1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
3o5 
Live Stock and Dairy 
>>> 
WESTERN LAMBS IN CONNECTICUT. 
REVIVAL OF AN OL.D BUSINESS. 
The “Down” Blood Most Popular. 
Yankke Lamb Feeders —New Eng¬ 
land is commonly considered to be the 
place of small farms and small farming 
operations, but the sheep-feeding work 
of Mr Chas, E. Lyman, of Middlefield, 
Conn., excels in extent that conducted 
on many western farms. Mr. Lyman’s 
farm is located in the fertile valley of the 
Connecticut River, about six miles from 
Middletown. The farm was formerly 
noted as a dairy farm, and has a very 
large barn, which 30 years ago was con¬ 
sidered one of the largest and best-ar¬ 
ranged barns in New England. The 
farm is particularly adapted to the pro¬ 
duction of bay, this crop alone often 
aggregating 350 tons. The crops raised 
other than hay are mainly ensilage and 
fruits. 
About 10 year j ago, Mr. Lyman began 
the business of fattening western-grown 
latnbs, which were bought in the Buffalo 
markets, and brought to his farm in 
Connecticut each Fall fur the purpose of 
grain-feeding through the Winter. The 
business has increased to such an extent, 
that he now feeds from 3,000 to 4,000 
lambs each Winter. They are bought 
at the present time either in Buffalo or 
Chicago. The increase in the business 
has resulted from a demand in the New 
Haven markets for a prime quality of 
lamb, which should be superior to that 
commonly brought from the West. 
In a recent visit to the farm, I found 
Mr. Lyman selecting a lot of 100 lambs, 
preparatory to shipment to the market. 
These were selected from a total of 1,500 
which are now left upon the farm from 
the present Winter’s stock. “ Where 
are these lambs grown, and is there any 
choice as to types best suited for feed¬ 
ing ? ” I asked. 
“ Yes, I have found great differences 
in our lambs. Some of them were raised 
upon the ranches of Idaho and Montana, 
but these have not usually proved to be 
good feeders. They have not the right 
blood back of them. They have been 
raised and bred mainly for their fleeces, 
and have a large proportion of Merino 
blood. The best feeding lamb3 we buy 
are raised upon the farms of Michigan, 
Minnesota and Wisconsin. They carry 
a large proportion of the blood of the 
Down breeds. Such lambs, you will see, 
are blocky, with short legs and broad 
backs, and carry a large proportion of 
meat on their quarters. The quality of 
the meat is, also, far superior to that of 
the ‘ range lambs 
How the Lambs are Fed. —Mr. Lyman 
prefers to feed his lambs in large flocks 
of 100 to 300 rather than in small floeks 
He finds that, where large numbers are 
penned together, there is a vigorous 
crowding and pushing that each one may 
get its full share of the feed, and on the 
whole, they seem to consume a larger 
amount of feed. The basis of his ration 
is ensilage made from well-ripened corn, 
and clover hay or clover rowen. With 
these, he uses wheat middlings, pea meal, 
and whole corn. After long experience 
and considerable experimenting, he has 
found*these feeds, on the whole, to be 
the cheapest and most satisfactory. The 
constant effort has been to get an 
economical ration, and at the same time, 
one which causes Bteady and rapid gains, 
aud produces the best quality of meat. 
I asked, “ Do you find lambs a difficult 
class of animals to feed and to keep 
thriving ? ” 
“ Yes, one of the most difficult of all 
farm animals to feed properly. Lambs 
are naturally very dainty animals, and 
are very easily ‘ thrown off their feed ’. 
It is an easy matter to give them too 
much of any one kind of feed, and it will 
oftentimes require a week or two to get 
them back into a vigorous, growing con¬ 
dition.” 
“ Do you find corn ensilage an econom¬ 
ical and valuable food for your lambs ? ” 
“ Yes, if it is the right kind. If the 
ensilage is noticeably acid, our lambs 
will never thrive unless we feed very 
limited quantities. We have had a great 
deal of trouble from this acid condition. 
Much of our corn the past year was 
blown down by storms, and the crop did 
not mature thoroughly, and as a result 
we had considerable poor ensilage. The 
corn should be well ripened at the time 
of cutting, in fact, fully as ripe as when 
raised for the grain, and the stalks 
should not carry a large proportion of 
ihoisture. The medium-sized varieties 
of corn, with a large proportion of ears, 
give the best results.” 
Best Grain Ration.— -The grain ration 
fed to these lambs is so made up as to 
furnish the nutrients for a healthy and 
vigorous growth, and to build up a large 
proportion of lean meat with a relatively 
small quantity of fat. The following 
is the ration which was mixed as a day’s 
allowance for 1 400 lambs : 700 pounds 
of corn (whole grain); 700 pounds of 
wheat middlings; 500 pounds of pea 
meal, and 1,400 pounds of corn ensilage. 
In addition to this, the daily allowance 
of hay was 1,400 to 1,500 pounds. The 
clover hay raised on the farm is almost 
all fed to the lambs, very little of the 
more salable grades of hay like Timothy 
or Red-top being used for this purpose. 
Mr. Lyman makes a very close study 
of his business, and has done consider¬ 
able experimenting in connection with 
the Storrs Experiment Station as to the 
value of different rations for fattening 
purposes. These experiments, like most 
others with various kinds of farm ani¬ 
mals, show that it is impossible to lay 
down any best ration that will apply to 
all conditions They show that variety 
and palatability in the ration are of far 
greater importance than its chemical 
composition. They show, furthermore, 
that in feeding young animals like 
lambs, the demands for growth, as well 
as the demands for fattening, must be 
taken into consideration. No ration 
which did not contain a large propor¬ 
tion of bone-making and muscle-forming 
materials has produced steady and long- 
continued growth. 
On the whole, the ration giving the 
best results was what is known to our 
Station men as a medium narrow ration, 
with a nutritive ratio of about 1:6. With 
one part of muscle-forming materials 
to six parts of the fat and heat produc¬ 
ers, Mr. Lyman finds he can produce a 
grade of lamb with a much larger pro¬ 
portion of lean meat than is commonly 
found in the corn-fed western lambs. 
By studying the demands of the mar¬ 
kets, and furnishing a quality of lamb 
which was rich, tender and juicy, with 
a large proportion of lean meat and a 
relatively small proportion of fat, he 
found that the butchers were glad to 
pay a cent or two a pound more than 
they would for the very fat western 
lamb3. No ration which did not consist 
of one-quarter to one-third wheat bran 
or wheat middlings has produced satis¬ 
factory gains over periods of any con¬ 
siderable length. The absence of such 
feeds commonly resulted in a weakness 
of the legs, while the bran or middlings, 
when used in sufficient quantities, fur¬ 
nished an abundance of the bone-making 
materials. 
WESTERN LAMBS GRAIN-FED IN CONNECTICUT. Fig. 122. 
A BUNCH OF LAMBS READY FOR MARKET. Fig. 123. 
A HaV Farm. —The principal business 
of the farm other than the lamb-feeding 
operatious, is the production of hay for 
the market. Mr. Lyman finds that his 
sheep, which are fed a highly nitrogen¬ 
ous grain ration, furnish one of the best 
manures for raising grass. He produces 
from 150 to 200 tons of hay per year for 
market in addition to the large quanti¬ 
ties used on the farm. I found, however, 
that the kinds sold were mostly Timothy 
and Red-top, which are considered to 
have a much lower feeding value than 
the clover hay. Considering the low co&t 
of production, hay has been found to be 
a very profitable crop on this farm. 
Where 2% to 3 tons per acre are raised, 
and sold at from $12 to $16 per ton, the 
margin of profit is a good one, as the 
cost of production does not exceed $8 to 
$12 per ton. 
I was interested to learn as much as 
possible of Mr. Lyman’s views regarding 
the probable profits of sheep raising on 
the New England farms, so the question 
was asked, “Could farmers raise lambs 
at a profit by grain feeding in connec¬ 
tion with pasturage'? ” 
“Yes, if they could get a better price 
for their lambs. Most butchers are ready 
to pay a cent or two a pound more for 
well-fed lambs .than for the average 
lambs found in the markets. If the 
lambs were grain-fed for two or three 
months while at pasture, they would 
make rapid gains, and would produce a 
quality of flesh that would readily com¬ 
mand advanced prices.” 
“ Then you do not think that there is 
any reason why the sheep industry 
should be on the decline in New Eng¬ 
land ? ” 
“ No, if farmers would make the pro¬ 
duction of the best quality of meat their 
chief aim. The production of wool should 
be only secondary. Such lambs should 
be grown as will make rapid growth, 
mature early, give a good quality of 
meat, and a medium fine wool. Probably 
the best lambs for this purpose are South 
Downs, or Shropshires, or those contain¬ 
ing a large proportion of the blood of 
these breeds.” c. s phelps. 
We believe that the tendency of advanced 
agriculture and common sense In stock raising, 
tends to breed all kinds of live stock without 
horns, both among sheep and cattle. Our own 
Shropshire breed six centuries ago had horns, 
but we would disqualify a sheep of to-day if it 
had a stub of a horn an inch long, much less 
have horns as big as the rest of its head. Our 
association is the largest live stock organization 
in the world. mortimeb levering. 
American Shropshire Association. 
Breeders’ Directory. 
This column is reserved for small cards of live 
stock, including poultry, breeders. No cuts. Kates 
on application. 
P rize Winner Berkshlres. Sows bred to Carlos Lee 
48992. Select stock. Address F. 8.. AMOSS;Amoss,Md. 
Guernsey Cattle for Salk — Highly 
bred and registered J. P. WELSIi, Bloomsburg, Pa. 
Closing-Out Sale.— 10 Red Shott-born 
Heifer Calves. 3 to 4 months old, crated at $24.50 each 
Also, four Bull Calves, at $30, crated, 3 and 4 months 
old. IbON & LITSEY, Harrodsburg, Ky. 
The Finest Herd of Rf d Polls in the 
great State of Pennsylvania. A limited number for 
sale. D. L. 8TEVENS, Klkdale, Susq. Co., Pa. 
Pigs —Eligible to Registry, and Firtt- 
class stock at Reduced Prices. Chester White. 
Berkshire, Poland-C niNA and Jersey Red. 
Also, Poultry. WM. B. HARVEY, West Grove, Pa. 
SS 7 Yo s r“'"S 4 Registered Jersey Bulls 
from 9 to 12 months old, sired by Importej Bull Le 
Brocq of Clearview. J. S. CAMPBELL, Butler. Pa. 
103 HOLSTEINS 
FOR SALE—Two Pauline 
Paul-De Kol Bulls ready for 
service, sutter-bred Bulls as low as $50 Calves slrtd 
by our famous Royal Paul, and rich-milking cows and 
heifers bred to him. Dellhurst Farms, Mentor, Ohio 
Woodland Short-horns 
Bulls, also cows and 
heifers (bred; for sale 
W. I. WOOD, Williamsport, Pickaway Co., Ohio. 
Scotch Collies and Berkshire Pigs. 
Circulars free. SILAS DECKER, So. Montrose, Pa 
YOUNG SOWS 
bred at $15, all sold. Have some 
line ones that have had one lit¬ 
ter, and are safe with pig no* at$20. Good value. 
F. H. GATES & SONS. Chlttenango, N. Y. 
IMPROVED CHESTER WHITES 
of the best breeding and all ages for sale at reason 
able price*. Pamphlets and prloea free. 
CHAS. K. RECORD, Peterboro, N. Y 
