7185. Marking is performed on each sheep about a week after the fleece is removed. The object is to identify the individuals as the property of the master. Sometimes initials are impressed, and at other times other marks. They are impressed by stamps, or merely chalked or painted on. A stamp dipped in warm tar is the most durable mode. Some place the mark on different parts of the sheep, according to its age; others cut the margin of the ears in different ways.

7186. Shortening the tails of the sheep is performed in almost all the sheep districts of the kingdom except in Dorsetshire, which seems to be a useful practice, especially with long-woolled sheep, in keeping the animals more clean behind, and of course less liable to be stricken with the fly.

7187. It has, however, been suggested in the ninth volume of Annals of Agriculture, that by this custom the sheep may be rendered less able to drive away the flies. The general prevalence of the practice would, however, seem to prove its being of advantage. There is much difference in the manner of performing the business in different districts in respect to the length, but four or five inches being left is quite sufficient. It is usually done while the animals are young. In all sheep pastures the hedges should be well cleared from briars, as their coats are often injured by being torn by them. And all sorts of pernicious reptiles should be as much as possible destroyed, and removed from such land.

7188. The mode of pasturing sheep, or of feeding them on herbage or roots having been described when treating of these crops, the more general practices of rearing and management of lowland sheep husbandry may be considered as developed. Some peculiar practices and the mode of fatting lambs will be found in subsequent sections.

7189. The practice of giving salt to sheep deserves to be generally recommended. It is given in small long troughs every day throughout the year, and in rainy weather twice a day, or under cover, that it may not be washed away. The practice is particularly recommended, when sheep are first put to turnips As to the quantity for each sheep, it is said that any quantity may be laid before them, and that no danger, but the reverse, will result from their having at all times as much as they will voluntary take.

SUBSECT. 2.

Rearing and general Management of Sheep on Hilly and Mountainous Districts, or what is generally termed Store Sheep Husbandry.

7190. The best store farmers in Britain are unquestionably those on the Cheviot hills, which border the two kingdoms; and an account of their management may be considered as applicable to the mountainous districts of the whole kingdom. It is, indeed, applied by the migrations of the Cheviot and Teviotdale farmers, both in the North Highlands, on the Sutherland estate, and in Wales. No regular system of store farming, as observed by Napier (Treatise on Store Farming), appeared previously to his own; and accordingly from this work, and an excellent account published in the Supplement to the Encyclopædia Britannica, we have extracted what follows.

7191. A general idea of the extent and nature of a store farm may be obtained by referring to that of Thirlstane in Ettrick forest, a plan of which (fig. 893.) is given by Captain Napier. It contains one thousand six hundred and fifty-one acres; of which one thousand four hundred and sixty-four acres are in open hill pasture, seventy in plantation, forty in arable and meadow, about sixty in six enclosures, and the rest in shepherds' and other cottagers' houses, with their allowance of ground for a garden and cow. What distinguishes this farm from most others is the number of stells, or small circular enclosures (O) for sheltering and feeding sheep during storms of snow, which are distributed over it; being no fewer than thirty-seven. The advantages of these stells in districts where sheep are liable to be buried by snow Captain Napier considers very great, and to promote their more general introduction seems to have been one principal inducement for publishing his book. We shall recur to the subject in the following section, when treating of cotting, folding, housing, &c. In the mean time, we are informed that Captain Napier's round stells are not generally approved of, but that one is preferred which has four concave sides. See Fairbairn's Treatise on Store Farming, Edin. 8vo. 1825.

7192. In the practice of store farming the rams are put to the ewes for the purpose of copulation in November, a little earlier or later, according to the prospect of spring food, but seldom before the eighth or tenth of that month. The number of rams required is more or less, according to the extent of the pasture, and their own age and condition. If the ewes are not spread over an extensive tract, one ram to sixty ewes is generally sufficient. It is usually thought advisable to separate the gimmers (sheep once shorn) from the older ewes, and to send the rams to the latter eight or ten days before they are admitted to the former. Notwithstanding this precaution, which retards their lambing season till the spring is farther advanced, ewes which bring their first lamb when two years old, the common period on the best hill farms, are often very bad nurses, and in a late spring lose a great many of their lambs, unless they are put into good condition with turnip before lambing, and get early grass afterwards. This separation, and difference in the time of admitting the rams to the ewes and gimmers, should therefore be always attended to. When a farm under this description of stock has the convenience of a few good enclosures (as in Thirlstane farm for example), still more minute attention is paid by skilful managers. It is not sufficient that the rams are carefully selected from perhaps double the number, the ewes also are drawn out and assorted, and such a ram appropriated to each lot as possesses the properties in form or fleece in which the ewes are deficient. In other cases, the best ram and the best lots of ewes are put together. When neither of these arrangements can be adopted, owing to the want of enclosures, it is the practice to send the best rams to the ewes for a few days at first, and those of an inferior descriptions afterwards. In every case, when the farmer employs rams of his own flock, he is careful to have a few of the best ewes covered by a well-formed and fine-woolled ram, for the purpose of obtaining a number of good ram-lambs, for preserv ing or improving the character of his stock.

7193. The stock through winter, in a mere breeding farm, consists of ewes and gimmers, which should have lambs in spring; ewe lambs or hogs; and a few young and old rams. All these are sometimes allowed to pasture promiscuously; but on the farms around Cheviot the ewes and ewe hogs are kept separate, and the ewe hogs are either put on rough pastures, which have been lightly stocked in the latter end of summer, or get a few turnips once a day, in addition to the remains of their summer pasture. The most effectual preventive of the desolating distempers to which sheep of this age are liable is turnips; and though they should never taste them afterwards, a small quantity is frequently given them during their first winter. After the rams have been separated from the ewes, they are usually indulged with the same feeding as the hogs.

7194. The ewes, during winter, are seldom allowed any other food than what their summer pasture affords, except that a small part of it may sometimes be but lightly eaten, and reserved as a resource

against severe storms. When these occur, however, as they often do in the Cheviot district, there is little dependence on any other food than hay. When the snow is so deep as completely to cover the herbage, about two stones avoirdupois of hay are allowed to a score of sheep daily, and it is laid down, morning and evening, in small parcels on any sheltered spot near the house, or under the shelter of stells or clumps of trees, on different parts of the farm.

7195. The ewes in March, at least the gimmers or young ewes, are commonly allowed a few turnips once a day, on farms on which there is any extent of arable land; which are either carted to their pastures, or eaten on the ground, by bringing the sheep to the turnip field through the night. A part of the field, in the latter case, is cut off by nets, or by hurdles, which enclose the sheep in the same way as if they were intended for fattening. When they are ready to drop their lambs, they are no longer kept on the turnip field, and get what turnips may be left on their pastures. But it is seldom that the turnips last so long, though it is desirable to have a few remaining to be given to the weakest ewes, or to such as have twins in a separate enclosure.

7196. A few days before the time of lambing, the ewes are collected for the purpose of being udderlocked. The sheep are raised upon their buttocks, their backs next to the operator, who then bends forward and plucks off the locks of wool growing on or near the udders, for the purpose of giving free access to the expected lambs. At the same time he ascertains the condition of the ewes, and marks such as do not appear to be in lamb, which may then be separated from the others. This operation is not without danger, and several premature births are usually the consequence. It is therefore not so general a practice as it was formerly, though still a common one on many, if not on most farms.

7197. The separation of the hogs from the ewes, where these have been allowed to pasture promiscuously, should always take place at the commencement of the lambing season, and the lowest and finest part of the pasture be exclusively appropriated to the nursing ewes. On the Cheviot hills the hogs are generally pastured apart on the coarser herbage.

7198. The lambing season commences with the first or second week of April, according to the time at which the rains were admitted; and such as have twins, generally lamb among the first of the flock. At this season, the most constant attention is indispensable on the part of the shepherds, both to the ewes in labour and to the newly dropped lambs. Though the Cheviot ewes are not so liable to losses in parturition as some larger breeds which are in higher condition, and though they make good nurses, unless they are very lean, and their food scanty, yet, among a large flock, there are always a number that need assist ance in lambing, and in a late spring not a few who have not milk sufficient for their lambs, particularly among the gimmers or young ewes. A careful shepherd at this time always carries a bottle of milk along with him, which he drops from his own mouth into that of the lamb that may need it; brings the ewes that have little milk to a better pasture, or to turnips, and confines such as have forsaken their lambs in a small pen, or barrack as it is called, temporarily erected in some part of the farm-steading. The same confinement is necessary when it is wished to make a ewe that has lost her own lamb, nurse that of another ewe that has had twins, or that has perished in lambing, or is from any other cause incapable of rearing her lamb. The ewe, after being shut up a few hours with the strange lamb, usually admits it to the teat, and ever after treats it as her own; though sometimes a little deception is necessary, such as covering the stranger with the skin of her own lamb. At this important season, an enclosure of rich early grass, near the shepherd's cottage, is of vast advantage. Thither he carries the ewes and twins,

such as have little milk those that have been induced to adopt another's offspring; and; generally, all that need to be frequently inspected, and are in want of better treatment than the rest of the flock. (Supp. &c. 178) 999

7199. Castration is performed in the male lambs when a few days old, the ewe lambs are never payed: mild weather is chosen, and the operation performed in a fold on small quantities at a time.

7200. The late lambing ewes are separated from the ewes and lambs at the end of the lambing season, and kept by themselves, that they may be more under the eye of the shepherd, than if scattered over all the pasture. It is desirable to allow them fine grass for a few weeks after lambing, that their lambs may come to be nearly equal to the rest of the flock when weaned; or if they are too late for this, that they may get ready for the butcher by the month of August, beyond which period the ewes must be much injured by suckling them. (Supp. &c., art. Agr. 179.)

7201 Washing, in store farming, is performed when the wool has risen sufficiently, which is easily known by the appearance of a new growth. The barren sheop are first brought to the washing pool Sometimes they are hand-washed by men who stand in the pool, and have the sheep forced towards them singly; but more commonly, the Cheviot sheep, especially if the flock be numerous, are compelled to leap into the pool in a body for three or four times successively; and it is desirable that they should have room to swim a little, and come out on a green low bank on the opposite side. After being washed, the sheep are preserved as far as possible from rubbing against earthen dykes or banks, and from lying d from lying down on any dirty spot which might soil their wool. Supp. &c.)

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7202. Marking, as in general sheep-farming (7185.), takes place before the shorn sheep are turned out to pasture: they are marked, commonly with the owner's initials, by a stamp, or boost in provincial language, dipped in tar heated to a thin fluid state; and it is not unusual to place this mark on different parts of the body, according to the sheep's age.

7203 The weaning of lambs takes place when they are about three months old, sometimes sooner. When the ewes are gathered to be washed or shorn, the ewe lambs to be kept for supplying the place of the old ewes occasionally sold are stamped in the same way as the ewes. The store lambs are sent to some clean grassy pasture for a few weeks; and where the farm does not afford this accommodation, they must be summered, as it is called, at a distance, Several farms near Cheviot, and on the Lammermuir hills in Berwickshire, are appropriated to this purpose, the owner of the lambs paying so much a head for six or eight weeks. In the mean time the ewe hogs, or gimmers, as they are denominated after shearing, have joined the ewe stock, and the lambs, when brought home, go to the pasture which they had occupied. Wherever they may be kept in winter, it is always desirable to allow them a few turnips, along with a full bite of coarse herbage. after the separation of the lambs is still continued in a few places.

7204 The practice generally continued for six or eight weeks. The value of the milk

This very objectionable

of each ewe for this time may not exceed from one shilling to one shilling and sixpence a head, and the sheep are injured to at least three times that amount, independent of accidents at the milking fold. The cream is separated from the ewe milk, and made into butter for smearing, and the milk itself mixed with cow milk, and converted into cheese. The most skilful store-masters, however, have either laid aside milking, unless for a few days, or have shortened the period to two or three weeks. ***

7205. The selection of the crones or old ewes to be sold generally takes place in September or October, when they are sold to the feeder, and replaced by lambs of the current year. On the lower hills, ewes are generally disposed of after having lambed three seasons, or under four and a half years of age. In some to be kept

situations they are kept on till a year older; but when they are purchased, as they usually when still another year on lower grounds, it is commonly for the interest of the store-farmer to sell in their full vigour. Skilful managers do not content themselves with drafting them merely according to age; for as there is no disadvantage in keeping a few of the best another year, they take this opportunity of getting rid of such of the flock of other ages as are not of good shapes, or are otherwise objectionable. As soon as the ewes to be disposed of are drawn from the flock, they are kept by themselves on better pasture, if the circumstances of the farm will admit of it. Sometimes they are carried on till they are fattened, and turnips are often purchased for them at a distance. When this is the case, it is not thought advisable to keep them longer than till between Christmas and Candlemas, as an old ewe does not improve like a wether in the spring months. (Supp. &c.)

7206. The salving or smearing of sheep is an operation scarcely known in England, and not practised by the Welsh: some store-farmers in the milder districts of the northern countles consider it unnecessary, but in all very cold situations it is still employed. The object of this operation is to destroy vermin, to prevent cutaneous diseases, and to promote the warmth and comfort of the animal during the storms of the ensuing winter. It is not necessary with sheep kept on low grounds, and well fed during winter, and it may occasionally be omitted for one season, particularly with old sheep, without material injury; but notwithstanding the ridicule that speculative writers have 'attempted to throw upon the practice, it is almost universally considered necessary and beneficial on high exposed situations, by the store-farmers of the border bills. Smeared wool does not sell so high as white wool, but the greater weight of the former more than compensates for the difference in price. (General Report of Scotiana, vol. lib.) The season of salving or smearing is usually towards the end of October or beginning of November, before the rams are sent to the ewes. The most common materials are butter and tar, mixed in different proportions; a greater proportion of tar being employed for the hogs or young sheep than for the older ones. The proportions are also different on almost every farm, and more tar is thought to be necessary, according to their greater elevation and exposure. In Roxburghshire, some mix two gallons of tar with thirty-six pounds of butter, as a sufficient allowance for three score of sheep; but for the same number it is more common to allot only one stone (twenty-four pounds) of butter to two gallons of tar. (Roxburghshire Report, p. 155), A com mon proportion of late has been about fourteen pounds of butter to two Scotch pints of tar (nearly 31 quarts English wine measure), for ewes, and eleven pounds to the same quantity of tar for hogs. This mixture should smear from twenty to twenty-five of each, which is the number one man can do in a day. The expense, according to present prices, will be about nine-pence for each sheep: other articles, such as oil, palm-grease, tallow, &c., have been recommended in place of butter; but none of them are in general use, and the only addition that is approved of is a little butter-milk. The butter is slowly melted and poured upon the tar, and the mixture is constantly stirred till it becomes cool enough for use. The wool is accurately parted into rows from the head to the tail of the animal, and the salve is carefully spread upon the skin with the point of the finger at the bottom of each row. (Supp. En. Brit. art. Agr. 180. The practice of salving has undergone a change within these four years, and is not so general now as formerly, the low price of smeared wool having forced the store-masters to try other ingredients than tar. In the Farmer's Magazine, vol. xxv. are some notices of these experiments on smearing; which have not, however, been so long in use as to afford certain results. The object at present is as far as possible to dispense with tar, by which the wool is rendered unfit for certain sorts of manufacture.

7207. The care of sheep during storms is a business requiring constant attention. In storms of wind and rain, or what are called black storms by the shepherds, the sheep will, in a great measure, take care of themselves, by pasturing in situations naturally sheltered. All that is required is to remove any of the more delicate into a covered fold or sheep-house; though such conveniencies are seldom to be found on mountain farms. But in a storm of snow the natural shelter to which the sheep have recourse becomes the great receptacle of drift, and the harbinger of death to the flock. It is in such situations that Captain Napier purposes to place his stalls, or circular folds (fig. 893. O), into which the sheep should be driven, or will naturally enter on the commencement of the storm. The round form for these stalls or folds is decidedly preferable to any figure with straight lines, as these invariably harbour drift. Where no

artificial shelter is provided immense losses sometimes take place on mountain farms. The sheep are 21 16 lest ghould trombs at v buried many feet deep in the snow; and though the shepherd, 894 with such assistants as he can procure, armed with poles and spades, and aided by the sagacity of his dog, may dig out a few, yet the greater number perish. While the sheep remain in artificial shelters of any kind they must of course be fed and the only convenient food in such cases is hay, straw, or dried spray (the latter seldom resorted to in this country), which should be put into baskets, or racks. (fig. 894) The Ryeland breed of sheep in Herefordshire, and some of the flocks in the Highlands of Scotland, are put under cover nightly throughout the year: a practice which has probably originated in security, and been continued as matter of convenience and habit.

7208. Cotting or folding is a practice more or less extensively followed with particular breeds and in particular districts, but now generally on the decline.

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7209. It was formerly thought to be indispensably necessary to the success of the farmer in different dis tricts; but of late a different opinion has prevailed, except in particular cases, and it is considered as merely enriching one field at the expense of another. The practice may, however, be beneficial where there are downs, heaths, or commons. Folding has been chiefly confined to England, and a small part of Wales and Ireland. The object is to enrich the arable land; but as this is done at the expense of the pasture, it is truly, as Bakewell expressed it," robbing Peter to pay Paul."

7210. The sheep best adapted to the fold are those of the more active, short-woolled varieties, such as the Norfolk, Wiltshire, and South Down breeds; the heavy long-woolled kinds being less hardy, and some of them, as the Leicesters, much too valuable for a mode of treatment that converts them into dung carriers. The following calculation by Marshal will show, that though, in open lands, the practice may be in some cases tolerated on the ground of conveniency or expediency, it can possess no recommendation as a profitable mode of management in other circumstances.

7211. This morning (September 22, 1780), measured a sheep-fold, set out for six hundred sheep, consisting of ewes, wedders, and grown lambs. It measures eight by five and a half rods, which is somewhat more than seven rods to one hundred, or two yards to a sheep.

7212, August 29 1781 Last autumn made an accurate experiment, on a large scale, with different manures for wheat, on a sandy loam, summer fallowed. Part of an eighteen acre piece was manured with fifteen or sixteen loads of tolerably good farm-yard dung an acre; part with three chaldrons of lime an acre; the rest folded upon with sheep twice; the first time at the rate of six hundred sheep to a quarter of an acre (as in first minute), the second time thinner. In winter and spring, the dung kept the lead; and now, at harvest, it has produced the greatest burden of straw, The sheep-fold kept a steady pace from seed-time to harvest, and is now evidently the best corned, and the cleanest crop. The lime, in winter and spring, made a poor appearance, but after some showers in summer it flourished much, and is now a tolerable crop, not less, I apprehend, than three quarters of an acre.

7213. From these data the value of a sheep-fold, in this case, may be calculated. It appears from the first minute, that one hundred sheep manured seven square rods daily. But the second folding was thinner; suppose nine rods, this is, on a par of the two foldings, eight rods a day each folding. The dung could not be worth less than half a crown a load, and the carriage and spreading ten shillings an acre; together fifty shillings an acre; which quantity of land the hundred sheep teathed twice in forty days. Supposing them to be folded the year round, they would, at this rate, fold nine acres annually; which, at fifty shillings an acre, is twenty-two pounds ten shillings a hundred, or four shillings and sixpence a head. In some parts of the island, the same quantity of dung would be worth five pounds an acre, which would raise the value of the teathe to nine shillings a head, which, at two-pence a head a week, is more than the whole year's keep of the sheep. It does not follow, however, that all lands would have received equal benefit with the piece in consideration; which, perhaps, had not been folded upon for many years, per haps never before; and sheep folds, like other manures, may become less efficacious the longer it is used on a given piece of land. (Marshal's Rural Economy of Norfolk, vol. ii. p. 29.)

7214. To fold on land in tillage all the year is nearly impracticable; and where it could be done, the manure would be greatly diminished in value from rain and snow, to say nothing of the injury to the sheep themselves. So that the estimate of four shillings and sixpence, or nine shillings a head, is evi, dently in the extreme.

7215. According to Arthur Young (Farmer's Calendar), the same land will maintain one fourth more stock when the animals are allowed to depasture at liberty, than when confined during the night in folds. The injury to the stock themselves, though it is not easy to mention its precise amount with any degree of accuracy, cannot well be doubted, at least in the case of the larger and less active breeds, when it is considered that they are driven, twice a day, sometimes for a distance of two, or even three miles, and that their hours of feeding and rest are, in a great measure, controlled by the shepherd and his boy. When they are kept in numerous parcels, it is not only driving to and from the fold that affects them, but they are in fact driving about in a sort of march all day long, when the strongest have too great an advantage, and the flock divides into the head and tail of it, by which means one part of them must trample the food to be eaten by another. All this points the very reverse of their remaining perfectly quiet in small parcels.

7216. The result of Parkinson's experience is," that were the pasture sheep of Lincolnshire to be got into a fold once a week, and only caught one by one, and put out again immediately, it would prevent their becoming fat." (Parkinson on Live Stock, vol. i. p. 367.) The only sort of folding ever adopted to any extent by the best breeders is on turnips, clovers, tares, and other rich food, where the sheep feed at their ease, and manure the land at the same time.

7217. Folding in littered yards is described by Dickson (Complete Farmer, art. Sheep) as combining all the advantages of folding on arable lands without any of its disadvantages. By this practice the sheep are confined at night in a yard well and regularly littered with straw, stubble, or fern; by which means the flock is said to be kept warm and healthy in bad seasons, and at the same time a surprising quantity of manure accumulated, A great improvement on this method, it is said, would be, giving the sheep all their food (except their pasture) in such yard, viz. hay and turnips; for which purpose they may bo brought up not only at night, but also at noon, to be baited; but if their pasture be at a distance, they should then, instead of baiting at noon, come to the yard earlier in the evening, and go out later in the morning. This is a practice, he says that canuch to forward their growth: the sheep will also be kept in that cannot be foo much recommended, for so warm a lodging is a great matter to young lambs, and

good health; and, what is a point of consequence to all farms, the quantity of dung raised will be very great. If this method is pursued through the months of December, January, February, March, and April, with plenty of litter, one hundred sheep will make a dunghill of at least sixty loads of excellent stuff, which will amply manure two acres of land; whereas one hundred sheep folded (supposing the grass dry enough) will not, in that time, equally manure an acre. era of scavoi

7218. Our opinion of this sort of folding, so warmly recommended by Sir J. Sinclair and A. Young, in the husbandry of Scotland, coincides with that of a very superior judge, who says, “that such a method may be advantageous in particular cases, it would be rash to deny; but generally it is not advisable, either on account of the sheep, or any alleged advantage from the manure they make. As to the sheep, this driving and confinement, especially in summer, would be just as hurtful as folding them in the common way, and it has been found that their wool was much injured by the broken litter mixing with the fleece in a manner not to be easily separated; besides, now that it is the great object of every skilful breeder to accelerate the maturity of his sheep, as well as other live stock; among other means, by leaving them to feed at their ease, and if circumstances permit, in small parcels; such a practice as this can never be admissible in their management; and with regard to manure, there can be no difficulty in converting into it any quantity of straw, stubble, and fern, by cattle fed in fold-yards, on green herbage in summer, and turnips, or other succulent food, in winter; while the soil, especially if it be of a light porous quality, is greatly benefited both by the dung and treading of sheep, allowed to consume the remainder of both sorts of food on the ground. It is true, that the dung of sheep has been generally supposed to be more valuable than that of cattle, but accurate experiments have not been made to determine the difference in this respect, among these and other polygastric animals. The greater improvement of pastures by sheep is probably owing as much to their mode of feeding, as to the richer quality of their dung. (Sup. E. Brit. art. Agr.)

SECT. VI. Of Fatting Sheep and Lambs.

7219. The subject of fatting sheep may be considered in regard to the age at which fatting is commenced, the kind of food, and the manner of supplying it.

7220. The age at which sheep are fatted depends upon the breed, some breeds, such as the Leicester, maturing at an earlier age than others, under the same circumstances; and also in the abundance and quality of the food on which they are reared; a disposition to early obesity, as well as a gradual tendency towards that form which indicates a propensity to fatten, being materially promoted by rich food, while the young animals are yet in a growing state. On good land, the Leicester wethers are very generally brought to a profitable state of fatness before they are eighteen months old, and are seldom kept for fatting beyond the age of two years: the Highland breeds, on the other hand, though prepared, by means of turnips, a year at least sooner than they could be in former times, usually go to the shambles when from three to four years old. The ewes of the first description are commonly fatted after having brought lambs for three seasons, that is, after they have completed their fourth year, and those of the small breeds, at from five to seven years of age, according to circumstances. (Sup. E. Brit. art. Agr.)

7221. The kinds of food on which sheep are fatted are good pastures, permanent or temporary; herbage crops, as clovers, tares, &c. ; turnips and other roots; and linseed cake, grains, or other edible refuse of the oil manufactory, brewery, and distillery.

7222. The mode of feeding on rich pastures, herbage, and turnips has already been described when treating of these crops; and it remains only to notice the modes of using grains and oil cake. These, and also bran, oats, peas, and other grains and meals, whether given in winter or summer, should always be accompanied with pasture or dry food of some sort, especially hay. All food of this sort should be given in moveable troughs, divided in the middle, so that the sheep may feed on each side, with a sloping roof over them, so as to cover the sheep's heads and necks while feeding, as wet is not only prejudicial to the sheep but spoils the food. A rack for hay, fixed over the trough, might probably be made to answer in this intention, while it would be very convenient for holding that material and preventing waste. The whole should be fixed on wheels and made to stand steady, and a sufficient number for the quantity of sheep be always in readiness. In the fattening of wethers the use of barley meal, with grass or some other sort of green food, has likewise been found highly beneficial; and, when it can be procured at a reasonable rate, should not be neglected, as it is quick in rendering them fat, and the mutton is excellent. A pound of oil-cake or of meal per day, with hay or turnips, for each crone or wether, is reckoned a fair allowance in Lincolnshire. In the report of that county several instances of oil-cake feeding are given, by which it appears that that sort of food fattens in a shorter time than any other, is the most suitable food for fatten ing old sheep, and a rapid promoter of the growth of the wool.

7223. In fattening sheep as well as other animals, it should be made a rule never to allow them to lose flesh, from the earliest age till they are sent to the butcher. It is found of much advantage, with a view to speedy fattening as well as to the economy of food, to separate a flock into divisions, corresponding with its different ages, and the purpose of the owner as to the time of carrying them to market; and the change from the food of store to fatting stock, from that which is barely capable of supporting the condition which they have already attained to that which is adapted to their speedy improvement in fatting, ought to be gradual and progressive. Thus very lean sheep are never, in good management, put to full turnips in winter, nor to rich pastures in summer: they are prepared for turnips in good grass land; often on the after-grass of mown grounds and kept on second year's leys, and afterwards a moderate allowance of turnips if they are fatted on pastures. It is a common practice, in the instance of the Leicesters, to keep all that are not meant for breeding always in a state of fatness, and after full feeding on turnips through winter and spring, to finish them on the first year's clover early in summer, when the prices of meat are usually the highest,

7224. The fattening of lambs during summer requires nothing more than keeping their mothers and them on the richest and best pasturage, and supplying such artificial food as the situation, season, or other circumstances may require: but the fatting of lambs during winter and spring requires attention to three things; the breed, or if any breed be used indifferently, the period of dropping, the lamb-house, and the feeding.

7225. With respect to the breed, as the sheep will take the ram at any season, any variety may be so managed as to drop their lambs at any period of the year; but it is found by experience, that the Dorsetshire sheep is easiest made to yean, and therefore this is the sort generally employed in Middlesex for rearing what is called house-lamb for the metropolis. The selection of the rams for breeding the lambs to be house-fed is, according to Middleton, founded on the following circumstances:- The sucklers, salesmen, and butchers of London are aware that such lambs as have sharp barbs on the inside of their lips are certainly of a deep colour after being butchered, and that all those whose barbs are naturally blunt do as certainly produce fair meat. This knowledge has been the occasion of many lambs of the latter kind being kept for rams, and sent into Dorsetshire expressly for the purpose of improving the colour of the flesh of house-lambs: the issue of such rams can generally be warranted fair, and such meat always sells at a higher price; hence arose the mistaken notion that Middlesex rams were necessary to procure house-lambs.

7226. A lamb-house may be any close shed, cow-house, or other spare house, or, even on a small scale, a roomy pigsty. But they are built on purpose by the extensive dealers in this article; and one to suckle from one hundred and sixty to one hundred and eighty lambs at a time should be seventy feet long and eighteen feet broad, with three coops of different sizes at each end, so constructed as to divide the lambs