The Question Box. 89 



are properly fed and cared for; for winter lambs to sell early, use 

 the old American Merino for the dam and the Dorset for the sire; 

 if one wants lambs to fatten and sell at the age of one year, use 

 the American Merino for the dam and some one of the Downs 

 for the sire. If you want to keep any of the pure English breeds, 

 you must arrange to give them much better care than you do any 

 of the American breeds. A Hampshire sire and American Merino 

 will doubtless give the best results for fattening lambs. 



Question. — What is the value of timothy hay for feeding to 

 sheep? 



Mr. Woodward.- — None at all. I will not allow a man to sow 

 a pint of timothy seed on my farm. I had much rather have 

 Canada thistles, if cut early and well cured. I have tried it time 

 and again and failed every time with timothy. 



Question. — Would you feed silage to store sheep? 



Mr. Woodward. — Yes. We once fed a pen of old ewes all they 

 would eat; they came out the best ewes we had. The same was 

 true of our winter lambs, they did as well as when on any other 

 foods. We feed about four pounds of silage to each 100 pounds 

 of sheep. I also grow turnips to feed to sheep, because I want as 

 much succulent food as possible, as well as a variety of such foods. 

 It will pay to grow turnips, leave them in the ground and plow 

 them under in the spring. 



Question. — Is millet a good hay for sheep? 



Mr. Ward. — ISTo. And I have fed it every day this winter. 

 There is no crop that varies so much in quality as does millet ; but, 

 if it is cut before it begins to show signs of seeding, it does very 

 well, especially for horses. For sheep, however, it is not as good 

 as is silage, alfalfa, clover, rape, and some other like foods. 



Question. — Are beets injurious to sheep ? 



Mr. Van Alstyne. — I have kept sheep all my life, feeding them 

 beets and turnips, and have found that the sheep did much better 

 when fed on succulent foods, such as turnips and beets. Silage is 

 also good for sheep, but I think I cannot afford to feed silage to 

 them when I have roots. 



Question. — What is the best grain for fattening sheep? 



Dr. Smead. — If I could have an ideal feed, I should have a 

 field of rape in the fall. Sow it in the corn; also some peas. When 

 the corn is off, you will have an ideal pasture. Turnips are also 

 good. Use the Dwarf Essex rape, sowing about two and a half 

 to three quarts of seed per acre. With those foods, give some 

 wheat bran for lambs: for fattening sheep, add com meal. It 



