The farm-yard club of Jotham: . MERINO RAM. keep them constantly in a thrifty condition. A good pasture in summer is essential, — a pasture adapted to the breed you have selected : a luxuriant one for coarse, heavy sheep ; a shorter one for merinosand their sheep onceout of conditionis with difficultyrestored. Andwliether it be bya poor pasturein summer, orby poor feedingin the winter thatthe thrift of theanimal is sus-pended, a check is produced in the growth of the wool which destroys its quality as a firm and uniform fibre. The ewes especially should be well fed throughout the year
The farm-yard club of Jotham: . MERINO RAM. keep them constantly in a thrifty condition. A good pasture in summer is essential, — a pasture adapted to the breed you have selected : a luxuriant one for coarse, heavy sheep ; a shorter one for merinosand their sheep onceout of conditionis with difficultyrestored. Andwliether it be bya poor pasturein summer, orby poor feedingin the winter thatthe thrift of theanimal is sus-pended, a check is produced in the growth of the wool which destroys its quality as a firm and uniform fibre. The ewes especially should be well fed throughout the year. As the pastures begin to decline in the autumn they should be turned upon fall feed, and when winter opens they should be supplied with good hay, a few turnips, and a small supply of oats three or four times a week until spring comes on and the pastures are again ready for them. Sheep are very fond of the coarser grasses, and they devour clover, pea-vines, meadow hay, and barley straw with great avidity, and should be. MERINO EWE. THE SMALLER ANLMALS OF THE FARM. 511 supplied with such food as this, even while being most carefullyfed, whether for wool or the shambles. They should be fedregularly. If you are feeding for mutton, the following sugges-tions by John Johnson of New York will be found to be valu-able. He says : I generally buy my sheep in October. ThenI have good pasture to put them on, and they gain a good dealbefore winter sets in. For the last twenty-three years I havefed straw for the first two or two and a half months, with apound of oil-cake, meal, or grain to each sheep. When I beginfeeding hay, if it is good early-cut clover, I generally reduce thequantity of meal or grain one half ; but that depends on thecondition of the sheep. If they are not pretty fat, I continuethe full feed of meal or grain with their clover, and on boththey fatten wonderfully fast. I have fed buckwheat, a pound toeach per day, — half in the morning and half at four in theafternoo
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectagriculture, bookyear
