110 Essay on Sheep. 



" would not eat in consequence of its being too 

 *' tough, or because it possessed some bad qua- 

 ^' lity. From this trial, frequently repeated, it 

 *' appeared that a sheep of the middle stature 

 " eats about eight pounds of grass in a day. 

 ^^ The same experiments, conducted with the 

 *' same preciseness, in regard to the fodders of 

 ** hay or straw, have proved, that a sheep of 

 '' middling height likewise eats daily two 

 ** pounds of hay, or two pounds and a half 

 " of straw. 



" In order to ascertain how many pounds of 

 ^' grass go to one pound of hay, I caused the 

 " grass to be weighed as soon as cut; it was then 

 '^ spread on cloths exposed to the sun, so that 

 " none might be lost, though at the same time 

 *' well dried. Being thus converted into hay, 

 ■' I found its weight reduced to one-fourth; 

 ** eight pounds of grass had only given two 

 " pounds of hay, 



'' Agriculturalists know how many cart loads, 

 '^ or trusses, a field can produce; consequently 

 ** they may judge how many sheep it can 

 "' maintain in hay or in grass. They have a 

 ^' rule then for proportioning the number of 

 " their sheep to the quantity of pasture and 

 " fodder tliey can supply them with. 



*^ Having determined the quantity of solid 



