230 MA.SSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



large a variety of food is given as possible, — hay of different 

 kinds, green oats cut for fodder, salt hay, a few roots on warm 

 days, &c. They have no grain except as above ; all tliat is given 

 to them is to be eaten- up clean. If tl>ere is any left, they are 

 not forced to eat it, but it is taken away and less fed next time. 

 Neat stock and horses are fond of sheep orts in small quanti- 

 ties. My ewes go with young 148 to 150 days. Lambs come 

 in March and April. The ewes before lambing are provided 

 with a warm, dry, well-bedded pen, and " all is well." 



The young lambs, " each a little faithful tjopy of its sire," 

 soon learn to help themselves. No change in feeding is made, 

 except to feed often for a few days. Warm water is given the 

 ewe for her first drink. The lambs, when about three weeks 

 old, are provided with a crib, to which they have access through 

 a door too small for their dams. This crib is kept supplied 

 with oats and second crop clover, of which they soon learn to 

 eat freely. The milk of the ewes is also now increased by 

 feeding roots, clover, hay, &c. When the lambs are about six 

 weeks old, their tails are docked at the joint, about one and 

 one-half inches from the body. 



My sheep are shorn in May, and sometimes again in August. 

 They are not washed before shearing. After shearing they are 

 washed several times during the warm weather. Their hoofs, 

 when grown long, are pared. Fetters, bells, and other encum- 

 brances are never used. The only thing allowed is a small 

 split steel ring in the ear, with a copper label attached, having 

 the number of the ewe stamped thereon. The ewes are num- 

 bered, and the number is not repeated. The bucks are named. 



In regard to the weight of my ewes and of their fleeces I 

 can make no accurate statement, having seldom troubled my 

 self about it. Full one year fleeces weigh about eight to ten 

 pounds unwashed, but clear and white. If the shape, quali- 

 ties and disposition are right, I pay but little regard to size, 

 unless extreme. I want none of my ewes to weigh less than 

 one hundred nor more than one hundred and fifty pounds. 



That sheep, properly managed, pay, there can be no doubt ; 

 but as to the exact profit I will not venture a statement. The 

 improvement of the farm on which they are kept is an item of 

 no small consideration. 



