THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 



Howard I have received some tiatticulara respecting the 

 " yarding of sheep" in Essex. These have been comauinicated 

 by Mr. William Delf, of Great Bentley Hall, near Colchester, 

 and are derived, Mr. Delf says, not only from his own experi- 

 ence, but also from that of other gentlemen in the neighbonr- 

 hood. Mr. Delf says : " In offering a few remarks upon the 

 desirability of placing shaep in the yard during the winter 

 months, it must be premised that the sheep is a better-paying 

 animal for the food it consumes than the bullock. The ad- 

 vantage to be obtained by this system is much greater on a 

 heavy-land farm thnn on a light-land farm, inasmuch as we are. 

 enabled to cousume the bulk cf our roots in ths open field as 

 grazing land ; on heavy land it is very different, as most of 

 the food in winter must be carted off the fields upon which it 

 grew. I have found the yarding of sheep a great advantage 

 in enabling me to consume the food (and thereby converting 

 it into manure) near to the spot where the roots may have been 

 grown, whereby a very great saving is effected both in carting 

 the roots to the homestead and the return of the manure to the 

 field. In forming a yard in the open fields, that is simply 

 done by using rather deep hurdles, say five feet high from the 

 ground, in order to admit of the accumulation of manure ; by 

 this plan you make your manure heap just where you want it, 

 and turning o?er once or twice, it is ready for use. In placing 

 sheep in a homestead-yard, care should be taken to have a 

 current of air through the yard, and not closed all round. 

 Having determined thus far, I will detail a few particulars, 

 Tfhich we consider most important to be adhered to. As a 

 rule, I prefer lambs to older sheep for yarding purposes. 

 Then, again, the breed has a very great deal to do with the 

 successful issue of the plan. West-country lambs are to be 

 carefully avoided, and all dark-faced sheep in general, as being 

 more susceptible to disease than any other kinds. The best 

 description of lambs is half-bred Down (Oxford Down), Lei- 

 cester, and^Cotswold ; the whiter the face the better. I will 

 suppose, then, that the lambs have been selected. They ought 

 to be in the yard by the middle of October, but not confined 

 to the yard all at once. A fortnight or three weeks should 

 be set apart for getting them to the straw gradually. For 

 that purpose let them run into the yards at night, and out 

 again the first thing in the morning ; by degrees increasing 

 the duration of their confinement to the yard, until they are 

 kept in entirely. A space of four square yards should be 

 allowed for each sheep, as over-crowding is very injurious. It 

 will be supposed that the foot disease is the great difficulty to 

 contend with. To combat this enemy it will be necessary to 

 pare every foot closely before placing the sheep iu the yard ; 

 and again at intervals of time not greater than three weeks, 

 for the accomplishing with the knife what under other circum- 

 stances would be effected by the wear of the horn on the 



land If a supplementary diet 



be given, it should consist of cut chaff, pollard, or oats, rather 

 than peas, beans, &c., which we consider too heating for sheep 

 in the yard, inasmuch as such food predisposes to the foot dis- 

 ease. Frequent littering of the yard must be attended to ; 

 wheat straw being used if possible, in preference to barley 

 straw: in fact, a clean surface should be always kept; and 

 that will be best accomplished by giving a slight covering 

 every morning. From my own observations, I am inclined to 

 believe that both mutton and wool may be grown quite as ad- 

 vantageously in the yard as in the open field ; and as regards 

 the consumption of the root crop upon heavy land, the yard 

 system possesses much advantage," My next application was to 



Mr.DavidMartinof Wainfleet, who for several years has farmed 

 in the Isle of Ely. His son, Mr. Gilson Martin, in replying, 

 aays : " Last year I had 120 sheep in a yard most of the win- 

 ter ; they had mangolds, with half a pint of barley and half a 

 pound of linseedcake per day : they throve very well, and 

 made a great quantity of manure. To prevent lamenees I 

 had them turned out three or fojir hours every day, which I 

 found to answer very well. This year I have about 200 sheep 

 in a yard eating cut mangolds and half a pound of cottoncake 

 per day, and they are progressing very well. I am of opinion 

 that sheep are a valuable auxiliary iu the manufacture of ma- 

 nure in districts where a great quantity of straw is grown ; 

 and mangolds are the only roots that can be successfully culti- 

 vated." Mr. Martin says he has this year omitted to turn out 

 his sheep during the day, as he found it was unnecessary to 

 do so. The only-other testimony I shall adduce is that of 

 Mr. John Fryer, who is a near neighbour, residing in the 

 same town and farming in the same parish as myself. Mr 

 Fryer says : " Having had occasion, six years ago, to keep a 

 lot of ewes for some months during the winter entirely in the 

 yard, fed on mangold and oats, I was so pleased with the 

 great quantity and excellence of the manure they made, that 

 I kept 100 lambs the following year all the winter in the 

 yards, and with a like good result in manure and condition of 

 sheep. I have gradually extended the system until this year 

 I have had 400 ewes, shearlings, and lambs 'yarded' the 

 greater part of the winter. The lambs being kept at a cost of 

 6d. per bead per week on mangold, oats, and chaff; and the 

 shearlings at Is. per head per week, on the like food, with a 

 small addition of cake : some of the latter have gone to market 

 from the yard at 593. each. I ought to refer to a difficulty I 

 had on two occasions with foot disease. Once I attributed it 

 to a deficiency of litter, allowing the sheep's feet to come too 

 closely in contact with the heating manure ; and the other 

 time to sending out the sheep for an hour or two in the middle 

 of each day for a run over a stubble field. I found that small 

 clods and stubble got frequently between the claws, and dry- 

 ing hard on the warm manure, occasioned lameness. I have 

 remarked that ' yarded ' sheep thrive remarkably fast if kept 

 in quite late in the spring, and only turned out when the grass 

 is growing fast. The brief summary of my experience of the 

 system is this : sheep in yards make more manure than 

 beasts with a less outlay of capital, and with more profit. I 

 scarcely ever got a profit, often a heavy loss, on the wintering 

 of 'store beasts. I never had a loss on the wintering of sheep 

 in yards. My impression is, that five sheep (six undoubtedly) 

 make as much manure as one beast. I find sheep manure 

 more quickly and more thoroughly rots, and becomes fit for 

 the land. I have never tested their relative values side by 

 side, but I have had no occasion to note any deficiency in the 

 effects of sheep manure on any crop to which I have applied it." 

 There is one other subject in connexion with the feeding of 

 bullocks and sheep which is worthy our attention and our 

 study. I refer to the quantity of food consumed by each 

 animal respectively, and the quantity of flesh formed by the 

 consumption of such food, or rather, the increase of weight 

 attained. Mr. Lawes has favoured me with some particulars 

 on this subject in a private communication, and has since 

 published a great mass of valuable informatidn npon the same 

 subject, which appeared in the last volume of the Royal Agri- 

 cultural Society's Journal. In his letter to me, Mr, Lawes 

 says : " Fattening oxen fed liberally upon good food, com- 

 poaed of a moderate proportion of corn or cake, aome hay ot 



