SCOTCH HILL SHEEP. 267 



ewes — blackfaced and Cheviot. They were fed for about a 

 week with natural hay cut from the hill, but on this being- 

 finished were brought down into a large, well-sheltered meadow, 

 and fed (as nothing else could be had) entirely on oats and bran 

 mixed — fully 1 lb. per head per day for quite a fortnight. It was 

 considered not safe to give more of this concentrated food under 

 the circumstances, but no doubt they would have eaten and been 

 much the better for hay in addition. Some few would eat much 

 more than their own shares one day, but nature cured itself, and 

 these sheep were seen to have a slight scour and to hang back 

 at feeding time, eating but little for a day or two after. Only 

 a few lean sheep got corn during spring after the storm broke 

 up. The after results were entirely satisfactory, although no 

 one could say that the sheep looked to be doing well at the time 

 under conditions so different from the natural ones. Their bellies 

 got tucked up from want of bulky food. The spring throughout 

 was mild and open, and the crop of lambs came quite up to an 

 average. This was not the case with many sheep that were fed 

 in the neghbourhood entirely on the best rye grass hay, at double 

 the expense, though it was considered more natural. There was 

 no general deterioration of constitution noticed, as the sheep 

 did well in after years. 



Before describing fully the method of feeding now adopted 

 by us at Twiglees — being, as we give it, the outcome of all our 

 experiences there and at other places — we give a short account 

 of the four last spring seasons, with some account of the general 

 plan of feeding. The spring of 1880 was a pretty good one, but 

 with cold winds and sudden hard frosts at times. We began 

 early (February) to feed a certain number of sheep, which have 

 been fed regularly every spring since, except in 1882, which was 

 a good season, and when they did not require it. Contrary to the 

 expectation of many, the lambs of those sheep which had been 

 fed regularly through the hard weather of 1880-81-83, were not 

 only the best of all during the years they were fed, but the best 

 as well in 1882, when none but lean sheep got artificial food, 

 although, from the quality of their pasture, they ought not to 

 have been so good as some others. Most of the sheep we 

 thought of feeding in future were taught to eat from troughs in 

 1880, so that they would be ready to start at once when the 

 time came. 



In 1881 was a very bad spring. All the sheep were fed except 

 those which have never had feeding at all, and with which we 

 compare the others. As stated before, those that had been fed in 

 1880 did best, Uf the remainder, the ones that were started to 

 feed in February were next best, and the various lots grailually 

 doing worse, as we were later iu beginning the food : we could see 

 no impruvenient on those which began artiticiul feeding in April, 



