1868. 



NEW ENGLAM) FARMER. 



461 



out a lot of large Merino 

 ewes to cross with him, 

 "Don't you do it," he re- 

 plied; "get a Leicester. 

 The Leicester lambs are 

 far better." "Is it not too 

 violent a cross ?" I asked. 

 "Not at all. Mr. A, got a 

 Leicester from Canada and 

 Crossed him with common 

 Merino ewes, and had great 

 luck. I don't believe he 

 lost a single lamb, and they 

 were splendid. They were 

 the best I ever killed. 

 There is nothing will pay *| 

 you so well. Mr. B. did 

 the same thing with a South 

 Down, and he had no end 

 of trouble in lambing. The 

 heads are so large ; and 

 after all, the lambs were 

 nothing like as good as the 

 grade Leicesters. You will 

 miss it if you get a South 

 Down." 



I wrote to Mr. Samuel . 

 Thorne, who has had sev- 

 eral years' experience in . 

 raising grade South Down 

 lambs lor the butcher, asking his opinion 

 on the point. He replies : "My own expe- 

 rience does not agree with that of Peart. I 

 have had many South Down and grade South 

 Down lambs, and never, to my knowledge, 

 lost one owing to the size of the head in lamb- 

 ing. As you know, the South Down has by 

 no means a large head. Some of the other 

 Downs have. 1 fancy Mr. P. has confounded 

 the breeds. In using a Hampshire ram Down 

 one season we had a great deal of trouble, and 

 some loss from this cause. I never before 

 heard any complaints of grade South Downs 

 not 'dying well' ; on the contraiy, the New 

 York butchers, as far as my ac(juaintance ex- 

 tends, prefer them to any other." 



I think Mr. Thorne hit it exactly, and that, 

 the ram used by Mr. B. was a Hampshire 

 Down. When at Geneva last week, I saw a 

 fine lot of grade South Down lambs raised by 

 Mr. Swan, from common Merino ewes, crossed 

 with a thorough bred South Down, and he said 

 he had had no trouble with them. On the 

 contrary, he was delighted with the cross. 

 They had all the marks and the general ap- 

 pearance of the South Down. 



Mr. Thorne says he has no doubt that "any 

 of the improved mutton breeds, crossed with 

 common Merino ewes, will produce lambs that 

 will pay a handsome profit." His plan is "to 

 buy good, strong ewes in the latter part of 

 August, selecting those that have the appear- 

 ance of being good milkers. They are coup- 

 led the first of September, so as to bring the 

 lambs in February. The ewes are kept on 

 good liay during the winter, and as they near 



the time of lambing, one feed of roots a day is 

 given. After lambing they are removed from 

 the flock, the supply of roots increased, and 

 bran mashes and some grain added. The ob- 

 ject now Is to create as great a flow of milk as 

 possible. The lambs soon show a disposition 

 to eat, and a place is then set apart for them 

 where bruised oats and cracked -oil- cake, with 

 the best clover hay, are given ad libitum. If 

 the lambs do well they are all sold and deliv- 

 ered by the 1st of June, and the ewes then 

 have th* summer in which to get ready for the 

 butcher in the fall. Near any city or large 

 town where early lambs command an extra 

 price, there can be no doubt of the profit to 

 be made by raising them. As soon as the 

 lambs reach 60 lbs. they may be sent oflP. 

 Mine usually brought me from $5 to $8 each. 

 I paid from $2.50 to $4.50 for the ewes, and 

 sold them fat the next fall fo,r from $5 to $7, 

 and I had the fleece besides." 



This looks like a profitable business, and as 

 June is rather a dry time .financially on the 

 farm, the money from the lambs would be very 

 convenient. — J. Harris, in Am. Agriculturist. 



Kitchen Odors. — Meat which has been 

 slightly tainted may be restored to perfect 

 sweetness, and the odor arising from it while 

 boiling entirely prevented by throwing into 

 the pot a few pieces of charcoal contained in a 

 small bag. The odor of vegetables slightly 

 affected may be prevented m the same way. 

 Red pepper, and even black pepper, produces 

 a similar but less perfect result. 



