Tlic Breeding and Feeding of Sheep. 
627 
the root crops grown for breeding sheep do not reach to 15 tons per 
acre, in which case, according to the common plan of feeding off, the 
sheep rim over the ground so rapidly that a good dressing of manm-e 
cannot be left behind, and hence we fail, comparatively, in one of the 
most important objects for which wc keep sheep. The use of dry food 
remedies this defect. 
Let us next consider how far straw compensates the animal for the 
loss of half the tm-nips. Fifteen tons of turnips will yield nearly 
8024 lbs. of dry matter ; 2 tons 4 cwts. of straw will yield 4233 lbs. 
The proportion of this latter that would be digested is a point on 
which, imfortunately, we have no very precise data. A series of 
carefully-conducted experiments to settle this question would be very 
valuable. Much depends upon the condition of the straw, as the fol- 
lowing tables will show : — 
Akaltsis of Oat-Straw, calculated diy. 
I. 
Green. 
n. 
Fairly Ripe. 
III. 
Over Ripe. 
Oil 
1 
68 
1 
25 
1 
49 
Soluble protein compounds 
6 
56 
3 
13 
1 
54 
Insoluble 'protein compounds 
3 
54 
1 
74 
2 
79 
Sugar, gum, mucilage, &c. 
19 
07 
12 
59 
3 
78 
31 
36 
35 
92 
33 
04 
29 
70 
37 
84 
49 
80 
Soluble mineral matter •. 
6 
86 
4 
31 
2 
70 
1 
23 
3 
22 
4- 
86 
100 
00 
^ lOQ 
00 
100- 
00 
You will observe by reference to the analysis that the proportion of 
sugar, &c., differs immensely, and that of soluble and insoluble woody 
fibre differs considerably, according to the condition of ripeness. 
The chemist infers that what ho calls digestible woody fibre (as 
being soluble in dilute acids and alkalies — similar re-agents, as far 
as he can judge, to the gastric juice and biliary secretions) would 
be converted by the digestive process into food, and that all that 
resists such tests will pass through the system, being insoluble. 
It is highly probable that this is so, and that the digestive system 
of the animal is even more powerful than these chemical reagents. 
.From my own experience of the effects of using good straw, I 
should consider that from half to three-quarters of the dry matter 
would be available as food. Supposing, however, for the sake of 
argument, that only one-half this dry matter of the straw is available, 
whilst the whole of the diy matter in the tm-nips can be made use 
of (which is never absolutely correct, since in full-grown turnips 
there is about 3 per cent, of woody fibre, and when the plant is over- 
ripe, especially towards spring, when the flower-stem is shooting, a 
much larger proportion of insoluble matter), we have the straw yield- 
ing 2116^ lbs. of available food, against 8024 lbs. in the tm-nips ; 
and it follows that sheep eating tm-nips and straw, and thereby econo- 
