quietly iu the yard,— the whole three went about 
us meek as Moses, to the great edification of a large 
crowd that assembled to see the famous animal 
tamer. His apparatus ought to be in every neigh¬ 
borhood, and be applied to whatever don’t behave 
properly. 
It is necessary that the animal handled shall ac¬ 
knowledge his master, and submit to the terms im¬ 
posed. Sanderson has the shortest, quietest and 
most efficacious way of settling that matter. I 
cannot insist too earnestly upon better discipline 
for domestic animals. B* T. b. 
— Though it looks like a puff for a patent, we are 
sure our friend only had in view the subjection of 
animals, and benefit of their owners, in penning 
the above. 
EDITED BY HENRY S. RANDALL, LL. D. 
SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN CAIilFORNIA. 
San Lins Obispo, April 5th, 1868. 
Mr. H. S. Randall, Cortland Village, N. Y.; 
Dear Sir: — Your favor was received some two 
weeks ago. I shall be happy to comply with your 
request as soon as I find leisure to do so. During 
the winter I could easily have furnished the informa¬ 
tion offered to the “Rural New-Yorker” last 
autumn; just now 1 am shearing, with dipping (for 
scab) and haying ahead. We suffer here from a 
scarcity of experienced American laborers, and the 
employment of the Indians and native Californians 
demands unremitting attention and thorough com¬ 
prehension of detail on the part or the employer. 
I have derived great benefit from perusal of your 
works, and feel under obligation to furnish you in¬ 
formation as fully as possible. As you have pub¬ 
lished little in regard to California sheep-husbandry, 
I cannot tell how much may be new to^you. 
I have rarely found a single point upon which 
wool growers in this State are entirely of one opin¬ 
ion. My own experience has been unvaried one, and 
under its influence 1 have constantly varied my the¬ 
ories and practice. From July till November we 
find a good deal of leisure. Nothing relieves the 
isolation of a sheep rancho like communication by 
mail with people we can’t talk to; so you see the 
temptatiou to scribble is strong. You will 6 ee that 
the “ slipshod and Blovenly ” way in which we raise 
sheep here is not entirely a matter or choice with us. 
The climate and grasses are eminently adapted to suc¬ 
cessful sheep raising. The tail end of our ewes are 
still lambing—3 or 4 per diem. From 2,300 ewe 6 
already lambed out we have marked 2,600 lambs. To 
one baud of 938 ewes we marked 1,204 lambs. We 
marked most of the lambs at the age of four to six 
weeks — could not do it earlier. We used no in¬ 
closure or pen (corrals) of any kind, except one 
made for marking. Our ODly improvements were 
a shanty 16 by 20 , two roofed bunks, and a tent: not 
a pound of hay or feed of any kind, but salt—plenty 
of that. 1 merely mention these details to show 
you that something can be done here even without 
fixtures or shelter. Of course our loss by cayotes 
and storms was great, and so are everyjsbeep man's 
in the country. 
These sheep are bred from MissouriPand Illinois 
ewes brought into the country in '54 by W. W. 
Hollister of Ban Juan, crossed with French Merino 
rams from '5? to ’63, and since'then with Spanish 
(Vermont) Merino, — flAWMOND'stock. We used 
7-8 and 15-16 grade rams bred by^IiouLiSTEU, from 
rams imported fromjYermont by .1. B, Hoyt. We 
find these lambB hardy and our system of lambing 
has a tendency to confirm this hardy habit; a weak 
lamb can’t stand it, and a poor nurse falls to raise 
her lamb. We are near the coast, on burry range- 
preferring it. A band of ewes bred from the native 
(mustang) 6 tock crossed with Australian rams and 
afterward with % and % grades Vermont-Missouri 
range five and six miles from camp for grass and the 
lambs were dropped all over the range, at the rate 
of 150 to 200 per diem, for nearly three weeks. Of 
course the loss was enormous, but if I remember 
rightly, the total number of lambs raised was nearly 
1*0 per cent, of the number of ewes. As the grass 
got better aud shepherds were found, thiugs went 
easier and the sheep were left out of the corrals. 
If a leading wool grower (he marketed nearly 20,000 
fleeces that Spring), the owner of real estate, with 
good improvements, long experience and unlimited 
credit, finds himself in a tight place occasionally, 
and compelled to sacrifice the cleanliuess of his 
wool to the preservation of his stock, you can un¬ 
derstand how easily and how frequently it may hap¬ 
pen to a begiuuer with no capital but his sheep and 
small credit. Shearing has to be done in a burry, 
after tbe roads will admit of hauling and before the 
new seeds get ripe. Good 6 hearere are scarce. 
Shearing is done by the head — 4c. to 9c., —and of 
course shearers work quickly and slovenly. Hides, 
pelts, old boxes, or nothing at all, are placed under 
a tree or under a shade of cut boughs ; a rail, stake 
or brush-pen iB built around them, the sheep are 
inclosed, and the shearers turned loose. In the 
spring the shearing pens get muddy, the sheep pile 
up, climb on each other, and a good deal of soft dirt 
gets into the wool: in the fall the pens get dusty 
and the result is dry dirt in the wool. The shearers 
throw on the table tags and all; every one 1 b in a 
hurry, aud what can you expect ? We are pretty 
well fixed iu comparison with most small wool 
grower-, but our shearing pens are under two trees 
and made of ten loads of -willow rails, — 1,000 ft. 
sawed lumber and brush corrals. It took four days’ 
work of my partner and myself to put them up, yet 
it is a first-rate shearing place for this country, and 
in it we take oft . 2,200 fleeces for some neighbors 
and 6,300 of our own. Some of the wool princes 
have as fine barns and sheds for shearing as could 
be made, but they arc exceptional. 
Pardou me. Once started, the temptatiou to talk 
sheep was too strong for me. I am tiring you aud 
neglecting my affairs. 1 intend writing to you again, 
and, as I have no copy of this letter, may be guilty 
of repetition. I should add to the causes of ill- 
conditioned wool the fact that nearly every seed in 
this country Bticks to wool;—the worst being the 
clover-burr and alfilcrillo — alfilerillo signifying 
“small pin,” from the Moorish- 8 panish word al 
JUer , “pin;" W.o being a Spanish diminutive. The 
clover-burr is identical with the South American 
burr. The botanical name of the plant I have for¬ 
gotten. It is a Trifolium. The Californians call 
the plant Trebol, (pronounced tray-bole,) and the 
burr “Carctilla,”—small wheel. I fancy you are 
perfectly familiar with the whole subject. If you 
want samples of the seeds or grasses of the country, 
I shall be happy to send them to you. 
Very respectfully yours, 
Condensed Correspondence, Items, &c. | 
Samples of Wool -J. M. Forrest, Fowlerville, Liv- : 
ingston Co., N. Y., sends five Merino ewe and three teg i 
samples. Those of ewep (sheared 6th of June last) are 
of good fair quality and style, and from 2 to Vl inches , 
long. The tegs (dropped April 10th to May 7th) is about 
the same quality, and 2 to 2V inches long. Thip is too 
short, according to the standard of “American Merino” 
breeders. The ewes are rather short wooled, aud should 
have been served by a longer wooled ram, Many flocks 
of first of May tegs now show 2% inch wool on the 
average. Oar correspondents mast not ask ns to decide 
on purity of blood by a few little eamplee. Grade Merino, 
i. e. t Merino with some mongrel blood, bat having also a 
deep Saxon cross, frequently shows better in the sample 
than heavy fleeced, full blood Merino. 
L. Densmore. Kalamazoo, Mich., sends samples of 
Cotswold wool from 8 to 11 inches long, Inquiring 
whether it is long cneugb for combing, where it is manu¬ 
factured, and where it should he sold; also whether it 
would not be well to send it directly to manufacturers 
“instead of selling it to speculators at home for two- 
tbirds of its value.’’ The wool is abundantly long 
enough for combing. It is manufactured principally in 
New England. It is generally more satisfactory to sell 
wool at home, where there are liberal aBd honorable buy¬ 
ers iu the market; hut we think that good wool, well put 
up, shipped directly to manufacturers of character and 
reputation, who would consent thuB to receive It, would 
generally obtain the market prices at the time the wool 
was received. This might be a time of longer or shorter 
depression in the market, and the consignor finding 
higher quotations before or afterwards, would be likely 
to be greatly dissatisfied. If the grower sells hie own 
wool he has nobody to complain of, and fail- buyers ought 
to be found in Kalamazoo or Detroit. 
Tattooing —Marking. —D. G. Wyeth, New Way, O., 
inquiries“ Can you tell me which is the best kind of 
ink for tattooing the ears of sheep v Which seems to you 
the most desirable way of marking them ?” Gun powder 
aud whisky, indigo, vermilion, &c., are used in tattooing 
in foreign countries; but marking sheep in that way re¬ 
quires so much time and care that it is scarcely practiced 
at all in the United States. Where each individual pedi¬ 
gree is not separately preserved, stamping the initials of 
the owner with paint on the sides is, we think, the best 
mode of marking—especially in large flocks. It enables 
the ownership to be determined at once in case of estray 
or the mixture of flocks. Where individual pedigrees 
are preserved, Dana’s metallic ear marks, if properly put 
in, are permanent and answer the purpose. But as a 
sheep must be caught to read the initials and numbers on 
them, it is well to combine their use with that, of also 
stamping the large inches long) initials on the sides, 
both for the purposes already named and to guard against 
stealing. All kinds of metal ear marks, r-xcept the rivet¬ 
ed ones, can be removed, and the riveted ones do not 
find favor on account of the trouble of fastening them. 
The pendent ear label on a ring proved to he a failure, on 
acconnt of the ring cutting out of the ear, and its liability 
to be torn out by accident. 
the instinct of the hot teaches it that decomposi¬ 
tion of its home, the stomach of the horse, must 
speedily take place, involving its own death, hence 
its prompt efforts to escape from its festering prison. 
It is the same instinct which induces rats to attempt 
escape from a scuttled ship or from a building 
threatened with destruction by fire or submersion 
by water. If this is a true solution of the bot ques¬ 
tion, tbe care of the horse will be considerably sim¬ 
plified and ailing animals relieved from many dis¬ 
agreeable drenchings designed to expel from their 
stomachs what has been generally regarded as a 
mortal enemy. Those well posted in regard to the 
horse, his enemies and diseases, will doubtless give 
the theory of Dr. Stewart, iu reference to the bot, 
proper consideration. 
- ♦ -- 
BLIND STAGGERS IN HORSES. 
The American Stock Journal, commenting on 
the blind staggers in horses, says the first thing to 
be done in a case of this kind is to relieve the press¬ 
ure of blood about the head of the animal by copi¬ 
ous blood letting. Tbe jugular vein should be tap¬ 
ped and so much blood be taken as will serve to 
restore the animal to the command of its limbs. 
The quantity proper to be taken can be pretty accu¬ 
rately determined on by the effect produced. When 
Sural ilotes 
Jit ms. 
Sneering at the Author of “ Walks and Talks.”— 
The May number of the Baltimore *• American Farmer ” 
contains the following ingenuour paragraph: 
We copied Van m rath an article from tbe Rural New- 
Yorker tilin g- the hearting " Value of Manure from dif¬ 
ferent Animal?. 1 ' in which, a* m thought, there were well 
taken except one to a theory of M , Harris, that “ the 
value of mat. ,re from any animal cu-petd? entirely on tne 
food ” Iu doiriir so, we are sorry to have given further 
publication to a sneer with which the article conclude?, 
as follows; —He. should have a good, sound basis of facte 
for his conclusions, instead of deriving them from such 
absurd asseninne and theories a- those uttered by the 
newly-fledged Resident -professor nT Agriculture’ (?!) 
iu wba r . is designed to be the Leading Agricultural Insti¬ 
tution of America.” 
Expressing sincere regret that anr venerable and astute 
contemporary should place itself in a false position be¬ 
fore the public, by copying an article which it still pro¬ 
nounce-* sound, we respectfully suggest that the best way 
to avoid such unpleasant predicamentr — necessitating 
recantation and apology—is to carefully read and judge of 
article? before publication. Such a course might obviate 
subsequent remorse of conscience and pressure from 
parties aggrieved. 
— As to sneering at the author of “Walks andjTalks,” 
we confess to no surprise that many practical and scien¬ 
tific soil cultivators in this latitude — men who make 
farming pay — were disposed to do that very thing on 
the horse shows signs of being relieved, the flow of hearing of his appointment to the important professor- 
blood should bo checked, the cause of tbe attack ship alluded to;-and we venture to say that neither the 
sought for, aud medicines given iu accordance with Founder nor Trustees of the Cornell University knew 
,, ® ,, ~ , r rtT _ „„ much if anything about Mr, n. s farm or farming, or.tus 
the symptoms. If the attack proceed * actual qualifications as an instructor iu profitable Agri- 
over-distension of the stomach, the pump should cii|Inrei Bt the time of PRid appointment. Moreover, 
be brought into use, and a free application of warm n . ( , re we purilisri a tithe of what has been said and 
water be made. Mcdiciues calculated to give free- wr j tten on the subject, by able and experienced men who 
dom to the bowels will be fouud beneficial. know whereof they affirm, our contemporary and the 
1\ S.—Please understand that this letter Is rather 
to Mr. Randall than to the Sheep Husbandry Edi¬ 
tor of the Rural New-Yorker. The Rural is 
welcome to the matter, hut hardly to the rude way 
in which it is communicated: if you make use of it 
please filter it and suppress my name. 
[At the request of the writer we suppress his 
name, but otherwise give the letter in its original 
form. We shall be glad to receive the promised 
future communications on the same subject.—E d.] 
WASHINGTON CO. (N. Y.) FAIR. 
ONE-THIRD SHRINKAGE RULE. 
_ 
At the Sheep Show and Public Shearing, held 
May 6 th by the Washington Co. Sheep Breeders’ 
and Wool Growers' Association, the following pre¬ 
amble and resolutions were adopted; 
Whereas, Commission merchants and wool dealers in 
market have heretofore, for their own convenience- and 
profit, adopted a rale to shrink all unwashed wool one- 
third, without, regard to Its intrinsic value or condition; 
and whereas, the wool buyers in various sections of the 
country, who are agents of wool dealers, and under their 
influence and suggestions have formed associations aud 
passed resolutions adopting this unjust and oppressive 
rule, and pledged themselves to make their purchases in 
Hoof Rot.— C. L. Hoyt (who is President of the Pot¬ 
ter Co., Pa., Agricultural Society) writesPlease tell 
‘ J. A. B.’ or ‘any other man,’ through the Rural, that 
here is a recipe which I will warrant to cure hoof rot in 
any flock of sheep in America. I bought it with three 
years' experience: 
Perseverance. 500 lbe. 
Jackknife...100 “ 
Bine vitriol (pulverized). 3 “ 
Spirits turpentine. X pint 
Apply the latter to keep away the flies." 
dropped lambs uot nearly as hard}’, and our loss influence and suggestions have formed association 
Greater- we barelv raise 100 tier passed resolutions adopting this unjust and oppn 
among these was gieater, wc uareiy raise lug ptr and p k,a g ed themselves to make their purcha 
cent, from them. accordance therewith; therefore, 
To account for the dirty condition of Southern Resolved, That the Sheep Breeders and Wool Grower? 
raHfnmin word is eusv From Wav to November of the country are compelled and in duty bound to take 
Oaluorma wool is ea»}. rroru May to a u vunotr Bummary gjopt* to protect themselves against tins asso- 
there is no rain, and the ground gets perfectly dr}’— ci&ted combination, and prevent, the universal adoption 
grass also. The sheep range in large bands, say of a rule so unjust and oppressive to their interests. 
1 r.m So ttnnn and unmet i mi* more and soon not Resolved, That, the article of wool, like all other farm 
l,o(X) to 3,000, and sometimes more, ana soon pul p r 0 < j uc tt*, should bo sold on its merit.?, the condition of 
verize the surface of the ground around their camps, ike article governing its price; and while it may be both 
Annals ,,nd waterin'*- nbiees W-iters are p-cn<>n\llv convenient and profitable for the wool dealer to adopt the 
corrals aud watering plates. >v aters arc generally 0Be4hir<J rulo protcc t him from the ignorance and 
scarce and fonud at some distance apart. The 6 heep blunders of inexperienced agents, it would be more just 
as a general thing are watered once a day, and come t0 cmf)loy ageDts wllfl understand their 
to the creek, hole or troughs on the run, raising jp. direct. That it is the duty of the State Wool Grotv- 
clouds of dust which settles into tbe wool: the cor- era’ Associations, and all the County Associations in this 
rals get dusty; stop stamped, frequently at right, 
producing the same result, and the accumulated ing with all agents who insist upon this rule, 
dust at the end of the dry season has settled TRe exhibition was well attended, aud in the 
through and through the wool to the skin. Scab is quality of sheep shown, surpassed all previous 
the rule and not the exception. The soil of the low shows of this Association. Representatives from 
hills near the coast wears easily, and the heavy rains several of the choice flocks of Vermont competed 
of winter cut ravines into gulches with perpendicu- for the sweepstakes premiums. The sweepstakes 
lar sides. Trees are scarce, and the scabby sheep prize on rams was awarded to the two-year old ram, 
scratch themselves against these banks and the “ Cashier,” the get of Hammond’s Green Mountain, 
banks of the streams at which they water, rubbing and the property of Baker <fc Rakrigan of Com- 
in a great deal of dry earth. Loose wooled sheep stock’s Landing, N. Y. The sweepstakes premium 
get well washed and cleansed in a wet winter like on ewes (pen of five) was awarded to W. H. Wright 
this last, but tight, yolky wools retain most of the G f Whitehall, N. Y. Some ten or twelve sheep 
dirt; in some cases yolk, dust and water form a were shorn on the ground, and there would have 
compact cement, such as I send you. In wiuter the been more but for the rain on the sheariug day. 
new grass purges the sheep'; they puddle the sur- - 4 » n»- 
face of their corral, and if inclosed they are com- ONONDAGA CO. RESOLUTIONS ON 
pelled to stand iu two or three inches of soft manure ONE - THIRD SHRINKAGE RULE 
and mud, till from sheer exhaustion they lie down _ 
in it. The result needs no explanation. This is a At a mee ting of the Onondaga Co. (N. Y.) 
common practice. In many cases it is forced upon Growers’ Association, held on the day of the l 
the. sheep owners by the systems we follow. No Fair) May 6th) yggS, Mr. A. F. Wilcox called 
fodder is put up for winter; the first rains rot and de- tJte efforts being made by a combine 
stroy the dry feed ; if they are not followed by warm, w00 ] buyers to enforce certain rules to reguls 
growing weather, the scarcity of feed is felt by the purchase and sale of wool, aud moved that a Cc 
sheep; the new grass is watery and does not stick tee p e appointed to report what action sho 
to their ribs till morning, or night hnds them still y.nrani .rmwers in mintinn t.hnmt.n T 
hungry, in which case, if not inclosed, they wander 
off in the night in Bearch of food, get divided, lost 
or stampeded by coyotes or other animals into 
gulches and smothered. The only way of avoiding 
it, is to employ extra hands * to guard or (on moon¬ 
light nights) to herd them at night. This is some¬ 
times impossible. 
A case in point. The winter of ’61 and ’62 was a 
very wet one and the rains fell early, but over a 
great deal ©f Southern Cal., cold weather and frost 
kept the grass back till March. I was at that time I 
working for one of the prominent sheep men of this 
State, aud within 100 miles of San Francisco, The 
wearing out ancl falling sick of several shepherds, 
' and a swollen river, impassable for Over six weeks, 
s left us with over 8,000 ewes and no shepherds to 
/ take care of them. The ewes were on the eve of 
I lambing. We were compelled to cut them into two 
' bands and await what might become of it. One 
\ shepherd was at last forced to take charge of one 
I band aud I took the other. We were compelled to 
ONONDAGA CO. RESOLUTIONS ON THE 
ONE-THIRD SHRINKAGE RULE. 
At a meeting of the Onondaga Co. (N. Y.) Wool 
Growers’ Association, held on the day of the Annual 
Fair, May 6 th, 1S6S, Mr. A. F. Wilcox called atten¬ 
tion to the efforts being made by a combination of 
wool buyers to enforce certain rules to regulate tbe 
purchase and sale of wool, aud moved that a Commit¬ 
tee be appointed to report what action should be. 
taken by wool growers in relation thereto. The mo¬ 
tion prevailed nem die., and the President appointed 
Messrs. Wilcox, Cowles and Clark said Com¬ 
mittee. They reported the following resolutions, 
which were unanimously adopted: 
Itesolml, 1. That no combination of buyers or 
dealers have the right to impose arbitrary rules, un¬ 
called for by any necessity or utility of trade, on the 
producers of any important staple of industry. 
2. That the uniform one-third shrinkage rule on 
unwashed wool, and some other rules recently 
adopted by combinations of wool buyers, operate 
most unequally and unjustly as between sbeep of 
different breeds, and those of the same breed under 
different treatment. 
3. That we will not recognize or submit to those 
rules iu the sale of our wool, and will discounte¬ 
nance all buyers who attempt to enforce them. 
Davis Cossit, President. 
H. D. L. Sweet, Secretary. 
Laurel Poison. — “A. F.,” Lima, Indiana, writes: 
“ When I was a boy the following was found a sure cure 
for sheep poisoned with laurel;—Mix common clay (the 
purer the better) with water until quite thin, aud admin¬ 
ister from a g/k to half a pint. If first dose does not 
cure entirely,) .dfn-at iu from two to four hours, until cure 
is effected. Foirty years ago drovers driving sheep from 
Western New York through Pennsylvania and New Jer¬ 
sey, carried a cup to mix the clayiu, so that they could 
cure their poi sailed sheep on the road, without delaying 
their joumevAF _j_ 
Tub One T«5ikn Shrinkage Rule.—W e have received 
letters from well known wool growers residing in Illi¬ 
nois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and New 
York, highly approving of our advice to the growers of 
the whole country to resist the enforcement of the one- 
third shrinkage rule, or any other rule for a fixed and 
uniform rate of shrinkage on unwashed wool, or other 
wool not in clean condition. These expressions are so 
numerous that it would require all the space allotted to 
this Department, for weeks, to publish those already re¬ 
ceived ; aud they still continue to come rapidly. 
Sale of Cotswolds,—John D. Wing of Washington 
Co., N. Y., has sold during the present month twelve 
choice Cotswold sheep out of his flock, at long prices, to 
Horace F. Buckley of Snellings, California. Mr. B. has 
15,000 sheep, with which he proposes to make a Cotswold 
cross to get a great er gro wth of both wool and mutton 
He made extensive examinations in tbe United States and 
Canada before purchasing his stock rams of Mr. Wing. 
be Stable, 
BOTS IN HORSES. 
It is a prevalent impression that bots often cause 
tbe death of horses. This conclusion is discredited 
by Dr. Stew’art in the “ American Farmers’ Horse 
GROOMING HORSES. f 
- . 
Though suitable and properly prepared food is r 
the prime requisite for the horse, regular grooming t 
holds the second place in the management of him. a 
A man who omits the customary ablutions at stated T 
times—who goes for days or weeks with uncombed 
hair, may exist,—but does not live in the proper , 
sense of the word. So of the horse. Grooming is t 
alike essential to looks, health, and elasticity of ac- , 
tion. The curry comb aud card should be brought 1 
into daily requisition, nor should the clipping shears 
be omitted. Fetlocks bedraggled with mud, un¬ 
kempt and tangled mane, detract much from the < 
appearance of the animal, repress his ambition, aud 1 
hence dimmish his usefulness, A man who neglects ; 
the regular grooming of his horses is an enemy both 
to the beasts and himself; to them because he with- j 
hold 6 labor which is their due, and to himself be¬ 
cause he depreciates the value of his own property. 
---- 
Cure for Founder.— The Rural World proposes 
to cure founder in horses in this way: — Take the 
horse into a brook or stream of water deep enough 
to nearly reach his body, and fasten him there with 
his head so high that he cannot drink. If the 
weather is warm beep him there several hours. 
Then remove him and rub his legs thoroughly to 
promote circulation. If still lame repeat the pro¬ 
cess two or three times and a cure will be effected. 
In the winter twenty minutes will be long enough 
to keep the horse in the water when he should be 
taken out aud rubbed as in the other case — repeat¬ 
ing the operation if necessary. This is said to cure 
all cases of founder, when not of long standing. 
|WaI Spirit of % §«S8. 
Change of Product. 
TheN. O. Picayune, referring to the Freedmen’s 
Bureau iu relation to the employment and compen¬ 
sation of colored laborers, says: —“We shall not 
complain if the great fields which were once white 
with cotton become meadows and pastures.” 
A Minky Idea. 
The institute Farmers’ Club, New York, pass 
occasionally from the grave matters pertaining to 
farm management to those of a more lively charac¬ 
ter. At a recent meeting L. B. Prindle, Litchfield, 
Ct., proposed to make our new acquisition of Alaska 
available for the extinction of the national debt by 
; the establishment of a mink factory under govern- 
t mental supervision. The cost of the minks, and 
: incidentals to start with, is put down at about $ 12 ,- 
l 000 , aud the avails (at the end of four years) at 
$4,809,824,672.21. Good for the Institute Club! 
1 ’-— 
Choked Cattle. 
. L, T. W. writes the Geauga Democrat concern¬ 
ing choked cattle. The smashing process of cure is 
objected to as barbarous and u better process pointed 
out. Thus .—“ Hold the animal firmly by the horn 
: and nose, standing on the left side ; place the right 
hand over the neck on the swallow-pipe down close 
to the brisket, the left hand on the opposite side. 
3 Press the hands against the pipe and move them up 
1 towards the mouth until the obstruction is found. 
b Then twist the forefingers of both hands into the 
t-hip ulluded to; -and we venture to say that neither the 
Founder nor Trustees of the Cornell University knew 
much if anything about Mr. H.’s farm or farming, orjtiis 
actual qualifications a? an instructor in profitable Agri¬ 
culture, at the time of said appointment. Moreover, 
were we to publish a tithe of what has been said and 
written on the subject, by able and experienced men who 
know whereof they affirm, our contemporary and the 
pnblic would have abundant reasons, based on cogent 
facts and arguments, why the selection was, to say the 
least, most unfortunate for an institution from which so 
much has been expected. It is not pleasant to say these 
things, but those familiar with the Rural New-Yorker 
arc aware that its duty to tbe public la considered para¬ 
mount, and is usually discharged, regardless of the 
friendship of individuals or favor of corporations or mu¬ 
tual admiration societies. People who are advertised a- 
“specially educated for the Agricultural Profession,” 
thereby invite (and are legitimate subjects of) public in¬ 
vestigation and criticism; —hence what we have pub¬ 
lished, or may hereafter publish, on the subject. 
-- 
Sheep Shearers’ Festival at Spenoerport. — The 
Sbeep Shearers’ Association of the Western District of 
Monroe Co., N. Y., held its Annual Shearing Festival at 
Spcncerport, May 2d. Owing to a storm the attendance 
was not as large as usual, but still respectable as to num¬ 
bers. The show of sheep wa# good, including a prime 
lot from Vermont, and the shearing quite equal to any on 
previous occasions. Sheep were entered aud sheared as 
follows. wt. ot wt. of 
Owner. Age. carcass, fleece. 
Alex. Bromley. 
Ira D. Harroun. 
Alex. Bromley.... 
it «« 
Pierce & Fellows. 
Pierce & Fellows.. 
I. J. Wlntney. 
WonBey & Smith- 
Aue. 
wt. ot 
carcass. 
Wt. Of 
fleece. 
Sex. 
years. 
lbs. 
oz. 
lbs. oz. 
Ewe. 
1 
45 
9 12 
(t 
2 
86 
8 
13 15 
ti 
2 
74 
12 
9 
(4 
1 
62 
8 15 
(< 
1 
57 
8 
7 
6 
t. 
1 
63 
11 
9 
(( 
5 
88 
12 13 
*• 
1 
55 
9 
9 
44 
8 
SO 
8 
18 15 
Ram. 
3 
120 
s 
25 10)* 
Ewe. 
4t 
1 
56 
8 
11 12 
3 
77 
8 
14 12 
Ram. 
1 10m. 103 
8 
20 
1 
Ewe. 
3 10m. 
8 
26 
4 
Book.” His opinion is that the true character of hair, and crowd up with the thumbs and the ob- 
• boouer or later bay will be put up to tide through the 
enrlv winter; but occasionally grass grows from the first 
ruins aud tempts sheep men to take chances on succeeding 
years. 
The Onondaga Co., N. Y. Sheep Fair. —This was 
held at Onondaga Valley May 6th A heavy rain fell or. 
the preceding day, and it rained steadily on the forenoon 
of the 6th, keeping back a large portion of the sheep in¬ 
tended for exhibition. There were, how’ever. about a 
hundred on the ground, mostly of very superior quality. 
The display of horses was large and fine. 
the bot and its influence on the health of the horse 
have been misunderstood very generally; that the 
bot is hereditary with the horse, and found attached 
by the tail to the coating of the stomach of the colt 
in the shape of a small parasite. In this normal con¬ 
dition the bot causes no injury to the horse; has no 
relationship to the grub or worm, the last being the 
oflspring of the gad fly, which deposits its eggs upon 
the hair of the horse aud are bitten off and swal¬ 
lowed by the animal. These develope into worms 
in time; pass off with the excrement; barrow in 
the ground, where a chrysalis is formed, and in time 
a succession of gad flies is the result. This grub, 
unlike the bot, never attaches itself to the coating 
of the stomach, but lives amid the food the same as 
worms in the stomach of a child. These worms may 
cause much uneasiness to the horse, but never 
death. 
As to the hot and his operations, Dr, Stewart 
adds:—“The cuticular coating of the stomach to 
which the bot fastens himself by means of two little 
bearded hooks, is nearly, if not -wholly, insensible, 
having no more feeling apparently than the animal's 
hoofs. When the horse is in health it is hard, rigid, 
impenetrable, and the bot, if ever so much disposed 
t,o do so, would attack it in vain; but when death 
seizes him this coating becomes relaxed and soft, 
and begins rapidly to decompose. Then only i 6 it 
that the bot can or ever does work his way through 
it. Another fact still more strongly corroborative 
of tbe above proposition, is this: that of any num¬ 
ber of horses killed while in perfect health, and 
opened an hour or two afterward, there will be found 
not one whose stomach is not 1 riddled by the bot.’ 
Dissection has revealed the existence of this condi¬ 
tion in hundreds of instances of sudden death from 
accident.” 
This riddling of the stomach is a consequence, not 
the cause, of the death of the horse, according to 
the theory here presented. When the animal dies 
from tbe effects of disease or from accidental causes, 
struction will be thrown into the mouth. 
Manure Cellars. 
E. G. Storms, St. Johnsville, N. Y., writes the 
Utica Herald on the subject of making and saving 
manure. We quote a paragraph as follows:—“I 
have always opposed manure cellars under stables, 
believing them unhealthy, but if properly ventil¬ 
ated, and with tight floors above, they might be less 
objectionable; and what grand manure manufac¬ 
tories they might become. A sewer running from 
the wash-room and through rite privy vault should 
empty in the cellar, and here should he collected all 
the refuse from the farm, such a? scrapings of the 
wood-shed, bones pounded fine, hen manure, weeds, 
(of course no farmer allows these to ripen their 
seeds,) &c., &c. All the machinery required will 
be a drove of hogs, and the motive power, a little 
coni scattered on the manure.” 
"Washing Sheep. 
In a late number of the Irish Farmers’ Gazette, 
a plan for sheep washing is proposed, which pre¬ 
cludes the necessity of going into the water to per¬ 
form this operation. A clear ruuning section of 
water should be selected, and a bench or plat form of 
suitable dimensions placed in the water next to the 
shore and about even with the surface. Place an¬ 
other one further out in the stream parallel to the 
first; put planks across both, at the ends reaching 
to the bank; on these, in line with the stream, place 
other plunks to walk on and far enough apart to 
pass the body of a sheep readily between them. A 
sheep is brought forward, aud two men, placed there 
for the purpose, one on each plank, take the animal 
by the legs aud turn it, back downward, into the 
water and float it rapidly back aud forth between 
tbe planks, finishing oti' by sousing down and up till 
the fleece is cleaned. The sheep is then restored to 
its footing, on the end platform, aud sufiered to 
walk ashore. 
New Agricultural Machine Works.— We learn that 
Messrs. Glen & Hall, the enterprising proprietors of the 
Hall Agricultural Works, on Water St., Rochester, have 
decided to transfer tlieir manufacturing establishment to 
Brighton, where they will have “ample room ancl verge 
enough” for the prosecution of an extensive and increas¬ 
ing business. For this purpose they have purchased six¬ 
teen acres of land, extending from East Aventu’ to the 
Erie Canal, about one mile cast of Rochester city limits, 
whereon extensive buildings for the manufacture of agri- 
cult ural implements and machinery will a* once he erect¬ 
ed, and also quite a number of dwelling' for employes. 
The manufacturing buildings are to he of brick, of good 
proportions, and in approved architectural style-per¬ 
manent, commodious and ornamental. We congratulate 
all Interested—not only Messrs. Glen & Hall aud the 
people of Brighton, but the farmers of Western New 
York—upon the proposed improvement and acquisition. 
-- 
Stock Exhibitions in Canada.— The farmers of what 
was formerly Upper Canada, but now the Province of 
Ontario, are engaged with their cuetomary spring exhibi¬ 
tions of farm stock. The Cayuga Sentinel notices shows 
in Walpole, York and Cayuga—the first t o eminently 
satisfactory, but the last an indifl'ereut one, owing to 
mismanagement iu the adjustment of premiums, a cir¬ 
cumstance not peculiar to Societies across the Lake. 
---- 
Wheat in Ohio.— Mr, G. S. Innis is supplying the 
Farmers’ Chronicle some valuable information relative to 
wheat growing iu Ohio. The average of the crop, for 18G6, 
was only four aud a half bushels to the acre, necessitating 
importation to supply the home demand. A better sys¬ 
tem of drainage and manuring, a systematic diversifica¬ 
tion of cropping and deeper tillage, are deemed essential 
to bring farms back to their former productiveness. 
-- 
Egg and EoaEE.-Mr. O. C. Ross, Penfield, N. Y., has 
favored us with a couple of hen frnit specimens, The 
conjugate and transverse circumferences of the larger 
are respectively seven, and eight aud a hall inches; 
weight, four ouuceB, or four to the pound. The last bears 
about the same relation iu size to tue first as Tom 
Thumb to the Belgian Giant. 
- - - 
Royalty and Agriculture.— The Irish Farmers’ Ga¬ 
zette, Dublin, in noticing the Agricultural exhibition 
recently closed there, states that it was attended by one 
Princess, five Princes, and at least one hundred Peers, 
Baronets and Knights. 
___ 
Horse Show’ at Fredonia.— The Chautauqua Farm¬ 
ers’ and Mechanics’ Union have decided to hold a Horse 
Fair on their grounds in Fredonia June 17th and l'->th. 
The Society is said 10 be in a prosperous condition. 
-- — - 
RURAL BRIEF-MENTIONINGS. 
1 A farmer in Plainfield, III., owns a colt three years old 
: which weighs 1,500 pounds. 
* The Patrons of Husbandry are perfecting organizations 
• iu Wisconsin with flattering prospects. 
I A farmer in Illinois recently imported a horse from 
Normandy which weighed 2,150 pounds. 
‘ The papers are full of “ crop prospects ” just now. It 
is a spring fashion and must have its day. 
A dead dog, cat. pig-iu fact any thing dead end buried 
near a fruit tree will accelerate its growth wonderlully. 
near a fruit tree will accelerate its growth wonderfully. 
A piece of laud in Minnesota is reported to have yield¬ 
ed last season at the rate of 137 bushels ol shelled, corn to 
the acre. 
t a Crawford, Clay. N. Y., recently sold a call nine 
months and nine days old, the meat of which weighed 
45(1 pounds. 
It is a mooted question whether whey is the most 
profitable fed to cows or to swine. The hog has our vote 
on this question. 
Tbe woolen manufacturers of Wisconsin recently held 
a convention at Appleton. They reported forty woolen 
mills in the State. 
Tub Ohio Farmer says the practice of plugging up the 
holes in a sugar tree is wrong, lhe hole should be left 
open to prevent rotting. 
Prof. Gamgee, England, denies that rare cooked beef 
if healthier than that well done. This is a singular de¬ 
cision for an Englishman. 
The Stock Journal sava the practice of docking stock 
is nonsensical aud cruel-robbing the animal ol its de¬ 
fence against annoying insects. 
The canker-worm cures have commenced their annual 
travels. They are as numerous a? the worms, but, nu- 
fortunately, not equally destructive. 
Soot sprinkled on the ground and forked before plant- 
iu° will aid plant growth aud protect lrom worm# and 
bugs, (t is excellent on cabbage ground. 
