Sheep-Feeding Experiments. 



The average live-weight gains and profits of the two lots 

 are shown below. 





1st Period, 

 5 weeks. 



2nd Period, 

 6 weeks. 



Total, 

 11 weeks. 



n \ ci dtic 

 A I KJll L ill 



11 weeks. 







lbs. 



lbs. 



lbs. 



s. d. 



Average live-weight gain 











per head of 40 sheep in 











Lot L - 



6-25 



1077 



17-02 



2 1\ 



Average live-weight gain 











per head of 20 sheep in 











Lot II. 



1-64 



1070 



12-34 



0 of 



One result brought out by the experiment is the value ol 

 the swede as food for sheep under cover. Sheep fed in the 

 house for a period of thirty-five days were allowed as many 

 swedes as they would eat ; they consumed about 15 lbs. per 

 head per day. They gained 6*25 lbs. per head upon this diet, 

 although it contained less nutriment than is usually assumed 

 to be necessary for maintenance, Twenty similar sheep fed 

 in the same house and for the same period were allowed 8 los. 

 swedes per day and as much seeds hay as they would eat. 

 They gained only 1*64 lbs. per head in thirty-five days, 

 although the diet, from a chemical standpoint, was more 

 liberal than the other. This result is explained by the fact 

 that it takes more digestible food to supply the animals' 

 needs when the food is presented in a form difficult to digest 

 — as in hay — than when in a form easy to dig'est, as in 

 swedes. 



In the second period of six weeks the diets fed to the sheep 

 were more liberal, and at the same time more similar, the 

 animals in Lot I. getting some dry food, and those in Lot II. 

 receiving less hay and more roots. Assuming the foods used 

 to have been of ordinary digestibility, both lots received 

 almost the same amounts of digestible albuminoids and 

 " starch equivalents." In both cases the supply was ample, 

 and upon the new fare the sheep did about equally well. As 

 the animals were now on a full diet, there was no longer a 

 possibility of swedes proving superior, as they did in the first 

 period of the experiment. 



