AS FOOD FOR CATTLE AXD SHEEP. 329 



subject to be treated at length here, but it is one to which most 

 cattle and sheep feeders are far too little alive. 



When turnips are cut and given to sheep in troughs they get 

 their food in a much cleaner state and partake of it with a 

 greater relish than wlien they are allowed to trample on them 

 where they grew. The importance of this cannot be over- 

 estimated, for the whole of our domesticated animals, with the 

 exception of the pig, appreciate a clean diet. Sheep fill them- 

 selves in a comparatively short time on cut turnips, and get 

 abundance of time to rest, wdiich is favourable to the laying-on 

 of fat ; whereas, when left to break the bulbs for themselves, 

 they literally " w^ork for their meat " the greater part of the day, 

 and thereby their progress towards maturity is retarded. This 

 is specially the case during frosty weather, for the watery roots 

 become at that time so hard and brick-like that it is impossible 

 for the poor sheep to break enough off them to satisfy the 

 cravings of nature at any particular time. They are thus kept 

 at such a time in a half- starved condition. During January 

 1881, sheep dependent on uncut turnips made no progress 

 whatever, while many of them perceptibly fell oft" rapidly in 

 condition. Indeed, in such a starved condition were mauv of 

 them in consequence of their inability to make an impression 

 w^ith their teeth upon the stone-like bulbs, that the Society 

 for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals could easily have 

 made out a good case against their ow^ners. On the other hand, 

 notwithstanding the lowness of the temperature and the general 

 inclemency of the weather, sheep getting cut roots with a fair 

 allowance of supplemental dry food continued to make per- 

 ceptible improvement all along. Moreover, the crop is all used 

 up as food when the bulbs are cut, whereas a considerable 

 proportion of it cannot be consumed by the other process, and is 

 of service only as manure. Irrespective of other recommenda- 

 tions, the saving thus eftected will go far to defray the expense 

 of storing the crop and also of supplying it in a cut form to the 

 sheep. The only solid objection which we have ever heard 

 advanced against cutting turnips to sheep is that the manure 

 from their (hoppings is not so equally distributed over the land 

 when that ])lan is followed as when tliey are folded upon the 

 growing cro]). 'I'licre is some force in tin's objection wliere the 

 pits are put far ajiart and where the troughs are kept crowded near 

 to eacli otlier. But the evil is reduced to a minimum, and, in 

 fact, it can be entirely removed, by making the pits of moderate 

 size and not far distant from each otlier, and by changing the 

 site of the troughs from day to day. In Lincolnshire the sheep 

 are contineil on fresh ground every day. A new fold, square or 

 parallelogram sha])ed, is made with nets every morning, and the 

 sheep are con lined on the new break for the day. JUit even 



