278 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 



they would be profitable, or from incompetent un- 

 dertakers and superintendents-', and exceeding great 

 expense: yet when the whole he completed, if the 

 result be an income not only sufficient to pay off 

 the debt and expenses, but to relieve the citizens 

 of the commonwealth from direct taxation, what 

 more could be wished. 



The last important objection with "Commenta- 

 tor" is, that "almost all matters of internal im- 

 provement when undertaken on public account, 

 are forced to subserve, in locality, in the choice of 

 agents to conduct them, and in the expenditures 

 lavished on them, the popularity of the occupants 

 for the time being of political power. 1 ' This I 

 presume would be true in a greater or less degree. 

 This, however, is one of the evils attendant upon 

 fallen man. It may lie traced to the principle of 

 self-love, which prevents men from doing unto 

 others, as they would that others should do unto 

 them. As ihese favors depend upon the occupants 

 for the time being, and the occupants depend upon 

 popularity, and popularity (I am truly sorry to say 

 it) upon the wind,* and the wind blows from dif- 

 ferent points in a short, time, so it may not be long 

 before these favors are pretty equally divided. At 

 any rate I see no good reason why through fear 

 of partizan favors, varying with the popular 

 breeze, we should have all the control, profits and 

 emoluments (which may be great) permanently 

 fixed upon a few individuals and their heirs, in- 

 stead of the profits being thrown into the public 

 treasury for the common weal. When I penned 

 the questions above alluded to "on certain topics 

 of political economy," 1 had not the smallest ex- 

 pectation of ever hearing of them again. Yet as 

 they have been thought so erroneous by "Com- 

 mentator" as to excite his attention, and as I veri- 

 ly believe with a view of correcting the error; and 

 as he has failed to convince me, I thought it but 

 proper to state some of the reasons why 1 had not 

 yet embraced his views. 1 assure you, sir. as f 

 have before said, that I am no great politician. I 

 should be unwilling to introduce the subject, into 

 your paper on party grounds, and should be sorry 

 to see it in ihese days of excitement, introduced 

 by others far before me in political acquirements. 

 I hope so far as we have gone, we have not trans- 

 cended the limits of political economy— one of the 

 branches not improperly introduced lor the general 

 good. 



If I have wandered from "home" into a wilder- 

 ness, I have met with a native of our own state, 

 (in No. 3, Farm. Reg. pp. 138, 140,) whose com- 

 pany cheers me in the desert; who, upon the sub- 

 ject of the improvement of the James and Ka- 

 nawha Rivers, says: "I have no hesitation in say- 

 ing it would have been better for Virginia to have 

 borrowed the. whole sum instead of raising it at 

 home by subscription; for 1 have no doubt that 

 the tolls on the improvement will ultimately pay 

 much more than interest on the money expended, 

 &c." Again the same writer, Professor Dew, 

 says: "I do not, however, by the remarks made, 

 wish to be considered as censuring those who fa- 



* We think that our correspondent does great injus- 

 tice to the wind in making it the cause of such effects. 

 The wind is honest and "straight forward" — and, 

 whether it is doing us good or harm, we can at least 

 always tell which way it is blowing for the time being. 



vor the joint-stock scheme of our state. It was 

 the only plan perhaps which could have been suc- 

 cessfully carried through, and therefore ought cer- 

 tainly to have been supported rather than leave the 

 state without any improvement at all." 



t. n. a. 



P. S. My remarks have run in rather a differ- 

 ent channel from that I had intended. I wished 

 to have speculated a little, upon your theories in 

 your work on Calcareous Manures. I wished also 

 to ask the favor that you would collect and publish 

 in your Register, the best information upon the use 

 of quicklime upon different soils. 



From the last Loudon edition of the "Complete Grazier.' 



ON THE BREEDING, HEARING, ASI) FATTEN- 

 ING OF SHEEP. 



[Continued from p. 222 Vol. III.] 

 On the treatment and rearing of hnuse-lambs. 



In the preceding chapter, the treatment of 

 lambs intended to be kepi lor stock, has been 

 chiefly regarded; but, as the price given in the 

 winter, in the metropolis, and in other place:', 

 where there is a demand for young lambs, is often 

 very considerable, we shall, at present, confine our 

 attention to the rearing of those animals, under 

 cover, in which case they are denominated house- 

 lambs. 



In this branch of rural economv, two circum- 

 stances are worthy of notice: 1. To put the rams 

 and ewes togetherat such a tunc, that the lambs 

 may fall at. the proper season; an object, which 

 may be easily effected by any skilful shepherd: 

 and, 2. That appropriate places lie provided for 

 their reception. Where the suckling of house- 

 Iambs is intended to be regularly followed, it will 

 lie necessary In erect a house of such proportions 

 as the probable extent of the business may require, 

 and to divide the building into pens, in order that 

 each lamb may be more conveniently suckled; 

 but when it is not a primary object of attention, 

 any airy building may be made to answer the 

 purpose. Care should also be taken, not. to 

 crowd too many into one house at the same lime; 

 as the increased degree of heat, thus occasioned, 

 will render the place unwholesome. 



The breed of ewes, best calculated for produ 

 cing house-lambs, is the early Dorsetshire sort, 

 particularly those whose lambs die fair, in the 

 language of the market; i e. whose flesh is of a 

 delicately-white color: and from this prolific va- 

 riety l he demands of the luxurious in the metrop- 

 olis are supplied. The dams are fed with hay, 

 oil-cake, corn, cabbage, or any green food afforded 

 by the season; which is given in an inclosure ad- 

 joining the apartment where the young lambs are 

 confined. The light is excluded from the lambs 

 excepting at the intervals when the shepherd 

 suckles them upon the ewes; and some feeders 

 confine them in separate stalls in order to prevent 

 them from playing, and thus promoting their fat- 

 ting, but others deem the exclusion of light to be 

 sufficient. 



Where the system of suckling is carried on to 

 a. great extent, it. will be advisable to mark the 

 lambs, in order to ascertain which has been long- 

 est sucking on the bastard eiee; (i. e. such as 



