MANAGEMENT OF A BREEDING FLOCK ON THE CHALKS. 



Culling and Drafting. In good flocks, especially in what are 

 regarded as improving flocks, that is, where careful selection is 

 made to bring in only such young ewes as will be graded the flock 

 higher, there are always " coming on " young females to make 

 good the yearly cullings and older sheep got rid of. A flock of 

 ewes, therefore, consists of sheep of four ages : (1) the new draft 

 of two-tooth ewes or theaves ; (2) the four-tooths ; (3) the six- 

 tooths ; (4) full-mouthed and older. The new draft is reckoned 

 to be slightly more than one-fourth, so as to meet the losses which, 

 in the ordinary course, will be met as it passes through the stages until 

 in its turn it is sold out ; and in like manner the proportion, 

 as the ages increase, lessen. What proportion will go right through 

 is problematic, as the " luck " of different years varies very con- 

 siderably it may be two per cent, or ten per cent. Owing to 

 the dry lair, and the large portion of the time spent on arable 

 land, the losses from diseases of an epidemic or epizootic nature are 

 less on land where sheep are kept thickly than on grass land which 

 has become " sheep sick." The ploughing of the land, and thereby 

 the burying of germs or organisms, greatly sweetens it for sheep 

 and keeps them healthier. 



The flock is generally made up in July, where lambing is expected 

 in early January, and all should be sound in every respect, doubtful 

 or known wrong ones having been culled. Where lambing will 

 not take place until much later, there is no urgency in doing this, 

 though as draft ones should not be wastefully kept, culling may 

 be done at weaning-time. They should be sound on their feet, 

 and have been recently dipped. They should be in fair condition, 

 and improving in it when they are needed to go to the ram ; the 

 fecundity of any breed will be increased when part of their food 

 is in the form of sweet (not sheep-stale) pasture. It may be on 

 good grass, sweet Down, or, should the farm not provide this, 

 sweet leys The other food may be such as the farm ordinarily 

 supplies, and a run on rape, or on stubbles where there is some 

 faflen grain, especially barley, has a stimulating effect. The 

 extremes of fatness and poorness should be avoided. Where 

 Down runs are available, the sheep may run entirely on them 

 after they are tupped, though it is generally advantageous to 

 bring them daily to the arable land to scavenge, and eat such 

 food as is available as well as to bring manure on to the land. 



At this time there may be some lambs still awaiting sale, and 

 these will have the best food growing, as well as such corn as is 

 thought desirable. The ewe lambs drafted with the view to going 

 into the flock next year, will also have choice food ; though usually 

 they get less corn than the ram or sale lambs, because they will 

 have plenty of time to grow out before they go to the ram. Although 

 ram lambs are very generally used in these districts, it is exceptional 



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