MANAGEMENT OF A BREEDING FLOCK ON THE CHALKS. 



are giving valuable help to both ewes and lambs. In June a 

 piece of autumn transplanted cabbages of the early sugar-loaf 

 type, may be available ; and after them, the hardier oxhearts 

 come in. But vetches and tares are a great mainstay, and in no 

 part of the country is so large an area sown. Ordinary leys and 

 sainfoin, however, are the stock pieces of keep in summer-time ; 

 and the arrangement of feeding these crops is to some extent 

 controlled by the nature of the season, and therefore of the supply, 

 which is managed accordingly. But at all times the lambs are 

 provided with a fresh feed, that is, food that has not carried sheep 

 previously that year. In all systems of sheep management, in 

 any part, this fresh, as opposed to stale, keep is absolutely 

 essential. 



Weaning. The lambs are weaned, roughly, at three months ; 

 but there is no definite period, and as weaning is not done at a 

 fixed age, but those early and late born are taken from their mothers 

 on the same day, there is considerable variation. If lambs are 

 doing well, and the milk supply is falling off, and a considerable 

 number of the earlier have ceased to suckle, a generally average 

 suitable time may be considered to have been reached. If, through 

 scour or other throw back, the lambs are not thriving well, it may 

 be advisable to give them the advantage of a rather longer suckle. 

 In exhibition flocks the ram lambs are not castrated until weaning 

 time, or even later ; because it is desirable to give them an oppor- 

 tunity to show their character and features ; those fit to keep on 

 for service are allowed to, and those with deficiencies are " altered." 

 Ordinarily, lambs are better tailed and castrated when about a 

 fortnight old. 



The lambs, when on their own, are kept liberally supplied with 

 cake or corn ; and probably no breed of sheep sends out its lambs 

 with so much " bloom " on them as the Hampshire. From July 

 to October the lambs are sold off ; and it is a feature of the Western 

 sheep that a very large proportion of the sheep are sold at fairs ; 

 large numbers being pitched at old-established fairs, though to a 

 considerably smaller degree than in former days. The sales of ram 

 lambs from the better-known flocks often take place on the farms, 

 though many are sold at local fairs and markets, and no incon- 

 siderable number go to distant counties for sale. 



Ewes after Weaning. The ewes, after weaning, are run on land 

 where the lambs have had first feed, or where down pasturage 

 is available spend part of their time there. Shearing, culling, 

 and other items in sheep management are performed much as with 

 other breeds. 



The ewe lambs which are selected to go into the flock in the 

 following year are kept in a thriving condition, but are not pushed 

 hard, except in exceptional cases. As lambs, they receive fresh 



