230 



THE farmers' cabinet. 



VOL. I 



be paid, to make use of the cheapest kinds of 

 food. 



With regard to the quantity and nature of 

 food, it should be sucli as to keep them in a 

 strong healthy state, and ratiicr full of flesh, 

 yet not partaking too mucli oi' fatness. This 

 good condition, even if maintained at con- 

 siderably greater immediate cost, will be 

 found by far the most profitable in the end ; 

 for independently of the constant danger of 

 loss by death, when sheep are ill kept, they 

 shear much less wool, and the future progeny 

 is much weaker, in consequence of such im- 

 perfect management. 



One of the most necessary requisites to be 

 observed is constant and regular feeding. 

 Sudden changes, from scanty to plentiful 

 food, are highly detrimental, as is also the re- 

 verse. Perhaps the only exception to this re^ 

 mark, is the case of ewes rearing lambs, which 

 require belter feeding than inordinary times 



The quality of the food is a thing of much 

 consequence, and the quantity must be adapt- 

 ed to the quality. It is satisfactorily ascer- 

 tained, that hay alone, is not adapted to keep- 

 ing sheep in the best condition. Still less is 

 it if they are not allowed a constant supply 

 of water. But the intermixture of roots, and 

 particularly mangel wurtzel, is found to pro- 

 duce an excellent effect. A very successful 

 manager of sheep, whenever he feeds any 

 kind of roots, or grain, to them, first gives 

 them a foddering of straw in order to fill 

 them, as he does not consider the roots dig-est 

 so well on an empty stomach. In order to be 

 able to proportion the different kinds of roots, 

 grain, &c. according to their nutritive quali- 

 ties, it is necessary to know in what propor- 

 tions those qualities exist in them respectively. 

 The following table exhibits the results of 

 the experiments of the distinguished agricul- 

 turist De Raumer, on the effects produced by 

 an equal quantity of several substances in 

 increasing the flesh, tallow, and wool of sheep. 



— -S "3 



111 



lbs. 



■3 

 p o 



do. 

 do. 

 do. 

 do. 

 do. 

 do. 

 do. 

 do. 

 do. 

 do. 

 do. 



do. without salt, 44 

 mangel wurtzel, raw, 88^ 



lbs. 

 1000 lbs. potatoes, raw, with salt, 40 ^ 6i 



gI 



155 14 



146 10 



136 lU 



134 14=V 



133 14 



90 12i 



129 13i 



120 10 



5S Ih 



wheat, 

 oats, 

 barley, 

 peas, 



rye, with salt, - 

 do. without salt, 

 meal, wet, 

 buckwheat, 

 good hay, 



c r: 



lbs. 

 V2h 



in 



01 



59i 



42^ 



()0 



41. 



35 



43 



17^ 



33 



13 



1000 lbs. hay with straw, with- 

 out other fodder, - 31 15^ Q,\ 



These results agree nearly with those ol 

 De Dombale, and with those of a number ol 

 other agriculturists. 



It has also been ascertained by the expert 

 ments of some eminent agriculturists, that 



1 lb. of oil cake is as nutritious as tw( 

 pounds of hay. 



200 lbs. of good sound straw of peas anc 

 vetches are equal to one hundred pounds 

 hay. 



300 lbs. of barley and oat straw are equa 

 to a hundred pounds of hay. 



400 lbs. of wheat straw are equal to i 

 hundred pounds of hay. 



It will be perceived by the above table 

 that lohcat produces the greatest increase ii 

 the flesh of the living anunal, though but littli 

 greater than oats ; that jjeas, wheat, rye, an^ 

 hay mixed with straw, produces the greates 

 increase of wool; and that barley and whet 

 causes the greatest increase, of tallow. Tha 

 as an average, grain generally gives aboi 

 three times the increase in the flesh, tha 

 roots and hay do, when in equal weight ; tha 

 grain produces about twice as much wool a 

 is caused by an equal weight of roots, an 

 several times the amount of tallow, that i 

 produced either by roots or hay. But as a 

 equal weight of mangel wurtzel may I 

 raised at the expense of less than one tent 

 of what is required for the production of moi 

 kinds of grain, the vastly superior econom 

 of its use as food for sheep for every thing e; 

 cept fattening, will be at once perceived. 



De Raumer found, that sheep ate wit 

 avidity eight pounds per head of mangt 

 wurtzel a day, intermixed with straw; durin 

 which time they drnnk one quart of wate 

 and remained in good and liealthy conditioi 



That of raw sliced potatoes, they ate wil 

 good appetite at the rate of seven pounds p( 

 day, also with straw, and drank three pints ( 

 water in twenty-four liours. Also remaine 

 healthy. 



That they ate two pounds of peas per hea 

 daily, drank from two to three quarts of wate 

 and remained fine and healthy. It was n( 

 cessary to soak the peas to prevent injury 1 

 their teeth. 



That wheat produced nearly the same n 

 suits as peas. 



That they do not eat rye readily, and 

 appears not well adapted for their food. 



That of oats and barley, tiiey ale about tw 

 and a half pounds per head daily, with avidit; 

 did extremely well on it, and drank aboi 

 three quarts of water in twenty-four hours. 



The buckwheat produced excellent effec 

 upon them, which they eat with avidily. 



And that of good hay they ate lour and 



