FARMERS' REGISTER— REMARKS ON THE "FARMERS' REGISTER." 183 



ino; them in winter and in yeaning time, with scru- 

 pulous care. 



Although sheep feed sparingly, yet it is impor- 

 tant that they have plenty of the best clover hay 

 during winter; and in the yeaning season, (ewes 

 go five months with young,) they should be pro- 

 vided with a hovel, to protect the yeanings from 

 all wet and excessive cold weather. At this season 

 the feed for the ewes should consist of bran, chop- 

 ped oats and corn mixed in equal quantities — al- 

 lowing each one pint per day, and givingthem one 

 half in the morning and the other in the evening. 

 This feed is admirably calculated to increase their 

 milk — the grand mystery in raising lambs. W hole 

 grain must be avoided. It invariably disposes the 

 fleece to waste and drop off more or less before 

 shearing time. When the pasture is insufficient 

 alone to support them in winter, they should be 

 kept in a yard or ploughed field, for such is their 

 inclination for green food, that while they can get 

 a mere taste of it, they will suffer on hay. If the 

 ewes are of good size, the majority will produce 

 two lambs. It is necessary to see to the lambs for 

 several days after they are yeaned, and ascertain 

 whether they are acknowledged by the ev/es, or 

 suck. If so, there is no danger ; they do well, 

 pi-Qvided they have shelter, and the ewes are regu- 

 larly fed ; in which case it will be nothing extra- 

 ordinary to raise all. It may not be irrelevant to 

 state, that lambs must be kept where old breeding 

 sows cannot come in contact with them — a vora- 

 cious enemy, which will soon swallow them alive ; 

 none can be trusted. Lastly, by turning all upon 

 good pasture about the last of May, and giving 

 bran with salt regularly, they fatten very readily, 

 and at that season are always in demand. The 

 Iambs will command as much as the ev/es when 

 fat. While unacquainted with the raising of sheep, 

 •we could not have subscribed to the statement 

 above submitted ; but with these directions as a 

 guide there Avill be little danger. A'erily then, 

 fellow farmers, the subject must be worth your at- 

 tention ! Feeding cattle, or wethers will not com- 

 pare in point of profit with rearing sheep and fat- 

 tening on pasture. 



It may be added, that ewes can be procured for 

 considerable less money than wethers. If the sheep 

 hovel be well supplied with littet, the amount of 

 manure will also exceed that of any other stock, 

 in which the same amount of money has been in- 

 vested. Sheep manure, for fertilizing properties, 

 ranks next to that of pigs. 



Rcuiai'Iis oil tlie first iiuniljer of tlie "Farmer's 

 Register." 



From the Albany Argus. 

 ^Iff- Ruffin's" F'arniers' Register.''' — A valued 

 friend, who unites the science with the practice of 

 agriculture in a degree not less advantageous to 

 the public than agreeably to himself, writes as fol- 

 lows in relation to this new publication. We give 

 it a ready insertion, as a deserved notice, from a 

 source that adds weight to the commendation, of a 

 periodical that promises to be a valuable auxilia- 

 ry in the efforts to improve and elevate agriculture 

 as a pursuit, and to extend a knowledge of it. — \_Ed. 

 Jllb. jJrgus. 



Mr. Editor, — I am indebted to the kindness of a 

 friend for the early perusal of the first number of 

 " The Farmers' Register, a monthly publication, 

 devoted to the improvement of the practice, and 



support of the interests of agriculture," edited by 

 Edmund Ruffin, esq. and printed in Richmond, 

 Virginia. As the columns of the Argus have 

 been occasionally opened to communications on 

 the subject of agriculture, I trust the few observa- 

 tions I intend to make on the appearance and cha- 

 racter of the publication alluded to, will not be de- 

 nied that privilege. I am the more anxious to 

 avail myself of it in the present instance, not only 

 because the merits of this new periodical deserve 

 the notice, but a new era is certainly opening upon 

 us, when, from the Old Dominion, where they have 

 so long complained of their poverty-stricken soil, 

 her sons boldly step forward and take the only pro- 

 per method to resuscitate her agriculture, and thus 

 to enrich her citizens. 



The Farmers' Register opens well. It begins 

 with a description of Virginia, which is sufficient- 

 ly particular lor the information of the reader, and 

 whilst it is full of instruction to a non-resident, to 

 a resident it is invaluable, for it throws open the 

 whole field of the intended operation of the publi- 

 cation before him. — The face of the country, its 

 civil divisions, its internal improvements, its agri- 

 culture, manufactures and climate, are all briefly 

 examined — he sees, in a word, what nature made 

 it and what man has done ; and to cheer him on- 

 ward, that if more is to be effected by his indus- 

 try and his enterprise, the reward aviU be a full 

 equivalent for the labor. To take up the several 

 articles in detail, when each is sufficiently interest- 

 ing and instructive, can hardly be required, as 

 they are all, whether original or selected, written 

 with an ability and clearness which is sure to ar- 

 rest the attention of the reader, and he cannot rise 

 from the perusal of them without^aving his mind 

 improved and his ideas of the impoi-fance of good 

 farming made more deep and abiding. There is a 

 richness, a raciness, and a sufficient variety in 

 them to form an agricultural repast for the learned 

 and the unlearned, the scientific and the practical 

 farmer. If the Register does not hereafter " break 

 its Avord of promise to our hope," it will have an 

 effect upon the interests of the state of its birth 

 signally beneficial and enduring. When we urge 

 to the improvement of agriculture, we strike up^ 

 on a mine of wealth which in this country is just 

 opened, and although we are beginning to feel its 

 beneficial influence by the diffusion of its many 

 comforts, its extent and its richness are yet far hid 

 and will not be attained but by a perseverance 

 worthy of our industry and intelligence. It is for- 

 tunate for the cause that such men as Mr. Ruffin 

 engage in it, for we require no farther proof of his 

 competency, than the collection of articles he has 

 now given to the public. Neither ought the pa- 

 tronage of the Register to be confined to the South- 

 ern states : To inculcate correct principles of farm- 

 ing is useful every where, and we find upon examin- 

 ing the book before us, that the safe system for the 

 successful cultivation of our great staples, wheat 

 and corn, is not changed by the diiference of lati- 

 tude. It represents the agriculture of Virginia as 

 in a low state, and that the owners of many es- 

 tates deem themselves fortunate if at the end of 

 the year the simple cultivation of their farms has 

 not run them in debt. To correct this evil for 

 the future, let them turn to the well conducted 

 farm of Fielding Lewis, Esq. of Wyanoke, and 

 learn by what a simple process a barren sand has 

 been converted into a rich and valuable soil. The 



