1882. J 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



-175 



there is a ewo with two Iambs aiiJ yiolillnii; milk 

 from six teats. So far the experiments liuve not 

 siieeeeiled in obtaining an aniuMil produeinij; nuich 

 mills anil a !;ood lieeoe at the same time. Goiinlins 

 mills, lamti, and wool, a ewe produees net about 48 

 francs yearly. Six quarts of milk yield one ponTid of 

 eheeso. The Chilians, to obtain special skins much 

 sought after, cross the sheep with the eoat. Ex- 

 periments are being conducted to the end of similar 

 crossing for improvini; the milking capacities of 

 ewes. Goat farming does not pay. The animal is 

 destructive, its llesh held In little repute, and its 

 offal of uo value. — New England Farm. 



Making Good Pork. 

 The first thing in order to make a letter A pork 

 product is to secure the right breed of porkers. 

 Tastes differ on this point. We like the small breeds, 

 such as the Suffolks, Yorkshires, and Essex. The 

 old-fashioneil ambition to make a hog weigh •'50(1 

 pounds at Is months or 2 years old was not pro- 

 fitable to the producer, and the consumer certainly 

 had " too much pork for his shillings." If a pig can 

 be made to weigh 250 or :10(I pounds at ,S months, as 

 the Suffolks usually do, there is a saving of a year's 

 keeping, and the pork is of a much belter quality. 

 We have eaten none other than pig pork for four 

 years, and desire to eat no more of the big, strong 

 sort. The Western producers are finding the best 

 market for the small breeds, the spring pigs of 

 which are fit for slaughter before Ohristmas, 

 weighing, when dressed, 2.50 pounds on an average, 

 and furnishing hams of about fifteen pounds weight. 

 The early maturity of the small breeds gives them a 

 great advantage over the larger kinds. We have 

 known Suffolk pigs to weigh .'iOO pounds at seven 

 months. To secure this result they must be fed 

 with skimmed milk when first weaned, mixing 

 with it a little bran and oat meal, and gradually in- 

 creasing the ration of oats till the pigs have attained 

 such a size that it will answer to put on fat, when 

 corn meal may be substituted gradually for the bran 

 and oi.ts. There is nothing equal to milk for young 

 pigs, but for inducing the growth the skimmed is 

 fully as good as the pure article. — Neti' York Timex. 



The Coming Sheep. 



The philosophy of evolution and development 

 appears to be supported by the history of our live 

 stock. Those who have traced out the rise and 

 progress have also had to record the decadence and 

 the fall of races of cattle and sheep. The old Long- 

 horn, brought to perfection under the skillful man- 

 agement of Bakewell, waned and vanished under 

 the superior qualities of the Short-horn. It would 

 indeed be touching upon delicate ground so hint that 

 this pet of the great ones of the earth could be dis- 

 placed from her temple. All things, liowever, must 

 come to an end, and exorbitant sums of money 

 given by individuals for no special excellence except 

 what exists, or is supposed to exist, potentially in 

 the mysterious virtues of pedigree, savours of that 

 luxury which precedes decay and dissolution. 



The history of our chief breeds of sheep affords 

 more than one instance of improvement and aban- 

 donment. Take, for example, the Leicester. Fifty 

 years ago tliis breed might appropriately have been 

 eaid to " rule the roost." Now, except in very few 

 counties and among a small minority of farmers, the 

 Leicester has been superseded. The Cotswold sheep 

 Is eaid to be going out, even upon his own hills, and 

 does not seem to t)e spreaking rapidly in any other 

 locality. The Southdown was to the shorlwooled 

 races as the Leicester was to the longwools. Scarce- 

 ly a breed was net improved by his touch, and for 

 this reason alone the southdown will always hold a 

 high position In the history of British fioeks. Still, 

 it must be confessed that the Southdown has ceased 

 to be a rival for popularity with larger and more 

 profitable, if less shapely, breeds of sheep. 



One of the greatest advances in sheep breeding 

 was made by Mr. Druce, of Eynsham, when he suc- 

 cessfully crossed the Hampshire Down and Cots- 

 wold, and thereby produced the Oxford Down. The 



rise of this remarkable breed has been rapid, and it 

 seems likely to extend further In its gei)gra(ihlcal 

 distribution. An unfortunate predisposition to fool 

 lameness is one of the weakest points in the favorite 

 lireed of the midlands, and a slowness in coming to 

 maturity nuiy possil)ly be also recorded as a frequent 

 mark against him. 



The last breed we have to mention is one which de- 

 serves very S|iceial mention, lie has not as yet at- 

 tracted a large share of public notice. Columns of 

 show reports have been lavished upon Leicesters and 

 Southdowns, but scant notes have been usually 

 thought enough for the Ilampshires. They have 

 not been pushed up by the great. They have, how- 

 ever, been long carefully bred by a large number of 

 first class tenant fanners around Salisbury, and 

 tended by a good and faithful race of shepherds. 

 We venture to assert that the Hampshire sheep is 

 not sufliciently known and appreciated. There is no 

 race in England, or in the world, which can vie with 

 it in the production of large sized lambs of from six 

 to eight months old. Shropshire lambs are simply 

 "nowhere" to them. Let any unprejudiced person 

 attend the ram sales in July, near Salisbury, and 

 if he has never before seen a Hampshire 

 lamb, he will be astontehed. Then he will 

 see lambs which present you, with a pound weight 

 per quarter from the day they were born. No 

 one thinks of using shearing rams, as they would be 

 too heavy and unwiehlly if not used as lambs. As 

 yet the Hampshire breed has been insufficiently 

 represented by our show-yards, but we expect soon 

 to see a change in this particular. Such a breed 

 cannot be comparatively hid from public notice, but 

 must come out. His hardiliood, size, and quality of 

 mutton are unsurpassed. He thrives between hur- 

 dles and never asks for greater liberty. He is ex- 

 traordinarily .docile and intelligent, and can be 

 brought into such perfect training that a word from 

 the shepherd suffices to guide and control his move- 

 ments. In the district in which this splendid 

 race of sheep are found in greatest perfection it is 

 not uncommon to realize as much as (iOs. or even 

 nHs. per head for lambs of from seven to eight 

 months old. It Is in those parts customary to sell 

 off the wether lambs and retain the ewe lambs and 

 ewes as winter stock. If instead of selling the lambs 

 at the autumn fairs they were kept on through the 

 winter and sold out, as is the case with most other 

 breeds of sheep at ten or thirteen months old, they 

 would make prices which we are confident in main- 

 taining tliat no other race of sheep could touch. 

 These are strong iioints in favor of the Hampshii'e 

 sheep, insuring him a brilliant futui'e, and, in a cer- 

 tain sense, the title we have placed at the head of 

 these revnarks.—AgriaiUura! Oazelte {Enf/llxh). 



Poultry. 



Moulting. 



As this is the time of year for fowls to moult 

 (cast off their feathers and put on new ones), there 

 must be greater attention given to them than usual. 

 It matters not how well a bird looks when com- 

 mencing to moult, or how well it feels, in two or 

 three days there is so much change in its system and 

 in its feelings and looks that one would not recognize 

 that it was the same one. The bright red combs be- 

 come pale and wilt down to quarter their usual size ; 

 their heads ; Jthat were carried so stately, are now 

 dropped, and the bird walks as if it was weary ; it 

 appears weak, as It really is, and if ever an extra 

 feed is given to fowls, it is now that it should be 

 given. Quantity is not the only requisite, though It 

 Is something, but quality is the main object — some- 

 thing strong and in good proportion, such as a loaf 

 of baked middlings (or rather a mixture of shorts, 

 cornmeal, or buckwheat), with plenty of boiled po- 

 tatoes, and a good seasoning of salt, red pipper or 

 ginger. When kneading this add a few drops of 

 tincture of iron, say half a tcaepoonful for a two- 

 pound loaf, which loaf given to a flock of twenty 

 fowls will be suflleieut for one day, and whole corn 

 (old, not new) v»heat screenings, peas, boiled oats or 



boiled barley, may be given In such quantities as 

 will be eaten up clean without wasting. 



In England many poultry breeders confine their 

 fowls in small apartments and give a teaspoonful of 

 camphor to each fowl In its drinking water, which 

 assists in easting off tlie feathers, and they are not 

 allowed to get any other water to prink liut this for 

 a week. 



I think the process of moulting is tlie least under- 

 stood, has the least care bestowed, and is tlie most 

 ncglecteil of anything belonging to the poultry-yard, 

 whether fancier or farmer. During September and 

 October— the times when birds are at their most 

 critical period of health during the year — farmers 

 are very liusy harvesting, threshing, putting in fall 

 wheat anil attending fairs ; they are so busy that the 

 fowls generally have to rough it, and li'ile or no at- 

 tention is given them ; they are permitted to roost Id 

 wet lofts, or exposed to draughts of wind and some- 

 times in apple trees. Now, this should not be so ; 

 they should be given not only the same care as other 

 farm stock, but a little more just now, and when 

 eggs are wanted in winter, and when good fat 

 turkeys are wanted for that time, they will be forth- 

 coming in plenty, or according as they have had 

 attention. Those hensthat have been kindly treated, 

 and have had the best attention, will start to lay the 

 first after moulting, as a hen will never lay while In 

 this stagr of nature's development. — li. A. Srowu, in 

 Fiir7iirr^it Advocate. 



How to Be Rid of Them 



is a question which is very apt to come if care is not 

 constantly exercised. We mean the mites, jiggers 

 or hen spiders, call them whatever name you please. 

 They are the little lice that swarm everywhere, like 

 the frogs of Egypt, unless kept out of the fowl- 

 house. Don't fear to use plenty of whitewash with 

 a little carbolic acid, and perhaps a solution of pot- 

 ash. 



Stamp them out. Clear the fowls of this pest. 

 Destroy the young broods of Insects, now just coming 

 foi-th. Keep the parasites at bay. Fumigate the 

 closed houses with a pot of burning sulptmr and 

 crude rosin, shut the smoke in five or six hours. 

 Then ventilate the premises thorouglily before roost- 

 ing time. Wash the perches with kerosene — all 

 over, underneath, edges and top. Destroy these an- 

 noying depredators, before they get old enough, 

 strong enough and numerous enough to kill your 

 young chickens, and devour the flesh of your adult 

 stock . 



We can not too often impress this important work 

 upon the attention of good breeders, who entertain a 

 disposition to render their domestic fowls comfort- 

 able. Especially is this advice needful to be ob- 

 served in the hot weather we are at present in the 

 midst of. And so we repeat it, if you would have 

 your birds healthy and happy, drive off the lice 

 from amongst them. 



Last winter we saw a pile of boards lying in a 

 farmer's barnyard which looked gray. On closer 

 examination the gray shade proved to be the same 

 " little insects" of which we are 8[)eakiug. 



The owner had built a new fowl-house last fall 

 and threw these old boards out of doors to notice the 

 efl'ects on the lice. By taking one of these boards 

 into a warm room, the multitude began to march, 

 which shows pretty fully that cold will not kill, al- 

 though it may paralyze them. From this trial we 

 see that it Is not safe to remit the washing even In 

 winter. Poison these parasites. Suffocate them. 

 Do anything rather than lose a fowl from lack of 

 care. — Ifartford, Conn., Ponllry World. 



A Poultry House. 



"How, when ami where shall we go to work to 

 build us a poultry house ? " is ao old refrain to the 

 sung, " We want to keep poultry right off." And 

 we are expected to be able to stand up and give a 

 satisfactory reply under any and all conditions. A 

 person about to build should, if possible, observe and 

 Investigate some fowl house already erected that 

 gives Its owner satisfaction, and by practical consul- 



