SHEEP ON THE PRAIRIES.-PORTRAITS OF ANIMALS. 
55 
oardy, the water is sometimes the property of one 
person, and the land or soil of another; for the water 
is often brought for many miles, above or below the 
surface, as the level may require • and is sold on its 
passage right and left to the held owner, by him who 
owns the stream ; the quantity is measured out, and 
consequently more sparingly used. The Italian hus¬ 
bandman or farmer must therefore retain it as long as 
possible, until it becomes too foul for use, or is ex¬ 
haled by the sun ; and from this cause it is that he 
sows his seed in the water, and weeds his rice by 
hand in the water, to the great injury of the laborers 
employed, generally women. Yet with all these 
disadvantages, rice lands in Lombardy rent from five 
to six pounds per acre.— Arthur Young 
I have written more at length upon rice than might 
have been required for your book, only because in 
no country has so much rule and measure been ap¬ 
plied to agricultural operations as in rice with us; and 
it only remains to add, that there is much difference 
of opinion upon the winter operations upon our rice 
lands. Many persons keep their fields dry during 
that period of the year, bum the stubble off, and 
plow them. Many object to plowing preparatory to 
drilling or trenching for the seed ; for myself, I would 
and do plow with a small plough, with a single ox, 
in single yoke. One ox travels over these soft allu¬ 
vial lands better than two, because when yoked 
double, one necessarily treads in the previous furrow. 
After plowing, it is necessary to harrow or roll the 
land; but to do this effectually, it should be left 
after the plowing, until quite dry. And here I will 
observe, that the roller is the only European instru¬ 
ment not introduced generally into our field opera¬ 
tions ; and yet 1 know of no instrument of more im¬ 
portance in agriculture, and no country where it is 
better adapted to the soil. In Europe, the liarrow is 
only employed in summer fallow, to do what we de¬ 
pend upon the plow and hoe to do—to clean the 
land from grass roots, or to cover the seed after the 
broad cast sowing; here we employ it to break down 
the plow furrow, an operation much better effected 
by a heavy roller, which, passing over the new 
plowed land.after it has been sufficiently exposed to 
the wind and frost, breaks down the clods, and re¬ 
duces the field to that situation most proper for the 
seed. But again, if rolling the seed after sowing has 
been found beneficial in the cold and stiff soils of 
England, how much more so would it be in our cli¬ 
mate, and with our light soils, that are more injured 
by the winds of our spring and by the sun of our 
summer, than by all the other causes that waste and 
destroy them ? Thomas Spalding. 
Sapelo, Nov. 26th, 1844. 
SHEEP ON THE°PRAIRIES.—No. 2. 
Preparing Winter Quarters for Sheep. — The 
greatest difficulty to be encountered upon this soil is 
mud ; you must therefore select a piece of ground 
that is dry and has good drainage, and then I will 
tell you how to build some cheap, good sheds. 
Take common fence rails, and lay up two parallel 
lines about 10 or 20 inches apart, held together , by 
cross ties, and about 4 1-2 feet high, and any desira¬ 
ble length. Fill in between the rails with old straw, 
trash, sods, or dirt, so as to make a wind-tight wall. 
About 8 feet from this fence-wall, set up crotches or 
forks to hold poles that will sustain rails, laid with 
one end upon the pole and the other on the fence- 
wall, which will form the back of the shed, and 
hereon stack the hay, which will cost from $1.00 to 
$1.25 per ton to place it there ; and excellent feed it 
is for sheep. But the grand difficulty about these 
sheds is, that not providing hay enough, causes them 
to be uncovered just at that time in the spring that 
they are most needed. 
Many are very anxious about selecting a good 
place on account of convenience to water, and in so 
doing, often lose other advantages. Now it is my 
opinion that a good well, or pump and trough right 
in the yard, is far preferable. And as with a flock 
of a thousand sheep, one man should be in constant 
attendance, he would be able to see that all had Water 
from the pump, better then to allow them to run to 
the creek through mud, ice, and snow, to seek it 
themselves. It is generally conceded that one ton ol 
hay will winter ten sheep. Racks that will answer 
a good purpose, can be made of rails laid up similar 
to the back wall of the shed. It is my opinion that 
grain given in moderate quantities, will all be paid 
for in the fleece. 
Oats and corn will average about 15 to 20 cts. per 
bushel, which afford a very cheap feed. Potatoes, 
turnips, rutabagas, beets, and carrots, can be raised 
here extremely cheap. Our winters are generally 
dry, windy, and not much snow; but we always 
look for two or three in the course of the winter, 
real, genuine prairie snow-storms. 
Feeding time commences the last of November and 
continues till March, and sometimes till first of April. 
Much feeding might be saved by providing pastures 
of blue grass, or timothy; and even to sow rye every 
summer for winter and spring feed, would be good 
economy, as it makes a most luxuriant growth. I 
would put the rams to the ewes from 20th Novem¬ 
ber to 1st December. 
Having now got your flock into winter quarters, 1 
shall leave you to feed and water, promising to re¬ 
turn before shearing time and assist to take off your 
fleece, provided your readers in the meantime are not 
disposed to fleece me, for inflicting so crude a sheep¬ 
ish article upon them. Solon Robinson, 
Lake Court House, In., Dec. 1844. 
PORTRAITS OF ANIMALS. 
If you will permit me, 1 would respectfully sug¬ 
gest to the owners of extra fine specimens of improv¬ 
ed farm stock, the propriety of publishing portraits 
of their animals. I have no doubt they would find 
an abundance of purchasers at a remunerating price, 
if they were well got up and colored from life.(a) 
For myself, I would give more for a good portrait of 
such an animal as Mr. Oliver’s bull Marius, or Mr. 
Prentice’s Esterville, or Nell, or a group of fine Berk- 
shires, than ail the portraits of political candidates 
with w T hich the world is at present flooded. And 
for decorating a farmer’s parlor or library, if he has 
one, portraits of animals would be much more desira¬ 
ble and appropriate. An Amateur. 
Middlesex Co., Mass., Dec. 1844. 
(a) We shall be happy to aid the owners of fine 
animals in carrying out the suggestions of our cor¬ 
respondent ; and have no doubt that truthful colored 
engravings of such as are really good, and worthy the 
study of breeders, would find a profitable sale. 
