334 



FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



ters, but Is used because they are produced out of season, as are the 

 vegetable products of hot houses. The demand for winter lambs 

 comes from the last of December to Easter, and the ewes must ac- 

 cordingly be bred in the spring instead of in the fall, as usual 

 Dorset, Tunis, and Merino or Rambouillet ewes are commonly used 

 for raising winter lambs, for the other breeds rarely breed at the 

 right season. After lambing, the ewes are fed so as to yield an 

 abundant flow of milk, and the lambs are early taught to eat grain 

 and forced rapidly on such feeds as corn, oats, bran, and linseed meal, 

 with good legume ha.y and preferably either roots or silage in addi- 

 tion. Thus forced, the best lambs weigh 50 to 60 lbs. at 10 to 12 



m^ 



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mm 



Fig. 93. — Angora Goats Clearing Land of Brush 



Goats are especially fond of the leaves and twigs of brush and if pastured 

 closely enough will effectively kill the brush. 



weeks, when they are ready for market. "Winter lambs must be fat, 

 for the condition of the carcass is more important than its size. To 

 be profitable, they must sell for not less than $5 per head, and the 

 best ones sometimes bring $12. This specialty can be conducted with 

 profit only by experts who have nearby markets that will pay the high 

 prices such products must command. 



Spring lambs. — A less intensive system than the preceding is the 

 production of spring lambs, which are dropped from January to March 

 and are usually marketed in May and June, weighing 65 to 90 lbs., at 

 a time of the year when there is a good demand. Raising spring 

 lambs is especially profitable in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and 



