120 Sheep Management, Breeds and Judging. 



eating salt from the trough. Either of these meth- 

 ods is a good and simple way to keep sheep free 

 from grub in the head. 



BLOAT IN SHEEP. 



Sheep, as a rule, are very greedy. When lunu*d 

 on some new pasture, such as clover, aifallu, nr 

 rape, they eat too fast and too much and conse- 

 quently bloat. Any one of these forages will bloat 

 sheep very quickly when the crop is too young, 

 fresh, and juicy. The weather conditions also have 

 something to do with this. Even if sheep have 

 been grazing on clover or alfalfa fields without 

 any symptoms of bloating for some time, all dan- 

 ger is not yet over. Some night a heavy rain or 

 thunderstorm may sweep over the country, and 

 the next day be very warm and sultry, indicating 

 more rain to follow. On such a day as this, no 

 matter how safe your sheep have been on this 

 same field before, something is very likely to hap- 

 pen. There is not so much danger in the forenoon 

 as in the afternoon, especially late in the afternoon 

 towards sunset and evening. The moisture in the 

 ground from a previous rain seems to have an 

 effect on the clover, and the latter then seems to 

 form more gas when in the sheep's stomach, re- 

 sulting in bloat. Many shepherds have been in 

 great anxiety when they came to their flock and 



