338 THE SHEEP OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



few exceptions, at once crossed with the Hampshire Downs, and 

 now successfully compete at all the early fairs with their 

 Hampshire brethren. 



In Wilts, Berks, and Dorset more attention has been paid to 

 the quality of flesh and wool, and thereby has been produced an 

 animal generally superior to that of the Hampshire breeders, 

 who until lately sacrificed everything for size, colour, and 

 character of face. 



Since the conversion of so much down into arable land, the 

 modes of keeping sheep in both counties have been nearly 

 similar. The ewes are put to the tup at somewhat different 

 periods, varying according to locality, from the latter end of 

 July to the middle of September. They are generally kept on 

 turnips and hay during the winter, except when the crop is 

 short ; the hay is cut into chaff with a portion of straw, with 

 the addition, in some localities, of malt-dust, bran, corn, or 

 cake. Some years ago the ewes were taken to a lambing yard 

 near the homestead, but it is now become general to make 

 temporary yards in some convenient place on the farm, near the 

 green food, and where the manure is most required. If the 

 weather is fine the lambs go out on turnips in a few days after 

 they fall, but some farmers prefer keeping them in the yard or 

 pen for two or three weeks. The couples are generally kept on 

 turnips and hay until about the first week in April, when, the 

 water meadows being ready, they go there by day and fold out 

 on Italian rye-grass, rye, winter barley, or trifolium at night ; 

 the tup and wether lambs getting a little cake or corn before 

 the hurdles. On farms where there are no water meadows there 

 is usually a larger quantity of late swedes provided, after 

 consuming which the couples are kept on rye, winter oats, 

 barley, trifolium, and mangold- wurtzel, until the vetches are in 

 flower. 



Farmers who keep their stock in the highest condition wean 

 their lambs about the first or second week in May, when they 

 are generally kept on sainfoin or clover by day, and are folded 

 on vetches by night. When the vetches are consumed they are 

 put on rape or cabbages, with the aftermath clover or sainfoin ; 

 the sale lambs have large folds of the above, the ewe lambs, or 

 the stock ewes, clearing up any food which they leave. By this 



