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THE ILLINOIS FARMER. 



155 



for the Stiitfi Fiiir •h»'ir l)0;!!;tifiil grmuuls. A 

 lovelier ppot fur that purpufle cannot lie found 

 in I'lir Smtft. 



Resolv'fJ . That we r^'focrnieo otir •^Mi^atir'nf 

 to the firc*;^ of thi« Stn'n f r t^rcir vahmM- 

 services in Ijohalf nf tiif* St^t'e F«4ir. There are 

 at this time nearlv fivo hnnded pniiPrn pnliUfh 

 ed in Illinoii'. They wicl'l fip-iwerfnl infl'ience 

 for jror.d. We tender our thank« tf> the report- 

 ers who were present for the verv fair and in- 

 tere.=tinp manner in which Ihey have preaented 

 to the readers of their reFrectivo papers the 

 sights and inoidc'rts of tno Fa'r. 



Rcarilved. That in drt^in jr our proceedine* here 

 the Executive €■ mmittee cojigratnljite each 

 other on the distinijuihhf-d snccps<> of thip annual 

 Fair. They hfliovo its irfliierce will be felt 

 in bHnein? vSo th^ri IHInni^ more pr m- 

 inently before the public a« a deRirable regi' n 

 for pettlement and nfjricujtnrsl enierprise — in 

 introducing improved breedn o^ stock and agri- 

 cultural machinery, defirned to lepwen the 

 labors and increase thfl profit* of thf» farraer— 

 in the uniting of the citirens of the N'rth and 

 South in ha'-moninus action for the public good 

 — in sat/ifyirs all rf ns that we nre one people 



— that our in'erests are one — that our Stale 

 from its exfrf-mc north to its southern termi 

 nntion, and from its ea'^tcrn to its. western 

 boundary, is bovond all others rich in a£rr'C"l 

 tural repourooa, and must spon *al;e rank in 

 wealth and population, with the leading States 

 of the Cnion. 



On motion if Mr. T>urVma«tci*. 



Fexnlvfd. Th'>t th-Pros'dfnt jvnd Corr^ppond- 

 ing Scretarv f f thi« TJof^rd, be dired^ed to tne- 

 morializo the L^gi"! suture at its next Beesion. 

 Asking thnt a portion of 'ho »evpn per cent 

 fund cominr fr«m thn Tili miic Control Eail 

 Roafl C>nininv, be nerm^nently a-npronri^te-' 

 to this 'Society, to promote the great objects of 

 the association. 



On n->"*'ori. 



Fesolvid T'lnt wo th<^nfe J. A. Fawlces, Ei'q., 

 for the exhibition of his ft^am r low it our fa r. 

 It was not as rerA^ft nn instrumfrnt as Mr. 

 Fawkes depigns it ph.ill be, but it SPtMed the 

 quefstion that the pteam nlow ran be m"^"! buc^ 

 cessfiilly to work upon our prairies. The Rni« 

 matpd scene ri-pspntrd on it« introduction unon 

 the fair ground'' w'll scarcelv be forgotten. Th^ 

 steam plow h»< beirnn its work in Illinois. Who 

 ■will limit its future ? 



Itexnlred, That w noxv adiourn to rr\pp\, in 

 Springfield on the 3d dny of .Janrarv, 1859. 



S. Francis, 

 Cor. S'iC. Ill, Sfafe Ag. Society. 



Sheep as Scavengers. 

 Notwithstanding the heresy of the 

 Rev. R. J. Breckcnridcre ahont "In and 

 In Breeding," he is jet o good observer 

 and thoughtful farmer. I owe to him 

 my first idea of sheep as scavengers or 

 eaters of weeds. It is well knoAvn that 

 sheep eat a larger variety of weeds than 

 any of onr domestic animals. With a 

 certain numhcr of sheep then to eat 

 what weeds the horse and ox leave, we 

 have a clear gain of all the mutton made, 

 'the most wholesome of meats, and the 

 absolute advantage of destroying noxious 

 weeds, which would otherwise increase 

 and root out wholesome grasses. -Hav- 

 ing sheep in one pasture, and cattle in 

 an adjoining one, I found the sheep con- 

 tinually pressing to pass from a fine blue 

 grass pasture into the pasture where the 

 cattle were, much less luxuriant. I let 

 them through the gate and watched 

 them; they at once greedily, without 



toachiu2 the 



grass, 



devoured certain 



Avceds, which the cattle studiously passed 

 over. The true plan is to have few slieep, 

 and change them fvequcntly from one 

 pasture to another; the sheep will then 

 be healthier, and the pasture the better 

 for their presence. Bat it does not fol- 

 low, however, that sheep will clear up 

 foul pastures of themselves. They re- 

 (juire some grass as Avell as weeds. Now 

 if a pasture is very foul, the scythe must 

 be used. Suppose fifty sheep will . cat 

 in a year, five acres of briars or other 

 weeds, and the one hundred acre field 

 produce six acres of briars or weeds; now 

 if five only be eaten, the other acre will go 

 on spreading and trenching upon the 

 grass, until such time as there will not 

 be grass enough for the sheep, to say 

 nothing of other stock. By using the 

 scythe, if you reduce the six or ten acres 

 of briars to five, then the sheep will cut 

 the other five for you, which is a clear 

 gain, or saving of labor and mutton. 

 But tlicre are numerous weeds in most 

 pastures which the horse and ox will not 

 eat, and which the scythe cannot reach; 

 all the sheep will feed upon. 



The true theory then of cleaning pas- 

 tures is not to rely upon sheep or the 

 scythe, separately, but upon both. 

 They especially are greedy in eating 

 young briars after the seytiie has cut the 

 hard and old stalks. ^And after all we 

 muist not rely upon the scythe or the 

 sheep for permanent freedom from weeds, 

 but upon long and thick grass to choke 

 them out. 



I do not doubt that the reason why 

 sheep are so liable to disease is the fjict 

 that by over numbers they eat out all 

 the variety which is necessary to their 

 health, but if kept in small numbers, and 

 changed from pasture to pasture, there 

 is no stock more healthy and remunera- 

 tive for the outlay of capital and carh. 



Let every farmer then keep a few 

 choice sheep. C. M. CLAY, 



Whitehall, Ky. 



. — t^.- . 



Geese and Goslings and their Manageirent. 



Geese set four weeks, the goslings 

 breaking the shell on the t^Sth, 29th and 

 30th days. They should remain on the 

 nest as long as they like, and require 

 but little food for three or four days. 

 Crusts of bread soaked in milk, is better 

 food than Indian meal — the latter seem- 

 ing to sour in their crops. If the weath- 

 er is pleasant, they may go to pasture, 

 but it generally necessary to keep them 

 separate from other geese at first, as 

 the ganders are apt to weary them by 

 excessive attention. A good pond fur- 

 nishes the best Avater, but it is not a ne- 

 cessity in rearing geeso. A shallow 

 vessel, frequently supplied with fresh 

 water, should be provided for the gos- 

 lings at times, though they are better 

 off shut away from it some portion ofthe- 



day. Too much dabbling in water in 

 jures them. 



It is important to have a good, warm, 

 dry shelter for the young geese, especi- 

 ally while the cool nights continue, un- 

 til they they become pretty fully feath- 

 ered. There they should remain on 

 cold and wet days, and until the dew is 

 well off in the morning. Feed them 

 frequently with handfulls of fresh clover, 

 and supply water while thus confined. 

 See also that their j)en is frequently 

 cleaned and littered. 



Sometimes goslings will die, though 

 treated carefully and according to the 

 usually successful methods. This often 

 occurs, we believe, from their eating 

 some poisonous plant, though none such 

 may be known to be within their reach. 

 Perhaps half the half the flock will die, 

 one after another, when no one can ac- 

 count for the same. 



Grown up geese are generally hardy, 

 and active in their search for food. 

 They are less likely to be mischievous 

 and wandering, when fed with corn each 

 morning; and this should always be at- 

 tended to if we desire them to be thriv- 

 ing and profitable. 



The great object of keeping geese is 

 th .'ir feathers, although they are nearly 

 as good for the table as other poultry, 

 if fattened and killed at the right age, 

 and prepared in the proper manner. 

 In picking them alive, the proper time 

 should be selected, and that is when 

 the feathers are ripe, and not in the 

 green or pin-feather stage. The feath- 

 ers grow out and ripen every seven or 

 eight weeks during the summer, and 

 should then be removed in a neat and 

 careful manner. To cure them, place 

 them in a sack of thin cloth, and hang 

 them in an airy place, shaking up and 

 stirring frequently. In this way they 

 become thoroughly dry in a few weeks, 

 without any disagreeable scent, and will 

 keep good in any dry place until worn 

 out by use. — Country Gentleman. 



4» 



Blooded Stock for America. 



We clip the following from the Daily 

 Post, Liverpool, England, July 31st: 



A valuable consignment of live stock 

 for breeding purposes has just been 

 placed in the hands of Mr. Bell, of the 

 Adelphi-sttibles here, for shipment to 

 America and Australia. The larger 

 and by no means the less valuable por- 

 tion of the collection consists of twenty- 

 four fine animals, including six bulls, 

 fourteen heifers and yearlings, and four 

 cows of the Ayrshire breed, purchased 

 in Ayrshire, from the most celebrated 

 breeders, by Mr. Sanford Howard, edi- 

 tor of the Boston Cultivator, for the 

 Massachusetts Agricultural Society. 

 Several fine Southdown rams, from the 

 herds of Mr. Jonas Webb, Bathraham, 

 Cambridgeshire, purchased for Colonel 



