THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



79 



was soon covered wilh crop, and ihat so viirorons 

 a one, that the hot weather did not overpower it. 

 JNly cows thill fumiuer were lied up duiit'jf tlie 

 day- time, and in the niifht they were turned out 

 into the pastures ; most of the stock in my dis 

 tricl were much distressed from over-heat as well 

 as i'roni bein^ sliort of Ibod lor some weeks; milk 

 yielded little butter, scarcely any lor a time was 

 oHcred in our large market town : — no doubt thai 

 year will be remembered by many gentlemen on 

 the Agricultural Society's committee. I, however, 

 was under no dilRcullies on account of the season: 

 my clovers produced plenty of Ibod l()r my cattle, 

 and in return tiiey yielded as much milk and but- 

 ter as I ever recollect from the same number. I 

 am persuaded that the same satisfaciory results 

 woukl have followed if the same sy'stem had been 

 adopted for leeding stock; it was that year my 

 attention was first directed to raising compost 

 heaps from urine. This I now do frequently 

 without the help of any dung from the caitle- 

 etalls ; the same occasion called my mind to an- 

 other matter well worthy every farnjer's attention 

 • — I allude to tlie great superiority of the manure 

 raised in summer soiling to that produced in the 

 stalls during winter. I verily believe t lie difference 

 is fifiy per cent., unless slock are fed in a great 

 measure during winter wilh arlificiai Ibod. In an 

 arrangement tor making compost heaps from 

 urine, I would recommend a receptacle to be made 

 at the back of the catlle stalls just outside the 

 building; this should hold about 20 CArt-ioads of 

 mould, or any other matters to be employed ; if 

 its situation were a little lower than the callle- 

 ehcds all the urine would pass into it, and remain 

 there until the mass is completely saturated, which 

 will be sufficient ; when the eanhy matters are 

 covered over with it, the compost may then be 

 thrown out and the proceeding again renewed. 

 In order to show part of the benefits of this prac- 

 tice, I beg here to observe that the most foul or 

 weedy mould may be used ; the action of the 

 urine, if not reduced by water is so powerful, 

 thai wire-worms, the black slug, niany olher de- 

 stroying insects, and all vegetables, weeds, &c., 

 when in contact with the urine for a time are de- 

 prived of tlieir living functions. The situation lor 

 raising this compost should be protected from the 

 weaiher by a covering similar to a cart-shed , in- 

 deed, the deteriorating influences of rain, sun, and 

 arid winds, on all putrescent matters or compost 

 are so serious, that in my humble judgment it 

 would be worth while to have places under cover 

 where these are usually laid down. 



I beg to conclude this essay wilh some observa- 

 tions made on a former occasion. No amelioration 

 connected with the rural art is of more lasting im- 

 portance than correcting the constitutional defects 

 of a soil. The best horticulturists and market- 

 gardeners are many of them perhaps, unacquaint- 

 ed with the iheorj', yet perlectly understand the 

 great results fom that practice ; and in this par- 

 ticular information they are all of them superior to 

 many practical farmers. How ofien do we see a 

 siiff soil sterile in a great degree from that cause 

 only ; yet, in the vicinity of a sandpit and adjoin- 

 ing most bogs there is a considerable breadth ol 

 cofierent land, which might be made double its 

 present value by judicious and liberal top-dress- 

 ings of peat, which is also unproductive from 

 causes of a contrary nature. The present poverty 



of many extensive tracts of land is a manifest 

 exhibition ol" the want of skill or enterprise of 

 their owners and cultivators. 



PROPOSED IMPORTATION OF SHCEP AND 

 HOGS, AND REMARKS. 



For the Farmers' Reaister. 



To Jlrginin Parmerfi. — Whereas, I desire to 

 obtain a lew more blood sheep and hogs, and 

 being satisfied that they can be obtained in Eng- 

 land at t)elter rates, and of better quality than at 

 the north, I propose Ibr this purpose, going to 

 Enirland in August next ; provided other farmers 

 will conirihute so as to jusiily the expedition. 

 Three or four thousand dollars would be sufficient, 

 and perhaps a lew spirited men would make up 

 the sum. I am not pariicularly desirous of goino- 

 myself; consequently if a better judge of stocl?, 

 who may be inierested in the adventure, and can 

 give satisfactory references, will offer his service, 

 then I thank ully wiihdrav/ my name as ajrenf. 



Let the compensation be fixed at ,950 the 

 month and expenses paid, and let the bills of sale 

 be the price at which each shall receive his por- 

 tion ; no one to choose for himself, hut all by lot. 

 And let it be understood that only Colswold and 

 Lincolshire sheep, and Berkshire hogs, are to be 

 imported. 



One cannot afford to go for a couple of sheep 

 or a pair of pigs; consequently he sends, and gen- 

 erally gets what olhers refuse, and sometimes 

 what nobody should have. Again — when we 

 take pigs from the north at a few weeks old, they 

 are put on food which perhaps they never before 

 tasted, and consequently, the loss of milk, the new 

 food, and transportation, make them runts ; or if 

 we buy thence grown stock, we always pay hicrh 

 grade prices, and generally get low grade animals. 

 A sheep fhculd noi be moved a distance unless more 

 t'lan one year old ; and Ibr the sake of economy, 

 perhaps imported hogs should be sows youriu' 

 with pig, and young boars. ° 



In the November Culiivator we have a f rofile 

 of a Co'swold buck, lately imported, which at 

 eighteen months old, measured five leet two inches 

 in length, and computed to weigh in net meat 180 

 pounds. In a previous Cultivator, we also see 

 the profile of Mr. Clift's Lincolnshire buck. None- 

 such, measuring four feet seven and a half inches 

 in length, but computed weight not given ; we 

 may know, however, that the Lincolnshires are 

 very valuable, as Mr. Clifi sells his bucks at S'50 

 to ^100, his ewes at about one-third less, and his 

 wethers from ^20 to ,^30. I have one of the eons 

 of Nonesuch, now rising two years old, which 

 bids firiir to make a match for his sire, also many 

 other fine sheep, yet am not satisfied, nor shall I 

 be, until my flock may reach a weight of 100 to 

 ISO pounds, and 6 to 12 pounds of wool. 



In the December Cultivator, we read that Wm. 

 P. Curd, Esq., of Kentucky, purchased 17 sows 

 and 6 boars of the Berkshire and Irish grazier 

 breeds ; that in two years he had from them sold 

 110 pair of pigs at $40 the pair, .S4,400 ; that 

 2.54 sows had been to his boars, (some fmm the 

 distance of 200 miles,) at S'lO each, -92,540 ; that 

 he had taken in premiums 31 silvercups, making a 

 total of $7,000. But this is not all— Ibr we also 



