THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



159 



But tanners' refuse bark has also enough acidu- 

 lous quality to fix ihe ammonia in night soils ; 

 and being so generally at hand in populous towns 

 may be employed for the purpose extensively. 



Three parts of tanners' bark to one of night- 

 Boil (urine included, which is as valuable as any 

 part) will make a stronger manure than siable- 

 dung ; and with this further advantage, that ihe 

 etable-dung requires to be rotted, to reduce the 

 long straws, and kill the undigested seeds it con- 

 tains ; whilst the bark being already short, and 

 the night-soil containing no seeds, it may be carted 

 to the field at once ; thus saving ihe heavy waste 

 in rotting. 



In the tan-yard, the bark may be slercorized, by 

 having a privy or two, and suitable corners for 

 the work-people, all made to drain upon the heap ; 

 calculating say 1 lb. of evacuations liquid and solid 

 from each individual, per day. and proportioning 

 the bark to it ; what is above that quantity being 

 disposed of to o'her persons, for the same purposed 

 All the hide wool and glue washings and house 

 drainings should run into the same, which should 

 be rooled over, to keep off the rain, but with open 

 sides to encourase evaporation of the moisture. 

 All the asijes of fires, whether of the works or 

 house, should be added, to help the absorpti-on, and 

 destroy the smell ; and by this fmeans a tanner 

 employing25 hands may turn out 25 x Shark, and 

 say X 2 for ashes and drains ; 25 x 75 x 50=: 

 ISOlbs. ofmanure per day, richer than stable dung, 

 much better for corn, and losing noihin" in rottin'^fr 

 as not required. ° ° 



In other places, as private gardens, school 

 grounds, &c., the bark may be procured from the 

 tanner, and added to the privy sink, in rather 

 larger proportions, reckoning the evacuations at 

 IJIb. per entire day of 24 hours. Much less bark 

 will do, say half as much as the night-soil, mak- 

 ing up the quantity with garden mould ; but the 

 bark is so much additional vegetable matter, at 

 little cost. It may be thrown in, a load at a time, 

 lor the excrement to (all upon ; but the ashes 

 should be added daily, so as to lie on the top, and 

 absorb the smell. A long and large trunk should 

 rise from the sink, to encourage evaporation and 

 carry up also the smell still remaining ; for al- 

 though much subdued by ashes, it cannot be alto- 

 gether destroyed without careful mixture not 

 practicable for such a purpose. In this manner 

 large quantities may be collected. 



Peat earth will do instead of bark, as above 

 stated, with the precaution not to throw it in in co- 

 hesive lumps, which will not absorb, but as dry 

 and crumbly as practicable. The ashes are enuallv 

 uselul in either case. 



J. Prideaux. 



From the Kentucliy Fanner. 

 AN ESSAY ON THE IMPORTANCE AND PROPER 

 MANNER OF REARING SHEEP, SUITED TO 

 THE CONDITION OF KENTUCKY. 



By Dr. Samuel D. Martin, Clarke county, Kxj. 



To prove the importance of the sheep, it is 

 only necessary to state that all the men in the 

 *^^*^ .^""^ dressed in the productions of their 

 wool half the year, and the preparation of this 

 cioinmg gives employment to a large portion of 



the women several months every year. The 

 amount of domestic manufactures in Clarke coun- 

 ty alone, (which are principally of wool,) amount 

 annually lo ^129,000. Beside their wool they 

 furnish meat that is particularly wholesome and 

 nutritious. 



They are also very serviceable in clearing a 

 farm of weeds and bushes, as they feed upon a 

 greater variety of herbage than any oilier ani- 

 mal. Their manure is very valuable and is 

 more evenly distributed by them over the ground 

 they are fed upon than by any other stock, and 

 has the advantage of having no seeds in it to fill 

 the g;round with noxious weeds. 



It is believed there would be as great profits 

 realized from sheep on our highest priced land as 

 upon any other stock, and the land would be more 

 rapidly brought into the highest possible stafe of 

 feriiliiy. 



Upon such land I have found sheep to be 

 sut)ject to \tT^. few diseases, and very /produc- 

 tive. 



The males should be kept in separate lots until 

 the middle of October, when one male should 

 be admitted to every fifiy females. This will 

 bring the lambs from the middle of March to the 

 first of April. 



There should be ten acres of rye sowed for every 

 hundred sheep, and the sheep should be turned 

 upon this rye when their Iambs are two or three 

 weeks old, this will produce a plentilul supply of 

 milk and enable the ewe to raise a strong and 

 vigorous lamb. For want of something°green 

 for the ewes many lambs are lost. The lamb 

 should be castrated at three or four weeks old, 

 and it is also customary to shorten their tail to 

 one or two inches. 



At three months old the lambs should all be 

 separated Irom the old sheep and kept in a lot by 

 ihcmselves. li^ weaning them at this age they 

 learn to eat and become fat against the lall, and 

 go through the next winter much better than 

 those that are allowed to run all the season with 

 their dams. 



The grazing of the rye will also give the blue 

 grass* a good start in the spi ing and upon this good 

 start in the spring depends the value of the blue 

 grass crop. A piece of blue grass that is allowed 

 to show its seed stems before there is any sto.k 

 turned upon it will produce twice as much pas- 

 turage as a like piece that has stock turned upon 

 it as soon as they can get a little grass ofl' it ia 

 the spring. The rye will last the sheep until the 

 blue grass is ready to receive them, and after be- 

 ing upon the blue grass about a month they may 

 be put upon the clover fields where they will find 

 plentiful pasturage until the stubble fields are ready 

 to receive them. These will afford them a plen- 

 tiful supply of weeds and the different grasses 

 lor some time, when they may again be trans- 

 ferred to the clover fields. All this lime we are 

 keeping them as much off the blue grass pasture 

 as possible. Now when the stubble fields and clo- 

 ver fields are exhausted the sheep should again 

 be turned into one of the blue grass pastures, 

 where they will find a great quantity of Ibod col- 

 lected for them which will last ihein throu'^h the 

 winter. ° 



Sheep are healihy and keep fat upon this blue 



* Green-sward, Poa-pratensis.— Er. F. R. 



