No. 11. 



Dialogue between a Father and Son. 



343 



fatal wounds. And when the dangerous tool 

 is carried from place to place, it should be 

 bound up with a rope of grass, or otherwise 

 carefully secured. 



For the Fanners' Cabinet. 

 Dialoi;ue 1>ct\veen a Father and Son. 



ROT IN SHEEP. A WELL PLANNED GARDEN. 



Frank. Father, 1 have just met Johu Ross, 

 who tells mc his uncle lias lost two of lii.s 

 most viiluabie sheep by the rot, and that he 

 fears be shall lo-^^e many more from the same 

 cause; is there not a danirer that our sheep 

 will catch the same distemper, for you know 

 they sometimes mix with them on the com- 

 mon. I suppose the di^^ease is communicated 

 in this way, for many of our neighbors are 

 complaining of the ravages of that cruel dis- 

 order, and are separating their flocks to pre- 

 vent contagion. Have you ever suffered in 

 this way '.' 



Father. I have never lost a sheep by the 

 rot, but I attribute my security from this 

 scourge, to observation and reflection. While 

 I am, as much as any one, an enemy to what 

 is called mere "book knowledge," it is not 

 possible for a farmer to follow his business 

 without being incessantly called upon for 

 practical observation and reflection, and this, 

 to an intelligent man is the greatest pleasure. 

 Well might the good man of old walk into 

 the fields at even tide to meditate ; this is the 

 proper season for reflection, the early morn 

 for observatinn. 



Frank. What a beautiful distinction ! 1 

 must note that down. 



Father. The disorder called the Rot, is 

 not contagious, but is generally caused by tak- 

 in? cold and watery food into the stoinach, 

 where, instead of digestiuij, it becomes putrid, 

 and engenders life; the liver of sheep which 

 die in the rot is full of small creatures called 

 flukes, something like flat fishes; these perfo- 

 rate it like a !ioriey-comb, causing the death 

 of thousands. But it is a curious fact, that 

 ewes, even when irrecoverably gone in the rot, 

 do not die while suckling their lambs; when 

 these are weaned however, they often die ofl" 

 by hundreds, and the evil is oftentimes much 

 augmented, by their lying in low and damp 

 pastures; for it is discovered that the air which 

 surrounds them in such situations, is loaded 

 with poisonous vapor, which, being heavier 

 than pure atmospheric air, cannot rise into it 

 and thus become, purified, but remains near 

 the surface, and is inhaled by the sheep, whose 

 heads are low; while larger animals, whose 

 heads are abcjve the stratum of poison, will re- 

 main in health in pastures which are destruc- 

 tive to sheep. Do you understand how this 

 isl 

 Frank. Yes, perfectly, and this reminds 



me of what I was reading, but yesterday, con- 

 cerning a cavern in Italy, into which if a dog 

 enter, it is destruction to him, while a man 

 feels no inconvenience whatever, as the bad 

 air, by its heaviness, is confined t(j the bottom of 

 the cavern ; it is from this circumstance called 

 "Grotto del Cano." And, look at our sheep 

 at this moment! they are all lying on that lit- 

 tle rising ground, as though they were per- 

 fectly acquainted with the subject on which 

 we are speaking, and feel, no doubt, the com- 

 fort of that situation. 



Father. Trun, and what will strike you 

 very forcibly, observe that knoll, or rising 

 ground the next foggy morning, and you will 

 perceive that it is in a clear atmosphere, 

 whilst all the lower parts of tlie same field, 

 and the adjoining lands, appear as though they 

 were covered with water, the whole being 

 enveloped in fog : and you will be able to mark 

 exactly the height to which the bad air of the 

 low lands extends. But, even at the present 

 moment, this poisonous atmosphere is there, 

 although it is now invisible; the coolness of 

 the mornings and evenings will, however, 

 render it perceptible. This is one reason why 

 I always commence folding the slieep at the 

 highest part of the field, that they might have 

 the higher ground to retire to for rest; and 

 hence, another advantage arises, which some 

 of our neighbors do not seem to comprehend ; 

 the higher parts of the field receive, as they 

 should do, the greater proportion of the ma- 

 nure. But I am confident that much of my 

 security from this disorder, arises from the use 

 of lime, which is a corrector of the acidity 

 of the soil in the first place, and in the second, 

 is destructive to the whole family of aquatic 

 plants, replacing them with those grasses 

 wliich are hidigenons, or native to a lime- 

 stone soil, upon which sheep never rot. You 

 know, too, that I am careful to drain all wet 

 and springy parts of the fields, and this is a 

 l.ibor which our adjoining neighbors do not 

 covet. I also allow salt for the use of the 

 sheep, which is placf=!d in troughs under shel- 

 ter; an excellent practice. 



THE GARDEN. 



But come, now the weather is fine, we must 

 think of the gard^ — we must be gardeners 

 as well as farmers, for much profit as well as 

 pleasure is to l.'e derived from a good garden 

 well cultivated. I do not, however, approve 

 of doing much in this early part of the year, 

 althounh many are tempted by a few warm 

 days, sucii as we have enjoyed of late, to sow 

 their seeds, which had better he reserved for 

 the next month; March beinsj, in this part of 

 the country, early enough f<>r general crops. 

 There is, however, just one sort of work 

 which is peculiarly suitable to the present 

 early season, and which ought to be done be- 



