404 
FEB.44 
THE BUBAL NEW-YORKER. 
'Xfa MIMi! m 
-v-V? ..: • ■ ; 
WHAT BREED OF SHEEP PRODUCES THE 
BEST MUTTON 1 
This ia a question that may be well asked, 
now tliat a great demand lor mutton sheep to 
ship alive and in the carcass, has sprung up for 
the British aud other foreign markets, and 
that the consumption, also, is rapidly increas¬ 
ing at home. 
Of all breeds in England, the South-Down 
has, from time immemorial, taken precedence. 
This, however, is beginning to be shared at the 
present day with other Downs, under the uame 
of Oxford, Hampshire, Sussex, Shropshire, 
etc., the prefix being taken from the county in 
which the native sheep possesses the make-up 
and family likeness of the South-Down. All 
these are of quicker sale and command a con¬ 
siderably higher price per pound than any 
other breeds. 
The reason of this preference is, that they 
are encumbered with li es offal aud the bones 
are finer. The flesh is better marbled than 
with others, aud more lean, tender and juicy 
throughout the carcass. It is these qualities 
which recommend it so highly to the lovers of 
good mutton, and reuder it the most palatable 
and economical of all for consumption; no 
messes of uneatable, coarse meai, or lumps of 
fat hereto be thrown aside, fit only for mutton 
tallow. In addition to the meat being more pala¬ 
table when cooked, the hams and shoulders, af¬ 
ter moderate salting, can be smoked aud eaten 
shaved into tbin slices, like dried beef. Tliey 
are then scarcely infer ior in quality to venison 
hams, and may easily pass lor such, thus 
making them a cheap luxury for the tea table. 
Down sheep are unquestionably the best 
6 ort for our farmers to breed most uutnerously 
among their flocks for exportation, as, in 
addition to the superior quality of their mut¬ 
ton, they aro extra hardy and prolific, mature 
early, are quite easily kept aud fatten quickly. 
They shear large fleeces for their size, of a 
middle quality of wool, which commands a 
good price in our markets. It works freely 
with the manufacturer, aud makes 6trong, ex¬ 
cellent cloth. 
Of the various breeds of Down sheep, it is 
getting to be the opinion of many, that the 
Oxford, ou account of its greater 6izo. will 
prove to be the most profitable to roar lor the 
English market, as, other things being equal, 
the larger takes precedence there, more espe¬ 
cially for the production of early lambs. From 
information recently received from Euglaud, 
I learn that the average weight of Oxford- 
Down lambs bred tbere with good farmer’s keep, 
after being dressed and the head taken off, is 
32 to 40 pouuds at three months old; 48 to 58 
pounds at six months ; 64 to 72 pouuds at nine 
months; and 80 to 96 pounds at 12 mouths, 
These are great 
weights, and as 
early lambs briog 
an extra price, the 
profit iu breeding 
and rearing them 
must De consider¬ 
able. Moreover, 
their sale is sure, 
and the price not 
subject to fluctua¬ 
tion. Older ones 
are of correspond¬ 
ing weights, and 
when properly fed 
and cared for, ful¬ 
ly mature at 18 to 
24 months old, 
which enables the 
farmer to turn his 
capital so much 
more quickly. 
This gives him an 
additional profit 
over and above 
later - maturing 
and slower-grow¬ 
ing breeds. 
Rams can be put 
to moderate ser¬ 
vice at six months 
of age, though it 
may be belter, as a 
general rule, to 
keep them back a 
few months lon¬ 
ger. Ewes may 
be served to drop 
their lambs with¬ 
out stunting their 
growth, at 18 to 
24 months’ age, 
according to their 
size and consti¬ 
tution, and these first lambs do as well as 
any subsequently dropped, provided good care 
is given to both dam aud offspring. The ewes 
often drop twins and occasionally triplets. 
From this it is seen how rapidly a flock can be 
increased, and how precociously this sort of 
6 hcep safely breeds. 
In order that the reader may better judge of 
the merits of Oxford-Downs, a group of these 
noble animals. bred by Mr. Cooper, ofCooperB- 
burg, Fa., is here introduced as an illustration 
of their form aud character; and I am assured 
by impartial judges, that the portraits are not 
at all flattering. 
I have given the dressed weights above of 
different ages bred by the ordinary farmers of 
England. Mr. Cooper informs me that the 
live weights of a pick of his largest at two 
months old, is 60 pouuds each ; at four months 
80 pouuds ; at six months, 115 to 120 pounds ; 
and he is confident if pushed on to 12 or 13 
mouths, they might weigh from 150 to 170 
pouuds. I have se.eu the weights of full-grown 
prize Oxford-Downs, reported at English agri¬ 
cultural shows, repeatedly reaching from 250 
to 275 pounds, and in one instance it was over 
300 pounds. This shows what can be done in 
the way of single specimens by long, high 
training, and enormous fattening when par¬ 
ticularly desired by breeders. I aui of opinion, 
however, that such large specimens of the 
Oxfords would not be so profitable to rear and 
feed as those of medium weights, like the 
dressed which I have given above; aud I 
doubt whether the flesh would be of so high 
a quality. But these things can only be proved 
after a fair trial. 
My advice to those who have light soils, or 
stony or hilly land, is to choose sheep of 
medium size; butthose who possess rich lands 
yielding abundant crops of grass, roots, and 
grain, may as profitably, perhaps, rear those 
of«the larger size. 4. B. Allen. 
New York. 
DIRECTIONS FOR PUTTING UP FRUIT TO 
BE SENT BY MAIL OR EXPRESS. 
Mb. Charles Downing favors us with the fol¬ 
lowing instructions : Select a characteristic 
specimen, viz.,oueof average size, color, form, 
etc.—perfect or one that will give a fair repre¬ 
sentation of the variety; put it in a tin, or thin 
wooden box (paper boxes, unless very stout or 
double get broken or mashed in the mail bags); 
fill the spaces around the fruit closely with 
paper, cotton, or some light material to keep 
the fruit iu its place; put a paper wrapper over 
the box ; do not seal or paste it (contrary to 
law); but tie it firmly with strong twine on each 
side of the box; put postage stamps on"Tne 
wrapper to the amount of one cent for each 
ounce of weight; also put the uame of the 
fruit iu the box, so that the person receiving it 
may kuow what the variety is. 
When to be sent by express, put each variety 
separately iu a paper wrapper or paper bag, 
with the name on a slip of paper or card; then 
Rise In Prices of Ag’l. Implement!. 
It is doubtful whether there has ever been 
so much activity in the iron business as at the 
present time in this country. Blast furnaces 
that for the last decade almost, have been cold 
and useless, are now making pig metal to their 
fullest capacity; rolling mills are working in 
some cases day and night; but the home sup¬ 
ply is still much less than tbe demaud, and the 
Iron works of Euglaud and Belgium are work¬ 
ing hard to supply the deficiency. During the 
past week two vessels were loaded with 5,000 
tons of steel rails in Liverpool, and it is re¬ 
ported that 13 o+her vessels arc waiting to be 
loaded entirely with iron for this country. 
The farmer is greatly interested in this 
briskness in the iron trade, inasmuch as all 
goods into whose make-up iron enters are 
rising in price. A week or two 8go all the 
plow-makers of the Northwest met at Chicago, 
formed a combination to regulate the prices 
of their wares, and began at once with an 
average rise of about 10 per-cent. Nail makers, 
stove makers, in fact, all branches of iron 
manufacture are also advancing prices. Mow¬ 
ing machines will go up probably at least $10 
each, next season, hay rakes about $4, ahd 
other implements iu proportion. Wood, 
wages, all things are advancing in price, and 
those who intend to buy, must look forward to 
pay high figures for their purchases. 
-- 
To Sunups the Craving for Alcoholic 
Drinks. —Dr. Norman K< rr recommends a de¬ 
coction prepared as follows:— 
Powdered cinchona bark.1 ounce. 
Water.1 .pint 
Dilute hydrochloric acid.liki minima. 
Boil for ten minutes, and strain when cold ; 
pour boiling water on the contents of the 
strainer till the product measures one pint. Of 
this give a wineglassful every three hours, 
gradually diminishing the frequency aud quan¬ 
tity of tbe dose after the first day, till In six or 
seven days it is reduced to a teaspoonful three 
times a day,—Boston Journal of Chemistry. 
Claim SiusbanDm 
MILK AND BUTTER. 
RICHARD GOODMAN. 
As society gets more civilized, its tastes be¬ 
come more refined, its appetites more delicate 
and discriminating, and those who provide for 
its necessities and pleasures have to take into 
consideration these important factors and 
advance the quality of their products accord¬ 
ingly. It is not such a very great number of 
years since the citizens of New York got then- 
drinking water contentedly from the corner 
pumps, or had it as an extra luxury brought 
every morning from some spring. Their milk 
OXFORD DOWN YEARLING LAMBS.—SIRED 
FREELAND. ’ FIG. 45. 
pack each parcel closely in the box, and if not 
quite full, add paper, shavings or something of 
the kind, so as to hold the fruit firmly aud pre¬ 
vent bruising. Put the address in full ou the 
lid of the box. Always select fruit of average 
size, color and form, avoiding alike the largest 
as well as the Inferior specimens. 
was generally purchased at the corner grocery 
from a penny’s worth to a pint or quart; they 
went directly to Fulton and Washington Mar¬ 
kets for their meat and vegetables. Water- 
closets and other now prime necessities were 
unknown ; omuiboaes alone carried the com¬ 
paratively few who were uuable to walk ; ladles 
did their shopping on foot, and men of business 
took their dinners at chop-houses down town in¬ 
stead of. as now, going home and dining com¬ 
fortably aud socially with their families. If a 
youngman wanted toplay billiards,he had to go 
into some saloon where he was tempted to 
drink aud smoke for clubs where gentlemen 
could indulge in innocent amusements, were 
rare, and that family which allowed a billiard 
table in its bouse was ostracized by all good 
people. The ouly butter to be had was that 
put down in early summer or fall for the en¬ 
suing winter, excepting that freshly made 
during the spring and exposed for sale in the 
market. Now all those who can afford it, desire 
fresh butter all the year round, and are begin¬ 
ning to realize the value of pure, unwatered 
milk, and nearly ready to pay a fair price for 
each of these articles, if they can be obtained. 
Most of the instructions in the agricultural 
papers are for the benefit of the farmers who are 
taught by scientists and specialists bow to pro¬ 
duce pure and rich milk and manufacture 
and market superior butter. The immediate 
effects of adulterated milk and the tests, how¬ 
ever imperfect, of the lactometer and kindred 
gunges, have made the well-to do citizens real¬ 
ize that the most effective mea»ures should be 
taken to secure the purest article, aud s^ch 
efforts as are being made by the Westchester 
Association, and the introduction of milk in 
glass bottles sealed up and delivered directly 
to the consumer, together with the rigid 
enforcement of the laws which inhibit ‘‘ distil¬ 
lery milk” and any adulterations of the lacteal 
fluid, will protect the people as far as possible 
against impurity. But they need to be in¬ 
structed also that to have either milk or butter 
of the best quality, they must be willing to pay a 
fairpricesothat the farmer shall receive a living 
profit. They are about brought up to the point 
of believing that pure, rich milk is worth eight 
to ten cents a quart and that the farmer only 
receives one quarter of this sum, the remainder 
being consumed by tbe charges of the middle¬ 
men. transportation, etc. 
Now, if milk is worth from six to eight and 
ten cents a quart, how can the consumer expect 
to get good butter for 25 to 30 cents a pound, 
when it takes, on tbe average, 12 quarts of 
milk to make a pound of butter: from ordiuary 
cows 12 to 20 quarts of milk are required to 
rnuke a pound of butter. The milk of some 
of the thoroughbreds is much richer, and that 
of the Jersey cow, noted for her special but¬ 
ter-making qualities. is capable of occasionally 
producing a pound of bu'ler from five quarts, 
but a fair average is about eight quarts. At 
six cents a quart such butter would be worth 
48 cents at the minimum cost, and, as a 
matter of fact, good freeb butter cannot be put 
into tbe market, except, perhaps, for a short 
season iu the early summer, at less than 50 
cents a pound, and give the careful and cleanly 
farmer a living profit. I kuow the towns and 
cities are full of 
cheaper butter; 
but we find that at 
our annual exhi¬ 
bitions, cattle 
shows, fairs and 
even those, where 
dairy products are 
entered for special 
premiums, not 
over one-quarter 
of the butter 
shown is fit tor 
the table, and a 
somewhat extend¬ 
ed acquaintance 
with the business 
and with the fann¬ 
ing community ia 
New England, 
convinces me that 
the good clean 
butter-makers are 
few aud far be¬ 
tween. 
For these reas¬ 
ons creameries 
which compel at¬ 
tention to neat¬ 
ness uud purity 
of production, and 
combine capital 
and labor in great 
part, can afford to 
sell an excellent 
article of butter 
at about 40 cents 
a pound; but the 
enterprising, in¬ 
dustrious dairy¬ 
man who possess¬ 
es cows of a uni¬ 
form richness of 
product, and car¬ 
ries out his processes from stabling and milking 
to the final “ patting” and covering, can, if he 
or his wife knows how, make butter which, for 
color, flavor, grain and hardness, will surpass 
that of the creamery and be worth 50 cents a 
pound. When our rich and well-to-do people 
who love good butter, are sufficiently instructed 
