TEMPERING DROUGHTS. 
dry rations per sheep per day. He suggests a series of ten different. 
rations, consisting of immature lucerne hay, immature wheaten hay,. 
both by themselves, and in combination with treacle, oats, linseed 
cake, dried brewers’ grain, and silage, also silage alone, and with 
maize and peas. At the conclusion of the experiments the results 
would be judged by numbers, appearance, and average live-weights of 
lambs reared. 
Mr, A. BE. V. Ricliardson stated— 
(a) The difficulties in evolving a cake for the purposes proposed are— 
(1) to make the cake at a reasonable cost; and 
(2) to get graziers to use it. 
(b) If graziers would lay in a reserve of feed, either as grass hay or silage, 
the loss of both sheep and lambs in drought would be largely 
eliminated. 
(c) Molasses, in conjunction with ordinary stock foods, would greatly 
assist in saving lambs in times of drought. Lucerne chaff damped 
with molasses makes a specially good ration for lambs. 
(d) The Queensland Molasses Co. makes a product called “ Molerne” from 
molasses and lucerne, and sells it at £1 higher than the market price 
of lucerne. An analysis of it has been made by the Agricultural 
Chemist, and it forms a cheap and valuable food for young lambs. 
(e) While the production of new types of stock feed is important, and 
worthy of investigation by the permanent Institute, he would prefer 
to encourage propaganda work in forage conservation. 
New South Wales Department of Agriculture forwarded an extract from the 
New South Wales Agricultural Gazette of June, 1914, giving particulars of 
different methods of feeding lambing ewes. The experiments were initiated to 
investigate the question of food supply under normal conditions in cross-breeding 
for wool and mutton, but owing to shortage of rain and natural feed it was 
necessary, shortly before the ewes were due to lamb, to resort to hand-feeding. 
(a) During the earlier periods of the hand-feeding the ewes were fed on 
ensilage from barley-grass, lucerne, and other herbage, chiefly trefoil 
(cut when barley-grass was green and in ear). The allowance was 
63 Ibs. per day per sheep. Though the ensilage had been in the pits 
several years, it was quite succulent and palatable. The only objec- 
tion found was that, if not readily eaten by the sheep, and left 
exposed, the heads of the barley-grass turned dry. 
(b) During the latter periods three methods of feeding were adopted, the 
sheep being classified into (i) British breeds; (ii) Cross-breds; and 
(iii) Merinos. The rations consisted of two or more of the follow- 
ing:—Chaff, piemelon, silage, and wheat. 
(c) No comparative results are given of the different methods of feeding. 
It is stated that, though some of the ewes were somewhat low in 
condition at the time of lambing, they remained vigorous, and con- 
tinued to rear their lambs. Fourteen of the ewes died, but most of 
these were the result of natural causes. In only one case could 
death be directly attributable to lambing when in poor condition. 
A GraAzier REPLIES. 
Mr. C. B. Blyth, of Boolearoll, Wee Waa, N.S.W., who first introduced the 
matter to the Graziers’ Association, replies as follows:— 
(a) So far as graziers are concerned, they cannot save their lambs without 
green feed. I have tried lucerne hay—it kills the lambs. I have 
tried ensilage from natural growth—it also kills the lambs. Bran 
and molasses must be fed in troughs. It is quite impossible to feed 
large numbers of ewes and lambs in troughs—they would smother— 
another thing—it is quite impossible to get, say, 2,000 ewes with 
lambs all lined up at the troughing nicely—so that each one will get 
an equal share—there would be struggling masses at one place and 
none at all at other places—some would get a lot of feed and others 
no feed at all, 
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