iljccj) Ijusbanbri). 
H. S. RANDALL, LL. D., EDITOR, 
Qf COBTI.AND VlLI.AOR, CORT!.AND COUNTY, N* w ^ORK. 
LEICESTER SHEEP AND LONG 
WOOLS. 
In the absence of editorial matter this ^ ‘ 
week, we clip the following from the Michi- ^ 
gan Farmer without vouching for its state- 
nients: that 
We have nothing that exposes the means . 
resorted to by breeders to mystify the pub- ln ^j 
lie in the way of sheep breeding, that is re 1 
better than the following plain talk, taken ' ' 
from a pamphlet published on sheep breed- p0 ‘ 
ing by a distinguished Irish breeder, who 
has given considerable attention to the im¬ 
provement of the long wooled sheep. The 
following dialogue is very spicy and instruct- 1 ' ^ 
ive, and is supposed to have occurred in ^ 
Dublin, where the adaptation of that conn- \ 
try to raising long wooled sheep was under ; ' 
discussion. The parties are Mr. Gammon 
and Mr. Sheepshanks: ( 
Gammon .—Now tell me, Mr. Sheepshanks, ^ 
what I am seriously about to ask you. I low 
many pure breeds of long wooled sheep l( 
does England now really produce? a * j 
Sheep.— Two. The Dorsets and other 
Horns excepted. a j|. 
Gam .—Is that all? ftCC 
Sheep.—I believe so. mo 
Gam .—And what are they ? f 
Sheep .—Leicesters and Cots wolds. ( 
Gam .—You amaze me; first in regard to ( 
Leicesters, your opinion is that there is only ' 
one kind of thoroughbred? 
Sheep .—Most assuredly the Leicester is as (A] 
unmistakable as the Arabian horse. Any * 
other Leicester partakes rather of the Arabian 
Nights, or, if you will, of that figure in 
rhetoric under which your profession is re- 
cognized. 
Gam .—You believe, then, that Border Lei¬ 
cester, Yorkshire Leicester, and Improved ^ 
Leicester- 
Sheep .—Are mere terms of huckstering (1,f 
clap-trap; beard for the first time, and soon P e 
—if she disapproves being laughed at—to be 
heard for the last time in Ireland. 
Gam .—Are you acquainted with the soil mi 
and climate of this country, Mr. Sheep- 
shanks ? 
Sheep.— Partly. j, 
Gam .—And what do you think of them ? 
Sheep. —Why, that the Southern and West- 
ern provinces are both equal to any in the 
three kingdoms for the production of wool 
and mutton. V 
Gam .—You think, then, that what the 1,1 
eloquent and refined Carlisle termed the n 
“ weeping skies”- lu 
Sheep .—Will do no harm whatever to the »> 
sheep they weep on, if you only put, as we r 
do, something inside ’em. 
Gam. —Good. My next inquiry will be: 01 
Are you acquainted wilh our native breeds 
of sheep? 
Sheep .—I am. 
Gam— Tell me your belief in them? 
Sheep. —I believe in the wise arrangements 
of Providence, and in the instincts of ages 
thus far; that every spot of earth upon which 
we find a race of animals showing healthy * 
constitutions, and a high quality of food, that 
upon that race should its future dynasty be 
founded. 
Gam.—Then you would not attempt the f 
pure breeding of either of the two distinc¬ 
tions you refer to in Ireland? t 
Sheep .—Most certainly not. , 
Gam.—And which would you prefer to 
cross with ? 
Sheep .—Yon don’t ask that question se- \ 
liously, do you ? 
Gam.—Why not seriously? 
Sheep .—Because the whole sheep breeding 
community have already answered it. 
Gam .—I understand; but do you say that 
you have only two distinct breeds of long 
wooled sheep in Great Britain? 
Sheep.— No; I did not say that. 
Gam. —What, then, did you say? 
Sheep .—1 said we had only two pure 
breeds. 
Gam .—How about the Lincoln? 
Sheep .—The Lincoln has a distinction, 
and a high one *, but he cannot be said to he 
pure, inasmuch as he owes it all to what 
Mr. Partner calls the visits of the Leicesters. 
Gam.—I* that a fact ? 
Sheep. —Yes. You may lay all Ireland 
upon it, and throw Connaught in for luck; 
and, what is more, you make take the same 
bet upon every improved breed of long 
■wools in England, Ireland and Scotland. 
Gam .—That is, indeed, saying a great deal 
i for the Leicester; but how do you account, 
under it, for the enormous high rates ob- 
{ tained for the Lincoln sires? 
{ Sheep .—Where the first .judges of Eng- 
and then, again, it has been so skillfully and 
carefully managed by the Lincoln breeders, 
that they have succeeded iu imparting shape 
and touch, which they had not, without de- i 
s troy ing that which they hud, and were al- - 
ways, for wool and size, and which now give 
them a position above all other cross breeds. 
Gam .—What is your opinion, Mr. Sheep¬ 
shanks, of the Cota wold, as a general sire? 
Sheep.—YU is a noble specimen of bis race, 
but he has not been successful as a sire out 
of bis own class and district. 
Gam .—I think I understood you to say 
that you would not recommend pure breed¬ 
ing, or close breeding, even of Leicesters, in 
Ireland ? 
Sheep. —No, nor of any other foreign im¬ 
portation. 
Gam, —Why? 
Sheep .—Because it has been tried in almost 
every country, aud in almost every country 
it luis failed. 
Gam .—Do you say so? 
Sheep.— Yes; and in the case of the Lei¬ 
cester, failed to a degree that alone gives the 
lie to these impudent pretensions of the Bor¬ 
der gentleman. 
Gum.—How ? 
Sheep .—How ? Why in every case where 
the pure breeding of the Leicester has been 
attempted, and a fertile genius, and an equal¬ 
ly fertile soil and climate, brought to assist 
the art, he has, in spite of all, grown gradu¬ 
ally less; but if this Northern story is to he 
accepted, lie has there, in his purity, grown 
more strong and large. 
Oam .—What nature, then, do you assign 
to this Border Leicester? 
Sheep —Call him, if you please, by the 
name that he is known on his own side the 
Channel. 
Gam .—What is that? 
Sheep .—The Border sheep. 
Gam. —Well, then, this Border sheep? 
Sheep .—If he has any nationality at all, he 
is a Cheviot. 
Gam .—And liow docs that appear ? 
Sheep .—Because his grandmother, with the 
fifty G’s before her, was a Cheviot, and if he 
disowns that respectable old lady in short 
petticoats, iie is a snob. 
Gam .—You amuse me. 
Sheep .—Do I? You have plenty of amuse¬ 
ment in Ireland, if it amuses you to find an 
animal who forgets who his grandmother 
unity of action to carry out a plan of this 
kind ? 
Sheep .—By the formation of a Society 
somewhat resembling the Turt Club, and 
confining your purchases of sires to its mem- 
itigs, the reader may obtain a clearer notion 
of the form and structure of these interest¬ 
ing objects, than could be given by any more 
extended description. 
Most readers are doubtless familiar with 
rounding walls, till at length the union is so 
complete as to make it impossible to separate 
them without scaling off a part of the wall 
itself, which being attached to the exterior, 
gives to it an earthy appearance. 'Bite crys- 
dlsmissed the Club. 
Gam .—And do you think such a Society 
would take in Ireland ? 
Sheep.—Not, a doubt about it, if it was 
established on a sound foundation, and tied 
together with something more substantial 
and something more useful than “ red tape.” 
Gam. —Very good. And now about Lei¬ 
cester No. 4, the Improved Leicester? 
Sheep .—“ Improved" is a word in which 
there is great virtue, and may be made Lo 
mean anything or nothing. If there is any 
such animal at all, he is to be found in the 
lot last described, and you may give the title 
if you like to the Border sheep, if you prove 
by experience that his connection with the 
Cheviot justifies it. It is a term hard to dis¬ 
pute when claimed by sportsmen for the 
cross of a gray iiottnd with a bull-dog. 
Gam.— Then, if 1 understand you, Mr. 
Sheepshanks, the sheep known as the Eng¬ 
lish Leicester- 
Sheep .—Ta the only true Leicester. 
Gam .—The Border? 
Sheep.—A Cheviot bred iu and in to the 
Leicester. 
Gam .—The Lincoln? 
blue vitriol, as the liquid will take up, and 
then allowing the vessel containing it to rest 
where it may cool slowly and undisturbed. 
When a sufficient time has elapsed, if we 
pour the liquor off carefully the sides of the 
vessel will be found to he lined with a coal ¬ 
ing of crystals, of a shape and color depend 
ing upon the nature of the substance dis¬ 
solved. The law which governed their 
formation is so certain and constant in ils 
operation as t,o enable an expert to deter¬ 
mine at once not only their general charac¬ 
ter, hut when aided by a sufficiently charac¬ 
teristic color, the substance itsell may be 
recognized and named. The branch of sci¬ 
ence which treats of the nature and operation 
of these laws is known as Crystalography, 
and constitutes one of the most interesting 
and absorbing departments of scientific re¬ 
search. 
In order to render the application of our 
experiment, more directly apparent, let us 
suppose the vessel which is to contain the 
saturated solution, to be an ordinary spheri¬ 
cal fish globe, the walls of which, when 
lined with crystals of alum or other white 
substance, will present an appearance so 
Sheep .— Still a Lincoln improved by the strikingly similar to the Interior cavity of have noted 
some of that already within. At bust some 
internal convulsion of the earth, or more 
often, the constant wearing of some over¬ 
running stream, lays hear the Geode, and 
carries it in itscurrcnt to be deposited in the 
clay of the river bottom, or buried by the 
freshet deep in the meadow lauds. 
We now consider the process by which the 
Hetmtrla, or “Turtle Stoiies,” 
are formed, to account for which, it is only 
needful to consider that the nodule which we 
have inclosed in its rocky prison, is of a na¬ 
ture to reeiet the action of water. It. is, then, 
evident, that when the solution wo have men¬ 
tioned comes iu contact with its rounded or 
broken sides, it must be content to deposit its 
treasure of crystal gi-ms along the walls of 
the crevices by which it is divided; and iu 
case these do not reach the surface, access is 
gained through the pores; for the hardest of 
rocks are, ta a degree, porous. Slowly the 
crevices fill, till the crystals meet, and inter¬ 
lap so closely as to close up the channels, 
when, instead of crystal lined crevices, we 
have a series of crystallne lines, differing in 
color and substance from the main body, 
giving to its surface the resemblance we 
Leicester. 
Gam .—The Yorkshire Leicester? 
Sheep.— Still a Leicester enlarged by a 
Lincoln. 
itiintific antr ftsrftd. 
GEODES AND SEPTARIA: 
Sliowiuir How I hoy are FomiumI, and Why 
they are Found Whore they Olieu are. 
Ttat Wctrtle old lady la short It b probable that many of our road,™ 
..., . have discovered, either in the bed ot some 
pe.acoi , • „ ‘ stream which watered their farms, or pro- 
Shee.p —Do I? You have plenty of amuse- jectingfrom the walls of clay or slate through 
meat in Ireland, if it amuses you to find an which it has cut ^ 
animal who forgets who his grandmother colored stones, which, in addition to a 
marked regularity of outline, present sui- 
was. ° J 
Gow.—Good, IVlr. Sheepshanks, very goocb 
of g the first position, at tbe bead of which, I pw l _*-«f )nE8 
hell,-vo, stand. *• w fac M , liter smooth or crossed by numerous 
many prises at tho Royal Societyof England. d intenewtog lines, diffinrlng in 
There are also n it some goodmen -who ^ majn bod and sfl regularly 
carryout the plan ot the Lincoln breeders „ K „, ve t „ u, e whole a decided 
on the reverse principle. resemblance to tbe shell of a turtle, for which 
Ofira. That is by adoptog a Lincoln ? familiarly known a, “ Turtle 
Sheep. Precisely. n 
Gan i.—And with what resu ts . The interest which tlieir external appear- 
tbe Geode, us to justify the conclusion that After all this come the rains and drouths 
the formation of each was due to the opera- of our era, loosening the exterior wall and 
lions of one and the same law. Admitting filling in tin! crevices which the crystals may 
this, we find our interest transferred from have left; aud then tli« flood tearing away 
the Geode itself, to the miniature concern in the surrounding rocks, and bearing away 
which it has taken up its abode, the sym- oOl* "Turtle Stone,” with all its treasure of 
metrical form of which,as well as the obdu- wonders, out into the light and air, to be 
rate nature of the deposits in which it,occurs, again embedded iu the clay on the flats, or 
making this question equally interesting, scattered along the line of its advance, to be 
We have recognized iu the crystals of tlm broken open and read as we would read a 
Goede the results of a law; and a search book. And nowhere is there written with 
through Nature’s code reveals tbe presence more clearness and truth the story of an 
of another law, differing in its conditions Infinite Wisdom and Power, 
and requirements, but none the less positive That there are other causes at work to 
iu its results, under the reign of which we effect like results is also evident, among 
find particles of homogeneous matter pos- which might he named tbe decomposition 
sensed of a tendency to concrete about of previously formed crystals, most lVe- 
centers. quently those of iron pyrites, the remaining 
The existence of such a law is demon- cavities being open to the concretionary or 
strated by the inconvenience which its opera- crystallite action already explained. But 
tions frequently occasion to the porcelain we must leave all further consideration of 
manufacturers, who prepare their clay for this interesting subject to those of our read- 
the furnace by first, stirring it in water wit h ers whom investigations of this nature afford 
a given amount of powdered flint. When the a pleasure, not without its full measure of 
mixture lias scLtled it is necessary to use it profit. w - s. w. 
at once, else the particles of flint will be . _ ---- 
found to have collected together, forming ra , 
small round Jumps throughout the mass, 0 1)0 
thus rendering it useless for the desired pur- uh o < espX 
pose. In this simple fact we have a key to ° - -- : 
our second problem. SWARMING, NOT DIVIDING. 
It, is evident, for many and sufficient rea- - 
sons, that the slate and clay beds which The subject of natural and artificial 
oftenest contain these stones were once in a swarming is debated in the Rural New- 
semi-fluid state. During their deposition, it Yorker; I shall not take sides, but only 
is easily to he seen, reasoning from analogy, gay that, a few years ago I took seven hives 
how any foreign substances present, might, on shares, making the hives and giving half 
in obedience to this second law, separate the proceeds, but I found I was the loser; 
themselves from the surrounding mass, and 8f) x bought them, and since that I have sold 
banding together as if in anticipation of the from two to six hives each spring, and now 
rough usage before them, assume a form have sixty on hand, good and strong. I 
best adapted to a stout resistance. have transferred some swarms, but never 
At times these concretions are formed divided any; neither do 1 have any go to 
. about some shell, or other fossil, as a nucleus, the woods; with my mode of hiving I save 
in which case the nodule will conform, in them all, but I bear of a good many swarms 
Bome degree, to tlm shape of tho enclosed going off in our neighborhood. 'Phis season 
body. When this union is due simply to a has been extra good for honey. My bees 
1 mutual attraction, between the particles, tbe have made twelve hundred pounds cap 
resulting nodule would naturally he apheri- honey, and some of my neighbors have 
cal; hut this is often modified, either from taken more than that. —A. Wilson. 
i exterior pressure or because several spheres, Quit correspondent fails to tell how he 
Sheep — The same happy ones that have ‘7 » ow ftn y suosiances praw m.gui, 0 n snares, rawing > 
Micfwriad the reverse cross • they keep what ! anco h&turally excites, is gicatly enlmn . , jn obediGiico to this second law, separate the proceeds, but I 
H, ft v alwavs had from the’dam —to and I whe . n wc ccm ? id ? r U . ln connection wft i m tUcmselve9 from the surrounding mass, and 80 x bought them, a 
they always had from the dam —shape and 
touch, and get what they had not—wool and 
size. They seem, in fact, two families made 
for each other. 
Gam .—At any rate, from your observa¬ 
tions I gather that there is really little differ¬ 
ence between a Lincoln and a Yorkshire 
Leicester. 
Sheep.—Vary little in some of the families, 
but I must not omit staling that all are not 
Yorkshire Leicesters which are bred in York¬ 
shire, and sheep have been quacked upon 
the breeders of this country as Leicesters and 
Yorkshire Leicesters, whose dams had no 
distinction whatever, aud whose sires were 
third-rate Cotswolds. 
Gam .—Is it possible 
Sheep.— I’ll vouch for it. Yorkshire is still 
Yorkshire, and to deal with her, you must he 
“ Yorkshire too.” 
Gam .—But how can men of moderate 
judgment, or we will say with no judgment, 
escape these quackeries, as you call them, 
and avoid buying a bad animal? 
Sheep .—Just ns I avoid buying a bad bat. 
I know nothing of tbe hat, but I take care to 
know something of tlie hatter. 
Gam.—Very good. A sound maxim, to 
be sure. 
Sheep .—The chief opportunity for these 
quacks arises out of the absence of that reg¬ 
istry of animals which the herd-book fur¬ 
nishes in the case of Short-Horns. You have 
bedded in the clayey soil of the meadow 
lands, or scattered along the stony bed of a 
stream, surrounded by rocks and boulders of 
an entirely different character and compo¬ 
sition; hut having solved the problem pre¬ 
sented in the peculiarity of their structure, 
the question of locality will he a less difficult 
one. to answer. 
Before entering upon our investigations 
respecting the origin of these formations, 
which are generally known as Septaria, or 
fl.be tartan. 
SWARMING, NOT DIVIDING. 
The subject of natural and artificial 
s had from the dam— nhape and vv " . .._ - themselves irom toe surrounding mass, uuu 8 o l bought them, ana since imu. i n 
cet what they had not—wool and localily in wllich they ar ? bitenest. found, han(lin g together as if in anticipation of the f rom t wo to six hives each spring, s 
/seem in fact two families made aud the Character of their internal structure, rough UBfti , e before them, assume a form have sixty on hand, good and sti 
lh -_ ’ ’ occurring, as they frequently do, either cm- best adapted to a stout resistance. have transferred some swarms, bn 
At times these concretions are formed divided any; neither do 1 have any go to 
about some shell, or other fossil, as a nucleus, the woods ; with my mode of hiving I save 
in which case tho nodule will conform, in them all, but I hear of a good many swarms 
some degree, to the shape of tho enclosed going off in our neighborhood. 'Phis season 
body. When this union is due simply to a has been extra good for honey. My bees 
mutual attraction between the particles, tbe have made twelve hundred pounds cap 
resulting nodule would naturally he spheri- honey, and some of my neighbors have 
cal; hut this is often modified, either from taken more than that.—A. Wilson. 
exterior pressure or because several spheres, Quit correspondent fails to tell how he 
the centers of which were near together at mana gea to prevent his bees leaving him 
the outset, have, during their growth, inter- w ithouL dividing them. The fact that he 
fered with each other and gradually united ( ; oe8 ( j () is of some in forest, but the way in 
together, as in Fig. 2. 
•which lie does it would he of greater. The 
Fig. 2.—Septaria, or Turtle Stones. 
“ Turtle Stones,” we must refer to another 
class, introducing them by the less familiar 
name of 
Geodes. 
These are more often spherical in shape, 
the surfaces being rough, and marked by ir- 
Wlien this concretionary action ceases, question is not whether he can or not, how- 
and the moisture has been removed, either ever, but whether lie can make more profit 
by filtration or evaporation, tbe nodules, on f rom bj s swarms by not dividing or by di¬ 
drying, naturally crack open, the lines of v iding. 
cleavage radiating from tbe center and at ' 4 * * 
times reaching the surface. Price «r Drained Honey. 
Having now examined the process by At the meeting of the North Eastern Bee 
which crystals are formed, and accounted Keeper’s Association, Mr, Root favored non- 
for the existence of symmetrical nodules, swarming and the use ot the honey extractor, 
the interior and surfaces of which are divided Mr. Alien had sold drained honey ior a 
istry of animals which the herd-book fur- These are more often spherical in shape, shall give us the ueoae ana inc smooii •. 
nishes in the ense of Short-Horns. You have tbe surfaces being rough, and marked by ir- Septaria, or ” Turtle Stone, 
no pedigrees of the sheep, and therefore you regular depressions and projections, while If we suppose this nodule to consist of 
should, as in all such cases, look to the breed- the interior, instead of being a solid divided some clayey substance, of a nature to be 
ing character of the men, and never i*ct with- t,y intersecting lines of a crystalline struc- easily disintegrated and removed by the 
out that, caution. tnre, presents a spherical cavity, the sides of action of water, and that, there comes in con- 
Gam. —But is this easy to get at? whieh are lined with well-defined and often tact with it, either oozing out from internal 
by radiating and intersecting crevices, and Jnghor price than he could get foi box honey, 
occurring in deposits of n. different character Mr. BrcsFORD had sold three himdiud and 
, 8 . . ' ... . , ft tv v imumls of box boney for fifty cents a 
and composition, we have before us tbe task - |n( j in York, and thought extracted 
of so uniting the operations of these laws as j JOJU ,y W o , 'U fitly cents a pound, and we can 
shall give ua the Geode and the smooth-faced .i, if we only ask it. If you ask less than 
out that, caution. 
Gam.— But is this easy to get at? 
inder it, toi u K ’ Sheep .—Nothing easier; for, like the Short- beautifully-colored crystals, projecting to- 
ained for the Lincoln sires r Horn productions, the best blood is in com- ward the center, within which has occasion- 
Sheep. W ere .ie E* g- paratively few hands, ami it would be easy to ally been found a milky colored liquid, or 
obtain ill.; names or nil „!* litem, „nd confine of clay aimilar in charade-lo U,at 
lamhcnppers, 1 hav fc ? ’ your8e i V es to those and their next of kin. forming the outer wall, the existence of 
1 1 an dicappers, 1 have great taitti m figures, 
f and the weight they have, by general con- 
jkyv sent, put upon the Lincoln arises, I opine, 
from two causes First, it appears to have 
been a cross peculiarly happy iu its results; 
action of water, and that there comes in con¬ 
tact with it, either oozing out from internal 
springs, or filtering down from the surface 
above, the mineral water which holds iu 
weak solution the substance which is to form 
the crystals, the first result would be a grad¬ 
ual softening and final removing of the nod 
honey wo' th fifty cents a pound, and we can 
get ft if we only ask it. If you ask less than 
for box honey, purchasers will think it. is 
worth less. Mr. HktotsihnhtOn said that 
while in New York, lately, be heard it said 
that a better price could he obtained for 
honey if only two or three dealers sold it, 
for when it goes into the bands of commis¬ 
sion merchants who make, butler, eggs, &c. 
a specialty, they will sell honey at a low 
price at, wholesale to get it, oil their hands 
and get tlieir five per cent., as they do not 
receive honey enough to pay them for 
spending time to get tho highest price. Mr. 
Bickford said honey gathered early was 
not of so fine a flavor. Honey from dande- 
-- -- -o t I ' 1 *1 1 1 \ ’rt IlUL Ul H'.; 11 III-, <ti JUCliVVML. **«*•«. uvtwviv 
nlan would, in fact, be tbe foundation which has given to this class their name— ule, after which the second work negms, .. . X(J j w ,th white clover lioney injures 
. .1 . . « 11 .1 ll. n 1 t » 4 1 AM.rnl.dn 1 1. - .. .1 £_ 1. £ 
of a sheep herd-book. 
Qam ,—Aud how would you commence a 
the Greek Geo signifying earth. 
By referring to the accompanying engrav- 
and slowly the bright little crystals appear, its sa [ Ci aiu i ug iy worms have disgusted him 
attaching themselves securely to the sur- with box honey. 
