328 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



$18, and linseed meal |25 per ton, the rape Avas worth $10.12 for the 

 half acre, or $20.24 per acre. 



The third test was made with the lambs used in the second. They 

 were put on j\, acre of rape, which had been sown July 6 at the rate of 

 4 lbs. per acre, but owing to an exceptionally dry season had not made 

 a good growth. The test lasted from October 24 to l^fovember 7. In 

 addition to the rape the sheep had the run of a pasture a short time 

 each day and received per head daily 1.6 lbs. of grain consisting of 

 equal parts of ground wheat, oats, and linseed meal. 



The weight of the lot at the beginning of the test was 2,035i lbs. and 

 at the end 2,177i lbs., or a weekly gain per head of 3.3 lbs. In the 

 author's opinion " this high rate of gain was undoubtedly largely con- 

 tributed to by the heavy grain feeding, the pasture they received, and 

 in some degree to their previous management." 



It is pointed out that in feeding rape there is danger from bloating 

 and diarrhea, as the sheep eat too much of the rape at first, and the 

 author advises that at first the sheep be allowed to eat the rape only a 

 short time each day. 



Breeding early lambs, J. A. Craic^ {Wisconsin Sta. B2)t. 1891, pp. 

 42-52, fills. .7, ^;^.s'. 2). — In the first week of June, 1891, experiments 

 were undertaken Avith 20 Shropshire ewes to test several methods of 

 inducing breeding ewes to take the ram earlier than the customary 

 time, as follows: For 5 days they were kept ou dry hay, followed by 4 

 weeks' feeding on green clover ad libitum. In July they were fed oat 

 straw for 2 Aveeks, followed by 2 weeks ou green clover; for a week 

 they were driven each day on the road ; and they Avere kept for 2 weeks 

 in a building where the temi^erature was maintained at 55° F. All 

 these methods were unsuccessful. 



Nine grade Shroi)shire ewes, previously shown to be good breeders 

 and the result of about 10 years' breeding on a Merino foundation Avith 

 Shropshire rams, Avere bred to an imported Dorset ram, weighing 268 

 lbs. at 4 years 9 months. Of the ewes, 9 averaged 116 lbs. in Aveight; 

 3, 150 lbs. ; and 2, 184 lbs. They had full mouths. The 9 ewes produced 

 1 set of triplets, 6 of twins, and 2 singles, 17 in all. 



The autlior says that in these lambs the influence of the ram is most 

 prominent. The 9 ewe lambs Avere kept for breeding and weighed on 

 the average as shearlings 153 lbs., and 7 at 2 years averaged 185.5 lbs. 

 June 16, 1893, at 1 year and 4 months old, these CAves, Avith their sire, 

 were together i^ut in a small i)asture. By July 9 all had been bred once ; 

 later 3 were served a second time; and 3 failing to become pregnant 

 were served in the fall. By December 21, 5 ewes had dropped 7 lambs, 

 of which 2 died. The author states that "these lambs show the Dorset 

 traits very strongly, as would be expected from the fact that they are 

 second cross Dorsets. . . . 



"The chief j)oint of the experiment up to this time lies in the fact 

 that the characteristics of the Dorset to breed fully 3 months earlier 



