SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 



385 



so much with these as with box racks. But they would be too heavy and 

 unnecessarily expensive for a common out-door rack. Fig. 32 represents 

 a box, the front formed of a board nailed on horizontally, but they are 

 usually formed by nailing- the boards perpendicularly, the bottoms on the 

 sill of a barn, and the tops to horizontal pieces of timber. 



In the South, as in England, racks will not be so necessary for that 

 constant use to which they are put in colder countries, as for depositories 

 of dry food, for the occasional visitation of the sheep. In soft warm 

 weather, when the ground is unfrozen, and any kind of green herbage is 

 to be obtained, sheep will scarcely touch dry fodder — though the little they 

 will then cat icill he highly serviceable to them. But in a sudden freeze, or 

 on the occurrence of cold storms, they will resort to the racks, and fill 

 themselves with dry food. By an instinct beautifully illustrative of the 

 providence of the Creator, sheep anticipate the coming storm, and eat an 

 extra quantity of food to sustain the animal heat, during the succeeding 

 depression of temperature. They should always have racks of dry fod- 

 der to resort to in such emergencies. 



These occasionally used racks should have covers or roofs to protect 

 their contents from rain, as otherwise the feed would be often spoiled be- 

 fore but a small portion of it was consumed. Hay or straw saturated with 

 water, or soaked and dried, is only eaten by the sheep as a matter of ab- 

 solute necessity. The common box rack (fig. 31) would answer the pur- 

 pose very well by placing on the top a triangular cover or roof formed of 

 a couple of boards, (one hung at the upper edge with iron or leather hin- 

 ges so that it could be lifted up like a lid ;) making the ends tight ; draw- 

 ing in the lower edges of the sides so that it shall not be more than a foot 

 wide on the bottom ; inserting a floor ; and then mounting it on and mak- 

 ing it fast to two cross sills four or five inches square to keep the floor off 

 from the ground, and long enough to prevent it from being easily overturn- 

 ed. The lower side board should be narrower than in fig. 31, on account 

 of the increased bight given its upper edge by the sills. 



Still better, but somewhat more expensive, would be a rack of the same 

 constTuction, with the sides like those of fig. 32. 



Or, the sides might consist of rundles as in fig. 33. In either of the 

 preceding, the top might be nailed down, and the fodder inserted by little 

 doors in the ends. 



The following form and description of an English rack is from the 

 **Book of the Fann."* 



SPARRED RACK. 



" I have found," says Mr. Stephens, " tliis form convenient, containing as much straw at 

 a time as should be given, admitting the straw easily into it, being easily moved about, of 



• Ik will be found in the reprint of this splendid work, in The Farmen' Librarr vol u. p. 449 

 (745) 2S >t~ • 



