CARE OF THE EWE AND YOUNG LAMB 135 



looking well, there suddenly appeared an epidemic 

 of disease due to "forage poisoning, " and we lost 

 I think about 60 head of fine, fat lambs, nearly 

 ready for the market. I have known other cases of 

 injury from silage feeding, though few of such 

 wholesale losses (60 out of 1,400 in 10 days). The 

 symptoms of forage poisoning resulting from feed- 

 ing silage are a staggering gait, lack of desire to 

 eat, trembling of the body, finally a twisting or 

 curving of the body, stiffening of joints and muscles, 

 then death. We found no remedy, nor did any of 

 the affected lambs recover. The lesson seems to be 

 to feed only good sound sweet silage, never in ex- 

 cessive amounts (1% pounds per day is enough for 

 a 70-pound lamb, and 2 pounds is the limit for a 

 mature ewe, if safety is desired), and to feed for 

 not too long a time. I have known ewe flocks win- 

 tered on silage alone go to complete ruin in the 

 spring. I should never feed any sour or moldy 

 silage to sheep. 



In the northern part of the United States, along 

 the great lakes, in Michigan, Wisconsin and north- 

 ern Minnesota, besides northern New York and New 

 England and in all of Canada (besides Oregon, 

 Washington and British Columbia) roots form a 

 very important part of the ewe 's ration. Eoots have, 

 indeed, almost created the English breeds of mut- 

 ton sheep. They are safer to feed than silage and 

 better. In England it is customary to grow turnips, 

 mostly swedes, which are seldom pulled but are 

 consumed on the ground on which they grow, being 



