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XX. — Report  of  Feeding  Experiments  on  Sheep,  conducted  at 
Crawley-Mill  Farm,  Woburn,  with  Linseed-cake  and  Barley- 
meal,  Linseed-cake  and  Malt,  Linseed-cake  and  Pea-meal . By 
Dr.  Augustus  Voelcker,  F.R.S.,  Consulting  Chemist  to  the 
Royal  Agricultural  Society. 
With  the  approval  of  the  Chemical  Committee,  a few  feeding 
experiments  on  sheep  were  made  by  me  last  winter  and  spring 
at  Crawley-Mill  Farm,  Woburn.  They  had  for  their  object  to 
test  practically  the  comparative  feeding  and  fattening  value  of 
barley  and  malt  as  an  additional  food  to  roots,  chaff,  and  a 
moderate  daily  allowance  of  linseed-cake. 
In  connection  with  the  feeding  experiments  with  barley  and 
malt,  another  lot  of  sheep  were  fed  upon  roots,  hay-  and  straw- 
chaff,  and  a moderate  allowance  of  linseed-cake  and  pea-meal. 
Thirty  young  growing  strong  sheep-tegs,  about  10  months  old, 
were  weighed  and  then  arranged  into  three  lots.  Each  pen  of 
ten  sheep  weighed  very  closely  the  same,  as  will  be  seen  by  the 
following  figures  : — 
Table  I. — Weight  of  Each  Lot  of  Sheep  at  the  Commencement  of 
the  Experiment. 
Pex  I. 
Pex  II. 
Pen  HI. 
cwts.  qrs.  lbs. 
cwts.  qrs.  lbs. 
cwts.  qrs.  lbs. 
0 
3 
18 
0 
3 
22 
0 
3 
91 
1 
0 
8? 
0 
3 
18? 
0 
3 
18 
0 
3 
26 
1 
0 
19? 
0 
3 
23 
0 
3 
15 
1 
0 
0 
1 
0 
14 
1 
0 
6? 
0 
3 
27* 
1 
0 
8? 
0 
3 
IS? 
0 
3 
18} 
0 
3 
18 
0 
3 
H* 
0 
3 
23? 
1 
0 
7? 
1 
0 
26* 
0 
3 
25* 
0 
3 
23? 
0 
3 
12 
0 
3 
24? 
0 
3 
18J 
0 
3 
18 
0 
3 
15? 
0 
3 
25* 
9 
2 
27? 
9 
2 
27* 
9 
2 
26* 
As  the  sheep  were  young,  it  was  considered  undesirable  to 
force  them  on  too  rapidly,  but  to  feed  them  steadily.  For  this 
reason  they  were  supplied,  for  the  first  eight  weeks,  with  only  a 
small  quantity  of  cake  and  corn,  in  addition  to  swedes  and  hay- 
and  straw-chaff. 
The  feeding  experiments  were  carried  out  in  the  open,  on  a 
light  sandy  field  called  Flill  Field,  at  Crawley  Farm,  in  which  a 
healthy  and  well-matured  crop  of  Swedish  turnips  had  been 
grown  in  1882. 
All  the  sheep  were  allowed  to  help  themselves  ad  libitum 
