THE GENESEE FARMER. 



Ill 



TuE Alpacas in Acstralia, — The Sydney Morn- 

 ing Herald, of November 12th, 1859, gives an 

 account of the shearing of the flock of Ali^acas 

 recently brought to that place by Mr. Ledger. 

 The wool was cat off with knives, Peruvian fashion, 

 and the weight of the fleeces exceeded the most 

 sanguine expectations. Two of the fleeces were 

 weighed separately. The fleece from a black Al- 

 paca weighed seventeen lbs., and that of a white 

 one weighed twelve lbs. The flock has doubled 

 in numbers in the fourteen months since they 

 were imported, and they are thriving well. The 

 lambs born in the colony appear remarkably healthy 

 and strong. 



Applying Mantjee to Coen. — A correspondent 



of the New England Farmer, who uses manure 



from a barn cellar, without any admixture of straw, 



'.bus gives his method of applying it to sward land 



for corn. He spreads it in spring upon the ground 



(lowed the previous fall, at the rate of fifteen to 



•i_'Iiteen cords per acre, and then gives it a tho- 



ough harrowing, so as to mix it with the surface 



oil. Then, just before planting, he plow-s the 



ground to a depth of from three to five inches, 



■ larrows it and plants the corn. In this way he has 



; aised on an average from sixty to seventy bushels 



f corn per acre. 



Ateshires as Milkers. — The Springfield Ee- 

 uUlc-an says Mr. Birnie, of Hampden, Mass., 

 teps a large herd of Shorthorn and Ayrshire cows, 

 :id gives a decided preference to the latter as 

 lilkers. In proportion to the food they eat, he 

 -ys no breed can surpass them in yield 0/ milk. 

 e has one Ayrshire cow weighing about 800 lbs., 

 lat has averaged more than her weight per month 

 milk since April last, and a two-year-old heifer, 

 e daughter of the above cow, that is now in 

 ilk, and gives 20 lbs. per day. 



Advantages of Spaying Cows. — Dr. Dadd, in 

 e American Stock Journal, says that the milk of 

 ayed cows gives more cream than ordinary milk, 

 id that the butter made from it is more delicious 

 taste. The milk is also invaluable for nursing 

 fants. He thinks there is no danger in perform- 

 g the operation, if skilfully done and the animal 

 it under the influence of sulphuric ether. 



'-' ' Cost of Keeping Sheep.— The New England 

 ''■' hrmer states that Mr. Elliott, of New Hampshire, 



timates the cost of keeping sheep at $1.50 per 



mum each, and that each sheep would make half 

 • load of manure during the winter, besides the 



'iiefit done to the pasture by the droppings left 



, .ereou. 



Profits of Keeping Good Sheep. — Mr. White, 

 of Kent Co., C. "W., writes us: "I have a small 

 flock of Leicesters, 43 in number. Last year I got 

 249 lbs. of clean-washed wool from these 43 sheep, 

 of which quantity, 7 yearlings gave 63 lbs. From 

 18 ewes I reared 36 lambs." 



Now we will estimate the profit of such a flock. 



The wool may be estimated to be worth 28 cents 



per lb., which is about the price it would fetch on 



the farm in that county : 



249 lbs. of wool at 23 cents per lb $69 72 



36 lambs at $2 per head 72 00 



$141 72 

 Cost of keeping may be estimated at $1.50 per head 64 50 



Leaving a net profit of $77 12 



Equal to $1.80 per sheep, for one year only. In a 



series of years the profits would be greater. The 



lambs, when full grown, would be worth $5 each, 



and the sheep would probably sell for as much 



more than cost as would cover the interest on the 



first outlay. 



^ I fc 



SALT AND PLASTER TOGETHEE- 



Eds. Gen. Farmer: — In your February number, 

 Levi Baktlett advocates the use of plaster for 

 timothy. Now, I would recommend Mr. Shaw to 

 try a mixture of salt and plaster, at the rate of 

 four bushels of salt to two of -plaster. This I have 

 tried and found beneficial. For potatoes, my rule 

 is to mix one bushel of salt to four bushels of 

 plaster, and put a tablespoonful on the potatoes in 

 each hill at the time of planting. 



As I live near the Onondaga salt springs, \ have 

 been experimenting with salt on various crops. I 

 was told that salt would kill my grass and grain; I 

 determined to know how much salt it took to do 

 that, and I commenced with half a bushel to the 

 acre, and every year I have added another half 

 bushel, always mixed with two bushels of plaster, 

 and now I have got to sowing salt at the rate of 

 four bushels per acre, and find' this quantity pays, 

 the best. Last spring, I sowed eight bushels of 

 salt and four bushels of plaster on two acres of 

 wheat, and the result was a beautiful crop*. After 

 deducting one-quar-ter of an acre killed by the frost ' 

 and thrown away, the balance produced 42 bushels, 

 of good wheat. I have tried salt on almost ail 

 soils, and think it is as indispensable to my laEid as 

 the Genesee Fa^'mer is to my house. a. N. n. 



Salina, N. Y.y February, 1S60. 



- ^ «^ 



Marking S-Seep. — In answer t®. the inquiries 

 of J. S., in the February number, I will give my 

 method of marking sheep, so as to know their age 

 at sight. Use a mark arranged in ten diflPerent 

 ways, on the ear — each way answering to one of 

 the nine digit* and cypher. Commence with this 

 year, and use the mark denoting the cypher; 

 marking your lambs at the time of docking and 

 castrating. Next year, use the mark answering for 

 the first digit, and so on till the year 1870, when 

 again commence with the cypher. By these marks, 

 you can tell at any time in what year such a sheep 

 was lambed, and by a little "head work,'^can easily 

 ascertain its age. — J. J. S. 



