THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



171 



improve the breed ; three rams are allowed 

 to one hundred ewes. Some of the lands 

 in Hungary resemble the prairies of the 

 West, but they are too low. In the low 

 lands the loss of lambs is twenty per cent., 

 but in the higher it is but two per cent, 

 on this estate of the Viceroy. The ewes 

 with lambs are placed by themselves in 

 the nurseries ; the lambs born within three 

 days of each other, classed in separate 

 apartments, and are carefully watched. 

 At the end of twelve or fourteen days the 

 lambs are separated t wice a day from the 

 ewes, and are fed on clover and hay to 

 accustom them to their future fare. This 

 saves the ewes. At the end of four weeks 

 they are allowed to be but a short time 

 with the ewes. 



The fine wool of Germany is sold in 

 England, and Germany obtains a coarser 

 kind from Hungary. Germany needs 

 all her own wool. In Europe they say 

 America cannot injure them because they 

 raise finer wool. Mr. Fleischmann said 

 that the best wool adapted to this country 

 was the middling quality* The best 

 breed for this climate would be the off- 

 spring of the Leicester ewes and Merino 

 bucks. The length of the w 7 ool would 

 be about two inches. The excellence of 

 wool, he said, consisted in a great degree 

 in the evenness and regularity of the 

 curves of the fibre. If the curve be un- 

 even the manufacturers cannot work it 

 up so well. The Merino wool from the 

 Western prairies, he said, looked sickly. 



* The Tribune's report of this portion of 

 Mr. Fleischmann's remarks is as follows: 



The great question, said Mr. F., with which 

 he- had come among us was to find the kind of 

 wool jrroper to be raised in this country. The Eu- 

 ropeans now think that American wool can 

 never attain a sufficient degree of fineness to 

 compete successfully with theirs. But we 

 have enterprise enough, and all that is needed 

 is to ascertain the very best breed of sheep 

 and in a short time we can produce wool of 

 fully as good quality as any of the European 

 varieties. 



In Europe, a cross of the Leicester and Me- 

 rino produces a staple of about two inches in 

 length and very fine. In regard to the diseases 

 of sheep, the rot is one of the most annoying. 

 Lameness and lung-worms are the diseases 

 of lambs, and if not speedily remedied, will 

 soon destroy them. 



In German}', the shepherds or superin- 

 tendents of flocks were brought up in 

 agricultural schools. This was the case 

 with all employed, from the highest to 

 the lowest. He had himself been four 

 years in an agricultural school, and had 

 had for eight years charge of an agricul- 

 tural district. Agriculture in these schools 

 is taught in great perfection. The mo- 

 narchs were the first to establish these 

 schools, while the republicans in this 

 country had been behind. In the primary 

 schools in Germany, the pupils read and 

 write of agriculture, and at their play 

 cultivate vegetables. At the age of twelve 

 or fourteen the best boys are sent to the 

 agricultural school, and the graduates 

 finish their education in the agricultural 

 colleges. In the agricultural schools they 

 do not teach science, but practice, not a 

 part, but the whole of the practice — every 

 part of the economy of a farm — so that 

 they can put every part of the machinery 

 together. The study is conducted with 

 a view to the highest and most lasting 

 profit, so that when the father dies he 

 will leave his farm in the best condition 

 to his son. In the examinations the pu- 

 pils are not asked questions concerning 

 ammonia or oxj'gen, but they are taken 

 into the field, the soil is dug up, and they 

 are asked what is the quality of the soil 

 and subsoil, and what is the tillage re- 

 quired for the greatest and most lasting 

 profit. They are examined in regard to> 

 the particulars of the household or econo- 

 my of the farm — what they would do 

 with a particular farm of three hundred 

 acres, for example — what would be the 

 best rotation of crops for that individual 

 farm — how it should be manured — how 

 many oxen and horses would be required t 

 and how many hands to work it. Mr. 

 Fleischmann said he wished the people of 

 this country could witness these schools 

 and appreciate their importance. If Con- 

 gress would appropriate but $100,000 for 

 practical lectures for six months, it would 

 produce great good — it would impart a 

 good deal of practical information, and 

 awaken a love of the science of agricul- 

 ture. 



The Chairman remarked that the Ame- 



