Illustrations of Irish Farming. 
407 
maggots during summer. The dipping-place is constructed in 
an excavation or tank lined with brickwork. The size is 8 feet 
long, 22 inches wide, and 3 feet deep. A sloping ladder of 
brickwork, set on edge, enables the sheep to pass into the drip- 
ping place, the dimensions of which are 1(5 feet bj 9 feet ; it is 
paved with Malbay (Co. Clare) flags, and slightly sloped in the 
bottom, which allows the drippings to run back into the tank, 
and thus prevents waste of material. This tank cost about SI. 
The lambs are weaned about the 12th of July, and after being 
branded with the stock brand, are put on second year's pasture, 
or even older grass, avoiding first year's grass, which appears to 
bring on worms in the bronchial tubes and scour. Such, at 
least, has been Mr. Simson's experience. He has invariably 
noticed that his lambs are affected with worms in the bronchial 
tubes when they have been weaned, and kept after being weaned, 
on young grass, whereas they are always free from the disease 
when weaned on older pasture. The pasture, however, is fre- 
quently changed, and the lambs are seldom allowed to remain in 
one field longer than a fortnight at a time ; and I may remark 
that the importance of this point in the management of sheep, 
especially of weaned lambs, does not appear to be understood or 
appreciated by many Irish breeders of sheep. I have seen lambs 
kept for several months in one field, without ever having been 
shifted even for a day into another field. 
In autumn, out of 500 ewe lambs, 350 are selected to be 
retained for keeping up the breeding-flock. This selection 
keeps the breeding-flock even, and preserves a strong family 
■likeness throughout. These get turnips and hay until the 1st of 
March, by which time the pastures are sufficiently forward to 
maintain them. The draughted, or " cull " ewe lambs are sold. 
Part of the ewes which are four years old are sold to graziers 
in Leinster, &c., for the purpose of producing a " crop " of 
market lambs for butchers, and the rest of the draughted ewes, 
together with the wedder lambs and other draughted sheep, are 
prepared for the winter course of feeding on turnips by first netting 
them on cabbage. Of this crop Mr. Simson grows every year 
from eight to ten acres ; the variety being the Drumhead. The 
plants are put down in April, on a good allowance of farmyard 
dung, and are topdressed with guano and superphosphate after 
they begin fairly to grow. In this way heavy crops are pro- 
duced, which prove an excellent preparation for turnip-feeding. 
The sheep are folded by means of nets on the crop, and get hay 
in moveable racks. The cabbages are very nutritious, and do 
not scour the sheep. When on turnips, those sheep which are 
being pushed forward get each one pound a day of a mixture of 
linseed-cake and crushed oats and barley, also hay at will. If 
