318 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



all the circumstances of disturbance and repose in which a flock may be kept, and he estimates 

 that to produce one pound of flesh, it will be necessary to feed under shelter according to the 

 following table; or if in open pasture, it will require the addition of one-half the quantity, it 

 being based upon the calculation of there baing no other food within reach of the animals. 



TABLE. 



Rutabagas fed under cover, . . . .100 pounds will produce 1 pound of flesh. 



Good clover hay, . . . . . 12 &quot; &quot; &amp;lt; 



Beans or Peas, . . . . . . g &quot;&quot;&quot;&quot;&quot;&quot;&quot; 



Oats, . . . . . . . 7 &quot; ,,,&amp;lt; 



Barley, . . . . . . 6 &quot; 



Linseed oilcake meal, . . . . . 6 &quot; &amp;lt;&amp;lt; 



Linseed oilcake meal and peas mixed, . . . 4 &quot; &quot; &quot; &quot; &quot; &quot; &quot; 



The value of mixed food will be seen in the last item, where oilcake meal and peas 

 mixed will produce one pound of flesh for every four and a half pounds, while peas alone 

 require eight pounds for that result, and oilcake six pounds. 



&quot;When fattening sheep for mutton, the kind and quantity of food will depend much upon 

 the age and general condition of the animal, viz. : whether the sheep is growing, or has 

 reached maturity; whether there has been a drainage of the system by breeding or furnishing 

 milk for lambs, etc. By separating the flock to be fattened, and grading them according to 

 these conditions, putting those of a grade together in a pen, better results will be reached 

 than by feeding all together. The noted Dr. Voelcker, of the Royal Agricultural Society of 

 England, found that by feeding four sheep on stated rations for seven weeks, the following 

 results were obtained: The animals consumed during this time 196 pounds of clover hay, 49 

 pounds of linseed-oilcake, 3,743 pounds of mangel wurtzels, which furnished a daily ration to 

 each animal of 1 pound of clover hay, 4 ounces of oilcake, and 19 pounds of mangels. The 

 nutritive element contained in this daily ration would be, according to scientific estimate, 

 about 4|- ounces of flesh or muscle element, 53 ounces of fat element, and 4| ounces of 

 mineral element. 



The result obtained was: 



Weight at commencement. At end of seven weeks. Gain of each in weight. 



No. 1 153 pounds. 170^ pounds. l? 1 /^ pounds. 



No. 2, 134 &quot; 15V4 &quot; 17M &quot; 



No. 3 170 &quot; 187 &quot; 17 



No. 4, 135 &quot; 155 &quot; 20 



It has been ascertained by repeated experiments that 100 pounds of roots fed in a yard 

 provided with shelters will give one pound of live weight to the sheep, while if 

 the sheep be fed in an open pasture, without protection from the climate, it will require 150 

 pounds to produce the same result, and this relative proportion will usually prove true with 

 regard to other kinds of food. 



It has also been demonstrated that if one and a half pounds of oil cake is given daily 

 with the root feed, the increase will be two pounds for every 100 pounds of roots. When 

 peas, beans, and hay were fed with the roots, it was found that eight pounds of this mixed 

 feed would make an increase in weight of one pound; seven pounds of oats or six pounds of 

 barley, with the same quantity of roots as before, gave also one pound of increase in weight. 

 Mr. E. &quot;W. Stewart, one of the best authorities on this subject in the country, gives his 

 opinion as follows on fattening sheep for market, showing the different results of feeding 

 (1) pure corn, (2) oats and corn, (2) bran, oats, and corn, (4) oil meal and corn, (5) roots and 

 corn: 



&quot;1. Pure corn, as a food for fattening sheep in connection with hay, has been used 

 more in this country than any other grain. Corn is one of the best fattening foods at our 

 command when judiciously used. It contains 62 to 66 per cent, of starch, and 5 to 7 per 



