48 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
A SHELTERLESS FLOCK. — Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
Shelter for Sheep. 
Our artist this month furnishes us with a pic- 
ture which, we are sorry to believe, has its coun- 
terpart in many parts of America. Taggy- 
fleeced ewes, big with promise, and stiff with 
cold, on a hazy February morning, after a light 
fall of snow, turn over the sticks and stalks in 
the dilapidated rack, or ruminate upon the pros- 
pects in lambing time, while the crows content 
themselves with the anticipations of the good 
time coming. Artistically the picture is effective 
in the disposition of lights and shades, the 
grouping of the animals is good, the atmospher- 
ic effect very natural ; in feet, the chief objec- 
tion to the engraving is, it is a little too natural. 
The sheep is an animal which will endure 
much exposure, and its health is better when it 
is exposed to most of the natural changes of the 
atmosphere, but not to storms or wet ground. 
The Merino is probably the hardiest; of those 
breeds which are most profitably bred in this 
country, and will bear most exposure. There 
are many fine flocks, healthy and vigorous, par- 
ticularly in the prairie States, which never have 
more shelter than is afforded by a board fence, 
or an Osage Orange hedge. For all this, sheds 
would be a great comfort both to the sheep, and 
to the shepherds. The straw and rail shelters 
first, to be succeeded by more substantial sheds, 
and these again by good sheep barns — this is 
the order of progress. A sheep barn must 
afford shelter both for the sheep and their feed- 
hay, straw, and grain. It should be supplied 
with flowing water or a good well. The site 
should be perfectly dry and sheltered from 
winds to avoid much drifting of snow, and 
it is best to have it large enough to accom- 
modate the entire flock. Or, if .it is impractica- 
ble to have all in one barn, then the barns should 
be near together, and if possible, placed so as 
to- afford more effectual shelter. The barn 
should always be built on the side-hill principle, 
even though it be on level ground — the sheep 
rooms being on the lower floor, and the entire 
space above being used for hay and grain. 
"Where there is no available hill, the sheep floor 
may be depressed a little,and a causeway raised so 
that teams may be driven in upon the main floor. 
For large flocks a convenient arrangement is a 
main building with low wings, which indeed are 
only closed sheds. The number of sheep which 
may be accommodated in a certain space, varies 
with each different breed. Randall says, " an 
apartment 20 feet by 40, will accommodate 75 
Paular Merinos," so that they can all eat at the 
same time at wall racks. The larger families of 
Merinos need more space, and the South-Downs 
and Long-Wools still more (near twice as much 
as the first named). It is better to have too much 
space than too little, at any rate. The same 
writer limits the number of sheep which should 
be confined in one room (40 by 40) to 150 ; many 
good farmers say 100. Double feeding racks 
may be so arranged as to form partitions, to 
subdivide the 100 or 150, but they will not be 
a sufficient separation for the chief divisions of 
a large flock. The rooms and yards should be 
entirely distinct ; and it is very desirable also to 
have a detached shed wherein to place any 
part of the flock which may be diseased, or 
which may have been exposed to disease. In 
all buildings for sheep, the floors above them 
should be perfectly tight (tongued and grooved) 
to prevent the sifting through of hay-seed and 
dirt, and all hay-racks used, sliould be so con- 
structed that dust will not get into the wool. 
Sufficient litter should also be used, to prevent 
injury to both sheep and fleece, by the manure. 
What is Inside of a Plant. 
Most persons are familiar with the external 
parts of a plant; they know that the root takes 
up food from the soil, that the leaves prepare 
this crude food for use in the growth of the 
plant, and that the flower produces seeds ; but 
what is the internal structure of the plant, what 
the mechanism and its workings, are subjects 
upou which few persons have any definite 
knowledge. We sometimes see articles which 
convey the idea that there is a circulatory sys- 
tem of tubes much like the veins and arteries 
of animals, and that the sap is sent up through 
them by some force in the root. In order to 
state intelligibly what is known about the rise 
of sap through the ptant, we must know of 
what it is made up. An examination of the 
internal structure of plants is not practicable by 
the great majority of readers, for the reason 
that it requires in the first place an expensive 
microscope, and secondly, a considerable 
amount of skill in using it. They must con- 
tent themselves, then, with our figures which 
show these minute parts and represent things 
we have actually seen. 
Plants and animals differ from mineral sub- 
stances in the fact that they are are organized, 
i. e., made up of distinct parts. If a piece of 
stone be powdered ever so fine, the microscope 
will show the powder to be only very small 
bits of stone, and we may reduce the powder 
to the minutest possible dust, yet each particle 
