302 MODERN SHEEP: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



MANGELS. 



Although mangels furnish one of the best rations for 

 ewes when fed toward spring, they are not a very safe ration to 

 feed during cold weather, since they cause derangement of the 

 digestive organs of a very dangerous character. Toward spring, 

 when they are comparatively dry and free from water, there is no 

 better ration for the ewe that is suckling her lamb. Mangels or 

 beets are a very dangerous thing to feed to rams and many a good 

 animal has been lost through their use, since they have a disas- 

 trous effect on the urinary organs. The mangel seems to grow 

 much more rapidly in most parts of this country than turnips or 

 rutabagas. They might be used more largely than they are by 

 sheepbreeders generally. 



THE SPRING VETCH. 



The spring vetch should be included in the list of forage 

 crops for the flock, since it is very fattening and eaten with 

 great relish by sheep of all ages, much more so than the sand 

 vetch. As a starter for show sheep it has no equal. Peas, oats, 

 rape and spring vetches, when sown together, make a sp lendid 

 early spring ration for show sheep. The spring vetch has a con- 

 siderably more fleshy leaf and stem than its cousin the sand vetch. 



THE SAND VETCH. 



The sand vetch or winter vetch is a very useful fodder crop 

 to raise for the use of the flock, provided it is fed early before it 

 gets hard and woody. Sown with rye or any other nurse crop in 

 August or September, it makes a good stand for early spring use. 

 It can be fed almost continually from spring until fall by con- 

 tinual pasturing or cutting. It is scarcely, of as good a quality 

 as the spring vetch, but has the advantage of wintering over, which 

 the spring vetch will not do. 



WHITE MUSTARD. 



English flockmasters raise a good deal of white mustard for 

 the use of their flocks. It is a plant of very rapid growth, making 

 a good crop within a month from the time it is sown. It is con- 

 sidered to have a peculiar stimulating effect on the genital organs 

 of the ewe and, therefore, is valuable in this respect, especially 

 where the early lamb-raising business is considered. After be- 

 ing pastured on mustard sheep seem to fatten very rapidly when 

 put on ordinary pastures. The writer has wondered if it has not a 

 tendency toward eradicating internal parasites from the flock. 



