506 Summary of Agricultural Experiments, [sept., 



sheep would stand the good feeding usually given to the larger and 

 quieter breeds of sheep. The plan adopted at first was to run the sheep 

 on the pastures with a rack of hay, and occasional swede-tops, to the 

 end of December, then to supply daily cut swedes in troughs, and early 

 in February to commence corn and cake feeding at the rate of \ lb. oats 

 and \ lb. linseed cake to every 3 hoggs. Under this treatment the 

 sheep were clipped, and sold fat about the end of June. In each year 

 following, the pace has been quickened by commencing the trough- 

 feeding earlier than in the previous year, with the result that in 19 10 

 the sheep had all been sold fat by the end of April, and with no more 

 losses than occurred in the earlier years under slower feeding. The 

 following table gives the average results for the whole period : — 





Cost. 



Weeks 

 kept. 



Sold 

 for. 



Cake and 

 Corn. 



Gross 

 Profit. 



Return for 

 Grass, Hay, 

 and Swedes. 



Per Week. 





s . d. 





s. d. 



s. d. 



s. d. 



d. 



Herdwicks (4 years) 



10 8 



30 



31 2 



2 4 



18 2 



57 



Blackface (3 ,, ) 



15 8 



22 



30 9 



1 11 



13 2 



7-2 



Cheviot (3 ,, ) 



13 3 



25* 



28 6 



2 6 



12 9 



6-o 



Greyface (2 ,, ) 



14 7 



1 8j 



32 8 



1 10 



16 3 



10-5 



Cross-breeding for Fat Lambs (Cumberland and Westmorland Farm 

 School, Newton Rigg, Ann. Rept., 1909-10). — The results obtained on 

 an average of seven years' trials in breeding from cross-bred ewes are 

 shown in the following table : — 



Cross. 



Number 

 of lambs 

 per seven 

 ewes. 



Average 

 age when 

 fat for 

 market. 



Average 



live 

 weight. 



Average 

 selling 

 price. 



Price 

 per lb. 



Border Leicester Ram — 





Weeks. 



lb. 



s. d. 



d. 



Ewe 













Cheviot — Border Leicester ... 



14 





75 



32 II 



hi 



Blackface— Border Leicester 



13 





76 



33 7 



51 



Blackface — Wensleydale 



12 



Hi 



82 



33 8 



5 



Oxford Down Ram — 













Ewe 













Cheviot — Border Leicester ... 



12 



13 



78 



37 4 



51 



Blacktace — Border Leicester 



13 



II* 



73 



36 1 



6 



Blackface — Wensleydale 



13 



i4i 



82 



34 6 



5 



Herdwick — Border Leicester 



II 



iM 



78 



35 9 



Si 



Wensleydale Ram — 













Ewe 













Cheviot — Border Leicester ... 



12 



15 



89 



36 0 



4l 



Blackface — Border Leicester 



II 



m 



89 



35 0 



4l 



Blackface — Wensleydale 



II 



16 



89 



34 0 



4l 



As soon as a lamb reached 70 lb. it was sent to the market if fat. 

 It will be seen that the Wensleydale cross lambs were slowest in getting 

 fat, though rapid growers ; they are therefore better adapted for feeding 

 for mutton than for lamb. The Cheviot — Border Leicester ewe appears 

 to have been the most prolific. The Oxford Down — Blackface — Border 



