270 -THE farmers' handbook. 



are eminently suitable for crops that are intended to provide some green 

 fodder in the winter and a grain crop later in the year. Large areas 

 of Federation are sown a little on the early side with the object of ensuring 

 some feed in midwinter, though Federation hardly produces as much feed as 

 one of the long-season varieties sown, perhaps, two or three weeks earlier. 

 Neither late-sown crops nor quick-growing varieties can be expected to 

 produce anything appreciable in the way of green feed, most of the varieties 

 suitable for June sowings being comparatively poor stoolers and of scanty 

 vegetative habit. 



Strongly Rooted Crops. 

 A crop may usually be said to be ready to be fed off when it is about 

 6 inches high. It is a common error for farmers to turn sheep on to wheat 

 that is not sufficiently well rooted to stand the pulling about that the sheep 

 will certainly give it. How frequently this happens will be realised if a 

 careful examination is made of a few paddocks after the sheep have been 

 removed, dead plants being everywhere observable if the wheat was not 

 strongly rooted when the stock were turned in. A good firm root-hold is an 

 essential to grazing the crop down. 



Feed-off Rapidly. 



The length of time the sheep should remain on growing wheat is also of 

 importance. For the sake of the crop it should be as short as possible. It 

 is much better to turn on, say, thirty sheep per acre for one week than, say,, 

 ten sheep per acre for three weeks, because in the latter case the soil will be 

 tramped too hard, and tracks are likely to be formed that will remain until 

 the grain is harvested. Tracks are most likely to appear when there is a tank 

 or dam in the paddock, but they are apt to become almost as distinct even in 

 the absence of a dam, if the sheep are allowed to remain too long on the crop- 

 Heavy stocking for a few days has also the advantage that it ensures more 

 uniform treatment by the sheep. In a crop that is very rank in patches, 

 and that is in danger of developing rust or powdery mildew-, there is every 

 likelihood that the sheep will tackle last those patches that the farmer wishes 

 to see eaten back first, and that tendency can only be combated by turning 

 in a large flock for a short time. 



Objection will naturally be offered by the farmer who has sown a large 

 area early for the express purpose of ensuring green feed in the winter, and 

 with the definite object of getting a return from his sheep. To him a week 

 or two is quite insufficient to fatten off the lines of stores that he has 

 probably purchased for the purpose, and the only advice that can be offered 

 to such a man is that he must in some measure choose between the wheat 

 crop and the fat sheep — relying on his experience as to which is likely to 

 yield him the greater profit. 



When not to Feed-off. 



On some soils, particularly those of a heavy clayey nature, feeding-off has 

 the effect of tramping the ground so hard that the harrows seem to do little 

 good, even when heavily weighted. Obviously feeding-off should be avoided 

 as far as possible in all such cases. Nor can the operation be advocated in 

 respect of paddocks where the seed-bed was not as clean as it might have 

 been. In such cases it often happens that the wheat keeps ahead of the 

 grass and weeds until it is fed-off", and would probably have done so till 

 harvest, but it fails to do so after it has been checked by the sheep. The 

 enemies of the crop seem then to get such a hold as to interfere with its 

 growth and materially to reduce the ultimate yield 



