St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1871-02-17
Che .farnl and Gar;lsa.
FaftcntHg Sheep ia Uintcy.

As general thing, the price of NUT
ton does not reach the point ut which
it will pay TO fattcn sheep in winter, till
the winter is nearly over, Sheep that
have attained high condition on the
late fall pastures will retain their condi-
ton far into winter, if they have enough
of clover hay, pea straw, and ccmtorta-
bic shelter, and 50 long as most of our
butchers can buy animals even i'll tolera-
bic good condition, at 4 cheap rate, they
will not give any thing like a fair price
for those on which extra care and food
have been Iavishcl, in order to make
them fat.
We have had some experience in the
matter, and know sheep will tattcn rcadi
y at moderate expense, if the right
method is taken and proper animals Sc
lccted for iattcning. In England where
manure is of high value, it pays to fat
ten sheep to Il very high point, and over
Il long period of time, the object being
not so much TO make mutton, but rather
to make use of the meat rs :: cheap We
hiclc for Transforming turnips and straw
into Il valuable and concentrated manure,
i'll order to raise wheat.
Other things taken into consideration,
large sheep tatten more easily and prolita-
bly, than small sheep, and full grown ani-
mails than those that have not reached
maturity. Two year old wcthcrs are
the most profitable to latten, and it is a
matter of considerable surprise to Us
that 50 few of our farmers breed them.
Sheep will fatten readily in winter ON
good clover hay alone we do not mean
the dark looking, burnt up stuff common
ly called by that name, but what an En-
glish farmer would call ebay" cut when
in full bloom, and cured in such man
ncr as TO retain all its juices before they
are turned into woody fibre, and of a
good green color. A sheep Of, say,
120 lbs, live weight, will consume , l lbs.
of clover hay per week, and increase in
weight , lbs. Allowing that it would
ordinarily consume If lbs. TO keep it in
good stationary condition, an cNpcndi
ture Of : lbs. Of hay extra will produce
| ID lbs. mutton, worth in the spring
10 cents, so that the extra feeding is
literally realizing 10 tie farmer at the
rate OF nearly $50 per ton for his hay.
No other stock, we think, will give such
a return for tie trouble of tattening as
this. If it is desired to iattcn sheep
rapidly, the addition Of small quantity
OF oats to their other food will be OF
great service; 4 gallon of oats, once Il
day, among twenty sheep, will be 4
great help to iattening. Eattcnin9 sheep
do not require very warm quarters, i'll
fact they will not bear close confinement,
but their quarters must be dry, we'll ven
tilatcd, and abundant!y Uttered with
clean straw they must be fed regularly,
kept quiet, have access to water, and an
occasional taste ofsalt 1t will be found
that when the weather is very cold they
VIII require TO consume. somewhat more
i0od Than at other times, in order to
counteract the waste of substance used
IN generating heat for lheir bodies, 9TH
erwiSe they will lose, instead of gaining
on very cold, or stormy DAYS. Very
lew American farmers have yet discov-
cred how easy and profitable it is to fat
ten sheep for the spring and early sum
mer market; first because they do not
generally raise wethers. and secondly
they have not learnt how to make clover
hay properly. Wien We state the con-
sumption at p lbs. Of hay per week, We
suppose that meme Of it is allowed to be
wasted or trampled under foot by the
sheep. NJ. IN the Cmnh Farmer |