214 



NTAV EXGL-^'D r.VRMEE. 



JrLT 



gha:! "r-e i:".e tj d: vhen the hurrv o? sprlnj wcri 

 aikl r-irt-5 shill b^ mailn^ inc^€s-^ant demands upon 

 the ^-er^ry bx.h :* r'>dy and miiid. 



Wr.it rrovis-rn siruld be r:ade. tber.. dur'nar 

 suiiinier, fcr it£ irmter feedicg cf sbeep ? Li the 

 •itifde andfer nodee, Mr. Baxter eajs he has fed 

 oat as Many as dOO bosfaeis of potatoes to 100 

 sheep during one vioter ; 400 daring another ; 

 and 110 doiii^ another. In place of bar he | 

 seeau to use oat stravand com fodder, (the straw i 

 beiDg pireea enoogh to be good,) at least ontil the 

 ■traw is nea^ gone> *s frf^Hng bar once or trice 

 a day qmila thor aj^etite for the straw. After 

 mnwiipncing on hay hie merely uses straw enoogfa 

 to keep one rac^ filled op with it all the time, so 

 that they am^ and pick «t it when they please. 

 Hie grain wladi he gives bis sheep seems to be 

 mainly oats, wlada he feeds in the ontbredied 

 state ; at least he does not say anything about > 

 earn or any odier grain. Pipbably Mr. Baxter 

 vooIdeooferafaiTor onsomeirf'bis Imther sheep- 

 keepets if he would infmm them of the groonds 

 fer bis pfcference of oats, and especially whether 

 he has feoad diat he gets better and' stronger 

 hnhs, what he feeds oats to the ewes, than when 

 he has fed com, or ofl cake, or other sta& which 

 have a mote direct tendency to form fat than oals 

 are oaoally soj^KMed to have. We presume there 

 are many bende mysdf who woold like to have 

 the opmoa of then- brethren as to the relative in- 

 fluence of oats and com apoa the healthiness and ■ 

 rigor of lanbs. A writer in the Commtnf Gadte- ! 

 WHO, Oct. 23d, 1862, and in the CmUiealor (Al- { 

 bany) of Xovember, has a decided prefermce for i 

 oats as the best grain for breeding ewe8,**as it de- 

 velops the frame-wock of the l^b, or ia otber 

 vratds, is a bone aad mnsde-growing feed, while 

 own or oil meal is best to fet she^." He says 

 that these latter articles toid to form too mach 

 ht, and too little bone and masde in the lamb — 

 an opimon wfaidt seems to onncide with the re- 

 solts of an mfortaoate experience we had one 

 season some years ago, when, after feeding th^ 

 ewes quite freefy on com, we had quite a number , 

 of lan^M who ctrald searodhr stand up to suck, and 

 were, many <^ diera, wholly unfit to follow their 

 raotfaers alioat the pastore. A few woe so weak 

 in the sjnne or back as to get bent in, and be all 

 out of shape. WDl some of the readers oi this 

 )oamal give us the benefit oi thdr experience as 

 to this matter? 



So far then as the practice of Mr. Baxter nmy 

 be fhoogfat wOTthy ci imitation, the sheep farmo' 

 should grow, in sufficient quantity to carry his 

 fliM^ throogfa the winter, oats for the straw and j 

 grain, ctnn for die fodder, hay and potatoes.) 

 Few, however, will follow bis example in boiling 

 the potatoes ; and not many, we think, would feed 

 potatoes, if they should make a £air comparative 

 ' tzul of them and of mta bagas. This, of all the 

 root crops, seems to us the one best adapted for , 

 feeding to sheep ; and if any reader of this should j 

 widi to know how to feed, or how many might be j 

 needed for so many Bheq>, we would say to him, j 

 diat we hare found noon the best time of day, ' 

 hdag the warmest or least I&ely to chill the sliced i 

 up bulbs, and that as he will {Robablv fieed them 

 only about half the time or in the milder days of 

 winter, and then in the place of the noon feed of 

 oats, he may calculate that he should provide ' 

 fnongh to feed about a bushel a day to every thir- 1 



tv sheep, or in that proportion, for about half of 

 the winter. 



Besides good feed, sheep should have good 

 shelter, large and dry vards. good water, free ac- 

 cess to salt, and never be confined except during 

 stonos. MoEE A>'ON. 



THE SEASON AZTD PEOSPECTS. 

 The winter that was so mild and open, and so 

 inviting to all to go forth into the mild air and 

 sunshine, did not expend all its energy during its 

 aUotted time. March vras frequently vocal with 

 winter wii^s, and April pwizred forth storms of 

 snow, and sleet, and rain, and kept the earth 

 drenched so that farm operations were delayed 

 beyond their accustomed time. The early part of 

 May was also wet and cold- Ploughing that was 

 done, was badly done, and its effects will be felt 

 through the whole season. Land that is ploughed 

 while quite wet, fells from the mould-board in 

 lamps that are quite likely to hold together through 

 the entire summer. 



At this time of writing, May 28, a great deal of 

 land intended for com and potatoes remains to be 

 planted, having l)een entirely, too wet to receive 

 the seed until within a few days- Now, however, 

 the sorfece of the soil has become quite dry and 

 is somewbat hard. 



Grass and the spring grains appear well, and so 

 do the fruit trees. The apple and pear blossom 

 is abundant, notwithstanding the profusion of 

 last year- 

 Most trees and plants came through the winter 

 : :- : " "t condition- We have heard no com- 

 - 'Tuction of apple trees by mice. 

 raspberries, blackberries, currants 

 ries are looking finely, and promise 

 pientiiui crops- 



A littie rain is now needed in this region, al- 

 though the soil and subsoil is still quite moist. 



VEJSi TUoATION. 



The following article, in reference to ventilation, 

 has been widely circulated in the newspapers of 

 the day. It sets forth a theory which, though ob- 

 riously fallacious, is nevertheless worthy of criti- 

 cism, when we consider the high source from 

 which it emanated : 



"A New Theory of VENTiLiTiox. — The 

 French Academy of Sciences, at its last meeting, 

 listened to a paper from M. Delbruck, which, if 

 well founded- will upset a good many of our ex- 

 isting notions about ventilation- M. Delbruck 

 has made some researches on the quality of air re- 

 quired for breathing during slefcp. It strikes him 

 as singular that, while all medical men are unani- 

 mous in prescribing several cubic metres of pure 

 air for each person sleeping in a room as abso- 

 lutely indispensable for health, all animals appear 

 to shun the open air as much as possible in order 

 to compose themselves to sleep. Thus, the lion 

 and the tiger retire to some dark caveni where the 

 air is confined ; the dog goes to his kennel, and 

 thrusts his snout under his belly ; birds, to which 



