Feeding Farvi Sheep 217 



SOILING CROPS 



The practice of soiling sheep is not a profitable one. 

 Sheep are very dainty about their feed and will refuse 

 to eat soiling crops after they become more or less wilted, 

 preferring them while they are still crisp and green. The 

 extra labor necessary to feed soiling crops is, therefore, 

 wasted. 



PASTURES 



During the summer months the question of pastures is 

 a very vital one to the sheep farmer. If his lambs are 

 dropped early, he must have pastures that he can utilize 

 at an early date in the spring. If, on the other hand, his 

 lambs are late, he must have pastures that will extend 

 well into the summer before they dry up. Pastures may 

 be permanent or annual. Both have their merits, and on 

 the average sheep farm it is not a good practice to rely 

 entirely on one or the other. Permanent pastures may 

 be used to a good advantage during the wet weather when 

 it would be harmful to pasture on a cultivated field. They 

 can be used as tramping grounds for sheep during the 

 months of the year when the weather is rather rainy. The 

 disadvantage in the use of permanent pastures is that they 

 usually dry up during the hot dry months ; and also there 

 is always the ever present danger of parasites. When 

 stocked heavily with sheep year after year, it is almost 

 impossible to prevent permanent pastures from becoming 

 infested with stomach worm, liver fluke, and other 

 parasites. Annual pastures yield heavily and may be 

 used at the time of the year when permanent pastures 

 dry up. They are used in this country more to supple- 

 ment permanent pastures and to flush and fatten sheep 

 than as a complete pasturing system. A number of crops 



