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SENIOR THESIS.

AGRICULTURAL COURSE,

 

COMPARATIVE COS? OF WINTERING SHROPSHIRE AND MERINO GRADE SVWES.

-3:-:bDY:~-:-
roe,

W. T2 Parks.
“nae

lalidekiceiiiahhdcihidehdal
(
( Class of 1900 )

)
SSS SSS ISS SSS SSS SS OS SES SES

of the
MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE,
Agricultural College,

Michigan.

1900
THESIS
INTRODUCTION,

Sheep are associated with man in the earliest records of
the human race, At first they were raised for their milk, and
their skins were used for clothing and the making of many useful
utensils. They were offered as sacrificos in religeous worship
and many rich men counted their wealth in the number of sheep they
had in their flocks, From then until now the sheep have increased
in utility. There has been great improvement in the animals them
selves, Many men of history have taken it upon themselves to im
prove the sheep and fit them for special uses of mankind. We
might name a score or more of men, well known to sheep breeders,
who have been more or less directly instruncntal in making the
sheep what it is to-day. Different men have developed the sheep
along different lines. Some have seen in them a source of food for
the multitudes and have selected only those for breeding which
possessed his ideal form of leg, loin, and shoulder, He has test-
ed the flavor of mutton in the different families of his flock and
has retained only those which produce the best. He does not care
s0 much for the wool that grows on their backs. His one aim is to
get a sheep that will weigh the most, dress the greatest per cent,
and sell for the highest price in the open market. Other men have
seen on the sheep clothing for the world and have endeavored to
perfect this quality. They breed only those that have the most

wool of the finest fiber. This, also, has developed to a remarkab-'

10382334
degree. The amount of wool has increased eight and ten fold from

a single sheep over the sheep of a hundred years ago. Out of this
attempt to develop the sheep for different purposes have sprung a
great number of breeds such as the Southdowns, Oxfords, Shrop-
shires, Suffolks, Lincolns, Leicesters, Cotswolds, Dorsets,

Delains, Rambouillets, Black Tops, Merinos, and a few other breeds.
Each of these have good qualities peculiar to themselves and are
raised in their respective sections as the leading sheep where
these special qualities are considered most valuable. It is very
fortunate that breeds possessing varied characteristics have been

developed so that there are breeds adapted for all sections of the

count ry.

Why sheep production in America is important,

At present, the supply of sheep products 1s not sufficient to
satisfy the demands of our home markets. The average number of
sheep on hand each year from 1891 to 1895, inclusive, was about
44000000. The years that followed this showed a decrease, This
was probably doito a decline in prices of sheep products. Yet,
with this apparently large number of sheep in the United States
there is a large importation of mutton and wool. Canada alone ships
into the United States each year mutton to the value of over a
million dollars, We have also been importing twenty-five or thir-
ty million dollars worth of wool annually during recent years.

Our rich fields and great variety of food stuffs are well suitod
 

3
for the growing of as good sheep at as small a cost as any other
country in the world. The United States raises a great deal more
food stuffs than it consumes and this surplus has to seek a market

outside. Corn can be feed to sheep and make a return equal to

forty or fifty cents a bushel for the grain consumed. Why not
keep our corn, and feed our sheep at home, thus supplying our home
market. This vould be a great saving in transportation and also
increase the magnitude of one of our already large industries.
There are some othcr considerations worth mentioning. Whenever a
crop of grain is taken from a field there ts a large amount of
fertility taken from the soil. In raising sheep as with raising
other stock this fertility can be returned to the soil as farm
yard manure, It would be far beiter for American farming and for
our system of agriculture to convert our surplus grain products
into mutton and wool, at least to the extent of supplying our own

markets, rather than export them.

The Nee@ of an Experiment,

In these days when competition is so keen and profits arc so
small, It is very desirable that production should be carried on ©
as cheaply as possible. Maeny a man has started out in the sheep
industry and failed, others have made fortunes, Why is it? Many
times it is because those who have succeeded vere able to produce
more cheaply than othors. In looking over the work of different

experiment stations we find very little done on the feeding and

raising of sheep. CGC. F. Curtiss of the Iowa station has published
a valuable bulletin on "Raising Sheep for Hutton". A few other
bulletins have touched on the subject of sheep. But there has
been nothing sent out, as far as we can find, that would assist a
man starting out in the sheep industry to choose from the various
vreeds the one that would insure the greatest success. Therefore
we have planned an experiment that might, to a limited extent, as-

sist in choosing the kind of sheep to raise.

Plen of Experiment,
The plan of this experiment is to determine the comparative

cost of maintaining through the winter two flocks of sheep that
might be considered as extreme types most common in America.

There was at this time a flock of fixe Shropshire ewes at the Col-
lege, so this vas taken as one of the flocks as Shropshires are
very common in the United States and a good example of the down or
mutton breeds. A crade from the wool breeds was considered the
other extreme, therefore, we took Merino grades. This latter
Class is most common among the farmers whose chief object is wool
growing. Eleven grades were purchased through a buyer and with
these were put four pure bred Merinos. This was to enéble us to
draw further conclusions between the Shropshires and Merino pure
bloods. A maintainance ration was fed to these flocks in propor
tion to their respective weights, during a large part of the win-
ter. The primary object was to determine which could be wintored
the cheaper, and the secondary object was to determine the exact

cost of wintering sheep.
5

The sheep vere to be placed in pens in the same bam and each
given the same care, They vere to be fed at morning and night on
clover hay, and grain consisting of equal parts of shelled corn,
oats, and wheat bran. At noon, they were to be fed sugar bects,
They were well bedded with wheat straw once or twice a week and
well supplied with good,clean water, Welghts of each sheep were
taken every week. The average temperature of the atmosphere of
the barn for each week was kept. Both flocks vere kept inside in
stormy weather and allowed to run outside in Pleasant weather.

For a bettor understanding of the kind of sheep used in this
experiment, a short history of the Shropshire and Merino breeds
are given below; a180 a history of the Shropshires and Merino

grades used in this experiment.

History of the Shropshiras.
The origin of the Shropshire breed may be traced almost di-

rectly to the polled sheep of Cammock Heath, and the old black, or
spotted faced breed of Morfe Common. In Volume XVI Journal of the
Royal Agricultural Society, there is given this fragment of a re~-

port from the Bristol Wool Society (1792) regarding the breed last

referred to:
“On Morfe Common, near Bridgnorth, there are about 10000

sheep kept during the summer months, which produce wool of a sup-
erior quality. They are considered a native breed , are black
faced or brown, or spotted faced horned sheep, little subject to

either rot or scab",
8

The sheep of Cammock Heath vere hormless with grayish faces
and legs, and are described by Youatt as attaining great weicht.
From these two hardy native breeds the Shropshire has been gradual-
ly improved, whether Within itself or by further out-crossing with
other breeds is difficult to determine ~- until now it stands the
acknowledged rival of any of our modern middle-wool breeds.

This breed has been long and favorably known in England, but
it is comparatively new in America. The frirst importation of any
note wap made in 1855 in Virginia, but it is only within the last
ten or twelve years that the Shropshire sheep have attained any
marked attention from breeders on this side of the Atlantic.

‘The Shropshires are described as follows: "The face is dark
grayish or brown, wool coming well down to the eyes and with no
traces of horns. The legs are darker than the face - almost
black; head longer than in the Southdown and ears larger, while
the wool is closer set, finer, and longer in staPls. the weights
vary all the way from one hundred fifty to two hundred twenty-five
pounds in good animals*. The Shropshires are especially fitted,
by conditions under which they have been reared, for moist or even
wet localities. It is doubtful whether they will do remarkably
well on the dry ranges of the southwest but Shropshire rams, for the
the use of grading up the middle wools already on the ranges, are

giving good satisfaction.
History of the Merino,

The oldest reliable records of the Merino breed goes back
only to the early history of Spain.

Law (1842) says:

"Uron the whole, although authentic documents on the
subject are wanting, there are presumptions that the sheep in
Africa were employed to perfect the sheep of Spain with respect to
the production of wool, The Merinos exhibit certain charactcris~-
tics which seem to show them to have been derived from some coun-
try warmer than that in whioh they were naturelized, and it was
during the dominion of the African possessors of the country that
the wool of Spain arrived at its greatest excellence."

Let this be as it may, we have reliable records that the
Merino existed as a distinct race two thousand years ago. For a
long time Merino wool was famous all over Europe for its fine
quality. Even the emperors desired their robes made from the wool
of the Spainish flocks. It is probable that the fine wooled sheep
that we read of in ancient history were the natural products of

very favorable conditions of climate and soil, by which inferior

races vere greatly improved rather than any great effort to breed
them up to any desired standard.

The Merino is certainly the oldest of surviving breeds and
its history is co-existent with the history of Spain. These sheep
were kept on the hill pastures and we find them in 1800 a hardy

preed with many excellent characteristics and used to rougn

weather.
8

The sheep were guarded by the Spanish government with great
care, but as early as 1765, Merinos were taken to France and Saxony
from which sprang the Saxon Merino and Rambouillet. During the
Napoleonic wars the flocks of Spain were scattered and it was at
that time that importation to the United States began. The first
importation of any importance was made in 1802 by Col. David Hum
phrey of Derby, Conn. then minister to Spain; and from the flocks
then introduced the modern Atwoods, Dickinsons, Delains, and Black
Tops have sprung.

The orininal Spanish Merino has been improved in this country
by selection and crossing of different strains till the product of
wool has been increased from 2 1/2 # to, in extreme cases, 52¢ from
a single sheep; and the sheep itself has been so much modified and
improved that there is not much resemblance between them and the
original stock. We have now a distinct breed known as the American
verino. We can not go into a detailed description of the above

mentioned strains. They may be found in any history of the Ameri-

can Merino. @. g. Power's American Merino.

History of the Shropshires used in the Experiment,

The Shropshires used in this experiment were pure bred and
all registered in the American Shropshire Association, Therefore,
they would answer more or less closely to the description of typi-
cal animals of their breed. The general charactoristics of this

flock are those of the Shropshire preed which have been given above,
9

These animals were all bred and raised at the Michigan Agri-
cultural College. The selection, breeding, and care have been car-
ried on with a considerable degree of skill. At the beginning of
the experiment, January 13, 1900, all of the sheep were in good con-
dition to all knowledge. They were hearty and well with the ex-
ception of a slight cold which lasted for some time. They were
bred to a high class Shropshire ram; and were kept on a ground floor
in a barn with good ventilation. The feeding before the experiment
was about the same as during the experiment. They had free access
to good clean water all the time supplied by a tank kept in the
pen. Their ages range from three to five years. They hada good
fleeces of wool on them, the weights of their fleeces, the year be-
fore, averaging eight to ten pounds. These sheep are valued by good
| judges from fifteen to twenty-five dollars each, This alone would
be an indication of their high quality. Their weights are to be
found in the tables.

In this flock, we have fifteen good representative animals of

the pure bred Shropshire down breed. After taking into considers

tion the above mentioned conditions we see no reason why results

obtained from these would not be a fair average of their class.

History of the Merinog used in this Experinent.

The Merinos used in this experiment are made up of eleven
grades and four registered Merinos. Of the latter, two are Delains

and the other two American Merinos. fhe four Merinos spoken of
10

above are registered in American Associations. The conditions un-
der which these last four were bred and kept were the same as the

Shropshires mentioned above. The other eleven were purchased throu pn

a@ buyer and all that could be learned was that they were fed on
clover hay and cornstalks with rree access to straw. They were
vred to a Lincoln ram,

At the peginning of the experiment they were in good condition
to all appearance and knowledge, but somewhat thinner in flesh
than the Shropshires used in this experiment. The ages of the four
college sheep were five to seven years. Of the othors it is not
known only they were as near as could be estimated from four to ten
years of age, The fleeces of the four college sheep averaged, last
year, eleven pounds and nine ounces, The estimated weights of the
others were eight to ten pounds. The eleven grades were purchased
for four dollars and tzenty-five cents a nead, The other four were
valued at much more, Their weights may be taken from the tables.

In this flock we have fifteen animals made up, first: of
eleven that might be considered representative animals of the Meri-

no grades found throughout the country. Second: of four good animals

of the registered Merino stock. After taking into consideration
the above mentioned conditions, we see no reason why results obtain-

ed from these would be representative of their class.
TABLE

I

Record of the Shropshires

 

 

 

.ege Weights Weights of each sheby at the bra of
at _
> Beginnin | 5 |
‘lst wk. Ba wk. 3rd wk. 4th wk. { Sth wk. )
sheep of Ex. {
7 | eo | 166# 1694 170 | 163¥ } 165¢
! !
64 14g | 150¥ 151# 156¢ | 1s3fi / 16%
‘
6B . 137%¥ | 1397 138¢ 140¢ 1407 1397
77 1494 | 151¢ 151/ 1627 - 154¢ | 16 3f
79 | 135 136f | 137% | 141f | 1417 | 142¥ |
80 ! 1467 | 146/ 145% : 150 . 146 149% |
, é | :
93 | 1227 : 133¥ | Lue 140¥ | 136 137F |
3 | | | ,
95 | 122 ! 1224 | 1237 | 127% ' 125; 128¥ |
96 : 132% - 132¢ | 133f | 1344 ° 134¥¢ 136¥ |
|
628 152 1524 | 155y | 155/ 155y' ; 158¥
631) 178# L7%¥ | 179¢ 180¥ : 18R¥ | 183¥
676 147# 14%¢¥ | 152¥ : 154¢ 159% | 160# |
) 3
681 140 1417 1474 181¥ | 1517 3 154
}
683 | 162 162¢ 162¥¢; 166¢ 165¢ : 166¥¢
g {
3
2197 2202¢ 22217 2264¢ | BRB 7H | 2276¢
i '
Pe ovoy ! | .
, before, ' 6# gain | 19¢ gain; 437 gain; 77 loss | 18f gain
‘ { ‘
, i §
3X e ten. | i
wk. F. | 85 deg., 34 deg. 17 deg.| 34 deg.{ 27 deg.
‘ ! ;
: | |
| | | | !
' | : |
i ; { }
|

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
TABLE

I

during the Experiment,

12

 

 

 

  
 
    
    

  

!
| Total ss Avaraca
‘ | j .
Oth wk, | 7th wk. .8th wk. {Oth wk. | gain ' wky. gain
160¥ 175¢ | 174¥ 176¢ 1F 7/o¢
17%! 160% j 1624 | 165; | og 8 /O4:
, } ! | | | |
- WEG eg 1 he 14, | log 1/97
| 7 | 4 | -
1564 155¢ | 164y | 154¢ | By 5 /O¢
Maly; sof) aa} 189 | 4/94
| | | !
. 148¢ | 146 | 146+ ' 1434 | : = of 1/34 |
. | :
: 141¢ | 139% | 141¢ | 142% . ' log 1/9}:
, 3 ! .
130f | 134 | 132¢ | 1344 | leg 1/3¢
7 )
138/ | 1374 | 139¥ | 1427 -10¥ 1/94
. | i
155// : 156/ 16 7¢ | 157% | (bg 5 ed!
1907; 180% = 1007 1 | OF #
} ‘
160¥ * 165¢ : 169% . 165¢ ! ! le #
, ese leo!) cox 1H 7 | lng 8/4:
/ ‘ t . ‘
ea lease! = oarog | leo | 1 mf) OOP
i | 4 i | : —
= az + i ex yf 1 1 ee
| eeosy { 2315/°/ 2336; | 233% | | 140 | 15 5/0¥/
! i :
; 1Of gain, 227 gain 2l1y gain: ly gain | ,
! : | 7
. 87 deg. 20 deg. 30 deg.’ 28 deg.
:
!
!
:

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 
13

In table I there is only one loss of weight in a sheep shown
and that is in No. 80. This sheep was not well during the last few
weeks of the experiment and the next week after the experiment
closed she was entirely off her feed. This probably accounts for
her loss,

There was a loss in the average weight during the fourth week
of seven pounds, This week was charactcrized by sudden changes in
the temperature, On February 8th, the thermometer went up to
65 degrees F. in the afternoon and the next morning it was down to
20 degrees F., also several other changes occurred. This might ac-
count for the loss. Nothing can be noticed in the average weekly

temperature,
 

 

TABLE MII
14
Record of the Merinos
College , Worgnte | Weights of each Sheep at the end of
No tpeginning | Tl Te
of she EX | lst wk. 2a wk, 3rd wk. 4th wk. Sth wk. =:
61 roe | Gof | oe | OF oa CO
a2 1oo# | 104 | = lom | oF ' Log lisf |
63 llog = 119% : leaf: 1244 127% 1274
a4 oz | caf ' cog | 90 100¥ ef
65 loby =| 1064 , 11nF 114# 1157 1157
86 864 : Bef: : o2¥ 93f 937 92# |
67 2: en
ea o5¢ | of | nag.| L00f | 96f
! Lamb
69 B74 . olf . of oef | = 07 95¢
70 olf 94 oof | 98 ey Bf
Lamb of lif
71 aay | 9074 937 Bly Tf  76f
544 109 109¥ lle 1157 | 1167 1l4¢
646 119¥ 1197 122f 119f | 121 . 1217 :
680 110# ! 110# , 1127 1157 1157 : | (114F 7
1169 ___90¢ | poe | _ 96 967 oof | one
rasig | iavax | rsoog | rsisy | isioz | isor# |
if. over ; :
ik, before (| 167 gain 347 gain i of gain ‘57 loss |13y loss
Aver, tom. | |
of wk. F. : 35 deg. 34 dog. 17 deg. ! 34 deg, 27 deg,
|

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
15

 

 

TABLE II
__curing the Experiment,
| Total Average
6th wk, [7th wk, Sth wk, {9th wk, | gain gain
| olf § 65f ‘ 6b 6l¢ % | - ¥
116f . = 116 liy Bly a1 2 1/s¥ .
:
131f | 134¢ 37 | 1s7% | lof | #
' \ i {
; , 4 | no
100f | ol loaf | 103f | ay | B/Od!
:
120f | 22% l23f ; 126f © gig 1/34
om | 99% 1oo¢ =: loz lef 7 /9¥:
ey | Bef Ok FC bf i (6 /H
' }
8b 86¢ RFC - 13f | - 1 4/97
1o¥ 13f lef ime 1 8/47
101 103 106f ==: 107%: 207 B/ x
Bef =. tiséGf' eof =, 83 SF | 8/et
- ry of} ayy
Pe ae, oF | 1 8%
70 | 80f 82% | Bef -Of | - 2/34"
: :
16g | = 1lo¥¢ 118f 120¢ | 117 | 2/of
. ; ; . ;
lglg | lase | 183 las¢ ay | 4/97
/ 16g | laof ) lalg | lade 147 5/97
i f ,
| 984 | 100# | 101# 1047: — oe 8237
( {
; { ' , , | pee ee
; issef ; ls72¢ | 1s90¢ | 16037 | SST
3 :
{ i 4 , ,
| 30% sain 36% gain : 16¥ gain | 13% gain : 1467 16 2/27 |
| |
| : 2 | )
' 27 deg.. 20 deg. ! 30 deg. | 28 Goke

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
16

In table II we notice four losses of weight. Three can be
directly attributed to the birth of lambs which, when taken into
consideration, will more than make up for the loss, except in No 71
where the lamb was born in the third week and died a few days aftcr-
wards. No 61 was a small sheep and probably not used to eating
roots as she got choked often and after the first week or two woulda
eat but few roots. This probavly accounts for her loss in weight.

The loss during the fourth week is noted under the Shropshire
tablee.

The loss in the fifth week can not be accounted for.

Comparing tables I ond II we see that the Merinos gained 1467
to the Shropshires 1407. The gain was nearly the same while the
ration of the Merinos was only two thirds as large as the Shrop-
shires. Nothing can be learned from the average weekly temperature
as the whole difference lies in the sudden changes rather than in

the degrees of temperature,
17

TABLE Iif

Cost of Food Consumed,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

| tote | Amt. fed} Amt. fed ;} Cost per total cost ; Total cost |
| ' To Shrops | To Merinos| hundred wt.of shrops | of Merinos'
om 157 1/2 105¢ $0 .625 $0.98 $0.66 :
| Oats 157 1/e¥ | 105¢ 078 1 1.28 : 88
' Bren . 157 1RF 105¢ ° 885 -98 66 .
| Roots ‘a716¢ 17104! .126 3.39 | 2,14
a a ne oe
: I $14, 88 9.79

 

 

 

 

 

This is the cost of the food consumed. The total cost
here does not take into consideration the labor of feeding and

straw for bedding. The cost is taken from the prices of the Nay,

grain, and roots when it was purchased.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18
TABLE IV
Ration for Nine Weeks,
- ’ =
| | | ,
: | Corn Oats { Bran Roots . Hay ; Cost
5 . j 1 '
| Shrops , 157 1/24 157 1/e¢/ 167 1/27) 27164 1830f | $14.82
j : nl Uf
Merinos 105¢ 105/: | 1057 1710/7 12257 9.79
TABLE V
Ration for One Day.
! i }
| | | } ! .
i |_Corn Oats | Bran | Roots iE Hay | Cost
t
zee 2 1/2# 212: 2 1/RF# 45# | 30# : $0,242 |
j ; } } }
| Merinos | 1 2/3f| 12/of| 1 2/of 304 20¢ | eli
\ t ’ é
TABLE VI
Ration for One Sheep One Day.
Corn Oats _Bran Roots | Hay | Cost
Shrops | 1/6 1 /6¥: | 1 fof: | 3f# 2# $0.0102/15)
Merinog 1/o# 1/o# | 1/9# | ae 1 1/4f .0lo 4/5

 

 
 
19

To make a comparison between the Shropshires and Merinos
kept ct the college and under the same care and condition before
the experiment began, we will take the average of the four college
Merinos and the fifteen Shroyshires, Merinos numbers 544, 646, 680
and 1169 gained 377. The avorage gain would be 9 1/44 for the
nine weeks, The averege gain of the Shropshires was 9 1/3f for the
nine weeks. It will be seen that the gain is about the same while
the ration was only two thirds as much for the Merinos as for the
Shropshires,

The average of the grades that did not have lambs is 12 1/2

gain as compared with 9 1/3# in the Shropshires, Here the contrast

is very striking because a much larger gain is derived from a much
smaller ration. It cost just half as :such to put one pound of
flesh on the grades as on the Shropshires.

Te actual cost of maintaining sheep the entire winter can be
found by multiplying the cost for one week by the number of weeks.

This experiment shows several things. First: That the ration
was a little too large for the exact mafntainance of the sheep
especially for the grades. Second: It shows the cost of maintain-
ing although this would vary as the price of food stuffs varys.
Tird: It shows the comparative cost of feeding Shropshire and

Merino grade ewes. Forth: In weighing every week we can see the

loss of a ewe in lambing and , also, the growth of the lamb.
Fifth: It is found that extreme and sudden changes of temperature

make a marked difference in gains.
20
Great care was taken in this experiment to get accurate re-
sults. All of the work was done by the author, and we believe the

results can be relied upon.

—:-°W. T. Parks:-:-
 
 

in