No. 15. 



On Sheep. 



261 



two stalks to the hill. My corn is the Vir- 

 ginia gourd-seed; some kinds, perhaps, would 

 do thicker. I run a two horse cultivator be- 

 tween the five feet rows which disturbs the 

 ground and grass as they should be, and one 

 horse the other way ; the two should be used 

 frequently, so as to keep the ground clean 

 and mellow. When the corn is fit to plougli 

 put one light flirrow to the side of each row; 

 this should be done while the corn is small, 

 to cover the little weeds that may have start- 

 ed in the hills ; in a short time put one heavy 

 furrow to the other side of each row, which 

 must be followed by the hoe to cut out the 

 weeds, &c. If the sod is tough, plough 

 the middle shallow, but if there is little 

 or no sod, thin with two horses and plough, 

 stir them deep. After harvest, if the grass 

 begins to grow or the season be dry, pass the 

 two horse cultivator, but with shorter teeth 

 than before harvest, over it again; if this does 

 not m.'ike a crop put on lime till it will 

 Ploughing just before planting, turning the 

 eggs and grass down, and harrowing and 

 rolling as already described, is sure to pro- 

 duce a good crop; when it can be performed 

 ■well the ears will be larger than if ploughed 

 at any other time, but will not ripen so early 

 — but to this mode there are objections, the 

 grass roots get strong, the ground settled, 

 and sometimes or often dry and baked, tlie 

 weather warm, very hard for the horses, and 

 cannot be pulverized well without tearing 

 up the seeds and worms, and the eggs which 

 have been on or near the surface exposed to 

 the sun till so late a period, soon become ac- 

 tive depredators, and the open cloddy state 

 of the ground atford them all chances of get- 

 ting to the surface. Light land, ploughed in 

 autumn, produces corn of good quality, it 

 grows off well in spring, ripens early, but 

 the ears are small in comparison with those 

 from spring ploughed land ; and much more 

 tillage required, and rather heavy land 

 ploughed in autumn becomes so compact by 

 planting time as to render reploughing or 

 double furrowing necessary, and even then 

 produces small ears, whereas if ploughed 

 early in spring, before night freezing is over, 

 produces good corn both in quality and quan- 

 tity — some land is too iieavy and tenacious 

 for corn, plough it when you will, but such 

 should be top dressed and kept for pasture. 



Epicuuus. 



Mill Creek Hundred, New Castle Co. Del. ? 

 2d Mo. 24th, 1838. j 



N. B. I have frequently known fall plough- 

 ing to be reploughed or double furrowed be- 

 fore planting, aud I have almost as frequent- 

 ly known the worms to be very bad, often de- 

 stroying the crop. This is produced, I pre- 

 sume, by turning the eggs up for the sun to 

 animate them, whereas they would not be 



ready for the corn till out of their way, if the 

 reploughing had been omitted. I have fre- 

 quently heard farmers complain that after 

 ploughing in autumn, and reploughing in 

 spring, and putting the land in tine tilth,'' the 

 cut worm entirely destroyed the crop. Turn 

 the eggs down in autumn, out of the way of 

 frost, and to the surface and sun in the spring, 

 and if the corn is not injured it is because 

 there are no eggs there. E. 



To the Kditiir of the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Oi» §Iieep. 



The sheep fed in this section, are mostly 

 brought from the west, — are of a small size, 

 their weight, from twelve to eighteen pounds, 

 per quarter, — but few are bred here, and the 

 farms being divided into small enclosures, 

 large flocks cannot be kept advantageously. 

 The full blooded merino, is a valuable breed, 

 a few of them, should be kept by every farm- 

 er, for his own family use. They will shear, 

 on an average, about seven pounds of wool in 

 the dirt, and will, when fat, weigh fifteen, 

 and sixteen pounds per quarter. By the in- 

 dustry of the family, and a small assistance 

 from tlie manufacturer, the house can be sup- 

 plied with fine cloth, flannel, &c. The cost 

 of manufacture would not exceed five cents 

 per yard, more than coarse, or common cloth, 

 and it would sell for about double the price. 



A friend of mine living in Chester count}', 

 within a few miles of this, has a buck, which 

 he imported from Devonshire, England; his 

 live weight is three hundred pounds ; short 

 legged, heavy bodied, and well quartered, 

 and is considered a good feeder by the best 

 judges, — his wool is long and coarse. This 

 stock crossed with the merino would be valu- 

 able on account of the wool ; being more 

 suitable for stockings, blankets, and cloth 

 for working men, and would make good 

 feeders. The ewes, when fat, will weigh 

 twenty, to twenty-five pounds per quarter. 



When few sheep are kept together, they 

 will thrive batter, and produce more wool. 

 When they are found amiss, open the hole 

 between their hoofs, where they join the foot 

 on the upper side, and attend to it a few days, 

 until the discharge is regular from it ; keep 

 their locks clean ; salt them frequently, and 

 with such treatment, a flock may be kept near« 

 ly free from all diseases. 



A Brandywink Farmer. 



Wilmington, March 3, 1338. 



A good farmer is generally a true friend, 

 an affectionate husband, an excellent parent, 

 and an honest man ; and it is an established 

 axiom that a well tilled Jirld, denotes the su- 

 pervision of an enlightened mind. 



