Lambs should not follow their mothers to pasture until the grass is grown enough to be really long and nourishing. They should be out in the barnyard on warm, sunny days, and not weaned until near six months old. After August they will fatten on clover pasture and be ready for market before Christmas. Sheep are sheared in spring, about April first, but this depends on the climate. Most farm crops are fall or winter affairs. Like maple sirup, wool is a spring cash crop, which is a great convenience. An eight-pound fleece is worth nearly half as much as the sheep it grew on, and the lambs will soon be worth as much as their mothers. So we have a double chance to make good in sheep raising. Sheep are so hardy, so harmless, and so easily managed that the only wonder is that any farm is without a flock. Men who know say that the farm dog is to blame for this. How about the farm dog, boys and girls? Honestly, now, is your dog worth his keep? No matter how much better he is than the neighbours' dog. How about your dog? You like him, of course, but is he a loafing, worthless, sneaking, sheep-killing dog? Look between his teeth before you deny that he is a sheep-killer. Are you a good citizen if you let such a dog run at large? If you raise sheep you will need a dog, and remember that a good collie will protect your sheep from all the roving, bloodthirsty dogs in the neighbourhood. [Illustration: Photograph by Julian A. Dimock. "Big Boy Blue" Looks After the Sheep] RAISING GOATS Boys, are you really serious about making some money? Do you live on a farm where the hills are too steep to plow and the only crop that amounts to anything is the crop of stones? Are those steep hills covered with brush and good-for-nothing trees that look too hopeless? Don't grind your teeth and say "There's no chance here. I'm going to buy a ticket for the city." Glance at the heading on this page and don't smile derisively nor turn on to some new chapter. "Goats! Humph!" If you never heard of anybody making anything out of goats, here's your chance to hear something new. People can and do make money out of goats and so can you. Why, it is too easy! Here, read these facts about goats: Goats _prefer_ rough, rocky, wild, and hilly land. Goats _always thrive_ if allowed considerable range. Hilly, _bushy_ land is _best_ for goats. The feed of _one_ cow will keep _twelve_ goats. _Temperature_ need not be considered. Goats thrive where temperatures are _extreme_. The Angora goat _fleece_ is cut annually and is _very valuable_. We import over one million pounds a year. Skins of common goats are in _great demand_ for leather. We imported sixteen million dollars' worth in 1898 and more every year since. _Goat manure_ is as valuable as that of sheep. Angora _venison_ cannot be told from lamb. Goats _scorn_ to eat fresh grass if _coarse weeds_ like wild carrot, mullein, dock, etc., are in sight.