In the early days buildings were rarely used, but experience has shown that while they are not absolutely essential, increased profits are secured and the business made more certain by providing protection for the sheep, especially during lambing time. This protection usually consists of rough sheds 50 or 75 feet wide and often 200 feet long. Corrals, usually without cover, are located at points over the winter range, and the sheep are placed in these over night. The more substantial feeding cor rals are located near the ranch house. They are usually connected with open sheds in which the sheep may seek protection against snow and rain.
In the spring after lambing time the cheep are sheared, either by hand or with machine, and usually dipped as a precaution against ticks and disease, before they are taken out upon the sum mer range. In the Western States shearing is carried on by shearers who begin in early spring in Texas and Arizona. where two annual shear ings are made, As the season advances they travel northward to Montana, where the work ends in early July. They become so expert, and shear with such rapidity, that an average of from 90 to 120 sheep a day is usual. The maximum record is about 250 sheep in a day. Since about 1895 machine shearing has pro gressed rapidly, because more wool, an evener thence, and less injury to the sheep's skin are secured. The motive power is usually a gasoline engine, and shearing plants are constructed which contain from 10 to 40 clippers. No sort ing of the wool is done on the ranch, except that the wool of black sheep is sacked separately, since it brings a higher price.
The cost of sheep under range con ditions necessarily varies within rather wide limits. If the sheep-raiser makes use of the public lands without paying rental and taxes, and does not practice winter feeding, the busi ness may be conducted at a cost of about 25 cents per head per year. On the other hand, sheep raisers who maintain extensive plants, feed in winter, and rent or own much of their grazing land have found that the cost varies from 75 cents to $1.25 per head. The income under range conditions varies according to the locality and the skill and intelligence of the sheep-owner. In localities where the wool is comparatively free from sand, the income from the fleece in 1903 was from $1 to $1.50 per sheep. The lambs may be sold in the fall at $2 to $3 a head, depending upon their condition; and by feeding for a short time additional profit may be obtained. Some of the best sheep managers make a profit of $1.50 per head, but such high returns are above the average and cannot be realized every year.
Although sheep are well adapted to scanty vegetation and are capable of giving good re turns on the semi-arid lands, they also respond to liberal feeding and can be made to return good profits under farming conditions. The
high-priced agricultural lands of Great Britain maintain an average of 680 sheep per thousand acres; those of Scotland. in 1893. as high as 1380 sheep per thousand acres of agricultural land. In the leading agricultural States of the United States the number does not exceed 25 sheep per thousand acres. In the farming States. where mutton is the primary consideration and wool incidental, sheep-raising will usually return a satisfactory profit independent of the price of wool, as it has been demonstrated that the cost of producing a pound of mutton from good mut ton sheep does not exceed that of producing a pound of beef. Practical feeders have found that surplus grain may he fed with profit, and the number of sheep in the grain-producing States seems to be increasing. Corn (see Maim) is one of the cheapest grain rations for lambs. It is often fed in a mixture with oats or peas, and, for fattening, a little oil cake added. Various green crops, especially rape (q.v.), are grown for sheep pasture, the sheep being hurdled upon the fields and a rotation of green crops provided. Roots are extensively used. especially in England and parts of the United States where corn cannot be grown. Corn silage is equal in feeding value to roots, and is much cheaper. See :811...kcE.
Btetionnaen Y. Armatage, The Sheep, Its Varieties and Management in Health and Dis ease (London, 1893) : Coleman. Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs of Great Britain. (London, 1S87) ; Craig. Sheep Feeding. Farmers' Bulletin No. 49 (Washington, 1897) ; Curtiss, Raising Sheep for Mutton, Farmers' Bulletin No. 96 (Washington, 1899) ; Curtis, llorscs, Cattle, Sheep, and Swine (New York, 1893) ; Dodge, Sheep and Wool, Department of Agriculture, Report 66 (Wash ington, 1900)1 Gibson. Histcwy and Present State of the Sheep-Breeding Industry in the Argentine Republic (Buenos Ayres, 18931; .1lay. Das Sehaf (Breslau, 1868) ; .11cIvor. history and Derelop ment of Sheep harming from Antiquity to Mod ern Times (Sydney, 1893)1 31entzel, Schaft;ueht (Berlin, 1892) ; Randall, Sheep Husbandry with en. Account of tlw Different Breeds (New York, 1860) ; Rush worth, The Sheep ( Buffalo, 1S99) ; Salmon, Canaan. Heath, and i\linto, Special Re port on the History and Present Condition of the Sheep industry of the United States (Washing ton. 1892) ; Sanson, Les moutons, histoire natu rale et :ootechnic (Paris, 1885) ; Spooner, His tory, Structure. Economy. and Diseases of the Sheep (London. 1888) ; Stewart, The Domestic Sheep, Its Culture and general Management (Chicago, IS9S) ; Wilcox, Sheep Ranching in the Western States, in Annual Report Bureau of Ani mal Industry (Washington, Wrightson, Sheep, Breeds and Management (London. 1895) ; Youatt, Sheep, Their Breeds, Management, and Diseases (London, 1837).