112 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA. 



There is hardly any other food that will 

 push forward lambs like soys. They have 

 abundant protein and a good deal of bone ma- 

 terial also. As compared with ordinaiy field 

 peas they have 29 to 40 per cent of protein, 

 while field peas have 16 per cent and cowpeas 

 18 per cent. Field peas are best adapted to 

 New England, Canada and Michigan, with 

 some regions of high altitude in the Rocky 

 Mountains; soy beans to all the corn-belt. 

 As the oilmeals are steadily increasing in 

 price with possibilities of their frequent adul- 

 teration the shepherd can not afford to over- 

 look sources of home-grown protein. 



'In the Southern states the hairy vetch is a 

 source of home-grown protein not to be over- 

 looked. Further reference to this will be made 

 when we take up the subject of field crops for 

 sheep. 



The lamb will drink a good deal of pure 

 water, even while sucking his mother. It 

 should be readily available and always clean 

 enough for human consumption. 



After the lambs are well started on feed the 

 ewe lambs if they are designed to be kept upon 

 the farm, and such ram lambs as may be worth 

 keeping, should be separated from the others 

 and fed differently. They may have all the 

 oats and bran they wish and some soy beans 

 but are the better for having very little com. 

 It is best if they have the run with their 

 mothers of a field and learn early to seek part 

 of their food outside, whereas the ones des- 

 tined for market will grow as well and fatten 



