78 



GENESEE FARMER. 



May, 1845 



For the Genesee Farmer. 



Mr. Editor, — A correspondent of yours, over the 

 signature of '• Inquirer," in attemptincr to give an 

 abstract of my statement to tlie State Agricultural 

 Society, in relation to my flock of Merino sheep, for 

 which a gold medal was awarded me, has fallen into 

 so many &l so gross errors, that instead of correcting 

 them in detail, I forward you the report of the com- 

 mittee of the society, which embodies my statement 

 referred to, with the request that you publish it, 

 accompanying this. 



I presume that " Inquirer" wrote in good faith : 

 one rinds enemies enough in this world of ours with- 

 out making them voluntarily — without driving 

 friends or indifferent persons into that attitude, by 

 misconstruction and suspicion. But I feel constrain- 

 ed to say to •' Inquirer," that farmers — especially 

 those who are banded together to improve and dig- 

 nify their calling — while they may be influenced by 

 honorable emulation, should be chary, not only of 

 uilfid misstatements injurious to each other's repu- 

 tations, but also of those ciireless, unintentional 

 ones, which, uncorrected^ are just as eifectual to rob 

 us of 



The immediatp jewel of our souls 



as the envenomed falsehood of the deliberate slan- 

 derer. 



The statement below embodies all the important 

 information sought by "' Inquirer." As to what 

 " constitutes the peculiar excellence of my flock," 

 it would perhaps be dificult to satisfy his curiosity 

 on paper. This he could best do by inspection and 

 comparison. To effect the former, he is invited to 

 visit me ; but if the latter would be more satisfac- 

 tory — if " Inquirer," or any of his friends in Wes- 

 tern New York should invite me to exhibit ten or a 

 dozen pure-blood Merinoes against an equal number 

 now owned by any one of them, at the Utica Fair, 

 all I can say is, that I should cheerfully accede to so 

 reasonable a request, only stipulating that the invi- 

 tation should be made to me within thirty days, that 

 my arrangements mijrht be shaped to such an end. 

 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 



■ HENRY S. RANDALL. 



" Sheep. — The committee, consisting of Major 

 Kirby, J. M'Donald, M'Intyre, and C. N. Bement, 

 to whom was referred the statement of Mr. Henry 

 S. Randall, of Cortland, for a premium *for the best- 

 managed flock of sheep,' awarded him a gold medal 

 worth Si '.i. The statement concerning this flock is 

 so well calculated to excite the attention of wool- 

 growers, that the account of Mr. Randall is submit- 

 ted in preference to any abstract that could be 

 made : 



MR. H. s. Randall's statement. 



" In the winter of 1843-4, 1 wintered in a separate 

 flock fifty one ewes over one year old, two ewe 

 lambs, two rams, one of them one, and one of them 

 two years old. Of the ewes over one year old, 

 twenty-eight were full-blood Merinoes ; tvv'enty- 

 three were half-blood Merinoes and half-blood South- 

 Down ; the two ewe lambs were fhree-fourth ])]ood 

 Merino and one-fourth blood South Down ; and the 

 two rams were full-blooded Merinos. The flock 

 were kept as follows, through the winter : They 

 were fed with hay morning and night, and were, as 

 a general rule, required to eat it up clean. At noon 

 the flock were daily fed three bundles of oats and 

 barley, (which had grown mixed, say three parts oats 

 and one part barley,) until the 25th of December, 



after which they received four bundles of oats . The 

 grain was light and shrunken. They received no 

 hay at noon during the winter, and usually consumed 

 all the straw of the grain fed to them. They had a 

 good shelter, and access to pure water at all times. 

 From this flock I raised 53 lambs. The full-blood 

 Merinoes, including two rams, and the two three- 

 fourth blood lambs, (in all ?>2,) sheared one hundred 

 and eighty-six pounds and four ounces of washed 

 wool, which I sold at forty-eight cents per pound. 

 Four of the full-bloods had two-years fleeces on* 

 The half-blood merinoes and half-blood Sonthdowns, 

 (twenty-three,) sheared eighty and one-half pounds 

 of washed wool, seventy one pounds of which I 

 sold at thirty-eight cents per pound. During the 

 summer of 1844, the flock were kept in good ordi- 

 nary pasture, and salted once a week. Out of this 

 flock I have sold during the past summer and fall, 

 ten full blood Merinoes over one year old and twenty 

 full-blood Merino lambs for five hundred and twenty- 

 nine dollars ; and twenty-three half-blood Merino, 

 and half-blood Southdown ewes, and sixteen three- 

 fourth blood Merino and one-fourth blood Southdown 

 lambs, for one hundred and ninety-seven dollars. 

 Expense of keeping 55 sheep one year, • •• .$82 30 

 Received for wool, estimating that kept at 



the same price with that sold, •• -$119 99 



Received for those sold, 726 00 



845 99 



Remaining on hand, 39 of this flock. 



I have submitted no estimate of the original value 

 of the flock, not deeming it necessary, as the dimi- 

 nution of the original number is here stated. 



HENRY S. RANDALL." 



We cheerfully comply with the request of Col. 

 Randall, knowing him to be one of the most ardent, 

 indefatigable, and enlightened friends of agriculture 

 and its concomitants that our state can boast. We 

 trust to hear from him as a correspondent as often as 

 is convenient. — Ed. Farmer. 



The Wheat Insect. — A correspondent of the 

 New York Mirror gives an experiment made by him- 

 self, which serves to throw some light upon the na- 

 ture and character of the wheat insect. He says, 

 *' In the spring of 1844, I placed a bag containing 

 half a bushel of white flint wheat, in a seed drawer, 

 under glass, and near the furnace of my green house. 

 On the Gth of March, 1845, I opened the bag, and 

 to my Burprise, found thousands of living insects, 

 such as are now presented you — some were on the 

 point of leaving tho kernel, others were just com- 

 mencing to eat through, and many were perfectly 

 formed, and running about in all directions. Six 

 years ago I used to soak my early grains in salt 

 brine, for the purpose of destroying the eggs of 

 the insect, which I assured my neighbors, much to 

 their amusement and unbelief, was ensconced in the 

 kernel. Now, by accident, the fact is made manifest. 

 The insect would not liave appeared till June, per- 

 haps, had the wheat been sown. The warm situa- 

 tion it occupied in the greenhouse brought it thus 

 early to maturity." 



Mr. Cole^ian's Report. — The third number of 

 Mr. Coleman's Report on European xAgriculture is 

 now in press in Boston, and will soon be ready for 

 delivery. It is spoken of as being more interesting 

 than either of the previous numbers 



