4 



Management of Sheep. 



be with lamb, and produce more couples. The ewes are then 

 turned away into a separate field until the end of a fortnight, when 

 they are again taken back to the teazer; or a fresh one is placed 

 with them, which is the better plan, being then more easily noticed, 

 as they commonly return from the fourteenth to the seventeenth 

 day, if not with lamb. The practice is to mark them with ochre 

 every week as they are rammed, commencing the first week under 

 the near ear, then the near shoulder, midside, hip, &c., round to 

 the far ear, which completes the season of eight weeks. By a 

 careful observance of this plan they are rqadily drawn out from 

 week to week during the lambing season, and it saves both expense 

 and trouble. When the rams are removed, the ewes are dressed 

 with mercurial ointment in the proportion of 2 lbs. to the score, to 

 cleanse them and assist the growth of the wool. The ewes up to 

 this season of the year (and in many situations much longer) are 

 kept upon the grass or meadow lands, where the farms are of that 

 character ; but on arable farms with a short proportion of grass- 

 land, they are usually placed upon the turnip-lands, to follow or 

 clean up the peckings after the store-lambs, which are allowed to 

 go forward ; and they do exceedingly well. On reference to my 

 own daily register, kept during seven seasons, I find the ewes 

 usually go with young "21 weeks upon an average, but vary slightly 

 from 20 to 22 weeks, and go with male lambs rather longer than 

 with ewe lambs. The ewes are drawn out a fortnight before lamb- 

 ing, and placed upon grass-land, if possible, near home ; they are 

 shut up every night in a lambing-yard ; a few turnips are thrown 

 to them in the field when convenient, otherwise they are allowed a 

 moderate quantity of corn, with cut hay or clover chaff ; when ap- 

 plicable, the ewes are placed upon turnip-lands for a few hours 

 during the day, exercise being very desirable ; those that have 

 lambed during the day or night are removed to convenient sheds 

 previously prepared for the occasion, and thence to better quarters, 

 such as a prepared field of rye, or rye and tares mixed with a little 

 coleseed, but more commonly to young seeds or grass-lands which 

 have been rested for them, and there supplied with a few turnips 

 or corn. Upon arable farms it is frequently their lot to be again 

 placed upon the turnip-land, having rock-salt to lick in small iron 

 troughs. Salt is also frequently given with the chaff. In those 

 situations where the breeder has no arable land (which is the case 

 with a great many breeders in Leicestershire) the ewes are placed 

 with the ram much later in the season ; they being with these 

 breeders fed entirely, I may say, upon grass throughout the year ; 

 but according to my experience it would be far better to supply 

 them with a moderate quantity of corn during the spring or lamb- 

 ing season, as the ewes are then frequently much reduced, which 

 causes great loss during the lambing time, besides stinting the 



