THE HOT-HOUSE LAMB. 215 



for the careless and slovenly farmer. Certain peculiar con- 

 ditions must be met, and due attention must be paid to de- 

 tails which make for profit or loss. 



The first requisite is that the lambs shall come at the right 

 season in November or December. October lambs are some- 

 what too early and must be marketed about the Christmas 

 holidays, for they will be too heavy to sell as fancy lambs if 

 they are carried on till the middle of January. The really 

 strong demand comes from the first of January till the middle 

 of March. In order to have the lambs come in November 

 or December, the ewes must be bred in June or July time of 

 pregnancy ranges from 151 to 154 days. Ordinary breeds of 

 sheep will not breed at this season of the year, and the only 

 sheep that can be depended upon to produce lambs in No- 

 vember or December are the Dorsets or their grades. The 

 Dorset-Merino grade has proved eminently satisfactory, and 

 the Dorset-Shropshire grade ewe is also an excellent ewe for 

 this purpose, though scarcely so sure to breed at the right 

 season as the former. The grade ewes are to be preferred 

 to the purebreds for raising such lambs, as their cost is less 

 and they are usually more vigorous mothers. The rams, 

 however, should be purebred, as a grade sire lacks prepotency 

 and consequently fails to sire lambs of uniform merit. 



The ewes should be sheared early, and kept on light feed 

 from March until the latter part of May. They should be 

 kept in only medium condition. In May they will, of course, 

 be turned on pasture and should be kept gaining at a fair 

 rate until they are bred. If pasture is not good they should 

 receive grain in addition. The endeavor is to have the ewes 

 at breeding time in good, vigorous condition not fat, but 

 gaining in flesh. The rams should be in similar condition. 

 This gain in condition is known to shepherds as "flushing," 

 and is resorted to because long experience has shown that 

 it increases the tendency of the animals to come in heat, and 

 also renders conception much more certain. 



In breeding the preferable plan is to keep the ram with 

 the ewes only at night; but this necessitates considerable 

 extra work, and breeders often find it more economical to 

 turn two rams with the flock, letting them remain all the 

 time. 



After the ewes have all taken the ram, he should be re- 

 moved from the flock. The ewes should have an abundance 

 of good pasture, pure water from troughs or tanks, and shade. 



