1861; 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



387 



tering into or passing out of the track of the 

 tempest. 



These observations might be multiplied to a 

 great extent ; but probably comprise the most 

 important facts in relation to the storms which 

 are experienced in this part of the country. To 

 those who are noi familiar with the subject, they 

 •will serve to explain, in part, the more immediate 

 causes of those phenomena. — New York Commer- 

 cial Advertiser. 



WOOL AND MUTTON SHEEP. 



Evening discussions are becoming an impor- 

 tant part of the proceedings at the New York 

 State Fairs. We copy from the Rural New-York- 

 er the following abstract of the remarks on Sheep 

 and Wool Growing. 



Wade, of Port Hope, C. W. — Canadian farm- 

 ers prefer the long-wooled mutton sheep, as a 

 general thing, because they can make more money 

 by keeping them than the fine-wooled. They are 

 more healthy, and though the wool sells for less 

 per pound, the larger fleece brings a higher price 

 to the farmer. 



Peters. — How do you feed ? 



Wade. — Feed well, winter and summer. Grow 

 great quantities of roots, and find them almost 

 indispensable in sheep keeping, but give anything 

 they relish, and all they will eat. It is nonsense 

 to keep any animal poor. In winter principally 

 feed turnips, hay and a few oats. The fleeces 

 average eight pounds each, when well washed. 

 Prefer the Leicester crossed with the Cotswold. 

 The Cotswold has a heavier carcass and better 

 constitution. The sheep, however, that we now 

 have are modifications of the old breeds whose 

 name they bear. The Leicesters were much mod- 

 ified and improved by Bakewell, who bred in- 

 and-in for the purpose of improving the form, 

 which he accomplished, but in doing so sacrificed 

 the constitution to a certain extent. It is there- 

 fore well for the grower of long-wooled sheep to 

 gain constitution in the way I have mentioned. 



John S. Pettibone, Vermont. — I have al- 

 ways recommended the farmer who has only land 

 enough for fifty or one hundred sheep, to keep 

 those best for mutton. But, under other circum- 

 stances, fine-wooled are most profitable. I com- 

 menced raising Merinos forty years ago, and have 

 continued to this time without admixture or cross. 

 The greatest difficulty with sheep raisers is that 

 they let their flocks run down in October when 

 the pastures get poor. Unless a person is a good 

 judge he cannot tell when his sheep are losing 

 flesh, and thus many are deceived and their flocks 

 get in low condition before they are aware of it. 

 No one can judge of the value of a sheep when 

 the wool is off. Once I selected two ewes which 

 I considered as near alike as possible, but at 

 shearing time one gave five pounds of wool and 

 the other three. Always examine them in Janu- 

 ary, and when I find a ewe with long, soft, thick 

 wool, I mark it for myself, and no one can buy it. 



A Farmer. — Do Vermont sheep-raisers grease 

 their sheep ? 



Pettibone. — I have no doubt there is a good 

 deal of fraud practiced, but I never greased a 

 sheep in my life. Merino wool will be somewhat 

 greasy, but there is a great difference in this re- 



spect. I know a gentleman who had a ewe which 

 sheared thirteen pounds of very greasy wool. 

 One of mine sheared five pounds, and yet, when 

 cleaned, my five-pound fleece was one pound the 

 heaviest. Those sheep with extremely greasy 

 fleeces, should be discarded, as the wool becomes 

 cold, and the sheep chilled. They will freeze al- 

 most as quick as a cabbage plant, and need blank- 

 eting in the barn. By a careful selection of ewes 

 I am enabled to get a hundred good lambs from 

 a hundred and one ewes, and can do this every 

 year. A pen 40 feet in length by 15 in width, is 

 room enough for a hundred sheep in winter, and 

 they will do better than where more room is pro- 

 vided. 



Baker, of Steuben Co. — Have kept Merino 

 sheep all my life. Commence in October, as soon 

 as pastures get poor, and give a little grain until 

 winter sets in. Then take into the sheds. Give 

 them hay in racks, twice a day, and more or less 

 grain. Stable all winter. Keep 400 sheep in 

 one barn 90 by 45 feet, divided into three parts 

 by a low board fence. The product of my sheep 

 averages about $2 per head. Feed considerable 

 straw, and when I do this continually for any 

 length of time, give grain. Usually feed roots 

 to ewes some twenty days before lambing. The 

 turnip is a somewhat uncertain crop, but beets 

 are sure and valuable. Have kept eight hundred 

 a year on less than two hundred acres, including 

 hay and pasture. The fleece averages from il to 

 4-J pounds each. The wool is somewhat greasy, 

 but not what may be called gummy. I think it 

 very desirable to increase our flocks, for the pur- 

 pose of keeping up the fertility of the land. 

 There is nothing like it. Have raised 120 bush- 

 els of shelled corn on an acre, where sheep had 

 been kept. Have had no experience with coarse- 

 wooled sheep. 



Harmon, of Monroe Co. — Some 40 years ago 

 commenced with Merino sheep. After five years* 

 trial of these, obtained an imported Leicester 

 buck, which resulted in detriment to the flock, 

 and this cross I soon abandoned. Never let my 

 ewes have lambs until three years old. The range 

 of average weight of fleece in different years is 

 from four to five and one-fourth pounds. Last 

 year the product of 328 sheep in wool, was $707; 

 the year before, from 330, $705. Feed but little 

 hay ; use straw, corn, oats and some bran. Put 

 about 50 in a stable 14 by 40, and keep from fall 

 to spring. Wash in running water until it ceases 

 to be discolored. Let sheep run from five to 

 eight days after washing before shearing. The 

 wool is not gummy, but thick and fine. Feed in 

 racks. Have some low land, which produces a 

 grass that will keep sheep alive, but make no tal- 

 low. Believe long-wooled sheep tender. The 

 wool is long and open, and parts, leaving portions 

 of the skin almost bare. The water gets in and 

 the sheep take cold and die. I lost several by 

 consumption. 



Wade. — Is not the crossing of the Merino 

 ewe with the Leicester buck an unnatural cross ? 

 Did you ever try the Leicester ewe with the Me- 

 rino buck ? 



Harmon. — Never have ; never bred a long- 

 wooled ewe. 



Allen, of Black Rock. — Have kept sheep 23 

 years. My land is a clay loam ; lies well up, with 

 good surface drainage ; natural to timothy, blue 



