SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 37 



sheep, and commends their employment in connection with 

 the culture of cotton. He says : 



" In the middle part of the State of Georgia, the Bermuda grass 

 prevails ; and, under the cotton system of culture, it was the dread 

 and bane of the planter : but now, for its nutritious qualities and com- 

 pactness of sod, it is considered by our people as valuable and reliable 

 as any grass, not excepting the Kentucky blue grass. It will offer 

 sheep the very best of pasturage for six months of the year, in this 

 section of the State ; and, if managed as on the pastures of Kentucky, 

 for the entire year. In Putnam, Hancock, Wilkes, and adjoining coun- 

 ties (formerly the el dorado cotton country of Georgia), where the 

 Bermuda has taken possession, there is a future for successful sheep 

 husbandry : providing, of course, the supervision be intelligent, and the 

 business properly conducted, and combined with cotton culture, the 

 result must prove highly remunerative, far surpassing any thing 

 in the past history of this industry in New England or the Middle 

 States." 



In regard to the general culture of sheep at the South, 

 independently of its relation to any particular locality, he 

 observes : 



" In reference to the whole matter of sheep husbandry at the South, 

 in which neither labor, care, nor expense has been spared by me, I may 

 say with safety : I know of no investment so likely to yield constant 

 and profitable return to the farmer ; and, certainly, none so valuable 

 to the acres he occupies. I think the State of Georgia, from its 

 varied climate, soil, and surface, offers unequalled facilities for this 

 industry. 



" My own experience has been to a great extent in North or upper 

 Georgia, in Gordon County. The country is hill and valley, the 

 land changing very rapidly ; the pasturage, sedge, crab, and other 

 native grasses. Of the cultivated, the orchard grass, red and white 

 clover, on the upland, and red top, on low land, succeed admirably. 

 Lucerne and German millet are never-failing sources of an ample sup- 

 ply of hay. The former afford from four to five cuttings in a season. 

 Red, rust-proof oats a variety reliable in winter, if sown in Septem- 

 ber can be pastured during the winter and early spring, and then 

 yield a full crop of grain. The same may be said of barley, rye, and 

 wheat. 



