On the Feeding of Stock. 
239 
protracted labour the lamb was born, the mother " took to it " 
directly ; before long a second often followed, and the mother 
had licked them all over, and was on her legs feeding, before the 
Southdown by her side had been delivered of her young one — in 
many cases not without aid, and with so much pain and exhaus- 
tion that she seemed to loathe the cause of her misery. Many 
ewes were so set against their lambs, and their supply of milk 
was so defective that halters, and cow's milk, and cosseting of all 
kinds came into constant requisition. I speak now especially of 
my first year's experience ; in the second year three score more 
shearling Downs (which had been bought as lambs) were added 
to the flock, and proved somewhat better mothers, though still 
decidedly inferior to their rivals. 
The result of the first season was, that the black-faced ewes 
reared 189 lambs^ with the loss of 2 sheep, besides supplying 
a good many to Southdowns which had lost their own lamb, 
and, with no good result, played the part of foster-mothers. The 
Southdowns only reared 47 lambs, with the loss of 4 of their 
number. 
In the following season, out of 158 Norfolks, 8 died ; of 112 
Southdowns, 13 : 230 lambs were reared in all ; no record of 
the relative proportions of the lambs is preserved : it was a year 
of great losses all round the neighbourhood. 
The number of lambs reared in these three last years from the 
black-faced flock has been : — 
1858, from 265 ewes 343 lambs. 
1859, „ 265 „ 320 „ 
1860, „ 285 „ 334 „ 
The hardiness of the race, and its prolonged powers of bearing, 
have been tested in a manner not 'generally desirable, in conse- 
quence of the gap made in the flock by the large premature 
draft of the Southdown ewes — a gap which could not conveniently 
be filled up either by purchase or home-breeding — consequently 
twenty-five of the original seven score have been retained until 
this year (1860), being their tenth season ; of these not one died 
in lambing, one was " guest," and was sold for 465., and five are 
bringing up ram-lambs, of which two have twins. The epitaph 
over one ewe which died last year was, " she owes us nothing, 
she has brought up sixteen lambs." 
But a further most important consideration affecting the profits 
of a breeding flock is, that the ewe-lambs should be worth at 
least as much as the wethers : this is, moreover, an important 
test of the estimation in which a breed is held for stock. The 
best guarantee for an abiding demand for ewe-lambs is, that the 
stock should be in request for cross-breeding, as well as for per- 
petuating itself; the former demand telling more upon the 
