1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



163 



number of rods. Note the results from time 

 to time, and follow out this simple plan to the 

 practical proofs, and we think it would soon be 

 found that our philanthropy going to pasture 

 was something else than a crazy idea, ii' not, 

 it would not cost much to test it. And what a 

 man knows, he knows. Whathe will not learn 

 he cannot know a. G. c. 



Lee, N. II., Feb., 1867. 



HO"W TO MANAGE YOUNG LAMBS. 

 Having had the sole charge of young lambs 

 for se\t.ral years, and generally very success- 

 ful, I will give my experience. A )oung lamb 

 that the mother will not own, and has not 

 strength to suck, I bring into the house, wrap it 

 up in an old blanket, and place it near the tire ; 

 then get some ewe milk, warm it slightly, and 

 feed the lamb, a little at a time, (three tea- 

 spoonfuls, say,) every twenty minutes, till it 

 begins to revive. I then moisten my finger in 

 the milk, and insert it in the lamb's mouth, 

 repeating this operation until it learns to suck 

 readily. It will then take its milk readily from 

 the ordinary glass sucking bottle, with a nip- 

 ple used by babies. Care should be taken to 

 feed sparingly ; I killed many lambs by over- 

 feeding, when I first commenced raising them 

 by hand. 



If you wish to I'eturn the lamb to its mother, 

 do not keep it from her too long ; return when 

 warmed and its stomach tilled, and confine the 

 two in a small pen about four or five feet square 

 — suckle it often, holding the ewe for that pur- 

 pose. It is a good plan to bring a dog near 

 the pen ; the ewe will eye the dog angrily, 

 commence stamping her fore foot, otherwise 

 standing perfectly still, and the lamb, if in- 

 clined to suck, will then have a good oppor- 

 tunity. The presence of the dog seems to 

 arouse all the motherly instincts, and she will 

 turn round her head and caress the young one 

 with true maternal regard. By persevering, I 

 never have any difficulty in making a ewe own 

 her offspring. 



It frequently happens a ewe will drop twins 

 — one strong and the other weakly ; the one 

 most needing her affectionate care will be dis- 

 carded. It is a good plan in this case, after 

 ■warming and suckhngthe weak lamb, (if chill- 

 ed,) to shut the ewe with it alone, keeping the 

 other away from her. (The dog operation 

 here comes into play admirably.) Do not 

 keep the favorite from her too long, however 

 — not over a couple of hours, say — or she will 

 forget it. In conclusion, I will say, whoever 

 attempts to raise lambs, particularly early in 

 the season, must have a warm building, front- 

 ing the south and west if possible, so arranged 

 that the ewes can be shut up in very cold 

 weather — a number of small pens is necessary. 

 I sometimes have a half dozen different lots, 

 all requiring a little different management, and 

 then, most of all, close attention is requisite. 

 Get the young lambs through two days, and 



the worst is over. Wlien they are old enough 

 to pick at hay a little, place some Indian meal 

 in troughs at the side or end of the building, 

 so arranged by nailing boards in front that 

 oidy the lambs can get at it. It is astonishing 

 the (piantity they will eat in this way, and the 

 extra growth it produces. I should have re- 

 marked before, if you intend to raise the lamb 

 by the bottle, give it ewe milk for two days, 

 and after that cow's milk diluted, half water, 

 and warmed to blood heat. 



If the above experience of one who has been 

 eminently successful as a lamb raiser, is faith- 

 fully and patiently carried out, my word for it 

 the next census will show a material increase 

 in the number of sheep throughout the length 

 and breadth of these United States. — Horace 

 Matlcer, Blooming Grove, N. Y., in Country 

 Gentleman. 



Dairy Products of Vermont. — The quan 

 titles of butter and cheese shipped liom St. 

 Albans, (Vt.) depot during the year 1866 

 were: Of butter, 2.617,196 pounds, and of 

 cheese 862,485. The shipments lor 1865 were : 

 Butter, 3,035,257 pounds ; cheese, 1,174,251 

 pounds. These figures, pt the first glance, 

 would indicate a startling deci-ease in the dairy 

 productions of Franklin county for 1866, com- 

 pared with the preceding year. But the St. 

 Albans Messenger says the abrogation of the 

 Reciprocity Treaty in March completely cut 

 off for the year an importation of butter for 

 shipment which has been quite extensive. In 

 1864, when Canadian importations were in- 

 cluded, the shipments were : Butter, 2,474,854 

 pounds. Hence it appears that the butter pro- 

 duction of Franklin county alone in 1866 was 

 145,000 pounds in excess of any previous an- 

 nual production combined with importations 

 from Canada ; while the deficiency in cheese is 

 only 40,000 pounds. 



Swine. — The total hog crop of the West 

 for the winter of 1866 is stated at 1,406,239, 

 as compared Avith 1,391,518 during the winter 

 of 1865. Chicago packed 382,000 the present 

 season ; Cincinnati, 380,005 ; St. Louis, 136,- 

 000; Louisville, 162,000; Milwaukee, 86,- 

 009 ; and Indianapolis, 50,130. In 1865 Chi- 

 cago packed 501,403; Cincinnati, 354,079; 

 St. Louis, 11,760; Louisville, 91,000; Mil- 

 waukee, 92,000 ; and Indianapolis, 36,000, 



Agriculture in California. — There are 

 now about 4,000,000 acres of land inclosed in 

 California and about 1,750,000 acres under 

 cultivation. These are far larger areas of im- 

 proved land than was ever before reported. 

 Three years ago the amount of land under cul- 

 tivation was only 1,107,984 acres. Most of 

 the increase since was made last year. A con- 

 siderable portion of it was in the larger mining 

 counties, which are beginning to claim import- 



