156 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



all Shani^hae fowls arc so prolific, I mako no doubt 

 these will make good the early indications <;ivcn. 

 Very respectfully, E. V. IGHT. 



Boston, April 30, 18.50. 



The White Shanghaes imported by Capt. Palmer 

 were pearl ^\hitc in color; the feathers were soft and 

 downy, resembling more those of the Bremen goose 

 than "the leatlicrs of our ordinary domestic poultry. 

 The t;!il in tins breed is much shorter than in the red 

 varicr'v. The combs and wattles in both sexes are 

 s;.,al!,"thc combs not l.eing serrated or indentetl, as 

 arc Jho e of the Ked Shanghae. llie logs were 

 feathered to the toes, and were short and stout, and 

 of a pale nankeen color, ;ipi)roaching nearly to white. 

 The eggs were much larger than those of the lied 

 Shanghae, and of a yellowish flesh color. 



It is much to bo regretted that so good a breed of 

 fowls as were the White Shanghacs imported by 

 Capt. Palmer, should have been lost for want of 

 care and Mttention. But such is the case. The dis- 

 position (f the White iShanghac being noa-combat- 

 ant, and that of the lied Shanghae being quite the 

 reverse, the stock of Mr. Dixon became but a mon- 

 grel race of Red and White Shanghacs. 



The White Shanghacs, of which every huckster 

 has a plenty for sale, and wan-anted pure, arc the 

 progeny of the Pvcd Slijjnghae crossed on white fowls 

 of other breeds, as tlie persons breeding from such 

 White Shanghacs -will find to their sorro\s'. 



The White Shanghae described in Dr. Bennett's 

 work on poultry, is one of this description, having 

 the large serrated comb of the Red Shanghae, with 

 the \\ hite plumage of some other fowl ; having a full 

 end tlowing tail, which belongs not to the White 

 Shanghae. 



Notwithstanding the elaborate description therein 

 given, sotting forth the fact, that this same fowl has 

 been selected by his owner, an experienced breeder, 

 (I wonder how, -when, and Avhere he obtained his 

 experience,) for the purpose of propagating the fine 

 White Shanghacs imported {from where f) by his 

 "friend Osborne." 



I may, at some time hereafter, refer to the book of 

 Dr. Bennett, when writing descriptions of other 

 breeds of fowls. Yours, &c., 



S. BRADFORD MORSE, Ju. 



For the Nctc England Farmer. 

 MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP. 



Mr. Editoh : There has been but little contributed 

 to your paper upon sheep husbandry ; and knowing 

 this subject must be one of interest to many of your 

 readers, I send you the following sketch upon the 

 general management of sheep. 



It is not advisable to turn sheep out to grass in the 

 spring until there is a fair bite of feed, and we 

 should then continue to feed a little hay and grain 

 in order to keep up their strength, and prevent the 

 f*cours. It is bad economy to allow the feed in our 

 pastures to become very high or short : in tlio former 

 case, it is less sweet, tender, and palatable ; in the 

 latter, the sheep w ill not get a full supply of food ; 

 besides, it is injurious to the land to feed pastures 

 very close, especially in time of a drought. A fre- 

 quent change of pastures is highly desirable ; this 

 gives a greater variety of food, and thereby adds to 

 the general health and thrift of sheep. In the lat- 

 ter part of the pasturing season the grass is less 

 nutritious, and many kinds of herbage become dry, 

 hard, and unpalatable; consoquently a change of 

 pasture Ls more important than early in the season ; 

 and for the same reasons, sheep should be allowed a 

 proportional increase of territory. Hilly lands are 

 much to be prefen-cd for eheep pastures ; yet a small 



proportion of low, wet land is rather desirable than 

 otherwise, notwithstanding it is of little use to sheep 

 when there is a good supply of fresh feed on the 

 upland ; but in the time of a drought, one acre of 

 the former may be worth as much as ten or twenty 

 of the latter. 



While at pasture, sheep should be salted at fre- 

 quent and regular intervals. It is a good plan to 

 mix sulphur or tar -wilh the salt, in a trough. These 

 substances promote the general health of sheep, and 

 kccii off the fly Avhich produces the maggot in the 

 head. 



The washing and shearing of sheep should be per- 

 formed by thorough and skilful -workmen. The 

 Merino wool should be well soaked upon the sheep, 

 and then let them out into a close yard, and in a 

 short time they get up a heat and steam, which 

 serves to dissolve the yolk, so that when taken in to 

 wash, the oily matter, as well as the dirt, will be 

 much easier separated from the iloece. The German 

 method of soaking sheep in vats strikes me favorably, 

 and I intend to try it. If the weather is warm and 

 dry, sheep should be shorn in five to eight days after 

 -washing. The shearers should not work any faster 

 than they can cut the wool tlose and smooth, and 

 without hacking the skin. By shearing close we 

 obtain more wool, and of greater length, which is an 

 important quality. When wool is unevenly shorn, it 

 not only makes a bad appearance, but renders the 

 staple of the present and succeeding fleece of un- 

 equal length, and thereby lessening their value. 



It is highly beneficial to both lambs and ewes, to 

 have lambs weaned by the twentieth of August or 

 first of September ; the lambs will grow faster, es- 

 pecially if they are allowed a more inviting growth 

 of feed, which should always be the case, and it 

 gives the ewes a chance to recruit their condition, 

 and it renders them more ardent at the approaching 

 season for breeding. It is natural for the lambs to 

 be quite wild when first separated from the ewca, 

 and as a matter of convenience, and for the purpose 

 of taming them, a few old sheep should run with 

 them. Eate in the fall, lambs should occasionally be 

 brought into the yard and fed with a little sweet hay, 

 roots, and grain. If this, is not practised, they wiU 

 eat so sparingly of these substances when firs; 

 brought into winter quarters, as to lose flesh. 



It is very essential that sheep should come up to 

 the bai-n in good condition ; they are easier wintered, 

 and less subject to disease and mortality. But in 

 order to keep them in this condition, it will be neces- 

 sary to bring them into the yards as soon as they fail 

 of obtaining a good supply of food in the pastures; 

 or if allowed to run later, they should be fed with a 

 small quantity of hay or grain. When first confined 

 to the yard, thej'^ need extra care for one or two 

 weeks. Their hay should be sweet, and early cut, 

 and they should receive daily a few roots, to coun- 

 teract, in a measiire, the sudden change from green to 

 dry food. Until the approach of spring, old sheep 

 need no feed but roots once or twice a week, (which 

 serve to keep the digestive organs in healthy tone, 

 and promote the growth of wool,) and a good supply 

 of dry fodder, early cut and well cured, the bulk 

 of which should be hay composed of a good variety 

 of the cultivated grasses. Hay shoukl be fed at 

 morn and night, and the coarser forage, such as 

 straw, briers, and many kinds of herbage grown in 

 waste places, at noon. All of these, with the excep- 

 tion of straw, should be cut when green, and full of 

 leaves. Three or four weeks before the yeaning 

 season, breeding ewes should have extra keep of 

 grain and roots. It is preferable to have the grain 

 fed in meal, and I think corn ground with the cob, 

 and scalded, the best for the formation of milk ; and 

 potatoes and carrots the best of the root kind. Well 

 cured rowen is excellent feed for l-.tuibs at the com- 



