52 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Jan. 



From the Springfield, Mass, Republican. 

 WILLIE -WENT A WOOINO. 



Young Willie went a wooing, 



One pleasant Sunday night; 

 "Went wooing Jennie trilbert — 



Pray who had a better right ? 

 The dew was on the iluwtrs, 



The stars were shining bright, 

 When Willie went a wooing, 



One pleasant Sunday nignt. 



The path led through the meadow, 



To farmer Qilben's house, 

 And Wil ie trod as gently. 



And "sly as a mouse." 

 But his heart it grew tumultuous, 



When lirsl he saw the light 

 In farmer Gilbert's parlor, 



That pleasant Sunday night. 



Jennie Gilbert was the mistress 



Of firmer Gilbert's farm, 

 And many fond admirers 



llad cfiVrcd her their arm ; 

 And told her how they loved her, 



But it wasn't told aright, 

 L'ntil Willie went a wooing, 



One pleasant Sunday night. 



She was her father's all on earth ; 



Her mother, years ago, 

 Went down the darkened valley, 



And crossed the liver's flow; 

 And Jennie grew to womanhood, — 



Of her f ither'fl home the light, 

 Where Willie went a wooing. 



One pleasant Sunday night. 



Twas never known what Willie said, 



Nor how his love he told. 

 But — Jennie let him hold her hand, 



(Perhaps that made him bold,) 

 For he kiesed her on her burning check. 



Her little hand held tight,— 

 Did Willie, while a wooing, 



One pleasant Sunday night, 



The farmer in the kitchen lone, 



Sat by himself apart. 

 The wooing in the parlor 



Made sorrowful his he: rt. 

 The hour hand on the kitchen clock 



Was standing bolt upright. 

 Ere Willie left oft' wooing. 



That pleasant Sunday night. 



To breakfast on the morrow, 



Jennie came a little la! e, 

 Her father gazed into her eyes. 



And sought to read his fate; 

 But she kept her secret nobly. 



Her father's gaze despite. 

 Said not a word of Willie 



Or the pleasant Sunday nighi. 



Dark-browed sat farmer Gilbert, 



And with a lengthened face. 

 He thought of allthe empty rooms. 



Within that pleasant place; 

 So sad was his demeanor. 



That Jennis, pale with fright, 

 Thought Willie sure was tabooed 



From coming Sunday night. 



But Willie Gray was sent for 



That very blessed day, 

 And everything was settled 



Before he went away. 

 For Will, and Jane, and "Father" 



"Put everything to rights," 

 And Willie came a wooing. 



The coming Sunday nights. 



Blithe Will and gentle Jennie 



Now jsurney side by side, 

 A worthy, happy husband, 



A loved and loving bride. 

 Farmer Gilbert rocks the cradle. 



The farm looks trim and bright. 

 And Willie woes his Jennie 



Now, every Sunday night. 



EXTRACTS AND KEPLIES. 



FATTENING SHEEP. 



Please give the best method and feed for fatten- 

 ing sheep. D. H. 



Otisfield, Me., Nov. 3, 1868. 



Remarks. — The best method and feed must of 

 course depend somewhat on circumstances. But 

 after all, the pith of the old saying that "the good 

 workman never complains of tools" is about as 

 applicable to the feeder as to the mechanic. The 

 best method and materials for building a ship can 

 only be learned by actual practice, and we believe 

 there is about as much experience and skill re- 

 quired in fattening sheep as in building ships. In 

 either case the recorded knowledge of other men 

 may assist, but cannot make the finished work- 

 man. It is therefore with much diffidence that we 

 attempt a reply to a request for information on a 

 subject of which we have little practical knowl- 

 edge, as but fev/ sheep are fattened in our neigh- 

 borhood. 



We copied last summer, — Monthly Farmer 

 page 322, some remarks upon the subject by an 

 English farmer who put the remark in italics, "7 

 ahcays try to avoid letting any of my sheep or lambs 

 have any sudden change of food," thus indicating his 

 high appreciation of the importance of regularity 

 and care in feeding. Indeed, Dr. Kandall says 

 "all experienced flockmasters concur in the opin- 

 ion that sheep fed with perfect regularity as to 

 time and amount will do better on rather inferior 

 keep, than on the best without that regularity." 



John Johnston, Esq., the well known farmer of 

 Geneva, N. Y., gave tliQ following account a few 

 years ago of his manner of feeding sheep, 



"I generally buy my sheep in October. Then I 

 have good pasture to put them on, and they gain a 

 good deal before winter sets in. I have generally 

 had to put them in the yards about the first of 

 December. For the last twenty-three years I have 

 fed straw the first two or two and a half months, a 

 pound of oil cake, meal or grain, to each sheep. 

 When I commence feeding hay, if it is good early 

 cut clover, I generally reduce the quantity of meal 

 or ^ain one-half; but that depends on the condi- 

 tion of the sheep. If they are not pretty fat, I 

 continue the full feed of meal or grain with their 

 clover, and on both they fatten wonderfully fast. 

 This year (1862-3) I fed buckwheat, a pound to 

 each per day, half in the morning and half at four 

 o'clock P. M., with wheat and barley straw. I 

 found the sheep gained a little over a pound each 

 per week. It never was profitable for me to com- 

 mence fattening lean sheep, or very fat ones. 

 Sheep should be tolerably fair mutton when yarded. 

 I keep their yards and sheds thoroughly littered 

 with straw. 



"Last year I only fed straw one month. The 

 sheep were fed a pound of buckwheat each. Frohi 

 the 20th of October to the 1st of March, they 

 gained nearly IJ pounds each per week. They 

 were full-blood Merinos — but not those with the 



