150 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 3. 



viously marled — a very fine bed of which I have 

 near the centre of my arable land. My marl is 

 that which 1 think is generally termed yellow, be- 

 ing a decomposed mass of various kinds of shells 

 tinged with clay. No sand is discovered in it. I 

 have applied only 200 bushels to the acre, and be- 

 lieve from several experiments made on a small 

 scale, that, quantity sufficient lor my land. There 

 are several indications of marl in my neighbor- 

 hood — and a deposite has recently been discovered 

 of very good quality. I have but little doubt that 

 many deposites of this valuable manure are yet to 

 be discovered, and that our worn-out and neglect- 

 ed country is destined to be brought to a slate of 

 gradual improvement. 



On my friend Col. J. S. Stubblefield's farm, 

 on Chickahomony, there is found a curious de- 

 posite of muscle shells, extending on the bank of 

 the river about one hundred and fifty yards on a 

 level with the flat land, and covering a breadth of 

 from thirty to forty yards. These shells are found 

 on the surface, and extend to the depth of from 

 three to four feet, imbedded in rich black mould. 

 This deposite contains a considerable portion of 

 carbonate of lime, and has been used extensively 

 by Col. S. who is an industrious and enterprising 

 farmer. In this deposite of shells are found a 

 number of human bones of all sizes, from the 

 smallest infant to the full grown man, interred in 

 pits of various size, and circular form; and in each 

 pit are found intermingled, human bones of every 

 size. Standing in one place T counted fifty of 

 these hollows, Irom each of which had been taken 

 the remains of human beings who inhabited this 

 country before the present race of whites. These 

 remains differ in several particulars from the In- 

 dian burying grounds heretofore discovered among 

 us. Might they not furnish curious matter of 

 speculation to the antiquarian? It is time I should 

 bring this desultory communication to a close. 



JAMES II. CHRISTIAN. 



From the New York Farmer. 

 DRY ASHES DESTROY LICE ON FOWLS. 



When confined, or when simply roosting, in an 

 inclosed house, hens are apt to become infested 

 with lice, in the warmer months. Dry wood 

 ashes, put on the ground where they dust them- 

 selves, will, says a fanner, who has given much 

 attention to poultry, very soon entirely iree them. 



s. F. 



From the last London edition of the "Complete Grazier." 



ON THE BREEDING, REARING, AND FATTEN- 

 ING OF SHEEP. 



Introductory and comparative view of the different 

 breeds of British sheep. 



Among the various animals given by the benev- 

 olent hand of Providence for the benefit of man- 

 kind, there is none, perhaps, of greater utility than 

 the sheep; which not only supplies us with food 

 and clothing, but also affords constant employ- 

 ment to numerous indigent families, in the various 

 branches of the woollen manufacture; and thus 

 contributes, in no small proportion, to the produc- 

 tive labor, the commercial prosperity, and the op- 

 ulence of this highly-favored island. 



In a wild, or natural state, the sheep is a vigor- 

 ous animal, lively, and capable of supporting fa- 



tigue; when domesticated, indeed, it loses much 

 of these properties, but amply compensates for 

 the absence of them by the superior advantages 

 arising from the rearing of this sort of stock. In 

 fact, on most soils, sheep constitute a material part 

 of a farmer's live stock and profits; and as particu- 

 lar attention has, of late years, been bestowed on 

 the improvement of the respective breeds, we 

 shall first present the reader with an introductory 

 view of them; which will, we trust, convey an ad- 

 equate idea of the different varieties, together 

 with their specific ch^acters, and the peculiar ad- 

 vantages they respectively possess. The general 

 management of these animals will afterwards 

 form a subject of discussion. 



Naturalists maintain that all the varieties of dif- 

 ferent animals, of the same species, have been de- 

 rived from one parent stock; and, arguing upon 

 this hypothesis, the origin of our native breeds of 

 sheep has been deduced, by some from the 

 moufflon of Corsica, and by others from the argali 

 of Siberia, both of which still exist w T ild in the 

 mountains of those countries. The moufflon is, 

 however, mentioned by very ancient authors as a 

 distinct animal, and, indeed, it appears to partake 

 more of the nature of the goat; but the argali, 

 which is spread throughout Asiatic Russia, and 

 many parts of Persia, has much of the appear- 

 ance, and many of the habits, of the common 

 sheep. Whatever degree of credit may be at- 

 tached to this conjecture, it is certain that sheep 

 were found in a domestic state in England at the 

 earliest, period of which we have an account; it is 

 also probable, that they were then of one species 

 only — the small horned kind; and there can be 

 little doubt, that the various breeds in existence at 

 the present day, have gradually arisen through 

 the progress of cultivation, and experiments in 

 crossing, as well as from those differences, which 

 will naturally arise, when they are long confined 

 to soils of opposite quality. It might prove an 

 object of curious research, to trace the improve- 

 ments that have been made in this important 

 branch of rural economy; but, this treatise being 

 intended solely for the use of men of business, 

 our inquiries are necessarily confined to the actual 

 breeds that compose the present stock of the coun- 

 try, of which the following are the chief. 



I. The Heath, Linton, Short, or Forest Sheep, 

 are names indiscriminately given to the several 

 varieties of the same breed, which is found in the 

 north-western counties of England, and thence 

 forward to the western highlands of Scotland. 



The specific characters of this race are, large 

 spiral horns; faces black or mottled, and legs black; 

 eyes wild; carcass short and firm; wool long, 

 open, coarse and shagny; fleece averaging about 

 three pounds and a half at four years and a half. 

 They are of a hardy constitution, admirably cal- 

 culated lor elevated, heathy, and exposed districts; 

 and, judging from this aptitude to support the 

 hardships of constant exposure in a wild pastur- 

 age country, as well as from the form of the horns, 

 which is characteristic of the animal in its unim- 

 proved state, it may be not improbably inferred, 

 that they are directly descended from {he parent 

 stock ofthe kingdom. The true black-taced breed, is 

 said to be distinguished by a lock of white wool 

 on the forehead, termed the snow-lock. 



In moorland tracts, where the pasturage con- 

 sists rather of heather than of green herbage, 



