Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/421

Rh SHEEP. AGBICULTUKE 391 and a cake is thus produced which in its raw state is poisonous to cattle, it has been ascertained that boiling deprives such spurious cake of its hurtful qualities and renders it safe and wholesome. As rape-cake possesses fattening elements equal to those of linseed-cake, and can usually be bought at half the price, it is well worth while to have recourse to a process by which it can so easily be rendered a palatable and nourishing food for cattle. Fattening cattle are usually allowed to remain in the pastures to a later date in autumn than is profitable. The pressure of harvest work, or the immature state of his turnip crop, often induces the farmer to delay housing his bullocks until long after they have ceased to make progress on grass. They may still have a full bite on their pastures ; but the lengthening nights and lowering temperature lessen the nutritive quality of the herbage, and arrest the further accumulation of fat and flesh. The hair of the cattle begins also to grow rapidly as the nights get chilly, and causes them to be housed with rougher coats than are then ex pedient. To avoid these evils the farmer should early in August begin to spread on the pasture a daily feed of green forage, consisting of vetches, peas, and beans grown in mixture in about equal proportions, which if well podded and full of soft pulse, supplies exactly the kind of food required to compensate for the deteriorating pasturage. Early in September cabbages and white globe turnips should be given on the pasture in lieu of the green forage. After ten days or so of this treatment they should be transferred to their winter quarters. For the first two months after they go into winter quarters they make as good progress on yellow turnips as on any kind of roots ; for the three following months well stored swedes are the best food for them ; and from the beginning of March until the end of the season, mangolds and potatoes, in the proportion of four parts of the former to one of the latter. The chaff of wheat, oats, or beans, if tolerably free from dust, is quite as suitable as cut straw for mixing with the pulped roots and cooked food. The addition of a small quantity of chopped hay, or of the husks of kiln-dried oats, to the other food, usually induces cattle to feed more eagerly. In short, the animals must be closely watched, and occasional variations made in the quantity and quality of the food given to particular individuals or of the general lot as their circumstances may require. Besides the food given in the manger it is desirable that each animal should receive a daily allowance of fresh oat straw in a rack to which he has access at pleasure. A better appreciation of the effects of temperature on the animal economy has of late years exerted a beneficial influ ence upon the treatment of fattening cattle. Observant farmers have long been aware that their cattle, when kept dry and moderately warm, eat less and thrive faster than under opposite conditions. They accounted for this in a vague way by attributing it to their greater comfort in such circumstances. Scientific men have now, however, showed us that a considerable portion of the food consumed by warm-blooded animals is expended in maintaining the natural heat of their bodies, and that the portion of food thus disposed of is dissipated by a process so closely an alogous to combustion that it may fitly be regarded as so much fuel. The fat which, in favourable circumstances, is accumulated in their bodies, may in like manner be regarded as a store of this fuel laid up for future emer gencies. The knowledge of this fact enables us to under stand how largely the profit to be derived from the fattening of cattle is dependent upon the manner in which they are housed, and necessarily forms an important element in determining the question whether yards, stalls, or boxes are best adapted for this purpose. A really good system of housing must combine the following conditions : 1st, Facilities fur supplying food and litter, and for re moving dung with the utmost economy of time and labour; 2d, Complete freedom from disturbance ; 3d, A moderate and unvarying degree of warmth. ; 4th, A constant supply of pure air ; 5th, Opportunity for the cattle having a slight degree of exercise ; and 6th, The production of manure of the best quality. We have no hesitation in expressing our opinion that the whole of these conditions are attained most fully by means of well-arranged and well-ventilated boxes. Stalls are to be preferred where the saving of litter is an object, and yards for the rearing of young cattle, which require more exercise than is suitable for fattening stock. These yards are now, however, in the most improved modern homesteads, wholly roofed over, and thus combine the good qualities of both yard and box. CHAPTER XVII. LIVE STOCK SHEEP. When Fitzherbert so long ago said, &quot; Sheep is the most profitablest cattle that a man can have,&quot; he expressed an opinion in which agriculturists of the present day fully conciir. But if this was true of the flocks of his time, how much more of the many admirable breeds which now cover the rich pastures, the grassy downs, and the heath- clad mountains of our country. Their flesh is in high estimation with all classes of the community, and con stitutes at least one-half of all the butcher meat consumed by them. Their fleeces supply the raw material for one of our most flourishing manufactures. They furnish to the farmer an important source of revenue, and the readiest means of maintaining the fertility of his fields. Section 1. Breeds. The distinct breeds and sub-varieties of sheep found in Great Britain are very numerous. We have no intention of describing them in detail, but shall confine our observa tions to those breeds which by common consent are the most valuable for their respective appropriate habitats. They may be fitly classed under three heads viz., the heavy breeds of the plains, those adapted for downs and similar localities, and the mountain breeds. st. Heavy Breeds. Of the first class, the improved Leicesters are still the most important to the coiintry. They are more widely diffused in the kingdom than any of their congeners. Although, from the altered taste of the community, their mutton is less esteemed than formerly, they still constitute the staple breed of the midland counties of England. Leicester rams are also more in demand than ever for crossing with other breeds. It is now about a century since this breed was produced by the genius and persever- ence of Bakewell, in whose hands they attained a degree of excellence that has probably not yet been exceeded bj the many who have cultivated them since his day. The characteristics of this breed are extreme docility, extra ordinary aptitude to fatten, and the early age at which they come to maturity. The most marked feature in theii structure is the smallness of their heads, and of their bones generally, as contrasted with their weight of carcase. They are clean in the jaws, with a full eye, thin ears, and placid countenance. Their backs are straight, broad, and flat, the ribs arched, the belly carried very light, so that they present nearly as straight a line below as above; the chest is wide, the skin very mellow, and covered with a beautiful fleece of long, soft wool, which weighs on the average from 6 to 7 ft. On good soils and under careful treatment