PRACTICAL PAPERS—FATTENING SHEEP. 
193 
always found that it was not the kind for them ; they would 
grow lank and thin upon it—not a very good sign that a fat¬ 
tening animal is thriving well. As soon as they got the clover 
again they would plump up and look full and nice, and I can 
assure you unless your sheep look full and plump, they are 
not fattening very fast. 
Is straw goocLfor feeding sheep ? One feed at noon of nice 
• bright oat, barley or pea straw, 1 prefer to hay, as they not 
only relish it, but it is a change for them. • Sheep are very 
fond ol variety, and will eat daisies, weeds, thistles or almost 
anything of the kind that is cut and cured green. Nice green 
corn-stalks are not very bad for sheep, and when I have 
plenty of them I always feed the sheep with them, at least 
once a day, aud I consider them as good as hay. I prefer, 
however, feeding them the fore part of the winter, as towards 
spring they will sometimes contract dampness, and then the 
sheep do not eat them so well. 
I am asked to answer this question : “ Shall we cultivate 
roots for fattening sheep, and what is their value compared 
with grain ? ” I have often thought I won.ld experiment a 
little on this subject, but as the trial is attended with con¬ 
siderable pains and trouble to have it accurate, without which 
it is of no use, I have put it off from winter to winter, and 
now have no figures to give. I intend yet to test this question 
thoroughly. However, I will answer as well as I can, and as 
I have used more or less roots every year since I commenced 
feeding sheep, I think that I have a pretty good idea about 
them. I will say then, cultivate roots by all means, if you 
have plenty of manure and intend to put your land in proper 
condition; if not, you may better leave it alone, as you will 
surely get more grass and weeds than roots. I was successful 
in raising about eighteen hundred bushels of flat turnips last 
season on about two and a half acres of land, and with very 
little labor. Early in the spring we covered the ground with 
about fifty loads of manure from one of the sheep sheds, and 
plowed it in about seven inches deep. Just before the time 
arrived to put in ruta baga seed, the ground was harrowed, 
Ag. Tr.—13. 
