308 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



der the rope. The fleece, as a bundle, is easily 

 carried about, having the clipped surface out- 

 side." 



Another plan is merely to twist the neck 

 ■wool around the middle of the bundle and se- 

 cure the fleece by two twine strings at each 

 end, tied around it as around a bundle behind 

 a saddle. Either plan shews the shoulder wool 

 which is always the finest part of each fleece. 



Having thus prepared and packed the wool, 

 send it to Crenshaw & Co., in this City. No 

 doubt there are other gentlemen here as honest 

 as they are ; but they are the Snly concern that 

 has a wool de)oot and employs a wool stapler, 

 of whose services the grower gets the benefit. 



If the wool has burs in it, you had betternot 

 attempt to pick it. You will be sure to injure 

 the fleece, and there is machinery which does 

 that work better than you can. 



As each fleece is sheared from the sheep? 

 make a small round hole in its ear, right or left 

 ear according to sex, with a punch or shoe- 

 maker's plyers — one hole for each year of the 

 sheep's age. You can then tell sex and age 

 with half the trouble. We have tried the plan 

 for years. 



One Hundred Thousand Dollars Proposed 

 to be Given towards the Endowment of 

 Agricultural Schools at the University 



of Va. 



The author of the following letter modestly 

 . withholds his name. But he is a man of 

 means, and able as well as willing to make his 

 words good. Any words of ours would fail to 

 express our sense of the magnificence of this 

 offer. It is a worthy seconding of Col. Cocke. 



We still hope that this latter gentleman may 

 be enabled to present his proposition in a form 

 which, whilst it may be acceptable to himself, 

 will be unexceptionable to the visitors. And 

 that then agriculture may get all the benefit of 

 the generosity and patriotism which are ready 

 to be heaped upon her. 



Certainly no reflecting man who read the 

 synopsis of Agricultural Education in the last 

 Planter can have failed to see how much agri- 

 culture needs a S3 r stem which shall place her 

 at once on the footing of the sciences, and en- 

 rol her name among the liberal professions. 



Clark Co., April 7, 1857. 



My Dear Si?' : — I have read with great 

 pleasure the " Plan of Instruction in the 

 principal and auxiliary departments of the 

 School of Agriculture at the University 

 of Virginia," as detailed in your last val- 

 uable Southern Planter. 



If the plan can be successfully accom- 

 plished, it will raise Virginia to the first 

 standard — elevate her agriculturists sci- 

 entifically, and the good old State will be 

 made to blossom as the rose. 



I think that the present embarrassment 

 of Virginia, and her important and con- 

 tinued appropriations for the completion of 

 her main lines of Railroads, will put it 

 out of her power, if she was so disposed, 

 to make any liberal grants for this noble 

 purpose, at an early day. 



Therefore, it devolves upon the bone 

 and sinew of the State, to lend a helping 

 hand to accomplish this highly important 

 plan. 



I cannot doubt that a large number of 

 gentlemen farmers would unite in contrib- 

 uting a fund sufficient, at least, for a com- 

 mencement. Being impressed with this 

 belief, I would propose, with your impor- 

 tant and efficient aid, to make one, of 

 twenty gentlemen, to donate $5000, mak- 

 ing in the aggregate $100,000. 



Should this proposition fail, then I 

 would propose to make one, of one 

 hundred gentlemen, to donate $1000, 

 making a similar sum of $100,000. 



Should this fail, I will take Ihe liberty 

 of making one more effort to rouse the 

 farmers of Virginia from their deep sleep, 

 by urging the great importance of the 

 donations, to resuscitate the State, and 

 awake her from her lethargy. 



Under this consideration, I now make 

 the third proposition. I will make one, of 

 two hundred gentlemen, to donate $500, 

 making a similar sum of $100,000. 



I have brought the third proposition to 

 so low a figure, that I hope you will soon 

 succeed in raising the amount ; at all 

 events; it will have the effect of inducing 

 the farmers to think seriously upon the 

 subject, and prepare them for a subscrip- 

 tion at our next State Agricultural Fair, 

 — where I hope to meet you, and sub- 

 scribe to either of the above plans, that 

 may prove successful, and will be prepar- 

 ed to pay in either case. 



