434 
The Winter of 1885-86. 
to be observed that the bulk of them speak of having shelter, 
and of its being sufficient. A few have planted or erected 
fresh shelter, and some — Mr. Henry Woods, Mr. John Cole- 
man, and Mr. W. A. Darbishire especially — speak strongly of 
the greater need in this matter. The latter gentleman has 
recently erected three shelters in North Wales, although it is 
not customary to do so in the district, and he is very pleased with 
the result. He has kindly sent me drawings of these, which 
will enable any one to erect others should he desire to do so. 
Fig. 1. — Section and End-elevation of Mr. DarbisJiire's Shelter 
for Stock. 
The buildings are 30 feet long, are cheap and durable, and 
easily erected or removed. They are closed on three sides, the 
opening facing the dry quarter. The sheep and lambs have 
learnt to use them, and during the snow in March last they 
were of great service. The ewes and lambs were also taken 
into the covered shed and loose boxes during the March storm. 
" I have no hesitation in saying," writes Mr. Darbishire, " that 
* shelter ' pays for itself over and over again, and I shall fully 
equip my farm with shelter-sheds before next winter." Mr. de 
Laune writes that he was out in the storm of 1881, and deter- 
mined to plant more shelter. " I believe," he adds, " the pro- 
ducing power of the country has been seriously damaged by the 
destruction of hedgerow timber." In the case of shelter for stock, 
as with silage, there is not a single condemnation from those 
who have used it. In the West of England a large number of 
portable iron sheep-shelters have been supplied by Mr. H. S. 
Crump, of the Alvin Iron Works, Gloucester, 1 give an illustra- 
tion of this (Fig. 2). It is easily taken down, and re-erected ; 
it can be made of any shape or size to order ; and it is very 
cheap in price. A number of my correspondents recommend 
it, though some only use it at lambing time. In Scotland, 
