THE GENESEE FABMEB. 





sheep will sell for one cent per ponnd more than ajCotswohl, or any other long-wooled sheep. In 

 the manufacturing districts of England, where the same difl'erence in price does not exist, the Sussex 

 sheep is not much fed. The comparative selling price of these breeds of sheep in the London 

 market is as follows, taking the highest first: Sussex,! Hampshire, Half-breed, Leicester. Cotswold; 

 and it will be seen by reference to the last table, that Iho consumption of food to produce 100 

 pounds of increase is exactly in the inverse order of the selling price of the meat. The selection 

 of any jjarticular breed of sheep ouglit to have reference to the markets in the neighborhood of 

 the* farmer. 



The following table gives the live and dead weight of the various breeds. The figures ore 

 obtained by killing 20 sheep of each breed — namely, 5 of those that have increased the most, 5 that 

 have increased the least, and 10 of an average increase. The live weight is the weight of the 

 sheep before they were fatted, and taken twenty-four hours before they were killed ; and the dead 

 or carcass weight was taken when the sheep were quite cold. 



TABLE VI — SnowiNO the pkoportion of Cold Carcass to EACii 100 lbs. Live Weight of different Berisds of 



SUEEP, AND ALSO TUE PROPOETION OF LOOSE FaT. 



Pro])ortion of Carcass (cold) 



in 100 lbs. gross live weight. 



lbs. oz. 



Cotswold, 58 11 



Hampshire, 56 12 



Leicester, 5-1 8 



Half-breed wethers, 55 4 



do. ewes, 55 



Sussex, 5T 



It will be .seen that some considerable difference exists between the proportion of live and dead 

 weights of the different breeds of sheep. This difference must, I think, be attributed more to a dif- 

 ference in the degree of fatness in the animals themselves, than to any peculiar distinction between 

 the breeds. From a great number of sheep which have been slaughtered at Rothamsted, beginning 

 with perfectly lean sheep and extending to sheep in an extreme state of fatness, it may be taken as 

 correct to assume that the proportion of carcass to every 100 pounds live weight varies from 50 to 

 60 or even 63 per cent, according to the degree of fatness ; the greater portion of sheep killed 

 averaging, in this country, 54 or 55 j^er cent. The Leicester and Half-breed sheep were killed, I 

 tiiink, rather too soon, and, as far as I could judge, were not so fat as the other breeds. This point 

 is of no especial importance to these experiments, which are to determine the absolute amount of 

 increase obtained by the consumption of a given weight of food. The question of profit, although 

 of the first importance to the farmer, cannot here be discussed, in more than very general terms, 

 on account of my ignorance of the prices of cattle food, and meat in the United States. I hare 

 said that it might be considered a rule that no animal paid for his food. In all these experiments 

 the increased value of the animal has been, as nearly as possible, sufficient to pay for the hay and 

 oilcake consumed, leaving the turnips and attendance to be paid for by the increased value of the 

 manure. Take the Cotswold breed, which produced more increase upon the food consumed than 

 any other breed: to produce 100 lb.-, increase they consumed 260 lbs. oilcake, 219 lbs. hay. 3608 

 lbs. turnips. Oilcake is worth '^2 j)er cwt. ; hay, $1. Cost of hay and oilcake, $6.32. 100 Iba of 

 increase give 58 lbs. 11 oz. of dead weight, which, at 12 cents per lb., is $7.04; leaving 72 cents 

 above the cost of the purchased food. The same rule applied to the Sussex sheep, give §7.92 as the 

 price of the purchased food, and $7.98 as the value of 57 lbs. of mutton at 14 cents. Here the 

 increased amount of food consumed by the Sussex sheep is paid for by the difference of the selling 

 price of the mutton — the Cotswold making 12 cents per lb. and the Sussex 14 cents. 



To determine accurately the composition of the manure obtained from animals, is one of the most 

 difiicult subjects which a chemist can undertake; and although very extensive experiments have 

 been carried on here for the purpose of investigating the subject, they are not yet in a satisfactory 

 state ; I shall, however, give an opinion respecting the value of the manure obtained by feeding 

 sheep on oilcake and hay. The principle involved in feeding can be stated in a few words. Foods 

 consist of certain compounds of carbon, such as oil, sugar, starch, wood, pectin, containing no 

 nitrogen ; certain compounds of carbon containing nitrogen ; and a few salts. Leaving out the 

 water, whii'lia mounts to as much as 92 per cent, in White Turnips, and about 12 to 15 in straw and 

 other dry foods, tha nitrogen in various foods ranges from 2 to 5 per cent.; in the grain crops 2 per 

 cent, is about the average; in leguminous crops — peas, beans, lentils — it varies between 4 and 5 

 "I K per cent ; in oilciiko about 5. The salts or mineral matter varies from 2 to 7 per cent In 1000 . 



^ ■ . . '^^ 



