REPORT ON FEEDING SHEEP IN THE OPEN FIELD AND IN COVERED PENS OR BOXES.

By Mr. JAMES B. BIRD, Renton Barns, Grant's House.

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IN submitting this report, the reporter thinks it preferable to give, first, a minute detail of how the experiment was conducted; next, a statement of the result; and lastly, a few remarks expressive of his own opinion regarding it.

The twenty sheep with which the experiment was made were selected from a flock of hoggs mostly three parts bred, viz.: once from the Cheviot, and twice from the Leicester. They were divided into four lots of five each, and, after being carefully weighed, were put on to and continued eating white-globe turnips all the time allowed for making the trial, viz. : from the 14th November, 1856, till the 14th March, 1857.

Two of the lots were folded in the usual way on the field in which the turnips were growing, each lot in an enclosure of about 15 square yards, and receiving a small fresh break when necessary.

One of the lots was allowed 2 lb. crushed linseed cake per day-that is, half a pound for each sheep-as an auxiliary along with the turnips.

The other lot was allowed turnips alone. On and after the 26th January, both lots had the turnips pulled, rooted, shawed, and cut for them by Gardiner's cutter.

The other two lots were put into houses thatched with straw, and water-tight. Each house was 21 feet long by 8 feet in breadth and 5 feet in height. The walls were of stone and lime, excepting the front, which was open, the sheep being kept in by hurdles, thus allowing them plenty of light and air without undue exposure or draught. Altogether they were remarkably well sheltered, for although the open front faced the east, a range of houses 50 yards distant intervened with good effect against the cold east wind, and a wall 6 feet high sheltered them from the north.

It was found necessary to give them a fresh littering of straw every morning; and the turnips consumed by them were brought from a portion of the same field, and closely adjoining to where the other two lots were folded; and in quality and bulk as a crop were, as near as could be judged, equal.

In good, fresh weather, not more than what were found to be necessary for about a week's consumption were rooted and carted home at a time, so that the sheep might have them quite fresh, and as near as possible in the same condition as the two field lots-having this considerable advantage,

however, that the turnips they received were always clean, whereas in wet weather those in the field had them very dirty, making a considerable quantity sometimes, by their trampling, unfit for food altogether, and wasted on that account.

The two house-lots eat their turnips out of boxes, and had them given to them whole, shaws and all, till the 26th January, when they, as well as the field-lots, had them cut to them with Gardiner's cutter. One of the lots was also allowed 2 lb. crushed linseed-cake along with their turnips daily. From their being deprived of the necessary friction of the ground, which seems naturally requisite to keep their feet hard and healthy, and the encouragement given them by their standing constantly amongst the soft, warm straw, to become soft and long in the digitals, it was found necessary to pare them once during the four months to prevent foot-rot

It will at once be seen by this table that the experiment tells very much in favor of feeding sheep in the ordinary way on turnips in the field, in preference to feeding them under cover, from the field-fed lots there being left a considerable profit, especially from the five sheep that received lin seed-cake along with their turnips; whereas on the house-fed lots there is shown a dead loss of 11s. 11d. on the five that received linseed-cake

along with their turnips, and 18s. 8d. on the five which received turnips alone.

The expenses for labor and attendance may appear comparatively great on the two lots fed under cover, but as the turnips consumed by them were all carted home from a considerable distance, accounts for the dif ference.

The expenses, indeed, for attendance on all the lots are rather beneath what they really were, it taking as much time to travel between small separate lots as whole flocks. But the writer, taking that into consideration, has calculated the expenses marked in the table against each lot for attendance such as looking after, shifting nets, hurdles, &c.; picking and cutting turnips to those in the field; littering, hand-feeding, and cutting turnips to those in the house-more as to how many one man could really manage to feed and look after, than as to what time was really spent in feeding and attending to twenty.

He considers that one man at 2s. per day, if he does his duty, is fully qualified to attend on, carry litter, and cut turnips to ten scores of hoggs feeding under cover, provided the houses are conveniently situated.

Feeding in the field, one man may manage to look after, shift nets, and pick turnips to twenty scores, or cut and carry to twelve scores of hoggs. The wool also of the house-fed lots seemed very inferior in quality; and were they now shorn and the fleeces weighed, the writer feels assured that he would have to report here a deficiency also in weight from the fleeces of the two lots fed in the field, which in quality and quantity seemed quite superior.*

Some deduction ought also to be made from the two house-fed lots, for a probable deficiency in the ensuing crop of grain sown on the land whence the turnips used by them were removed. No doubt the manure made by them under cover, if impartially spread over and ploughed into the ground, would materially aid in counteracting the impoverishing effect of leading all the turnips off; but it must be taken into account that a considerable expense attends the carting of dung to any considerable distance, as also a little in getting it well spread; and on light, or even on moderately light soil, it can never have the same good effect as when the turnips are consumed by the sheep being folded on them in the field. For, independent of the manure left by them, the soil, by the treading of their feet, is left in a consolidated state, which, when ploughed, well harrowed, and rolled, not only proves itself much more capable of producing an abun

*Weight of Wool shorn off the different Lots about the end of May, 1857:

:

dant crop of grain, but, to appearance, is altogether left in a much higher state of cultivation.

But as many varieties of soil make many different opinions, the writer thinks it preferable to leave practical agriculturalists to determine for themselves what should be deducted for a probable deficiency in the ensuing crop. He, in endeavoring to report impartially, has thought it necessary merely to call attention to this, as being, in his opinion, one great objection to the feeding of sheep under cover, even although it could otherwise be done profitably, omitting to put anything down for it in the table as a deduction, as he could only have done so at random, and might be thought incorrect in his estimate, placing nothing there but what he has practically proved by experiment; and from it there seems little ground or encouragement to hope for success in feeding sheep in this way with profit, there being no reasonable approximation of profits whatever in the two ways of feeding.

Had the sheep had open enclosures to walk about in, as well as houses in which to retire and feed at pleasure, very probably they would have thriven a great deal better-for although they did not seem to mind the confinement at all when they were first put under cover in November, eating as regularly and plentifully as those in the field, yet when the days began to get long and fine towards the end of February, they seemed very anxious to get out, and eat a considerably smaller quantity of turnips, although they then had them cut to them with Gardiner's cutter. During the two weeks in March, before being weighed, they consumed about onethird less of turnips than the two field-lots, the long confinement seeming gradually to lessen their appetite. But even supposing that, by the addition of open enclosures to covered boxes, sheep in that way could be fed with a profit-say even a greater profit than from those folded in the field -independent of the objection already taken notice of, of impoverishing the ground by the removal of all the turnips, there are several other drawbacks which must leave it very doubtful whether the feeding of sheep in houses can ever really usefully and profitably be carried into general practice. 1st, There would require to be a considerable outlay of capital to erect the necessary houses and enclosures, the cost of which at the very first, in most of cases, would devolve on the tenant, or where it did not do so, at least an addition to his annual rent would be requisite as payment of the interest of the sum sunk by the landlord on buildings which might ultimately turn out to be of no real benefit to either of them. 2d, It would require a considerable addition of hands to pull, root, and fill all the turnips into the carts-more than would be at all requisite for the other labor of the farm, so that when the weather was fine there might be

no lack of strength to get in a supply; there being in some winters weeks together when it is quite impassable from frost, snow, or rain, to pull and cart turnips in the way that work ought to be done. Now, one question would be, Where could these additional hands be obtained? for many of the farmers in Berwickshire, at least, can scarcely at present find the number absolutely requisite to pull and root turnips for their cattle, besides the other ordinary work, such as thrashing, winnonwing, &c. For some months in winter, more horses would also be required to cart the turnips home to the sheep, and at the same time keep forward the other departments of the horse labor. 3d, It would often be a very difficult matter getting so many turnips led off without souring the soil, although there are some fine winters in which it would be an easy task to do so. Yet, taking them in general, a good deal of rain or snow falls for some months at that time, making the fields often quite unfit for being much carted upon, without a great amount of injury being done to them.

Weighing, then, all these objections to feeding sheep under cover, fairly and impartially coupled with the result of the practical experiment already detailed, the writer cannot avoid thinking that the ordinary method pur sued feeding them folded on breaks, and getting the turnips cut to them in the field, is much to be preferred.-Jour. of Agriculture of Scotland.

EXPERIMENTS ON FEEDING TWO KINDS OF LEICESTERS. By JOHN M'LAREN, Rossie Priory, Inchture.

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At the discussion in Edinburgh as to the advisability of having two classes of the Leicester sheep at shows of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, a question was raised as to which of the kinds of Leicesters, the White or Border, or the Blue or English, was the most profitable. In other words, was it ever ascertained by actual experiment whether, as stated, more sheep of small-boned and finer kind could be kept on the same amount of food than could be of the larger kind; and whether the small, although when sold not worth so much as the large, the proportion as to profit might be more evenly balanced, as per acre of land, than the selling prices of each seemed at first to warrant? Lord Kinnaird then proposed to undertake a set of experiments to try this The following report is the result of this trial:

After due consideration as to the best means of carrying out this experi ment fully and fairly, and on a good foundation, his lordship put himself