TX. .MO. «0. 



AND H R T f C LT I. T U R A L R K G I S T E R 



38J) 



■i i<r (le(.>|> swiinpa, inant\ru may be nianufacliircd 

 I gre.il extent. Three pari* of peat nnd one of 

 bic (liiiij; arc mixed togctlior and rcrmcntcd 

 ]i ilie suinnier. It "as iisrd in En^iland 

 .iMfi ijin ; and li:i» been fonnd in New Eng. 

 d Oi|ii.il to tlic same built of stable manure, and 

 ro ptTnianent in its elTucts. — OaviJ Vhomaa's 

 Irtis bt/art the Cnyuga Co. .Igricut. Soc. 



SIIKEP. 



tf<if)iing. — Tlie lime for clipping varies much, 

 1;; onrlier in scafona which huve been preceded 

 faviirablc weather and an unstinted allowance 

 uod, than in such as haTC followed a rigorous 

 ilT, disease, or any other cause calculated to 



t the growth of wool. The season may bo 

 I to be limited liy the middle of M.iy and the 

 die iif July ; but this should not be taken as n 

 • iif conduct, the beit guide being the state of 

 he new coal, which ought always to be well 

 ve the skin before shearing is attempted. The 

 I, unless among some mountain flocks, is always, 

 his country, washed prior to its removal from 



I'.'cp's bsck ; but in Spain that operation is 

 ayp d^^ferrcd till the fleeces have been collect- 

 when they arc subjected to a thorough scouring, 

 ublic buildings appropriated to the purpose, 

 termed larnlorirt. This is a plan in many re- 

 ts superior to ours. Its adoption by our far- 

 B Ins been recommended by Dr. Parry. There 

 nut bo a doubt of its being the preferable mode 

 ogards lliu saving it would effect in the lives of 

 •p ; but as it is well known that shearing is 

 h facilitated by washing, and that on the neat- 



with which the clipping is accomplished, the 

 ily of the succeeding crop in a great n-.easure 

 ?nds, some little lime will be necessary to de- 

 line the comparative value of either mode. In 

 T Soiiih Wales, it is cus'.omary In make the 

 ■p swim across a .•Iream for two or three morn- 



before being washed, by which means the 

 ; is softened, and the removal of grease and 

 much promoted ; but this, though a <rood plan 

 lat mild nnd even climate, could not be looked 

 n as safe in a temperature so variable as that of 

 ain. In cases, however, where great nicety is 

 tired, Ihc plan in vogue in the former country, 



of dipping each sheep, before washing, into a 



dron of warm water, miglit be beneficially 

 ited. 



Hountain sheep arc cleaned by being forced to 

 n across a pool, but the finer or lowland breeds, 

 washed entirely by the hand. The latter mc- 



alonc demands a short e.vplanation. Dry, and 

 55sible, sunny weather, is selected for the ope- 

 )n, on the morning of which the lambs are sepa- 

 d from the flock, and the latter is conveyed lo 

 margin of some pebbly-bottomed pool. Here 



ore penned or otherwise kept together, while 



are seized, one by one, by a man standing 

 -thigh deep near the water edge, and turned 

 c downwards, the head alone being above the 

 ace. It is then turned from side to side, and 

 ed backwards and forwards, so as to make the 

 I catch upon the stream and wave about, 

 en the first washer has held it for a few n.inutes, 



partially cleansed the tieece, he passes it up 

 river to tlie next, who goes through tlie same 



inc, and im being convinced that the skin is 



from filth, compels the sheep to land by swim- 

 g in an oblique direction up t^ie water. Three 



even foar men are sometimes employed in 

 hing iheep but two, aa here described, will, 



under ordinary circumstances, be found siiflicient. 

 The bank on which the dripping sheep arc collect- 

 ed, should have a clean nnd firm turf, ami the flock 

 bluuild, till fairly dry and til for Bhcnriiig, bo l.rpl 

 on heavy grass lund, or, what is better, in ^lr;lw. 

 bedded folds. 



Shtaritif^. — After allowing eight days, ofT or on, 

 to elapse from the time of washing, so as to permit 

 the wool to gain a fresh supply of yolk, and alimg 

 with it lustre and elasticity, the sheep may be 

 Birippod of lis fleece. .\s there is no saving in 

 employing an unskillful clipper, every encouruge- 

 ment should be given to induce servniits to cut 

 close, sinnotlily, and evenly, and lo avoid injuring 

 the »kin, or going twice over the same part. There 

 are two ways in this country of depriving sheep of 

 their wool. In the first, or coarser molhod, which 

 is only adopted in the case of Chevioi and hcalh 

 sheep, the operator sits Opon the ground, and plac- 

 ing the animal on its back between his knees, 

 shears the wool first from the belly and legs, and 

 then, after tying the latter, proceeds to clear the 

 back. In the second melhod, the legs are never 

 tied, as the disposition of the sheep is such as to 

 render it unnecessary. The animal is placed on 

 its buttocks — the shearer stinida with the head be- 

 tween or closely in front of his legs, and clip."! first 

 one side, cutting from the middle of the bc'ly lo 

 thai of the back, down to the loins. It is then 

 placed on its side, the knee of the operator pressing 

 on its neck, and the wool is removed from the legs 

 and bullocks. The fleece is next rolled up, with 

 the cut side outwards, commencing at the tail, and 

 using the wool of the other extremity as a fasten- 

 ing for the bundle. 



A cool dry apartment should be selected in 

 which to store the wool, always remembering thai 

 heat and damp are equally injurious to it, and that 

 the greater the porfection in which it retains its 

 naturally oily moisture, the more valuable will it 

 prove both to the grower and the manufacturer. 



Wtaning. — Weaning, where milking is not 

 practiced, ought to be set about in the end of July 

 or beginning of August. In some places, the ewo 

 lambs are never spcaned, but allowed logo at large 

 with their mothers ; and though by this plan the 

 dam is apt to be kept in poor condition, yet is this 

 counterbalanced by the comparative freedom of the 

 hogs from braxy. As an improvement, however, 

 the gimmcr lambs may be withheld for a fortnight 

 from their mothers, and at the end of that lime 

 may be permitted to pasture with them. 



Wlien the udders of the ewes appear, after their 

 separation from the lambs, lo be much distended, 

 they may be once or twice milked, to prevent bad 

 consequences ; but it is much better lo obviate 

 the necessity for this, by reducing their allowance 

 of food for a few days. When the animal seems 

 to suffer much irritation about ihe udder, it will al- 

 ways be safe to give a brisk dose of any of the 

 common saline purgatives. 



The store Iambs are at lliis period sent to good 

 pasture, or, where the farm cannot afford il, are 

 Bummered at a distance ; that is to say, the farmer 

 pays so much a head for permission lo feed his 

 flock, during a couple of months, on another per- 

 son's ground, at the end of which period ihey are ■ 

 turned upon the pasture which has just been vaca- 

 ted by the gimmers, they having been sent lo join 

 the older ewes. — Blacklock'a Treatise. 



I'Voin Omy't ScitnliOo and Pniclieal Apicullur*. 



INDIAN CORN. 



Indinii corn, or zra maia, is a iiutivo of lliis coun- 

 try, and wBi unknown to Enropruns until nflcr the 

 dl^co^ery of America. In consi'quenco of tfie dif- 

 ferent cliinntra and soils in which il has been cul- 

 tivated for B long scries of yeors, there hnvo been 

 produced several varieties, differing iimro in appea- 

 rance and liubils than many distinct speciea of 

 plants. We know how sonio of these varieties are 

 produced, and this may instruct us in the selection 

 of the seed, in oidcr to improve any particular va- 

 riety, or to ohliiin a new one. One mode uf ob- 

 lainiiig varieties of corn, is by selecting the seed. 

 Thus, for example, a celebrated variety lias been 

 produced in llie Soiilhcrii and Western .States, by 

 selecting the first year the seed from stalks nhicli 

 bore two ears, and taking the lop car lo plant. The 

 second season there were some stalks of three ears ; 

 and the top ears from the.10 were then token and 

 planted ; nnd this process was continued for a sc- 

 ries of years. The consequence was, that the 

 stalk became very high ; and the number of ears 

 upon a stalk increased from one to five, and even 

 eight. It should be remarked, that though ihis 

 process gave a distinct variety, yet il would have 

 been a much more valuable variety, in this case, if 

 the lower ears had been taken ; by which means 

 the ."talks would have been lower, the ears nearer 

 the ground, and hence much less liable to injury, 

 nnd more likely to be early, plump, and well filled. 



The soil for Indian corn should be a light sandy 

 or gravelly loam. A rich dry soil is always lo be 

 preferred. Corn may be manured in the hill with 

 compost or rotted mnnuro. It is much better, how- 

 ever, to spreiid green manure or compost, nnd turn 

 it into the soil. The corn may then be planted in 

 rows, about three feet apart, and from five to six 

 kernels in a hill, lightly covered with loam. It is 

 desirable in theory lo spread fifteen or twenty loads 

 of green mnnure to the acre, and turn il under, to 

 act upon the crop late in the season, and then to 

 put five or six loads of compost in the hill, to give 

 il an early start. This corrcspondii with the expe- 

 rience of the best farmers. 



The after culture consists in two or three hoe- 

 ings, or one cleaning with the cultivator and two 

 hoeings. The first hoeing should remove the 

 earth from the roots; the second should raise il in- 

 to the form of broad, flat hills. Some experiments, 

 however, seem to prove thai corn is best ciiliivaled 

 on a flat surface, with a tillage depth of from six 

 to twelve inches ; and theory would load us to the 

 same conclusion. The proctice of making hills, 

 injures the roots and exposes them lo the influence 

 of drought. 



The expense of this crop, and the value of itJ 

 proceeds, may be eslimated as follows : 

 Plowing, $4 00 Produce, :?.5 hush. $:Vi 00 



12 00 Corn fodder, 

 75 



10 00 



$45 CO 



28 75 



Deduct expense, 



Profit, $ltj 25 



Till faithfully, and you may expect abundance. 



Ma 



Furrowin_ 



Planting," 1 .50 



First hoeing, 2 50 



Second and third do. 4 00 



Gathering, 2 00 



Husking, 2 00, 



This, wo think, is a very low estimate of the 

 value of this crop; for the manure ought not, all of 

 it, to be charged to the corn, as it generally suflices 

 for two more crops. 40, .50, CO, and even 120 

 bushels, also, are oflen obtained per acre, in tlie 

 Northern and Middle States. 



