1875 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
239 
Slieep Farming'. —“ Chicago.” To keep a 
flock of pure bred Cotswold, South-down, or Leicester 
sheep, requires skill, experience, capital, and a location 
fitted for raising the needed root and fodder crops. It is 
easier to keep a flock of grades of either South-downs or 
Cotswolds. There is more profit in keeping sheep on 
cheap land 500 miles from market, as the prairies of 
Kansas or Nebraska, than on high priced land 100 miles 
from Chicago. Sheep farming as a special business can 
not afford to pay $50 to $100 an acre for land; the differ¬ 
ence in the price of land would pay the small difference 
in freight many times over. Besides, a small flock alone 
will not pay for the necessary attention, which could as 
well care for a flock of 1,000 or more, as one of 200. 
Prolific Slieep. —“ Shepherd.” A ewe may 
live and breed 11 or 15 years. Merinos arc longer lived 
than the large breeds. An English breed, known as 
Dorset, is probably the most prolific kjnd of sheep. A 
flock of 400 is mentioned, that last year brought to 
maturity 515 lambs. 115 pairs of twins were raised with¬ 
out the loss of a ewe, and the twins were as forward 
lambs as the singles. A cross bred Cheviot ewe is record¬ 
ed as having in 15 years produced 30 lambs, 3 singles, 9 
doubles, and 3 triplets. This last is the most prolific 
sheep we have heard of, but to get a whole flock of such 
ewes, would be an impossibility. 
Illinois Stale Farmers’ Associa¬ 
tion. —We are indebted to W. C. Flagg, President of 
the Illinois State Farmers’ Association, for a copy of the 
Proceedings of the third annual meeting. Of the various 
addresses, of which full reports are given, that of the 
President is of especial interest. He describes the for¬ 
mation, management, and benefits of a local farmers’ 
club, with which he is personally connected, and the 
practical hints given in his address, will be found of 
-great value. The report is published in pamphlet form, 
and a number of them have been printed for sale, for the 
double purpose of adding to the resources of the associa¬ 
tion, and of popularizing its objects. Copies can be 
procured of the Secretary, S. M. Smith, Kewanee, Henry 
•county, Illinois. 
Colic in Horses. — “W. W. L.,” Before 
one can treat colic in horses successfully, or even intelli¬ 
gently, the cause should be known. It maybe due to in¬ 
digestion, improper feeding or watering, to inflammatory 
■condition of the intestines, or to worms. The last named 
is a frequent but unsuspected cause. A case is known in 
which a horse which died of supposed colic, was found to 
have over 1,200 worms in his intestines. Worms not only 
cause spasmodic inflammation when numerous, but gath¬ 
ering in knots, sometimes cause actual stoppage. In your 
case the hide bound, thriftless appearance, and foul appe¬ 
tite of the horse, would all point to worms as the cause 
-of the trouble. If worms are present, the horse may 
probably be relieved by giving 2 ounces of spirits of tur¬ 
pentine in a pint of linseed oil, repeating the dose in 10 
days, or give in the food for three successive mornings, 
half a dram each of calomel and tartar emetic, and after 
this a pint of linseed oil. If the horse is valuable, con¬ 
sult a veterinary surgeon always, but rather trust to your 
•own judgment, than employ a quack horse-doctor. 
“Walks and Talks” Correspondence. 
Preserving Shingles.— “ S. A. B.,” asks if he can 
“ profitably use anything to prepare cut shingles before 
laying, so as to make them more durable.”—I think it 
■would pay to saturate them with petroleum. If this is 
not convenient, apply the petroleum two or three times 
rafter they are laid. Take a small watering-can, stand on 
-top of the roof, and sprinkle the petroleum over the 
shingles, and let a man at the same time stand on a lad¬ 
der or platform at the eaves, and any petroleum that runs 
into the gutter, can be applied with a brush to the shin¬ 
gles below the gutter. If the weather is warm, and the 
shingles dry, the petroleum will be absorbed rapidly, es¬ 
pecially at the ends and sides of the shingles. You will 
probably have to do part of the work yourself. I have 
rarely found a man who knew how to get enough petro¬ 
leum into the wood. 
Sick Pigs.— “ A. C.,” Wis., has a litter of seven pure¬ 
bred Poland-China pigs, four months old, that are sick. 
'They are “troubled with wheezing and short breath. 
They are in good condition. Have a warm, dry nest, 
plank floor, stone walls, crib overhead, and yard attach¬ 
ed. Food, corn-meal and oats ground. Also dry corn 
and dish-water from the house.”—This is high feeding 
for such young pigs, and they will probably not stand 
it as well as the smaller breeds which mature early. I 
should stop the dry corn, and give bran or middlings in¬ 
stead of the corn-meal. Let them have plenty of exer¬ 
cise, and if possible the run of a clover or grass pasture. 
Oats and Peas.—“ G. T.” I have no trouble in har¬ 
vesting or threshing this mixed crop. A Johnston reap¬ 
er will cut them up clean, no matter how badly they may 
be lodged. The machine rakes them off into bunches. 
If the weather is fine, and likely to continue so, we turn 
these bunches the next day, and as often as is necessary. 
In two or three days the crop will be sufficiently cured to 
draw in. We open a way for the wagon by throwing two 
rows of bunches one on each side of the wagon ; and 
then two men, one on each side, pitch the bunches on to 
the wagon. This is far better than putting them into 
cock. If well cured, the straw makes excellent fodder. 
We have no trouble in threshing. I believe the “ thresh¬ 
ers ” grumble a little, but they always want my job the 
next year, and so I suppose they find no real difficulty. 
We thresh with a ton-horse power machine, and as I use 
the straw for fodder, I am not particular about knocking 
out every oat, and so we lower the concave, and the crop 
goes through lively, and very few of the peas are crush¬ 
ed. A good fanning mill will separate nearly all the peas 
from the oats. 
Feeding Wheat to Horses. —“ G. B.,” of Nebraska, 
writes: “At your suggestion I boiled my wheat, and 
scattered it while hot over my chopped hay and straw. I 
think I fed my wheat to better advantage than most of 
my neighbors, and better also for your advice. I wet the 
hay and straw before adding the boiled wheat.” 
Western Farming.— “G. B.,” of Nebraska, also says, 
“ I have 200 acres, and shall put in 110 acres of wheat, 30 
oats, 40 corn, 10 barley, 5 rye, and 5 millet. I have three 
teams and the necessary machinery. Notwithstanding 
grasshoppers, and all other drawbacks, I believe farming 
will pay here if a man will only stick to it and farm un- 
derstandingly. This country is adapted for wool grow¬ 
ing, but farmers are so poor they cannot buy sheep. I 
hoped to have had some before this, but last year will 
put me back at least two years. If I have a good crop I 
shall be able to get some this fall.”—I sincerely hope you 
will have a good crop. You certainly need more stock. 
Two hundred acres, and all in grain, may be best for a few 
years, until you get a good start, but your aim must be 
to keep more cattle, sheep and swine. If a farmer raises 
his own stock, very little capital isrequired; a few sows, 
or ewes, or cows, in three or four years, will give you 
more stock than your farm can carry. The great thing 
is to make a beginning. 
Combing Wool. —A large wool dealer in Philadelphia, 
who examined my flock of sheep last winter, writes me 
that my pure-bred Cotswold wool, well washed, so as to 
shrink not more than 16 per cent, would be worth in that 
city 65 cts per lb., while my grade Cotswold-Merino wool 
would be worth 70 cents per lb. Clothing wool of same 
quality would be worth 56 cents. “ If you were here,” 
he writes, “ I could take you to the wool dealers, and 
show you hundreds of thousands of pounds of wool, 
ranging in value from 15c. to 35c. per lb. ; but of this 
choice, grade Cotswold-Merino wool, you could not find 
a single pound, and yet in your “Walks and Talks,” No. 
100, you compliment farmers on being intelligent men I 
I will not discuss this point, but I think that farmers, as 
a class, are very much in need of information in connec¬ 
tion with their business.”—All this sounds very well. 
And I feel quite sure that my correspondent means all 
he says. There doubtless is a growing demand for choice 
combing wool, and it probably does seem strange to the 
dealers and manufacturers, that intelligent farmers do 
not grow more of it. But when I take my wool to mar¬ 
ket, I do not hear so much about the scarcity of my kind 
of wool! I have never yet been able to get these high 
prices. I once sent my whole clip to a large house in 
New York. Prices were nearly as high then as they are 
now, and yet I did not get over 35 cents per lb. for the 
unwashed Cotswold wool, and I think 32 cents per lb. for 
unwashed Merino. I will not say whether we farmers 
are intelligent or not, but we certainly do need “ more 
information on this part of our business.” Joking 
aside, however, I suppose it to be a fact that combing 
wool is very scarce, and that those of us who grow a 
good article, will sooner or later get a fair price for it. I 
suppose, too, that much of our wool which ought to pass 
for combing, is not up to the desired standard. It may 
be long enough, but it is cotted, or hairy, or breaks in 
the middle—owing to great and sudden change in the 
feeding or management of the sheep. I am sure that we 
can raise all the choice combing wool required in this 
country, and raise good mutton at the same time. 
Clover Hat tor Pigs.— “J. R.” I can only repeat 
what I have before said, that my breeding sows kept in 
good condition for six or eight weeks last winter, on 
clover hay, soaked in water and mixed with a little corn 
meal, and then steamed. The clover should be cut 
early, say the middle of June, or just as it comes into 
flower. 
Curing Clover Hat.— “J. R.” Early cut clover 
requires more time to cure than when the clover is not 
cut until it is in full blossom, and some of the heads 
turned brown. Neither will the early cut yield as much 
hay per acre. I would cut a little of it early, for piga, 
milch cows, and ewes suckling lambs. The main crop 
I would let stand until in full blossom. The latter I cure 
as follows: I start two mowing machines in the after¬ 
noon, and keep them cutting until dark. The next 
morning, as soon as the dew is off, or as soon as the first 
cut clover is partly cured on to)), a boy goes over it with 
a self-lifting wire horse-rake, and pulls it up into light 
windrows about six feet apart. In an hour or so these 
windrows are turned and shaken out again where neces¬ 
sary. If the crop is heavy and green, it may be neces¬ 
sary to go over it again with the rake, and also turn it 
again. About 4 o’clock we rake it into large windrows, 
and put it into cock. Sometimes we let it remain in 
cock for two or three days, until cured ; but usually we 
open the cocks the next morning, and spread out the 
greenest of the hay, and if necessary turn it an hour or 
two later, and draw into the barn or stack in the after¬ 
noon. The real point is to avoid exposing the hay to the 
dew or rain after it is partially or wholly cured. When 
green a heavy dew, or even rain, hurts it but little if any; 
while such a dew would seriously injure partially cured 
hay. It is for this reason that I commence cutting in the 
afternoon, and let the grass lie exposed all night; but 
the next night we are careful to get it all into windrow 
or cock. These are the main outlines of my plan ; but 
the details vary according to the weather and other cir¬ 
cumstances. If I was sure of the weather, I would let 
the hay remain in the cock until ready to draw in. At 
any rate, let it be well cured, and especially be careful 
not to draw it in when there is any dew on it. If you 
must draw it in when damp from rain or dew, sprinkle a 
little salt on each layer as you put it in the barn—say two 
or three quarts to a ton. 
Are there Two Varieties of Essex Pigs f—“ F. 
II. H.,” Aurora, Ill., writes, “I am breeding Essex hogs. 
I got my stock from reliable men. I believe them to be 
full-blood Essex ; but they are not like yours. I saw 
recently at Downers’ Grove, three Essex pigs raised by 
you. They are as fine-boned as the Suffolks. Mine are 
longer legged and coarser. Now are there not two 
varieties of Essex pigs in this country, one kind fine and 
short-legged, the other coarser and longer-legged f ” 
I have aimed to get my pigs fine-boned, with short legs 
and short noses. You can breed them coarse or fine. It 
can be done by selection and by feed. High feeding 
when young, has a tendency to make the head, ears, and 
legs small. I do not think there are two distinct varie¬ 
ties of Essex. But in the hands of different breeders, 
there is much difference in the form and size. I could 
easily breed Essex large enough to dress 500 lbs. In 
fact, I had one that dressed 550 lbs. But I prefer them 
smaller and finer. 
Does Tillage Enrich the Land.— "F. M.,” Inner- 
kip, Ontario, thinks such is the case, and I very decided¬ 
ly agree with him. But it may require some years before 
we see a decided effect. Much depends on the character- 
of the soil. The clays receive the greatest benefit from 
thorough tillage. No one would think of fallowing a 
blowing sand. Mr. F. M. calls my attention to a state- 
ment repeatedly made by a farmer in my neighborhood, 
to the effect that in plowing land repeatedly to kill Cana¬ 
da thistles, the soil was so impoverished, that it would 
not afterwards grow a crop without manure. I have 
’noticed the same thing on my own farm, where I have 
"plowed out stones on sandy knolls—plowing deep, and 
going round and round the knoll several times. These 
knolls will not produce good crops after such deep and 
repeated plowings, without manure—and they would not 
produce a good crop before, with or without manure. 
There is little necessity for cautioning farmers on good 
strong soil, against working tlieir land too much. It 
may be true that many farmers plow too much land, but 
certainly few of us plow our land enough. 
Swine Raising in the South.— “I think,” writes a 
correspondent at Canton, Miss., “ it is easier to grow 
swine here, than with you. Our winters are so mild, 
that housing is rarely necessary. I never allow sows to 
pig in winter. My plan is to have my pigs come the last 
of February, or early in March, and in September. 
Everything is then killed or sold, except brood sows, in 
November and December. My sews in winter, except in 
bad weather, are kept on orchard grass, and fed corn 
every night. By farrowing time we have clover as well 
as grass. In early summer they have the run of my 
orchard, and keep perfectly fat on fruit and Bermuda 
grass, without corn. A little later the early pea patches 
are added to the fruit and grass. Afterwards corn fields 
with late peas and sorghum cane, bring them to the pen in 
almost a perfect state. Sorghum is one of the finest and 
cheapest swine food in the world.”—This is a cheap way 
of producing pork, though I should have thought that it 
would be better to keep the pigs to an older age on this 
cheap food, before shutting them up to fatten. Young 
pigs to grow rapidly, must be fed on rich and easily 
digested food. 
