506 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 29, 1888. 
SHEEP MANAGEMENT. 
At the end of the lambing season folding upon late-sown 
Swedes and white Turnips begins, delicate ewes and ewes with weak 
lambs being kept back from the folds as long as they require extra 
care and shelter. Lamb cloths are generally fastened to the 
hurdles along the windward sides of such folds for shelter, but we 
use in preference straw-thatched hurdles, as not only affording 
more shelter, but as a test of the feeding of the ewes, for if they 
are kept short of food they invariably consume the straw upon the 
hurdles. The food question must now, indeed, have careful 
attention. The ewes should have a pound of crushed oats per head 
daily, with plenty of fresh sweet Barley, Oat, or Pea straw chaff. 
We like also to have a rack or two of whole Pea straw out in the 
middle of the fold. Such straw racks afford some shelter, and 
attract enough sheep from the thatched hurdles to cause a more 
equal distribution of manure than could otherwise be managed. 
If the flock crowds together overmuch for shelter an excess of 
manure at such spots often causes rank growth subsequently in the 
Barley crop. Such overgrown patches of Barley go down before 
rain or wind, the crop ripens unevenly, and the sample suffers 
accordingly. 
If the lambs are simply required for stores, a little bran, fol¬ 
lowed later on by a few crushed Oats, is sufficient with the roots to 
keep them in good health. But if we would push them on as fast 
as possible, the bran soon gives place to “ Lamb Food,” consisting 
of a well balanced mixture of crushed linseed and compound cakes, 
with peas, Malt culms, Oats, bran, and other farinaceous food, all 
carefully crushed and mixed. Care is taken not to overfeed, and to 
clean out the trough thoroughly every day. The lambs are kept 
with the ewes till the first or second week in June. We have 
known them to be kept with them fully a month later, but this is 
unwise, the strain upon the ewes from such protracted suckling 
being so severe that they are sadly reduced in condition, and if 
used for breeding next season many die outright, and most of the 
lambs are weak and delicate. 
Rye follows the Turnips, folding still being continued, and 
Mangolds are given with the Rye and dry food. After the Rye 
comes Rye Grass, Sainfoin, Tares, or Lucerne. A few of the most 
forward lambs may be sold to advantage as fat lambs. We have 
realised as much as 50s. apiece for exceptionally fine ones by the 
first week in April, but as a rule 35s. may be given as the full 
value of fat lambs in April and May. A lot of money will be 
made upon lambs this year by those who could afford to keep them 
on to the hogget stage, or purchased early for that purpose when 
they were cheap. On November 14th in the sheep market at Bury 
St. Edmunds, half-bred Cotswold and Suffolk hoggets eight 
months old realised 58s. per head, and pure black-faced Suffolk 
hoggets of the same age 63s. 6d. per head. Such early maturity 
indicates profitable farming, the profit arising from it being found 
in the fertility of the land upon which they were folded as well as 
in the high price of the sheep. 
Ewe lambs answer as well as wethers for high feeding, for they 
are available for breeding in the first season, and are subsequently 
all the better for it. We are aware of the general preference—may 
we term it prejudice ?-for not breeding till the second year, but 
from"experience we are bound to say it answers best to push on the 
ewa lahbs and put them to the tup at the age of eight or nine 
finnths. Our best flock of ewes was home-bred, and although the 
fall of lambs from them the first year was not a full one, yet sub¬ 
sequently their lambs have been decidedly superior to those of 
another flock of ewes of different ages got together bv purchase. 
We know it is considered that age alone imparts flavour to 
mutton, but farmers cannot afford to retain sheep upon their hands 
for a mere fancy. They have to provide food for the masses, and 
every week gained in the completion of the process should add to 
the profits. Early maturity is possible in all animals of the farm 
that are kept for the butcher, and early maturity therefore we must 
have. In feeding sheep for such a purpose the high dietary is liable 
to induce a feverish condition, which is connected by change of diet 
and plenty of green food or roots. A change from arable to pas¬ 
ture land for a few hours is also good, but animals while being 
fattened only require a moderate amount of exercise—enough for 
health, but not enough to cause fatigue. They also require protec¬ 
tion from undue exposure to cold and wet. Some of the most 
profitable sheep we have had were finished for the butcher during 
the last month or two in yards. 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Wet weather has proved a serious hindrance to late Wheat sowing, 
but the rain has done much good to all winter corn already in the land. 
Rye, Beans, Winter Oats, and Wheat are all a good strong full plant, 
and though late another year’s work has been fairly well begun. Long 
will 1888 be remembered for its remarkable changes,of weather. A series 
of extremes has continued from the beginning of the year up to the 
present time, and there is nothing else possible only to keep plodding 
on and be always on the alert to turn every change to fair weather to 
account. We have still heavy arrears of ploughing to get through with, 
and every effort will be made to push on this important work now. 
Land intended for Mangolds next season should first of all be ploughed 
in the ordinary way, and then if the weather prove favourable it should 
be ridged high with the double breasted plough, and so left till spring. 
When this ridging is done before Christmas there is always a tempta¬ 
tion to cart much into the furrows when the land is frozen hard, but 
unless there is a fair prospect of splitting the ridges so as to cover the 
muck with soil immediately afterwards the exposure of much in small 
quantities in this way for an indefinite period of time is most objection¬ 
able, for very much of its goodness is lost, and we have just so many 
heaps of humus void of the fertilising gases which ought to have been 
absorbed in the soil, but which have been lost in the air. We use some 
muck for Mangolds, but we never cart into the furrows till the plough 
can be used to cover it. 
With our magnificent store of Mangolds this winter we can afford to 
use them freely for horses, cows, pigs, and in fact all the live stock of 
the farm. Even the poultry are fond of them, and it is really curious 
how soon a few hens will consume a huge root. We do not use them 
for sheep till the lambing ; a few may be used previously if hard 
weather sets in, but roots of any sort should always be used in modera¬ 
tion among pregnant ewes. Cattle Cabbage are held in reserve for 
them at present till green food on the pastures becomes scarce, the 
Cabbage are then followed by Mangolds, and Thousand-headed Kale 
comes in still later on. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Green rodder (.7. .7 S .~).—Sow Rye and Tares at the first oppor¬ 
tunity the soil is in suitable condition, mixed or separately as you 
orefer. Many persons sow in mixture on the ground that the Rye holds 
the Tares up to some extent. Make another sowing during the first fine 
weather in spring, and when the plants appear sow again. If you sow 
the whole plot at once, you may have more than sufficient produce at 
one time and not half enough at another. This appears to have been 
so in the case of the Trifolium. 
METE9R0L0GICAL OBSERVATIONS, 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 82'40" N.; Lang. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
1888. 
I 5 _: Hygrome- 
ter. 
a . 
Ot3 
V. a 
«« I 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
November. 
1 Bar 
ten 
and 
U 
Dry. 
Wet. 
5o 
a 
O) ® r4 
H 
,Max. 
iMin. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass 
Sunday . 
18 
Inches. 
3<>.o 4 
deg. 
48 8 
deg. 
48.1 
s.w. 
deg. 
47 4 
deg. 
53.7 
deg. 
45 1 
deg. 
60.2 
deg. 
89 9 
Tn. 
O."jo 
Monday. 
19 
29.946 
526 
49.6 
s w. 
47 9 
54 6 
48 8 
61.7 
44.1 
U.i55 
Tuesday .... 
2» 
29 794 
42.4 
41.8 
N. 
48 2 
49 0 
41.9 
78 9 
41.1 
Wednesday.. 
2t 
30.131 
42.6 
39.7 
W. 
45 8 
49 6 
38 1 
53.6 
32.9 
_ 
Thursday.... 
22 
30.175 
49 4 
46 8 
S.W. 
45 0 
53.5 
42.4 
60.9 
36 7 
_ 
Friday . 
23 
80 2.9 
52 8 
50-3 
s.w. 
46.1 
56.0 
49 3 
59.2 
45.1 
_ 
Saturday .... 
24 
80.094 
52.6 
48 7 
b.W. 
47.1 
55 0 
49.4 
57.3 
43.6 
- 
GO.C60 
48 7 
46.4 
46.8 
53.1 
45.0 
61.7 
40.5 
0.165 
Radiation 
Temperature 
REMARKS. 
18tli.— Sl’ght showers in the morning, ctouuy nay. 
19th —Cloudy throughout. 
20th.—Heavy raiu in Mnall hours, bright fresh day, with strong wind. 
2lst.—Fine and bright throughout, except furasprinkle of rain about 3 P.M. 
22nd.—Cloudy and mild day. 
23 d —Overcast and windy. 
24th.—Cloudy throughout. 
A fine plea ant week, with a fa’r amrunt of sunshine. Temperatuie equable, the 
mean being about o 6 above the avcrage.-U. J. SyMonh. 
