24 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



Part II. 



A. Cleveland Flax Meal v. Old-process Linseed 

 Meal for Early Lambs. 



Object of the Experiment. 

 It has recently been claimed, by parties who grow early 

 lambs for market, that the so-called new-process linseed 

 meal (Cleveland flax meal) exerted an injurious eifect upon 

 the young lamb. Some claim that this meal did not favor 

 growth, and others that it was the cause of frequent sudden 

 deaths. On the other hand, it was stated that the old-process 

 meal did not have these injurious effects, but favored rapid 

 growth and fattening. The station was asked to throw 

 some light on the subject, and conducted the following ex- 

 periment in the winter and early spring of 1898. 



The Experiment. 



Six grade Southdown ewes were brought to the station 

 barn the first week in February, and each placed in a sepa- 

 rate pen six feet wide by fifteen feet long. The pens were 

 separated by stout wire netting, thus enabling the animals 

 to see each other. The ewes were all in fair condition, and 

 in about two weeks' time began to drop their lambs. Each 

 lamb was weighed five days after being dropped. 



Daily Feed for the Ewes after Lambing. ■ — Two pounds 

 corn ensilage, rowen ad libitiun, 1 pound grain mixture. 

 The grain mixture* was gradually increased until each ewe 

 received '2\ pounds daily. This grain feed was kept up as 

 long as the ewes would take it, and was then gradually 

 reduced. The grain mixture, as will be noticed, contained 

 about one-third of one of the two kinds of linseed meal. 



Daily Feed for the Lambs. — The pens were so arranged 

 that the lambs gained access to a separate compartment, con- 

 taining a mixture of grains. They soon learned to go in as 

 soon as the feed was placed in the troughs. It was our aim 



* The grain mixture consisted of 7.5 pounds of old-process linseed or flax meal, 

 7.5 pounds of bran, 5 pounds corn meal and 5 pounds gluten feed. 



