WEANING AND FALL, FEEDING. 199 



the middle of September the lambs are placed in moderate 

 lots upon grass or seeds, as, from the domestic habits peculiar 

 to the race, they are fond of picking their food at this season 

 of the year, cabbages being thrown to them upon the pastures, 

 or cut for them in troughs : after a short time a few white 

 turnips are mixed with them as a preparation for the winter. 

 As October advances they are placed upon the common or 

 white turnips. Some breeders mix a little cole seed in the 

 first sowing, w T hich is an excellent plan. After a short time 

 the wether lambs are given ^ Ib. of oil cake, or corn to that 

 value, each per day ; at Christmas they are placed upon the 

 Swedes which are cut for them, as also the white ones upon 

 bad layer." 



In the " commended essay" * of Mr. T. E. Pawlett, on the 

 same subject, 1847, occur the following statements: "I have 

 found lambs to thrive much better on old keeping as red 

 clover, sanfoin, or grass than upon what are termed 

 eddishes ; yet I must state that old white clover, or trefoil 

 stubbles, are, when they are seeded and have become dry, the 

 very worst of all kinds of food for young lambs. If, however, 

 proper food cannot be provided for them, they should often 

 have their pastures changed to keep them healthy, when a 

 little oil cake or a few split peas or beans (one pint a day 

 among four lambs,) would do them no harm. Having proved 

 by many experiments the advantages of putting young lambs, 

 after weaning, upon old keeping namely, pastures that have 

 been stocked from the commencement of the spring over 

 eddishes or pastures that have been previously mown the 

 same season, I will state one experiment as a sample of the 

 rest. In the year 1834, I put a lot of lambs on some old 

 sanfoin, having a few tares carried to them, and another lot of 

 lambs were put on young sanfoin, or an eddish which had 

 grown to a pasture ; these, also, had some tares. Each lot 

 was weighed at the commencement, and again at the end of 

 the trial: 



" Gain in weight on a lot of lambs fed on old sanfoin, from July 10 to August 



10, each on the average,.. 14& Ibs 



Lambg fed on sanfoin eddish, gained each in the same time, 8> Ib3 



Difference, 6 Ibs." 



The moist, mild climate and constant rain, in England, 

 affect pastures very differently from the scorching and often 



* This is headed as follows :" A Commended Essay, written in competition for 

 the premium awarded to Mr. E. Smith, by the Royal Agricultural Society, 1847." Mr. 

 Pawlett is known as a distinguished breeder of Leicesters. 



