FEEDING SHEEP AND LAMBS: CLOVER HAY v. NATIVE 

 HAY; TURNIPS v. DRY RATION. 



T. It. ARKELL. 



General Summary. 



1. Clover hay, as a feed for sheep, is decidedly more profitable and 

 more economical in mutton production than native hay. 



2. The native hay contained large quantities of timothy and other 

 grasses that the sheep did not relish. Timothy hay is not a palatable 

 feed for sheep. 



3. The relative difference in price between timothy or native hay 

 and clover hay is such that the sheep raiser in New Hampshire, who 

 is not growing clover, can profitably sell the former and purchase the 

 latter, or better still, alfalfa, for his sheep. 



4. So long as the market price of hay continues high in New Hamp- 

 shire with the comparatively low price of grain, when the greater 

 feeding value of the latter is considered, the sheep feeder can well 

 afford to feed grain in the winter ration. 



5. Turnips, in the winter ration, reduce the cost of mutton pro- 

 duction. 



6. Turnips, owing to their watery nature, render the ration more 

 palatable, and are distinctly useful, when fed in moderate quan- 

 tities in conjunction with hay and grain, in preventing constipation 

 and other resultant ills, which so frequently occur when sheep are 

 changed from pasture to dry feed. 



7. The chief danger with turnips lies in heavily overfeeding or 

 attempting to make them constitute the bulk of the ration, when 

 they are liable to make the ration too laxative and produce scouring. 



8. Turnips are well adapted to New Hampshire soils and climate. 



9. They can be raised and stored at a cost low enough to compete 

 with silage and in many cases supplant silage for sheep feeding. 



10. Turnips or other roots offer a partial solution to the problem 

 of securing a substitute for high priced grain. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Sheep raising in New Hampshire is fast becoming an important 

 phase of the livestock industry. Its development, or rather 

 redevelopment, within recent years has been rapid, and every 

 year shows a consistent and satisfactory increase in numbers. 

 Farmers are beginning to realize how profitable, when pursued 

 upon a systematic basis, sheep raising is. Attention is being 

 paid, not only to general sheep raising, but to that more intensive 

 form of it — winter or "hot-house" lamb production. Early 

 lamb raising yields large returns owing to the proximity and 

 ■easy access to the Boston and New York markets, where the 

 .highest prices in America prevail for this product. 



