184 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Apkil 



THAT LINE FENCE. 



BY CLYDE HAWTHORNE. 



Old farmer Smith came home in a miff 



From liis tield tlie otlior day, 

 While his sweet little wife, the pride of his life, 



At her wheel was spinning away. 



And ever anon, a gay little son)? 



With the buzz of her wheel kept time; 

 And the wrathful brow is clearing now, 



Under the cheerful rhyme. 



"Come, come, little Turk ! put aw.ay your work 

 And listen to what I say ; 

 What can 1 do, but a quarrel brew 

 With the man across the way .■' 



"I have built my fence, but he won't commence 

 To lay a single rail; 

 His cattle get in, and the feed gets thin, 

 I am tempted to make a sale 1" 



"Why John, dear John, how you do go on I 



I'm afraid it will be as they say I" 

 "No, no, little wife, I have learned that strife 



In a lawyer's hand don't pay. 



"He is picking a flaw, to drive me to law, 

 I have heard that he said he would ; 

 And you know long ago, the law wronged me so, 

 I vowed I never should. 



"So what can I do, that I will not rue. 



To the man across the way ?'' 

 "If that's what you want, I can help you haunt 



The man with a spectre gray I 



"Thirty dollars will do to carry you through. 

 And then you have gained a neighbor; 

 It would cost you more to peep in the door 

 Of a court, and much more hibor. 



"Just use your good sense — let's build him a fence, 

 And shame such thoughts out of the fellow." 

 They built up his part, and it sent to his heart 

 Love's dart, where the good lay mellow. 



That very same night, by the candle light; 



They opened, with interest, a letter; 

 Not a word was there, but three greenbacks fair 



Said the man was growing better. 



SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 



At the late farmer's meeting at Lebanon, 

 N. IL, a paper was read by Dr. Mason on 

 Sheep Breeding. As repoi-ted by the Mirror 

 and Fanner, he expressed the opinion that 

 too little eare was given to sheep manage- 

 ment. We should eontiinially select for 

 breeding the best animals of the breed we 

 preferred. He would not cross coarse and 

 fine wooled animals, for the wool wouhl not 

 be of value for either grade. The natural 

 tendency of a flock is to deteriorate. lie 

 would introduce a new buck occasionally to 

 increase the stamina of the flock. 



N. B. SaiFord, of White River Junction, 

 favored the Atwoods. Thought they stood 

 the climate well, and gave seven pounds of 

 wool. 



James Worthen thought he could raise wool 

 cheaper than grease, lie went for mutton 

 sheep. 



Mr. Miller was keeping his sheep without 

 profit, hoping for better times for fine wool. 

 Coarse wool had been abandoned here. He 

 held to keeping sheep warm in barn cellars, 



and shut up in storm and cold. Has fed 

 roots. Beets regarded as best. American 

 Imjierial sugar beet preferred. 



James Wood said, farmers had made sheej) 

 raising a living business till now. He thought 

 this section better adapted to sheep than cows. 

 Our pastures are too far away for cows. 

 Have to feed out all we can raise to make 

 them profitable. Farms can be kept up 

 better with sheep. Cows reduce pastures, 

 sheep improve them. Fluctuation in wool he 

 attributed to tinkering with the tariff. With 

 a steady tariff wool would pay at 45 cents. 

 Manufacturers demfin 1 raw material free and 

 duty on fabrics. This he regarded as an in- 

 jur}- to farmers. He had tried Merinos and 

 approved them. He had sheep that had lambs 

 in cold weather, and lost only one, Avhich got 

 out of the pen. Does not wash. The rule of 

 shrinkage is one-third, his shrunk one-fifth. 



Dr. Mason advised the breeding out of all 

 contaminated blood from fine wool sheep. 

 Don't mix in coarse wools. 



Dea. Buffum spoke of localities where they 

 make a point of raising lambs for early use, 

 and the results of various methods practiced 

 there. 



Mr. Noyes, of Lebanon, said the fanners of 

 this town had got their wealth by keeping 

 sheep and they would not give them up. They 

 keep a few cows, and should keep the best. 

 Sheep much more profitable. 



Mr. Palmer, of ( )rford, was not ashamed of 

 fine wool sheep. The day for breeding them 

 is not past. There has been a great deal to 

 discourage, but much also to encourage. He 

 would buy the best sheep when they are low. 

 Flocks that have real merit ought to be saved. 

 Somebody will reap the profit of persevering, 

 and he meant to do it. If he sacrificed his 

 property, the last piece he Avould own would be 

 a fine wool sheep. He proceeded to demon- 

 strate the profit of keeping sheep, even with 

 wool at 40 cents. He was very enthusiastic 

 in his opinion of Merinos, and often brought 

 down the house by his well put commendation 

 of the fine wools. 



Jf'or the Xeic England Fm'mer. 



EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURE ON 



HEALTH, 



Read before the Concord, Mass., Farmer's Club, Jan. 



26, 18T1, by Frederick G. Pratt. 



It is the common opinion among all classes 

 of society, that the cultivation of the soil is 

 favorable to long Ufe, and most of the dwell- 

 ers of the cities look forward to the time when 

 they can sit under the shade of their own trees, 

 and enjoy a sense of rest, independence, and 

 comfort, not to be found in city life. We 

 know that few ever come to realize these 

 dreams, and we know how many young men 

 brought up on the farm, leave it as soon as 

 possible, for the more bustling life of the city ; 

 but do we not also know, that many of these. 



