62 MANKER OF FEEDING SHEET. 



become so. Sheep drink very little, when the grass 

 is most succulent : they drink more in great drought, 

 great heat, or in great cold, or when they are fed on 

 dry food : thus a sheep drinks from one to four 

 pounds of water per day ; but there are days, when 

 he will not drink, though water should be brought 

 to him. It is known by experiments, made near 

 Montbard, that many sheep, fed with a mixture of 

 hay and straw, in mid- winter, have remained in a 

 close stable for thirty days without drinking ; and no 

 inconvenience but thirst has been observed. 



Q. How often should sheep be allowed to drink ? 



A. In regard to that, there are different practices : 

 in many places they allow them to drink twice a day ; 

 in others, they are watered once only ; in others, twice, 

 in tvvOj four, six, eight, ten, or fifteen days ; but 

 these practices change according to the season ; and 

 to the difference of food ; but there is no established 

 rule grounded on good proofs. It is however admit- 

 ted from experience, that it is not necessary to water 

 sheep twice "a day, because they drink more water in 

 many times going thereto, than if they drank only 

 once. When water is near, and the flock healthy, 

 lead it gently to water once a day, but do not stop 

 the flock ; the sheep which want to drink, will stop, 

 while the others will pass by, without drinking. 

 The less a sheep drinks, the better is his health. 



Q. What is proper to be done, if the water is so 

 remote, as to weary the flock by driving them to it ? 



A. To conduct the flock thither, once in two or 

 three days, is sufficient, according to the food an<J 



