118 
EXPERIMENTS PROVING THE PROFITABLENESS OF COT 5 WOLD SHEEP. 
der similar conditions of soil and climate. The first 
of these would be best conducted upon small farms 
exclusively devoted to experiments, supported by 
the subscriptions of associated gentlemen of wealth, 
and managed by those familiar with the details of 
practical farming, and with the principles of science. 
And it is believed that the funds of agricultural so¬ 
cieties, which are generally expended m the form of 
premiums for over-fed animals, extraordinary crops 
of grain, &c., attended with no particular benefit to 
the community at large, might better be employed 
in a similar way. 
With one or two exceptions, we believe no agri¬ 
cultural society, in Great Britain, now bestows pre¬ 
miums for the waste of food in “ stuffing a beast to 
repletion,” and wearying him “under a cumbrous 
load of bloated fatness,” totally unfit for human 
food. The ostensible object of the exhibition of 
cattle, in England, at present, is to submit the finest 
specimens to the view of judges, having reference 
only to the improvement of the breed, economy in 
feeding, and exciting emulation. The same princi¬ 
ples, we think, should be adopted in this country, 
which could be successfully accomplished by the 
establishment of a small experimental farm in each 
district or county, at public expense, under the di¬ 
rection of an intelligent committee of the State Agri¬ 
cultural Society, by whom the conditions of the ex¬ 
periments should be laid down, so as to obtain uni¬ 
form results, and test the accuracy of the theoretical 
views.which it is desired to establish or refute. 
Experiments in raising crops, might also be con¬ 
ducted in a similar manner on the same farm, the 
results of which, should, in all cases, be determined 
by weight or measure (not by loose estimates, as 
is too often the case): and, in order to render these 
experiments valuable to the advancement of agricul¬ 
ture, they should always be accompanied by the 
best possible analyses of the soil on which they 
were tried, and of the crops produced on it. 
SPADES. 
This most important tool of the gardener 
varies in form and size, 
according to the work 
it is designed to exe¬ 
cute. 
The common digging 
spade is generally from 
14 to 16 inches long in 
the plate, and 9 or 10 
inches broad, narrowing 
down to the bottom at 
least half an inch. The 
spading of land with 
this instrument, produ¬ 
ces the best results, 
from the thorough loos¬ 
ening and great depth 
to which the soil is 
stirred. 
The middling-sized 
spade is about a foot 
long in the plate, and 7 
or 8 inches broad. It 
is useful in digging any 
Fig. 26. narrow compartments 
and between rows of small plants, in flower beds, 
borders, &c. 
The scoop spade has a semi-circular plate some¬ 
what in the shape of a garden trowel. It is found 
very useful in taking up plants writh balls of earth 
attached, in order to preserve them more firmly about 
the roots. Of these, and the other kinds, we have 
a great variety, from the best manufacturers, at 
prices varying from 75 cents to $1.25 each. 
EXPERIMENTS PROVING THE PROFITABLE" 
NES-S OF THE COTSWOLD SHEEP. 
One hundred and twenty-two lambs, weighing 
at the commencement of experiment 9,743 lbs., were 
found to consume, in 67 days, 98,088 lbs. turnips 
and 5,795 lbs. hay, from which we have the follow¬ 
ing, viz : that 1 lb. weight of lamb consumes in 67 
days 10 lbs. lyV oz. turnips and 9k oz. hay. 
The same lot of 122 lambs, weighing 9,743 lbs., 
consumed in 115 days 168,360 lbs. Swedes [ruta 
baga], and 10,065 lbs. hay, from which we find 
that, lib. weight of lamb consumed, in 115 days, 17 
lbs. 4| oz. Swedes, and 1 lb. § oz. hay. This lot 
of lambs was composed of 41 Cots wold and Leices¬ 
ter cross breeds, 10 pure Leicesters, 30 Cots wold 
and Down cross breeds, and 41 pure Cotswolds. 
And the increase in mutton of each lot during the 
process of the experiment was ascertained. Found¬ 
ing a calculation upon the rates of consumption by 
each pound weight of carcass, we easily arrive at 
the exact proportional quantities which each lot, 
should consume, if their powers of consumption are 
in proportion to their weights, which law, in fair¬ 
ness, may he assumed, until it is decided otherwise 
by experiments. 
LOT I. —WEIGHING 76 lbs. PER SHEEP. 
1 lb. carcass consuming 10 lbs. 1 T V OZ: turnips 
in 67 days, each lamb in this lot weighing 76 lbs. 
at commencement, will have consumed 63- cwt. 
of turnips. 
9| oz. hay multiplied by 76 (the weight of 
lamb), do. 45 lbs of hay : add 17 lbs. 4| oz. Swedes 
multiplied by 76, equals consumption of Swedes, 
115 days, . . . Ill cwt. of Swedes. 
1 lb. f oz. hay multiplied by 76 equals 79 lbs. 
hay 
From which we have the cost of keeping 26 
weeks— 
64 cwt. turnips at 5 d. . ., £0 
2.s. 
10c?. 
11| cwt. Swedes at 9d. . . 0 
8 
10 
124 lbs. of hay at 35. 6 c?. per cwt. 0 
3 
10 
0 
15 
6 
Deduct 4 for manure, . . 0 
3 
10b 
0 
11 
7 k 
Add expenses of management, . 0 
3 
0 
0 
14 
7b 
Deduct mutton gained, 20 lbs. at Id. 0 
1 
Loss, £0 
11 
8 
2 
111 
LOT II. —WEIGHING 67k lbs. PER LAMB. 
Calculating as before— 
10 lbs. 1 T V oz. turnips, multiplied 
by 
67| 
