144 FITTING SHEEP FOR SHOW RING AND MARKET. 



fast in the month of December, provided the ewes are what 

 they are intended to be, viz., early lamb-raisers. Our ewes 

 must be fed liberally, but should not be fat. Food of a heat- 

 ing nature should be avoided, or serious troubles may follow 

 in the shape of scours, abortion, etc. The entrance to the 

 barn should be wide, so as to prevent the wedging of the 

 ewes together in their mad rush for their grain ration; many 

 cases of abortion are directly traceable to this evil. 



In the Hothouse. 



The barn should be divided into pens; the hay racks can 

 be utilized for this purpose, thereby economizing room. 

 Light and ventilation are indispensible. The self-feeder can- 

 not be used to advantage in the feeding of hot-house lambs. 

 The lambs must be excessively fat, or when dressed they will 

 make a poor showing. The rations of both dam and off- 

 spring must be of the best. The clover hay should be the 

 very best procurable, free from dust and if the blossoms are 

 discernable in it, so much the better. 



Rations for Spring Lambs. 



The finest quality lambs I ever handled were fed on oil- 

 cake, crushed to pea size, pulped turnips five pounds of 

 turnips to one of oilcake, mixed and all the clover hay they 

 would eat. They were fed as much of this ration as they 

 could eat, three times a day. Any that was left uneaten after 

 one-half hour after feeding was removed from the troughs 

 and went to help in the make-up of the ewes' rations. Worm 

 powders, mixed' with salt and ashes, were accessible to them 

 at all times. Cut corn fodder was used as roughage at noon 



