Sheep Feeding Experiments. 



163 



are fattening and consuming turnips in the open field might 

 receive with advantage equal parts of decorticated cotton cake 

 and maize ; during- the second month dried grains should 

 gradually take the place of maize in the mixture, and the 

 quantity of it be increased until the mixture becomes two parts 

 of dried grains for one part of decorticated cotton cake ; 

 during the third period the cotton cake should gradually be 

 replaced by linseed cake. By such a graduated mixture there 

 is reason to expect that at first the sheep would grow in size 

 and put on flesh, thereafter they would increase in flesh 

 and fat, and towards the end they would fatten and finish 

 rapidly, and acquire that touch and bloom that are so much 

 appreciated. 



Should it be the dssire of the feeder to fatten a lot of sheep 

 as quickly as possible it would seem, so far as these 

 experiments have gone, that there is no by-fodder so useful as 

 linseed cake alone. 



Should sheep get hay along with turnips ? 



There seems to be a complete divergence of opinion on 

 this question among Scottish farmers. In some parts of the 

 country no hay is ever given to sheep folded on turnips, 

 while in others a certain amount of hay is considered 

 indispensable. A part of last year's sheep - feeding 

 experiment was arranged so as to give an answer to this 

 question. One lot was fed on turnips and linseed cake, and 

 another on turnips and linseed cake with as much hay in 

 addition as the sheep cared to eat. The results were curious 

 and instructive. Both lots ate exactly the same amount of 

 turnip, so that the hay consumed did not diminish their 

 appetite for turnips, though the hay-fed lot ate haif-a-pound of 

 hay per head per day. When this had gone on for eleven 

 weeks it was found that the lot that got no hay had increased 

 2\ lbs. per head more than those that had received hay in 

 addition. Moreover, half of them were fat and finished, 

 while none of the hay-fed lot were. About ten days later 

 they ought to have been sold as fat, but they were kept on 

 for another fortnight. At that time, half only of the hay- 

 fed lot were fat, and the remainder required a week's feeding 



