FARM ANIMALS 253 



results can be obtained from feeding sheep nothing 

 but alfalfa and straw. The gains which are made 

 on this ration are economic and the quality of the 

 mutton is good enough to command high prices 

 on the local markets. 



A reaction has set in in many of the western 

 markets against the overfed and excessively fat 

 lambs which have been brought to market during 

 the past few years. If lambs are placed in the feed- 

 ing pens in a fairly good condition they may be 

 brought to the right finish in from seventy-five to 

 one hundred days by the addition of a small grain 

 ration with alfalfa hay fed ad libitum. Lambs will 

 yield good returns on either native grass or alfalfa 

 hay in connection with a small grain ration. In a 

 series of comparative tests alfalfa produced twenty- 

 seven per cent, greater gains, one thousand two 

 hundred and eighty pounds more mutton per acre 

 and one and one-half per cent, more dressed weight 

 at fifteen per cent, less expense than, native hay. 

 In this test it appeared that the value of alfalfa hay 

 for mutton feeding purposes was about $17 per ton. 



Brome Grass. In those parts of the western states 

 where brome grass has been cultivated extensively 

 it has proved to be a valuable feed for lambs and 

 old sheep. Where this grass has been sown on the 

 range it starts up in the earliest spring and, there- 

 fore, yields succulent forage in advance of the 

 native grasses. The hay under favorable condition 

 also produces large yields and has been shown to 

 be more nutritious than timothy hay or prairie hay 

 for feeding lambs. When lambs receive brome 

 grass hay, less grain is required for a pound of 

 gain than on timothy or prairie hay. Clover of 

 various kinds is also fed to lambs and old sheep 

 with the best results. In the eastern and middle 



