52 SHEEP FEEDING 



cornfield, but did not gorge themselves because they were 

 pretty well filled from the morning feed and the pasture. 

 They finished about dark in the thin picking and went to 

 the lots for the night not uncomfortably stuffed with corn. 

 Of course not every farm is so arranged that such a plan can 

 be followed, but it gives a suggestion worth considering. 



Not forcing the sheep to clean one field before a fresh one 

 is given them. If practicable, divide the fields so that every 

 ten to twenty days a new portion or a new field may be 

 turned into. It is quite important that a fresh plot be 

 reserved for the finishing at least. Leave the part that was 

 pastured first accessible at all times, for the sheep will keep 

 working back over it until it is well cleaned up ; but do 

 not force them to clean up one plot before they are given 

 another. A common and serious mistake made by many is 

 to think that one field must be completely cleaned out 

 before another one is turned into. It is well to keep in 

 mind that the sheep are being fattened and cannot be 

 handled like stockers. Fattening sheep must have an 

 abundance of the best. 



An abundance of good roughness important for cornfield 

 feeding. Roughness for cornfield-fed sheep is not furnished 

 in sufficient quantities by the blades of corn and weeds, no 

 matter how thick the weeds may be. Many farmers think 

 that the sheep can pick enough waste stuff in the fields to 

 give the rations a proper balance, but this is not so, and 

 some other provision must be made. The different kinds 

 of roughness for cornfield feeding, given in the order of 

 their merits, may be named and described as follows : 



Rape an excellent roughness for sheep. Rape can be 

 obtained cheaper and it combines with corn more satis- 

 factorily than any other roughness. Three to four pounds 



