414 



FARMERS' REGISTER— SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 



sow with a view of making it the sole object, 

 would probably consult their interest in sowing 

 one and a half or two bushels per acre ; but one 

 bushel sown in the manner above mentioned, has 

 been productive of a profitable result, botli as re- 

 spects the improved quality it has im])artcd to the 

 hay, as well as the seed it has afforded. The ap- 

 pellation of Orchard has been given to this grass, 

 from its known congeniality with shade. I have 

 known very luxuriant crops to grow in an orch- 

 ard, producing three cuttings in a season, although 

 the trees were large, and almost entirely shading 

 the ground; but in such situations it will not pro- 

 duce seed. 



The fertilizing quality of this grass was former- 

 ly mentioned, and it may probably be attributed to 

 the circumstance of its shading the soil more effec- 

 tually than most other grasses, excepting clover. 

 If a field of it should be kept for mowing, there 

 will be very little time during the warm weather 

 in which the grounds will not be protected from 

 the heat of the sun ; and if for pasture, unless it be 

 too heavily stocked, the soil will be shaded by a 

 sufficient covering of this luxuriant grass. 



It may be mown for hay at any time best suited 

 for cutting the clover with which it grows; but if 

 it is designied to save the seed, the mowing must be 

 deferred till towards the last of June, at which 

 time the seed will be ripe. This should be cradled 

 before it is ripe enough to waste, bound in small 

 sheaves, and shocked in rows. The stubble may 

 then be mown immediately, or to suit the conve- 

 nience of the farmer, the seed requiring some ex- 

 posure to the weather to render it in a suitable state 

 for thrashing. 



I subjoin the following anal3"sis, contained in 

 Sir Humphry Davy's Agricultural Chemistry. 

 The quantity of grass from which the estimate is 

 made, grew on a spot of earth contained in four 

 square feet, in a garden attached to Woburn Abbey. 

 The soil was selected, as best adapted to the cul- 

 ture of said grass — a circumstance which may 

 account for the great burden obtained for the esti- 

 mate per acre. 



JDactylis Glomerata — Round- Headed Cocks-Foot 

 Grass, (or Orchard Grass.) 



lbs. per acre. 

 Grass in flower — rich sandy loam, 27,905 

 When dry, . . . . 11.859 



Nutritive matter, - , - 1,089 



At the time the seed is ripe, grass, 26,544 

 When dry, - - - 13,272 



Nutritive matter, _ _ . 1,451 



Rowen grass, (or 2d crop,) - 11,910 



Nutritive matter, _ - - 281 



This analysis is given as a mere matter of curi- 

 osity, as the climate of England, differing so much 

 from this, must make a great difference in the re- 

 sult. The time of the first crop's growing in that 

 climate continues to a period of one month beyond 

 the same growth in this section of the United 

 States; and hence the Rowen or second crop might 

 be expected, (as the result shows,) both inferior in 

 bulk and quality to what it is in this country. 



SHEEP HUSBANDRY, NO. I. 



From the Columbia (Kiiitlerhook) Sentinel. 



Sheep husbandry is that sort of farm manage- 

 ment which relates to or has sheep for a principal 

 object. There are various motlifications of this 



kind of farming, depending upon the difference in 

 the circumstances of the lands, their nature and 

 situation, as well as other local causes. In Eu- 

 rope, this business has been entered into with all 

 the modifications of which it is susceptible. All 

 the varieties of sheep, of which there are many, 

 have been carefully and distinctly cultivated; the 

 profits of each kind as nearly as [)Ossible ascertained; 

 the improvements from crossing the different va- 

 rieties carefully noted, and the number that each 

 farm which is in a course of arable or other til- 

 lage, according to its size, can jirofitably main- 

 tain. They have a system about the whole man- 

 agement which results in certain profits to the 

 owner of the farm, whilst the farm itself is annu- 

 ally improving. Sheep are animals of the utmost 

 importance to mankind, whether considered in the 

 light of food or clothing, or in that of the vast im- 

 provement and profit which they produce in the 

 various systems of management to which they 

 are subjected by the ingenuity of man. In some 

 instances they constitute a very large proportion ; 

 in others nearly the whole of his dependence and 

 support. There is another point of view in which 

 they appear equally advantageous ; and that is up- 

 on lands that must otherwise be nearly if not 

 wholly useless. True, cattle will do tolerably 

 well on land of this description, but not as well as 

 sheep ; and if the first afford us food, the latter 

 give us both food and clothing. 



I do not intend at this time, however, to take a 

 detailed view of the manifold advantages of sheep 

 husbandry, or the profits that arise in stocking an 

 entire farm with them, to the exclusion of other 

 kinds of tillage. It is my purpose to take only a 

 glance at the present method adopted by our far- 

 mers, who all keep a number proportionate to the 

 size and the capacity of their farms, while they are 

 under a course of arable tillage. Upon this point, 

 I am happy to say that I think we are manifestly 

 improving, not only in the qualities and general 

 appearance of our flocks, but in their increased 

 number. Sheep husbandry to an extent to which 

 a farm is susceptible, whilst a large portion of it 

 is likewise ploughed and sowed, is one of the 

 greatest of modern improvements. We have al- 

 ready seen how, and jirofitably too, this is managed 

 in Europe. We have only successfully to carry 

 out the plan here, and we are yet little aware of 

 what will be the extent of the benefits of the 

 practice. Sheep not only enrich a farm, but they 

 prepare it for our best crops of grain. They seem 

 to cleanse and jjurify a soil better than other ani- 

 mals, and a fallow cannot be rendered more suita- 

 ble for wheat, than by giving them the range of 

 it; for they destroy almost all weeds; and the 

 quack or couch grass, so injurious to our wheat 

 croj), is more certainly obliterated by them than 

 by any other animal whatever. Besides, they are 

 a sure return to the farmer ; and if his crops of 

 grain by drought or severe winters, are cut off, it 

 is not so with his mutton and wool, as his sheep 

 never fail to produce these, and what is more, 

 while man must have food and clothing, the far- 

 mer's mutton and wool will command a price, as 

 they are articles that can always be sold and a 

 cash return made sure. Ought not a farmer, then, 

 carefully to cultivate this species of slock, and to 

 ascertain almost to a certainty how many sheep 

 his farm can keep, and keep well. Upon this he 

 may likewise depend; the better his farm is cul^ 



