27-4 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Juke 



get more than five hundred pounds of hay to the 

 acre. Now let me tell you, if a man is poor he 

 will continue so as long as he uses muck on his 

 farm. A man would be better off to work for fifty 

 cents a day and board himself, than to farm it on 

 meadow muck. O. J. Upham. 



Needham, Mass., April, 1870. 



DEATH OF COAESE-WOOL LAMB. 



Fine wool sheep have been kept on our farm for 

 many years, but about a year ago a part of the 

 flock was changed to coarse wools. After an ab- 

 sence from home, I have just returned to find the 

 lambs from our coarse wooled sheep dying about 

 as fast as they come. Out of twenty-two only 

 seven are left. At first they appear smart and 

 well, but after a few days, or in some cases a few 

 weeks, they are taken wiih a diarrhoea that oak 

 bark will not check, and die in great distress. 



I at once went to work to find the cause. I 

 opened one, and found his lungs somewhat affected, 

 but not enough to cause death. On examining 

 his stomach, I found in the passage out of the 

 honey -comb stomach a wad of wool about as large 

 as a bullet, entirely stopping the passage. I opened 

 another and found all of the organs healthy ; but 

 just beyond the last stomach a wad of wool stop- 

 ping the passage there. In another I found the 

 passage stopped just beyond the stomachs with 

 something resembling cheese, but as it was begin- 

 ning to be dark I did not examine closely. Next 

 morning found in one several weeks old, a large 

 wad of wool about an inch beyond the last stom- 

 ach, and the intestine inflamed and distended by 

 the wool. 



So I am satisfied that eating wool was the cause 

 of the death of the lambs. Is this a trick of long 

 wooled sheep ? Old fine wooled sheep raisers here 

 never heard of the like. Our fine wool sheep 

 have not as yet produced any lambs. 



We set the man who has the care of the sheep 

 to tag all the ewes nicely, so that all scattering 

 locks of wool would be out of the way of the 

 lambs. A little knowledge might have saved all 

 these lambs. I should like to hear the opinion of 

 those better acquainted with coarse wool sheep. 



Hartland, Vt., April 10, 1870. B. Livermore. 



POTATO DINNER. 



About a dozen farmers from Sudbury and Fram- 

 ingham were invited to a dinner at Col. Hemtn- 

 way 's, in Framingham, on the 5th of April, to talk 

 over the potato crop, and test the qualities of sev- 

 eral varieties. After eating as much potato as 

 they could with the bountiful supply of other pro- 

 visions, the question naturally arose, What kinds 

 is it best to plant this season ? 



Two or three varieties were spoken of favorably 

 by all ; among which the Early Rose was consid- 

 ered the best as an eating potato, up to that date 

 and considerably later. The Burns and Worces- 

 ter Seedling were thought very fine as later varie- 

 ties. Bresee's Prolific was also spoken of as very 

 good. About one-fuurth of those present thought 

 the Harrison ought not to be given up, as the yield 

 is large and it is liktd as an eating potato by 

 many. 



Two plates of potatoes, one called Late Rose, 

 the other Royal Pitt, were thought to be the same 

 kind. Both are very productive, and are liked as 

 a table potato by some. 



King of the Earlies, Early Prince, Willard and 

 Climax were also among the kinds represented, 

 but they are scarce, and the company decided not 

 to recommend them fur planting the present year. 



One gentleman recommended sprouting pota- 

 toes to get them very early, by spreading horse 

 manure two or three inches deep upon any conve- 

 nient spot of ground, covering it with a little loam, 



then dropping the potatoes just far enough apart 

 so that they can be easily separated after they 

 have sprouted ; covering the potatoes with sand, 

 keeping them moist by sprinkling with water 

 from a watering pot, and covering them with a 

 sail cloth cool nights. When ready for transplant- 

 ing take them up into boxes with a fork and sep- 

 arating them, plant in rows, pressing the dirt 

 around them. One of the Company. 



STRETCHES IN SHEEP. 



I wish to inquire what to do for my sheep that 

 has the stretches. She lays down and stretches, 

 and gets up and does the same. She has a lamo 

 three weeks old. She was troubled the same be- 

 fore she dropped the lamb, as now. She appears 

 well one day and is sick the next. 



L. H. Gaylord. 



North Prescoit, Mass., April 4, 1870. 



Remarks. — This disease is generally ascribed 

 to constipation of the bowels, resulting from 

 long confinement to dry feed. Sheep do not have 

 it when at pasture. It can generally be prevented 

 by some kind of green feed given once or twice a 

 week — browse is better than nothing. Salt kept 

 in a trough constantly in reach of the sheep, in 

 which sulphur is mixed at the rate of a pound to 

 half a bushel of salt has been recommended by 

 Mr. B. F. Chamberlin of Washington, Vt., as a 

 preventive. 



As a cure, some kind of physic, if given in season, 

 affords relief. If neglected until inflammation sets 

 in, all remedies may fail. A piece of lard of the 

 size of a butternut, mixed with mustard seed; a 

 dose of Epsom salts ; a decoction of thorough- 

 wort, or boneset; castor oil, &c., are each re- 

 commended; and in the Farmer for 1868, 

 (Monthly, page 240) Mr. G. H. Brown of Mason, 

 Maine, stated he had been successful in a great 

 many cases in giving the sick sheep a bit of plug 

 tobacco as large as the thumb to the first joint, by 

 putting it into the mouth and holding up the nose 

 of the animal until it "chewed" and swallowed the 

 weed. Whatever is used, the object is to move 

 the bowels. Relief is sometimes effected by 

 merely chasing the stretching sheep about the 

 yard, on the first appearance of the trouble. 



HOGS OR SHEEP TO IMPROVE A FARM. 



I wish to inquire through your valuable paper 

 which are best, sheep or hogs to improve a small 

 farm which is badly run down, and which will be 

 most profitable in addition to their assistance in 

 improving the farm ? a. 



Avon, Conn., April, 1870. 



Remarks. — There are many circumstances hav- 

 ing a beaiing upon either of these propositions, 

 such as locality, price of labor and grain, skill in 

 tending, &c., which must be considered in decid- 

 ing which to choose. These circumstances are not 

 known to us. Briefly, our opinion is, that keep- 

 ing hogs will enable you to enrich your cultivated 

 lands much quicker than by the use of sheep. To 

 secure this, the hogs must be kept growing rapidly, 

 and plenty of materials supplied to them to travel 

 over, lie upon, and enrich by their droppings. 



