270 THE NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FOOD OF 



day break ; after October the day is not long enough to suffice, 

 and they get up and feed from about eleven till two o'clock. On 

 dark nights they don't travel far, but when the moon shines they 

 often wander about a good deal. The troughs used are made of 

 two f inch spruce boards, 6 inches wide, nailed together, so as 

 to make a box, the cross sections of which form a right angle ; 

 the ends being closed by triangular pieces cut from boards 1 

 inch thick. This box is sunk a distance of 3 inches (to keep 

 the troughs low and partly to give strength) into two feet, which 

 are made from planks 5 inches deep by 2 inches thick. The 

 whole box, 9 feet long, weighs about 20 lbs. ; one is allowed for 

 twelve sheep. A good strong fellow can carry six of these at a 

 time a short distance, when it is necessary to'move them, as into 

 shelter if the wind changes. They don't require to be brought 

 home in summer, but are simply inverted and built up to keep 

 them off the ground. If coal-tarred and regularly stacked up 

 while not in use, they last for a good number of years. The 

 advantage of the boxes being low is that sheep don't hurt 

 themselves when they jump over, even when heavy in lamb. 

 They are as much as possible, prevented from jumping by 

 allowing them to approach by the ends of the troughs. These 

 are placed end to end in rows 12 or 15 feet apart. A well- 

 trained dog will easily keep the sheep off until the food has 

 been put into the troughs. This allows all to start alike, and 

 thus have a better chance of getting an equal share. 



As soon as the sheep have left, the troughs are regularly 

 turned over to keep them dry, prevent their filling with snow, 

 and to let any dung which may have got in drop out. Sheep 

 are most sensitive to smells, and will upon no account eat food 

 that is near any filth in a trough. The amount given to each 

 per day is about | to J of a lb.; of course, according to circum- 

 stances, this may vary a little, but we are certain it is not worth 

 while giving less than J lb., and more than 1 lb. comes to 

 be unnecessarily expensive. We find it pays better to give a 

 moderate quantity of food per day, extended over a considerable 

 period, than to give the same amount in larger quantity per day 

 extending over a shorter period. Mixed foods, in this as in 

 other cases of feeding, give far better results than any one kind 

 by itself. Bran we consider unnecessary when sheep have 

 plenty of natural bulky food, and besides it is easily blown 

 away by wind, or soaked, should it rain, so that sheep will not 

 eat it. Cakes, as linseed or cotton cake, give quite as good 

 results as grain, the only objection being their getting wet and 

 disagreeable when it rains. Those foods we find to do best 

 under any circumstances, which are not affected by either wind 

 or rain during the short time they are exposed. Oats, peas, 

 lentils, and Indian corn, either mixed all together, or two 



