“We have been pasturing sheep in large numbers on alfalfa for the past eight years. We have lost from bloat as many as 26 in one day from a flock of 1600, but we seldom lose one now. We find they are much more apt to bloat on windy days; more especially if the wind blows from the south and is soft and balmy. This may seem strange, but we believe it a fact. We have in our employ a shepherd who has during the greater part of his life herded sheep on alfalfa in the vicinity of Pau and d’Oloron, France. The day we lost 26 ewes from bloat this man was several miles from the home ranch. When visited by the camptender he remarked: ‘This will be a bad day for the old ewes on the alfalfa.’ Why so? ‘Because the wind is soft and warm,’ said he. That afternoon we found 26 dead. “Our French shepherd has a simple and never failing remedy for bloat from alfalfa or clover. It is simply a half-pint of sweet milk administered to the animal when found bloated. I saved a fine ram lamb the other day. He was fearfully bloated, unable to walk and scarcely able to breathe. I found an old can in the road, hastened to the pasture, milked a half pint of milk from a cow, set the lamb on his rump and poured the milk down his throat. In a half hour he was all right and following the flock. Milk from a ewe will answer just as well. We have adopted the following rules: Never allow the sheep to go on alfalfa pasture when very hungry; if possible get a little dry feed in their stomachs in the morning before going to the alfalfa; watch them closely on windy days, and have the herders carry a bottle of sweet milk.” A POSSIBLE EXPLANATION The most of the losses reported were of animals which had been taken off the pasture at night and turned back the second morning when hungry and eager to graze. Yet there are reports of severe losses the first day, even after a full feed. Possibly it will be found that the animals that suffer from bloat are not in good physical condition, and are more nervous and greedy in their habit of eating than those not affected. It may be that an intelligent sorting of the animals to be turned on the pasture might save loss. It is also quite generally believed that alfalfa growing on uplands is less liable to cause bloat than that raised on bottom lands. RULES FOR PASTURING The most generally approved rules in regard to pasturing are: At the beginning of the pasturing season give animals a heavy feeding in the morning before turning upon the alfalfa. Have water in the pasture all the time. Keep the animals in the pasture night and day, after they have become accustomed to it, until removed permanently. Use upland in preference to bottom fields for pasture. Watch the stock closely the first few days and remove permanently animals that show symptoms of bloat. Sow blue-grass, brome grass, or meadow fescue with alfalfa in fields intended for permanent pasture.