THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



of winter, and upon it when dry in the autumn, spring, and 

 summer, the farm is much improved. I can aUrays observe 

 the marked superiority of the wheat, and other crops, from the 

 foldinar- I can notice that poor heavy land pastures are much 

 fined and improved, even beyond the advantages ari?inj; from 

 drainin?, by shecp-feediug ; the herbage is thereby fined and 

 much thickened ; but I recommend that the ewes be fohled 

 upon the arable and not upon the pasture, and that muck be 

 applied to the pasture in some cases instead of the ploughed 

 land. Such an exchan?:e I have fuund very beneficial. I 

 would here remark that the dry food of winter much assists to 

 a healthy parturition, althoi!gh many of the lambs are large, 

 and weigh when born from 12 lbs. to 16 lbs. When, from the 

 cheapness of turnips upon good feeding ground, we have left 

 home with the flock to consume the turnips at a nominal price, 

 we have been considerable losers in an increase of deaths, both 

 of ewe3 and lai'bs, at lambing. I know it may be objected 

 that animals consuming straw largely are but poor manure 

 makers ; but this is no valid objection ; for if we can make a 

 good pecuniary profit by the system, we have money in hf.nd 

 with which to enter the manure market. Further, the lambs 

 and ewes consume some artificial food; aud by economy of 

 straw, with other stock upon the farm, in eta'l-fceding beasts 

 and box-lodging rart-horsea, the spare here made will suffice 

 for the straw for the ewes, and a much larger quantity of stock 

 can by this system be kept. We were once troubled with the 

 foot disease in the flock for a few weeks, but never to any ex- 

 tent, and we quickly ridded the complaint by proper treat- 

 ment. We have purchased ewes, two and three shears old, 

 annually, at from 40s. to 443., and upon this method of treat- 

 ment they will rear lambs for three or four years. We then 

 fatten them as crones to the value of from 443. to 54s. per 

 head. The following is my calculation of expenaei", and the 

 actual balance-sheet of out-goings and returns : — 



Attendance ; £40 



Autumn quarter at 3s. per week per score, 13 weeks . 48 15 



Winter quarter at 5s. per score per week 81 5 



Spring quarter at 153. per score per week 243 15 



Summer quarter at lOs. per score per week 162 10 



Interest 50 



Loss 50 



Tups 60 



£736 5 

 I have placed all the food at cost price; and the calculation 

 is based upon the crones being fattened out at the value, and 

 at the same time that the stock ewes are bought iu, conse- 

 quently 50/. is placed for deaths of ewes, which the loss haj 

 not exceeded ; consequent gain iu '57. after deducting 736/. Ss. 

 (the cost), from 1028L (the return), 291/. 153. profit. In '58, 

 736/. 53. (the cost), deducted from 970/. (the return), 233/. 153. 

 profit. Now such profits, with the additional value of the 

 manure, are, I think, worthy of consideration ; and I advocate 

 a flock of ewes, in preference to fatting sheep, because the 

 poor quality of the laud, and cf the produce of heavy laud 

 generally, is much better adapted for a breeding than for a 

 fattening flock. I believe lamb breeduig the most paying 

 course; and in the light land districts the flock has always 

 been the mainstay of the farm ; then why should it not become 

 80 upon many a clay land occupation ? I believe the system 

 may be advantageously carried out where not even one tenth 

 of the farm is in pasture. Where no pasture exists, and if 

 necessary, instead of pursuing the four-course system, why not 

 allow the land with clover to remain two years instead of one? 

 thereby making a five-cour«e system of it iu preference to tht: 

 four-courie shift ; and with goad folding, which the clover land 

 would receive after the first year's mowing, and then the 

 second year's feeding, it would be in excellent heart or prepa- 

 ration for the following crops, and furnish an abundance of 

 feed and space for the ewes. Ever since I can remember, I 

 have heard increasing complaiiits of the loss in ihe eastern 

 counties of buying old beasts, and fattening them out ; but I 

 never yet heard one complaint against ewes, or the system of 

 flock farming. I know many a man mny possibly say, " Well, 

 I'll try a ecore ewes, and see what they will do ;" the conse- 

 quence is, a few are as much trouble as the many ; and unless 

 the breeding is made a prominent feature of the farm, with a 

 lad or shepherd propeily to attend to the ewes, tl>e trouble of 

 the few, being every one's care and no man's direct charge, 

 exceede the advantage, and thfy become n source of petty 



annoyance rather than of profit. I therefore recommend any 

 gentleman disposed to pursue the system, to arrange his re- 

 sources, 'and comiuence with a proportionate number of ewes 

 to the size of his occupation, whereby the prospect of a remu- 

 nerative return will make it worth his while to take suitable 

 care, and to pay the necessary attention to the flock. Upon 

 the subject of lamb rearing, and the management of ewes 

 generally, on stifl' retentive soils, my friend Mr. Goodwiu 

 thus writes to me. Mr. Goodwin now farms light land, con- 

 sequently he writes in the past tense : — 



" Covehithe, Nov. 29, 185S. 

 " My Dear Sir, — In reply to your letter of yesterday, respect- 

 ing the keeping of breeding ewes upon stiff land, the plan I 

 pursued for many years was this — to give three bushels per 

 score per day of any description of roots, upon a stubble or 

 meadow near the yard ; where I nightly put them to straw in 

 racks (not laid about, to be trampled upon and dirtied) of any 

 kind of barley, pea, bean, cr wheat straw — the last the worst. 

 About three weeks before lambing I gave more roots, and 

 mostly halfa-pint of beans each, or as near as I could estimate 

 that quantity or value of barley iu straw, if the latter was very 

 cheap. I forgot to ssy my ewes generally went upon this keep 

 about the third week of November, varying according to 

 weather. After lambing, my twiu ewes went to old grass and 

 roots iu the daytime, and each night into yards to cake and 

 corn, until layers were ready, when I threw roots into fold for 

 ewes, the lambs running forward. I need not say the siuglea 

 caught the worst fare. I do not know of anything further 

 likely to be of advantage to you, except this — ray lambs were 

 generally a good crop, and made, as you are probably aware, a 

 good price iu the third week of June. I remain, dear Sir, 

 yours truly, " S. C. Goodwin." 



I have in different instances fattened SCO of the produce of 

 the flock in sheds and yards during the winter, and sold them 

 the following spring as hoggets. In some cases I have fattened 

 purchased sheep, either of which I have divided into small lots 

 of 15 or 20, by partitioning the sheds ; and when I have been 

 short of straw, or the manure has accumulated under them to 

 become hot to the feet, I have found a small casing to the ard 

 of two or three inches of sand very serviceable, as absorbing 

 the liquid in the manure, consolidating the muck, and prevent- 

 ing injury to the (eet of the animal by heat or moisture. The 

 manure thus made has always proved remarkably eflicacious. 

 I have given the sheep a small supply of the cheapest artificial 

 food in the market, with cut mangold wurtzels and chaff. 

 Sheep have paid me even for grazing better than beasts. Sheep 

 grow wool, iu addition to meat ; they have a smaller propor- 

 tion of offal to beasts ; consequently, less food goes to waste, 

 aud the price of mutton is usually id. to -J I. per lb. in excess 

 of beef; consequently, if a beast does not manufacture a larger 

 amount of meat from a given quantity of food than the sheep, 

 then it is clear, by the light of reason, under such circumstances 

 — the meat higher in price, a smaller proportion of offal, and 

 a penny to add to each pound of meat for the wool produced 

 — I sty, under such circumstances, it is clear, by the light of 

 reason, that the sheep must be the more profitable of the 

 two classes of animals — aud such has been my experience. 

 At the same time I would add, I have never yet found 

 sheep grazing equal to lamb rearing on stiff retentive farms. 

 My opinions and conclusions upon the age of the beasts to 

 b« f»razed vary considerably from the principles and practice 

 generally adopted. I observe numbers buy old beasts for 

 fattening, or they purchase young beasts, and keep them 

 12 months upon straw, and root.s, and pasture, and fatten 

 them the succeeding winter. Now, my experience has been 

 that, although young beasts will not fatten so fast as older 

 ones, yet their assimilation from a given amount'of food is 

 greater •, they extract more of the nutritive matter, and 

 convert it into muscle, fat, and bone — in plain terms, 

 they manufacture a larger number of pounds of meat 

 fioin a ton of mangold wurtzels, or any other food, than 

 the older or full grown beast. The inferiority of the 

 manure from a growing beast is a proof of this, when 

 compared with the excrement of the full-grown animal. 

 You may say much goes to form bone ; but it must be re- 

 membered, although a superfluity of bone is undesirable, 

 that we sell bone as well as meat to the butcher, and the 

 butcher to the public ; and the more rapid the jjrocess of 

 rearing and fattening to early maturity by judicious feed- 

 ing, the less the waste of food. It never can be wise or 



