THE EWE FLOCK. Ill 



while the older ewes are eating long hay, or hay and straw 

 chaff. 



The lambing period extends from January ist to about the 

 end of March. The well-being of a young lamb depends to a 

 greater degree upon its food than upon the mildness of the 

 weather, and these young creatures, if well supplied with milk 

 and other foods, will stand any ordinary degree of cold and 

 driving rain or sleet. Sheltered behind their mothers, or 

 crouching beside a sheep trough, or behind a fence of thatched 

 hurdles these young creatures will look bright and cheerful 

 even in the severest weather but we are anticipating. 



Success in the lambing pen depends upon the previous 

 treatment of the flock, and it is necessary to briefly sketch 

 out the proper course to be pursued. The most trying months 

 for early-lambing flocks are November and December. It is 

 during these months that the change of food from grass and 

 green food to turnips takes place. It is then that heavy falls of 

 rain render the folds slippery and sodden. It is then that the 

 farmer may delay too long the cutting of his hayricks. It is 

 then that mistakes are made, and as these mistakes do not 

 always tell disastrously, they are perpetuated. If a ewe flock 

 is to be kept healthy it should as far as possible be kept on 

 grass land. Those who enjoy the privilege of the grazing 

 of a park have a capital opportunity ; while those who must 

 maintain their flocks entirely upon arable land are more 

 liable to mischances. In any case, the rules for success are : 

 A small allowance of turnips and a full allowance of dry 

 food. A firm and dry lair is of scarcely less importance, and 

 I believe that, taking one year with another, the flockmaster 

 who insures these conditions will experience what is called 

 " luck " during lambing. Swedish turnips are not good for 

 in-lamb ewes, i.e. 9 white and yellow turnips are to be pre- 

 preferred. Second growth rape ought to be avoided, and 

 mangel leaves are not good for a breeding flock. Mr. Robert 

 Russell many years ago gave his opinion against ewes being 

 allowed to run on stubbles, as he thought they found poisonous- 



