MODERN SHEEP: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 307 



eastern part of the state resent being placed there, but we must 

 admit that it gets very dry here sometimes. 



"In the early part of the growing, season there is a very 

 rapid growth of all kinds of grasses, both native and domestic, 

 but too often it happens, in the latter part of the season, that our 

 pastures wither and dry under the burning suns of July and Au- 

 gust. Then, and from that time on clear through the autumn 

 months, it seems a positive necessity that we should, have some 

 green, succulent food to take the place of our withered pastures, 

 if we get the growth on our lambs that we should. 



"In the eastern states during this period they practice a sys- 

 tem of soiling. In the spring they sow oats and peas together; 

 later they sow or drill in corn or sorghum, and go out each day 

 and mow sufficient for the needs of that day, thereby tiding them 

 over the dry period. 



"But that plan seems too slow for the farmer of South Da- 

 kota; our farms are too large. Farm help is too scarce and high 

 priced to admit of us trying that plan. South Dakota will un- 

 doubtedly come to that, but the time is not yet ripe and for the 

 present we think there is a better and an easier way, and that is 

 by sowing rape seed in our grain fields in the spring, to be pastured 

 off after the grain is harvested and stacked. We have been prac- 

 ticing this plan for some years with the best results. I presume 

 many of my hearers have already tried sowing rape with grain. 

 I do not presume to teach these people anything on this subject, 

 but to those that have not tried it, with their permission, I will 

 give them my experience- with rape in stubble. 



"I would choose a grain field and let it be a large one, that 

 I intended planting to corn the following year. Then you need 

 not plow until spring, thus giving the sheep the run of the field 

 the entire fall. I would sow ten acres of that field by mixing the 

 rape seed with the first grain that is sown in the spring at the 

 rate of two and one-half to three pounds to the acre, but do not 

 sow it this early with barley, for if you do so the chances are 

 that you would harvest more rape than barley. I would sow the 

 rest of the field anywhere from the 15th to the 25th of May, going 

 over the field thus sown with a light harrow. 



"Do not be afraid of damaging the grain by harrowing it, 

 for I assure you you will not, but the very opposite will be the 

 result. You will benefit your grain, you will kill very many weeds 

 and cover your rape seed at the same time. That's killing three 

 birds with one stone. I will admit that after harrowing your grain 

 your field will look bad. It will look as thought it had lost its 

 last friend and you will probably curse Kelly for advising you to 

 try such a plan, but just you wait a few days and see that grain 

 field get right down and hump itself and grow. If it does not do 

 this, if I were you, I would never buy a Bambouillet ram of Kelly. 



