150 THE DOMESTIC SHEEP. 



do, the droppings of the sheep adding considerably to 

 this enrichment oi' the soil. When this crop is fed to lambs, 

 fattening for sale, it is desirable to feed a small ration of 

 corn to balance the nutritive elements of it, on account of 

 the large amount of protein in it. The amount of seed is 

 two bushels per acre, and. the best method of sowing is by 

 drills twelve inches apart. 



Peas and oats sown together, is another excellent forage 

 crop for feeding on the laud, within hurdles, and it has 

 also an excellent result in the soil, improving it greatly, 

 and putting it in fine condition for wheat following it in the 

 Fall. The quantity of seed to be sown is two bushels of 

 oats and one and a half of peas. Seeding by the drill is 

 the best method, but if sown broadcast, which may be done, 

 the peas should be sown first, and covered by the plow four 

 inches deep, and the oats then sown and lightly harrowed in. 

 This crop is one of the best for all purposes, for green fod- 

 der, as well as for ripening, when it is cut and fed with the 

 grain, or may be thrashed and the straw fed, while the 

 grain is fed separately. This feeding is precisely what is 

 needed for the full feeding of store ewes in lamb, as well as 

 for fattening with the addition of four ounces of linseed-oil 

 meal per day to each sheep. 



Rape has become exceedingly popular with the most ad- 

 vanced sheep farmers of late. During the past three or 

 four years it has been made the subject of many experi- 

 ments at the various stations where it has been mostly fed 

 to feeding lambs in preparation for the market. The Min- 

 nesota Station has given the most thorough attention to this 

 subject, having fed a large number of lambs for market on 

 this crop. The Spring variety has been used, the Winter 

 kind being better adapted to a less rigorous Winter climate. 

 This variety may be made especially useful in the South, 

 where it will >vithstand the Winter and furnish early feed- 

 ing, so that the land may be plowed for cotton or corn, as 

 a following crop. Like all this class of plants, it needs a 

 fertile soil, and the best kind of culture. Three to five 

 pounds of seed to the acre is used, being preferably drilled 

 in rows fifteen to eighteen inches apart as the land may be 

 less or more fertile, the wider space being the best for tho 

 richer soil on account of the heavier growth. Being a deep- 



