Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 160, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 July 1918 — SCHEME TO FEED WASTE TO SHEEP [ARTICLE]

SCHEME TO FEED WASTE TO SHEEP

Opportunity Offered on College Grounds, in Parks and on Large Private Lawns. MAKE MONEY OUT OF FLOCKS Saving Also Made in Mowing and Weed Eradication— Investigate Before Launching into Enterprise. There are - thousands of places in the United States where grass is now going to waste that would support small flocks of sheep. Among such places are public parks, golf courses,, private estates with large lawns, and college grounds. Over most of these areas a lawn mower is run regularly to keep down the grass. If a flock of sheep were substituted for the lawn mower not only would the grass be utilized for food production but the labor nbw necessary to keep the grass cut would be released for other and more essential war work. Of course, considerable care needs to be exercised in the matter of stocking such open areas with sheep. The creation of a big demand for animals . for this purpose so as to interfere se-! rlously with normal market conditions i would not be desirable. The United States department of agriculture advises persons charged with the care of such properties to consider putting tn some sheep, but to investigate conditions thoroughly before they embark in the enterprise. The animal husbandry division of the department will be glad to answer requests for information, and has a number of publications on the subject available for free distribution. Pleasure and Profit. It is believed that in many Instances, particularly on the large golf courses and at educational Institutions having extensive grounds, sheep raising could be practiced in such manner as to bring a large measure both of pleasure and profit. This should be particularly true on school grounds where ordinarily some member of the faculty is a good enough animal husbandman to give them the proper care. In any event, it is a matter worthy of .careful consideration. The gross annual returns from ewes of breeding age may be expected to range as high as S2O a head. The fleece from one sheep averages from five to eight pounds and is now selling for from 50 to 65 cents a pound. One lamb to each ewe is a conservative estimate. The lamb at five months will weigh approximately 60 pounds and be worth probably 20 cents a pound. A flock of 20 ewes such as could be maintained on a good-sized college campus might be expected, therefore, to yield an annual profit of approximately $350, Which would go a good way toward endowing a lectureship. ; Weed Eradication. Aside from the question of direct profit, sheep would be useful on such lawns in eradicating weeds. For several years the Kansas state agricultural college spent over S4BO a year on the college campus In an effort to eradicate dandelions. About three years ago the animal husbandry department was short of pasture for its sheep and suggested to the college authorities that if the money formerly' spent for dandelion eradication were turned over to them they would undertake to get rid of the dandelions by graying the sheep on the campus. Today there are practically no dandelions on the Kansas agricultural college grounds. The same thing would be true on any other large lawn. In practically all cases, on order to keep them out of beds and shrubbery, sheep must be herded. This ran be

done, however, by unskilled labor, even by 'small chlldreb, and the expense need not be large. * Illustrious Example. People who install sheep on lawns will be following an illustrious example. For many weeks now a small flock of sheep has been grazing on the White House grounds, converting the grass which was formerly wasted into good meat and wool, and incidentally keeping down weeds that were a source of endless trouble. It has been found that the sheep are not only useful but ornamental. Many thousands of people have been attracted by the pretty picture of the fleecy animals in President Wilson’s yard.’