No. 3. 



Sheep Hushandi'y. 



83 



the riuDi] tide, (as this is tiie tide Ovjariiiy ti 

 our sliores) will give iis an ess.iy on the tiil - 

 jcct, and vviiollior ho has thoroiiiiliiy invi>t 

 {jfatpd it or not, any additional knowledge of 

 its properties will be gladly received by the 

 liirniers of Kent county, Delaware. If any 

 fifentleman having experimented with it on 

 Ins land, will give us the result of the same, 

 it, may help agriculture onward. At pre.-cnt 

 there is a spirit of agricultural improvonn-nt, 

 in Kent county — andadwindlingawity of that 

 prejudice so long fostered against agncultnrul 

 p ip rs, \n so much — that almost every farmer 

 is patronizing or anxions to subscribe t{)r 

 some good practical journal. It is therefore a 

 matter of interest to the proprietors of the 

 Cabinet, as well as tlie farming community at 

 large, to enrich the pages of their work with 

 articles of utility. Your friend, 



A SuBSCRinEU. 

 Dover, Kent Co., Del., Sept'r 15tli, 1838. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Siiccp Ilii§baii<Iry. 



Mr. Libdy : — 



Dear Sir, — In the August number of the 

 Farmers' Cabinet, I was much interested with 

 the paper of your correspondent T, D., of Bur- 

 lington, N. J., on " Soiling Neat Cattle ;" and 

 as about the time of the publication of that 

 number, I received an answer to some in- 

 quiries made into the .same subject, " On 

 Sheep,''^ if you deem the correspondence of 

 sufficient interest for your journal, it is at 

 your disposal. Mr. Pennock's method of 

 re.ar'uis; and soiling sheep corroborates the 

 views t;iken by T. D., and the advocates of 

 this .system in England and other agricultural 

 countries ; not only as it respects neat cattle, 

 but sheep. He also confirms the arguments 

 of Baron De Bulow, as it regards the quality 

 and value of the manure thus obtained ; the 

 greater protection a tiock of sheep enjoys 

 thereby from the annoyance of flies and other 

 insects; and their relief from the heat of a 

 summer sun, all of which, to say nothincf of the 

 security of fine sheep from destr^iction by 

 doL's. is of vital importance to every flirmer. 



Independent of these reasons in favor of 

 the Soiling System, Mr. Pennock clearly 

 shows, the more sheep a farmer can keep in 

 this way, the more manure he can make, and 

 as a coaseqaence on a grazing farm, the 



more cattle he can feed, and on a grain farm 

 the greater will be his crops in proportion to 

 the abundance and good quality of his manure. 

 Yours, truly, 



J.\MKs \V. Thomson. 



From the TranBartionn of the Now Castle County 

 .Vfrricuiliiral Socifty. 



On Soiling; SIiccp. 



Wilmington, June 21, 183'. 



Mr. Moses Pennock : — 



Drar Sir, — Since comtnnnicating to the 

 May number of the " Fariners' Cabinet," Mr. 

 Bayiie's method of "iStHll-feeding Sheep," an 

 intelligent friend of yours mtbrmed me that 

 you had adifferent plan for the same purpose, 

 peculiar to yourself, on which you had prac- 

 tised with success for some years past; and 

 that it consisted principally in soiling or keep- 

 ing up your sheep in summer and winter, 

 and not permitting them to graze or run at 

 large; thus saving your flock from the depre- 

 dation of dogs, securing to the barnyard all 

 their manure, and giving you the additional 

 advantage of being always ready to supply 

 llie butchers, at-'uy season, with fat mutton. 

 The New Castle County Agricultural Society 

 has directed me to address practical and in- 

 telligent tanners, and to obtain for its benefit 

 all such information as I now seek from you. 

 If, therefore, you are so disposed as to favor 

 us with your mode of keeping and fattening 

 sheep, (now a subject of much interest with 

 us.) it will be duly appreciated by us, and 

 prove, I have no doubt, interesting to our 

 farmers generally. The plan of keeping up 

 sheep in this county the year through, has 

 been considered expensive and impracticable. 

 Ynnr experience, I am informed, leads you 

 to differentconclusions. Hoping to hear from 

 yon soon on the subject, I shall await with 

 interest your reply to this communication. 

 Very respectfully, your friend, 



James W. Thomson, 

 Cor. Sec. A/r. Soc. iV. C. Co. 



Kennett Square, Flh mo. lOth, 18:18. 

 Re.^prcted Friend, — 



Thy communication I received this day, 

 dated 2Ist of 6th mo. last, desiring informa- 

 tion relative to keppin? sheep during the hot 

 season of the year. The sheep that I tried 

 the experiment on were full mei-ino. In 

 the forepart of fith mo., IS!)."), I confined about 

 (JOof those, including ewes, limb^, and weth- 

 ers under a well ventilated shed for nine 

 weeks, except abiut two hours morning and 

 evening I let them run at large in an adjoin- 

 ing lotto trot water and exercise themselves 

 In 1830 and '7 I kept 70 under the same shed 



