CORN SILAGE FOR LAMBS. 



James W. Wilson 



This bulletin includes the results of two experi- 

 ments in feeding corn silage to lambs. It also includes 

 results of other experiments in feeding lambs at this 

 Station and reported in previous bulletins now out of 

 print. 



The sheep is the plant scavenger of the farm, and 

 will eat nearly all plants during some stage of their 

 growth. Many plants that have become troublesome 

 weeds on farms would be completely destroyed if the 

 sheep were given a chance to eat them before seeding. 

 Because of this peculiarity sheep raising is a profitable 

 business. Then again, it has been found that a ton of 

 sheep manure is worth $3.75. In other words, this 

 amount of money is necessary to buy the plant food con- 

 tained in one ton of sheep manure. 



The number of sheep in the United States in 1910 

 was 52,448,000 by the Census of 1910 . In 1915 the esti- 

 mate was only 49,956,000 sheep, a falling off of nearly 

 3,000,000 head, and yet the population of the United 

 States has been gradually increasing. The cause of this 

 big decrease is undoubtedly the opening for settlement 

 of the range country in the middle west, where many of 

 the sheep were formerly produced. 



From June 30, 1912, to June 30, 1914, there was a, 

 decrease of 36,522 pounds in the exportation of mutton 

 from the United States. 



By the official estimate of the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture, there were 604,000 sheep in 

 South Dakota on January 1, 1916, compared to 636,000 

 one year ago. These same estimates show that during 

 this time this is the only kind of livestock that has de- 

 creased in numbers within the state. 



It is true the sheep demands a little attention at 

 certain seasons of the year and good fences are required 

 to inclose them, but even with this expense it is a profit- 

 able animal to keep to use in mixed farming which 



