i. 
nsbuatrn). 
II. S. RANDALL, 1,1,. D., EDITOR, 
Of Corti.ind Vru.iog, Corti.nd County, N'kw York. 
FIRST-CLASS MERINO SHEEP. 
Tlie Project for Them. 
We have published the results of public 
sheep shearings, in various places this spring, 
which show that the choice heavy wooled 
Merinos of the country arc not only retained 
in those localities, hut that their owners 
possess enough zeal and spirit to continue 
to bring them together annually for public 
exhibition and comparison — thus seeking 
further improvement. And we know a mul¬ 
titude of flocks in New York, Vermont, and 
other States, which are kept up to their 
former mark of improvement as carefully as 
during the late period of high prices, but 
which are not. represented at spring fairs, 
because the breeders of them are not within a 
convenient distance of each other to get up 
such exhibitions. 
Is tins persistency In breeding this class of 
sheep the part of wisdom, or the part of 
folly ? Suppose an epizootic among horses, 
hogs, or cattle, or a failure in wheat, pota¬ 
toes, or other necessary vegetable products, 
should occur to such an extent, for several 
consecutive years, as to render the growing 
of them unprofitable,—and precisely such 
things have Occurred,—would it he wise to 
give up altogether the production of the un¬ 
profitable animal, or crop? Or suppose the 
over production of either should cause a pro¬ 
tracted depression in price, would sound 
maxims of trade, or sound common sense 
teach, ns the appropriate mode of correcting 
the evil, that there should be no further pro¬ 
file working of this wool as they would 
otherwise do. Yet, its in the case of the 
wool tariff of 1857, this delay in the action 
of Congress may allow a good deal of wool 
to he imported in anticipation of the rise in 
duties, sufficient to keep the mills of the 
skin clippers iu stock for a long period. 
These delays in Congress are vexatious 
enough, but we do not know how they can 
he helped so long its so large a portion of 
that body consists of wrangling lawyers and 
spouting politicians, eternally discussing 
everything and legislating on every topic 
hut the industrial interests of the country ; 
and so long as the great body of those 
whose pecuniary interests are thereby af¬ 
fected arc always ready to vote again fur 
those who have neglected or even directly 
opposed their interests, if they are renomi¬ 
nated by the wire-workers of the, ir own party. 
If the growing of first,-class American Me¬ 
rinos is now remunerative, it promises to be¬ 
come much more so, If protection is continued. 
The woolen trade, oidy good in transient 
snatches since the war, must, in the nature 
of things, revive and become steady, as fast 
as the industry and business of the country 
recover their normal condition, and thus the 
consumption of line wool he greatly in¬ 
creased. We have no fixed data to establish 
the actual per capita consumption of wool 
iu the Southern and border States since the 
war; hut the general facts within our knowl¬ 
edge lead us to the conclusion that in some 
of those States the per capita consumption 
lias not exceeded half, and In others two- 
thirds, what it was before the war. and what 
it. will again he when the industrial and 
financial prosperity of those States is re¬ 
stored. Woolens beyond actual need are 
merely luxuries, and the South has been in 
no condition to purchase luxuries. Then 
there are innumerable situations where fi De¬ 
duction? This would be killing, instead of 
improving a branch of trade. And if any 
such extreme action were practicable, it 
would involve a ruinous loss to those hold¬ 
ing the live stock to he thus abandoned. It, 
is claimed that there is such an over-produc¬ 
tion of medium tine wool —American Merino 
wool—in the United States; and that is the 
main and almost sole cause of the low prices 
of this wool for the lust two or three years, 
Some highly intelligent and zealous friends 
of the wool-producing interest fully believe 
this. Those manufacturers who long for 
low prices, persistently assert it. Some sta¬ 
tistics, bused, to a considerable extent, on esti¬ 
mates, seem to favor such a conclusion. We 
do not propose at this time to enter into any 
argument on the subject, and certainly not 
to present any opposing conjectured sPitislics. 
But we do not believe there would be any 
overplus of this wool grown, from our pres¬ 
ent number of sheep, had it no competitor 
in our markets; and with the amount of 
competing wool annually introduced .since 
the tariff of 1807 went into force—whether 
on payment of the lawful duties, or slid into 
class three by Treasury decisions, or paying 
more nominal duties on the skin, or smug¬ 
gled outright—we believe there would still 
have been no excess of the domestic clip 
had the business, and consequently the con¬ 
sumption, of our whole country been iu their 
normal condition. 
Whether the over-production is real or 
only apparent, or whether, if now real, it 
rests only on transient causes, is not the 
present question. We undertake to say that 
even in the present stale of things—with 
washed wool at the barn worth, say, forty 
cents a pound—the growing of such fleeces 
ns those recently clipped at the Alexander, 
Spencerport, and IToneoye public shearings, 
is fully as remunerative as the average of 
other agricultural staples—more remunera¬ 
tive than the 18fi!) product of wheat, barley, 
potatoes and various other crops. Wool is 
not sinking or even remaining stationary in 
price. Forty cents now means more money 
than it meant last year, and still more than 
it, did in the several preceding years. 
There is but one contingency in which 
the wool of first-class American Merinos can 
cease to he remunerative, and that is the 
adoption of free trade in wool, or, what 
practically means the same tldi/g, conform¬ 
ing the duties on it to vvliat. is termed a reve¬ 
nue standard. After that would, indeed, 
“ coma the deluge." It would sweep all fine 
wool growing out of the land. But this wo 
(to not believe is a supposahlc contingency. 
Stultification and suicidal mania cannot go 
so far. But. we have a wholly unanticipated 
evasion of the present tariff law (importing 
wool on the skin) which, so far as it goes, 
substantially establishes free trade. The 
House of Representatives readily enough 
adopted an amendment in the tariff bill, 
now before that body, which would prevent 
the possibility ot such an evasion in future; 
hut, from present appearances, it is probable 
that the whole bill will go over the session, 
H this is the case, it will bring loss and 
damage to our growers Lo a considerable ex- 
tint, but with the knowledge they now 
have that the amendment is sure to pass 
when any amendments of the tariff pass 
Congress, it is hardly probable that 
manufacturers will embark so generally in 
wool sheep only can be grown profitably. 
We luvve mentioned these too recently to 
leave it, necessary to repeat them here 
The reaction from the high prices of sheep 
and wool during the war, produced a disap¬ 
pointment and degree of temporary loss, 
which, particularly among new men in the 
business, led to a state or feeling made up 
about equally of panic and disgust. Im¬ 
provement, ceased in two-thirds or three- 
quarters of the Merino flocks of the country, 
which were spared from the knife, and many 
were crossed with the mutton breeds. Fine 
wool husbandry was “ demoralized." As it, 
gradually recovers, there must be a demand 
for choice sheep to re-establish improve¬ 
ment. The “fancy prices" will not return, 
except in some peculiar exigency which the 
future may or may not develop; but. good 
prices—prices which will pay for waiting for 
them—will inevitably return. 
SHEEP-SHEARING AT HONEOYE. 
Hon. 11. S. Randall On the 11th day 
of May instant, the Union Wool Growers’ 
Society of Livingston and Ontario counties, 
N. Y,, held their annual show and shearing 
at lloneoye. The day was fine and t he show 
excellent; indeed, among the very best, as 
was to lie expected from a locality which 
thus far has produced the heaviest fleeces 
and the largest amount of scoured wool to 
the fleece, on record. 
Although the season had been such that 
farmers were the busiest getting in their 
crops, the attendance showed that, the in¬ 
terest, in wool growing and line sheep still 
lives, at least in Western New York. There 
were over thirty entries, and perhaps sixty 
or sixty-five animals. Brunson and Mau- 
HINER, of East Bloomfield, were there,— 
representing one of the best, flocks in the 
State,- with theirMtock rams, yearling ewes, 
and ewes and lambs; Levi Noble, with Ins 
two famous rams; Pitts & Shout, with 
ewes and lambs, and stock from their heavy 
shearing rams; and .5. C. Short, 8. P. Reed, 
P. P. Barnard, Ray Brothers, T. II. 
Wheeler, N. W. Thomas, Duston Broth¬ 
ers were among the exhibitors, and each 
with specimens from their flocks, of which 
New York may well he proud. 
With John P. Ray ns President, and P. 
I*. Barnard as Superintendent, the arrange¬ 
ment was such as to insure one of the pleas¬ 
antest, shows that l have attended. 
1, cannot trespass upon you by a descrip¬ 
tion of each animal, hut they were all good. 
A yearling ram, owned by Brunson, Mar* 
kineu & Ray, was one of great promise, as 
you will see by the record of shearing, given 
below. 
The yearling wether, sheared by Gideon 
Pitts, with a weight of carcass of eighty- 
three pounds, and a fleece of eighteen pounds 
five and one-half ounces, exceeds anything 
in my experience. 
The following is the record of shearing; 
Owners. 
> 
w 
© 
<D 
<D 
o 
9 
Sr 
?,A 
19 
Xi 
*>» 
o 
•H) 
”1 
Charles Stone. 
Yearling ewe... 
do. do. 
Two-year-old ewe. 
'I’lifee-rear-old ewe.... 
John I*. Ray. 
VearlliiK ewe. 
Two-year-old ewe. 
One ewe, yearling. 
Brunson A Marriner. 
Yearling owe. 
B licit 2 nar-oUl. 
Utdeon I'lttri. 
Wether VS m, 22U. 
Nathan Tlimoas, 
Kwe- 3-veai-old. 
T. It, Wheeler. 
Rmn3-y ear-old. 
Thomas & Swuu. 
Hun.. 
Charles Reed. 
Ram S-rour-old. 
Brunson, Marriner it Ray. 
Ram 13 months old_ 
lloneoye, N. Y., 1870. 
lb.-oz. 
lb.-07.. 
1 year 
13 in. 
I y. Oil. 
I y. Id. 
M 
67 
81W 
90 9k 
15 12 U 
b its 
10 8 
13m. 27(1. 
1 year. 
14m. 3(1. 
117 8 
70 8 
03 
12 S'A 
15 10 
13 7k 
63 
111 8 
10 3k 
21 7 
13m. 23d. 
83 8 
18 5K 
83 4 
17 12k 
125 
23 9k 
137 4 k 
21 Ik 
100 
22 9 
88 
19 
P. 
GRAZING HOGS. 
A correspondent of the Rural Messenger, 
who seems to know what he is talking about, 
writes as follows; 
“ i yet notice many consider grass only as 
an aid, and not sufficient to take hogs through 
summer without grain. This is a mistake. 
If hogs are in a good thriving condition, they 
will do well and grow finely on a pasture of 
good mixed grasses, without any corn. If 
fed any, it should he slop, and not dry feed. 
Some farmers feed two or three ears per hog 
daily. This only makes a fool of them, and 
instead of grazing, they lie around, waiting 
for feeding lime. 
“To handle hogs to the best advantage, a 
pasture is needed, of mixed grasses, clover, 
blue grass and timothy, and it is best if there 
is no running water or stock pond in the lot. 
Hogs do better where there are no branches 
or stock ponds to wallow in. In place there¬ 
of, have good well water primped for them. 
Have troughs made, and nail strips across, 
eight inches apart, to keep the hogs from 
lying down in the water, and let these hogs 
be put on floors, to keep them from dig¬ 
ging wallowing holes. If any feed ho given, 
it should tie soaked in swill barrels for twelve 
hours before feeding—no longer—and fed to 
them as drink. 
“ It has linen a customary thing to graze 
hogs until oats began to ripen, and then turn 
upon thorn. Where land is cheap and plenty, 
this may pay, hut not where land should 
yield from four to five dollars per acre. Oats 
put hogs in a flue thriving condition to take 
on corn feeding, but they do not pay as a 
fattening feed. I have never been able to put 
more than ten pounds a month on hogs fed 
on oats. Oats may be valuable used thus 
for spring pigs. Turn the sow and pigs on 
the oats together for a fortnight, and then 
separate the sows from the pigs, and let the 
pigs run on the oats, and hack to the lots, 
where they should have slop twice a day. 
In this manner the pigs miss less their wean¬ 
ing, and are furnished with a food the most 
rich iu the elements of growth of all grain, 
at a time when the heat of July and August, 
impairs the vigor and appetite of young slock. 
“ The handling of the hog has two distinct 
periods. First, of growl 1^,-und next of fat¬ 
tening. It is in proportion to the excellence 
of all those t rails that constitute capacity for 
rapid growth, that the success of the second 
period hinges. To increase the tendency of 
a breed of hogs to take on fat early, you de¬ 
crease the qualities that contribute to size 
and development. And if for the purpose 
of securing a tendency to large growth, you 
breed with that exclusive idea, you have a 
hog of tine constitution, and chiefly valuable 
for the length of his life, and worthless, so 
far as a fattening, corn-paying animal is 
desired. 
“ It is desirable that the period of growth 
that retards a largo tendency to fattening, 
should not he extended more than from ten 
to fourteen months; and the reverse, that the 
tendency to fat and retard growth should not 
begin before the age named. 1 do not wish 
to convoy the idea that a hog should not 
grow alter ten or twelve months, or should 
not fatten readily before that period. 1 mean 
to enforce the idea that at or near a year old, 
t he characteristics of a given breed of hogs 
should he that by pressing the matter of 
feeding, the hog would take on fat rapidly, 
to the exclusion of too much growth, and if 
the feeder should, on the contrary, want to 
hold the hog several months longer, lie could 
so arrange the feeding that the hog would 
yet go on in growth as much as desired. 
“In this matter of having a hog that will 
thrive and grow on our summer grasses, to 
the highest possible point, is one of the most 
important considerations to swine raisers, 
i hope to see, before many years, large pre¬ 
miums offered for the best show of grazed 
swine, as well as for the 4 fattest hog.’ A hog 
that gains one pound extra over other breeds, 
on grass, is worth more to us than the hog 
that makes a double gain oil corn only. 
“ Remember that while an acre of corn 
costs twelve dollars, an acre of grass costs 
but three dollars and a-lmlfl" 
-♦♦♦- 
PIG-PEN PARAGRAPHS. 
A Couple ot* Disenaeil I’Ikm. 
A Concord, N. II., correspondent of the 
Rural New Yorker put two pigs in sepa¬ 
rate pens last fall, and fed them all the cooked 
middlings they would eat. The last of 
December the sow began to have fits—would 
throw her head up, run back and fall down ; 
lie about two minutes, get up, go to the 
trough and eat. lie cut a slit in the top of 
her head, put therein a tcaspoonful of salt 
and one of saltpeter. She was not troubled 
until the last of March when she died after 
having a number of similar attacks. She was 
lame in her bind feet, was fleshy when she 
died hut did not appear to grow any after 
the first attack. The other pig did not grow 
but appeared well until the middle of March, 
when he began to be lame in both hind feet; 
the hoofs spread apart, the fetlocks set upon 
the floor; appeared to he weak in the joints; 
yet he ate well. The pens were kept clean, 
dry and warm, with good bedding. “ Can 
any one give me a cause and remedy for the 
trouble ?” 
ricntific anir 
FALLACIOUS TESTS OF NEW 
INVENTIONS. 
The Butler Co., Ohio, flours. 
Jonx 8. Marshall writes us that the 
average ago (see page !?14, Rural May 14,) 
of tlie Butler Co., Ohio hogs of which he sent 
us weights, was twenty months. The weights 
of the two largest at that age were, respec¬ 
tively, 985 and 840 pounds. 
To I* rove ill I loir* Iti ■ i utr Each Ollier. 
A correspondent of the Prairie Farmer 
says:—“Fifteen years ago I began feeding a 
large number of hogs on floored pens around 
a flouring mill, and they commenced biting 
each other. One hog would give another a 
bite, when he would run and squeal, and 
each hog he passed near would give him a 
bite, and thus they kept the poor animal 
going until lie died. 1 would go to the pen 
and stop them, hut they would soon com¬ 
mence again. I concluded they were fever¬ 
ish, which made them restless, and they just 
hit each other for the want, of something to 
cool their fever. I tried a variety of reme¬ 
dies, and at length I tried feeding stove coal, 
which l found a complete remedy. 1 have 
continued ever since to feed my hogs all the 
coal they would eat, and have never had 
any more trouble with their biting each 
other.” 
arm 
WILL IT PAY TO FARM? 
fi 
{|c0U0mg. 
If a false balance is an abomination, a de¬ 
ceitful test of a new invent ion is much more 
so. In the course of a somewhat lengthened 
experience we have so frequently met with 
parlies who attempted to puff new inven¬ 
tions by means of fallacious tesla, that we 
have ceased to wonder Unit even very intel¬ 
ligent men are sometimes deceived by the 
pretension of charlatans. These fellows will 
prove to your satisfaction that Iho most dan¬ 
gerously explosive burning fluid is perfectly 
safe; that some new motor which they are 
exhibiting is ahead of anything ever invent¬ 
ed, and so on, ad infinitum. And, unless 
you are thoroughly posted on the special 
subject under consideration, they will suc¬ 
ceed in deceiving you. 
In a recent issue of the New York Evening 
Post we met a paragraph in which was de¬ 
scribed a lest between artificial ice and natur¬ 
al lee, iu which, of course, the artificial ice 
came out ahead. “ It was colder. That is to 
say, machinery outdoes nature in making ice 
that, is long in melting.” Now, ice as made 
by machinery, is not usually better than ice 
prepared by uature.duringacold winter. For 
special purposes ice can, by artificial menus, 
he made so cold as to outlast any natural ice, 
but then the process is expensive. The 
greatest natural cold ever observed was 
lower than (10 J below zero. We have fre¬ 
quently manufactured ice which was much 
colder than this, hut then it cost a good deal 
to do it. 
Yen, Sir! 
I KNEW ft young man who bought fifty 
acres of land in 1850. One-half of it was wet 
most of the year, SO that nothing would grow 
on it. He borrowed the money to make the 
first payment. He, minded not the scoffs of 
those who owned good farms, then paid 
for, but have since sold out and run out. 
He has since added seventy-five acres to 
the first fifty, and now owns one hundred 
and twenty acres of good land iu Western 
New York, with a good stock of cattle, good 
buildings, good team, farm well fenced, and 
everything in good order around him. 1 
wonder how he did it. So do others. I will 
tell you. 
He took Moore’s Rural New-Yorker 
in 1851, read useful articles on underdrain¬ 
ing, and adopted tlie plan. lie went, to work 
with a will. Ills motto was “Excelsior." 
lie soon found that lie had a deep, rich soil 
that had not been exhausted by cropping. 
Ho read many useful articles on the tillage 
of the soil, and commenced the work of cul¬ 
tivation. He raised good crops, took the 
leading papers of the State; kept well posted 
in the markets; sold his grain, when ready, 
at the market, price, never waiting for an un¬ 
known purchaser to give him a lew dollars 
more ; paid up his debts as fast as lie could, 
and stopped interest; bought good farming 
tools of the latest Improvement,; kept his 
stock growing night and day, winter and 
summer; sold it when ready for the market; 
piled his manure when llirown from the sta¬ 
ble, and drew it. on the farm before the snow 
went oil’ in the spring, securing the benefit of 
it tlie first year; took a step forward each 
year; dealt honestly with every man; lent 
to him that would borrow; gave to the poor, 
helped to support the gospel, and secured a 
reputation among men that defied the powers 
of darkness. That is the way lie did it. 
Oran, N. Y. A FARMER. 
Remarks. -That, is what nnv man with 
the same will and sagacity may do, if lie lias 
good health. We print the foregoing be¬ 
cause it is a compendious statement of true 
farm economy. 
-- 
ECONOMICAL NOTES. 
Steam lor Cooking Feed for Stock. 
A correspondent of tlie Ohio Farmer 
writes: — “My only successful way of cook¬ 
ing meal without burning is by steam under 
pressure. Even for potatoes or roots I would 
also recommend steam, as tlie feed is much 
nicer, to say nothing of extracting the poi¬ 
sonous substance in the skin of the potato 
by steam, which runs away with the con¬ 
densed water, nence steaming potatoes is 
far preferable to boiling in tlie water. A 
trial will convince any one of tlie importance 
of the above suggestions.” 
Preparing and Applying Manure. 
Manure should necer he applied to a gar¬ 
den until after it is well rotted. If compost¬ 
ed, it is much better for almost every pro¬ 
duction. Much lias been said about the ma¬ 
terials of the compost heap. I would cau¬ 
tion every man against stripping the woods 
of their top dressing of leaves. Let them 
decay in their place ; hut, we have large de¬ 
posits of muck in low places. These should 
he removed to the manure heap. 
All low, wet places should he drained, and 
thereby rendered fertile. If so treated, they 
foioi tlie best location for corn and timothy 
grass and red-lop, — Indeed, the very host 
meadow.—R ufus Feet. 
It is an easy matter to make ice ns cold as 
may he desired within certain limits. The 
question is not whether we can do it-, hut 
what does it cost? And this is one of the 
difficulties of the ease. It is easy to reduce 
water to JO'or 26°, and so convert it into 
ice; hut when wo try to reduce this ice to 
zero, we find that it costs much more to 
carry the thermometer from 20' to 20°, than 
it did to carry it from 46“ to 40°. Theoreti¬ 
cally it should hot cost any more; practical¬ 
ly, it costs a great deal more—a result that, is 
due cliicily to the effects produced by the 
surrounding bodies, being so much warmer, 
and thus carrying off the cold so much more 
rapidly than they would otherwise do. 
We do not bring these arguments special¬ 
ly against the ice machines, which are really 
useful and valuable inventions, but we in¬ 
stance them as cases in which the necessity 
for a full examination of all the circum¬ 
stances is apparent. The same holds true iu 
regard to most machines and processes. It 
will he found that the advocates of almost nil 
these novelties have some incomplete or fal¬ 
lacious test that is calculated to give an im¬ 
pression far more favorable than the actual 
circumstances will warrant. 
-♦ ♦ » - — - 
USEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC ITEMS. 
A Simple Melil for Beeswax. 
Wrap any smooth paper around a round 
stick, and pour the melted wax into the 
mold. When cold, tear off tlie paper, and 
you have a smooth, nice stick of wax, to he 
cut into any desired lengths. 
Aii Eli ipse 
is produced by placing two pins at suita¬ 
ble distances apart.. Tie with a string a 
loose loop to inclose both pins; then, with a 
pencil, run around within the loop, keeping 
it tight, and a perfect form is produced. A 
little practice will enable a person to arrange 
tlie position of the pins and the size of tlie 
loop so as to make an ellipse of any pro¬ 
portions. 
(Hiclip nml Effectual Window Fioiuuilinr. 
Villains will find their way to the coun¬ 
try, and as many houses iu the country arc 
without window fastenings, I would suggest 
one simple and almost costless. Take a few 
inches of wire and bend at one end a ring 
to attach a string to, to hang to the Hindi or 
window frame; with a gimlet make a few 
holes to insert the wires in the sash and 
frame at such places as will allow the sash 
to be fastened whether closed, or down for 
ventilation. 
An Item for Experimenting Boys. 
With a knife split in two parts a well¬ 
shaped hickory nut; carefully pick out all 
the kernel or meat, without breaking any 
part of the divisions of the shell; then, with 
a string or wire, tie the two parts together 
ns before they were split, and you will have 
a capital mold in which to run melted lead, 
after making a hole at the top of the nut to 
pour it iu. Tlie effect of tlie bright shining 
metal in tlie form of the original kernel is 
very pleasing. 
To Remove a Cork from the Inside of a 
Bottle. 
With a stout string projected into tlie 
bottle, turn the bottle around until the cork 
is caught in a loop of the string, and with 
force pull out the intruder.—w. n. 
