The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1914-03-06

stalks, and the cowpeas which were
left by the hogs. (Mr. Terrill always
plants cowpeas or the soy beans with
his corn.) While they were cleaning
up the cornfields they had access to a
poor bluegrass pasture. Only once or
twice during two months of the past
fall was it necessary to put them up
in the barn during the day on account
Of storms, and at those times the
lambs were given plenty of nice. clean
clover hay and little bit Of chopped
corn. The past fall was an excellent
one for handling the lambs, furnish
ing good pasture and mild weather up
until Christmas.
During the first week Of December
the lambs were started in on clover
hay, getting about 200 pounds, which
Mr.. Terrill fed to them in his pasture
feeding the hay on the bare and thin
spots, since he was feeding second-cut
ting clover hay which would seed
these spots TO clover for the coming
season. While the lambs were eating
the hay, the droppings accumulated
and it is remarkable what difference
this manure makes on thin piece
of land. Mr.. Terrill can show its prac-
teal value. The second week in De-
cember he started the lambs on about
half a gallon of cracked corn to get
them accustomed to the corn so they
would eat it readily and have an APP
petite for it, thus preparing for the
winter and getting them on the feed
while they were still on grass. Old
corn was used, aad the ration will be
increased as fast MS ihe lambs will eat
it. Some of them did not take hold of
it very readily. Had it not been such
an exceptionally open fall and winter
with good grazing, the feeding would
have started much earlier, but as the
weather was open, much feed was
saved, gains were made cheaply dur
ing that time and the profits in the
spring should be better.
The intention Of Mr.. Terrill is to
hold the lambs down as long as he
can for the February market, not to
get them too heavy too fast, and yet
not hold them still. He wants them to
weigh around seventy TO eighty
pounds on the market. He is undecid-
ed whether he will clip the lambs or
not, this depending upon the amount
Of work he has in the spring and on
the season. II the weather is mild the
lambs will be clipped.
From now on until time for the
marketing the lambs will get all the
old shelled corn they will clean up
nicely, with variety Of soy bean,
clover and cowpea hay. Mr.. Terrill fig
ures from past experience that they
will gain from three-tenths to four
tenths of pound a day when on full
feed. OF course his main object is for
,rofit, but in addition he expects to get
the thin spots in his pastures reseeded
to clover and sheep manure scattered
over his farm. 1t is his plan to han
die deck of the "pee-wees" every
year that he has the roughness and
extra feed, as they not only utilize
feed that would otherwise be wasted
but work in at q time Of year when
other farm business is slack.
Besides these excellent reasons
there is that of profits. In the past
three years the lambs wintered on the
Terrill farm have returned a profit
on the original investment of from 80
to 40 per cent after the feed which
they have consumed has been valued
at market prices and the cost deduct
ed. One year. when feed was cheap
and the spring markets were good, ne
even cleared profit Of so cent on his
Investment, but most men would be
satisfied with the lower figures. The
increase in number of men who are
feeding western or "pee-wee" lambs
this manner best indicates the advisa-
bility of such n method.