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1. To study early lamb production in Alabama. 



2. To study feeds and methods for carrying the 



pregnant ewe through the winter months. 



3. To test cotton seed meal as a feed for preg- 



nant ewes. 



By an early lamb the authors mean one that is born in 

 December or early January and ready for the market by the 

 middle of April. Some farmers of the state are so for 

 tunately situated that the second object will have iittle in- 

 terest to them, as" they already have abundant winter range 

 supplied. The man who has a good winter range, or cane 

 brake, needs no additional feed for the ewes. All such an 

 ewe requires is care and attention and shelter at lambing 

 time. But when sheep are generally introduced into the 

 state, they will be introduced by the small farmer who is 

 not supplied with an unlimited winter range. The small 

 farmer will therefore be interested in knowing what are the 

 best feeds for the winter months and the expense incurred 

 in carrying the animals over the cold months. It might b:> 

 said, in passing, that the sheep is the ideal animal for the 

 man with the small capital. The business can be entered 

 into with but a small outlay of money and large returns 

 secured upon it he outlay within a few months after the 

 investment is made. The poor man cannot wait long for 

 his investment to begin to return dividends. The sheep and 

 the hog are the poor man's animals. Of course large 

 amounts of money can be invested in them if desirable. 



The work began in the summer of 1906 with {he old flock 

 of ewes which had been kept upon the Station farm for 

 several years previous. This flock consisted of but 16 ewes, 

 of mixed breeding, headed by a pure-bred Southdown ram. 

 The pictures will show the general quality of the animals. 

 Later on, in 1007, there was a flock of 30 scrub ewes added 

 to these, headed by a pure-bred Dorset ram, but the Station 

 is not yet ready to report upon the work done with this 

 scrub flock, except with respect to some winter work in 

 cotton seed menl food in 2. 



