228 MODERN SHEEP: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



hay, which fattens iast and makes the best of mutton, and, when 

 all things are considered, is as cheap as any except green clover, 

 which produces cheap mutton, but the losses from clover bloat, 

 and low price of sheep at that time of year reduce profits in pro- 

 portion. 



"I feed two bushels of corn twice a day at regular hours to 

 100 sheep (I am speaking of the mutton kind, averaging about 

 100 pounds) and as much clover hay as they will eat up clean, 

 which will be on an average of about 200 pounds per day. They 

 will, however, need and eat more at the start, but will decrease in 

 eating hay as the grain ration is increased. Care, however, must 

 be taken in starting them on grain, so as not to overfeed them. 

 Feed a bushel twice a day to start on, then lightly increase daily 

 till you get them on full feed ; larger sheep need more and smaller 

 less, in proportion to weight. The corn is cut an inch long with 

 a corn cutter and fed in troughs 10 inches wide, 7 inches deep 

 in the clear; 12 to 14 feet long is a nice length, but length may 

 be made to suit fancy. 'The corn may be fed shelled, but I do 

 not like it so well, for the -reason they can eat it too fast, and some 

 get more that they need, but in cut corn the eating process is slower 

 and better masticated and a better chance for all to get their share. 



"They should always have free access to fresh water and salt, 

 and never be left without it. They drink a good deal of water when 

 on dry feed. They do not drink so much at a time, but often. 

 Good, thrifty sheep thus fed will fatten and gain from thirty to 

 thirty-five pounds each in seventy-five days, and ought then to go to 

 market, for it rarely ever pays to feed them longer. The gain, 

 however, will depend largely on their condition when put up for 

 feeding. If fairly fat they don't gain as much as if in moderate 

 flesh and thrifty, nor do they require as much feeding nor as long 

 feeding. 



"If one has no clover for hay, then sow one and one-half 

 bushels of oats with one bushel of field peas per acre, and cut when 

 in dough and cure like hay. It yields big and is a fine substitute 

 for clover hay. Corn fodder does well, but is not as good as either 

 of the former. 



"Never allow feeding sheep grass in winter. The grass is 

 too light and soft to be of any real value to them, and the losses 

 in searching and rambling after it and the refusal of other feed 

 more than donble the supposed gain. 



"The feed lot should be in a dry place and have a shed, closed 

 at one side and the ends, and roofed over, to keep out rain and 

 wind, and both it and the yard should be well bedded with corn 

 stalks or. litter, to prevent mud. and wasting of the manure. A 

 timber lot or small grove well set with trees is a good place to 

 feed in. The trees are protection enough without the shed, but 



