SHEEP 355 



land, in connection with Swedish turnips and hay chaff, with the re- 

 sult that 8 wethers increased 380 pounds in one hundred and twelve 

 days, or an average weekly gain of 2.9 pounds per head. This high 

 rate of gain appears to have been due to the crushing of the oats. 

 The best satisfaction will be obtained from feeding peas when they 

 are split or crushed and fed with other foods. 



In an experiment at Woburn, England, with different rations, 

 including linseed cake, linseed cake and undecorticated cotton-seed 

 cake, crushed oats and barley meal, crushed oats and split beans, and 

 lastly wheat, the wheat gave the largest gains. During the first pe- 

 riod of the experiment it was fed in the form of meal, but was after- 

 wards fed whole, w r ith a very noticeable increase in the gains result- 

 ing. The 6 wethers fed wheat for one hundred and six days ate 558 

 pounds of wheat, and, as nearly as can be estimated, 12,720 pounds 

 of roots and 277 pounds of hay chaff, and on this they gained 313 

 pounds, or an average of 3.4 pounds per head weekly. 



Sheep of all kinds and ages appear to be very fond of wheat 

 bran, probably on account of its flavor and the fact that they digest 

 it easily. Many of the large feeders in the West consider bran one 

 of the safest and best foods to begin the feeding of large numbers, 

 though they only rely on it alone for a few weeKs. 



In the feeding experiments that have been made with beans 

 as the only grain the results have been unsatisfactory. In a trial 

 at Rothamsted, England, ground beans were fed with mangels in 

 comparison with other grains, and a very unsatisfactory opinion was 

 formed of their value, the sheep refusing to eat the beans and losing 

 weight, so that the food had to be changed. 



A very healthy food for sheep is linseed meal, and they eat it 

 eagerly, especially if it is not ground too fine. When crushed into 

 pieces about the size of peas sheep eat it with relish. There is much 

 difference in the different grades of linseed cake, and for this reason 

 its feeding value varies greatly. In an experiment in England with 

 linseed cake containing 6 or 7 per cent of fat and others containing 

 15 or 16 per cent, the wethers ate very nearly the same amount of 

 food of both kinds, while the gain with the linseed cake rich in fat 

 was much the greater. It is estimated that this was worth $5 per ton 

 more than the linseed cake low in fat. 



From the results presented in the outline of what had been ac- 

 complished in the feeding of single grain foods, it is evident that 

 there are but a few of them that give profitable returns when fed 

 alone. Some give a high rate of gain, but the cost absorbs the profit, 

 and others yield satisfactory gains so long as the sheep will eat them 

 and continue in good health. At the average current prices the 

 indications of the experiments are that corn is much the most profit- 

 able single grain to feed, next to which rank such as wheat, cotton- 

 seed meal, or linseed, while most of the others enumerated barely pay 

 returns equal to their market prices, and some, such as beans and 

 bran, fail to do this. 



There is abundant evidence indicating that the merit of a grain 

 mixture as a part of the ration lies in the fact that the sheep like it 



