THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



451 



subsoil composed in a great measure of rotten 

 rock, and sound and healthy for sheep; the grass 

 being interspersed more or less with heather and 

 whins, both of which are readil)' eaten by them in 

 winter; while the rich yellow blooms of the latter 

 are much in request amongst the lambs in sum- 

 mer. It also contains annually about 240 acres of 

 grass and clover, one and two years old. The 

 smaller and lower-situated farm, which lies a little 

 to the north-east of the other, has chiefly a south- 

 western exposure, and is possessed of a few fields 

 of dark-coloured rich loamy soil ; the remainder 

 and larger portion of it, as to depth, character, and 

 quality, being very much upon a par with the larger 

 farm ; a great deal of the soil, thougli thin and 

 bare, being naturally adapted for the production of 

 grass and turnips. It contains annually about 

 200 acres of grass of the first and second year's 

 growth (excepting a small proportion permanent 

 and waste, which is generally pastured with cattle), 

 sound and naturally well suited for sheep, the wet- 

 ter fields having been all pretty well drained. So 

 much for the fauns, and now for the stock. 



It may be as well to mention first, that the 

 management of the sheep stock is founded on and 

 ruled by the desire to obtain the following results 

 — viz., by a judiciously liberal feeding of the ewes, 

 to procure from them annually a very large return 

 of lambs, it being thought more profitable thus to 

 cause many of them to produce two lambs, than, 

 by an injudicious withholding from them, particu- 

 larly at certain seasons, a plentiful supply of food, 

 have each only producing one, the wool in the one 

 instance being also superior to. the other, both in 

 quantity and quality ; to have the feeding flock — 

 by endeavouring to keep them always in a progres- 

 sive state — ready for the butcher at a very early 

 age, at heavy weights, and leaving large re- 

 turns of profits ; to procure an excellent clip of 

 wool, both as regards quantity and quality, from 

 the breeding as well as the feeding flocks ; and, 

 lastly, to have as small a per-centage as possible of 

 loss from disease and death. 



The breeding flock, which consists of somewhere 

 about twenty scores of half-bred ewes — a cross be- 

 twixt the Leicester and the Cheviot — are, as a rule, 

 kept constantly on the larger farm, so that they 

 may derive the benefit of the permanent hill-pas- 

 ture. They are of three different ages, two, three, 

 and four years old, a third part being annually 

 drafted and sold off at four years of age, after 

 rearing their third crop of lambs. They are sold 

 during the month of September to farmers of a 

 lower district, who take another crop of lambs off 

 them, and then feed them for the butcher. The 

 reason for selling the ewes at four years of age is, 

 because a much better price is got for them at that 

 age, than they would fetch were they kept for 

 another year, when many of their mouths would be 

 getting deficient in teeth. Their room is filled up 

 by the like number of gimmers of the same breed, 

 carefully selected and purchased the previous year, 

 while lambs, usually at Melrose fair, in the month 

 of August. The selection of these is guided not 

 so much by size as general beauty of appearance ; 

 such as fineness in the head, symmetrical, and clean- 

 shanked, well-clad, &c., &c. 



One point which is thought of very great mo- 

 ment, and rigidly adhered to, is to endeavour to 

 have the ewes at all times, but especially at par- 

 ticular seasons, such as those of procreation and 

 production, in good and healthy condition. 



They are put to the tup about the 1st of Novem- 

 ber, so that there may be no lambs till the very end 

 of March or the beginning of April, when there is 

 an almost certainty of grasses being ready for them, 

 it being thought of much greater importance for 

 the ewes to have plenty of succulent food, to stimu- 

 late an ample secretion of milk, to enable them to 

 nourish and rapidly further the growth, unchecked, 

 of their lambs immediately after birth, than to have 

 them lamb a week or two earlier, and run the 

 hazard of an unpropitious spring, thereby allowing 

 their lambs, from want of grass in sufficient abun- 

 dance to produce a good flow of milk, to get 

 checked and stunted in growth, from the effects of 

 which it might be long ere they fully recovered. At 

 this age, tlie injurious effects of a check from v/ant 

 of milk are incalculable. 



To insure a large proportion of twins, the ewes, 

 a short time before and during the procreative sea- 

 son, have a liberal supply of green food given them, 

 such as rape or turnips. 'At cue time the former 

 was thought absolutely necessary, from its being 

 believed to have a specific effect in stimulating 

 their prolification ; now, however, turnips, when 

 given in suflicipnt quantities, are found practically 

 to be equally eflScacious. Either rape or turnips, 

 experience has proved, assist more successfully 

 towards the desired result when given a week or so 

 before the tups are put amongst the ewes. When 

 practicable, it is studied to have the rape or turnip 

 which are intended for use at this season growing 

 adjacent to a grass-field, and the ewes allowed un- 

 restrained liberty to feed on either. 



This is of great vaiue in the best of weather, and 

 in wet, quite indispensable ; for to then keep them 

 constantly folded on the break, could not fail to 

 prove hurtful. Indeed, when rain continues to fall, 

 it is thought requisite to confine them to the grass- 

 field entirely, carting to them there what turnips 

 they require : or if in such weather on rape, allow- 

 ing them only to -have two feeds a-day, of two or 

 three hours' duration each, and again turning to 

 grass. Let the weather be ever so dry and favour- 

 able, however, from the break they are as a rule 

 turned to grass at night; and when much wet 

 rests on the leaves of the turnips or rape in the 

 morning from frost, &c., kept off vuitil the sun or 

 air has partirdly dispelled it. When this is not 

 attended to, diarrhcea is almost sure to be the con- 

 sequence to some of them. It may be as well to 

 mention that, during the procreating month, the 

 ewes are generally divided into tv/o or three flocks, 

 or occasionally kept all together from the force of 

 circumstances. It is nevertheless thought the 

 better plan to divide them. Seven, sometimes eight 

 tups are used, five or six of them being close- 

 woolled, v/ell-clad Leicesters, selected and pur- 

 chased at the sales of some of the best breeders in 

 the county ; and two from England, a cross be- 

 twixt the Leicester and Southdown, the produce of 

 which, though at times coarse-looking, are found 

 to be fully as easily fattened as those got by 



