396 APPENDIX. 



considered better than the average of my cKp, yet it was sold 

 with my entire lot for 70 cents per lb., to Messrs. Samuel Slater 

 & Sons, of Providence, R. I. To give you some idea of the 

 constitution of my sheep, I wiU say that during the last eighteen 

 months I have lost but four sheep, one of which was an imported 

 ram injiired by fighting. I had forgotten to mention that I im- 

 ported from Germany two years since two rams and one ewe ; T 

 think my flock will be improved by this cross. 



LETTER FROM JOHN JOHNSTON, OF GENEVA, NEW YORB.. 



t 



Dear Sir, — I have before me your favor of the 24th inst., and 

 take great pleasure in stating to you my experience and practice 

 in sheep farming. > 



It is now twenty-three years that I have kept sheep in this 

 (Seneca) county, and for the last 16 years my flock has varied in 

 number from 600 to 1000 ; at this time it amounts to 974, all 

 Merinos, and which originated from the flock of the late Hon. R. 

 S. Rose, before he crossed with the Saxon breed. 



In relation to feeding sheep, my early custom was to feed with 

 hay alone during winter, excepting the lambs, to which I gave in 

 addition a little oats or com, and to my wethers, which were stall- 

 fed, corn, oata, buckwheat or peas, feeding at the rate of one 

 bushel of com, or its equivalent in other grain, per day to the 

 hundred, allowing also as much hay as they would eat. I think 

 buckwheat qtdte equal to com as feed for sheep. 



Since the year 1840 I have adopted a different system of keep- 

 ing my sheep, at least so long as my straw holds out, which is 

 generally until the middle of Feb. or 1st of March. In 1840 I 

 entered the winterwith 1050 sheep, allowing them as much straw 

 in their racks .as they would eat, and some to waste. In addi- 

 tion to the straw I fed one bushel of oats, or one bushel of corn- 

 cob meal, (oats also mixed in grinding), to every 100 sheep per 

 day, except my lambs, which were fed on hay. Under this 

 treatment my sheep wintered well, full as well as when fed 

 hay alone. I threshed every week, and consequently the straw 

 was always sweet. , ^ 



During the winter of 1843-44, 1 tried an experiment successful- 

 ly, as follows : — I selected 100 ewes and 10 wethers of one year 

 old past; to this flock I fed wheat straw only, with one bushel 

 oil-cake meal per day ; this was continued tmtil the 22d March, 

 when my straw was exhausted. I then fed them on hay, and 

 discontinued the oil meal. This flock did exceedingly well, being 

 fat in the spring. I also fed a flock of lambs (134) in the same 

 way until the 1st March, and then fed them on hay, discontinu- 

 ing the oil-cake ; they likewise did rernarkably well, and were 

 the best yearlings of the breed I ever saw. The ewes yielded 



