180 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



DECEMBER 17, 1834. 



From the Colimhin. (S. C.J Centinel. j 

 WINTERING SHEEP. 



The season has arrived when sheep require a 

 nttle of our time and attention. If tliese are now 

 bestowed with subsequent ordinary care, sheep will 

 pass throu!;h the winter with trifling loss, and 

 much to our advantage. For want of attention al 

 this season of the year, I have seen large flocks 

 almost entirely destroyed, while their owners 

 blamed their had luck, but not their bad manage- 

 ment. Sheep, to do well through the winter, must 

 be in good condition when they begin it. If tliey 

 are so, they pass through it without difficulty ; but 

 if thev are poor at this season, good provender and 

 a regular supply of it, will not ensure them well 

 through. To see then that our slieep have been well 

 taken care of during the summer and fell, is an 

 important step with the former, and which would 

 be a great saving both in sheep and fodder. It is 

 wrong to permit them to ramble over the fields la- 

 ter than about the first of December, because at that 

 time there is little nutriment in the scanty herbage 

 on which they feed, and the grass itself had better 

 remain on the stem, to protect it during tlie frost 

 and wi;ids of winter, and prepare it for an eaidy 

 and vigorous growth in the spring ; besides, as the 

 supply" to the animal is small and innutritious 

 there is great danger that there will be a falling oft 

 in its flesh, which it can illy spare, and which, to 

 its subsequent existence, it is so necessary it should 



retain. 



I have frequently Chought that an open Decem- 

 ber, which is so often J^ished for by the farmer to 

 save his winter's supply of hay, is more prejndicia 

 to his sheep, when they ranible over the fields and 

 to his interest, than he is generally aware of. It 

 would certainlv comport more with real economy 

 if he were to bring up his sheep by the 10th ol 

 December in winter quarters, even if the weather 

 should remain warm and the ground uncovered. 

 If they lose flesh at this time, they cannot regain 

 it until spring, and the mortality which some- 

 times costs flocks of sheep is Imimtable to this cause. 



Sheep in winter should have sheds; the preser 



sheep, and if there are any in the flock that do not 

 subsequently do well, they should be removed m 

 to what is commonly called the hospital. These 

 hospital sheep, by being few in number, having a 

 good warm shed,' a sheaf of oats, or a few screen- 

 ings from under the fanning mill, once a day, will 

 soon begin to improve and do well. I have had 

 my hospital sheep in a better condition with this 

 care by Rpiing,lhan any other flock, and I must say, 

 that for the last three seasons, ray shee|) were in a 

 better condition when I turned them out of my 

 yard in the spring, than when 1 put them in at the 

 beginning of winter. 



Sheep ought to be rather sparingly than sump- 

 tuously fed, three times a day, out of racks, to pre- 

 vent them from running over and trampling on the 

 hay. As soon as one is seen in any of the flocks to 

 become thin, it ought to be removed at. once into 

 the hospital, where it will be better fed. If you 

 neglect to do this, soon' will it be too late, and you 

 will sufler loss, for a sheep once reduced to a certain 

 point cannot be recovered. It is good to give them 

 a feeding of straw, or pine tops, if you jilease ; it 

 invigorates their health, and makes a change in 

 their food. They ought all to be daily watered, 

 and if your hay has not been salted, they ought to 

 have a lick of salt occasionally. By adopting these 

 rules, vou will save all your sheep ; or you will 

 not lose more of them than you would of the same 

 number of horses and cattle. They will have no 

 disease among them. I have often thought of an 

 observation made to me by an experienced wool 

 "•rower, from whom I asked for information of the 

 disease of sheep : he answered : " What have you 

 to do with the diseases of sheep ? take care of them, 

 and you will have no need for remedies." This 

 observation struck me as strange at the time, but 

 subsequent eiperience has amply confirmed it. 



And now, what will the farmer, gain by keeping 

 his sheep well ? In the first place, he will gain 

 in his hay— a fat sheep will not eat as much as a 

 poor one ; he will save all his grain— sheep in good 

 condition do not require any. In the nest place, 

 he will save all his sheep— he will have more and 



by that of deaths, is a characteristic sign of a state 

 of barbarism. In the former case, as men in a 

 mass reach the plenitude of their physical and so- 

 cial development, the population is strong, mtelli- 

 .rent, and manly ; wliile it remains in perpetua 

 infancy, whole generations are swept oft withou 

 being able to profit by the past,— to bring socia 

 ecouomy to perfection.— P/n7o5op^iKa^ Journal. 



Sheen in winter should have snens; uic ,..co.,.- i,e win save u.i .,i=i.u<;^^ ■■ -•- 



vation of their health requires this indulgence, and i,et,er lambs in the spring, and in consequence oi 

 r . 1- ;ci>o,; liMve t IP •.. i.„ „,;ii i,.,<,o cpvprn ounces of wool more to eacn 



nature prompts to it. Let me ask, if they have the 

 choice, do they remain in the open air in a storm . 

 No— they as instinctively run to their covering, as 

 a man does to his house, and if they do not re- 

 quire it quite as much, they appear as grateful 

 for the shelter. For a flock of poor sheep a pro- 

 tection from the weather is all-important. Those 

 in good condition do not so much want it, as they 

 have a better coat, both of flesh and wool : but for 

 them it is likewise useful, and a good farmer will 

 not omit to give all the requisite shelter. 



As soon as sheep are brought into the yard, tlie 

 d'lflTereut kinds of lambs, ewes and wfitliers, should 

 be c:a-efully separated; and kept during the winter 

 apart. It is important that those in one yard 

 should be as nearly of a size as practicable ; for by 

 doing so, there are no strong ones among them, U) 

 drive the weaker from their proveniler. All will 

 feed alike and do well. The flocks ought likewise 

 to be as small as we can conveniently make them. 

 It is an invariable rule that a small flock does 

 much better than a large one, even if both, accord- 

 ing to their number, are fed equally well. If the 

 flocks in each yard can be reduced to between fitty 

 and one-hundred, so much the better ; and it is a 

 great desideratum to make thein as few as fifty, if 

 it can in any way be efi'ectcd. It is likewise ncc- 



it, he will have several ounces of wool more to each 

 sheep ;• and what is better than all the rest, he will 

 in the end save himself loss and anxiety. The 

 saving will at least be from one-eighth to one 

 fourth of the value of his flock, and all this by at- 

 tending to a necessary work in due season. 



LIFE PROLONGED BV CIVILIZATION. 



If we tiollect England, Germany, and France, 

 in one group, we find that the average term ol 

 mortality which in that great and populous region 

 was formerly one in 30 people annually, is not at 

 present more than one in 38. This diflerenee re- 

 duces the number of deaths throughout these tonn- 

 tries from 1,900,000 to less than 1,200,000 per- 

 sons ; and 700,000 lives, or one in eighty-three 

 annually, owe their preservation to the social anie- 

 lini-atiouseff'ected in the three countries of western 

 I'.urope whose eflbris to obtain this object have 

 been attended with the greatest success. The life 

 of man is thus not only embellished in its course 

 by the advancement of civilization, but is extend- 

 ed by it and rendered less doubtful. The eflects 

 of the aiueiioration of the social condition arc to 

 restrain and diminish, in projiortion to the popula- 

 tion, the annual number of births, and in a still 

 gree that of deaths ; on the contrary, a 



i:;:-r:'.^;^S"ia r j;rr ;~; ;=lw j^^:;,™..... .- ...~ ..«=.=. 



WOOL GROWERS' MEETING 



The wool growers of Franklin county had 



meeting at Shelburne Falls, Nov. 29th : Sylveste 



Maxwell, chairman ; Urbane Hitchcock, clerk. I 



committee reported several resolutions which wei 



unanimously adopted. They resolved that the ■- 



terest of the wool growers requires an effort 



their part to guard themselves against the arts 



speculation, which have been, and may again 



put in practice ; that they approve of the transac 



tions and resolves of a meeting lately held in Che 



terfield, Hampshire comity ; that they are dispose 



to co-operate with individuals and public bodi 



in measures to obtain and diftuse the inlormati. 



necessary to protect themselves and the pub 



against the selfish and intriguing, who would mal 



themselves rich at the expense of the honest ai 



laborious former ; that the wool manufocturers c 



take no exceptions at these sentiments and mei 



ures, their prosperity depending much on the si 



cess of those who supply the raw material. T 



meeting chose Abel Williams of Ashfield, Geoi 



T. Davis of Greenfield, Urbane Hitchcock of Ha 



ley, David Denison of Colerain, and P. L. Cui 



man of Bernardston, a committee to correspo 



with committees of other bodies, and to coll 



and circulate such information respecting the va 



uf wool, as in their opinion shall be calculated 



guard the growers against deception and impi 



tion ; and the committee are requested to cal 



meeting of the wool growers of Franklin cou 



between this time and the first of May next 



Hampshire Gazdte. 



FOR HOUSEKEEPERS. 



A short way to make old bread new, or better ti 



neio— Bread that is several days old, may be 



newed so as to "have all the freshness and lightn 



of new bread, by simply imtting it into a comn 



steamer over a fire, and steaming it half or th 



quarters of an hour. The vessel under the stei 



er containing the water, should not be more t 



half full, otherwise the water may boil up into 



steamer and wet the bread. After the brea< 



thus steamed, it should be taken out oi the ste 



er, and wrapped loosely in a cloth to dry and c 



and remain so two or three hours, when it wil 



ready to be cut and used. It will then be 



cold new bread. By this process we may vi 



such a change in old bread, as will make it it 



respects new except in its deleterious qualitii 



and thus at the same time gratify the taste, 



subserve the purposes of health and econc 



New bread, it is well known, cannot be eaten • 



perfect impunity, until it has undergone the 



cess of npfning— anil indeed physicians sa 



ought not, as a general rule, to be eaten til 



day after it is made. A way is pointed out afc 



by which a taste for new bread may be grati 



without exposure to injury. 



We have received the above suggestions 

 an experienced housekeeper, who has often 

 the experiment, and, to our knowledge, with 

 plete success— and we publish it for the bene 

 others. — Springfield Gazette. 



