74 EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD. 



4 miles long, cost $1,651.46 exclusive of transportation of wire from railroad 

 station. 



Ttie results already reported have been secured in pastures large enough to 

 accommodate all the ewes throughout the lambing period. With the hope of 

 meeting the more urgent need of localities so situated that the cost of placing 

 wire on the ground and constructing a satisfactory fence is too great to justify 

 the Inclosing of an entire lambing ground, a special system of pastures on a 

 small scale was devised and an experiment Initiated in 1910. The prime object 

 of this system of pasture was to meet the need of the shepherd in handling 

 "doubtful" cases (those requiring individual attention) and to provide quiet 

 and protection in small bunches for all the ewes and lambs until the lambs were 



5 days old. These pastures were constructed on the Cochetopa National Forest 

 in southern Colorado at an elevation of about 9,000 ft. The total cost of 700 

 rods of fence was $1,134.87, which is less than the mile rate, due to the fact 

 that on part of the division fences only 3 barbed wires were used. 



The band of sheep was made up of 1,006 grade ewes, ranging from 2 to 10 

 years old, and 325 yearlings. Each night the unlambed ewes were corralled near 

 the inclosures and no more attention given them until daybreak, when they were 

 allowed to move from the corral at will, leaving behind the ewes which had 

 yeaned lambs during the night. The ewes and lambs were moved from one in- 

 closure to another each day, in order to make room as near to camp as possible 

 for the drop of the previous 24 hours, and in this way the lambs were from 5 

 to 7 days old when turned out to range. 



Out of the 1,006 ewes 922 lambs were yeaned, of which 69 were lost. On 

 July 3, when the lambs were marked, there was for each 100 breeding ewes an 

 average of 84.8 lambs. This is 7.3 per cent better than one band, and 0.6 per 

 cent better than another band lambed during the same time on an adjoining 

 range. During this season trouble from predatory animals was very slight. 

 Out of 25 single lambs lost in the pastures 16 choice lambs died of a disease 

 termed by the shepherd " milk sickness," which the author attributes to hard- 

 ness in and an excess of milk. 



Among the advantages of this system of pastures the author mentions the 

 increase in the percentage of lambs saved ; the decrease in the amount of labor 

 necessary; ewes and lambs in better condition at the close of the lambing 

 period ; greater degree of certainty as to the lamb crop ; the elimination, to some 

 extent, of the worry of securing labor, and the decrease in acreage of range 

 necessary. 



Feeding' farm work horses, R. C. Obrecht (Illinois Sta. Bui. 150, pp. ffSS- 

 Ji61, figs. 9). — In these tests 9 teams of well-bred grade geldings and 1 team of 

 mares were used. Most of them showed evidence of Percheron blood, while 

 others had indications of Shire or Belgian ancestry. The initial weights of 

 each horse varied from 1,003 to 1,560 lbs. 



There were 12 feeding periods of 4 weeks each. During the first 7 periods 

 one of the horses in each team was fed timothy and the other clover; dur- 

 ing the remaining 5 periods this ration was reversed. On Saturday nights 

 the regular grain feed was omitted during the first year, and a 4-lb. bran mash 

 given in its stead in order to keep the bowels in good condition. On Sunday the 

 noon feed of grain was omitted and an extra 4 lbs. of hay was given to 3 teams. 

 The others received their regular noon feed of grain as usual on Sundays but 

 no additional hay. All the horses remained in good health throughout the 

 experiment except one. which was subject to an occasional attack of colic. 



There was but little difference observed in the value of clover and timothy 

 hay when fed in conjunction with corn, oats, oil meal, and wheat bran. What 



