LIVE STOCK. 339 



many later ; and, in a general way, the later they lamb the more 

 they twin. 



&quot; The ewes are first put to the ram at about nineteen months 

 old. I generally put eighty ewes to each ram ; sometimes more : 

 often less, if the ram is aged, or according to circumstances. 



&quot; I feed my flock ewes upon stubbles from whence the crops 

 of corn (grain) have been harvested, and upon old seed-layers, 

 (lands laid down to grass,) about the time of putting the rams 

 with them. They are generally together about eight or ten 

 weeks, more or less, according to circumstances. The ewes are 

 shifted about from the stubbles in which are the young clovers, 

 &c., for the following summer, on to old heath, sheep-walk, 

 or pasture, until within a short time of their lambing, if that 

 description of food lasts out, when they are put upon turnips to 

 be eaten off upon the land on which they are grown, hurdled 

 in for that purpose, and receive only a small quantity of them 

 at first, with some hay chaff, or hay and straw chaff mixed in 

 troughs. Some have straw chaff only ; or I remove the ewes 

 into a straw yard to pick over the straw, to lodge there at night, 

 and return to the turnip field the next morning. On very bad 

 feeding land, the turnips are often drawn off the land and stored, 

 and the sheep are fed with them upon pastures or in yards. 

 About, a fortnight or three weeks after the ewes have lambed, 

 they have what turnips they require, with some hay chaff or 

 straw, and are kept upon them as long as the turnips last, when 

 they are fed with mangel-wurzel, rye sown for spring feed, &c., 

 until the artificial grasses are ready for feeding, upon which the 

 flock continue until the lambs are weaned. This takes place 

 generally about the latter end of June, or the beginning of July, 

 according to the age of the lambs. The lambs are then put 

 upon after-grass from which hay has been cut, artificial grasses, 

 &c., until the turnips or rape are ready to be eaten off, when 

 they are put upon it, and are (speaking of my own) never taken 

 off the land upon which that food is growing, until it is all con 

 sumed, the following spring, however bad the weather. The 

 ewe lambs intended for stock have some chaff in troughs besides 

 the turnips, which are not cut, but eaten off the ground. The 

 wether and ram lambs have the same treatment, with the addi 

 tion of a little corn (grain) or oil cake, or a mixture of them, 

 according to the price, and have their turnips cut for them in 



