Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-05-03
A Welsh Ram
Lambs Did Not Balance Ration.


Lambs Did Not Balance Ration.
At the Michigan station a test was
made during the winter of 1894 and
1885 which showed that ten lambs, be-
ing left to choose for themselves corn,
wheht, oats or bran, consumed in thir-
teensweeks $50 pounds of corn, 1S9
pounds of wheat, PAT pounds of oats,
467 pounds of bran and during the time
ate ga pounds of clover hay. This in
dicakes, says Professor II. w. Mum
fords that when ~fattening lambs are
left ito choose for themselves between
corn and the other grains mentioned
they will invariably a much
larger amount of corn han of any
othef grain. By figuring put the nutri-
tive ratio of the different feeds con
sumRd in the experiment referred to
above we find that the nutritive ration
w~asi1:6.6, which is not very different
from the standard nutritive ratio for
f~attening lambs. which varies all the
way from 1:4.5 to 1854. We are not
warranted in drawing the conclusion
from this that domestic animals when
left to choose for themselves will nee
essarily consume feeds which would
make up an ideal balanced ration. even
were we quite certain that the palata-
bilitg of the different feeds furnished
the kheep is equal. -
Washing Sheep.
Afcorrespondent of National Stock
man desires to know whether it pays
to wash sheep before shearing. That
depends entirely on the way sheep are
kept. the locality and. above all. the
established method of handling wool in
thatilocality. Washing sheep does not
pay where they are housed and fed,
having a large quantity of oil in the
fieede, and where buyers will pay for
wool, according to it's condition and
shrinkage. But where sheep run out
doors most or all of the winter and
where buyers insist on a discount OF
onethird on unwashed fleeces it is nee
essary to wash before shearing be-
cause as usually washed there will not
be al .shrinkage of over 10 per cent in
the fleece. Washing is injurious to the
sheep, especially to the eve sucking
and to her lamb. and II should no
longer be necessary anywhere.
"a Not Enough Sheep.
II is said that there are 42,000,0 600
sheep in the United States, or one to
each forty-fve acres, not lpclu6ing
Alaska. In Great Britain. they have
one to each three acres, in France one
for each nine acres and in Germany
one to each eleven acres. II, we had
sheep in proportion to Great Britain
or fifteen times as many as we now
have, there would be no necessity OF
importing wool. and we should have
mutton to export as we'll as beef. And
vet We think there are but lew farms
that could not easily carry from foui
to six sheep for every head OF COW
they have and that would largely in
crease the number, and not only h a
but the sheep would so much improve
the productiveness of the land as tC
soon double the amount of animals Il
would. support now.-American Culti
vator.
Big Deal in Sheep.
J.. r. Hamilton, the world famous
mutton buyer, recently closed a dea
with William Childress for 5000 NUT
tons, i, 500 dry ewes, 1000 bred ewes
and / 800 yearlings at s2.25 per mead
These sheep belong to the Howard
Well ranch. T. T. Thomson bought
flock of sheep from Mr.. Thomas: o.
Bosque county for 81 per head, TIT
sheep are now ranging in Deer canyon
on the Pecos.