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THE GENESEE FARMER. 



wooleJ sheep can be raised up to the age Avhen they 

 are usually turned off" for the butcher or to fatten 

 at less cost than the larger, coarse wooled sheep. 

 They have been kept principally for their wool; 

 this commands a higher price, and the proportion 

 of wool to the weight of the sheep is higher. And as 

 it is certain that, other things being equal, sheep con- 

 sume food in proportion to their live weight, it fol- 

 lows that more wool, and that of a better quality can 

 be obtained from a given quantity of food from the 

 fine wooled sheep than from the large English breeds. 



Our esteemed correspondent John Johnston, 

 who has had much experience in fattening sheep, 

 inforined us some years ago, that the common fine 

 wooled sheep of the country were the most profita- 

 ble sheep he could buy for fiittening in winter. He 

 now advocates fattening larger sheep, stating that 

 they will fatten more easily than the smaller sheep. 

 In this he is unquestionably coi'rect, and it follows 

 that the larger sheep are the most profitable, jn-avi- 

 ded they can he purchased at the same price per 

 pound in tlie fall. 



For fattening, then, select the largest and thrifti- 

 est sheep that can be obtained at a proportional cost. 

 The fatter they are to commence with the better ; 

 for this fat has been put on at a less cost than it can 

 be done during the winter on hay and grain. 



For fattening sheep in winter there is nothing 

 equal to good clover hay. We have known sheep 

 increase over 2 lbs. per week on clover hay alone 

 for four months. They were Southdowns, and eat 

 about 3 lbs. each per day. A little grain or oil cake 

 can be fed with profit — if the increased value of the 

 manure is taken into consideration. Corn is nearly, 

 if not quite, as fattening as peas or oil-cake, but 

 the manure is by no means as valuable. Thus the 

 manure from a ton of Indian corn is worth, accord- 

 ing to the highest English authority, $6.65, while 

 from a ton of peas it is worth $13.38 and from a 

 ton of oil-cake $19.72. Barley and oats are about 

 equal to corn in this respect. The crop of oats 

 this year is unusually heavy and they will doubtless 

 be cheap. "\Ye need not say that they are excellent 

 for sheep. 



Sheep wiU bear pretty close confinement. We 

 have seen them fattened in England in pens where 

 there was little more room than was necessary for 

 them to lie down comfortably. They were placed 

 on narrow boards, say two or three inches wide, 

 with an inch between each board for the droppings 

 to pass through. The pens were thatched to keep 

 off the rain and were closed up on three sides. We 

 have never seen healthier sheep. They were quiet, 



warm, clean and comfortable and fattened rapidly. 

 Sheep must have dry quarters. Nothing is so 

 injurious as wet. It is an old remark — that "sheep, 

 do better on roast meat than boiled," and it is 

 equally true that they will do better in even cold 

 quarters, if dry, than in warm yard« if wet. Cows 

 will lie down on a warm fermenting dung hill ; 

 sheep never, if they can find a firm, dry spot. 



Another point mnst not be forgotten. Slieep are 

 timid animals. No one should have anything to 

 do with them who is not a gentle-vaau. A dog is 

 an especial nuisance. 



It is a great mistake to suppose that sheep will 

 thrive without water. When the celebrated 

 Rotbamstead experiments were in progress, it was 

 found that the sheep having clover hay drank large 

 quantities of water, and a famous sheep breeder 

 who came to see them expressed the idea that they 

 drank more than was good for them. To tost the 

 question, the quantity of water was restricted to 

 what he thought the proper amount ; but on 

 weighing the sheep at the end of the week as usual, 

 it was found, if we recollect right, that every sheep 

 had lost weight — at least the scales indicated that 

 they had not done as well as usual, and for the 

 future they were allowed all they would drink. 



Regularity in feeding; quiet, warm, dry, well 

 ventilated, clean quarters ; access to fresh water ; 

 a little salt, (we think) and plenty of nutritious 

 food are the essentials of successful sheep-breeeding. 



As to the quantity of grain it will pay to feed 

 sheep, we think more than a half to three quarters 

 of a pound per head per day is rarely fed to advan- 

 tage, unless they are very large sheep. The English 

 farmers usually allow a pound of oil-cake per head 

 per day to sheep weighing 100 to 140 lbs. This is 

 high feeding. We believe it is better to give only 

 a little at first and increase the quantity after v. while, 

 especially in cold weather It must be bourne in 

 mind, that a c'ertain quantity of food is necessary 

 to keep the sheep in its natural condition — to keep 

 it from losing weight; and that it is the excess of 

 food over this point alone that enables the animal 

 to put on fat. This is an argument in favor of high 

 feeding ; but we must not run to extremes. It is 

 easy to feed so high that every pound of fat shall 

 cost us double what we get for it. We seldom err, 

 however, in this direction. 



It is much more common to feed too little grain 

 than too much. It would be well for most farmers 

 to make a rule never to sell corn or oats oflF the 

 farm. This has been John Johnstons' rule and it is • 

 our secret of his success. 



