ORNAMENTAL TREES. 57 



experiment proves successful, I propose to do it on a larger 

 scale, and hurdle perhaps three hundred sheep. 



Question. How near together did you put your jjickets? 



Mr. DowDiTCH. The width of a picket, — four inches. 



Question. How much did you feed the sheep ? 



Mr. BowDiTCH. Less than half a pint a day to each 

 sheep. 



Question. How long were you, from the commencement, 

 before you returned the sheep to the same place ? 



Mr. Bowditch. It was in the neighborhood of between 

 five and six weeks. 



Question. Then you began again ? 



Mr. Bowditch. I did. I hurdled it over the second 

 time so as to try the experiment thoroughly, and my ground 

 now shows the effect of it. Owing to the very heavy dews 

 we had this year, the fifty sheep did not drink, on an average, 

 two pails of water a day. 



Question. Do you think it was necessary to water them 

 at all ? 



Mr. Bowditch. Some few of the sheep wanted to drink ; 

 and, if they wanted it, they ought to have had it. Some 

 days, when we had not a heavy dew, they would drink 

 a good deal more. 



Question. What had been the use of this land before ? 



Mr. Bowditch. The last cultivated crop was nine years 

 ago. Last year's crop was hay, which hardly paid for 

 cutting. In England they do not consider that a meadow 

 produces good hay until it has been drained a number of 

 years. They consider there is more hay on an old meadow 

 than on a new. I wanted to see if I could not renovate 

 some of the old fields, without ploughing them up, and get 

 finer grass. 



Mr. Russell. Do you regard hurdling as any protection 

 against dogs ? 



Mr. Bowditch. I never lost a sheep from dogs. They 

 never troubled me in any way. 



Question. What kind of sheep ? 



Mr. Bowditch. Oh, a job lot. 



Question. Were they breeding-ewes? 



Mr. Bowditch. Yes, sir. The most of the lambs were 

 sold in March and April. 



