56 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Februaby, 
Bahman fed 66 sheep for sis months upon 
each acre of ground thus irrigated. He had 
constructed a quantity of hurdles of a peculiar 
vents an}- trespassing upon the other side of 
them, aud by using two rows of hurdles the 
sheep are kept in the narrow strip between 
Fig. 1. — INTERIOR OF COVERED CATTLE STALLS 
Jescription. They are 12 feet long, and are 
ide of a stout pole hored with two series of 
- 12 inches apart. Stakes six feet long are 
TjHs.t into these holes, so that they project from 
i three feet on each side of the pole. One 
3CTfes of holes is bored in a direction at right- 
insjles to that of the other, and when the stakes 
HS all properly placed they form a hurdle the 
i >f which looks like the letter X. The en- 
. ing below shows how these hurdles are 
j..ide and the method of using them. A row of 
■< hurdles is placed across the field. The 
3' Id in which they are used consists of six 
arcs. A strip of 10 feet wide is thus set off 
upon which 400 sheep feed. They eat up all 
Hie grass upon this strip and that which they 
c-;m reach by putting their heads through the 
hurdles. The hurdles are then turned over, 
exposing another strip of rather more than four 
feet wide at each turn. When this is fed off 
them. Their droppings are therefore very evenly 
spread over the field, and it is very richly fer- 
tilized by tbem. At night the sheep are taken 
off and the grass is 
watered. The growth 
is one inch per day 
under this treatment, 
and when the field 
has been fed over, the 
sheep are brought 
back again to the 
starting point and 
commence once more 
to eat their way along. 
As to the practica- 
bility of this method 
with us under our 
circumstances there is 
cost of the apparatus 
large. 
that here. The labor of attending to 490 sheep 
so closely fed would be at a minimum of cost. 
The feeding of 400 sheep a whole summer 
should be worth $1.80 each at one cent a day 
per head, which is the usual payment for pas- 
turing sheep in flocks for drovers. This would 
be equal to $118.80 per acre. These figures 
would seem to leave a margin for profit even 
for us. They seem honest ; but although fig- 
ures are said to be perfectly trustworthy and 
truthful we have in practice so often found 
them to belie their general character, that we 
would not in this case pin our faith upon them 
without some experiment. Nevertheless we 
feel sure about the value of the hurdle and this 
plan of using it iu many cases. Some few far- 
mers here grow rape for late summer feed for 
sheep, and man}' thousands might well do so. 
For penning sheep upon rape these hurdles are 
very much better than the ordinary flat ones 
which have to be firmly set iu the ground and 
tied together, while these are self-sustaining 
and instantly turned over. This great advan- 
tage should make them very acceptable to us. 
Covered Stalls for Cattle. 
The use of covered stalls for feeding cattle 
and preserving manure is becoming very gen- 
eral amongst the better class of English farmers. 
Occasionally they are made use of by farmers 
Fig. 2. — ELEVATION OF COVERED CATTLE STALLS. 
some question. The 
for irrigation is very 
The yearly interest, on the cost and 
SHEEP HURDLES AND MANNER OF USING THEM. 
fce hurdles are again turned over. The 
eitevaux-de-frise presented by the hurdles pre- 
the maintenance together, is $57 per acre in 
Euglaud. It would not be much more than 
in this country with the best results. That 
they may be the more generally known we have 
prepared the accompanying engravings to show 
their structure. Fig. 1 shows the ground 
pian of a shed containing fourteen stalls, 
each ten feet square with a passage way 
in the center of four feet wide. Fig. 2 
shows the elevation of the building with 
the arrangement of the doors. It is of 
two stories, the upper one being used 
for the storage of straw, hay, or roots or 
the preparation of the feed. Fig. 3 
shows the interior of the building, with 
some of the stalls upon one side. With 
these views the following short descrip- 
tion will be more readily understood. 
The shed here described is TO feet long 
by 24 feet wide, having seven stalls upon 
each side. It is built of plain boards 
and scantling, and one of the cheapest 
character will answer every purpose as 
well as the most costly building; the 
shelter and preservation of the manure 
being the chief objects in view. There 
is a door at the rear of each stall divided 
into upper aud lower halves so that the 
||jjB upper one may be opened for ah- and 
ventilation. There is a large door at 
each end of each row of stalls, aud the 
divisions between the stalls are made 
of movable bare. These bacs being 
taken away a wagon may be driven through 
the building from end to end for the removal 
