Seo. r.] SIIf:EP nUSBAXDRY. 



" Aa tlie lambing season approaches, snug quarters must be provided for 

 tlie breedinj^ ewes, where they win be clean, warm, and dry." 



116. Grain for Shccpt — Major Wni. Lee, one of the most successful wool- 

 growers of western Pennsylvania, manages his sheep as follows, according to 

 the Ohio Farmer : " They are not contined to siieds ; they are only provide! 

 with a dry place for shelter and rest. After tliey r.se of their own ueeord, in 

 the morning, he feeds again, two thirds corn, and one third barley or oats. Af- 

 terwards he feeds hay, and also at three o'clock again, so that the sheep have 

 finished eating before nightfall. He considers that corn will make more 

 ■wool than oats, and general opinion favors out-door feeding. Sheep housed 

 will not eat as much, nor will they shear as much wool." 



Anotlier sheep-iarmer says : " I am willing to make affidavit that with 

 me, in many years' experience carefully tested, sheep of the same kind, weigh- 

 ing from 110 to 130 lbs., M-ill put on more fat and gain a great deal more 

 weight on 1 or Ij lbs. of grain or oil-cake per day, in tliree or four months, 

 xoith only straw for fodder, than those weighing 80 to 90 lbs. ; and I value 

 a sheep weighing 125 to 130 lbs. as wortii half a cent more per pound of live 

 weiglit, for me to feed fat than one weighing 90 or 100 lbs. liow, no man 

 will suppose that the straw will jnit on any fat, or make sheep gain in weight. 

 If you feed sheep straw only, they would lose weight, and that greatly ; but 

 ■with a ])0und of meal or grain daily, they will gain daily. I can jirove all I 

 liave said by neighbors ■who liave been feeding for a few years past, and who 

 will now only buy the largest sheep of their class, or the largest cattle of 

 their age."' 



117. Wci^lit of Hay for Sliefp. — The question. How much liay do sheep 

 or cattle require per day ? is thus answered by Alexander Speck von Stern- 

 berg, of Lutzchena, Saxony, to the lion. Joseph A. Wright, American min- 

 ister at Berlin. He says : " One thirtieth 2Mrt of the weight of the live 

 animal, in good hay, is considered necessary per day for its sustenance. 

 According to the quality of the fodder, and its abundance or scarcity, this 

 may be increased to one twentieth part ; but less th.an one thirtieth part 

 ought not to be given. Taking good meadow hay as the fodder standard, a 

 ram should receive about 3i lbs. per day, a ewe about 2^ lbs., yearlings, 

 etc., in that proportion — taking the average of a full-grown ram at 110 lbs., 

 of a ewe at 72 lbs., the weiglit of each varying, according to age, size, and 

 condition, between 105 and 125 lbs. as regards the full-sized rams, and from 

 70 to 85 lbs. as regards the fuH-grown ewes. The weight of a wether varies 

 between 80 lbs. in lean condition, and 110 to 115 lbs., if strong and fat for 

 the butcher. One pound of good meadow hay is considered cipiivalent to 

 15 lbs. of oat, ])ea, wheat, or barley straw, 4 lbs. of turnips, or 2 Ihs. of grains 

 in the wet state, as delivered from the brewery in winter. When the time 

 for stabling for winter arrives, the sheep-master has his supplies of straw, 

 Iiay, and turni]is allotted to him on the basis of the above calculalion, and 

 he is bound to make them serve out the proper time, under-feeding being aa 

 much guarded against as over-feeding and waste." 



