Sheep Feeding Experiments. 



161 



injured thereby, sometimes even fatally. Owing to this its 

 use was abandoned in later experiments. 



Undeco? 'Heated Cotton Cake. — This differs from the above 

 in that the husk of the cotton seed has not been altogether 

 removed. It has proved a useful by-fodder, especially 

 suitable during the first half of the feeding period, when the 

 sheep are still growing. It possesses astringent properties and 

 therefore is in marked contrast to linseed cake, whose too 

 fattening or too laxative action it may be used to modify or 

 correct. It is well suited for forming part of a mixture, and 

 is both a cheap and efficient by-fodder for sheep. 



Cereals. 



Maize or Indian Com. — Sheep possess an extraordinary 

 power of grinding maize with their teeth even when given 

 whole, but it was considered that the time and effort so spent 

 had better be saved to them, and only crushed maize was used 

 in these experiments. As already observed, sheep eating 

 crushed maize consume less turnips than others, and it 

 seemed probable that the difficulty of grinding the maize 

 and the time absorbed in the process might be largely 

 accountable for that peculiarity. If that were all, the 

 difficulty might be overcome by giving the maize in the 

 form of well ground meal. In doing so, however, there is the 

 danger of spoiling the by-fodder by making it so powdery as to 

 irritate the nostrils of the sheep and cause them to refuse it 

 altogether. Sheep are peculiarly sensitive in that respect. 

 This was very forcibly exhibited in their entire refusal to eat 

 Barley Bran which, when given to cattle in previous 

 -experiments along with pulped turnips, was found to be the 

 most effective and economical of by-fodders. Given to sheep 

 in the same manner it might perhaps be equally serviceable, 

 but that cannot be done conveniently in the open field. 

 Sheep take maize readily, and do very well on it at first for 

 a few weeks, often excelling those fed on cake, but the rapid 

 progress does not continue, and they are eventually over- 

 taken by the cake-fed lots. Maize is a very farinaceous diet, 

 poor in albumen, and requires to be fortified with some more 

 -albuminous by-fodder so as to suit young growing sheep. 



M 



