Investigations with Sheep. 



486 



<3onsumed by lambs and their gains, with the restdts reported 

 in the table. In these trials the lamb was kept separate from 

 the ewe, except when sucking. It was weighed both before and 

 after sucking to ascertain the amount of milk yielded by the ewe. 

 The results appear in the following table: 



Daily gain, and gain per pound of ewe's milk, by young lambs — 

 Wisconsin Station. 



Here were daily gains ranging from .4 to over .6 of a pound per 

 lamb, each pound of milk producing about .15 of a pound in- 

 crease, live weight. Shepi^erd concludes his report with the state- 

 ment that the gain of lambs, during the first month of their lives 

 at least, is largely controlled by the quantity of milk yielded by 

 the ewe, and as a consequence that ewes should be carefully se- 

 lected for their milking qualities. (525, 825-8) 



742. Influence of shearing on milk yieid. — Weiske^ conducted 

 an experiinent to ascertain the influence of shearing on the pro- 

 duction of milk by sheep. A Southdown-Merino ewe weighing 

 77 poimds was fed the following ration directly after lambing: 

 Meadow hay, 1.1 pounds; beets, 2.2 pounds; ground barley, 1.1 

 pounds. On this food she produced the following quantities of 

 mUk: 



Days after lambing, May.. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. 

 Pounds of milk 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.7, 1.9, 2.0, 2.0, 2.2, 2.2. 



The milk contained from 14.28 to 16.51 per cent, total solids. 



During days following the last one noted above, the mUk yield 



remained at 2.2 pounds, but decreased, when the ewe was shorn, 



May 20, as follows: 



May 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25. 



Pounds of milk 2.2, 2.0, 1.9, 1.7, 1.65, 1.57. 



' Der Landwirt, 1879, p. 329. 



