THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



589 



and I have done so with the view of stating to you 

 my reasons for the assertions which I have made. 

 I am aware that I have not done full justice to this 

 subject, as it would fill a volume properly to rejjre- 

 sent the words on the card for this evening's dis- 

 cussion; but I trust I have said sufficient to convey 

 to you some of my ideas on the subject. I have 

 done my best to point to you in what latitude the 

 rocks lie whereon I have been severally cast away; 

 and I recommend such of you gentlemen as are 

 here this evening, who wish to avoid my misfortune, 

 to go home and lay down in your own charts where 

 they are to be found, that you may not share the 

 same fate. Now I have given to you, gentlemen, fairly 

 and freely the results of my experience, and I hope 

 many of you will favour me with yours ; and I am 

 ready to answer any questions which you wish to 

 put to me on this matter. 



Mr. Fowler asked what hay the young sheep 

 had that slipped their lambs ? 



Mr. Saunders : Clover hay — broad clover, and 

 rye-grass. 



The Chairman spoke of an instance in which 

 about four years ago he sustained great loss by a 

 single night's bad weather while the ewes were in a 

 field of swedes when nearly half gone. He only 

 got three out of the first hundred, and could 

 scarcely conceive the cause, but he believed that 

 Mr. Saunders was about " half right." 



Mr. Fowler said that a few days ago he hap- 

 pened to take up a work by the Rev. Mr. Berkeley 

 on the diseases of plants and their eflFects on ani- 

 mated nature. The author mentioned a disease 

 peculiar to cereal crops, which took the shape of 

 fungi, scarcely to be observed by the human eye, 

 and which possessed the properties of the drug 

 called ergot. It was generally known that this 

 drug had the eflfect of expelling the foetus before it 

 came to maturity; and as Mr. Berkeley enumerated 

 rye-grass as among the plants subject to this disease, 

 it was a question whether the loss of lambs, in some 

 instances, might not be traced to the ewes eating 

 provender so diseased. He believed this was the 

 cause of his losing a number of lambs some few 

 years ago. 



Mr. Clarke accounted for the loss of a few 

 lambs by allowing the ewes to eat frosted mangold 

 leaves. 



Mr. Budden said they had been keeping some 

 on mangold leaves, not giving too much at a time, 

 and they had done very well, 



Mr. Clarke stated that the ewes he spoke of did 

 not have any turnips, but were fed on mangold and 

 meadow hay, and they did very well until they got 



some frosted mangold leaves. He attributed it to 

 the leaves becoming decayed, and having an inju- 

 rious effect on the ewes. 



Mr. Wjute was of opinion that when the ewes 

 were in tolerably good condition, about a fortnight 

 or three weeks before lambing commenced, they 

 should have half an allowance of turnips or swedes, 

 and plenty of hay — that they should be allowed to 

 go back a little rather than forward. His shepherd 

 had taken five prizes from the Wareham Agricul- 

 tural Society, in thirteen years, for lamb rearing ; 

 but one year he had very bad luck, which he could 

 not account for at all, as he kept the ewes just the 

 same as he usually had done. On that occasion he 

 had about 200 slip lambs, but generally his loss 

 did not exceed ten or twelve. He thought they 

 might have more lambs if the ewes were well kept 

 before the commencement of the breeding season. 

 He thought there was a good deal in what Mr. 

 Saunders said with respect to the keeping of the 

 two-tooth ewes. 



Mr. Saunders asked if Mr. White did not once 

 sell a lot of ewes which were unfortunate in lamb- 

 ing. 



Mr. White replied that he did, and a great many 

 of them slipped their lambs, although those they 

 were put with did not, and the whole were put to 

 the ram at the same time. 



Mr, Saunders attributed it to Mr. White's ewes 

 proving much faster than the others, in con- 

 sequence of being put on a fresh piece of land. 



Mr. Jackson said he had not had much expe- 

 rience in this unfortunate lamb-slipping. He did 

 not know whether it was owing to the locality from 

 which he came, but the few cases that did occur 

 were traced to the ewes being worried by a dog, or 

 such like casualty. He did not know whether Mr. 

 Saunders considered it infectious, but it was gene- 

 rally considered so in his country, and they always 

 removed such sheep away from the flock. He 

 thought many ewes were "'killed by kindness" at 

 the time they were lambing — that was, by keeping 

 them too warm in pens and yards too liberally lit- 

 tered. At Rempstone they had lost a number of 

 ewes by having them in the yard ; but when they 

 had them out in a place hurdled round, so that 

 they could be shifted, they scarcely lost any. 



Mr. White said he had always been in the habit 

 of having his in a yard, and well littered, and he 

 did not lose many. He did not think that had 

 much to do with it. 



Mr. Clirke was an advocate for the yard. 

 Theirs was not over sheltered or too warm, and 

 they kept bedding it up, 80 aa to render it dry and 



