132 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



AOV. 4, 1835. 



(From the Vcrucniie^ Palladium. I 

 FOLDING SHEEP AND RAISING TURNIPS. 



Let the Sheep assist hi riiisiiig- their own Food. 



Mr Blaisdell: — 1 jierceive that occasionally a 

 small [lortion of your jwpec is clevoteil to the sub- 

 ject of agriculture, and feeling anxious to promote 

 so important a science, anil havinjj made some 

 experiments, rather out of the conjmon practice 

 of our farmers, 1 take the liberty to communiL-ate 

 them to you, with the results. Should yoii con- 

 sider them worthy, you are at liberty to lay them 

 before your readers. They are as (bhows : 



Last spring I devoted about one hundred acres 

 of land as (lasturage for my sheep, and divided it 

 into lots of 30 or 40 acres each ; the adjoining 

 lot was composed of a fine light loam, rather shal- 

 low, but well adapted to most crops, with manure 

 and plaster, i went into the lot on the ■20tU day 

 of June, and ]>louglied half an acre of the above 

 described land ; I put a fence around the .same, 

 and folded 300 sheep in it five nights. 



On the first day of July I harrowed and sowed 

 it with English turnip seed, of this summer's 

 growth, and left the fence down : the sheep being 

 acc-ustomed to that s|)Ot, and preferring ploughed 

 land to sleep on, they again yarded themselves 

 there five nights, making in the whole 10 nights, 

 during wbich time we had several showers. Oil 

 examination, I found the field trod as hard as a 

 common road. 1 then expected the sued would 

 not come up, but the weather proving favorable, 

 the young |, hints sooa appeared. Without loss of 

 time I dusted the field with four bushels of ashes, 

 and on the third day with half a bushel of plaster ; 

 when the plants were five or six inches high, I 

 spent two days weeding and thinning them. On 

 the first of September I began to pull for my own 

 use and to carry to market The only fault found 

 with thetn was, they were too large. Tlie crop 

 will now show for itself, and is considered by all 

 who have had an opportunity of viewing it, to be 

 one of the finest they ever saw. They judge the 

 crop will yield from 300 to 500 bushels, and 1 think 

 myself it will exceed 200 bushels more than sufli- 

 cient to pay the expense of harveslijig. 



Thus it may be seen that sheep may be made 

 to contribute much towards raising thi.'ir own 

 food. I have sown several otlit*.- small crops with 

 equal success. And by managing as I have above 

 described, I shall be enabled to nianure my plough 

 land, or the back part of my farm, and save the 

 baru manure to be ap[>lied near home. 



I will now compute the Debt and Credit. 

 Say the yard, Dr. 



To two hands and team, ploughing and 



fencing, $2 25 



To seed, 25 



To two hands and team half a day, hai'- 



rowing and fencing, ..... 1 12 



To 4 bushels ashes and dusting, . . 60 



To half bushel plaster and dusting, . 35 



To two days' work weeding and thin- 

 ning plants, 2 00 



S6 57 



Gl^dit. 



By 200 bushels at 25 cts per bushel, , SoO 00 



I have engaged a machine at the South for cut- 

 ting potatoes, turnips, and other roots for sheep. 

 On its arrival it will be free for the examination 

 of any one who wishes to build. I will now close, 

 with the earnest request that our farmers would 

 communicate the result of their useful experi- 

 ments — it would be beneficial tn all. I wish my 

 neighbors would follow Gen. Barnum's example, 

 by freely communicating the information ho ac- 

 quires by experience and by agricultural publica- 

 tions. I believe it is but justice to say of him, 

 that we are more indebted to him than any other 

 man in this part of the country, for the introduc- 

 tion of fine domestic animals, his recommendation 

 of the manner of breeding and crossing the breed 

 of them, and for* various other useful improve- 

 ments in farming. KEnBiiN Wheeler. 



Ferrisbur^h, Sept. 25, 1835. 



Balance, §43 43 



I will here remark that the land will be in fine 

 oirder for two years, without any other manure 

 tfcan a little plaster. 



REMARKABLE FECUWDITY OF A EWE. 



Mr William Nottingham, sen,, has at his farm 

 near Eastvide, Northampton, Va. a ewe which 

 has brought 20 laud)S in 7 years and 2 months, 

 from the first to the last yeaning; and omitting 

 fhe last, the first 19 lambs were ju-oduced in less 

 than 6 years. The following dates and numbers 

 were coj)ied from the written niemoranda kept by 

 Mr Nottingham, on whom, as a man of observa- 

 tion and accuracy, the most entire reliance may 

 be placed. 



Tlie ewe was yeaned in February, 1827. 

 ]u February, 1828, she brought 2 laiidis. 



February, 1829, 4 do 



November 1st, 1829, 3 do 



(being 7 in 19 mouths.) 

 February 7th, 1831, 3 do 



lUarch lOtli, 1832, 3 do 



January 18tb, 1833, 2 do 



December 31st, 1833, 2 do 



April 13th, 1835, 1 do 



None of these were supposed to bo preinature 

 births, and as large a (iroportion of the lambs 

 lived as could have been expected in ordinary 

 docks, from births as they usually occur. Great 

 care was generally taken of the mother, but owing 

 to particular occurrences, she was sometinjes 

 greatly exposed. Her lour laujbs were yeaned at 

 a birth when out in a severe snow storm, and all, 

 1 believe, died in consequence. 'Ihe ewe was 

 raised as a house lamb, and is of the common 

 breed. She was the only ewe kept on this liirm, 

 and has always been fed abundantly. When giv- 

 ing milk, her udder was stated to be more like a 

 cow's in size, than that of a sheep. But if her 

 fecundity was caused altogether by high feeding, 

 it would seem that the same eft'ects may be cou- 

 tinued in her race by like treatment. Some of 

 the female lambs of this ewe wtie given to Mr 

 Nottingham's sons, and have been kept as breed- 

 ers, with the like abundant supply of food. Of 

 these, one, " one has had 4 lambs at one time, and 

 3 at another time — another had 4 lambs at her 

 first and only yeaning — and a third has had 3 

 lambs at one yeaning." these latter facts were 

 also furnished me in writing by Mr Nottingham's 

 son. 1 omitted asking what proportion ot these 

 were raised — and did not note down the propor- 

 tion of those lost by the old ewe 



Mr Nottingbam's flock of sheep is kept on gra- 

 zing land on the sea side, and the mother of this 

 family has been the only ewe kept at his house. 

 In addition to this peculiar situation, she has had 



the company every year, except the last, of more 

 than one inale — as several ram lambs were 

 brought home from the sea side pasture at shear- 

 ing time, to be killed in the course of the year. 

 Upon these facts, and his observations, Mr N. has 

 formed the opinion that the several lambs of each 

 yeaning had diflerent sires — and that the num- 

 ber of males in fact determined the number of 

 lambs. Whether this strange o])inion in well 

 founded or not, Mr N. is so sure of it, that he has 

 latterly more than once before the yeaning stated 

 correctly the number of lambs that would be pro, 

 duced. The last time there was only one male 

 with her — " E. R." in Farmer's Register. 



Superiority or the white cdrra.vt tor ta- 

 ble AND wine. — Those who have not compared 

 the white and red currant together, generally are 

 not aware of the great difl^erence tliere is between 

 them in point of excellence. The white, we 

 think, is far superior to the red. It is much 

 sweeter and pleasanter when ripe for table use, 

 and much better for wine. The wine made from 

 it, if light colored sugar is used, is nearly color- 

 less, of sweet and pleasant flavor, resembling the 

 light sweefFrench wines. Bottled at a jiarticular 

 stage, before the fermentation has entirely subsi- 

 ded, it makes a very fair Champaign. We have 

 now some of this wine which is two years old, 

 made with the pure juice of the white currant, 

 water and loaf sugar, which is pronounced by 

 judges to be exceedingly fine and palatable. To 

 every one who is fond of this fruit, we would 

 recommend by all means the cultivation of the 

 white variety, on the score of economy as well as 

 palntahleness , as it takes much less sugar to pre- 

 pare it for the table than the red — is equally pro- 

 ductive, and as easily raised. — " W. W. B." in thf 

 Genesee Farmer. 



Coal in MA-f^sFiELD We learn fiom the Taun- 

 ton Gazette, that abed of coal has been discovered 

 about half a mile from the rail road leading from 

 Boston to Providence, on the land of Mr Alfred 

 Harden. In digging a well the workmen came 

 to a vein of good coal within ten feet of the sur- 

 face of the ground. A blacksmith has made trial 

 of it, and [ironounces it as good as any he has 

 bought. Several of the neighbors have tried it 

 with success in their fire-places They have dug 

 into the vein about six feet, and have not found 

 its bottom. — JVeii' Bedford paper. 



Valuable recipe. — When a crack is discover- 

 ed in a stove, through which the fire or smoke 

 penetrates, the apertures may be completely closed 

 in a moment, with a composition, consisting of 

 wood ashes and common salt, made into paste 

 with a little water, plastered over the crack. The 

 good effect is equally certain, whether the stove, 

 iSce. be cold or hot. — Long Island Star. 



Mr A. Brunson, of Meadville, Pa. says, from 

 fifteen years' experience, he finds that an Indian 

 meal poultice, covered over with young hyson tea, 

 softened with hot water, and laid over burns and 

 frozen flesh, as hot as it can be borne, will relieve 

 the pain in five minutes ; that if blisters have not 

 arisen before, they will not after it is put on, and 

 that one pouhice is generally sufficient to effect a 

 cure. 



