Summer Feeding and Care. 143 



These little hollows are exceedingly dangerous, 

 especially if they are not much wider than the 

 sheep, because sheep when lying down will some- 

 times roll over on their backs and on account of 

 the small space will find it impossible to turn back 

 again. The ground on both sides is higher, thus 

 affording the sheep no chance of getting up again, 

 and after lying in this position for two or three 

 hours it will die. Dead furrows in fields are per- 

 haps the most dangerous places for sheep to be 

 trapped this way. 



It is discouraging to find a plump, broad-backed 

 ewe or lamb lying dead in one of these ditches or 

 dead furrows, with its four legs standing straight 

 up in the air. One will never find a thin, narrow- 

 backed sheep lying on its back, but in every in- 

 stance it is one of the very best in the flock. It is 

 taken for granted that older flockmasters need not 

 be warned to be cautious in this respect, for they 

 have probably long ago learned through experi- 

 ence the danger of such dead furrows and ditches. 

 It is an old saying that experience is the best 

 teacher. True enough, but the lesson learned 

 through self-experience is very often the most ex- 

 pensive one. How can the beginner with sheep be 

 expected to know all about small details if he 

 has not been warned by some one who has gone 

 through the mill and has paid for his grinding? 



