194 THE DOMESTIC SHEEP. 



grain, are fit for sale at any time; so that advantage may 

 be taken of any favorable condition of the market that 

 might occur. 



Fourteenth The result of five years experimenting in 

 this line, shows that the best time to market lambs is pre- 

 vious to, or at weaning time, and to fit them in the best 

 manner for this disposal as to weight and condition, they 

 should be fed grain from the earliest possible period. 



VALUE OF FARM GRAINS FOR FATTENING LAMBS. 



An experiment as to the value of farm grown grain 

 crops for fattening lambs was conducted by Mr. J. A. Craig, 

 the Professor of Animal Husbandry at the Station, with the 

 following results. A hundred lambs were purchased from the 

 northwest part of Wisconsin. They were a ragged and poor 

 lot then lousy, ticky and ornamented with burrs. Thirty-two 

 were not docked. These were docked by tying a string around 

 the tail just above the joint to be severed, and the tail was 

 cut at the selected joint. As soon as the wound had dried, 

 the string was removed, and no trouble occurred. The lambs 

 were dipped to rid them of ticks and lice. It certainly turned 

 out that this treatment was conducive to the profit made in 

 the feeding, otherwise the result would have been different. 

 The first trial was four lots; No 1 fed with corn; No. 2 

 with corn, and oats; No. 3 with corn and peas; and No. 4 

 with corn, oats, and peas. The results were as follows: 

 Time Dec. 26 to Feb. 20: 



No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. 



Weight before trial 86.3 89. 1 85. 6 86.2 Ibs. 



Weight after trial 107.2 110.3 110.8 110.3 " 



Gain in 8 weeks 20.9 21.4 25.2 24.1 " 



Cost of food per head... $0.68 $0.81 $0.84 $0.86 



Cost of 100 Ibs. gain 3.26 3.81 3.35 3.57 



SECOND TBIAL 25 LAMBS IN EACH LOT. 



No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. 



Average weight 75.7 75.6 75.5 75.3 Ibs. 



Weight at end of trial. .. 90.9 89.7 93.7 90.5 " 



Gain in 8 weeks, average 15.2 14.1 18.2 15.2 " 



Gain per head 1.9 1.76 2.27 1.9 " 



Cost of food per head... $0.66 $0.72 $0.83 $0.80 



Cost of 100 Ibs. gain 4.37 5.15 4.58 5.35 



AVERAGE OF TWO TRIALS, 1895-1896. 



No. 1 . No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. 



Average gain per week. . 2.02 1.82 2.41 2.08 Ibs. 

 Cost of 100 Ibs. gain' $4.12 $4.89 $4.31 $4.86 



The figures show the results very plainly, and as the 

 profit from the feeding is the object for which lambs are 



