

THE ILLINOIS EA^I^MER. 



115 



frequently kept until ten years old, at wliicli 

 period they exhibit no greater marks of age 

 than do the Down and Leicester aty?/'c or dx 

 I have known instances of Merino ewes 

 breeding uniformly until 15 years old ! The 

 Improved Cotswold is said to be hardier than 

 the Leicester, but I have said less of this 

 A ariety, throughout this letter, as from their 

 great size* and the consequent amount of food 

 consumed by them, and the other necessarj' 

 incidents connected with the breeding of so 

 large animals, the idea of their being intrc 

 duced as a icool-ijroicing sheep anywhere, and 

 particularly on lands grassed like those of the 

 South, is, in myjudgment,utt3rly preposter- 

 ous. 



There is one advantage which all the coarse 

 races of sheep have over the 3Ierino. Either 

 because their hoofs do not e-row lonii; and 

 turn under from the sides, as do those of the 

 Merino, and thus hold the dirt and filth in 

 constant contact with the foot, the coarse 

 races are less subject to the visitations oftlie 

 hoof ail, and when contracted it spreads with 

 less violence and malignity among them. 

 Taking all the circumstances connected with 

 the peculiar managementi of each race, and 

 all the incidents, exigencies and risks of the 

 husbandry of each fairly into account, I am 

 fully convinced that the expenses, other than 

 those of food, are not smaller per capita, or 

 even in the number required to stock an acre, 

 in either of the English breeds above referred 

 to, than in the Merino. Nor should I be 

 disposed to concede even equality, in these 

 respects, to either of those English breeds, 

 excepting the South-Down. 



You write me, sir, that many of the South 

 Carolina planters arc under the impression 

 that coarse wools will be most profitably grown 

 by them first, because there is a greater defi- 

 cit in the supply, and they are better protect- 

 ed from foreign competition, and secondly, 

 because they furnish the raw material tor so 

 great a portion of the woolen consumed in 

 the South. Each of these premises is true, 

 but are the conclusions legitimate? Notwith- 

 standing the greater deficit and better protec- 

 tion, do the coarse wools bear as high a price 

 as the fine one? If not, they are not as pro- 

 fitable, for I have alrea-'y shown that it costs 

 no more to raise a pound of fine than a pound 

 of coarse wool; nay, a pound of Merino wool 

 can be raised more cheaply than a pound of 

 the South-Down, Leicester or Cotswold I 

 This I consider clearly established. 



Grant that the South requires a mucli 

 greater proportion ofcof'rse tlianof fine wool, 

 for home consumption. If a man needing 

 iron for his own use, wrought a mine to ob- 

 tain it, in which he should happen to find 

 gold equally accessible and plentiful, would 

 it be economical in him to neglect the more 

 precious metal be he wanted to nae the iron? 

 or should he dig the gold, obtain the iron by 

 exchange, and pocket the diflTerence in value? 

 Would it be economical to grow surplus 

 wool, wool for markeL worth 25 to 30 cents 

 per lb., when it costs no more to grow that 

 worth from 40 to 45 cents? And even for 

 the home want, for the uses of the plantation 

 — for slave cloths, &e. — -Jine wool is icorth 

 more per pound than coarse for actual ictar 

 or use ! Is this proposition new and iucredi- 

 ble to you? I challenge the fullest investi- 

 gation of its truth through the testimony of 



those familiar with tlie subject or throuirh 

 the direct ordeal of experiment. It :.- true 

 tluit a piece offine broadcloth is not so.vtrd, .j;, 

 nor will it wear like a Ch<'l:i;sf'ord plod of 

 treble thickness. The tlnx'ads of the-1"iaun- 

 are spun to extreme fineness to ct<^'roniise 

 tho raw material. To gi\ e it that ilnish 

 which is demanded by fashion — to give it its 

 beautiful nap — these threads are still farthei 

 reduced bv '*Kiy;i>ini2: and shearinir." jlut 

 spin fine wool into yarn as coarse as that used 

 in Chelmsfords, and nianufacture it in the 

 .same way, and it would make a far stronger 

 and more durable cloth. The reasons are 

 obvious. jMerino wools are decided i}' strong- 

 er than the English coarse long and middle 

 wools — or any other coarse wools in propor- 

 tion to its diameter or bulk. It felts far bet- 

 ter, and there is, therefore, a greater cohesion 

 between the different fibres of the same 

 thread, and between the different tlireads. 

 It is also more pliable and elastic, and con.^e- 

 quently less subject to "breaking" or alira- 

 sion. 



*I saw two at ttie N. Y. State Fair, lit Saratoga, w'licli 

 weiglied over 300 lbs. each .' 



Taxes. 



Mr. Editor: — Your duties re«|uircs you 

 to protect the interests of the laboring man, 

 and it is your intetest, as well as that of the 

 great community in which we live, to en- 

 courage the industrious (and nearly all of us 

 aspire to be such.) to obtain homes, wliere 

 all the domestic virtues flourish — and if 

 these are only extensive enough to reward 

 labor, to place man in "the middle state of 

 life" we achieve the greatest earthly good 

 possible for our race. 



In looking over our system of taxation, 

 especially that which relates to lands, I have 

 been impressed with tlu! belief that there is 

 great injustice and ine(|uality in it — that it 

 is doing wrong to the laborious and in fustri- 

 cus — that it is civinir undne advantaiies to 

 rich landliolders, and that the evil ought to 

 be corrected, ^^'hen times are })rosperous, 

 and wheat two dollars a bushel, and pork 8C 

 per 100 lbs., we do not feel the draught upon 

 us for taxes as at this time, — for now, with 

 present prices of prtiduee, the taxes which 

 we have to pay upon our imjn'oved farms, 

 and the results of our labor, are grievous to 

 be borne. 



The early fathers of our State provided 

 for assessing three kinds of land — Ir-t. I'nd 

 and ord rate. There was wisdom in titis. 

 Let lands be thus assessed as a general thing-. 

 Let those who have naked good prairie pay 

 ju.st as much tax as he who has improved 

 prairie beside it. I^et the la))orer be encour- 

 aged, and let the rich pay their full share of 

 the expenses oi' keei)ing up our institutions, 

 and we shall make a good beginning for the 

 benefit of the industrial classes — they vrho 

 create wealth for a country. 



I will, with your permission, give more 

 thoughts on this subject hereafter. 



. A TAX-PAYER. 



Thti Trial of Plows. 



Editor of the Farmer : — I am glad your 

 correspondent ''Plowboy" took up the pen 

 for a thorough trial of plows iit Ctuti-alia. I 

 have been to several fairs both in this .>tate 



and out of it, and I do say that I have never 

 witnessed out of this State sucli rshibit'ons 

 of pl(^ws as I have seen at the Iliiuois SUitt 

 Fairs. Mechanical science was never better 

 displayed than in the man ufav^ture of those 

 plows '-^and many of'theu were fxislted with 

 a neatness that would rival the u.ost clioice 

 eyhibitii>ns ot cabinet work. But the practi- 

 cal application of their powers was never suf- 

 ficiently tested — in my opinion. We shall 

 now liave it. This of itself will be a great 

 exhibition. It Avill be one in which farmers 

 will feel it a deep interest. 



I suppose we shall have there Viye's G-ang 

 Plows, and the gang-plow invented in Spring- 

 field, which seems to excite the admiratiou 

 of all those farmers who have examined it. 



^\'e thought several years ago that we had 

 arrl.ed at perfection in plows. How mis- 

 taken we were? I very much hope that we 

 shall have steam plows there. I have noticed 

 that several were being made iu differunt 

 parts of the country. We shall want to see 

 them. P. OF MenARD. 



The Osage Oraiigc Bedgc. 



Editor of th^ Farmer: — Farmers who 

 cultivate the Osage Orange Hedge, want one 

 to be a protection to their fields as soon as 

 po.ssible. Five years is a great while in Illi- 

 nois. A good hedge can be made in four 

 years with proper treatment. It is not 

 strango tliat many ern-rs were made at first 

 in the cultivation of the hedge. Our people 

 had made up their minds that they must 

 grow the Osage Orange as they would grow 

 the thorn: and others thought that they had 

 only to plant the hedge to secure a fence. 



M}' plan would jic to prepare well the 

 ground for the liedgc row; plow it up deep 

 and make the soil fine. Then take good 

 strong plants and set them in one row three 

 inches apart. Leave some strong jdants iu 

 the nurserv to fill ut) the vacancies in the 

 ,;pring of the second year. Do this and let 

 hedge grow two 3 ears. In the .spring of the 

 third year cut it down even with tlie ground. 

 Some four branches will sprout up from each 

 root; let these grow till July and then cut 

 them off to within six inches of the grouud. 

 The next spring cut them off twelve inches 

 from the ground; the fourth spring cut them 

 off within six inches of the last cut, and you 

 will have a good hedge. 



If any man has a better way, I wish he 

 would communicate it to the Farmer. 

 Yours, B. 



■—^ 



Trial oJ Mowers and Reapers. 



Editor of the Farmer : — I was glad to.S'^e 

 an article in a late number of the Farmer 

 suuiicstin-rthata more tiiorough trial be made 

 at the next State Fair than usual, of the plow.^ 

 placed on exhibition; and I Avas stili more 

 uratified to see the response to that article in 

 the July number, from Mr. U. Zviills, super- 

 mtendent of the plowing match, in which Le 

 announces that the plowing match will \e 

 commenced on Thursday of the fuir wcr-k, 

 and that a most thorough trial of the plo-^s 

 will be made. 



I now desire to make a suggustion, that, if 

 possible, a trial of mowers and reapers be also 

 had during fair week. If wo t-aunot have 

 grain to cut, can they not be tri^^d in grass, 

 millet and buckwheat? The awai Js given to 



