250 The Management of Sheep Stock 



The present cost of the three articles is as follows : — 



£. s. d. 



Peas 08 per cwt. 



Barley 6 G „ 



Palm-nut meal • G G „ 



110= 7s. per cwt. 



Calculating: a quarter of a pound a day to each ewe from Christ- 

 mas to April Ist, when we may transfer such food to the lamb, 

 the cost will only amount to l.v. 7(1. a head ; and if we double 

 the amount, and allow half a pound a head, probably a more 

 judicious as well as more liberal allowance, it will only amount 

 to 3s. 4d. a head, a sum that will be amply repaid us in the 

 improved condition of ewe and lamb, whilst the value of the 

 manure will remain as clear profit. 



Whatever rules we mav lay down on paper, success only 

 attends on ji^ood management ; thus the result of the lambing 

 will depend on the care, attention, and judgment displayed 

 in tending the flock. We hear of great losses both in ewes 

 and lambs ; and the thoughtless expression of good and bad 

 luck is commonly used as settling the matter. We may not 

 always be able to trace the cause, and at times it may be alto- 

 gether beyond our control, and unavoidable ; otherwise we 

 should find that at some time or other during pregnancy, the 

 ewe had been subjected to very unfavourable conditions, and the 

 seeds of disease laid which spring out into activity as soon as 

 the lamb is born. Thus shortness of food and wet lair may lay 

 the foundation of consumption long before its fatal effects are 

 visible ; and it should alwavs be remembered that the most 

 cultivated animals are those which suffer most severely from bad 

 treatment. 



I pass over the operations of lambing with very few remarks. 

 The value of a faithful, active, and experienced shepherd, will 

 then be clearly seen. The farmer must make every exertion to 

 provide all that is desirable in the way of food and shelter on 

 arable iarms. I prefer a moveable ewe-pen, intended for the 

 ewe and produce, to be made in a sheltered part of the field where 

 the food is growing. The lambs should not be made deli- 

 cate by too close confinement ; accordingly after the third day it 

 is well, weather permitting, to turn them out for an hour or two, 

 and thus gradually harden them off. The shepherd should be 

 provided with simple remedies, and Nature left to herself as 

 much as possible. 



* Palm-nut meal, as manufactured by Alexander M. Smith and Co., Liver- 

 pool, is sold at 6?. a ton, and lOs. may be taken as representing the average cost 

 of carriage. 



