UHlisaHon of Shwn as Food for 8tocl\ 
607 
on each acre besides 1^ ton of straw, so as considerably to increase our 
produce of corn, besides the chief object of keeping a heavier stock of 
breeding sheep in a healthy state.” 
Mr. Henry Evershed’s important experiment made in the 
same winter as that above referred to by Mr. Coleman will 
always stand on record as affording clear proof as to what 
an extent sheep can be kept all through winter without either 
roots or hay, straw chaff intermixed with richer ingredients 
being almost entirely used. In Essex, on six adjoining farms, 
the number of sheep wintered was greater than they had ever 
carried before, solely because lambs were exceedingly low in 
jDi’ice and likely to pay well for wintering. As many as 1,500 
sheep were kept on 650 acres of arable and 350 acres of upland 
pasture, but the wliole of the turaips and rape yielded by the 
arable was eaten by the ewes in September, and what mangel- 
wurzel had been grown was reserved for the ewes at lambing time. 
The lambs ran on a pai’k in the daytime, which, however, 
afforded them little or nothing except exercise and water. From 
September 29 until November 4, 352 lambs had 5 bushels of 
meal daily, mixed with 468 lb. of straw chaff, the cost for meal 
being 3|i. each per week. On December 20 the food was in- 
creased to 6^ bushels of meal and a bushel of oilcake, and on 
January 23 to 74 bushels of meal, 2 bushels of oilcake, and 2 
bushels of rape cake. These lambs, purchased at 22.?. 6d. in 
September, were valued at rather over 30.?. each on November 4, 
when put on their winter feeding, the cost of which, as entered 
in the stock-book, was estimated as follows : — 
£ it. 
Corn and cake as per granarj- book , , 
. 245 
16 
Cutting 25 tons of chaff at 6 , 1 . 
7 
13 
0 
Grinding 96 qrs. G bus. of corn at 9rf. 
3 
12 
6 
Attendance at 19«. 10c/. per week . . 
. 23 
16 
0 
Horse labour at 6 s. per week .... 
7 
4 
0 
Coal 3s. 2d. per week 
. 3 
16 
0 
Use of 21 troughs at 3d. each per month 
. 1 
11 
6 
I'^se of 180 hurdles at Id. each per montli 
4 
10 
0 
li cwt. of rock salt 
0 
4 
6 
298 
4 
3 
This brought the cost ot the sheep up to 47s. 8d. each, at 
which it is said “ they would probably have been sold at a profit 
in April, but they were then put on grass and clover to be 
finished off for the shambles in summer.” Mr. Evershed gave 
the chief point of such feeding, according to his experience, to 
be that of using sweet straw cut fine and softened with a sufficient 
quantity of boiling liquid. He says : — 
“ One-fourth to one-half of the meal should be boiled or steamed into 
soup, thrown on the chalf, and the heap chopped oyer and well mixed with 
3 B 2 
