72 



mated in the United States, but it may be well questioned if a flock 

 of sheep can be profitably or successfully kept without them. A 

 certain portion of water must be taken with the food every day. 

 The more intimately this is mixed with the food, the better for the 

 digestive process. In feeding 12 Ibs. of roots to a sheep 80 to 90 

 per cent, or 4J to 5 qts. of water are given in "them. By the pro- 

 cess of mastication the water is intimately mixed with the solid 

 matter, and a semi-liquid pulp is formed exactly fitted for the ru- 

 minative and digestive processes of the stomach. By cutting or 

 pulping the roots, and sprinkling or mixing the ration of meal, 

 bran, or grain, upon or with them, the whole food reaches the 

 stomach in the most appropriate condition possible. Digestion 

 proceeds uniformly, the stomach does not need to be supplied 

 with a large quantity of water at any time, and its solvent juices 

 are not diluted and weakened. The bowels act regularly, and 

 constipation, one of the most troublesome disorders of the flock 

 when on dry food, is avoided and prevented. But the daily ration 

 of roots must be apportioned with care and judgment. For lambs 

 5 to 6 Ibs. daily will be sufficient ; for two-year-olds and mature 

 sheep, 10 to 15 Ibs. will be an ample allowance ; the smaller quan- 

 tity being enough for a Southdown, and the larger for a full grown 

 Cotswold, Leicester, or Lincoln. For a Merino a much less 

 quantity should be apportioned, as this breed cannot produce a 

 fleece of good quality, or great weight, without being supplied with 

 enough oily matter to secrete the large amount of yolk which their 

 fleece contains. 



Of all the roots usually grown, the sugar-beet is the best for 

 sheep, being the most palatable, and containing the greatest pro- 

 portion of solid nutritious matter. For every 100 sheep to be fed 

 with roots at the rate of ten pounds per head per day, during the 

 feeding season of 5 months, about 4 acres devoted to this crop will 

 be required, yielding about 18 tons, or 550 to 600 bushels per acre. 

 This is a small estimate, and only half the yield of a good or a 

 possible crop, but is near that of our average crops. The amount 

 of food necessary to keep a sheep in good thrifty condition has 

 been determined to be 15 pounds of actually dry substance per 

 week for each 100 Ibs. of live weight. As grain and hay contain 

 about 14 per cent of water, this allowance will be equal to about 

 18 Ibs. of hay or grain, or nearly 3 Ibs. per day. But as for the 

 perfect digestion of the food, a certain bulk is requisite, the mixed 

 daily ration should be composed of such proportions of bulky and 

 concentrated food, that 7 to 9 pounds are required to produce an 

 increase of one pound in live weight. From the data previously 



