238 Animal Husbandry 
the sheep stands squarely upon them. Lack of trimming is some- 
times responsible for diseases of the feet. 
383. Bedding. — This should be used liberally, otherwise the 
floors will become damp and foul smelling. Sheep lying on damp, 
filthy beds are subject to the same ills as those exposed to draughts. 
Fresh bedding is of greatest importance during the lambing season, 
as damp, filthy quarters are particularly hurtful to lambs and will 
soon prove fatal to them. At this time, fresh bedding should be 
put down daily. This not only increases the healthfulness of 
the sheep-fold, but increases -the quantity of valuable manure as 
well. 
FATTENING SHEEP 
Feeding sheep to fatten them differs considerably from feeding 
the flock in general or feeding for the production of wool; it is 
somewhat similar to feeding cattle for the production of beef. 
384. Growing winter lambs. — In recent years a considerable 
demand has developed for winter lambs, particularly in the eastern 
cities. Because of the forced methods of feeding adopted in 
pushing the lambs forward so as quickly to prepare them for 
market, they are spoken of as ‘‘ hot house” lambs, a term which 
has misled many as to the conditions under which the animals are 
raised. Winter lambs command a very high price on the market, 
particularly from Christmas to Easter. The difficulty in the pro- 
duction of winter lambs is to get the ewes to lamb in the late fall 
and early winter. 
Perhaps the best plan is to choose grade Merino ewes and mate 
with a vigorous pure-bred Horn-Dorset ram in the early spring, 
say in May on being turned to pasture. This should result in 
the lambs being dropped in October, November, and December. 
It is not considered a good plan, however, to have the lambs 
dropped before the ewes go into winter quarters, as the lambs are 
exposed to danger from stomach worms. 
385. The winter quarters for winter-lamb production. — The 
