THE FAKMERS' REGISTER. 



167 



The latter are so subject to be destroyed by 

 insects when they first come up ; and are so lia- 

 ble to be injured by drought, as to render them 

 too uncertain to be relied upon as a crop for win- 

 ter food for slock. The beet crop is much less 

 subject to injury from intecls, and will probably be 

 found more productive. 



One of the great recommendations of sheep 

 husbandry is that it can be carried on extensive- 

 ly with less labor than any other branch of farm- 

 ing producing the same profits. If blue grass 

 pastures are saved for them, and the quantity of 

 rye before recommended he sown, they wi I not 

 require feeding more than ten days upon an ave- 

 rage in a year, and this feeding may be done 

 with oats, hay, or corn-stalk Ibdder. Where there 

 is a deficiency of blue grass, other means must he 

 resorted to for the purpose of supplying ihem wiili 

 winter food. Rye holds a place with me next lo 

 blue grass ; but it is not expected that rye will 

 produce (bod for a large flock of sheep all v/inter, 

 I would then recommend that oats, clover hny^ 

 timo'hy hny, and hay from any other grass that 

 the farm will produce be provided in' sufRi'ient 

 quantity to winter them, and afier this raise as" 

 many roots as you can. 



In the mountainous regions where caves are 

 plenty the best place lo keep those roots that re- 

 quire protection is in one of those caves. Hoots 

 will not freez '. thirty yards from the entrance of 

 any of those caves unless the mouth is very wide 

 and high ; and ifthat should be the case put them 

 in a liiiie farther. 



Roots keep well buiied in the ground, about 

 fifty bushels in a place. They should be laid on 

 the surface and piled up as high as they can be, 

 and have leaves or straw put over them, and be 

 covered by throwing on a foot of earth. A 

 stick two inches in diameter should besiuck in 

 the lop of the pile and after the dirt is put on, 

 iread ihe dirt around tlie stick, and pull it out, and 

 have a little bundle of straw large enough to fill 

 the hole, and put it in it. The^straw or leaves 

 will prevent the roots fi-om getting dirty, but they 

 will keep equally as well without. In England 

 rape is very much used for the purpose ofleed- 

 ing sheep and enriching the land. It supplies a 

 rich and very fattening food for sheep the latter 

 part of summer and in Ihe fall. It is particular- 

 ly serviceable in fattening those that are for sale, 

 and preparing those that are kept, for passing 

 better through the winter. An acre of good 

 rape will last one humired sheep ten days. "Ex- 

 periments should be made (or the purpose of as- 

 cerlaininsr whether rape be suitable for our soil 

 and climate. If it should succeed with us, it 

 would be particularly valuable in enablinf^ us 'o 

 save our blue grass pastures for winter use. It is 

 generally sown on the poorest ground, which it 

 speedily enriches. But it will grow better upon 

 rich ground. A few acres are fenced off for 

 them at a time. 



The climate of Kentucky is particularly cono-c- 

 nia! to sheep. When they can have green food'^all 



winter, they are subject lo scarcely any disease- 

 When confined and led upon dry Ibod ihey are 

 not so healihy, and great loss of lambs is sustain- 

 ed by those who have nothing green lor iheir 

 sheep during the suckling season. Sheep bear 

 confinement worse than any other of our domes- 

 tic animals. 



Althoutzh I have said above that where blue 

 grass pastures can be obtained that sheep will not 

 require more than ten days leed during the winter, 

 yet I would recommend that provision be provided 

 lor feeding them two months. E ich sheep will 

 eat about two pounds of hay a day. 



I would recommend that ihe hay tor the sheep 

 be stacked in ihe meadow where it was cut. in ihe 

 foilovviiig manner. Plant a emooih pole (rom 6 lo 

 10 inches in diameter firmly in the grouml, and 

 around this midie your stack of hay, l)egii;ning 

 findl and swelling very much to the middle and 

 ihen tapering aijain to the top. As before ob- 

 served salt should be sprinkled on whilst building 

 ihe stack. When the ground is covered wiih 

 snow so that the sheep cannot get jirase, they 

 should be turned inio the meadow which should 

 mIso have water in it. A spring yhou'd be includ- 

 ed in the meadow, if possible, as it would afford 

 ihc'm a con.-?iant Rii[)p!y of water, wiihoul break- 

 itig the ice, which accufuulnies so fast upon our 

 pooils and streams, that alihough it mny be bro- 

 ken three times a day, still, in ex!reme cold wea- 

 liicr, the stock will suffer lor want of water. I 

 would recomni.erid tliat shelters be formed in the 

 ineaiiow in the lollowing way. Build a (ignce by 

 placing each rail upon the other at right angles, so 

 as to (brn) pens thus : 



continue as abundant as they were the last season they 

 will cause tlie sugar beet to be a very uncertain or la- 

 Donous crop to raise. 



I killed them off mine three times, and each time my 

 beets began again to put out leaves and grow, but they 

 Z^rl-^^T "i '"'='' numbers as to cause me utterly to 

 ae»pau-of exterminating them. M. 



these pens should be covered wiih cornstalks fod- 

 der, straw or whatever is most convenient. On 

 the back part Ihey should have cornstalk (odder 

 stacked against them, which should be protected 

 froin the sheep by a fence run around, if ihe 

 shelter is not made in a division fi-nce, vvliich 

 will genera'ly be most convenient. The fodder 

 stacked against the back of the pens may be fed 

 a\yay lo other stock late in Ihe spring when it 

 will be no longer needed at the pens. The 

 pens that are not open to the sheep ((or it will 

 be perceived upon this plan they will have access 

 to only half the pens) mny be aleo covered and 

 will serve to keep pumpkins and cabbage covered 

 with straw for the winter use of the sheep. 



It will be perceived that I recommend tempo- 

 rary shelters instead of permanent ones. For 

 which I give the following reasons : My system 

 contemplates a rotation of crops, and this mea- 

 dow will in a few years be cultivated in other 

 crops ; and another meadow with another set of 

 temporary shelters be brought into requisition. 

 The manure ihat accumulates about the pens 

 will be easily spread over the meadow, or over 

 the adjoining corn-fields. The straw used for 

 covering the pumpkins and cabbage may be 

 thrown into the pens (or a litter as Ihey are fed 

 away. But above all, this plan will prevent the 

 sheep from being crowded in large numbers in 

 one pen, which is sure to injure their health. 

 Clover makes the best hay for sheep, but it re- 



