266 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[September, 
Market Fairs in Illinois. 
An Agricultural Society has been formed at 
Loda, Iroquois Co., Ill., which has instituted a 
system of Monthly Market Fairs, similar to 
those started at Bedford, Westchester Co., 1ST. Y. 
Farm produce of every description is offered 
for sale under the supervision of the Society, on 
the first Saturday of each month. The expen¬ 
ses of rent and advertising, etc., are to be met 
by commissions of from 11 to 2k per cent on 
sales, according to the amount sold. The Asso¬ 
ciation regulates the manner of payment, requir¬ 
ing all sales, to be made on four month’s bank 
notes, running at 10 per cent per annum; to be 
approved of by the Finance Committee of the 
Society. A discount of 5 per cent is made for 
cash. Parties offering articles for sale, must 
give ten days’ notice, to enable the property to 
be properly advertised.—These market fairs, 
though an old institution in Europe, are a new 
enterprise here, and it remains to be proved by 
experiment, whether they will work well under 
our peculiar system of labor, and in our more 
sparsely settled country. We hope they may 
be successful. 
-< i . 
Sale of Jonas Webb’s Southdown Sheep 
—Great Prices Realized—The Best 
Bought by an American. 
The sale of Mr. Jonas Webb’s flock of South- 
down sheep at Babraham, on July 10th, marks 
an era in the history of sheep husbandry, and 
will long be remembered, both from the suc¬ 
cessful termination of Mr. Webb’s career as a 
breeder of sheep, and from the influence which 
the dispersion of his flock will have upon the 
flocks of the world. All the leading South- 
down breeders of Great Britain were present, or 
were represented at the sale, and agents from 
nearly every quarter of the globe assembled to 
compete for the choice animals offered. The 
gathering of not less than 3000 persons on the 
ground showed the interest excited. The com¬ 
petition was keen, and the prices obtained were 
the greatest ever recorded. The highest priced 
animal, a two-year old ram, was taken by our 
enterprising countryman, Mr. J. C. Taylor, of 
New-Jersey, at one thousand three hundred dollars! 
The highest priced ewes, a lot of five, were sold 
to an English Baronet, Sir Thomas Lennard, for 
$170 each, after a sharp contest with French 
and German agents. The average prices were 
as follows: 99 rams, two years old and upward, 
sold at $15,2G0, or an average of $154 15 each; 
three of the number each brought $500 and up¬ 
ward, and one $1,300, as noticed above; 199 
yearling ewes amounted to $11,015, or $55 35 
each; 120 of this lot went at more than $50 per 
head; 109 yearling rams brought $13,550, an av¬ 
erage of $124 31 each; 105 two-year old ewes 
sold at an average of $37 50 each; 115 three- 
year old ewes at $31 each; 230 full mouthed 
ewes, $22 83 each; and 110 aged ewes $18 08 
each. In all, 967 sheep were sold for $54,610, or 
$56 48 each. 
The breeding of sheep so excellent as to be 
eagerly sought at such prices, lias, of course, 
been the work of years, almost of a life time. 
Mr. Webb commenced his labors in this line 38 
years ago. His original flock was made up of 
the best ewes and rams he could obtain from 
five different sections. To these a few others 
were added, but for more than 20 years past the 
stock has been kept up without aid from any 
outside flock, and their size, weight, vigor, qual¬ 
ity, and value, have steadily improved. In re¬ 
marking on this extraordinary success, the Lon¬ 
don Agricultural Gazette says, the secret of it 
is, Mr. Webb’s judgment, extraordinary acute¬ 
ness, soundness, and self-reliance, and a resolu¬ 
tion whose tenacity will not yield, though the 
decision of Agricultural Societies and their 
judges be repeatedly against it. In short, the 
best stock was continually selected for breeding, 
and good judgment was exercised in crossing. 
Not every breeder of animals may meet with 
Mr. Webb’s success, but every one may derive 
some profit from his experience, which proves 
that it pays to use care and judgment in the se¬ 
lection of animals. Who will rear an American 
breed of sheep which, twenty or more years 
hence, will atti*ct eager purchasers from Eu¬ 
rope, and from all the world ? 
P. S. As stated above, the highest priced, and 
the most valuable ram, was secured for the 
United States, for which the especial thanks of 
his countrymen are due to Mr. Taylor. No 
other ram sold for over half the price paid for 
the one obtained by Mr. T. The Mark Lane 
Express, of July 15, just received, gives a long 
and minute report of the sale. Here is an ex¬ 
tract which will interest many of our readers: 
“ The extraordinary competition for No. 89 was the 
great event of the day ; lie was by the sire of the first 
prize yearling at Canterbury, dam by The Little Sheep, 
and was put up at 20 guineas ; he rapidly advanced by 
fives to 60 gs., from which point he went slowly to 67 gs., 
as if lie would advance no further ; next 70 gs. were of¬ 
fered, and the bidding, by fives, now suddenly broke out 
again, and carried the offers rapidly up to 130 gs.; and 
then some bold wight, determined to crush all rivalry, 
sung out ‘ 150 gs.!’ but to no purpose, for 160 gs. was im¬ 
mediately proffered in opposition ; the next bid was 170 
gs., then 175 , then 180 , then 190 , then 195 , then 200 , then 
205 , then 210 , then 215 —what not done yet ? no—‘ I’ll go 
another five,’ says some one: and so he does, shouting 
out 220 as if that would settle the business ; vain hope ! 
225 is the immediate response — 230—235 — 240—245 — 250 — 
255 — 260 ! ($1300 !) The ivory hammer fluttered nervous¬ 
ly in the air, and one thousand pairs of eyes watched it 
fall at last in favor of Mr. Hudson, of Castleacre, who 
bought the ram for Mr. J. C. Taylor, of Holmdel, New- 
Jersey, U. S. The crowd swayed for a moment to and 
fro with that undefinable impulse to ‘ move on ’ somehow, 
which actuates men under such circumstances. There 
was also an attempt to get up a cheer, but it came to 
.nothing, although the Norfolk visitors seemed particular¬ 
ly proud that their celebrated countryman had once more 
appeared A. 1 against all comers, among the most deter¬ 
mined of whom was Mr. Rigden.” 
--— -—!«B— ...- 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Hints on Fattening Swine. 
Nature clearly intended tlie bog to be a de¬ 
pository of fat. No animal lias a better appe¬ 
tite, or is less dainty in his choice of food; good 
digestion waits upon his appetite, and his love 
of ease favors the process. Yet, though he 
takes thus naturally to fattening, much may be 
done by man to hasten or hinder the operation, 
and the profit in rearing swine depends very 
largely upon supplying favorable conditions for 
the desired accumulation. The plan too often 
followed, of allowing these animals to shift for 
themselves mostly, and barely exist until the 
time comes for putting them up to feed for kil¬ 
ling, is not the most economical. A pig treated 
in this way becomes stunted, wild, uneasy, and 
voracious. It will require several weeks of 
heavy feeding to bring him up to the point where 
fattening should commence, and even then he 
can not attain the proportion which more liber¬ 
al treatment would have given. One of the 
most successful pork raisers in the country said: 
“ I begin to fatten my hogs from the time they 
are old enough to squeal, and I keep them so 
busy eating they have no time for squealing.” 
Some persons have the notion that the accumu¬ 
lation of fat in a pig interferes with his growth, 
and therefore he should have a rather spare diet 
for the first six months, in order to attain large 
size. But fattening is only the storing away of 
the excess of digested food. The wants of the 
growing bones, muscles, etc., are first supplied, 
and any surplus is deposited in the form of fat; 
and there need be no fear that the growth of 
other parts will suffer while flit is accumulating. 
The most common error in fattening swine is 
delaying it until late in the season. The food 
taken into the system is required not only to 
build up the tissues, but to furnish animal heat. 
In warm weather but little fuel or food is need¬ 
ed for this purpose, and fat accumulates readily; 
almost the whole food eaten, will be exhausted 
in keeping the animal warm. Hence the policy 
of commencing to fatten early. One bushel ol 
corn fed this month will give better returns than 
two expended in the depth of Winter. It is ad 
visable to keep over a stock of old corn to feed 
with until the harvest commences, and a sup¬ 
ply can be taken from the field. 
Every animal relishes a variety of food, and 
fattening swine will turn with eagerness from 
then- accustomed feed of com, to munch pea 
vines, or green corn stalks. Their appetites will 
be kept up by gratifying this natural desire. 
Ground feed of rye and oats, or oats and peas to 
take the place of corn occasionally, will be ben¬ 
eficial ; and there should be a liberal allowance 
of green food, with all the dairy wash that can 
be spared. Clear water is also essential, and 
should always be supplied to the pen. 
■ Do not allow the sties to become filthy; swine 
are naturally cleanly in their habits, and by fur¬ 
nishing them with plenty of litter, a valuable 
addition will be made to the manure heap. 
Experience. 
Food for Bees in Dry Weather—An Im¬ 
portant Hint. 
[Our gardener, Francis Otto, placed the fol¬ 
lowing into the Agriculturist drawer, and it 
strikes us that the hint given is an important 
one to all bee-keepers. AVe are raising a large 
plot of Mignonette to obtain seed for our next 
year’s free distribution to subscribers, and we 
have noticed for some time past that the plants 
have literally swarmed with honey bees.— Ed.] 
If not at all times, at least in hot dry seasons 
like the present, when there are but few flowers 
yielding honey, and also in places where bees 
are compelled to fly far away for food, I think 
there is no other plant which yields such a long 
succession of flowers as the Mignonette (Reseda 
odorata ). Of so great value has it proved this 
year, that, as I learn, an extensive bee-keeper is 
preparing to sow it on a large scale next Spring— 
two or three acres at least!—solely as bee food. 
Mignonette is very easily cultivated, and its 
long tapering root seems to fit it for standing 
drouth remarkably well. Furthermore, it can 
be sown very early—in fact the earlier the bet¬ 
ter, for the seeds, if not previously soaked, lie 
in the ground two or three weeks before starting. 
It will stand some frost both in Spring and Au¬ 
tumn. I would therefore advise bee-keepers to 
provide a large plot of Mignonette, not only to 
furnish early food for their bees, but especially 
as a resort in such a dry time as this—just as 
they would provide soiling crops for their cattle. 
Col. Fremont found bees on the highest 
peak of the Rocky Mountains, 12,000 feet above 
