42 ,Ewe Management. 



and provision for these months is often the token of 

 success in sheep farming. The pasture may have been 

 fully stocked, and, with inclement weather, the sheep are 

 placed at a dual disadvantage. They enter the lean 

 period on eaten-down grass that is unresponsive to bad 

 weather conditions, and at any rate is unsustaining. The 

 human being even thrives none too well as the spring of 

 the year approaches, and the hard tax upon sheep, and 

 ewes with lambs in particular, may be avoided by having 

 a reserve of fodder and root foods to see them through. 

 Feed like Italian rye grass, which, sown in February or 

 early March will provide splendid feed in two months' 

 time and right up to spring, Cape barley, vetches, steal 

 a long march in the spring on the pasture growth, and 

 their production makes for good sheep farming and 

 increased carrying capacity and land values. 



On sheep farms where the sole reliance is placed on 

 pasture feed, the liability to overstock should never be 

 lost sight of. This is the only provision here, and unless 

 followed generally it cannot be but expected that the 

 ewes and ewe hoggets will have a full share of the poor 

 treatment. Wherever possible, however, it is always a 

 good and, now with the higher prices ruling for sheep 

 products, highly payable investment to specially feed 

 ewes, or indeed any kind of sheep, at the bad time of the 

 year, particularly in cold and exposed situations, where 

 sheep short of feed have an extra trying time of it. 



The steadfast aim in successful ewe management is 

 to keep the ewes from losing their good, healthy condi- 

 tion, which, once built up, is difficult and costly to 

 recover in themsejves, and impossible in their heredita- 

 rily affected offspring. The tax of bearing and rearing 

 young under artificial conditions is strain enough with- 

 out having the spiritless support of unsuitable or in- 

 sufficient diet imposed upon them. 



