222 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
December 22. 
cake in open troughs, as they generally eat it imme¬ 
diately they are fed—there is then no time for it to 
receive damage by rain, &c.; but the troughs should be 
kept dry, and^for this purpose they may be turned upside 
down during the time they are not in use between the 
hours of feeding. 
In the management of this kind of stock, or, indeed, 
of any Sheep, it is advisable to have a catch coop in the 
field, for the purpose of driving the Sheep into when 
required to be examined, or drafted, either for treatment 
in disease, or for the market; and in order that the 
coop may be clean, and not contaminated by constant 
use, it should either be removed continually, or else 
kept supplied with litter, such as refuse straw, as clean¬ 
liness requires; after being used a given time the bed¬ 
ding will be converted into manure, and may be removed 
for that purpose. I now propose to make a few remarks 
upon the state in which it is best to give certain feeding 
materials. When Peas are given to the Lambs it is 
desirable that they should be cracked, not ground into 
meal, for in this state it is not only objectionable to the 
Lambs, but very wasteful, particularly in damp weather, 
as much of the finest portion becomes clotted and dis¬ 
tasteful, and, consequently, useless for the purpose 
intended. It is, therefore, only necessary that the Peas 
should be broken, and this only up to tho time of the 
Lambs being two months old, for after that period they 
will readily eat them whole; and this, in fact, is the 
only state in which they can be given without some 
amount of waste. 
Good Hay may be given to Ewes and Lambs, either 
entire or cut into chaff. I prefer that fatting Sheep 
(and particularly Lambs) should receive their Hay in 
the ordinary state, for they will then have the oppor¬ 
tunity to select the best, and leave a portion, and after¬ 
wards it may be removed, as before stated, and given to 
the Ewes or other stock; whereas, if the Hay is given 
in the state of chaff, the Lambs cannot so readily select 
the best and the clover-leaf part, nor can it be made so 
available for the removal of the residue to other stock. 
I would here observe that the declared object of parties 
who advocate the chaff-feeding of stock is to mix it with 
cake or corn; and also, when given alone, it is intended 
j to prevent waste, and induce the animals to eat the 
| whole, without distinction or selection. I think the 
j former mode of mixing with Oil-cake or corn is objection¬ 
able, for I find the stock are apt to rout the chaff out of 
j the troughs in searching for the better and more 
palateable food; and the latter mode of giving chaff 
j alone I consider without advantage; for if we take the 
loss of good Hay when given in the ordinary state at 
i regular intervals, and in proper quantities, it will not 
amount to more than one-twentieth part, or one cwt. in 
a ton; and it must be remembered that chaff is not 
always given without some loss, particularly in windy 
weather, when it is often blown out of the troughs. I 
will, therefore, put the loss on chaff-feeding, at half a cwt. 
per ton, which will only leave an actual difference or 
loss against feeding in the ordinary state of 561bs. to the 
ton, and the wasted portion must be considered of some 
value to plough in as manure. I will, however, place 
the value of loss at 2s. per ton, which sum will not pay 
the cost of converting the Hay into chaff, with other 
extra charges. I am willing to admit that chaff made 
of inferior Play is made more palatable for store Sheep, 
and that in some instances they may be induced to eat 
a larger portion of the Hay as chaff than they would if 
given entire. But for Lambs, or fatting Sheep, it can 
never answer a good purpose to offer them Hay in the 
form of chaff, which they would otherwise refuse as 
ordinary Hay. 
The selection of feeding materials is a matter of the 
greatest importance; for instance, it is commonly con¬ 
sidered that White Peas are the best for feeding Lambs, 
but my experience has taught me that the Grey or Maple 
varieties are much better than the White. I had an 
excellent opportunity of proving this a few years ago; 
being out of the Grey Peas, which I usually grew for 
feeding, I was induced to purchase some of the best 
White boiling Peas which I could get, being informed 
that they were the best sort for the purpose. About a 
week after I commenced feeding with them, my Lambs, 
which had heretofore given good satisfaction, were now 
complained of by the butcher; nor did they die well, and 
in good condition, during the whole time they were eat¬ 
ing White Peas. But, after a while, I fed them with 
Maple Peas, when the Lambs soon regained tlieir 
former good quality, and maintained it until the end of 
the season. These facts, coupled with the chance which 
I had of seeing the Lambs dead every week, was con¬ 
clusive to my mind, and I have not since been induced 
to use White Peas for feeding Lambs, nor should I do 
so if I were enabled to obtain them at a greatly reduced 
price. It may be considered that the astringent pro¬ 
perty of the Grey and Maple Pea acts very favourably 
(particularly in connection with Oil-cake) in the feeding 
of Lambs, by conducing to the production of a good 
proportion of muscle or flesh, which is really desirable 
and essential in making up Lambs of the best quality. 
Beans are not good for feeding Lambs, as they contain 
the astringent property in excess of the Peas, and I have 
known, by their use in feeding, that the flesh has been 
made so hard as to render it unsaleable as Lamb. 
There is also a vast difference in Oil-cake for feeding 
purposes. The home-made, and some of the Marseilles 
Cake, are very good for feeding Ewes and Sheep Stock 
in general; but the superior sorts of American Cake is 
certainly the best for feeding Lambs. This Cake, when 
good in quality, always makes a higher price than other 
sorts of Oil-cake; yet it is much cheaper for the feeding 
of Lambs, if we measure its value by results. In fact, I 
do not hesitate to say, that so far as cake and corn are 
concerned, that American Barrel Cake and Maple Peas 
are the perfection of Lamb-food. 
In the growth of Grasses intended to produce Hay for 
feeding this kind of stock, it is desirable to select White 
Dutch Clover with Trefoil, and a small portion of Italian 
Rye Grass mixed for the Lambs, and Broad Clover, 
with Trefoil and Italian Rye Grass for the Ewes. The 
former, being intended as Hay for the Lambs, should 
