The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1904-02-23

a better use for his lambs he could surely sell
them at a nice profit for mutton; that is about
So per hundred pounds now in New York. Ii
he had fed his lambs from the first with a pur-
pose of selling them for mutton they would aver
age over 100 pounds gross now, but he had bet
ter keep and shear a So or $3.50 fleece off them
annually than to sell them for mutton, and it can
clearly be seen that fine wool and not mutton IS
the solid basis of this Merino sheep business, and
yet also that these lambs, though not specially
fitted, are in part ready for the mutton market
any day.
| am referring the reader to a practical illus
tration and not to theory alone. This is done
right here in the South. and even yet we are some
times sagely told that Merino sheep will not do
well here in the South in this warm latitude.
To follow up this object-lesson further, l will
say that the mothers with these lambs came into
summer under good keeping conditions, and with
the lambs were grazed on fairly good common wild
grass pasture, including Japan clover Qespedesa
Scriata) until August, when the lambs were
weaned and allowed pea stubble and wheat stub
BILE that had been sown to clover and grass where
they had at will, shelter, water and salt, in the
sulphur, rosin, ashes and copperas (%sulphate of
from in it. They had bran, mill-feed and corn
meal mixed, a light feed morning and evening un-
til about November 1st, since when they have run
at will on pasture, being housed at night, had pea
vine hay and fodder corn (planted late for the
purpose) as much as they would eat up clean, with
a ration of nearly a pint per day of bran, mill feed
%AO SA~AOO oOAA1 Nd~NA IOA"> "OAS
keep the salt mixture, above noted, before them
and all the flock in the sheep barn constantly.
For one year we have found this salt mixture
a preventive, or antidote, for stomach and other
internal worms. 1t is now January 23rd, and
always considered that if our sheep were on full
feed and in fine fix the first of January they were
more than half wintered. These lambs, if kept
under same conditions and treatment until April,
will surely shear a fine heavy fleece and could
easily be put in extra mutton shape.
All sheep, especially lambs, should never be al
lowed to get down in condition, that is, even lean
in fesh-and much less, poor; but kept up rather
feshy or even fat. In this condition they will
bring in to the owner the largest net profits in
wool and lambs and manure, and will at any time
be ready to feed off quickly and most ~protitably to
market as mutton. When kept in this way and
condition they generally ward off continuously
most all dangerous diseases.
Supposln@ It had been the purpose to feed Mr..
Aderholdt's lambs off to mutton this winter or
spring, | would have suggested only more care to
give them all the pea vine hay and fodder corn,
both carefully cured, that they would eat, and
about one quart of the corn, mill feed, and bran
mixture per day, given morning and evening.
| am now thinking that the best grain feed to
fatten our lambs or old sheep in the South, is a
grain food of corn two parts, peas two parts, oats
one part, cotton-seed meal one part, wheat bran
one part-wOuld prefer the three first coarsely
ground and all mixed, feeding one quart per day,
at two feeds, to lambs and sheep weighing near
100 pounds each. Or they may be fed more or
less that quantity, if the shepherd will watch care
fully that they all join in eating it up clean and
rather greedily at every feed.
Nicely cured clover hay will substitute either
the pea vine hay or fodder corn or both for
"roughness." The lambs or fattening sheep should
have a field or woods lot, not too large, to run out
over and exercise on every good day, but never
allowing them to get soaking wet with snow or
rain, either cold or warm.
Seventy-fve pound Merino lambs when on full
feed such as this should gain from six ounces to
one pound per day average until they reach 100 to
1875 pounds gross per head. Such lambs reaching
that weight should be of quality and blood that
their fleece will easily weigh 10 to - pounds.