BHEKP MAy.vGEMEXT.] AM) Till' IK VAKIOUS BREEDS, [bukki- maxaoemknt. 



the fattening principle in a concontrnted form. 

 !Mr. Cliildera states, that slieep led with the ad- 

 dition of half a pint of barley per sheep per day, 

 lialf a pound of linseed cake, a little hay, and 

 with a constant supply of salt, becomo ready 

 for tho butcher in ten weeks; and ^ain, of 

 flesh and tallow, from thirty-three to forty 

 pounds per head (one sheep gained fifty-llvo 

 pounds in twelve weeks) ; and that, with ar- 

 tificial food, thirty tons of turnips uill feed 

 eiity sheep ; while, on tho usual plan of feeding 

 on turnips alone, out of doors, tlio average of 

 the country is, that twenty tons of turnips will 

 feed, in sixteen weeks, ten sheep, with a gain 

 of only twenty pounds of ilcsh and tallow. 

 This gentleman long ago established the fact, 

 tiiafc house, or shcd-fcediug, was a great saving 

 of food. Mr. Eichardson was staying with him 

 at Cantley during the experiment, whicli was 

 most carefully conducted by Mr. Childers in 

 ercry way. The same food was given to eacli 

 lot — one exposed, and the other sheltered in a 

 walled and -well-littered yard: 27 stones of 

 turnips, 10 lbs, of linseed cake for each lot, and 

 half a pint of barley per sheep per day, with a 

 little hay and salt to go to, were given ; but 

 soon the sheltered sheep ate less, by 3 stones 

 of turnips per day, than those exposed, and ul- 

 timately 2 stones more, as well as 3 lbs. of 

 cakes per day. The result was, that in three 

 months, two field-fed sheep had increased 3G 

 stones 8 lbs., and the shed-fed, 56 stones G lbs. 

 — <i difference, in twenty sheep, of just 20 stones 

 live weight ! This experiment, Mr. Richardson 

 says, gave the example for general imitation, 

 and has divided sheep-feeders into several 

 classes. The field feeder values the consoli- 

 dation of the animal's kneading, and feeds 

 out of doors. Amateurs, like Mr. Mechi, 

 advocate loard-feeding, or houses with hollow 

 floors of boards, set on an edge sufficiently 

 near to prevent the sheep's feet from falling 

 through ; and one from his Cotswolds may be 

 fat at one year old. As we disapprove of 

 bo-ard-feeding, except under very special cir- 

 cumstances-^strong clay land, for instance, 

 or some equally potent physical preventive to 

 the feeding out of doors — we think it fair to 

 give the opinion of a gentleman who warmly 

 advocated it — we mean the Hon. Captain 

 Dudley Pclham. 



"The sheep," he says, "should be upon 



gratings, made with oak frames and deal tops, 



three-(]iiarter8 of an inch between the bars. 

 Beneath the gratings, which should bo sup- 

 ported on either side, without cross-supports 

 (which are inconvenient in emptying tho pit), 

 should bo a tank or pit in brickwork, or rammed 

 with marl, not less than two-and-a-half to three 

 feet deep, so as to contain all tho manure 

 dropped by one lot of fattening sheep ; thus 

 avoiding tho necessity of disturbing tho animals 

 for tho removal of the manure." Tiiis gentle- 

 man rcconunends gypsum to be thrown over 

 tho gratings to prevent unpleasant smells, and 

 that tho sheds should be even cooler than those 

 intended for oxen, 15° being the point he con- 

 siders to bo aimed at, while those of oxen ho 

 thinks should bo 50°. The size of the pons ho 

 recommends to be eight feet by six, and to 

 contain six Down sheep. The quantity of 

 food eaten by fifty Down sheep, he estimates 

 at two tons; and sheep in these sheds, be 

 conceives, will feed in about twelve weeks. He 

 has had sheep, for three weeks, increase at tho 

 rate of 4,i-lbg.; and each animal will make, ho 

 calculates, 2 cwt. of powerful solid manure. 



Stall-feeding sJieej) is n step still more in 

 advance even of this ; and, though inapplicable 

 to young sheep, is, in some parts, practised 

 with considerable success. 



Respecting the co7nparative economy of 

 feeding sheep ai one or two years of age, Mr. 

 Richardson made an estimate, which he pub- 

 lished in the Farmers' Magazine. Ho showed 

 that, during the two years tho two-year-old 

 feeding system was iu operation, the produce 

 would be, on thirty acres of land, 7,S001b3. of 

 mutton; and the same area of laud would 

 produce 11,000 lbs., in the same period, by tho 

 one-year-old system ; thus showing a gain, per 

 annum, of 1,900 lbs. of mutton, on thirty acres 

 of land, to the community. He further cal- 

 culated the comparative advantage to the 

 feeder ; and showed that, with mutton at Gd. 

 per lb., tlie one plan would leave a profit on 

 the two years — out of which the rent was to bo 

 paid — of £G2 10s. ; while that of the oqe-year- 

 old system would leave a profit of but £59 is. 

 The figures and calculations are too extended 

 for us to make use of them ; but the change, 

 he says, in the demand for small mutton, since 

 the period wheu these calculations were pub- 

 lished, will somewhat modify the calculation, 



