Comparative Fattening Qualities of Sheep. 427 



ceeded, yet, excepting- immediately after the animals had lost 

 their wool, there is a disposition to decrease rather than increase 

 in the rate of consumption of food^ when calculated per 100 lbs. 

 weight of animal, instead of per head. 



Comparing- now one breed with the other, we find that the tw^o 

 lots consumed very different quantities of food per head weekly, 

 but the quantities consumed weekly per 100 lbs. are, as g-iven in. 

 Table VL, almost identical for the two breeds. Thus, taking the 

 average of the entire period of the experiment, as given in the 

 bottom line of Table VI. w-e have, both for Hampshire and 

 Sussex, the same amount of oil-cake consumed per 100 lbs. per 

 week, of clover 5 ounces more, and of turnips *2i lbs. less by the 

 Sussex sheep than by the Hampshire; — quantities which, when 

 the great difference in the proportions of water contained in these 

 two foods is considered, may be calculated as yielding almost 

 identical quantities of solid food to the animals, and therefore, as 

 for all practical purposes, neutralising each other. As has 

 already been said, the swedes were in both cases given ad lihitum, 

 thus allowing the animals to fix their own limits of consumption 

 according to the requirements of the system ; we conclude, there- 

 fore, that the natural requirements, w^hatever they may be, are, 

 under equal circumstances, the same for both breeds. It may be 

 interesting here to observe, that numerous experiments on the 

 feeding of the various animals kept upon the farm clearly show 

 that this natural limit of consumption, as fixed by the animals 

 themselves, is determined far more by the amount supplied in the 

 food of those constituents which are termed the respiratory and 

 fat-forming principles, than by that of the nitrogenous ones. 

 Indeed, v/e have frequently found that whilst in a set of compara- 

 tive experiments the quantity consumed of the former has been 

 all but identical in the different cases, that of the latter has varied 

 as much as from one to two, or more. 



But we must not enter further into this interesting question in 

 this place, though we have many facts relating to it which we 

 hope to publish shortly, in connection with the subject of feeding 

 generally. 



From Table VI. w^e have learnt, then, that the Hampshire and 

 Sussex sheep consumed identical quantities of food in relation to 

 their weight; but in Table IV. we have seen that the Hampshire 

 sheep gave more increase for this food than the Sussex, for in 

 producing iOO lbs. of increase the Sussex has consumed nearly 7 

 per cent, more oil-cake, l/i per cent, more clover, and 31 per 

 cent, more swedes than the Hampshires. 



In Table VII. we have the average weekly gain per head of 

 the two breeds, and it is worthy of remark that these sheep, of 

 superior quality, as those of both breeds undoubtedly were, of 



