Agricultural Chemistry — Sheep- Feeding and Maimre. 293 



confidence in results obtained from so small a number of animals 

 in each case. It should be mentioned, however, that No. 5 sheep, 

 in pen 1, fell ill and died in the fifth week of the experiment, when 

 his place was supplied by another from the same flock, having a 

 weight the same as the one which was taken away before it had 

 lost by the attack of illness. 



AVhilst, as we have before stated, the primary object of the ex- 

 periments Avas not alone to decide the comparative value of diffe- 

 rent yet allied descriptions of food, as such, the selection of foods 

 was nevertheless made in the hope that some interesting facts 

 bearing upon such points might be ascertained ; and those taken 

 were — for pen J , oil-cake ; pen 2, linseed ; pen 3, barley ; and 

 pen 4, malt. It would have been desirable to have given green 

 clover, or tares, or some other summer green crop, as the comple- 

 mentary food, such constituting the usual practice at the period 

 of the year at which the experiments were made. But as such 

 substances are even more variable and changeable in their compo- 

 sition than roots, particularly as to the amount of dry matter they 

 contain, it was decided that it would be quite impracticable so to 

 supply such food as to obtain a trustworthy estimate of the actual 

 amount of dry solid matter consumed, and as the accurate deter- 

 mination of this point was essential to our object, there was no 

 alternative but to supply dry hay, the composition of which would 

 vary little, compared with that of any other substance at command. 

 Clover-chaff was therefore taken, free allowance of water being of 

 course necessary. It may be objected that the supply of dry food 

 only, with water, was not in all respects favourable to the progress 

 of the animals; it is, indeed, more than probable that a larger 

 increase would have been obtained upon other food ; but the re- 

 sults by no means lead to the conclusion that they are far short of 

 such as are frequently met with in practice, or that the value of 

 the comparative indications is thereby lessened. 



In the absence of previous knowledge by analysis of the compo- 

 sition of the food, it was considered desirable to give to each sheep 

 I lb. per day of the special foods, as this was about the quantity 

 that would be given of them in ordinary practice. It was found, 

 however, that the sheep receiving malt would not eat it well at 

 first, though afterwards they did so. The clover-chaff was allowed 

 to all, in any quantities the animals chose to eat it; the amount, of 

 course, being always accurately weighed, as also was that of the 

 water taken. The oil-cake was broken small under an edge-stone. 

 The linseed (excepting during the first few weeks, when some was 

 found to be voided whole), the barley, and the malt, were also 

 ground. 



Below are given the average weekly consumption of food per 

 sheep per week, and the periodical gain or loss of each animal 

 throughout the course of the experiments : — 



