FARMERS' REGISTER— SHEEP FOR BREEDING. 



761 



of an inch in thickness, which seemed to exclude 

 the air completely. Four bushels of sets were so 

 treated. Other ibur bushels of the same potatoes 

 were cut on the same day, but not limed, and both 

 parcels lay on the floor of an open shed lor 

 eighteen days afterwards; they were then planted. 

 The result appears to be worthy of observation. 

 It was this. Among the limed sets there ivas 

 scarcely a failure — among the'unlimed sets there 

 ■teas scarcely a plant, and the ground had to be 

 sown with turnips. I did not take any note of the 

 quantity of lime used, or of the additional time 

 required to lime the sets, both being so very in- 

 considerable, that even on a large scale the extra 

 expense would be trifling. The kind of potato 

 with which the experiments were made was the 

 black seedling. 



I stated, in the commencement of this paper, 

 that the red skinned sorts of potatoes contain a 

 great proportion of farina at a certain season of 

 the year; this season is included in the months of 

 May, June, and July, and upon the principle for- 

 merly laid down as to what is the germinative 

 property, it will be easy to account for the greater 

 itiilure which, it is known, has taken place among 

 the red sorts of potatoes, than among any of the 

 black or while varieties. The red rose, a kind 

 much in use in this part of the country, failed to a 

 great extent. This sort is excellent during the 

 three months named; it is then extremely firm 

 and floury on the dish, more so than at any other 

 season of the year. This very circumstance, 

 however, operates against this kind producing 

 vigorous plants, because, when there is little wa- 

 tery matter present, but much farinaceous matter, 

 as we have seen is the case with these red sorts, 

 and exactly at the season of planting, (May,) the 

 plants produced are necessarily weak, because the 

 stimulus to germinative action, if I may so speak, 

 does not exist. Hence, in the most flivorable sea- 

 sons and situations, we find these red roses always 

 producing weak plants at first, although they be- 

 come stronger as the roots extend. It is easy to 

 conceive, therefore, that if sets of this variety, un- 

 protected on their cut surfaces, were exposed for a 

 considerable time to a dry atmosphere, the little 

 watery matter which they contain would soon 

 evaporate, and the germinative principle become 

 totally inert. When failures in this variety were 

 taking place all around me this season, I procured 

 one bushel of them, cut them, and limed the cut 

 surfaces — planted them, and not a single one fail- 

 ed. They may be seen at any time. I must here 

 mention, however, that in cutting them I found so 

 little moisture on the cut surfiice, that the lime 

 would scarcely adhere, but there being fine mortar 

 at hand, I put some upon a slate and rubbed the 

 cut surfaces on it; this formed an excellent skin 

 when dry, and was attended with complete suc- 

 cess, as above stated. 



Whether, therefore, the failures be or be not 

 caused by atmospheric influence — for I hope it will 

 be observed that I do not assert they are — I make 

 no assertions; I use the words "if" — "opinion" — 

 "probability," &c. Whether, I say, the failures 

 be or be not caused by atmospheric influence, there 

 appear to me to be three methods of prevention, 

 either of which may, I think, be adopted with 

 success; and on t 



dence. Presuming, always, that the land has 

 been properly wrought and pulverized, and the 

 Vol. 11—61 



manure sufficiently decomposed — one method is, 

 to plant whole i)otutocs, but it is certainly an ex- 

 travagant one — if cut, to plant immediately after- 

 wards, turning the cut side downwards — or^ if" not 

 planted immediately, to use lime on the moist cut 

 surfaces, in the manner described, vvhich has been 

 attended here with extraordinary and decided suc- 

 cess, and is a practice I would strongly recom- 

 mend, where circumstances render immediate 

 planting impracticable; in this case the lime pre- 

 vents the escape of the watery matter, and pre- 

 serves the set fresh and vigorous for weeks. But 

 when immediate planting can be adopted, and the 

 land thoroughly prepared, liming is, perhaps, un- 

 necessary. 



CHOOSING SHEEP FOR BREEDING. 



One of the two species of sheep, the long and 

 the short wooled. having been chosen, as most ap- 

 propriate to the situation, and wool being made an 

 object, it is most advantageous to select such flocks 

 as are pure as possible of the .species to which 

 they belong, and not a mixture of the short and 

 long wooled breeds, vvhich must generally produce 

 an inferior fleece, disadvantageous to the manu- 

 facturer. Length of staple in the long, and fine- 

 ness, elasticity and closeness in the short wool- 

 ed fleece, will be the best guides in this case. 



Whether the wool be long or short, the carcass 

 of the animal ought to be amply and regularly 

 covered; it is a great defect when the belly is bare, 

 and a still greater when the wool is thin and open 

 along the ndge of the back, admitting rain and 

 moisture to a most susceptible part, indeed to de- 

 scend upon all parts of the body. 



It is a piece of good old advice to buy your 

 rams a little before shearing time, if possible; and 

 a very necessary modern addition to take the op- 

 portunity of purchasing at the farmer's house 

 while you can see the animal in piiris naiurali- 

 bus, and before he has been decked out and trim- 

 med for show by the sheep barber. A thick fleece, 

 covering all parts with as much equality as possi- 

 ble, containing plenty of yolk, or retained^ or m- 

 spissated perspiration, is the object. If ewes, 

 equally well bred, can be procured, the shepherd 

 anticipates and reaps an immediate benefit; if not, 

 he must patiently await improvement of his wool, 

 through the medium of the superior blood of his 

 rams. 



At shearing time, examine the bottoms of the 

 fleece, or the lower extremity of the filaments of 

 \voo\;\i' hhestichy-haired, of mixed quality, or if the 

 sheep have a coarse breech, or be not well cover- 

 ed, it must be rejected, as improi^cr for a breeding 

 stock, where it would perpetuate Its defects. The 

 quantity of yolk or grease is a good proof of the 

 thickness of the fleece, since, by the closeness and 

 thickness of the wool, the grease or perspirable 

 matter of the animal is retained; hence fine, closed, 

 curled wool has ever the greatest quantity of yolk. 

 — Bath Memoirs. 



From Waldie's Port Folio. 

 NATURAL GAS WORKS. 



A most remarkable fact i? stated by the Abbe 



Imbert, who visited China a few years since. By 

 and on this head I can speak with confi- | means of tunnels of bamboo, placed in communi- 

 cation with fountains of carbonated hydrogen in 

 the bowels of theeartb, as many pb three hundred 



