CULTIVATION OF MADDER AND DYEING.—NO. III. 
115 
Kentucky it will be seen that only a small portion 
of this region of country lies north of 38 degrees 
30 minutes, and extends to 36 degrees 30 minutes, 
the dividing line between Kentucky and Tennes¬ 
see. While, therefore, the climate is sufficiently 
mild for sheep husbandry, the whole region lies 
within the grass-growing district. It is watered 
by the Great Sandy river, and the head branches 
of Licking and Kentucky, and by three considera¬ 
ble streams, falling into the Ohio, which take their 
rise between Great Sandy and Licking rivers, viz., 
Little Sandy, Tigut, andKinniconick. The coun¬ 
try is truly “ a hill country,” and becomes mountain¬ 
ous as you approach the-extreme head branches of 
Licking and Kentucky rivers. But the valleys 
formed by the various streams above mentioned, 
afford fine lands on their rich bottoms or flats. 
These are well adapted to the production of Indian 
corn and other grain, and the various root crops. 
The hills are generally what are termed oak land, 
and, though not such as would be considered rich 
in Kentucky, are capable, when cleared, of produ¬ 
cing excellent blue grass. Pea vine grows very 
luxuriantly in a state of nature, and affords a fine, 
natural pasture during the summer and fall months, 
and the latter part of spring; and the residue of 
the year sheep could be subsisted chiefly upon cul¬ 
tivated grasses, with the addition of hay and roots, 
or a little corn for a month or two, during the se¬ 
verest part of the winter. In mild winters sheep 
may be sustained entirely on blue grass, even in 
the most northern part of the above-described re¬ 
gion of country, provided a sufficient quantity has 
been reserved for winter feeding. 
The price of land, in the hill region, is as low 
as could be desired. Any quantity can be purchas¬ 
ed from ten to fifty cents per acre. If there is bot¬ 
tom land attached to the hill land, the price will 
be enhanced in proportion to the quantity and 
quality of the bottom. 
The chief difficulties to be encountered in prac¬ 
ticing sheep husbandry in this region of country, 
will be the following:— 
1. Clearing the land, and setting it in blue 
grass. 
2. Providing winter food for sheep Tor one or 
two months. 
3. The danger to the flock from wolves. 
The clearing of land, and sowing it for meadows 
and pastures, is the greatest difficulty. This, oper¬ 
ation may be much facilitated by adopting the 
Kentucky plan of cutting out only the small growth, 
and sowing the woodland in blue grass, where 
the soil is suitable for pasture; or by deadening or 
girdling the large timber, where meadow is intend¬ 
ed to be made. 
The providing of winter food could be best ac¬ 
complished by having some rich bottom land at¬ 
tached to the sheep farm for raising grain, roots, 
&c., or a detached farm in the interior, whither 
the sheep could be driven when the pastures in the 
hills shall have failed. 
The danger from wolves could be guarded against 
by having a shepherd, and some faithful shepherd 
dogs to accompany the flock in the daytime, and 
by herding them at night in enclosures secured 
such lofty fences as would keep out the 
wolves, or at least deter them from risking them¬ 
selves on the domain of the shepherd dogs. 
The period is not distant, when we shall manu¬ 
facture every article in the woollen line, which is 
essential to our wants, and probably many for ex¬ 
portation. This period will be hastened by the 
very low price at which wool is now selling. The 
greatly cheaper rate at which we can afford to pro¬ 
duce wool, will soon enable our manufacturers to 
banish European competition, and consequently the 
home market for the raw material will not only be 
greatly enlarged, but will become more steady, 
and afford better prices. When, in addition to this, 
we take into consideration our rapid increase of 
population, progressing at the rate of thirty-three 
and a third per cent, every ten years, we can not 
fail to perceive that the demand for wool will in¬ 
crease very rapidly. The capacity of the country, 
for supplying this very valuable raw material, is 
almost unlimited. And no branch of agriculture in 
this country promises a fairer remuneration than 
sheep husbandry. If the enterprising Vermonters 
have found it profitable, where the severity of their 
winters requires that their flocks should be fed 
nearly half the year, how much more profitable 
would they find sheep farming in a region where 
sheep could be kept almost the whole year upon 
grass alone ? But my object is to give the desired 
information, not write an essay on sheep-husbandry, 
and I must therefore conclude. 
A. Beatty. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
CULTIVATION QF MADDER AND DYEING—No. III. 
There are some facts relative to madder equally 
interesting to the cultivator and to the consumer. 
I think it necessary that these facts should be 
clearly understood by every person interested in 
madder, dealers, as well as cultivators and color- 
men. 
There is a great want of some paper issuing 
from the city of New York, as a vehicle by which 
new facts in the materia tinctoria can be made 
known throughout our country. I can see no ob¬ 
jection why your paper should not be the proper 
vehicle for this purpose. The price can be no ob¬ 
jection to the poorest artist in our country, and as 
agriculture would be essentially benefited by bring¬ 
ing to the notice of the consumer all new articles 
raised by our farmers, both parties would soon be¬ 
come equally interested. The facts I shall make 
known in this article will be worth to any dyer 
twenty times the annual cost of your paper, and 
should our dyers generally take it, I can promise 
to give them, from time to time, other facts equal¬ 
ly important. 
The object of this essay is to point out to our 
agriculturists the effect peculiar soils have on the 
quality of madder, and to our dyers the effect dif¬ 
ferent waters have in developing the coloring mat¬ 
ter, affecting its brilliancy and permanency. 
The following is transcribed from A. Ure’s late 
work on arts, manufactures, &c.: see madder, 
page 791. 
“ Madder contains so beautiful and so fast a col¬ 
or, that it has become of almost universal employ- 
