toned down to the hocks ; the knees and 
feet should be large, the latter white, and 
the bone between them fine; above all, a 
Herdwick should stand square and walk 
well. The ewes are not horned, but the 
tups generally are, though not always ; when 
they are, the horns should be white and 
waxy, and, rising well out of the back of 
the head, curl once or twice. Of course most 
sheep fall off more or less from this Ideal, 
but the commonest fault is a slackness be¬ 
hind the shoulder. There arc also always in 
every flock a certain proportion of darker- 
colored sheep, and these “ brenked ” ones, as 
they are called, arc often of the best blood ; 
they are not by any means disliked as long 
as they are of a black and not a brown tinge, 
for many people deem them hardier, and 
also consider them useful in keeping up the 
distinctive markings of the breed ; in fact, 
some very dark-colored tups have been great 
prize winners. As to the wool, which is of a 
short staple, it is as inferior to that of most 
low country sheep as the mutton is superior ; 
but it has improved, a groat deal of late 
years, and though still grayish, is nearly free 
from those 1:1 kewps ” or gray hairs that use l 
to disfigure it. It varies in price, according 
to markets, but is always rather above the 
wool of the horned black faces. “ Sickness’* 
and the fly are the chief occasions of loss to 
the flockinaster. The former, which resem¬ 
bles black quarter in calves, principally at¬ 
tacks the hoggs in autumn and winter ; but 
some fells have uu evil reputation for it, and 
on these tho tanner must lay his account 
with a considerable annual loss of sheep of 
all ages, and at all times of the year. The 
only remedy or rather prevention seems to 
be change of pasture, and when, as is usual, 
the hoggs arc wintered out, the nearer the 
sea they are the less the chance of sickness 
is found to be. 
The nuisance of the fly varies very much 
in different localities, but it abounds on some 
fells from June till September; and as the 
sheep on being struck generally seek some 
cover, such as underwood or deep beds of 
bracken, it may easily be imagined that on 
such extensive ranges many are never found 
till the horrible death of being eaten alive by 
maggots has overtaken them. Dipping and 
diligent shepherding will, however, do a good 
deal. Foot rot is almost unknown, and 
scab, under more judicious treatment, has 
ceased to bo the terror it was—in fact, any 
serious loss from this cause may safely be 
set down to neglect. Sturdy also claims a 
certain number of victims, but not many. 
We have omitted to mention one rather 
peculiar circumstance which is, that there 
was originally a distinct strain of this sheep 
about Koathwuite, that had fourteen ribs. 
Though we believe that as a distinct strain it 
no longer exists, yet many individual sheep 
possess this peculiarity ; and Mr. Nelson, of 
Gatesganh, one of the most noted breeders, 
tells us that instances are not at all uncom¬ 
mon in his flock, and that he does not notice 
any other peculiarity or difference between 
them and sheep possessing the normal num¬ 
ber of ribs. 
-- 4 4 » ■ - 
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD SHEEP. 
At a farmers’ meeting at Bethel, Vt., Mr. 
A. E. Perkins, in discoursing of the charac¬ 
teristics of the Merinos, said “ The first 
requisite is their carcass or body, which 
should be of a roundish, barrel form, with 
good depth, broad between the shoulders, 
hips aud eyes, a large nose, thick, soft, 
elastic ear, short, thick neck, short, straight 
legs of good sized bone. Their size should be 
medium for the breed, which size will give 
the greatest amount of wool for a given 
quantity of feed when compared with ani¬ 
mals of t he same breed, age and sex of larger 
size. The fleece should be the greatest com¬ 
bination of quantity, length of staple, thick¬ 
ness of wool, evenness of fleece over the 
general surface of the body, with style and 
good crimp. 
To judge of all the foregoing qualities re¬ 
quires experience, study and Careful obser¬ 
vation. The length of staple should be at 12 
month’s growth from two to three inches. 
Fineness of fiber can be judged by the feeling 
and number of crimps to an inch in length of 
wool. The number of crimps to an inch in 
length of line wool is from twenty-seven to 
twenty-nine. Thickness of fleece cannot be 
always judged correctly by the feeling of its 
surface. By part ing the wool on the sheep 
the amount of those exposed to view indi¬ 
cates tilt thickness of fleece. Evenness of 
fleece over the general surface of the body 
is important, for when the fleece is all inter¬ 
mixed with hah- and coarse wool, the whole 
fleece goes for coarse wool. Style of wool is 
judged by its fineness and depth of crimp. 
A reasonable amount of yolk has been be¬ 
lieved in all times and country as necessaries 
to promote and protect the growth of strong, 
elastic wool. It keeps the dirt out of Die 
inner part of the fleece, and prevents the 
wool from being worn and chafed. Deprive 
the wool while ou the sheep of all yolk, and 
it would become coated together by the rains 
and motions of the sheep. Tims while, a rea¬ 
sonable amount of yolk is necessary, it is no 
excuse for raising wool which has the great¬ 
est objectionable amount of yolk in it. An 
excess of yolk is a waste of the vital energies 
and constitution of the sheep. 
Wrinkles on the general surface of the 
body should be avoided ; they are an injury 
to the quality and length of wool, and ore 
not of any value whatever. Breeding sheep 
all covered with wrinkles, is like a farmer 
who ridges his level m« "’lands and seeds the 
ridges with an inferior kind of grass. In 
avoiding wrinkles we should not go bo far as 
to under-value a good heavy neck aud good 
dewlap, and if there is a "Tinkle back of the 
shoulder or forward of tho flank, it is not 
objectionable. 
The skin of the sheep should be of a red¬ 
dish color, which indicates good health, easy 
to keep. A thin, soft skin denotes a well- 
bred animal.” 
CRANBERRY CULTURE. 
TALK TO WOOL GROWERS. 
Tins New York Economist gives a few 
hints in the following extract from a lengthy 
article, which wool growers will do well t,o 
give candid consideration “ It is true, it 
takes t ime to raise lambs and increase flocks 
of sheep. As yet there has not been much 
increase in the production of the staple in oui 
Northern or Western States ; but what is 
lacking in quantity is to Borne extent made 
up in quality, for our markets now present 
lines of fancy wools from Virginia, Pennsyl¬ 
vania and Ohio, which are equal to any wools 
grown the world over. The superfine fancy 
clips from Western Virginia are particularly 
choice, and will bear close comparison wit h 
the finest Austrian, Silesian and Australian. 
These wools will command fancy prices at. 
any time, no matter liow stringent money 
may be, for they are always wanted for 
opera flannels, line face doeskins, or ladies’ 
worsted dress goods or braids, and yet we 
fear enough of these grades will never l>c 
grown in the States to supply tho constantly 
increasing wants of our manufacturer. The 
demand for combing wools continues very 
actives—in fact, it is urgent, until now prices 
have rapidly risen, especially for Canadian. 
From a private letter, written by a well- 
known firm in Hamilton, dated the lid in¬ 
stant, we are enabled to make tho following 
extract:—* Combing wool cannot be got in 
any quantities at present. The country lias 
been scoured all around for manufacturers 
in your State, and as high as ‘Me. gold has 
been paid, and t he prospect is it will go some¬ 
what higher. We estimate tho clip at l }4 
million pounds.’ 
‘•This sounds like high talk. But wait; 
before tho ink is yet dry ou the paper we 
write upon, we have advices still more aston¬ 
ishing, with sales 40 c. gold for Canadian 
combing, and the hest article is now field at 
a half a dollar gold. This would carry the 
price beyond 80 c. currency, and yet it is not 
a fortnight since Mr. Walworth asserted he 
would not pay over tiOc. for the staple landed 
in the States, Such are the enormous de¬ 
mands for worsted wools tho world over, 
that everywhere in Europe and America 
t hey are bringing prices out of proportion to 
line clothing grades. It is a pity our farmers 
cannot get some of these Canadian sheep and 
cross them with our Saxony, so as to give 
us a good grade of one-fourth blood wool.” 
.- 4 - 4 - 4 -- 
SHEPHERD NOTES. 
Sheep in Orchards.—la England it is com¬ 
mon to keep quite a number of odd sheep in 
orchards during the winter, as well as sum¬ 
mer—ewes which may have had lambs, acci¬ 
dentally, earlier than the general flock or 
others which from any cause are not well to 
be with those eating turnips in the fields. 
Mv young fruit trees have a few bushes tied 
around the stem as high ns sheep can reach ; 
and some put a carpenter to work to put 
what are called “cratches” around every 
tree which may be considered to be in any 
danger. Sheep kept in orchards, and fed 
with good food through the winter, having a 
shed to run to for shelter in stormy weather, 
do well, and are a groat benefit to the trees 
in consequence of tho dung and Urine which 
nourishes the trees through the roots better 
than they can he helped by other manuring. 
—A Working Farmer. 
I Tool Q routing .—Why is it that there is so 
little said about wool growing ? One would 
think that it had become a matter of history. 
It seems as though foreign wools had almost 
crowded, t he Americau out of the business. 
4 f..\v years ago the Bubal stated that it 
took 40 , 1 ) 00,00 / lbs. of foreign wool to supply 
our consumption ; now it is stated that last 
year there were 00,000,0.0 lbs. of wool im¬ 
ported ahd 10,000,000 of shoddy ; so it seems 
that gold has to go to buy what can be pro¬ 
duced here.—W m. Noland, Sumner County, 
Term. 
Will you please give us in your next issue 
something of the conditions, science, history, 
expenses and profits of low cranberry cul¬ 
ture ? Also, please, give a description of 
proper places, time to commence, how or 
where tne roots arc to be secured, cost, &c., 
and greatly oblige.—SUBSCRIBER, Walden, 
Vt,, Oct. 13, 187:?. 
Remarks.—W e condense an article writ¬ 
ten for the Barnstable, Mass., Patriot,—a 
famous section for cranberries—as furnishing 
“ something” on several points in cranberry 
culture : 
Choice of Location.—The best place is a 
peat-bog and swamp muck. 
Preparation of the Ground. —First, make 
the surface of your ground as oven as.possi- 
ble, and nearly level, with a slight inclina¬ 
tion towards a draiu, if yon have one, in 
order that it may be easily flowed, and no 
ponds remain after drawing off the water. 
This may be done with any material. There 
should then be put on this level surface, 
about four inches in thickness of swamp 
muck or peat, which should bo again cov¬ 
ered with about, three inches in depth of 
loose, sand, free from grass or its fibers, and 
also from clay or stones. It is not impor 
taut what the color or quality of the sand, if 
it be not adhesive, and is free from roots and 
grass. Clay is not good. 
Time of Planting.— From the first of April 
to the middle of June—continuing through 
tho summer to plunt, if convenient, uud as 
it is wished. Those set late, lose a year’s 
growth, and may os well be set in spring, if 
the land be not too wet. 
Manner of Plan ling. —The form of planting 
which has resulted in the moat rapid ad¬ 
vancement of growth and production, is to 
scatter whole vines upon a mud or peat sur¬ 
face ; then press them into the mud with 
your foot, and scatter over them light sand, 
about one inch in depth. Patches planted 
in this maimer seem to bo a year ahead of' 
those planted in the ordinary way. The 
general plan, however, is to set them in hills 
at eighteen inches apart. Take a pointed 
stick, say four inches in thickness, through 
which at eight inches from tho point insert a 
gauge rod eighteen inches long, which serves 
to govern the distance from on© hill to an¬ 
other. With this pointed stick puncture the 
ground in uniform rows, insert into these 
holes a small handful of vines, and press the 
mud aroimd and among them, spreading 
them about as much us need be. 
Quality of Vines.— Vines should be pro¬ 
cured from meadows which have borne well, 
and of good fruit, as the best way of know¬ 
ing good bearers. There are several species, 
such as egg-shaped, bell-shaped, and cherry¬ 
shaped. The former are most approved, and 
are said to be four or five weeks earlier. 
Cultivation. —The cranberry needs little 
cultivation. Having your land properly pre 
pared as before stated, and properly ditched, 
and clear of roots aud grass, it may require 
the fii-st year a little hoeing among the vines 
After the first year, it would be likely to do 
as much injury as benefit, by disturbing the 
young fibers, which are now tliiekly set. It 
is better after this, to pluck the weeds by 
hand, put them in a basket, and carry them 
off. After the second year, let them alone. 
The third year you will get a fair crop, the 
fourth will probably be the best. It is pot 
vet. ascertained how many years they may 
do well. Fair bearing is considered one 
bushel to a rod ; there have been instances 
of one barrel to the rod. Rushes, and bunch¬ 
es of weeds and grass may at any time be 
cut out. 
Flo wing.— Flowing is not absolutely neces¬ 
sary. If flowablc, the water may remain 
on all winter, and let off in March. It should 
be let on about the 20th to the 25 th of May, 
and again the 1 st of Juno, for not exceeding 
thirty-six hours; after tiffs it is not needful. 
Blossoms are injured by the water remaining 
on too long, tho object of which is to destroy 
the insects. After the second flowing there 
is little to fear from them. The grade of 
the land and the ditching should be so ar¬ 
ranged as to easily flood or clear the surface, 
and the sides of your drains should slope to 
an angle of forty-five degrees or more, in 
order to their permanence and utility*; the 
number, arrangement and size being directed 
by* good judgment.—A. E. Farmer. 
which of late has gained such extensive cre¬ 
dence, and is so generally practiced—that 
the ridges should be left to be crumbled 
down by the alternate freezing and thawing 
during the winter and spring, and thus feed 
the roots of tho wheat. Tiffs “crumbled 
down” process takes place when the action 
of the roots is wholly suspended, and conse¬ 
quently they cannot be “ fed ” by it, and the 
earth so crumbled down is nothing to the 
roots in reality but a very insignificant 
mulch. On the other hand, if the land be 
well rolled in the fall, the earth is tightly 
compressed around the seed, and the plant Is 
thus enabled to get, a better foothold ; t he 
roots are fed while they have an appetite 
and will be less affected by the actiou of the 
frost. The. earth when Closely packed does 
not afford so many harbors for insects, 
which will most likely prove to be enemies 
to the plant at some stage of its develop 
ment. if the surface be smooth it is less apt 
to retain surface water, and in conclusion, 
the practice of rolling is in strict accordance 
with the nature and requirements of the 
plant, which thrives best ou compact soil.” 
- »♦» ■ 
CHUFAS OR EARTH ALMONDS. 
Tins perennial, known to botanists as Cy 
perutt eSGulentus, is a species of sedge native 
of the southern parts of Europe, where it 
grows to the lfight of about three feet. In 
this latitude it grows to the hight of fifteen 
or twenty inches, producing tubers of all sizes 
up to that of a large bean ; in taste they 
resemble a sweet chestnut or cocoanut, and 
may be eaten raw or cooked in various 
ways. In Spain the tubers are chiefly used 
in making an orgeat, a refreshing drink 
much used in Spain, Cuba, and other hot 
climates where it Is known. I have planted 
it in my garden several years and it seems to 
do equally well on a light sandy soil, and on 
a heavy loam. It is very prolific, a single 
tuber will often produce two or three 
hundred. 
The most convenient way of planting is in 
hills about two feet apart each way, eight or 
ten tubers in each, five or six inches asunder. 
No cultivation is necessary except to keep 
out the we ods. As soon as the frost lias 
killed the tops, the tubei-8 may he dug, dried 
and put in any dry place ; in drying, they 
loose nearly one-third of their weight. 
In reply to J. H., I should not think cluifas 
would injure an orchard more than grass or 
any other crop. If cluifas do as well in field 
culture as in the garden, I should judge that 
they would produce from one hundred to 
three hundred bushels per acre. L. w. G. 
Amherst, Mass. 
--4-4-4-- 
NEW AMERICAN POTATOES IN 
ENGLAND. 
ROLLING WHEAT. 
A practical farmer writes the Intelli¬ 
gencer I am strongly disposed to favor 
the old practice of rolling wheat ground af¬ 
ter sowing, notwithstanding the theory 
B. K. Bliss & Sons of this city forwarded 
the Editor of the London Gardeners’ Chroni¬ 
cle tubers of some of their new seedling po¬ 
tatoes, anil the following letter from him to 
the firm shows the result. 
Gardeners’ Chronicle and ao'i, uaz. I 
OrvicK, 41 Wellington St., Strand, W. C., > 
October, 7, 1873. ) 
Gentlemen :—Last year you were good 
enough to send us for trial some of your new 
kinds of potatoes. As a large trial of over 
300 sorts was projected to he carried out at 
the Royal Horticultural Society Garden at 
Chiswick tiffs season, I thought the fairest 
way would be to send your samples to be 
tried with the rest. I sent them under num¬ 
bers, so that no one but myself knew either 
the names of che varieties or the senders. I 
have now the pleasure of telling you that a 
first-class certificate was awarded by the 
judges to your Extra Early Vermont and to 
Vermont Beauty. No doubt you will obtain 
official notice of this ere long ; meanwhile 1 
thought you would like to know how much 
appreciated your potatoes were. I expect 
the official list of awards will soon be pub¬ 
lished. I am, gentlemen, your obedient 
servant, Maxwell T. Masters. 
- — 4 - 4 - 4 --- • 
ALFALFA IN CALIFORNIA. 
The Pacific Rural Press of Oct. 18 , says : 
Gov. Holden hands us the followingFrom 
16 acres of Alfalfa on the Sacramento river, 
the owner cut this year, at one cutting, 60 
tons of hay; he then let it go to seed and 
harvested over 3,000 pounds of seed, worth 
15 cents per pound. Ho now is pasturing on 
it 50 head of calves, and will do so until the 
rains come and the ground gets soft. 
RECAPITULATION. 
Hay, 00 tons, worth.$000 00 
3,000 pounds seed, worth—A. *5U 
Pasturage, worth.... . 150 w 
$1,200 00 
Expenses In cutting hay and seed .. 175 00 
Net Droceeda...$1,025 00 
