348 SHEEP BREEDING EXPERIMENT. 


and white currants, and raspberries, furnished results ofa 
similarly ambiguous character. The manured plots have 
shown an average of only 11 per cent. in excess of the un- 
manured ; those receiving dung have shown an excess of 
one-halt per cent. over those receiving artificial manure, and 
those receiving large amounts of manure have shown an 
excess of 1°5 per cent. over those receiving only two-fifths of 
the amount. The only evidence of any effect from 
the manure consisted in an increased luxuriance of foliage 
and size of berries in the case of those gooseberries which 
have received natural manure. It is stated in the report 
that it would be premature to draw any rigid conclusions at 
present from these results, as a period of three years is but a 
small portion of the total useful life of such plants, but it is 
to be noted that the general absence of effect of manures in 
these experiments is in accordance with observations made 
in every other case at the Woburn Farm. 

EXPERIMENT IN SHEEP-BREEDING. 
An experiment with the object of ascertaining the most 
suitable cross for Welsh mountain ewes for the production 
of fat lambs was carried out during the past year on the 
farm at Lledwigan attached to the Agricultural Department 
of the University College of North Wales, Bangor. 
Seventy-nine Merionethshire ewes purchased in October, 
1899, were divided into three lots and marked with numbered 
ear tags. Lot 1, consisting of 29 ewes, ran witha Wiltshire 
ram, awhite-faced horned sheep said to be directly descended 
from the old. Wiltshire sheep) which for some years has 
been extensively used in North Wales for crossing with 
mountain sheep. Lot 2, consisting of 27 ewes, ran with a 
Shropshire ram, and Lot 3, consisting of 23 ewes, with a 
Leicester ram. | | 
The rams were turned in on October 3rd, and remained 
with the ewes until the end of November. Some of the ewes 
proved barren or cast their lambs, and a few lambs died aiter 
birth. There was, however, no difference between the various 
