THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANIMAL PRODUCTION
183
bag is left attached to the animal while exercising and naturally a horse will not micturat~while moving around.
The harness was first used in January, 1929, oh 2 two-yearold Percheron stallions weighing about 1,200 pounds each. It
has been used a second time on the same animals in January,
1930, when the stallions were three years of age and weighed
approximately 1,400 pounds.
UPGRADING NATIVE EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA
EWES
J. E. FOSTER
North Carolina Experiment Station
Eastern North Carolina with its mild winters, long growing season and variety of pasture grasses and legumes bids
fair to become an important sheep producing section. This,
together with the visitations of the boll weevil and the clamor
for diversified farming, is causing many of the alert farmers
to turn toward sheep production on a f a r m flock basis.
Most of the farms in this section have some waste !and, pasture, and cover crops that can be profitably utilized by sheep.
At times, by allowing the flock the run of the general farm,
they can be made to fit in admirably with the general scheme
of farming. In this way they not only glean much from the
fields that would otherwise be wasted but destroy many injurious weeds as well. In this section the flocks can be grazed
practically the entire year by turning them on the cover crops
in the fall after the permanent pastures have ceased to furnish sufficient grazing. Eastern Carolina is fortunate in
being relatively close to good lamb markets, such as Philadelphia, Baltimore and Richmond. The larger towns also furnish a market for the local supply.
There exists throughout this and adjoining sections a very
inferior type of sheep, commonly spoken of as "rtatives."
They are unusually small with narrow, poorly-shaped bodies,
and long legs. Their legs, bellies, and faces are bare of wool,
and the wool over the rest of their bodies is short and coarse
and contains more or less hair. Their only redeeming feature seems to be their hardiness. It was with this type of
sheep that the experiment station started its work, realizing
the great need for improvement of the sheep in this section.
184
T H E A M E R I C A N S O C I E T Y OF A N I M A L P R O D U C T I O N
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THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANIMAL PRODUCTION 185
The Experiment
A purebred Shropshire ram was bred to a representative
group of native ewes in the falls of 1927, 1928, and 1929. Individual weights, measurements, and pictures were made at
various intervals throughout the test. The wether lambs
were slaughtered when around 80 pounds in w e i g h t and the
ewe lambs were retained in the flock.
For the three seasons the average weight of the old ewes
at lambing was 76 pounds and the average birth weight of
their lambs was 8.9 pounds.
Considering the first-cross two-year-old ewes as practically
mature at shearing time the improvements over the old ewes
were as follows:
1. An average increase in weight of ~7 pounds or 50 per
cent.
2. An average increase in weight of fleece of 3.96 pounds
or 138 per cent.
3. An average increase in length of staple of 1.13 inches
or 49 per cent.
The improvement in conformation and in quality of fleece
was also very noticeable.
U R I N A R Y CALCULI IN S H E E P
A PROGRESS R E P O R T
B. E. PONTIUS, R. H. CARR and L. P. DOYLE
Purdue University
Frequent references to "gravel" and "stones" in early English livestock literature indicate that they have long been
known and recognized by experienced sheep men. The cause
o f their formation has been commonly attributed to one or
more of the following: (1) roots, particularly mangels, (2)
hard water, (3) high condition, (4) lack of exercise, and (5)
chilling in the early spring after shearing. Calculi have been
produced experimentally in rats, rabbits and guinea pigs. This
has been accomplished by introducing Proteus ammoniac into
the bladder, or by feeding a ration deficient in vitamin A and
in protein of animal origin, or by feeding a ration deficient in
vitamins A and C or by feeding oxamide.