FARMS. 59 



reason why our farmers sliould not learn of each other in this 

 matter ? 



And tlion, again, the selection and care of animals for our 

 farms ; how much may the farmers of each locality teach each 

 other in this respect ! With the exception of those farms devoted 

 to market-gardening, and to small ti-acts of land receiving their 

 manure from the sea, cattle-husbandry in its various branches 

 lies at the foundation of our farming. Let every farmer resolve 

 that he will stock his farm to its utmost capacity — and what 

 should wo see ? The acre which now yields a ton of hay, 

 would soon be forced to double that crop, — in the bcginiiiiig 

 for the cattle, and afterwards by the cattle. That old pasture 

 now overrun with briars and l)ushes, and capable of feeding 

 two or three cows, which are oldiged to travel and work for a 

 living from sunrise to sunset, would soon be called upon to 

 feed ten times that number, and the expense of reclaiming 

 would be paid by the cows. Whatever is done upon the land 

 for the benefit of cattle, always receives its returi^ from the 

 cattle themselves, if the}' are properly selected and properly 

 used. What a subject for inquiir and investigatioii is here 

 opened ! Can we not learn of each other the class of animals 

 best adapted to our soil — whether for the dairy or shambles ; and 

 having determined this, may we not arrive by a system of 

 experiments at the most economical mode of feeding so as to 

 produce the largest result ? 



We were once told that thirty thousand sheep could be fed 

 in the county, in addition to the stock already kept, without 

 any appreciable addition to the agricultural expense of the 

 county. Can this be demonstrated ? There is no doubt of the 

 profits to be derived from sheep husbandry ; and there is no 

 doubt of the advantage to be derived to the pastures upon 

 which they are fed. There seems to be no reason why a care- 

 ful and systematic experiment of this branch of agriculture 

 should not be made among us. We live in a region surrounded 

 by markets for wool and mutton. We have pastures which 

 need tlie beneficial effects of sheep-feeding. And yet an enter- 

 prising and public spirited citizen of our county devotes his 

 time and a portion of his ample means to the introduction 

 among us of the most approved breed of mutton sheep, now 

 known in England, and not only are the best of his flocks 



