I826.J 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



235 



convoiiirncos fnr his s!iRe[i ;iiul li;ia a pa'stiirel 

 near llial he can lnnk lo his (lock; il ol'lpn mayi 

 he advHalile lo have his hinihs come in April, ( 

 or Mav. j 



When sheep are turned In |iastiirft in the 

 spring the transition from dry food to grass,! 

 causes a relax, which <|)(jils or very much in- 1 

 jiires a great part nl' ihe wool on their hnttorks' 

 and thiglis, and makes dimhle the work at Ihe ' 

 lime of" wasliing ; therefore hel'ore they are| 

 Inrned (o pa-^liire the wool in the way should be • 

 caroCijIly sliorn nflf, wliirh is very linle trouble I 

 and makes a savino- ivorlti nolirina'. 



In selectinsr a (look of sheep iho fii-st rare iin- 1 

 <lonI>tedlv should he lo grl th"«e of the evenestl 

 nnd finest wool ; the ne\t those of liie hesl form | 

 and moot peaceaUle disposition; and the nextj 

 care, wtiich is generally very lillle thought of,; 

 to got those lliat are without lioriis. Any one 

 who his had the nianiwomenl of sheep in Ihe i 

 winter can testify to the injnry large horned i 

 Fheep do in crowding after fuidei', and running' 

 tlirough gales, s^r. Hnrnod rams kept willi i 

 Jiregnant eives do great misrhief. In many 

 jiarts of Spain they anipulale the horns of their 

 rami, fnr which tliere are vaiious processes : 

 some use a large chisel; others a saw which is 

 the most expeditious way and is preferable. — 

 Tliere are otJier serious ohjeclions to the keej)- 



TO THE EDlTOn OF THE KTEVV ENGLAND PARMER. 



SJPHJJVG STAPLE, 



nri<;kto>u February 182G. 



Dear Sin.— I cheerfiillv comply with your re 

 quest to lurnisji a draHiiig cf the Spring SlopU 

 usfd in my slaides. 



It IS not unfrequent that Iior'es are ruined or 

 much injureii. by gelling ciisl >n their iialters — 

 To guard against such accidents, some lie tiiem 



urh accidents, some lie 

 ing of horned sheep, which I cannot better ex-!«/"J''', and ofien so that thev cannot lie down 



emplify than by quoting the following words 

 I'lom Henry Cline, Esq. an emincnl surgeon.* 



" Morn<i are usele-s to ilomestic animals. Il is 

 not difTicult lo breed animals ivilhoul them. The 

 Iireeders of horned callle and honiid sheep sus- 

 tain a loss more exlcn-ive than they may con- 

 ceive, for it is not Ihe horn alone, but ahn mnch 

 in"re bone in the skulls of such atilnials lo sup- 



wilh any degree of ease or comb rl. Others, 

 more allenlive. pass Ihe halter 'hrnngh a riog 

 or staple in Ihe manger, and allach a block to 

 the end which draws down the slack. Some 

 \ears since, I was near losing a vabiabie horse 

 in consequence of his setting his leg over the 

 halter in the night ; and was thus iudnced to 

 make u-e of the binck ; but after a long trial I 



]>orl Iheir horn* ; besides there is an additional i was by no means salistjed with t/.t-v expedient ; 

 (pianlity of ligament and muscle in Ihe neck, j for unless the hallers were shifleii, wliich wa« 

 which is of small value. The skull of a ram ■ troublesome and often inconvenient, the block 

 with its horns weighed live times more tliaii : required to he detached every lime the horses 

 another skull which was hornless. Both these j were led out lo be watered, dressed or harne-s- 

 sknlls were taken from sheep of the same age, ed. when it would ofien get mislaid or lost, and! 

 each being four years old. The srreat dilTerence the old method of fasleniug take place 'lill it 

 in weight depended chiet3y on the horns, lor the | was convenient lo find Ihe block or replace il 

 lower jaws were nearly equal. One weigliing ' with anew one. R.-t1ecting upon the loss of j 

 seven ounces and Ihe other six ounces and three i time consumed in all these operations, the idea 

 quarters, which proves that the nalural size of i occurred that some other method might be dis- 

 the head was nearly the same in both, indepen- j covered to secure the hopsp and at the same 



over the halln; his pull being ,!own«.-,rds and f.:- 

 c»4/e will overcome Ihe resistance of the spring 

 -when the lever (alhng, the ri„g will «lip utf 

 iind set hun free. ° *^ 



Those who have a f.elivg for this noble ani- 

 mal, l.y usmg Ihe spring staples, will have the 

 ^atisaclion o( refiecling, after he has toiled all 

 riav lor their convenience or pleasure, that he 

 will en,oy a comfortable nigh.'s rest, by having 

 I. sufhcient length of haller, without hazard, to 

 enable him to clioose his position when he lies 

 dowm, and to place his head where he listelh. 

 Yours, Irulv, 

 S. VV. rOMEROY. 



P. S. Mr .Torn M. Dearborn, an enterprising 

 machinist. Harvard Place, JJoslon, will manufac- 

 lure Spring Suiples. 



dent of Ih.? horns and the thickness of Ihe bone 

 which supports them. In a horned animal the 

 skull is extrehiely thick, — in a hornless animal 

 il is jiiuch tbinner, especially in ihat part where 

 the horns usually grow."' 



To those who have not reflected on the sub- 

 ject, il may apiiearol liitle consequence whelh- 

 er shJ^ep ami callle have horns; but on a very 

 nioderale calculation, it will be found lliat the 

 loss in farming stock, and al.soin the diminution 

 of animal food is very considerable from the 

 production of horns and their appendages. A 

 mode ot breeding which would pievenl the pro- 

 duction of these would atiord a considerable 

 profit in an increase of meai and wool and other 

 valuable parts. M. R. C. 



* See Mass. Agric. Repos. No. 3. Vol. VI. page 277. 



Paptr. — In a letter from Paris, it is said — " There is 

 imicli lalk htre about a new pert ol paper, n srte of 

 hemp stotks, which is to tie so cheap th.nt a h:ind«omf 

 octavo vol'ime of 480 pao^es, mannfartiirptl of it. may 

 be sold for about one shilling and two pence half penny 

 sterling." 



lime permit li'm lo lie down at his ease wilh- 

 oiit danger. And on searching the Rr.PF.RToiiy 

 OF Arts I found a drawing and description of a 

 staple intended for the purpose, the principle of 

 which answered perfectly, but its construction 

 was liable to ofreat olijeclions; for besides being 

 too complicated and expensive, a spring passing 

 over the top of the staple into a mortice^ was 

 constantly liable lo Sfet broken or out of older. 

 An improvfment which I suegesled. renders it 

 mor^ sinnnle and much less expensive, as Ihe 

 mnrtice and all circular work are dispenseil with, 

 and the spring placed out of the reach of injury. 

 I have had them conslnicled with a bent steel 

 spring, but prefer a smralffirine of cmninon wire. 

 as represented in the above drawing ; of which 

 the lollowing is an 



E.M'I.ANATION. 



A. Ihe shaiik lo he driven. or a thrcml ctit upon 

 il and screwed inio the manger rail. B a ring 

 lo which Ihe halter is made fast. C a lever, the 

 en:i of which is kefil up lo the staple D, by the 

 spring E, Ihat should be so stiff as to resist an 

 ordinary pressure; but if the horse gets his leg 



EC^UESTHIAN FEATS. 



On Ihe 3d of May 1758, a young ladv, who 

 at JVewmarket had laid a wager Ihat she would 

 ri'le mOQ miles in 1000 hours, finished her match 

 in little more than two thirds of the time. At 

 her coming in, the country penple strewed 

 flowers in her way. 



The marq'iis de la Fayette rode in Aug. 1770 

 from Rhode Island to Bosfon. near 70 miles in 

 7 hours, and returned in six and a half. 



The celebrated Count de Mnnlsfomery escap- 

 ed from the massacre of Paris, in 1752, through 

 Ihe swiftness of his horse, which carried liim 

 90 miles without halting. 



Sir Rtihert Carey rode near .300 miles in less 

 than three days, when he went from London lo 

 Eilinbnrgh. lo inforin king James of Ihe death of 

 (pieen Elizabeth. In the course of his journey 

 he had several falls, and received some severe 

 bruises, which occasioned him to appear in Ihe 

 royal presence ba'.tered and bloody. 



Mexico ^llnnlic Company of Georgia. — The Legis- 

 lature of Georgia passed at the last session, an art in- 

 corporafinsi; a company ■with tliic name, with power to 

 construct canals or railways hetwien Ihe waters of llie 

 Atlantic Ocean ar.d those wliii li How into tlie Gulf of 

 Mexico. 'J he capital sloik is two millions, divided in- 

 to sharfs of two hundred dollars eath. It is contem- 

 pltted 'hat the subscription books vil] be open on the 

 first day of April next, at the principal places in that 

 slate. 



The population of the State of New York, is ascer- 

 tained by the late state census, lo be l.Clu,-J5C:, I erg 

 an increase since the census of lt)20, of 242,648. 



