Mr. Blundelts Farm. 
'J77 
debility. This plan has been pursued liere for twelve years. 
Wherever animals are, there manure is accumulating ; wherever 
manure is, tliere is earth under it for soakage. In the houses 
eighty cartloads of this im})rcgnated earth are made yearly, irre- 
spective of the straw-dung made on the earth, and each cartload 
of earth is considered worth two of dung. The earth is taken 
out about twice a-year. 
The management of sheep is entirely different : they are never 
housed. Bridgewater horned ewes are bought in the fall and 
lambed down in the open. lAit lambs are often sold by Easter, 
15 or 20 lbs. a-quarter, and their mothers then, or as soon after 
as possible, weighing 15 stone of 8 lbs. At the end of January 
I saw lambs of 40 lbs. weight. The ewes lamb early in this 
favourable climate, and the weather is not feared. The shepherd 
says, " Where the mud sticks the fat sticks ;" and certainly the 
mud sometimes does stick to the fleece, which flaps like dip- 
candles when wet, and rattles like wax-candles when dry. The 
best sucked ewes have sometimes realised 75s. a-piece, and the 
lambs 44s. The mode of feeding is : for ewes during the first 
six weeks cut carrots, for the remainder of the season cut mangold, 
with oilcake-meal strewed over it in the troughs ; in the two last 
months they receive an additional i lb. of cracked beans per 
head per day, and throughout, as much prime hay (clover and 
Italian rye-grass) as they like. The lambs get, during the whole 
season, carrots (put through the cutter twice, which makes the pieces 
dice-shaped), American cake-meal strewed over the carrots, grey 
peas, cracked, as much as they can eat, with best Dutch clover 
hay. They never sec an empty trough from their birth to their 
death. In summer no sheep are on the farm ; all are cleared 
out by the beginning of May. " Feed stock in winter, raise 
crops in summer," is Mr. Blundell's motto. Horned cattle he 
must feed all the year round, and he does it thus, according 
to the season : — in winter, young stock ; mangold three times 
a-day, in small quantities each time ; 12 lbs. per head morning 
and afternoon, 16 lbs. in the evening ; oat-straw always in 
their racks : this keeps them in an improving condition till the 
time for grass-cutting in spring and summer. Then follov/ tri- 
folium, clover, and carrot thinnings ; when these supplies are 
exhausted, the roots are ready again. At the age of about 
16 months they receive cake and meal besides, and go to the 
butcher at 24 months, realising on an average one pound per 
month on their lives, (the calculation of 3s. ?>d. a-week was 
profit, inclusive of all expenses) : no hay is allowed, no fodder 
but oat-straw. Mr. Blundell believes it impossible to fat bul- 
locks to a profit with hay. He lambs 60 ewes ; has 12 bul- 
locks up to fat, besides dairy cows and young stock, 20 head in 
