296 



Influence of Manures on Mutton. 



in reserve, to be used as substitutes for unsuitable animals. 



As in the two former seasons, so in 1899, nothing serious 

 occurred to disturb the experiment. A sheep on Plot 5 died 

 on August 30th, one on Plot 6 became unhealthy and was 

 removed on September 7th, and one on Plot 9 and another 

 on Plot 10 were removed on account of minor ailments on 

 August 5 th. In every case sheep of the same weight on the 

 date of the immediately preceding weighing were at once 

 substituted. 



The sheep were all weighed, after fasting twelve hours, at 

 the commencement of the season's grazing, while they were 

 also weighed in a similar fasted condition at the end of the 

 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th months. At the end of the first month 

 they were not fasted before weighing. If Ave assume a loss 

 of weight of 5 per cent, after fasting twelve hours, we may 

 substitute a " fasted weight" for that actually got at the end 

 of the first month, when we have the following figures 

 representing the average weekly gain or loss per head for 

 the whole of the animals : — 



Period 



Average weekly 

 gain in 1897. 



Average weekly 

 gain in 1898. 



Average weekly 

 gain in 1899. 





lbs. 



lbs. 



lbs. 



During the ist month - 



2.26 



3-43 



2.90 



,, 2nd month - 



2.01 



3-4i 



2.32 



„ 3rd month - 



1. 10 



1.77 



1.62 



,, 4th month - 



0.32 



1.25 



1.77 



5th month - 





0.24* 



i-35 



* Loss. 



Each year, as will be seen, the general tendency is towards 

 a markedly smaller weekly gain as the season advances, and 

 as the animals get fatter. Growth was better maintained 

 in 1899 than in any of the preceding years — in fact it 

 actually rose a little in the 4th month — a result doubtless due 

 to the flush of grass induced by the showers of August last. 



In each of the years of the experiment every sheep was 

 weighed separately, and the various individual records of the 

 animals of any particular plot agree with satisfactory consis- 

 tency. These records, amounting, as they do, to nearly 

 2,000, are, however, much too extensive to be reproduced 

 here,^though reference may occasionally be made to them. 



