SHEEP AS IMPROVERS OF SOIL FERTILITY 7 



they graze, and because they do they distribute their 

 droppings much more evenly over the entire area grazed 

 than other classes of stock. Because of this, it would 

 probably be correct to say that sheep while grazing will 

 distribute manure about as effectively and as evenly as 

 though it had been distributed by a manure spreader. 

 This adds greatly to the value of the manure, since the 

 cost of drawing and distributing farmyard manure is 

 relatively high, sometimes so high as to make its use 

 prohibitory when it has to be drawn far. 



The droppings are also distributed by sheep where 

 they are most needed. Sheep instinctively seek the 

 higher ground when they are at rest. Because of this, 

 the proportion of the droppings left on these is usually 

 much greater than that left on the lower lands. The lat- 

 ter are usually much less in need of fertility than the 

 former, hence the distribution thus effected fertilizes most 

 the land that is most in need of fertilization. 



Sheep and quick fertilization — Lands low in fertility 

 may be quickly fertilized by grazing sheep on them un- 

 der certain conditions of management. The grazing will 

 in itself add to the available fertility, even though the 

 food eaten should be only grass. It will add more quickly 

 to the available fertility if the land is plowed and some 

 crop is sown on it to provide grazing. The more fre- 

 quently such crops are sown, the more will be the increase 

 in the available fertility, even in the absence of applied 

 fertilizers, hence the wisdom in trying to grow more than 

 one crop on such land each season. 



Whether the grazing is furnished by grasses or 

 grains, the fertilizing may be much hastened by feeding 

 concentrates to the sheep thus grazed. This may some- 

 times be done with profit when grazing sheep are suckling 

 their lambs. It may usually be done with profit when 

 grazing sheep that are being fattened. The fertilization 

 thus added is proportionate to the richness in manurial 

 elements of the foods and to the amount of the same. 



