beep Ivusbanbrn. 
H. S. RANDALL, LL. D., EDITOR, 
Or CORTI.AM) VlLtAOE, CORTLAND COOKTY, Nnw YORK. 
N. Y. STATE SHEEP FAIR. 
At the annual winter meeting of the N. 
Y State Sheep Breeders’ and Wool Grow¬ 
ers’ Association, held dan. 27th,—the largest 
and most spirited meeting of the kind we 
ever attended,—the Association decided by 
an almost unanimous vote that it was ex¬ 
pedient. to hold a Fair in the Spring, should 
it be found practicable, and the subject was 
then referred to the oflieers. 
There is no way to decide the question of 
practicability but by ascertaining what the 
sheep farmers of the State will do to make 
such a Fair successful. They cannot of 
course be individually consulted in the mat¬ 
ter; and the communication we now pro¬ 
pose to make, addressed equally to all, will, 
we think, serve the purpose better than a 
circular directed to a comparatively few 
persons. 
When the topic was under discussion at 
the annual meeting, it was stated that but 
few breeders, especially Merino breeders, 
had kept their sheep in “show condition,” 
and therefore would be unwilling to exhibit 
them. (Show condition is commonly un¬ 
derstood to imply the summer and winter 
housing of Merinos.) It was replied on the 
other hand that one breeder would have as 
fair a chance as another—and that it, would 
not, be a bad thing to see the best Merinos 
of the State in a purely natural condition. 
But. as ninety per cent, of the sheep ex¬ 
hibited at these shows are Merinos, it be¬ 
comes important, to know bow many breed¬ 
ers of them actually will show under present 
circumstances. There would be no real 
advantage in an exhibition if the superior 
sheep of the different breeds were not pres¬ 
ent-inferior animals were run in, if merely 
to obtain premiums. 
There is another point of prime import¬ 
ance, viz.:—The best mode of securing the 
necessary funds, and to determine the amount 
cl' funds which shall be considered requisite. 
Heretofore tin: prizes of the New York As¬ 
sociation have been high — considerably 
higher than those of other associations. The 
disposition at. the Syracuse meeting appeared 
to be general to reduce the amounts. It was 
proposed, indeed, to do away with money 
premiums altogether — awarding only diplo¬ 
mas—thus making the competition exclu¬ 
sively for honor. The Northwestern Wool 
G rowers’ Association of Illinois, has recently 
adopted that plan for its next, spring show. 
Several town Associations in Onondaga 
county have always acted on that plan, and 
with excellent success. Whether it would 
be found applicable to the larger theater of 
a State Association, when: considerable ex¬ 
pense and trouble are incurred in getting 
animals to a Fair, admits of more question. 
Speaking for the oflieers of the New York 
State Association, we now propound to the 
sliecp farmers of the State the following 
questions; and we would be glad to receive 
answers, by letter, from all who feel interest 
enough in the subject to write: 
1 . Aro you In favor of the Stato Association 
holi.Utttf a Fair next spring? 
If so, wbora do you propose it shall bo held, 
an) what aro the conveniences and Inducements 
for holding it at the place designated ? 
3. How many sheep ut the different breeds wilt 
y<iii exhibit? 
•!. In your judgment is it. best to award cash 
premiums or diplomas? 
f>. If the former, how high would you propose 
to make the first, secoud and third premiums iu 
tie various classes? 
6. IIow much will you personally contribute 
or raise in your neighborhood, to supply the 
requisite funds for premiums ami expense of 
fixtures, provided the holding of a Fair Is de¬ 
cided on by the officers of the Association? 
All who answer the above questions are 
requested to do so during the month of 
March, and we hope there may be a full and 
free expression on the subject. 
-♦-*-*- 
“GREASE AND GUM.” 
V “ Friend of the Wool Growers,” De¬ 
troit, Mich., writes us tt long letter on “ wool 
reforms,” and especially on the necessity of 
“abating the grease and gum nuisance." 
He thinks we should “impress on our farm¬ 
ers the folly of producing a wholly useless 
substance in the wool;” that “now, as the 
wool business is reviving, it is a good time 
for them to turn over a new leaf in this mat¬ 
ter,” &c., ifcc. Ho closes by saying, “ Give 
us wool, not dirt, and we will pay for it.” 
Our correspondent, very evidently, never 
hoard or never applied to himself the sound 
old maxim, “ let the shoemaker stick to his 
last.” He attempts to lecture practical men 
on a matter In regard to which he hlmselt 
has no practical knowledge. His statement 
that yolk is a “ wholly useless substance in 
the wool,” betrays an extremity of ignorance. 
It shows that he not only lacks experience, 
but that lie is not even moderately well-read 
on the subject. His promise that “we” 
(the dealers,) will pay for clean wool, is con¬ 
solatory — that is, if lie is authorized to speak 
for his brethren,—for it is a tiling which 
they never have done before. The moment 
they commence paying for wool of the same 
grade precisely according to its condition, 
there will be no difficulty in getting it as 
clean as can be desired. Let them first 
“ turn over a new leaf,” and, our word for it, 
the wool growers will promptly meet them 
halfway. 
Buyers have doubtless made more dis¬ 
crimination in regard to condition of wools 
for the past two or three years than previ¬ 
ously. The state of the woolen market com¬ 
pelled them to buy close; and, with a lor. 
languid demand, and no < drum, tl: 
had full opportunity to do >• Hence the 
aversion felt to buying, even at. proper fig¬ 
ures, heavy, greasy wools, entertained by 
many dealers and manufacturers, (because 
unused to buying them, and because they 
imagined it to be more difficult to decide on 
their rate of shrinkage,) have thrown them 
proportionably into flic background. Many 
have inferred from this ' / urnstance, and 
from a partial conviction that yolk is pro¬ 
duced at the expense of the amount of wool, 
that it would lie more profitable to grow 
(fine wooled) sheep with less yolk than those 
of the prevailing type. It appears to be sup¬ 
posed by dealers that Merinos generally are 
vastly greasier now than they were a dozen 
years ago, and in proof of this they point to 
the heavier and "soggier” wools which are 
now brought into market. 
Borne, indeed many, breeders, catering to 
a vicious, partial fashion—catering to the 
mania of sheep buyers to outbrag each other 
in weight of fleece (yolk and filth included) 
—have run the production of yolk “ into the 
ground.” Wc have seen jams’ fleeces which, 
in addition to the maximum amount, of tl aid 
yolk (“ oil,”) and a heavy coating of external 
“ gum,” were thickly interspersed, within ike. 
wool, with masses or “chunks" of seml- 
hardened gum, from the size of a large bean 
to that, of an almond; and this not only on 
the under parts, but on <bo back and sides. 
But, compared with the whole number, these 
are rare exceptions. A very large majority 
of those who have acquired any permanent 
reputation as breeders have avoided such 
miserable extremes. The sheep which have 
sold for the highest price in Vermont, Now 
York, Ohio, &c., have not been of the above 
class. 
Yolk is necessary to fine wool, for uses 
which we have too olleu explained to need 
to repeat them here, A constant secretion 
of it. is necessary to supply its waste when 
exposed to the elements. But if that waste 
is prevented by housing the sheep summer 
and winter from rain and snow, this accumu¬ 
lation of it. becomes excessive. Breeders 
have, more or less, over the whole country, 
thus housed their sheep, their object being to 
tit them for sale. This accounts, in a great 
measure, for the very “ soggy ” wools in mar¬ 
ket. 
The increased average weight of card 
wool fleeces is also due to other causes. 
More of them are shorn unwashed than 
formerly, even in cases where no artificial 
means are adopted to preserve the yolk in 
the wool. Then very large numbers of 
light fleeced Merinos and Saxon grade sheep 
(the result of former crosses between these 
varieties and common sheep,) have been 
crossed with heavy-fleeced American Merino 
rams — tints increasing their amount of pure 
wool from twenty-five to fifty per cent. 
Outside of summer-housed sheep, the in¬ 
creased weight of fleeces is due rat her to the 
increase of wool than the increase of yolk ; 
and in the case of summer-housed sheep, it 
is the result of a special mode of treatment, 
rather than any new characteristic of the 
breed. Most of the latter, including the 
most approved stocks, if exposed to rain, 
snow, Ac., throughout the year, after the 
old-fashioned manner of keeping sheep, 
would not exhibit much, if any more “ oil ” 
and “gum” in the wool, or “crust” on it, 
than did the Merinos originally imported 
from Spain to this country. 
Our belief is that with exceptions not 
amounting to a tenth of the aggregate num¬ 
ber, the Merinos of the United States do not 
possess any excess of yolk when exposed to 
the ordinary vicissitudes of the weather, and 
that multitudes of them, especially grades, 
possess too little of it. Fine wool not kept, 
well lubricated with yolk during its growth 
does not grow as well; is less soft and plia- 
ablc; loses some of its felting properties, 
and is more predisposed to cot. 
If the manufacturer or dealer prefer to buy 
wool from which the yolk has been thorough¬ 
ly washed or cleaned out, we repeat, all they 
have to do is to make it profitable to the 
grower to market his wool in that condition, 
by paying a proportionable price for it. But 
when they attempt to preach a crusade 
against yolky sheep, and talk about yolk be¬ 
ing “a wholly useless substance,” and a 
“ nuisance,” they show that they neither un¬ 
derstand the interests of the manufacturer 
nor grower. 
We have alluded to this topic, because 
under the temporary discrimination made in 
favor of cleaner wools, we have discovered, 
as already said, some tendency in less expe¬ 
rienced quarters to favor a reaction in favor 
of “drier wooled Merinos.” To such we 
say, sell your wool as free from yolk as you 
can make it. profitable to do. But this should 
be accomplished by washing — not by breed¬ 
ing dry wool. 'The standard Merinos of the 
country would not exhibit a particle too 
much yolk, if habitually exposed to the 
weather. A dry wooled, or any near ap¬ 
proach to a dry wooled Merino, even under 
such exposures, would be an anomalous and 
decidedly defective animal. We should 
credit no pedigfeo which vouched for its 
. .tr.ty i/ flood. 
Worm In ttio Foot. P. A. of Hudson, N. Y. 
writes us that “ hoof rot in sheep is occasioned 
by a single worm, which bores into the upper 
front part of the foot;" that, “his father dis¬ 
covered this thirty years afro, and used to euro 
the sheep by cutting out the worm and applying 
u medicine which he (the writer) has the recipe 
or, and would bo j? flier to sell for a moderate 
compensation, together with directions for cut¬ 
ting out the worm,” It is said “truth crushed 
to earth will rise Hfpiin.” Humbugs seem en¬ 
dowed with equal vitality. It is odd enough 
that there was ever a man so Ignorant as to mis¬ 
take the biflex canal in a sheep’s foot, tor a worm, 
but. that, tills humbug should so often come to 
life again is one of the curiosities of sheep Liter¬ 
ature. It lias revived about, once in live years 
ever since our recollection. It. would ho a 
harmless humbug, theoretically, but in practice 
it; leads to t he infliction of such torture on the 
sheep—by cutting ami mangling the Toot to get. 
out the Imaginary worm -Unit wo never feel 
that It la pardonable to pass it over without ex¬ 
posing its absurdity. 
-♦♦♦-- 
Will Timothy liny Kill Hheep.— Nathaniel M. 
Torky, Caroline, Tompkins Co., N. Y. Timothy 
must bo cut and cured green to make good food 
for sheep — and then it. i.s improved by an admix¬ 
ture of bright, medium-sized clover. Ripe, dry* 
wiry timothy i: very poor hay for sheep, espe¬ 
cially tegs. Wo have often seen flocks of tho 
latter, when confined to it, waste away, become 
dcbilitatod and finally diseased, and perish In 
great numbers. Tho “rusty " timothy you de¬ 
scribe wo presume (wc never tried it) to bo bad 
sheep feed — however cured In other particu¬ 
lars. We should hardly, however, bo disposed to 
attribute to tt. solely tho severe, quaal-poisonou* 
elfocts noocasar.v to produce the sudden and 
mortal malady which you describe in your flock. 
Hut wo should, at all events, immediately 
change tlic feed of tho flock; and if tho disease 
continues attempt, to treat it at once with the 
proper medical remedies. 
FARM CONVENIENCES. 
Hitching Posts tiud Htcypintc Block. 
What exhibits a shiftless character more 
than to sec the boards of a door-yard fence, 
gnawed, split, broken and knocked off, and 
that, too, caused uiainly by tying horses to 
the same, and all for want of a. very easily 
acquired article, a hitching post? It Is 
strange that, some people, will every year 
spend enough time in repairing their door- 
yard fence that, has been partly demolished 
by using it as a hitching post, to ha.ve put 
up two or three good ones, besides having 
the fence left in good condition. 
cp, 
I/-V 
Fro. 1. 
By careful observation, I find that not half 
tho country residences have hitching posts 
in the highway in front of thc*n. To aid in 
abolishing this old fogy idea, I herewith sub¬ 
mit, a few designs of cheap and tasty bitch¬ 
ing posts. Fig. 1 represents two round ones, 
from eight to ten feet distant, and connected 
together by a three-by-four Inch scantling, 
secured at the cuds by pins. The posts are 
four feet in length above ground, and eight, 
inches in diameter; 2, is a round post ot the 
same diameter, with a, one and a half inch 
hole bored near the top; 3, is a square, or 
octagon, post, with a staple and ring, which 
may be attached at the side or top; 4 differs 
from 8, in being pyramidal in shape, ten 
inches at the ground and six at the top, 
rounded as shown. 
For securing the posts and rendering them 
non-hcaving, I refer to a chapter, soon to 
follow, on gates, fences and their attach¬ 
ments. 
There is another valuable acquisition to 
any farmer’s cottage, and yet it is not appre¬ 
ciated by one-fourth of them as the non- 
appearance of the article clearly demon¬ 
strates. 
Fin. 5. 
I refer to a stepping or alighting bloc 
one of which is clearly shown in Fig. 5. 
is constructed of boards, with bits of seal 
ling at the corner, which steady the stn 
tore, can be attached to the fence by nailing 
or otherwise, to suit the convenience of the 
location. A very good one is made by taking 
the block of the cross-section of a tree, three 
or more feet in diameter, and substituting 
artificial steps, in the absence of natural 
limbs, cut in the correct shape. The block 
should be within four to six feet of, and 
always at tho side, of, the gate to which the 
fastening is attached, thereby combining con¬ 
venience with economy of space. 
In availing yourselves of some such little 
convenience, remember that as the acts and 
deeds of the past intluence those of the 
present, so will ours sway those of the fu¬ 
ture. L. D. Snook. 
Barrington, Yates Co., N. Y. 
A Wagon Jack. 
The above wagon jack I have used, and 
think it about as good as any, as it is simple 
and very easily made. A is the upright 
standard of white oak, one inch thick, four 
inches wide, and two and a half feet long, 
mortised into tho foot, block, B, which is 
four inches square and one foot and a, half 
long. C is t.bo lever, six feet long, through 
which the standard, A, passes, tlui mortise 
being six inches long. An iron half-inch 
pin passes through both. Thus tho lever 
can be raised or lowered on the standard. 
D is a small chain fastened to the foot-block, 
and passes around tlic lever and is fastened 
at, E. F Ls a small block fastened on the 
top of the lever to prevent the axle slipping 
against the standard while raising. 
O. Berry. 
Fond du Lac, Wis., Feb., 1809. 
-- 
OILING AND BLACKING HARNESS. 
A correspondent of the Scientific Amer¬ 
ican gives the following method:—" In tho 
first place, I subject the harness to one or 
two coats (as the leather may need) of lamp¬ 
black and castor oil, warmed sufficient to 
make it penetrate the stock readily. Then 
I make about two quarts of warm soapsuds, 
and with a sponge wash the harness. When 
dry, rub it, over with a mixture of oil and 
tallow, equal parts, with sufficient lamp¬ 
black to give it. color, or, what is better, 
Prussian blue, which gives it a new and fresh 
look. This compound should be applied 
sparingly and well rubbed in, which can be 
done quickly, and will leave a smooth and 
clean surface. 
By saturating the stock in the first, place 
with oil, tho soap and water are prevented 
from penetrating it iu the process of wash¬ 
ing. When leather is permitted to absorb 
water or soup it has an ultimate tendency to 
harden it. When the harness is washed 
first (as is generally the case) tho water re¬ 
pels the oils; consequently in the one case 
you have the oil inside of the stock, and 
in the other you have the soap and water. 
By oiling first it softens the dirt, so that it 
can be washed off iu at least one-half the 
time required when washed before oiling, 
and also saves the “ scraping ” process, 
which defaces the grain of the leather. It 
will remain soft much longer from tho tact, 
of its being penetrated with oil. The whole 
process can be accomplished without, the 
delay of waiting for it to dry. Consequently 
the harness can be oiled and cleaned in 
much less time, will remain soft longer, 
wear longer, and look better than when 
cleaned by the old method. And I con¬ 
sider these reasons of sufficient importance 
for every one having a harness to give this 
method a fair trial. 
The English patent harness blacking, 
which is commended for keeping leather 
soft, and giving it a good polish, is made by 
dissolving together over a slow fire three 
ounces of turpentine, two ounces of white 
wax; then add one ounce of ivory-black and 
one drachm of indigo, to be well pulverized 
and mixed together. When the wax and 
turpentine are dissolved add the ivory-black 
and indigo, anti stir till cold. Apply very 
thin, and brush afterwards, 
-»-*--*- 
To Prevent Haul on Plow*.— A correspondent 
of the Rural World says:— Nemo but, tho plow¬ 
man knows the advantage of liuvintt a bright 
plow. The writer lias tried a great many articles 
to prevent plows and other agricultural imple¬ 
ments from rusting. There is nothing so good 
and handy as patent uxlo grease. I have used 
tallow, paint and Japan varnish, but tho axle 
grease is always convenient and easily applied. 
- 4 t > 
Removing Foul Air from Wells. A corre- 
spondnnt gives us an account of an Ingeniously 
extemporized apparatus for removing carbonic 
acid from wells. It was simply an umbrella let 
down und rapidly hauled up a number of times 
In succession. The effect was to remove the gas 
in a few minutes from a well so foul as to in¬ 
stantly extinguish a candle previous to tho use 
of the umbrella .—Sdmtiflc American. 
THE BEE EXODUS. 
A correspondent from Kentucky, after 
describing the mysterious fact that hundreds 
of bee hives are being deserted this winter, 
with large stores of honey left iu the hives, 
asks some of the readers of bis article to 
solve the mystery. To an old apiarist there 
is no mystery about it. There was a fatal 
malady prevalent amongst the royal family 
of bees last August., uud every hive deserted 
since is in consequence of Her Majesty’s 
death. The bees will stay, starve and die 
together while their beloved queen lives; 
for there are none on earth so loyal as bees. 
The experienced apiarist knows when thn 
queen is dead; knows that Urn only way to 
save that hive is to give them another queen 
as soon aa possible. This can be done by 
keeping a supply of queens for that, purpose, 
or by introducing a piece of comb that has 
very young larvae in it, and the bees will 
manage to make a queen. When a queen 
Is suddenly killed there aro fresh larvae in tho 
hive, and the bees make a queen immediate¬ 
ly; but when the queen lingers with disease 
for a number of days, at, her death there are 
no fresh larva); and a queen cannot be made 
of larval that are eight days old. 
Powhattau, O., Feb., 1869. Wm. Wharton. 
-.-♦♦♦- 
BEE FEED. 
A. J. Si* afford, at the Ohio Bee Keepers 
Convention, gave the following formula for 
feed which be fed bis bees early in the fall, 
and which be found to serve admirably well 
as a substitute for honey :—“Twenty pounds 
of straight, A, coffee sugar to four quarts of 
soft water and fourteaapooneful of cream tar 
tar. Boil fifteen to thirty minntes — skim 
and cool. 1 procure quart fruit cans with 
suitable top? to tie a doth over of common 
brown sheeting, and invert the cans over the 
opening, abovo tho bees. Tho cans that I 
used had a groove in the top to receive the 
wax, to hold the covers and keep them air¬ 
tight, and I tilled this groove up with clear 
beeswax by warming the cans. 
“ Pint cans are large enough; care should 
bo taken not to have cans so high that the 
«up of the hive will touch or rest upon the 
top of the can. 
“ There is not, the least, danger of attract¬ 
ing robbers by this way of feeding, and it. is 
but little trouble to take off and put on the 
cans. I have tried different styles aifml-pan.it, 
and found that many times they gave mo 
much trouble, and 1 could not leave the yard 
long with safety. I think one will be pleased 
with the way I feed, after giving It, a trial. 
“ For artificial pollen 1 use unbolted rye 
meal, ground very fine, and it usually takes 
about one bushel to every twenty swarms, 
before they abandon the meal and all go to 
the woods for their pollen. They should have 
access to it ns soon as they will take it, up.” 
--■- 
BEE MANAGEMENT. 
Introducing Italian Qnccua to Black Bees. 
Bees will often accept a fertile or laying 
queen when one newly hatched, a virgin, 
would be destroyed. After trying various 
methods of introducing them, I can recom¬ 
mend with most, confidence the following: 
First remove the black queen, and leave the 
hive quiet seven days—not longer than ten 
—then cut off every queen coll that is con¬ 
structed, or at least such as contain any¬ 
thing. It is important that all are removed. 
The queen to be introduced is smeared with 
honey, by carefully turning her over in a 
spoon containing it, and then dropped among 
the bees in the top of the hive. They at 
once commence licking her off, and forget all 
about, st inging her until they have discovered 
that she is a queen. 
A great, many prefer to introduce her in a 
queen cage for a day or two, when she is re¬ 
leased, and is usually accepted by the bees, 
The cage is madeof wire cloth. Take apiece 
about three inches square, roll it, around the 
finger till the two ends meet., which should 
be fastened with fine w iro. Make wood or 
paper stoppers, put in the queen, and put 
the cage, where the bees arc thickest, be¬ 
tween two combs of sealed honey, pressing 
it a little fiat. The queen is liberated by re¬ 
moving a stopper. Others tie over the ends 
of the cage a piece of old, worn muslin. 
The bees in a day or two bite a passage 
through it and liberate the queen. 
They may be introduced into tho box 
hive in the swarming season. As soon as a 
stock can spare a swarm, and before any 
queen cells are finished preparatory to 
swarming, drive out in the middle of tho 
day a small swarm, or enough to get the 
queen, which may bo put into a new hive, 
and set the old hive a few rods distant. The 
old bees that are acquainted with the old 
place return there and make the hive strong. 
Two days afterward the young bees that are 
hatching readily accept of any queen that is 
given them. Old bees would he likely to de¬ 
stroy them when given under similar cir¬ 
cumstances.— Quimby. 
