better, and we had to thank the commis¬ 
sion men that they did not call on us for a 
bonus above the proceeds of the sales to 
pay percentage and the expenses. Crops 
began to accumulate on our hands; some¬ 
thing must be done, and that quicklv, or it 
would be all over with our little venture of 
the countries in South America have 
reached the limit of wool production. 
business experience and ability whom we 
have employed. The first half of the year 
the sales are all made in the forenoon, and 
afternoons horses and hands go to the 
fields. Later in the season the wagons run 
all day. 
A Wisconsin Wool Grower’s Clip.— 
The Western Farmer, Oct. 12, says:—“Em 
Stilson, Esq., of Oshkosh, Wis., this year 
sheared, in round numbers, 1,700 Merino 
KEEPING OLD SHEEP 
Tub following suggestions and advice 
from the American Stock Journal are time¬ 
ly. The capacity of each animal to consume 
food, the market value of the food it will 
consume during the Winter, and the prob¬ 
able value of the animal after it has been 
wintered, should he taken into account in 
determining what stock he will Winter, by 
every farmer. Thousands of animals, how¬ 
ever, are fed at a loss, the farmer wasting 
his substance upon them for want of a little 
calculation, llcrc is what the Journal says: 
About one-half of the farmers who keep 
sheep manage to have a lot of old run-down 
ewes every Fall, either sell at. a trifle for 
pelters or die during the Winter. 
This is bad economy, to say the least, and 
should not he tolerated, and by a little 
timely forethought might be greatly reme¬ 
died or entirely avoided. 
Now is the time to attend to this matter. 
Look over your flock and select out all such 
ns do not seem to be doing right, and put 
them by themselves on as good pasture as 
can ho afforded, and when it begins to fail 
or lias been touched by the early frosts, 
give a little grain, no matter what sort— 
and by degrees increase it, so that by the 
time Winter sets in they will be in good 
condition for Winter feeding, and, if regu¬ 
larly cared for, will be fit for the butcher 
by early Spring. 
Sheep should never be kept until they 
lose their teeth; a very little observation 
and practice will enablo any person to tell 
their ago by the front teeth, and, for the 
benefit of those not posted in this art, we 
will give a description of the teeth at the 
different stages of their growth and decline, 
bo that all may learn, as wo once heard of a 
person who went to buy a flock of sheep, 
pronounced them all too old from the fact 
of having no teeth in their upper front jaw. 
Perhaps he has learned before this that 
they never had. 
A full-grown sheep has thirty-two teeth 
—eight incisors in the lower front jaw and 
six molars in each side in the upper and 
lower jaw. The lamb at birth has two in¬ 
cisors passing through the gums. When 
about a month old it has eight compara¬ 
tively short, narrow ouch. At about a year 
old, sometimes a little more, the central, or 
“lamb teeth” are shed and replaced by 
two broad teeth. The lamb teeth continue 
to bo shod annually and replaced by broad 
teeth, until the sheep has eight incisors of 
second growth, when it is full mouthed, 
which is at the age of four years. 
At six years old the incisors generally be¬ 
gin to diminish in breadth find lose their 
fan-like shape. At seven they become long 
and narrow, stand about perpendicular 
with respect to each other, and have lost 
their round, cutting edge, and so continue 
to diminish until at about the age of ten 
years they become loose and begin to drop 
out. 
So long as a sheep is healthy it can be 
fatted, but it is not good policy to keep 
them until they become too old, as it bus a 
tendency to run down the flock and give it 
a rakish appearance. 
Therefore every farmer should look care¬ 
fully over his flock early every Fall, and 
select out such as cannot be kept longer 
with profit. 
A LAWN SPRINKLER 
A Californian sends to a Scotch paper 
a lawn sprinkler much used there, The 
Scotchman illustrates (see Figs. 1 and 2) 
and thus describes it. Fig. 1 shows the 
complete machine—“alight tripod, about 
three feet high, supports a revolving head, 
which consists of three urmlike tubes (see 
Fig. 2,) attached to a hollow washer that 
plays around the tube to which the hose is 
attached, bringing water from a head. The 
arms are turned a little backward and up¬ 
ward, and the water as it Hows out causes 
them to revolve, flirting a fine spray over a 
circle of from 10 feet to 30 feet in diameter, 
according to the pressure of the water. We 
are using ours with a head of about 15 feet, 
and it covers a diameter of 20 feet. When 
this area has been well watered, tho ma¬ 
chine is moved to new ground. It requires 
but little attention from a man working in 
its neighborhood, and is a very useful af¬ 
fair in dr}* weather. An ingenious plumber 
could make one (mainly of gas-pipe) with¬ 
out much expense.” We give these now, 
that our readers may, if they choose, dur¬ 
ing tho Winter, provide themselves with 
this sprinkler. 
“ TORRENT.” 
F. MARTIN OF EAST RUSH, MONROE COUNTY, N. Y. 
inds, which | twenty acres. We noticed one marked pe¬ 
culiarity of this flooding the market in our 
city; the consumer was paying all the 
w hile nearly or quite as much as before, and 
it occurred to us that if we could sell at 
that price our little venture would bo safe. 
Accordingly, early one morning we start¬ 
ed out a salesman with a good load, under 
instructions to seek retail sales from ho¬ 
tels, boarding houses and private families, 
with a promise of daily calls if sufficiently 
patronized. At noon he returned with an 
empty wagon, and the proceeds, not only 
tho wholesale price but also the retailer's 
profits, which usually range from 25 to 50 
per cent. From that day to this, nearly 
four years, we have pursued tho same 
GARDENERS’ NOTES 
Novel Watering Pot.—Jlere is a good 
idea for some American manufacturer—a 
watering pot with a long rose, by which a 
bed twelve feet wido (if the rose is made 
long enough) can be watered without trend¬ 
ing upon It, or having to lift, the pot an 
extra bight. No swinging is necessary as 
with tho ordinary pot. The streams of 
w ater cannot unite and fall in a heavy body 
as with the ordinary watering pot. It is an 
English invention, and they are made of 
strong zinc, und are, therefore, durable if 
oared for. 
A Largo Hercules Club Squash.—I 
raised a Hercules Club (gourd) from seed 
obtained from Mr. Vick, which is three 
feet seven inches in length, and weighs 26 
lbs. It did not attain its full growth in 
consequence of frost which (unfortunately 
for us in this part comes too early in the 
fall) killed t he vine. But thinking it “some 
pumpkins” here, I would ask who of the 
readers of the Rural can beat it ?— John 
D. PniLLiPPi, Jeff. Co., Pa. 
MARKETING GARDEN PRODUCTS 
Here is a hint as to tho profit and policy 
of bringing the buyer and producer of gar¬ 
den products together, enpecially in the 
smaller towns and cities, which we find in 
an essay on Market Gardening. by J. B. 
Root, Rockford, Ill. It is a system which 
will commend itself to the consumer. It 
will save the time incurred in going to mar¬ 
ket. and the labor or expense of gett ing tho 
purchases home. It also is more likely to 
insure the family fresh vegetables, when 
To Destroy llio Cabbage Worm.—I 
have been entirely successful the past sea¬ 
son with the following:—Diluted mackerel 
brine, applied on and around the plants, 
three or four times a week, until the cab¬ 
bage begin to head. In my garden, all that 
I treated in this way made good, sound 
heads, and others in tho same patch were 
destroyed.—S., Parllandrille, N. Y. 
Novel Watering Pot. 
otherwise the huckster, with a supply left 
over from a previous day’s purchase, neg¬ 
lects to replenish his stock and forces the 
wilted, sun and dust-exposed products upon 
the consumer: 
Here is what Mr. Root says:—When we 
entered upon gardening we intended to 
wholesale all our crops to the dealers. 
For a few weeks, while fresh early vegeta¬ 
bles were still scarce all went “ merry as a 
marriage bell,” bnt as soon as our main 
Peas in Winter.—I planted, in October, 
in a box four feet square, in my sittiug- 
room. some small dwarf peas that are very 
prolific (I do not remember the name) and 
the middle of January I had a crop <>f peas 
sufficient to make a family of three agood 
meal, beside tho plemu’o of tho green 
growing In my room.—Mns. P. S. Y. 
Toads in the Garden.—English garden¬ 
ers pay two shillings per dozen for toads to 
keep wood-lice in check in their gardens 
and frames. 
THE! RAM TORRENT ” 
Was bred by F. II. Dean of Cornwell, V't. 
lie was got by “Little Wrinkly,” bred by 
Emvtx II am?.ion i>. by ” Sweepstakes.” His 
dam was bred by F. 11. Dean, and got, by 
S'ivnv! ll’s “(J.ddcn Fb-ece;” grand dam 
bred by Enwtv Hammond, lie is now live 
years old, mi l his fleeces have weighed as 
follows:— first, 16 lbs.; second, 24,’4 lbs.: 
third, 30; i lbs: fourth, 26?^ lbs.; fifth, 29 
lb •. We have recently seen and examined 
“Torrent” and Ida stock of different ages. 
Our portrait of him is a good one. lie is a 
heavy ram, low, compact, and exhibits all 
the. evidences of a most hardy constitution. 
His stock strongly partake of tho qualities 
of their sire. 
NOTES FOR SPORTSMEN 
How to Trap Gopborfi.—A correspond¬ 
ent asks the best wav to trap Gophers. This 
is the way a Kansan does it:—Get a com¬ 
mon steel trap; whenever you see fresh 
work, excavate a hole in tho bottom of the 
run large enough to place the trap, with the 
pan level with the bottom of the run; cov¬ 
er the trap by sprinkling pulverized dirt 
lightly upon it; fasten the trap to a stake 
with a chain or wire, which should also be 
covered with dirt. If the run is left open 
by the Gopher, cover the opening with a 
boai'd, making all dark. If closed by the 
Gopher, leave ifie hole open. 
NOTES AND QUERIES 
Lawn Sprinkler—Fig. 1. 
crops began to come in, so did everybody’s 
else, and not only did the prices go below 
a living profit, but dealers who befor were 
glad to pay any price,would not take them 
at the lowest rates,—somo fanner had 
brought In a lot and would take his pay in 
trade, or a friend had spoken for his pat¬ 
ronage, etc., etc.” Chicago market was no 
How to Trap Muskrats.—I use a steel 
trap; find a muddy spot near the rat’s hole, 
make a pen of sticks driven down close to¬ 
gether, having an opening in front just 
wide enough lor the trap: put the bait 
(which should be sweet apples) in the pen 
far enough so tlr.it tho animal will have to 
step over the trap in order to get at It.— 
VV. A. S., Evam, A. Y. 
Wool in Australia.—The Queensland 
thinks the prospect for wool-growing in 
Aust ralia is better than ever before. The 
yield is large and the flocks are in good con¬ 
dition. The quality of the clip satisfied 
buyers, and the wool now finds a market 
where it never was sold before. It thinks 
