213 



disease. I suppose the temperature is 

 theu iu its most favourable condition for 

 disease germs, and where tliey will be 

 thickest is, of course, about the kraals and 

 sheds. A calf a few months old can, as 

 a rule, stand against them, but not . so 

 with one newly dropped." 



My visit was iu the middle of last 

 month. The veld was brown, and gar- 



den plants were black and shrivelled up. 

 At the Creamery 19 degrees of frost had 

 already been registered. About the hard- 

 ness of the winters in the district there 

 can be no doubt, and Mr. Moor, in prov- 

 ing ocularly what can be done with a 

 paltry amount of fertiliser towards mak- 

 ing first-class provision for the starvation 

 mouths of the year, has given a useful 

 object lesson to those who care to learn. 



Shepherds Identifying Sheep. 



A COEEESPONDENT of the "Agri- 

 ii. cultural Gazette" states: — "The Wilt- 

 shire shepherd is generally bred to the 

 work from earliest infancy, and knows 

 every ewe by sight as well as a huntsman 

 knows his hounds. He soon knows the 

 lambs as well, and this extraordinary 

 power of individual knowledge of the 

 entire flock produces a feeling of wonder 

 in the uninitiated." This I can fully con- 

 firm, for the same knowledge as between 

 shepherd and flock prevails amongst the 

 Herdwick sheej) which pasture on the 

 mountains in the English Lake district. 

 Some thirty years ago I was present at a 

 preliminary hearing before magistrates for 

 sheep stealing. A farmer's son was the 

 delinquent, and few persons could bring 

 themselves to believe him guilty. Some 

 shepherds were ultimately ' taken to 

 Barrow-in-Furness, and in the slaughter- 

 houses of the Imtchers there they picked 

 out both live shee]) and the skins"^of those 

 that had been slaughtered as belonging to 

 the flocks of their employers. When in the 

 witness-box one of the' shepherds was 

 under cross-examination, after having 

 given his evidence, by the defending soli- 

 citor : — 



Solicitor : "What is the number of vour 

 flock ? " 



Shepherd : "From five hundred to one 

 thousand." 



Solicitor: "And do you think the Bench 

 are so foolish as to believe your statement 

 that you can recognise each of those 

 sheep when you see them away from the 

 flock ? Such an assertion is an insult to 

 the magistrates. How do you know 

 them ? " ^ 



Shepherd : "How do you know your 

 friends, and how many people do you 

 know F " 



Solicitor : "You have no right to ask 

 me questions ; but to show the folly of 

 your contention, I will answer you. I 

 was born in the district, and know some 

 hundreds of persons, recognising them 

 by their features, of course." 



Shepherd : "And I was born amongst 

 sheep, and I know every one of my flock 

 by their features, just as certainly as you 

 know your human friends." 



The solicitor tried to ridicule the claim, 

 but the chairman, the late Mr. Montague 

 Ainslie, J.P., D.L., assured him it was 

 correct. The prisoner was committed for 

 trial, and afterwards to a term of penal 

 servitude. 



Agricultural Shows. 



Lion's River Division, Howick, Thursday' 

 June 27th. Secretary, G. Hutchinson, Balgowan- 



Natal Poultry Club. Annual Show, Market 

 fcTall, MaritzbuFJ, Ist July. Hon. Secretary, 

 J. Anderson, 272, Longmarket Street, Pieter- 

 maritzburfr. 



Ixopo, Wednesday, July 3rd. Entries close 

 June 22nd. Secretary, A. Keith, Ixopo. 



Richmond, Wednesday, July 10th. Secretary 

 John Marwick, Richmond. 



Alexandra, Umzinto, Thursday, July 11th. 

 Entries close July 2nd. Secretary, R. G. Archi- 

 bald), Umzinto. 



New Hanover, Wednesday, July 24th. Secre- 

 tary, H. A. Light, York. 



A simple way to tell the age of a fowl, and 

 one which is adopted by practical poultry- 

 dealers, is to feel the breast-bone of the live 

 bird. If the bone feels soft and tender the bird 

 is young ; if, on the other hand, the breast- 

 bone feels hard, ridgy, and not springy, then the 

 bird is not young. 



