82 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA. 



pasture, sheltering In open sheds and under 

 the trees, and subsisting solely on coarse for- 

 age such as 'corn stover and oat straw. Hav- 

 ing in the bams a great number of lambs that 

 were being fed for fattening, there was good 

 excuse for neglecting the ewes. 



Unfortunately ewes in winter time because 

 of their long fleeces, appear to be in good con- 

 dition when they are not, and the writer had 

 no idea how very thin in flesh they were be- 

 coming until lambs started to drop in April. 

 Then his troubles began. The lambs came 

 strong enough, as a rule, nor were they too 

 large to be delivered easily, but the ewes hav- 

 ing been poorly nourished, had no milk for 

 them, and would not own them at all. The 

 truth is that there is a direct connection be- 

 tween the milk glands of an animal and the 

 part of the brain where lies love,of offspring, 

 and in the sheep at least it is rare to find 

 mother love where there is no milk to go along 

 with it. 



The result was that the writer was put to 

 his wits' end to make the ewes own their lambs 

 and to try by good feeding to bring them to 

 their milk flow. Many lambs were lost, and 

 the whole result was disheartening. 



The simple truth is that pregnant ewes must 

 have so far as possible natural conditions. 

 Tliey must have enough food, and that of a 

 suitable nature properly to nourish the grow- 

 ing foetus without stimulating too much the 

 development of bone. They must come to 

 lambing in good heart, what the farmer wouJLd 



