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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



SHEEP, WOOL AND LAMBS. 



In a letter dated July 13, from J. M. JONES, 

 Esq., of Amherst, N. H., he says : "I have just 

 got through shearing sheep, and from four lambs 

 and two old ewe sheep — Spanish Merinos, Hum- 

 phrey's importation — have taken, from the four 

 lambs 37 pounds of wool, and from the two ewes 

 23 pounds. I bought them of Stephen Atwood, 

 of Watertown, Conn. They were sheared of 

 eleven months growth of wool. From 20 sheep, 

 purchased of Stephen Rowell, of Weare, N. 

 H., I have taken 128 pounds of clear, washed 

 wool, and each sheep had a lamb by her side. 

 From 12 Cotswold sheep, 142 pou;ids washed 

 wool. From the skin of a buck that I had die, I 

 pulled thlrty-tico pounds and nine ounces of wool. 

 I bought him of Mr. Atwood. He was full blood 

 Spanish Merino, three years old, and 1 believe the 

 best buck of that blood in America. 



I see that Vermont claims to be ahead of tha 

 rest of the world in sheep and wool raising, but I 

 do not intend to have them enjoy that reputation 

 much longer." 



We regret our friend's loss of his noble buck. 

 Vermont must look out for her laurels, if Fai-mer 

 Jones is trying titles with her. 



Rat Stories. — A French paper — L'Abeillc 

 Cauclioisc — records the following instance of the 

 voracity of rats, which 't declares has just occurred 

 at a farm near Yvetot : The proprietor of the farm, 

 M. Panchout, had a pig so exceedingly fat that it 

 could scarcely move, and was nearly always asleep. 

 Three nights since he was awakened by hearing 

 the squeals of the animal, and on going to the sly 

 found that a number of rats had attacked it and 

 eaten their way into its fat to the depth of four 

 inches. The pig was so much injured that it was 

 found necessary to kill it immediately. The Jow- 

 nal de Rouen, after giving the above account, men- 

 tions a circumstance which occurred to a gentle- 

 man of that town not lung since : On returning 

 from a residence in the tropics he wished to bring 

 back a serpent about six feet long. He according- 

 ly put it into a large box, and along with it a num- 

 ber of live rats for it to kill and eat when so dis- 

 posed. On o))ening the box, however, he found 

 that during the passage the rats had not only eat- 

 en all the food enclosed for them, but had also de- 

 voured the serpent itself. 



Heaves in Horses. — The following statement, 

 is made bj- an lUinois correspondent of the Rural 

 New Yorker : 



I once brought from the State of New York a 

 mare that had the disease badly, and in six months 

 after her arrival here no one would suppose from 

 her appearance that she had ever had the heaves. 

 Whether or not it is the rosin weed, as stated by 

 thy correspondent, E. E. T., I am not able to say, 

 for there are large quantities of hay used here 

 that do not contain any rosin weed. If that weed 

 is a cure for the heaves, cannot a medicine be 

 made from it to cure the asthma, or consumption, 



SA^^NG Seeds. — As the season will soon ar- 

 rive for saving seeds, I thought my way might be 

 some benefit to your readers, and I will give it to 

 them. It is what my grandmother taught me, 

 when a little girl, living in Massachusetts, and 

 now that I have settled a few miles from Chicago, 

 and have plenty of garden room, I find it very 

 useful by keeping my seed pure, and having fruit 

 some two or three weeks earlier than others who 

 planted at the same time. The first that comes 

 of each kind I let grow and ripen for seed. I 

 save a part of a row of peas, a few hills of beans, 

 a hill or two of corn, that I never pick any from 

 till fully matured for seed. The first squash of 

 each kind, melons and cucumbers, I am very par- 

 ticular should not be picked. By saving the first 

 they are more likely to be pure ; the bees are not 

 so plenty as a short time afterwards. Sometimes 

 it is quite a cross to let them be, being the first 

 of tho season, but I find in a long run I am the 

 gainer. I hope the readers will try this ; it will 

 save a good deal of trouble in the fall in going 

 over the garden to see if they can pick up any- 

 thing for seed. How can we expect choice vegeta- 

 bles, unless we take extra pains about saving seed ? 



To Preserve Flowers in Form and Color. 

 — The Ohio Farmer has the following directions 

 upon this subject : 



Procure a quantity of fine sand and wash it un- 

 til it is entirely free from all dirt, and the water 

 comes from it clear. Then with a fine sieve sift 

 from it all the particles. It should then be sifted 

 with a coarse sieve, taking from it all the coarse 

 particles. The sand now, being perfectly dry, is 

 ready for use. Place it in a dish, which should 

 correspond in depth with the length of the flower 

 stems which are to be used for drying. The flowers 

 when picked should be perfectly dry or exempt 

 from rain or dew. Insert the flower stems in the 

 sand to the base of the flowers. Then with a 

 steady hand sprinkle the sand evenly over the 

 flowers until they are completely imbedded. Place 

 them in a very dry place, either near the fire or in 

 the sun, and let them remain several days. When 

 perfectly dry the sand may be poured ofi". Double 

 flowers with stiff" petals are most easily preserved, 

 but most varieties will well repay the little trouble 

 and care required by this simple process. 



Illinois Cotton. — N. C. Meeker writes from 

 Dalgonia, Union county, in the southern part of 

 Illinois, to Solon Robinson, of New York, May 

 24th, 1863, as follows : 



Please inform the Farmers' Club and the v.orld 

 that sixty-one bales of cotton left this place a few 

 days ago for Providence, R. I., consigned to the 

 owners, A. & W. Sprague. This cotton was 

 bought under the direction of G. Reynolds, Esq., 

 their agent, and he pronounces the quality equal 

 to good Upland Tennessee. This lot was raised 

 in Union and a few adjoining counties. The 

 INIessrs. Sprague, in buying this cotton, offer an 

 inducement to the farmers to plant largely, which 

 ihey have done. 



E^ The total number of sail and steam vessels 

 on the great lakes is 1074. This includes every 

 species of vessels, hundreds of which could he al- 

 tered to gunboats aud privateers in case the gov- 



