. She ought to require them to help and show them how. Give the girls a chance to bake bread. They may not make it as good as you can the first time, but let them try again and keep trying. They can not learn it by watching someone else. They learn to do by doing. Fortunately for the boy, the farmer needs his help. Let him plow corn. Yes, let him learn as much as possible about how a farm should be conducted. It matters not what occupation he may wish to follow when he grows to manhood; if he is going to be a preacher, it will make a better preacher of him. Abraham Lincoln was a better president than he could have been otherwise for having learned to work on the farm. If the boy intends to farm he should learn how to manage the work as he grows up. Let him have as much of the responsibility as possible. The young man who has always depended upon "Dad" to do all the managing is likely to find himself in sorry straits when he undertakes to conduct a farm for himself. He is not fitted for it. He knows how to work if someone tells him what to do. He knows how to work for someone else, but not for himself. In conclusion, let me say that the work of the farmer requires as extensive an education as that of any other calling. He should have a college education, if possible. He should learn to appreciate the best in literature and art. He should be trained for citizenship. He must feel that he is a part, and an important part, of the state, and must keep himself informed concerning the affairs of state, in order that he may intelligently exercise the right of citizenship. Last of all, the farmer should learn to feel the dignity of his work. There is no calling that is more noble than tilling the soil. Can the farmer succeed without education? I answer, that success is not measured by the number of bushels of potatoes he raises, nor the number of acres he leaves to his children. He alone succeeds who builds up a noble character, and character building is the end and aim of all education. "RAISING SHEEP ON A SMALL FARM FOR PROFIT.” [Read at the Farmers' Institute held at Richwood, January 1 and 2, 1908.] Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen:-My subject for your consideration is raising sheep on a small farm for profit. I want to say right here that I do not run an experiment station, neither do I expect to talk about balanced rations, but my talk will be along the line of what I have experienced in the care and handling of sheep. Nevertheless, I do appreciate what our experiment stations and our colleges are doing for the betterment of mankind in the way of preparing our young men and women for the duties of farm life. When called upon to prepare a paper on the above subject, I hesitated, for different reasons. First, on account of inability or lack of education; second, because we are living in an age when men differ, and I might say women, too, and I was in doubt whether it would be worth while for me to express myself in regard to the raising of sheep. Men have their ideas and I have mine. 1 am glad that we have this privilege. You will agree with me that it is one thing to raise sheep and another to raise them for profit. If you will go with me back to my boyhood days, to the days of our fathers and grandfathers, you will notice that they cared for their sheep in a different way from the up-to-date farmer of today. It was back there that we got the idea that sheep would thrive where other stock would starve. It was back there that we got the idea that all that was necessary were snow banks and hillsides for windbreaks, straw stacks and straw sheds for shelter. I am sorry to say, that we have men today who still cling to that idea. If you remember, it was a very common thing to see the pelt man with his mule team and wagon, going by loaded with pelts, and a large per cent. of dead lambs lying in the pasture field and in the back lots, all on account of exposure and neglect. I remember one time seeing a certain party bring a young lamb into the house to warm it up, and of course the nursing bottle was ordered, containing one part milk and three parts water. I don't want to condemn this party nor the nursing bottle, but I do want to condemn the contents. The idea of trying to raise a young lamb on water. I presume that with the high price of wool and the abundance of cheap pasture which prevailed at that time, they did realize a profit from their flock of sheep. Now in regard to raising sheep for profit. If it is necessary for the farmer to keep good horses, good cattle and good hogs in order to realize a profit, it is just as necessary for them to keep good sheep. In selecting breeding ewes, I would denounce the long legged, open wool sheep that only shears from two to four pounds of wool, and the little, measly, fine-wool sheep; they are not the sheep for the farmer to keep. I would select large, medium or open wool breeds; the larger the better. They should be well wooled ewes, ewes that will shear from eight to twelve pounds of nice, clean, medium wool. They should be strong, healthy and of the low-down type. They should combine the qualities of both wool and mutton. It is my honest opinion that the day is past for the ordinary farmer to devote his time to the raising of fine wool alone. They should be prolific ewes, ewes that will raise a large number of lambs; the more the better, for it is from this source that we get our profit. I believe the Downs breeds or the Cotswolds are the best for the ordinary farmer, as they are noted for raising large numbers of lambs, often two and sometimes three each. The large Merino or fine wool sheep, crossed on the Oxford, Shrop or Cotswold ram, makes a very good cross. The lambs are good size and bring the top price, generally. It might be well for me to call your attention to the fact that two of my neighbor boys, a few years ago, bought eleven medium fine wool ewes. They have been selling their lambs at weaning time to the shippers. In 1906, they got six and one-half cents a pound for their lambs and 80 cents a pound for their wool, which amounted to about nine dollars per ewe. In the year 1907, these ewes raised 15 lambs, which were sold to the shippers at five cents per pound. They weighed 102 pounds per head, and brought $76.50. The wool from these eleven ewes brought $23.10 or a total of $99.60 for both lambs and wool, a fraction over $9 a head. These ewes only cost the boys $2.25 per head, so you can easily see that they are paying a good profit on the investment. If you will go with me back to 1893, I will give you my experience in raising sheep. It was then I started to do for myself, and of course I could not start without sheep, so I bought 19 head of good breeding ewes. They were very large and of the medium wool kind. If you remember, about that time it was not very encouraging for the flock master; nevertheless, I was determined to try sheep. I paid $3.05 per, head for those ewes, or $57.95 for the bunch. That fall, on account of working out by the year, I let these ewes out on the shares, getting half the wool and half of the lambs. That year they raised 32 living lambs, which were sold in the fall at three cents per pound. They averaged 70 pounds per head and brought $67.20. The same year these ewes clipped a fraction over seven pounds of washed wool per head, which was sold at 19 cents per pound. The wool and lambs brought $93.80, so you see they paid me $46.90 on my investment, and I still had the ewes, which were as good as ever. If I should have had charge of the flock myself, they would have paid for themselves the first year and left a balance of $35.85 in my favor for care and keeping. In the fall of '94 I took charge of the flock myself. They proved to be very profitable all through the panic, paying me from $90 to $110 every year. In the fall of 1898 I sold the ewes at $4 per head, only to start again in 1899. This time I bought large medium, fine-wooled ewes and later on a few fullblood Oxford ewes. Today I have a very nice bunch of high-grade Oxford-Downs. I presume they will weigh from 140 to 200 pounds each. They clip every year between eight and nine pounds each; one year they averaged a fraction over nine pounds. I want to call your attention to the fact that the man who has been keeping ewes since 1898 and has not been realizing from $7 to $12 per head from them, there is either something wrong with the ewes or there is something wrong with the man. I believe I will be safe in saying that I can keep a ewe one year in good shape and her lamb or lambs until weaning time for $3.50. Well, if her wool will bring $2.25 and her lamb $5, is not there a small balance of $2.75 for my time and trouble. Since the fall of 1889 until the fall of 1896 I kept about 50 ewes on the farm. From these 50 ewes I always figured on getting from 65 to 75 living lambs and that meant at selling time, of both wool and lambs, over $8 per head. Figuring the lambs at five cents per pound and the wool at 25 cents per pound (this is figuring it very low, taking the prices that I have been getting for my lambs and wool the past few years), I always aim to get from one-third to one-half more lambs than I have ewes. I hope to give you a more correct report of the weight of my lambs before I close. Just a few words in regard to the ram. have always used an Oxford or Shrop ram. Since I started to do for myself, I get. In selecting a ram, I want a low, heavy body, straight on the back, broad and level over the shoulders, with thick neck, and with good, heavy bone. He should shear not less than ten pounds of wool. I want the wool of medium length, smooth on the surface, the thicker the better. He should weigh 200 pounds or over. The man who uses an inferior ram is simply taking a back track, for in the ram lies part of the secret of success. This last year I only had 19 ewes and they raised 22 lambs. I sold 20 fleeces of wool and 13 of these lambs for a little over $168, and I have nine ewe lambs left. I weighed one of them a few days ago and it weighed 119 pounds, so you see it is all in keeping good sheep and then caring for them. I was offered $75 for these lambs a few days ago, which would make a total of $243, or an average of about $12 per head. CARE OF SHEEP. You will agree with me that if there is anything in education, there is surely something in advancement. Then let us get away from the ideas and theories that were advanced nineteen hundred years ago. Log cabins and mud roads were all right in those days, but they are now almost a thing of the past. Straw stacks, straw sheds, snow banks and hillsides should be, when it comes to using them for sheltering sheep. Sheep need care. They need a dry, well ventilated shed in the winter; they need clean, wholesome food, clover hay, good, dry, bright fodder and clean oats or wheat straw. Never feed the straw in racks. Sprinkle it with weak brine and scatter it over the frozen ground. They need a nice, clean, dry lot or pasture field to run in on bright days. I don't feed very much grain. By giving them plenty of pasture through the summer months, if healthy, they will come into the winter in good condition. In case they are a little thin in the fall, I commence feeding a little grain in October and November, in order to get them in good condition before cold weather sets in. Sheep often suffer for water. They should have free access to pure, fresh water at all times. In order to keep them healthy through the summer, I give them plenty of salt with turpentine in small quantities. I also give about a tablespoonful of copperas to every ten sheep about once or twice a week. I feed a small amount of sulphur. Pine tar used on their noses through July, August and September is very good for them. I believe it has a tendency to drive away the grub fly. I have been with sheep all my life. I have had experience with foot rot and the scab, but do not recollect ever having any experience with grub in the head. It is my opinion that there are more sheep dying today without grub, or in other words, without feed, than there are dying with grub in the head. Exposure and filthy sheds mean catarrh and head trouble and that means grub in the head. Keep your sheep healthy and you will not be bothered with this trouble. The shepherd has another thing to contend with, and that is the good for nothing, worthless cures. They are a nuisance and a detriment to the flockmasters of our country, and if I had my way, they would have to seek shelter outside the boundaries of Ohio. TIME FOR LAMBS TO APPEAR. I aim to have my lambs make their appearance any time after the 25th of April and on through May. By this time the weather is beginning to get nice and warm. I take great pains with my ewes at this time. Let the weather be what it may, the ewes and lambs are all driven to the sheep house every night. I aim to keep the ewes that have little lambs by themselves; that is, I have a different pasture lot to let them run in for a few days or until they are 37-B. of A. old enough to care for themselves, when they are ready to be turned with the rest of the flock. In my sheep house I have partition gates to keep the ewes that have lambs separate while in the shed. These gates are so arranged that in case a ewe fails to own her lamb she can be placed in a small pen and kept there until she owns it. In case I fail, which I sometimes do, I then resort to the nursing bottle. With a good, fresh cow, which every farmer ought to have at this time, I generally save the lamb, not by diluting the milk, but by giving it fresh from the cow. I feed the lambs often and very little at a time. After the lambs are eight or ten days old, I feed all they want about four times a day. I do not have much trouble with ewes disowning their lambs if I have them come after the above date. I always clip my ewes about one week before the lambs begin to make their appearance. I do this in order to get rid of the ticks, if there are any, and to get the wool off so it will not interfere with the lamb's nursing. At this season of the year I am with my sheep quite a good deal. I aim to see them often through the day and the last thing I do before retiring I make a trip to the sheep barn to see if everything is all right. By having my lambs come at this time of the year and by having the wool off, with plenty of pasture and good, healthy ewes, I very seldom lose a lamb, and that is what helps out when selling time comes. Another thing I want you to notice; my lambs always do well. There is nothing to hinder a rapid growth if the season is at all favorable, and at selling time in the fall, I always have a nice, even bunch of lambs, lambs that have in the past seven years averaged 84 to 120 pounds at from five to seven months old. I sold one lamb this fall, four months old, which weighed 100 pounds, so it is easy to be seen that it is not necessary to raise February, March or April lambs in order to have a good, heavy lamb in November. I have had some experience in trying to raise February and March lambs. Some I raised and some I did not. In the fall I always had some that were inferior. It takes extra care, extra feed, and it is a great strain on the ewes to have the lambs in February and March. With all the good care and all the good feed that I could give the ewes, there were always some that would go on grass thin, only to stay in this condition until time to feed grain in the fall. So raising February and March lambs is a thing of the past with me. I urge you to have your lambs come at a time when you can save them and at a time when the ewes will own them, at a time when your ewes will have plenty of grass. Before I close I want to call your attention to that word Care and what it will do. Care will save the lambs; care will make the carcass; care will ward off disease; care will make fat, and fat will make wool. This all means money. I want to emphasize that word care, it is a whole essay in itself. So I urge you to care for your sheep. Don't use an inferior ram. Have an object in view. When I say object it reminds me of a conversation I had with an old pioneer farmer who had spent almost a lifetime in the breeding of fine wool sheep. He said that he had an ideal in view, and that ideal was to raise a bunch of ewes that would shear 12 pounds of clean, white wool, all of one staple. "Have staying qualities." This reminds me of still another conversation that I had with a prosperous farmer and an up-to-date sheep man. He said that he had seen the time when wool sold at $1 per pound, and from there down to 25 cents. When it got down to 25 cents he said he did not believe there was much in sheep, but was not desirous of selling his sheep, as a great many do. He turned his flock over to his son. The last conversation I had with him was |