316 Agricultural Chemistry — Sheep- Feeding and Manure. 



perirnental pens, it being; so arranged, that, as far as possible, each 

 sheep had its counterpart in weight and make in each of the other 

 pens, though within each pen the animals migfht in both these 

 respects show a somewhat wider difference. Six of these pens 

 comprised the experiments now to be described, the other three 

 constituting a series of themselves, of which we shall speak here- 

 after. 



When first weighed, the sheep were very dirty, and it would 

 have been desirable to have had them previously trimmed ; but it 

 was considered that they would compare with each other in this 

 respect, and that as it was intended to allow them a week or more 

 to get accustomed to the new food and situation before com- 

 mencing the exact experiment, they would by that time have lost 

 much of their adherent dirt, and that their second weights would 

 be somewhat uniform. For some time, however, scarcely any of 

 the animals did well upon their food, by no means a fair allow- 

 ance of the mangolds being eaten. One or two of them, indeed, 

 it was found necessary to kill ; and most were in such a condition 

 as to require that the commencement of the experiment should 

 be postponed until the animals had been three weeks in the pens, 

 during which time none had done well. Many had, besides the 

 loss of dirt, apparently depreciated in actual live weight also ; 

 whilst the order within each pen, and the uniformity between one 

 pen and another, were considerably deranged, as will be seen by 

 an inspection of the following Table : — 



Series IV. 



Table l.« — Showing the Weight of each Sheep and each Pen on 

 Feb. 26, when put up, and on March 20, when the experiment was 

 commenced. Quantities stated in lbs. 



No. 





February 26, 



when pat up. 





March 20, when the experiment 

 commenced. 



April 

 17 



of 

 Sheep. 



Pen 

 1 



Pen 



2 



Pen 



3 



Pen 

 4 



Pen 



5 



Pen 

 6 



Pen 

 1 



Pen 



2 



Pen 

 3 



Pen 

 4 



Pen 



5 



Pen 

 6 



Pen 

 6 



1 

 2 

 3 

 4 

 5 



143 

 140 

 137 

 134 

 132 



143 

 140 

 136 

 135 

 132 



143 



139 

 136 

 135 

 133 



143 

 140 

 138 

 134 

 132 



143 

 139 

 136 

 135 

 133 



443 

 140 

 137 

 135 

 132 



136 

 136 

 136 



ill 



146 

 121 



133 

 130 

 123 



139 



133 

 127 

 137 



144 

 144 

 135 

 137 



134 

 145 

 134 

 136 

 117 



142 



130 

 125 

 107 



150 



135 

 131 

 120 



average 



137,2 



137,2 



137,2 



137,4 



137,2 



137,4 



129 



130 



134 



140 



133 



126 



134 



Taking the first division of the Table, it is seen that the average 

 live weight was the same in all the pens when the animals were 

 first put up, and that the weights of those bearing similar numbers 

 in the different pens were also nearly identical. There is, how- 

 ever, a difference of about 10 lbs. between the heaviest and the 

 lightest sheep in each pen. The second division shows that, on 

 March 20, when the more exact experiment commenced, nearly 



