9. That with our prosont knowledge of cheese¬ 
making, a certain amount of fat in the milk is 
needed to make a good, palatable cheese. Hence 
excessive skimming, or a reduction of the fat in 
milk below one and a half to two per cent., is 
not to be recommended where the skimmed milk 
is to be made into cheoso, unless other fat bo 
substituted to supply the deficiency. 
SHEEP IN KANSAS. 
Prof. J. II. Lee, in an address before the 
Parmer’s Institute at Manhattan, Kansas, re¬ 
ported in the Kansas Farmer, givos some very 
interesting information in regard to sheep and 
wool growing east and west. He says: 
The Cotswold for wool and mutton, Merino 
for fine wool—this everybody says—but which 
pays best, all things considered ? Will the larger 
sheep, with coarse wool (which is longer and 
much thinner than the Merino) boar herding in 
largo numbers as well as the Merino ? I have 
had much experience in raising sheep for a period 
of noarly forty years. I began with a flock of 
about 1200, and for thiity years kept from 1200 
to 5,000, feeding hay more than half the year. 
Onr sheep in the beginning, wore what wo term 
natives—something like the Mexican, though not 
quite as coarse, destitute of wool on the belly, 
shearing about 2 14 pounds of brook-washed 
wool; about one sheep in ten was black. About 
1831 we purchased a few Spanish Merino bucks, 
also a few ewos; those bucks wore turned into a 
large flock of owes, probably one hundred ewes 
to each buck. The result was, that after a few 
years, not a sign of Merino blood remained, ox- 
cept now and then, an animal with an exceptional 
constitution sufficient to withstand the treatment 
given the flock. Not one of the full blood Mer¬ 
inos survived two years. Our sheep ran in fenced 
pastures, in flocks of 500 or 600 during the sum¬ 
mer, and were wintered in flocks of 150 to 200, 
fed at stacks, on bay inado from a good quality 
of grass, but much of it cut late, after the seed 
began to fall. No shelter was provided except¬ 
ing such as was afforded by the stack, aud some¬ 
times a natural shelter of wood. Water was not 
considered ossontial when snow was accessible. 
Our average loss was, at that time, from 15 to 25 
per cent. 
A few years later, when flue wool was in de¬ 
mand, we introduced, quite extensively, a lot of 
Saxony bucks, of very flue quality of wool, but 
what would now bo considered very light lloeco. 
These had about the same effect upon the flock 
that the Merinos had, but being more numer¬ 
ously introduced, and perhaps u little more care 
bestowed upon them, a greater infusion of their 
blood was visible, though the mortality increased 
largely about this time. These sheep being 
light-fleeced and of slender constitution, our loss 
was about equal to tho increase, and diseases came 
with the new breeds that wore unknown to us 
beforo. Some years, in particular, our loss was 
fully 50 per cent. Tho greatest wonder now, is 
that any survived the treatment. In time we 
imported a lot of Leicestershire bucks and owes, 
by way of Quebec, through a friend, who sent 
out lumber to England and brought the sheep 
on a returning vessel. These we proved would 
not prosper wbon mixed with other sheep in 
largo flocks, and subjected to such treatment as 
wo gave them, although at this time we had 
slowly commenced improvement, furnishing 
open sheds to lambs aud breeding owes. Our 
sheds were 12 or 14 feet wide, open on the side 
fronting south or east, really no better than a 
good tight fence as a windbreak, the accommo¬ 
dations being insufficient for more than half the 
flook. 
During the prevalence of the scab in our flocks, 
which lasted several years, all kiuds of remedies 
were resorted to, aud many quacks employed, 
mostly foreigners, who generally used some 
kind of ointment, rubbing it on by band, but at 
last we learned that tobacco would do the work 
as nothing else would; and now, if 1 Lada flock, 
large or small, I would dip them at once in a 
strong decoction of tobacco, if infected with scab, 
no matter how cold the weather-though I would 
prefer a warm or mild day. I have dipped them 
in January with the thermometer at zero with 
perfect success. Using 100 pounds of good ping 
tobacco on 200 stout Merino wethers; much less 
would do when the wool is shorter and care taken 
to squeeze tho wool before letting the sheep go. 
Sheep husbandry in Vermont is now confined to 
very narrow limits; only a few flocks remain of 
the thousands kept a few years ago, these being 
mostly thoroughbred Merinos, with a few flocks 
of the long wool. Our open sheds are done away 
with, and warm bams or close sheds have taken 
th6ir place. 
The average loss is not greater among onr 
sheep than in our herds of cattle, and instead of 
2 1-4 pounds of brook-washed wool, of forty 
years ago, we get from five to ten lbs. Have 
tired the Southdowns aud Cotswold, the former 
of which gave us the best profit of any breed; 
excellent for mutton, but of no account for wool. 
Cotswold, I think, are among the best of the 
loug-wool sheep. And now lot me say wbat 1 
think, but few will agreo with me in, viz: that 
with my experience, give me a high grade Mo- 
rino, both for wool and mutton. I think mutton 
from high grade Merinos, will pay as much for 
the feed, as from any breed with which I have 
experimented. I am fully convinced that good, 
warm, dry, well-ventilated quarters, with suit¬ 
able feed aud water always accessible, will do 
much to acclimate sheep, oven those bought in 
Missouri or Iowa. 
-»♦» - - 
HABITS OF ANGORA GOATS. 
A gentleman in Tasmania, who has had some 
practice in rearing and managing the Angora 
Goat, gives his experience at length in tho pro¬ 
ceedings of the Itoyal Society of Tasmania, from 
which wo extract tho following which may in¬ 
terest somo of our readers who are thinking of 
investing in this rathor lawless kind of an aui- 
mal. 
The trouble and expense of managing a 
flock, would be loss than that required for sheep. 
Goats are much more intelligent, and loss liable 
to destruction by dogs; and as they browse more 
upon shrubs, and can climb along the butts of 
sloping trees or ascond the steepest rocks, a 
supply of food is available for them where sheep 
would starvo. Against these advantages, how¬ 
ever, must bo set the facts, that kids are far 
more helpless than lambs for the first week of 
their lives ; and Unit the does exhibit tho mater¬ 
nal instinct in a very mild form, wandering away 
from then' kids, and leaving them a prey to the 
crows, their most formidable foes. 
“ 1 have observed that, when the flock crosses 
a dead-wood fence, where tho kids cannot follow, 
the mothers do not always return to sock them. 
“No ordinary fence will restrain goats; and, 
as they nro restless, enorgetic, aud destructive, 
cultivation is not profitable in their vicinity. 
Hawthorn bodges and ornamoutal shrubs possess 
peculiar attractions for them. 
“They have great attachment for home, and 
can bo depended upon to return to their sheds at 
night. Sholter should bo provided for them, as 
they evluco groat aversion to rain, and will re¬ 
main all day under cover in wet weather. 
“Angoras are not so prolific as common goats, 
and require more attention during the breeding 
season. 
‘ ’ The flosh of goats in good condition has 
much the appearance of mutton ; but is firmer 
iu the fiber, and not (in my opinion) quite so 
palatable. 
“ The wethers accumulate large quantities of 
internal fat, which is remarkably firm and white, 
and should be a valuable tallow. 
“ The dry, heath-covered hills on our Eastern 
coast should provide sufficient food for goats, 
whore sheep cannot bo profitably kopt. 
“Gorse aud briers are eagerly sought for, and 
hedgos of either are kept carefully trimmed 
whore goats have access to them. 
“The chief ruason why the sheep have from 
early days been preferred to the goats, id that 
the latter had no fioece to bo shorn. Tho intro¬ 
duction of tho Angora would remove that ground 
of preference. 
“Ido not anticipate that goats will ever sup¬ 
plant sheep on the best grasslands of Tasmania; 
but I behove they will cause a good deal of land 
now idle and valueless to be taken up and util¬ 
ized in the production of an important article for 
manufacture or export. 
From the above wo should conclude that iu 
ordinary farming regions the Angora Goat would 
bo no more serviceable animal than the common 
goat. Ordinary fences are no barriors to these 
animals and hedges they will eat up, aud pro¬ 
tection from rain would Lave to bo provided, 
even in such a mild climate as that of Texas and 
New Mexico. 
®jjc 
CATTLE IN TEXA8. 
According to the decennial ceusns of 1870, tho 
number of neat cattle of all kinds in Texas was 
3,990,157, while in the whole of the United States 
there wore 28,074,538. At tho same date the 
population of the former was 818,579, and that 
Of the latter •'58,558,731 : so that the Lone Star 
State, with less than one forty-seventh of tho 
population of the country, possessed nearly one- 
seventb of the cattle in it. Since then the dis¬ 
proportion in population has, no doubt, been 
largely diminished by a heavier immigration into 
Texas than into the United States as a whole, 
inasmuch as, in addition to a moderate influx of 
colonists from Europe, the number of its inhab¬ 
itants has been rapidly increased by an inrush of 
the dissatisfied residents of other Southern States 
and by a considerable accession of adventurous 
immigrants from the northern parts of the coun¬ 
try. The relative ratio of cattle, howovor, has 
probably not been greatly altered, and it is there¬ 
fore a matter of no smalt Interest to learn some¬ 
thing from a trustworthy source iu relation to 
the method of pasturing, the ownership, aud the 
general management of these vast herds. 
The importation of American cattle aud moat 
into Great Britain has induced the Scotchman 
newspaper to send a special reporter to this 
country to investigate tho sources, nature and 
extent of the supply; and iu a late letter from 
San Antonio, Texas, ho givos a long account of 
the great stock farms of that State. A former 
visit to tho region described assures ns of the 
general accuracy of bis statements, and wo have 
therefore greatly condensed them for tho bene¬ 
fit of our roadors: 
Ho says truly that almost every prairie aud 
patch of wood-land In tho older portions of the 
State, carrying even modorato pasture, are over¬ 
run to a groater or loss oxtont by oattlo, while 
recently mauy thousands have been driven away 
west and north into tho frontiers to ho grazed 
on nowly-sottled lands ; but still tho groat center 
of stock-raising iu Texas—where it is carried on 
tbo most extensively, the most exclusively, and 
probably also tho most successfully—lies south- 
southeast and southwoBt of San Autonio. This 
district is very little short of 200 square miles in 
extent, is hilly and rough, and mainly covorcd 
with scrubby wood in the west, and north; “ roll¬ 
ing " and dotted with bushy mesquit wood iu the 
center and southeast, and level and bare iu the 
extreme south, whore tho soil Is very light aud 
sandy and the pasture of little value. The soil 
on tho other portions is chiefly calcareous loam, 
with a strong admixture of Rand, lime and salt, 
and on the whole it is admirably adapted for 
producing grass. Tim mesquit and ganift grasses 
—both short, tiny aud bushy—grow exceedingly 
well hero, and are sweet and nutritious, and 
retain their feeding qualities wonderfully well 
throughout the winter. So little of tho land is 
cultivated hereabouts that, with the exception 
of beef and mutton, provisions of all kinds have 
to be imported from elsowhoro. 
The rainfall is less than in the eastern regions 
of tho State, and in exceptionally dry summers 
drought causes considerable loss. In tho noigh- 
bothood of tho streams, in several counties, irri¬ 
gation has boon tried recently, and has proved 
highly Bucoessful. A very largo extent of this 
district has already been bought up; tho pur¬ 
chase price ranging from 25 cents to f?1.50per 
aero. For a very long timo the whole district 
formed one common range of pasture, to which 
every man had equal rights ; but within tho past, 
two years several farmers, with the view or facil¬ 
itating tho improvement of their stocks, have 
been fencing great portions of their possessions 
with what is called tho 11 post and plank ” fence. 
Mauy of tho larger owners are non-resident, tho 
number of squaters are few and growing but 
slowly, and hence the population of this district 
is limited and widespread. 
There are a few “ broad-acred squires" hero. 
Capt. King, Nueces County, possesses 150,000 
acres fenced, and about 200,000 unfeuoed land, 
and owns between 40,000 and 50,000 cattle and 
8,000 sheep. Capt. Kennedy, also of Nueces 
County, owns about 140,000 acres, all within 
fenco, and about 40,000 cattle; while Messrs. 
Coleman, Mathis A Fulton of Arkansas, have 
210,000 acres within fence, and own about 100,- 
000 cattle. ThiB firm, in fact, are tbo largest 
stock-owners in Texas, and may well bo so. Mrs. 
Rabb, Corpus Cbristi, has 50,000 acres inclosed, 
and owns 15,000 cattle, about one-half of her 
herd having been disposed of in one contract last 
fall at £4 a head. 
In the ranches of Texas Urn long-homed Span¬ 
ish breed of cattle bavo it all their own way. 
The animals get no food, summer or winter, but 
what they gather on the prairies and in the 
woods; and scarcely any watch is kept over 
them except in spring and fall, when the in¬ 
crease for the year is branded. All tbo herds 
within a radius of hundreds of miles mingle to¬ 
gether on the unfonoed ranges, and therefore it 
becomes imperative on every individual owner 
to have a distinct brand for himself. Those 
brands have to be registered with the State offic¬ 
ials, and are advertised hi certain newspapers, 
and generally consist of one, two or more letters 
often joined in strange fantastical forms. One 
man may have several brands, and sometimes 
instead of selling so many hundreds or thou¬ 
sands, he sells a certain brand, tbo “ strength" 
of each brand being reckoned from the number 
of calvoB branded last season. 
It is decreed by the State that every unbranded 
calf over twelve months old that is found wan¬ 
dering without its mother, shall become the prop¬ 
erty of him who may first put his brand upon it, 
and to avoid Josses in this way as far as possible, 
stock-owners go through tho branding process 
twice each year—in spring aud fall. Aud a diffi¬ 
cult process it really Is. Tho herd-boys—men 
on horseback—go through the ranges and gather 
the cattle into “pens," where the calves are 
caught and branded with a hot Iron, and ear¬ 
marked, and the male calves—except what are 
required for bulls—castrated. The cows aro fre¬ 
quently so wild that it is found impossible to 
drive them into a pen, aud in that case tho herd- 
boy uses the lasso or lariat, and catches the 
calves. If tho cow happens to bo so furious that 
it would bo unsafe for the “ boy" to dismount, 
ho hauls tho calf up tho saddle aud thonco bap¬ 
tizes it Into tho membership of bis master's flock. 
The gathering process entails a great deal of 
riding, and several of the larger stock owners 
require for this purpose more than a thousand 
horses. A herd-boy, who is always an excellent 
horseman, ofteu rides down three or four horses 
iu one day, and gallops over the prairies at a 
wonderful pace. 
As a rule, grass is plentiful in summer, and by 
tho end of autumn oattlo are invariably iu very 
fair condition; but the waste of winter wears 
most of tho fat away. It is always a feast and a 
famine with Texas oattlo, and in a severe winter 
many thousands die from exposure and want of 
food. Tho average Iobs from those oausos in 
winter is about, 20 per cont., and in exceptionally 
severe seasons, this swells to 30 per cent. Tho 
prairios here and there, especially about water¬ 
ing-places, aro strewn with whitened skeletons, 
and only an acclimatized Texan could contem¬ 
plate with equanimity the fato of those unfor¬ 
tunate famished animals. Occasionally a man 
makes “ big monoy" by gathering theso skele¬ 
tons, and shipping thorn to manure factories. 
The Texas system or feeding dooB not make 
tho beef tender and juicy, and when chewing 
away at a choice morsel, tho homesick corre¬ 
spondent patriotically declares that he lias occa¬ 
sionally to repress a risiug sigh for tho juiey 
“ gigots" of Aberdeenshire. 
As hens begin to loavo their chickens, thoy ro- 
qtiro a little watching to soe that they do not go 
up a tree or to some high roost, leaving their 
littlo ones calling and shivering below, unable to 
follow thorn. Boxes lying on one side, with 
openings made in front, can bo left, in tbo places 
where tho coops stood. Theso should bo large 
enough to accommodate tho chicks, which will 
easily find their way into thorn. While on tho 
ground, caro should bo taken to keep away their 
enernios, such as skunks, minks, woasels, or rats. 
While tho hens are with them, they will protect 
them from Buch dangers ; but when loft, to them- 
soIvob, they are more easily proyod upon. Thoy 
aro usually soizod upon at night. Count tho 
number for each box, therefore, every day, and 
should any bo missing, place before the coops or 
boxes fronts made of slats so close together that 
the chicks cannot get out or their enemies got 
in. Btrow asliea in tho boxes ; do not allow the 
dung to accumulate In them; and to purify 
them, sprinkle a little lime or sulphur in them 
every few days. 
Whon they aro largo enough, it is better to let 
chiekenH roost outsido on trees, or Borne other 
safe place, rathor than allow them to go into tho 
poultry house, for the old birds often peck them 
and knock them off the porches, creating great 
confusiou in tho hoUBe. So soon as chicks aro 
large enough for broilers, thin out tho cockerels 
not wautod ; they will sell for as ranch thou for 
early broilers as they would fetch later on in the 
season. When you want to remove tho chicks 
to the places where you intend them to roost, re¬ 
move tho boxes near to tho Bpot, as they will 
then find their way up the more readily. 
Henry Hales. 
DUCK8 LAYING. 
In a recent issue of tho Poultry Bulletin, J. Y. 
Bio knell says that ducks will not thrive in con¬ 
finement, and that they lay during the night or 
very early morning. 
That they will thrive better at liberty I cannot 
deny, but I do know that thoy lay at other times, 
for we found an egg in the barnyard just after 
driving them in at night. To-day I found one 
laid between 10 A. M. and 1 P. M. It was laid 
on the barn floor, whore they very seldom go, 
and a place wo often frequent. 
Ducks are very obsorvant aud much more in¬ 
telligent than hens. I keep mine in the barn¬ 
yard with my hens, and recently I have boon let¬ 
ting them out at about 10 A. M. f keep my 
bens in until they have all laid, and consequently 
have different exits for them. When the ducks 
see me go into the barnyard about tho time I 
have named, they rush for the gate, while the 
hens look stupidly on. 
Again, in din ring them in at night, they will 
hurry at tho command to do so. Iu the East 
ladies, whole ducks are kopt bv people who live 
in boats, and who lot their ducks out in the 
morning to ramble at their own will, and aro 
collected at night, the last duck in is always 
Bwitcked, and so there is a great hurry and scur¬ 
ry among the duolm to avoid being last. I am 
told that it is quite amusing to see them going 
home at nigtt. the rush and crowding give rise 
to so many ludicrous scenes. a. r. b. 
