258 The Management of Sheep Stock 



the grass land and the arable must be thoroughly drained. 

 Supposing this is done, and the land well worked and exposed 

 to the action of the air, the growth of a large breadth of summer 

 and autumn forage-crops will be desirable, so that the lambs may 

 have a good succession of food, and plenty of change. Clay land 

 in summer, in good condition, will do for sheep extremely well. 

 The growth of a good breadth of mangolds and some swedes, to 

 be carted off and stored for winter use, is also advisable. During 

 winter the breeding ewes should live on the grass land chiefly, 

 running at large during the day, and being either folded at night, 

 and fed with some corn-chalF, and a few roots, if such can be 

 spared, or, which is to be preferred for tlie sake of the sheep, 

 lying in a strawyard, and thus making valuable manure. The 

 alternative to be adopted depends upon circumstances, such as 

 the severity of the climate ; amount of natural shelter in our grass 

 grounds ; the condition of the grass land, which, if out of condi- 

 tion, will be much improved by sheep-folding; the kind of sheep 

 wc keep, and our resources as to litter, which is often a scarce 

 article on farms of which a considerable proportion is pasture. 

 Care should be taken to leave some autumn grass; and this there 

 will be an opportunity of doing, if we have a good acreage 

 of fodder-crops, rape, early turnips, «Scc., on the ploughed land to 

 help carry the sheep. The plan of pulping a few roots, and 

 mixing with straw-chaff, will help the ewes very much, and, if 

 there is a little grass left for them to gnaw, they will keep in 

 good condition. Much, of course, depends upon the quality of 

 the land and the nature of the sheep. The Romney Marsh land 

 carries the hardy sheep of that country through the winter without 

 any extra food, and they keep in good condition ; but such grass 

 land is the exception. 



The strawyard at night recommends itself for many reasons. 

 Animals lying warm will not consume so much food ; they are 

 kept in when the ground is frosty, and prevented eating the 

 frozen grass, which sometimes causes scour, and, as mentioned 

 before, a good deal of straw is thus trodden into manure. 

 Standing flocks are not so common on clay farms as on light 

 soils. Under bad management, and especially if the soil is 

 undrained or imperfectly drained, sheep are very liable to 

 diseases, especially that of rot in the liver, which has often 

 proved very fatal ; consequently if sheep are kept at all, the ewes 

 are brought in, every fall, and dam and lamb fed out the follow- 

 ing summer. This course of proceeding, from which we can 

 seldom realise the maximum profits, is faulty ; it is also unneces- 

 sary if we manage well. I recommend a breeding flock as the 

 most remunerative. The question as to the kind of sheep to be 

 kept is one that must be left to experience to decide. The Hamp- 



