276 GROWING THE LAMB 



late summer and autumn months even though the pastures are very 

 short and dry. In fattening such lambs a plan worth trying is to 

 place them in the dry lot and limit the amount of roughage fed and 

 thus force them to develop an appetite for grain. After this is done 

 it may be possible to give them the run of the fields and still get 

 them to consume enough grain to fatten them. 



Pastures and Forage Crops. The standard pasture in nearly 

 all parts of the United States where farm flocks' are kept is blue- 

 grass. Sheep relish it and thrive and fatten on it if kept free from 

 the parasites so harmful to them, but being a permanent pasture 

 grass it is difficult to handle so that these parasites will not be 

 present in such numbers as to greatly reduce its value. It is 

 best in the spring and fall and is not an all-season pasture unless 

 there is a very large area available. In midsummer it is too dry, too 

 fibrous, and too unbalanced in nutrients to be an ideal feed for 

 growing lambs or an economical maintenance feed for ewes. There- 

 fore, it is inadvisable to depend on bluegrass alone for carrying the 

 flock through the entire pasturing season. When bluegrass is young 

 and tender, which is in May and the first half of June in the 

 northern states, it is so palatable that lambs abandon almost all 

 other feeds for it, but later they tire of it (Fig. 181). 



Timothy is excellent pasture in the spring, for it is very 

 palatable and nutritious. When it gets above six inches in height, 

 it becomes too coarse for lambs; when it begins to head it is not a 

 first-class pasture for older sheep. In midsummer it makes so little 

 growth that its feeding value is very low ; but should there be suffi- 

 cient moisture, it makes an ideal fall pasture. Timothy is damaged 

 if kept grazed down very closely by sheep, because the grass 

 blades grow from bulbs which the sheep will eat when the pasture is 

 very short. 



Mixed pastures are not very common in the United States, but 

 they are prevalent in England. The writer has had limited experi- 

 ence with a pasture composed of blueglass, timothy, Italian rye- 

 grass, and white clover. It made splendid feed and was capable of 

 carrying a large number of sheep and lambs. The Italian rye-grass 

 coming on very early made this pasture ready for grazing at least 

 two weeks earlier than the regular season for blueglass and timothy. 

 The rye-grass, being rather coarse, was not so palatable as the other 

 grasses and there was a tendency to graze the bluegrass and timothy 

 too close. By rather heavy stocking, however, it .was possible to 



