LECTURE LVI. 



FATTENING SHEEP IN SUMMER. 



Many experiments and the testimony of many practical 

 feeders have shown, conclusively, that cattle can be fed more 

 economically in summer than in winter; and while the ex- 

 periments along this line in sheep feeding are less numerous 

 than in cattle feeding, they are quite as conclusive. 



Experiments conducted in 1901, at the Iowa Experiment 

 Station, in which 1G1 yearling wethers were fed, showed that 

 the sheep made .406 pound gain per day on bluegrass pasture 

 alone; that they made .46 pound gain per day on corn and 

 bluegrass; on oats and bluegrass pasture .42 pound per day; 

 on barley and bluegrass pasture .39 pound per day. Such 

 gains as these are very large in feeding sheep, and show 

 that very satisfactory and economical gains can be made 

 on summer feeding; and furthermore, it was found that the 

 most economical gains were made on bluegrass pasture alone. 

 In another experiment made the same fall, in which 100 head 

 of yearling wethers were fed in seven lots, the results showed 

 that more economical gains could be made on corn and 

 grass, or on grass alone, than on any usual combination of 

 grains and clover hay. The gains on grass, however, were 

 not as great as desired; this was due, however, to the fact 

 that the grass was washy, due to its having been burnt over 

 just prior to the time the sheep were placed on it. 



The above experiments and the general knowledge of ex- 

 perienced feeders indicate that summer feeding is advisable 

 whenever good pasture can be secured; and the results also 

 show that where sheep have the run of abundant bluegrass 

 pasture, that more economical results can be secured on 

 grass alone than on grass and grain. This does not neces- 

 sarily indicate, however, that grain should not be fed to 

 sheep that are on pasture. This must be governed by local 

 conditions, such as kind of pasture, abundance of same, and 

 cost of grain that one desires to feed. 



For yearlings or mature sheep bluegrass pasture is the 



