SHEEP AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 209 



hay. Sheep should be made to eat up their hay 

 clean when it is cut at the right time and well cured, 

 ami that time is when clover, lucerne, p.nd sainfoin 

 arc in full bloom, and when timothy has about one 

 quarter to one half of the blossom off. But when 

 the growth is large and the hay decayed at the bot- 

 tom, then they should not be forced to eat it clean; 

 but an allowance must be made, as the decayed 

 parts, were they compelled to eat them, would prove 

 hurtful. Also, where hay has been somewhat in- 

 jured by rains during the process of curing, allow- 

 ance should be made. Mow-burned or mouldy, hay 

 ' should never be used in the sheep-cot, for it causes 

 a general debility of the system, and, if continued, 

 will ultimately produce the rot. 



Hay from lowland meadows is not as good as 

 that from the uplands ; though, if the former be ren- 

 ovated by occasional ploughing and reseeding, it im- 

 proves the quality : but, in portioning out the quan- 

 tity of hay to sheep, a suitable allowance should be 

 made ; and the more of the wild and sour grasses 

 that are mixed with it, the greater should the allow- 

 ance be. 



Hay from wet meadows is not wholesome for 

 sheep, and should never.be given them unless from 

 necessity ; then double the usual quantity must be 

 allowed. Were they confined to such hay, and 

 compelled to eat it nearly or quite clean, it would 

 prove ruinous to the flock. 



Hay from meadows that have been very highly 

 enriched by top-dressings, afford a luxuriance and 

 rankness of growth possessing a laxative property, 

 and should be dealt out to sheep very cautiously, 

 especially to lambs ; and if it is pretty freely salted 

 with a view of preserving it, still greater caution is 

 necessary. Sheep will then eat it greedily, espe- 

 cially if salt has been withheld from them for some 

 length of time ; but it is then the more dangerous, 

 as foddering from it a few days in succession, or 

 I. R 



