322 PRODUCTIVE FEEDING OF FARM ANIMALS 
By comparing the figures given in the table with the correspond- 
ing data for fattening mature steers, it will be seen that sheep build 
‘up more fat and less protein (lean meat) during the fattening 
process than do steers, and the increase in weight consists of more 
dry substance than in case of these animals (p. 257). 
Results obtained by Henneberg and Kern with three mature 
wethers slaughtered at different stages of the fattening period 
illustrate the changes that occur in the composition of the carcass 
of sheep during fattening. One wether was slaughtered and the 
carcass analyzed at the beginning of the trial, when in a lean con- 
dition ; another after 70 days of fattening, when half fat, and the 
third one at the end of 203 days of fattening, when extra fat. The 
table shows the contents of lean meat and fat in the case of three 
wethers : 
Effect of Fattening on the Carcasses of Mature Sheep 
Lean 
Fat, 
posnis | Pounds 
Lean wether............... 26.2 11.9 
Half-fat wether............ 25.9 33.2 
Extra fat wether........... 26.7 41.9 
We note that there was no material change in the content of 
lean meat in the three animals, but the per cent of fat in the carcass 
increased from about 12 to 42 per cent during the fattening process, 
assuming that the three wethers had a similar composition at the 
beginning of the trials. This increase in the per cent of fat was 
accompanied by a decrease in the water content of the carcass during 
the fattening, as has been previously shown. 
Weight of Lambs at Birth.—Lambs will weigh from six to ten 
pounds at birth, according to the size of the ewes and the breed. 
The average weight of single lambs of several breeds reported by 
Humphrey and Kleinheinz from records obtained with the Wis- 
consin station flock * was 9.5 pounds; of twins, 8.0 pounds; and of 
triplets, 6.8 pounds. The figures for the main breeds were, on the 
average, for Montana range sheep, Shropshire, and Southdowns be- 
tween 7 and 8 pounds; for Oxford and Cheviots between 8 and 9 
pounds, and for Hampshire and Downs between 9 and 10 pounds. 
Ram lambs average about one-half pound heavier at birth than ewe 
lambs. 
2 J. f. Landw., 26, p. 549. 
2 Report 1907. 
