148 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



last forty or fifty years have been rising in favor, 

 and on hilly lands of second-rate fertility have 

 proved themselves superior to all other breeds. In 

 several counties of England they have driven out 

 the old kinds; being hardy, quick stock, good 

 nnrses, fattening kindly, and, when fat, bringing 

 the highest price in market. They are cultivated 

 more particularly for their mutton, which, for 

 (Quality, takes precedence of all others. Their early 

 maturity and extreme aptitude to take on flesh, 

 render them peculiarly valuable for this purpose. 

 The ewes are prolific breeders and good nurses. 

 Thoy are quiet and docile in their habits, and, 

 though industrious feeders, exhibit little disposition 

 to rove. 



A sheep possessing such qualities must of course 

 be exceedingly valuable in districts in the vicinity 

 <-){ markets. Accordingly, they have been intro- 

 duced into every part of the British dominions, and 

 imported into this and other countries. 



SpringHdA, K. Y., April, 1859. C. N. BEMENT. 



BUILDING STONE FENCES. 



Mksshs. Editors: — There are several of your 

 prize essays in the January number which I believe 

 unsound in theory, and know they will not stand 

 the test of practice; and, with your permission, 

 will endeavor to point out some of the most prom- 

 inent errors in each, as time will permit, com- 

 mencing with M. T., of Washington county, on 

 building stone walls, who begins by saying, " To 

 erect a good stone fence, it is necessary, except on 

 ground not affected by frost, to dig a trench twelve 

 to eighteen inches deep, and as wide as the base 

 of the wall is desired to be; — for a half wall, two 

 feet; and for a four and a half or five foot wall, 

 two and a half feet wide. This trench should be 

 filled with small stones pounded down, and made 

 level with the ground." 



I would ask, of what possible advantage is this 

 trench twelve or eighteen inches deep, filled with 

 .stones? It makes a good drain, and water will 

 most certainly find its way into the trench sooner 

 or later; or else ditching is of but little use. The 

 banking up on both sides, with nothing but the 

 f«tone wall above, will not prevent the water from 

 rreezing in the trench, or the earth in the bottom. 

 In the same proportion as it freezes it will heave, 

 and afifect the wall more or less. 



Again ; where there is much descent, the water 

 running in the trench will soon commence washing 

 away the earth in the bottom, which will cause the 

 wall to settle ; and it is by no means certain that it 

 will settle level. 



Stones are not slippery things, and never fall 

 down if laid on a foundation that never moves, 

 which is the all-important question in making 

 walls. I have made fifteen or sixteen miles of wall 

 DU a soil that is as subject to heave as any soil in 

 the State, and I have never had the first stone fall 

 when I made a foundation by back-furrowing a 

 ridge twelve inches high and five feet wide. This 

 '"an bo done by back-furrowing several times, 

 'live full opportunity to settle, before placing the 

 wall on it. This makes a saving of one foot, if 

 laid on the surface ; and two and a half, if com* 

 nicnced in a trench eighteen inches deep, which is 

 aa importiaQt saving. The wall tlien need not be 



more than four feet high and twenty-two inches 

 wide on the bottom, and tapered equally on both 

 sides to ten inches on the top, when a coping 

 should be made on the top, by placing a stone 

 standing on the edge that is sufficiently long to 

 reach the entire width of the wall, and may be a 

 rough or crooked stone that would not work in the 

 wall. Great care should be taken to keep the wall 

 level, and lay all the stones crosswise that will 

 reach across the wall. The ridge being five feet 

 wide, the wall being in the center, there will be 

 one and a half feet on each side to bank up as steep 

 as possible, which will make a high, sharp bank, 

 which will require sufficient earth to make a deep 

 ditch on both sides, making large sluice-ways for 

 the water to run through, to prevent at all times 

 any water from standing in the ditch to soak under 

 the wall. The foundation is secured, beyond a 

 contingency, from water, and no soil can heave 

 without it. In many instances where a fence 

 stood, I could not make the bank for the wall to 

 stand on without moving, therefore made the wall 

 on the surface, and then made a good bank on 

 each side, which in all cases has not saved it from 

 falling, occasioned by the soakage of water under 

 the wall. The all-important thing is to keep the 

 earth dry on which the wall stands. 



Hornby, K Y. A. B. DICKINSON. 



Stop the Sucker. — Good cows, many times, are 

 in the habit of sucking themselves, and many ways 

 are tried in vain to prevent the mischief; and 

 young calves are always in the habit of sucking 

 each other's ears. This may be prevented by a 

 composition of spirits of turpentine, musk, and 

 asafoetida. Heat them all well together, and, when 

 cool, give the cow a large spoonful on the roots of 

 the tongue; then rub a little on the cow's bag, 

 about ttie roots of the teats. If the cow still con- 

 tinues in the habit, cut ofiT the fingers of an old 

 glove, slip these over the teats, and saturate them 

 well. They may be taken oft' when you want to 

 milk. Always give your patient a good taste of 

 the medicine before you rub it on. Calves may be 

 treated in the same manner. If musk is not con- 

 venient, the composition may be made of spirits of 

 turpentine and asafoetida. — A. L. Smith. 

 ■ I fc 



Pasturing Meadow Lands. — Many farmers are 

 in the habit of pasturing their meadows in the fall, 

 and even till early in the spring, especially in open 

 weather, when the ground is frozen. Any farmer 

 who has a correct knowledge of the main princi- 

 ples of agriculture, must admit that this course 

 should not be practiced. On ordinary farms, 

 meadows will not produce more " waste feed " 

 than they require to protect the plants from the 

 frost and drouth the following winter and spring. 

 If the first suckers are cut oflf at the ground by 

 stock, vegetation will be deferred till very late in 

 the spring, and your crops will be diminished year 

 after year, till your meadows are worthless. — G. B. 

 Miller, Jeffersonville, Ind. 



Black Leo in Cattle. — A correspondent of the 

 London Mark Lane Expreu^ as the result of long 

 experience, recommends for this disease, bleeding 

 to faintness, and then a drench of four ounces oi 

 Epsom salts. 



