8 Influence on the Production of Mutton 



feeding properties. I have therefore taken this percentage, 

 and, having regard to the weight per acre of herbage, estimated 

 dry,* yielded in 1899 by the sub-plots, the actual weight of 

 albuminoids per acre has been calculated. These figures are 

 brought together on Table II., but they are more easily com- 

 pared by reference to the curves on Table III., where it will be 

 seen that the relationship of the live-weight increase to the 

 quantity of albuminoids in the herbage is a very close one. 

 On the unmanured plot (No. 6) 48 lbs. of albuminoids have 

 produced exactly 48 lbs. of live-weight increase, and although 

 in no other case do the figures actually coincide, as in Plot 

 6, the general agreement is very close. Still more striking 

 is the close relationship between the weight per acre of 

 phosphoric acid and the weight of albuminoids found in the 

 herbage. The explanation, no doubt, is that the greater 

 the amount of available phosphoric acid at the disposal of 

 the plants, the greater is the weight of clover produced, and 

 the greater the weight of clover, the greater the amount of 

 albuminoids. 



Of these various methods of valuation the one that 

 will be chiefly discussed in this report is that which is based 

 upon the determination of live-weight increase, as ascertained 

 by weighing each individual sheep when the plots are stocked 

 at the beginning of each grazing season — generally in the 

 latter half of May — the weighing being repeated at the end 

 of each month, and finally at the end of each season. Before 

 weighing the sheep were fasted for 12 hours. The process 

 of weighing is a very simple one, and is that which has 

 been adopted at other stations laid down on similar lines. 

 The method of performing the work is shown in Fig. 2. 

 While each individual weighing is simple enough, the 

 aggregation of all the weighings in this experiment, at 

 Cockle Park alone, represents a large amount of work. 

 In the 14 years with which this report deals, about 1,400 

 sheep have been employed. In the first nine years each 

 animal was weighed monthly, but in the last five years the 

 sheep have been weighed only three times during each season. 

 This means, during the 14 years, about 6,000 separate 

 weighings. 



* The dry weight has been taken as 20 per cent, less than the hay weight. 



