1875.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
379 
past.”—Marvelous have been the improvements in 
our cities and villages. We are a great and mighty 
nation. But the increase of wealth and population 
has been greater in the manufacturing districts, and 
in villages and cities, than in purely agricultural 
districts. Farmers are now to reap great advan¬ 
tage from this state of things, especially those who 
furnish better beef, mutton, pork, butter, cheese, 
and wool. And this means better farming, fewer 
weeds, richer laud, larger crops, better stock, and 
more liberal feeding—and more intelligent and 
prosperous farmers. Let the agricultural papers 
push on the good work. I hope they realize what 
a power they are for good. Twenty-five years ago 
I presume the American Agriculturist had but one 
subscriber, where it now has several hundreds, and 
whatever the number it may now have, it ought to 
be doubled. 
Two or three farmers have thanked me for pub¬ 
lishing the weights of my sheep, and asking for 
further particulars. And one man has written to 
the publishers complaining that by giving the 
weights of my sheep I am using the columns of the 
Agriculturist for “puffing” my stock. Mr. Judd 
sent me this disagreeable extract from this com¬ 
plaining letter, but was kind enough .to say, “ I 
have confidence in your statements, and what we 
want is reliable facts.”—These I try to give. We 
weighed our sheep and lambs July 16, and again 
August 16. The figures are as follows: 
JTos. Age. Weight, Weight, Gain in Remarks. 
July 16 , ’75 Aug. 16,75 onemonth. 
113 
4yrs. 
231 lbs. 
235 lbs. 
4 lbs. Cotswold ram. 
224 
2 “ 
246 “ 
265 “ 
19 “ 
<t it 
220 
2 “ 
259 “ 
262 “ 
3 “ 
t< it 
221 
2 “ 
236 “ 
249 “ 
13 “ 
d 11 
229 
2 “ 
224 “ 
229 “ 
5 “ 
tl it 
246 
1 “ 
168 “ 
173 “ 
5 “ 
tt it 
247 
1 “ 
187 “ 
202 “ 
15 “ 
t V u 
250 
1 “ 
187 “ 
198 “ 
11 “ 
it a 
251 
1 “ 
158 “ 
165 11 
7 “ 
u tl 
253 
1 “ 
202 “ 
218 “ 
16 “ 
<t t< 
257 
1 “ 
169 “ 
181 “ 
12 “ 
(t (c 
258 
1 “ 
183 
200 “ 
17 “ 
ti t< 
259 
1 “ 
171 “ 
174 “ 
3 “ 
ti tt 
Gr'de 1 “ 
144 “ 
146 “ 
2 “ 
Cots. Mer. 1 cross 
1 “ 
193 “ 
193 “ 
0 “ 
Two crosses. 
4 
1 “ 
195 “ 
215 “ 
20 “ 
“ “ 
85 lbs., 78 lbs., 78 lbs., 72 lbs., 70 lbs., 68 lbs., 64 
lbs. and 55 lbs., (twins), 62 lbs. and 56 lbs., (twins). 
We have been killing these grade lambs, and 1 can 
say is that I do not want fatter or better flavored 
mutton. It is really delicious, good enough for a 
farmer, and if any one wants better, let him get it 
if he can. The mothers and grandmothers of these 
lambs are common Merinos of which we have mil¬ 
lions, and which can be bought at a .slight ad¬ 
vance over what their pelts are worth. One of 
these grade lambs from a common Merino ewe, 
weighed July 16, 72 lbs., and Aug. 16, 85 lbs. An¬ 
other, also from a Merino ewe, weighed July 16, 
70lbs., and Aug. 16, 92 lbs., a gain during the 
month of 22 lbs. He is a big, rather coarse lamb 
with a heavy fleece of close wool, but which next 
spring will be long enough to pass for “ combing.” 
Now what more do you want to enable us to fur¬ 
nish good mutton and good combing wool ? Can 
any one desire more favorable conditions? We 
have pure bred long-wool sheep that can be bought 
cheaper than similar sheep sell for in England, the 
ewes can be obtained at a cheap rate ; this grade 
wool is very scarce, and brings the highest price in 
market; the mutton is in growing demand, and 
will be still more appreciated as the supply increases. 
I spent yesterday with Mr. James Vick, on his 
seed-growing farms. Vick is a most genial man, 
and his is a delightful kind of farming. He has 
30 acres in the city worth $5,000 an acre, and a 
farm of 65 acres five miles from the city, where 
similar land is worth only about $200 per acre. 
Experience seems to show that our nurserymen 
and seed-growers find it more profitable to buy 
high-priced land near the cities than to cultivate 
strictly farm-land farther out. If they can make 
enough to pay interest and taxes, the advance in 
real estate in process of time makes them rich. 
Then labor is cheaper and less uncertain near the 
city than in the country, and manure costs less. 
On his country farm, Mr. Vick, was paying men for 
hoeing $1.50 per day, of ten hours. They board 
themselves, commence work at 7 a.m. and quit at 
These 16 rams gained 156 lbs. in the month, or flf lbs. 
each. 
The following are the weights of the lambs. 
Ros. 
Sex. When Born. 
Weight, 
Weight, Gain 
Remarks 
1 m • 
423 
R. 
Feb. 27. 
July lfi. 
92 lbs. 
Aug. 16. 1 mo. 
105 lbs. 13 lbs. 
268 
E. 
“ 
84 “ 
91 “ 7 “ 
Twins. 
429 
E. 
March 1. 
72 “ 
87 “ 15 “ 
421 
E. 
“ 2. 
80 “ 
89 “ 9 “ 
- Twins. 
263 
R. 
“ 2. 
87 “ 
101 “ 14 “ 
265 
R. 
“ 3. 
81 “ 
98 “ 17 “ 
- Twins. 
282 
R. 
“ 3. 
83 “ 
96 “ 13 “ 
283 
R. 
“ 8. 
78 “ 
94 “ 16 “ 
Tripl’ts 
427 
E. 
“ 8. 
71 “ 
81 “ 10 “ 
>-from 1 
430 
E. 
“ 8. 
72 “ 
86 “ 14 “ 
of old¬ 
432 
R. 
“ 13. 
107 “ 
123 “ 16 ” 
est. 
287 
R. 
“ 14. 
89 “ 
104 “ 15 “ 
284 
E. 
“ 14. 
81 “ 
95 “ 14 “ 
422 
E. 
“ 19. 
92 “ 
109 “ 17 “ 
290 
E. 
“ 19, 
86 “ 
89 “ 3 “ 
297 
R. 
“ 23. 
89 “ 
108 “ 19 “ 
438 
R. 
“ 24. 
91 “ 
104 “ 13 “ 
279 
R. 
April 5. 
77 “ 
86 “ 9 “ 
These 
are all pure bred Cotswolds. The 
average 
weight of the 18 lambs, July 16, was 84 lbs., and 
Aug. 16, nearly 971 lbs., or an average gain per 
head of 131 lbs. During the month the lambs had 
been weaned, which set some of them back con¬ 
siderably, still the average gain will compare favor¬ 
ably with the figures given by Mr. Lawes and other 
English farmers. I think we may conclude that 
though our hot summers are not so favorable for 
rapid growth as the more temperate climate of 
England, we may hope for as good success in rais¬ 
ing these high bred English sheep as we have at¬ 
tained in raising high bred Short-horn cattle. 
But a still more important question, at any rate 
one of much more general interest, is the results 
we may expect from using these high bred English 
rams on the common ewes of the country. As I 
have repeatedly said, my own experience is in every 
way favorable. Now, if any one thinks I say this 
simply because it may add a few dollars a head to 
the dozen or twenty sheep I may sell for breeding 
or crossing, he is welcome to his opinion. But as 
Mr. Judd says, let us have the facts. The follow¬ 
ing are the weights of all the grade lambs I have 
left, taken Aug. 16 : 98 lbs., 94 lbs., 92 lbs., 90 lbs., 
6 p.m., with an hour for dinner. In the cities la¬ 
bor is 20 to 25 per cent cheaper. And such will 
continue to be the case until farmers are less un¬ 
willing to sell an acre or two of land at reasonable 
rates to steady men who want a home for them¬ 
selves. I could hardly realize that I was on a farm 
as we walked through acres of phlox, petunias, 
asters, dahlias, etc., all in full bloom. A large 
windmill pumps water into half a dozen elevated 
railroad tanks, and iron pipes laid under ground 
carries the water to all parts of the farm. If I had 
such an arrangement 1 should want to put some 
Peruvian guano, sulphate of ammonia, or nitrate 
of soda into the tanks, and try the effects of liquid 
manure. 
The Liver Fluke. 
The “ fluke ” is a parasite that inhabits the gall¬ 
bladders and gall-ducts of a large number of ani¬ 
mals. It has been found in the squirrel, the rabbit, 
hare, dog, sheep, deer, ox, horse, elephant, and 
also in man. It is the most destructive parasite 
Fig. 1.— FULL-GROWN FLUKES. 
that infests the sheep, causing a disorder that 
carries off whole flocks, when the proper reme¬ 
dies are neglected or unknown. The shape 
of the Fluke is flat, oval, with a thicker conical 
portion towards the head, and flattening out like a 
Fig. 2. 
TOUNG FLUKES. 
leaf at the hinder part. In fig. 1 are shown some 
specimens taken from the liver of a sheep, and in 
fig. 2, young flukes from the same animal; these 
are all of the natural size. This creature is highly 
organized, and is provided with an intricate diges¬ 
tive and circulatory apparatus. In figures 3 and 4 
is shown the intestinal canal with the digestive 
organs. The mouth is situated in 
the conical head, and there is a 
second sucker below the first, on 
the under side of the animal. Its 
nutriment is derived from the bile 
of its host. Fig. 5 represents the 
veins and other circulatory organs. 
The sheep is the most seriously 
infested of any of the domestic 
animals. The disease caused by the presence of 
these animals in the liver, has carried off millions 
of sheep in a year. In one year 2,000,000 sheep 
died in England alone, and many millions have 
died in a single year in Australia and South 
America. Many sheep yearly die in this country 
from this disease, without any suspicion or knowl¬ 
edge of the cause. The disease is known as the 
“rot,” or the “liver rot.” It is caused by the 
obstruction of the gall-ducts by the flukes, which 
have entered them from the stomach. The para¬ 
sites are taken into the stomach along with the food 
cropped in wet or marshy places, in which they 
pass one of the stages of their existence. If there 
are but few flukes, the sheep suffers little or no 
inconvenience from them, but if they are numer¬ 
ous, they choke the smaller ducts, arrest the flow of 
bile, and irritate and inflame the liver. The sheep 
suffers first from jaundice, which causes the skin 
and eyes to become yellow. At this stage the 
sheep thrives and fattens 
rapidly, and the yellow 
color of the fat of many 
carcasses of mutton that 
are sold in the market, 
is due to this bilious de¬ 
rangement. In a short 
time the sheep fails, the 
skin and eyes become 
white and bloodless, a wa¬ 
tery tumor appears be¬ 
neath the jaws, the ab¬ 
domen swells from drop¬ 
sy, the wool becomes harsh 
and easily parts from the 
skin, and after lingering 
some time, the sheep dies, completely rotten, with 
every organ diseased. A knowledge of the natural 
history of this parasite, teaches a simple and com¬ 
plete preventive. As the fluke passes the first 
stage of its existence in water, the eggs voided in 
the dung of the infected sheep being hatched 
therein, it is only in wet undrained pastures, or in 
the neighborhood of ponds, that the sheep can tako 
them into their system. Sheep that are pastured 
on dry fields are exempt. Wet pastures and 
meadows should therefore be drained and freed 
from stagnant water. Where their presence in the 
sheep is suspected, a cure may generally be effect¬ 
ed by administering the following medicines, viz : 
3 oz. of saltpeter, 2 oz. ground ginger, 1 oz. car¬ 
bonate of iron, (colcotliar of vitriol), 2 lbs. of salt, 
mixed with 6 quarts of hot water ; to this mixture 
is added 6 ounces of spirits of turpentine, and the 
whole is bottled for use, in pint or quart bottles 
for convenience. A dose is two ouuces or two 
table-spoonfuls of the mixture, well shaken, given 
in the morning before feeding; no food to be 
given for three hours afterwards. The dose is re¬ 
peated every fourth day three times. A cow’s horn 
open at the small end, is convenient for giving 
the medicine. The flukes are never found in salt 
marshes and near the sea coast, and a regular sup¬ 
ply of salt is an excellent preventive in those cases 
where the use of low lands for pasture can not be 
avoided. The wide distribution of the fluke in 
America, is now a well ascertained fact. It has 
been stated that it was not native to this country, 
and only existed in imported sheep. Last wintei 
flukes were discovered in the liver of the hare, anc 
in that of the deer in Minnesota, and we have ex 
amined a portion of a deer’s liver, in which mor< 
Fig. 3. Fig. 4. 
DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 
