428 Comparative Fattening Qualities of Sheep. 



their kind, supplied with a liberal allowance of food, and pro- 

 tected from the weather, should, in neither case, reach an averag-e 

 g-ain of 3 lbs. per head per week, that of the Hampshires being 

 2 J lbs. and that of the Sussex scarcely 2 lbs. 2 oz. By this 

 remark we do not mean to imply that the result is less than was 

 to be expected ; on the contrary, we believe the animals in both 

 cases to have done exceedingly well, more so indeed than is 

 usual ; but we wish to fix the attention of the reader upon these 

 quantities, because we know that many entertain exaggerated 

 opinions as to the rate of increase of fatting sheep, which closer 

 attention to weights, and extending their trials to a greater num- 

 ber of animals, and over longer periods of time, would, we are 

 persuaded, dissipate. 



But as to this point of average weekly gain, like those already 

 discussed, a clearer conception v/ill be gathered where the quan- 

 titv is given per 100 Ihs. weight of animal instead of per head. 

 This is done in Table VIII. 



In Table VIIL, then, we see that in the case of neither breed 

 have we an average increase, for the entire period, of two per cent, 

 per week upon the weight of animal ; that upon the 100 lbs. 

 being for the Hampshires only 1 lb. 14oz., and for the Sussex 

 sheep only 1 lb. lOf oz. ! A glance down the columns of the 

 Table will show indeed for both lots of sheep, that during the whole 

 period of the experiments, they reached but twice an increase of 

 2 per cent, per week. One of these periods of high gain was, 

 in the case of both breeds, at the very commencement of the ex- 

 periment, when therefore the change from store to fatting food 

 was likely to show more than an average result ; the other instance 

 of high gain in the Sussex sheep was at the time of the increased 

 quantity of clover ; with the Hampshire it was during the last 

 fortnight of the experiment, and was then only 2 lbs. Of oz. ; 

 whilst the high increase of the Sussex sheep in the previous 

 period, was in the next reduced to only 1 lb. 2f oz. 



To repeat — with neither breed was there an increase of 3 lbs. 

 per head per week during the fatting process, and with neither was 

 there a weekly increase of 2 per cent, on the live weight, that on 

 the Hampshires being 1 lb. 14 oz., on the Sussex only 1 lb. 

 lOf oz. ; in favour, therefore, of the Hampshire sheep in this 

 respect by 3J oz., or about one-eighth of the whole amount. 



The next point of comparison between the two breeds is as to 

 the amounts of wool obtained from each. 



The quantities of wool shorn from each individual sheep are 

 given for the two breeds respectively in Tables I. and II., but a 

 summary of the figures of those Tables is here brought to 

 view : — 



