3O4 MODERN SHEEP I BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



thawed out quickly and fed they make a very good ration, but 

 not as good, of course, as if fed in normal condition. The follow- 

 ing from an English agricultural journal gives us a good idea of 

 the importance of turnips in English sheep husbandry: 



"A good crop of turnips will maintain 400 sheep one week 

 per acre, and a moderate crop 250 sheep per week. In the first 

 case it is evident that 2,800 sheep are kept one day on one acre 

 and in the second case 1,150 sheep. We have seen it stated that 

 1,000 sheep will manure one acre in one day. The fold is over half 

 an acre and if they remain one week upon it you will have had 700 

 sheep on half an acre or 1.400 on one acre, which appears reason- 

 able." 



An experiment was recently carried out in England to de- 

 termine the value of turnips when fed in connection with oil meal 

 and clover hay in comparison with oil meal and clover hay with- 

 out the addition of succulent food. The sheep receiving roots made 

 gains of forty-two pounds, while those fed on dry food alone 

 made gains in the same time amounting to only twenty-six pounds 

 per head. 



The land for raising turnips should be rich, well drained and 

 of fine texture. It is best to plow the ground early in the spring 

 for such crops. After plowing it should be harrowed and allowed 

 to remain until the weeds get a start, say about a week or ten 

 days, and then should be well harrowed again. By this method 

 the turnips get a start of the weeds. It is a good plan, just as soon as 

 the seedling turnips can be seen in the row, to cultivate them as corn 

 is cultivated. It is a great mistake to postpone cultivation too long, 

 as when this "is done not only do the weeds get a start but the 

 thinning of the turnips when they have reached considerable 

 growth is very bad for the seedling that is left to mature. It is 

 very important that root crops should be kept very clean, especially 

 the first six weeks or two months of their lives. For early feed- 

 ing the purple-topped or white-fleshed varieties are the best. For 

 late use, that is toward spring, the rutabagas or Swedish turnips 

 are undoubtedly superior to the other varieties. Turnips sown 

 ahead of the cultivator at the last time of cultivating corn some- 

 times make a very good crop, especially if it should be a wet sea- 

 son. The tops from turnips that are to be stored should be cut 

 off, but not too. close to the bulb, and fed to the sheep. Of course, 

 if one has a good cellar that is the place to store them. If not, 

 they may be stored in pits or caves near the barn and covered with 

 earth, straw, stable manure, etc., to protect them from frost. 



ALFALFA. 



Alfalfa is indeed a wonderful plant and one that is doing a 

 good deal for the agriculture of our different states. Somebody 



