510 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[December, 
The Hampshire-Down Sheep. 
A <}a 
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The Hampshire-Down breed of sheep origi¬ 
nated at the beginning of the present century 
in a cross between the old white-faced sheep 
of Hampshire, England, and the pure South- 
Downs. After the few generations of cross¬ 
ing the horns disappeared, and the face be¬ 
came black; in fact, the prepotency of the 
South-Downs greatly changed the character¬ 
istics of the native Hampshire sheep, though 
the massive head, Roman nose, large size, 
and hardiness of constitution, were retained 
in the cross. The Hampsliire-Downs, in some 
of the best farm¬ 
ed districts of 
Hampshire and 
Berkshire [Eng.] 
liavegraduallydis 
placed the South- 
Downs, and af¬ 
ford an excellent 
breed for crossing 
with long-wooled 
sheep. The lambs 
aredropped early, 
and fed for the 
market, or sold 
for mutton the 
following spring, 
and when well 
fed will weigh one 
hundred pounds. 
The fleece yields 
six to seven 
pounds of good 
wool, being long¬ 
er and somewhat 
coarser than that 
of the South- 
Down. The larger 
size, strong con¬ 
stitution, and 
early maturity of the Hampshire-Down make 
it a specially valuable breed under many 
circumstances in this country. 
The accompanying engraving is of the pure 
Hampshire-Down ram, “ Shepherd’s Pride 
2d,” owned by Henry Metcalf, Canandaigua, 
N. Y. This ram was bred by Mr. Stubbs, of 
Arlesford, Hants., and imported to the United 
States in February. 1881. He was a year old 
last March, and received the first premium 
for yearlings at the N. Y. State Fair. His 
weight is 200 pounds, and the fleece at the 
first shearing was nine pounds. 
THE HAMPSHIRE-DOWN RAM “SHEPHERD’S PRIDE 2d. 
Rotation of Crops. 
BY DR. MANLY MILES, HOUGHTON FARM, ORANGE CO., N.T. 
In the November number I gave several 
examples of the influence of leguminous 
crops upon the growth of the grain crops 
immediately following them, to illustrate one 
of the most striking advantages of a system¬ 
atic rotation of crops. We found good rea¬ 
sons for the belief that the Nitrogen of the 
soil, although largely drawn upon by one 
class of crops, was at the same time, in the 
process of their growth, made available for 
other crops that were directly benefited by 
this increase in their supply of food. In dis¬ 
cussing in general outline the principles of 
crop rotations, we must now turn our atten¬ 
tion to other topies that are, perhaps, of equal 
practical importance. As we cannot lay down 
arbitrary rules or systems of rotation that are 
applicable to every locality, we must become 
familiar with the principles on which suc¬ 
cessful rotations are based, to make our 
knowledge of the subject of general applica-, 
tion. When the reasons for a particular 
practice, or system, are understood, the 
changes that are required to adapt the method 
to a given locality are easily made. 
Rotation of crops must, as a matter of 
course, be adapted to the locality, and this 
involves a knowledge of the climate and soil 
as well as the markets. The crops grown in 
rotation will then vary with the locality, but 
in deciding upon those that are available in 
a given case, the advantages of the alterna¬ 
tion of leguminous with grain crops, which 
we have already pointed out, must not be 
overlooked. Fortunately, however, we know 
a number of valuable plants in this group of 
what are called restorative crops, from which 
to make a selection ; so that it is not difficult 
to apply the principle of alternating these 
crops with the staple grain crops of any given 
locality. When a particular crop, that would 
otherwise be desirable, cannot be grown on 
account of peculiarities of soil or climate, 
another crop of similar character, and having 
nearly, or quite, the same influence upon the 
proposed rotation, may be substituted. 
In deciding upon the crops to be grown in 
rotation, a proper supply of feed for the live 
stock of the farm must be provided for, and 
ample provision should also be made for the 
destruction of weeds ; the thorough pulver¬ 
ization of the soil; the supply of manures to 
be returned to the soil to keep it, as far as 
possible, in high condition ; and the uniform 
distribution of labor throughout the year; 
and finally as the leading object of all the 
topics mentioned, the effects of the system 
of cropping, as a whole, upon the future pro¬ 
ductiveness of the soil, and the direct profits 
to be derived from it should command care¬ 
ful consideration. 
The destruction of weeds should be pro¬ 
vided for, in the main, by the introduction of 
hoed crops, or those that admit of cultivation 
during their growth, and the labor expended 
on such crops may be considered as largely 
chargeable to the other crops of the rotation, 
as all will alike be benefited by the incidental 
pulverization of the soil, as well as the 
cleaning of the land from weeds. Some 
crops, like peas and clover, act as cleaning 
crops, when heavy enough to cover the 
ground, and “ smother ” the intruding weeds. 
Indian Com is one of the best cleaning crops, 
and its great value as the staple cereal of 
America should lead to its general introduc¬ 
tion in crop rotations, not only for the im¬ 
mediate profit to be obtained from the crop 
itself, but also for the facilities its cultivation 
furnishes of preparing the soil for the growth 
of other crops. 
When there is quite an interval betjveen 
the harvesting of one crop and the sowing of 
the one that fol¬ 
lows, the growth 
of weeds is pro¬ 
moted, as they 
will be sure to 
take possession of 
land that is not 
otherwise occu¬ 
pied. It will thus 
be well to arrange 
the crops in rota¬ 
tion so that the 
soil may be con- 
tinuously en¬ 
gaged in grow¬ 
ing useful plants. 
When it is neces¬ 
sary from other 
considerations to 
have two crops in 
succession with a 
long period inter¬ 
vening between 
the harvesting of 
the one and the 
sowing of the 
other, a “stolen 
crop,” as rye, or 
turnips, may prof- 
itably be introduced, to keep down the weeds, 
and at the same time increase the supply of 
food for stock. An illustration of the advan¬ 
tages of a stolen crop occurred in our experi¬ 
ence last season. A field that, for special rea¬ 
sons, it was desirous to seed down, was sown 
with rye, and the crop when ripe was harvest¬ 
ed. It was found, however, that the land was 
full of weeds, and it was thought best to grow 
a crop of corn for the better cleaning of the 
ground before seeding. To fill up the inter¬ 
val between the two crops, immediately after 
the rye was harvested, the ground was 
plowed, and rye was sown again, as a soiling 
crop. This “stolen crop” of rye was fed off 
by sheep, furnishing them an abundant sup¬ 
ply of green feed in the fall and in the spring 
when it was most needed, and judging from 
the moderate amount of work required this 
year to keep the corn crop clean, the soiling 
crop must have aided materially in freeing 
the land from weeds. The labor involved in 
the production of this extra crop was more 
than paid for in the direct return of a sea¬ 
sonable supply of green feed ; while the in¬ 
direct benefits of the rye in keeping down 
weeds and preparing the soil for the crop of 
corn which followed, which may be con¬ 
sidered as at least of equal value, were ob¬ 
tained as an incident of the practice, and 
therefore without expense. There is another 
advantage arising from the introduction of a 
“stolen crop,” in a system of rotation that 
should not be lost sight of, as it has an im¬ 
portant bearing upon the conservation of the 
stores of fertility existing in the soil. The 
