The Portland daily press., 1892-07-09
HINTS FOR STEEP BREEDERS.
Food and Treatment That VIII Bring In
- tho Heaviest Retur.2s. .----.


Old, experienced fockmasters are usu-
ally guided by certain golden naxims,
one being that variety in the feeding of
sheep is indispensably necessary. IIany
of our most successful sheep raisers are
those who adopt the largest series Of
fodder crops, not because seasons cause
one kind to answer when another fails,
but owing to sheep having their likes
Snd dislikes no less than human beings.
Instead Of depending wholly on hay,
turnip or silage, as some do, the saga
cious and experienced ffockmasters add
to that cabbage, kohl-rabi, thousand
headed kale, rape, vetches or whatever
is suited to the climate and location.
There are many sheep growing districts
in America where one and all of these
fodder plants can be grown to the
greatest advantage, but farmers are
slow in leaving the old ruts. Rape can
be cultivated almost anywhere, and I
wonder fockmasters can resist the
temptation OF giving it a trial.
Hurry up, shepherds, and keep pace
with the times, and provide for those
charming Downs that you are importing
and lavishing SO much money ON. Your
stubbles will soon be bare, SO in with
the plows and on with the rape seed,
and you will, reap a golden harvest
through your sheep that you never
dreamed of. The sheep and hogs kept
per acre on rape in Oregon, seem some
times to me incredible. What wool the
sheep produced, and what lambs were
to be found in that forest Of foliage!
Close folding is now very commonly
p.ncticed among the leading fockmas-
tiers m Britain. The advantages Of close
folding when judiciously practiced are
very great. 1t is most commonly prac-
ticed In those districts where Down
sheep are kept, and where the arabic
land is adapted to the growth of fodder
or catch crops. mean by catch crops,
rape seed, mustard, winter vetches,
winter barley, rye, etc. Grow these in
stead Of following or allowing the
ground to lie idle. Immediately after
the crop Is removed plow your land and
SOW one or all of these seeds and you
will not only have abundant feed for all
varieties of stock as well as for sheep,
but you will at the same time be greatly
enriching your land. The system is ex-
tensiveiy followed out in England; why
not in America?
Change Of feed is one of the great
secrets of successful sheep farming.
When in Britain last fall observed that
among the celebrated breeders sheep
were being constantly, almost daily, re-
moved from pasture to pasture, always
getting fresh keep and never allowed to
remain in one inclosure till they had to
be removed, which is the worst of all
management. Others, again, were al
lowed only as much space on grass or
rape, etc., as they could eat off clean,
being given freeh patch daily, simply
by advancing the hurdles or wire net
ting. In this manner the land behind
them is MANFRED and nothing wasted.
Wherever this pursuit is carried out at
least one change is made in the sheep
pasturage every day by taking them
from their ordinary pastures to rape or
vetches, then again returning them to
the permanent pasture for the night.
We all know that careful shepherd.
ing, plenty of change, liberal allowance
of concentrated foods and good breed
to work upon are the chief points re-
CURED in order to secure success. am
a great advocate for feeding young
sheep on concentrated foods. When
oilcakes with a good percentage of oil
are used in conjunction with some kind
of meal there is room both for profit in
the animals feed and also the improve
ment of the land upon which the cake
and corn is consumed. So important is
this subject of improvement of land by
means Of sheep feeding that it occupies
a very prominent place in sheep man
agernent.
You must feed your sheep from the
day the lambs cam crunch cake and corn,
and never forget sit is what goes in at
the mouth that makes them" The old
theory that prime mutton can only be
had from 8 and 4-year-old wethers has
been exploded. Indeed 2-year-old weth-
ers are now becoming rare. Nothing is
more certain than that the age at which
sheep can be fattened is being constantly
lessened. 1t is thoroughly ascertained
that a sheep from its birth till 1 year
old makes as much flesh as one double
that age, provided the sheep be fed
carefully, plentifully and methodically.
and that there shall be 10 short COM
mons in their rations.
Remember the eve as well as the
lamb requires to have abundant feed
and fresh pasture all through the nurs-
ing season. The maternal strains are
very heavy, especially where the eve is
nursing doubles. The drain of healthy
and rapidly growing lamb upon the eve
is SO great that in many cases it entirely
checks the growth of the wool.-Wil-
liam Watson in Breeders Gazette.
Buckwheat.
Buckwheat is crop that more atten.
ton might pro6tably be given to. In
many regions where it was once cult
L.. l.