March 5 
i58 THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Experiments in Raising Early Lambs' at j Cornell 
Experiment Station. 
For several years, the'above-named station has been 
conducting experiments in early lamb raising. The 
results of the experiments have been published in 
Bulletin 88, from which Figs. 69, 70 and 71 are taken. 
The difficulty which is usually met is to get the 
sheep to breed at the proper time. Regarding this 
subject, the bulletin says: 
With ordinary precautions, a few ewes of almost any flock that 
is at all suited for this purpose, will breed early, and will fatten 
good lambs, but when early lamb raising is undertaken on a 
somewhat extensive scale, it is desirable to have a considerable 
number of ewes lamb at about the same time, in order that one 
or more pens of ewes may be fed the same ration. If the lambs 
are all dropped within a short period, the labor of caring for 
them will be much less than if they are dropped throughout a 
long period. In feeding all classes of stock, it is desirable to 
have the animals that are fed together as uniform as possible, and 
particularly is this essential in lamb raising. Whenever the ewes 
go into winter quarters in good flesh, very little or no grain and 
but few roots should be fed before lambing time; this will enable 
the owner to carry his ewes through a critical period with less 
trouble than if grain and roots are fed liberally before the lambs 
are born. Whenever grain and roots are fed in considerable quan¬ 
tities, toewesbefore lambing, those ewes that are heavy milkers 
will give the owners more or less trouble on account of their 
udders becoming hard and inflamed from an undue secretion of 
milk. Of course, this means that the best ewes are likely to be 
injured and a loss entailed which cannot be afforded, particu¬ 
larly as the remedy is so simple. As the ewes recover from 
lambing, grain may be fed in small quantities at first, but in¬ 
creased as fast as the condition and character of the ewes will 
safely permit. The best results have been obtained, everything 
considered, in feeding grain as described, and forcing the ewes 
to their utmost for a period of four to eight weeks after lambing. 
At this time, extra grain and care will bring greater returns 
than at any other time during the year; the profit derived from 
this increased flow of milk is not directly proportional to the 
total yield. A little extra food may bring the lamb into prime 
condition, and cause it to sell for the highest market price, while 
the same lamb without this increased nourishment would be only 
in fair condition, and sell in the market for not more than two- 
thirds the price of prime lambs. 
In tests of the different breeds, it has been found 
that the Dorsetsand Dorset grades have given the best 
results. The following tables show the relative size 
and growth made by Dorsets and Shropshires : 
Record of Growth in Weight bt Weeks. 
Thoroughbred Shropshires. 
At 
No. of birth. 2d 3d 1th 5th 6 th 7th 8 th 9th 
Lamb, ttis.oz. Week. Week. Week. Week. Week. Week. Week. Week. 
2. 10-1 16.75 22.5 30 33.5 39.5 41.5 46.5 51. 
5 . 8-5 11.75 14.75 19 . 22 . 23.5 27.5 31.5 34.5 
17 . 10-13 13.5 15.5 . 
18 . 9-8 11.5 14. 
Av. wt.... 9-11 13.37 16.68 24.5 27.75 31.5 36.00 39.00 42.79 
Av. gain. 3.31 5.88 3.20 3.75 4.50 3.00 3.75 
Average gain for whole time, 3.91 
Record of Growth in Weight by Weeks. 
Thoroughbred Dorsets. 
At 
No. of birth. 2d 3d 4th 5th 6 th 7th 8 th 9th 
Lamb. lbs. oz. Week. Week. Week. Week. Week. Week. Week. Week. 
3 . 11-8 17.25 23.5 30.5 36.5 42 . 47 . 49.5 56. 
4 . 8-14 13.50 18.25 24 . 30.5 36.5 42.5 45.5 51. 
7. 11-6 13. 17.5 23. 
Av. wt.... 10-9 14.58 19.75 25.8 33.5 39.25 44.7 47.5 53.5 
Av. gain. 5.17 6.05 6.3 5.75 5.45 2.80 6.0 
Average gain for whole time, 5.36. 
The present regulation by the Board of Health of 
New York City requires that the lambs shall have 
heads and feet removed before shipping. This rule 
was adopted as a protection against disease. .Just 
how it protects, we are unable to see. The best mar¬ 
ket for lambs, for several years, has been during the 
months of January and February. If the lambs can 
be made to weigh about 40 to 45 pounds, they will 
usually bring good prices during these months. Dur¬ 
ing these months, all sales are by the head, not by the 
pound. The average price received this year by Cor¬ 
nell University was from $0.50 to $7 apiece for lambs 
seven to nine weeks old. As a result of the experi¬ 
ments at Cornell, the following conclusions have been 
reached: 
It is of the utmost importance that the lambs be fat. 
The market early in the season does not require so large lambs 
as the late market. The best early market commences as soon 
as the holiday poultry is out of the way, usually about the mid¬ 
dle of January. 
Other things being equal, ewes that give the most milk, breed 
earliest in the season. 
The Horned Dorset sheep have bred earlier and fattened better 
lambs than the Shropshires. 
There Is practically no difference between beets and ensilage as 
a succulent food for ewes rearing early lambs. 
Dressed lambs should reach the New York market as early in 
the week as possible; as Saturday is retailers’day, the lambs 
ought to be sold before Friday noon. 
As a coarse fodder for the ewes, and also for the lambs, there is 
nothing better than good clover hay; in fact, this is one of the 
essentials to success in early lamb raising. 
As a rule, ewes respond more liberally to forced feed for milk 
production the second year than they do the first. 
The manner in which the lambs are dressed determines, to quite 
an extent, their selling price. Neatly dressed lambs are always 
preferred to those of like quality, poorly dressed. 
Ewes should not be forced for milk production until the lambs 
are a few days old. 
L. A. CLINTON. 
A Poultry Boy’s Profit. — I am II years old. 
I commenced taking care of 17 June and July hatched 
W. Leghorn pullets, November 13; they commenced 
laying December 3. During December they laid 3>a 
dozen eggs, worth 88 cents; the feed cost 40 cents, 
leaving a balance of 48 cents. In January, 11.5 dozen 
eggs, $2.49; feed. 40 cents, balance $2.09. To Febru¬ 
ary 19, five dozen eggs, 70 cents; feed, 27 cents; bal¬ 
ance 43 cents. Profit for 2}£ months, $3. HUGH prink. 
VEGETABLES FOR PHILADELPHIA MARKET. 
WHAT SOME OF THE GROWERS SAY. 
Varieties, Methods and New Ideas. 
Part III. 
(Con cluded.) 
Onion sets have been very largely grown around 
Philadelphia, but during recent years, this crop has 
declined in favor, because growers have learned to 
grow large onions in one season, by transplanting. 
In growing sets, the ground is prepared as for large 
onions, and heavily seeded, about 40 pounds to the 
acre being used by some growers. Gathering the sets 
is an expensive operation, as it must be done by hand, 
and it cannot be done by careless or incompetent 
labor, as the operation must be deftly performed. In¬ 
jury to the root crown must be avoided, when running 
the loosening trowel or knife under the row, and the 
sets must not be bruised. The usual price paid for 
this labor is one cent a running yard for four-row 
beds. The sets are dried outside, and stored in un¬ 
heated buildings, the loft of the truckhouse being the 
usual place. The sets are not put on shelves, but 
stored in crates 4x4 feet square and about four inches 
deep, the bottom being made of ordinary laths one- 
half to three-fourths inch apart. The crates are piled 
one on top of the other, with small wooden blocks put 
across the corners, so as to keep the crates about one 
inch apart, and thus permit a free circulation of air. 
They are not stirred during storage. Freezing does 
not hurt them, but they bruise with a touch when in 
this condition, hence handling should be avoided. 
During a wet season, they sprout much more readily 
than when dry, being easily affected by the moisture 
in the air. 
In growing onions one year from seed, they are sown 
in the open border as soon as the ground can be 
worked in the Spring, or in a cold frame in March, 
being ready for transplanting in about six weeks. 
BERRIES UNDER THE ICE. Fig. 72. Page 167. 
Both roots and tops are trimmed a little when trans¬ 
planted. Onions treated in this way, may be ready 
for market by August 1, with good culture. Fall- 
planted sets are used to produce scullions for Spring 
use ; there is no trouble in thus -wintering them, in 
this climate. 
Tomato growing under glass is quite largely prac¬ 
ticed near Philadelphia, especially in the “Carnation 
Belt ” of Chester County, where the carnation grow¬ 
ers use tomatoes as an extra crop in the carnation 
houses. The florist has to study intensive culture 
quite as closely as the farmer. Many of the truck 
growers work gradually into flower growing, selling 
both flowers and vegetables directly to the consumer. 
A place of this kind showed, as its growing crops in 
January, radishes, tomatoes, mushrooms, rhubarb, 
violets, carnations, narcissus, and smilax. The rad¬ 
ishes were merely put in as a catch crop on a vacant 
bench ; they would be off in time to use the bench for 
propagating Chrysanthemums. The tomatoes fol¬ 
lowed Chrysanthemums. The variety grown was 
Stone, the seed being sown in well-drained flats Octo¬ 
ber 1. The little plants are thinned, and potted into 
23 ^-inch pots. If they begin to be crowded before it 
is time to plant out in the bench, they should be re¬ 
potted. They must never be crowded or checked in 
growth. As soon as the Chrysanthemums are re¬ 
moved—usually about Thanksgiving Day—the toma¬ 
toes are planted in the greenhouse bench. They need 
warmth, and should have a night temperature of 55 
to 60 degrees. In a cooler house, they will grow, but 
not fruit. The plants are not allowed to branch, all 
the laterals being removed, and each plant is either 
tied up with string, or staked. 
The tomato flowers are hand-fertilized every day, a 
small brush or fringy flower being used to scatter the 
pollen. As the season advances, fruit sets more read¬ 
ily, and fertilization is aided by small flies or bees— 
though the bees are not very fond of tomato honey. 
February and March are the most profitable months 
for the sale of fruit so grown ; earlier than this, the 
demand is not great. The demand is emphatic for a 
smooth tomato. Stone, Ignotum and Lorillard are all 
popular, but most growers gradually select a strain 
of their own. 
Rhubarb was being forced under a side bench in a 
carnation house. The roots had been cropped two- 
years out of doors; they were dug and brought in as 
needed, and packed together on the ground, a little 
loam over them. On being asked whether asparagus 
could not be forced in the same way, Mr. Comly, the 
owner of the place, said that, while entirely practic¬ 
able, it would not pay. owing to southern competi¬ 
tion. The rhubarb is, however, a profitable crop. 
Mushrooms were being grown under carnation 
benches, with a canvas screen to secure darkness. 
This is quite a common method of mushroom culture 
among florists. The lessening of profits in flower 
growing makes such side issues of decided advantage. 
It was noted that all the most progressive market gar¬ 
deners disposed of their products directly to the con¬ 
sumers. without the intervention of a middleman. In 
selling direct to the consumer,the growers learn more of 
the likes and dislikes of the purchasers, and must pay 
close attention to bunching, boxing, or preparing. 
Among minor products thus sold, are the soup bunches, 
which, in Philadelphia, must include leek, parsley, 
celery and a long red pepper. The peppers, during the 
Winter, are stored in crates, like onion sets. Celeriac or 
turnip-rooted celery is another of the smaller crops, 
grown especially for the German trade. There was 
a general complaint of the prevalence of insect pests 
last Summer, aphis especially causing much damage 
to lettuce. It is impossible adequately to treat let¬ 
tuce for this pest outside. e. t. r. 
SOUTH JERSEY FARMING THAT PAYS. 
PLANT-FOOD IN A BAG. 
Asparagus, Potatoes, Hay, Hogs and Lambs. 
[editorial correspondence.] 
Part II. 
I told, two weeks ago, of the way Mr. Warren Atkin¬ 
son got into the fertilizer business on a small scale. 
He tried different combinations until he found one 
that suited his soil. Instead of mixing at home, he 
has a standard formula mixed by a regular manufac¬ 
turer. Every year, dozens of readers ask how to tell 
what a fertilizer is worth. Let us take the three 
brands made for Mr. Atkinson, and look them over as 
an object lesson. In the last fertilizer bulletin of the 
New Jersey Experiment Station, among the analyses 
of 285 fertilizer mixtures, the following figures are 
given about these brands : 
No. 1. 
No. 2. 
No. 3 
Nitrogen—From Nitrates. 
. 0.34 
.... 
From ammonia salts. 
1.49 
0.60 
0.75 
From organic matter. 
. 1.90 
1.76 
1.92 
Total found. 
. 3.73 
2.36 
2.67 
Total guaranteed. 
. 3.69 
2.05 
2.46 
Phosphoric acid—Soluble in water. 
. 5.94 
4.98 
5.40 
Soluble in ammonium citrate. 
. 3.76 
3.18 
2.92 
Insoluble. 
4.77 
4.79 
Total found. 
. 12.95 
12.93 
13.11 
Total guaranteed. 
. 10.00 
10.00 
10.00 
Phosphoric acid—Available—Found. 
. 9.70 
8.16 
8.32 
Available—Guaranteed. 
. 8.00 
8.00 
7. (X) 
Potash—Found. 
. 7.50 
9.80 
7.55 
Guaranteed. 
8.50 
7.00 
Value of 2,000 lbs. at station’s prices. 
Selling price of 2,000 lbs. at consumer’s depot. 
.129.01 
$26.26 
*25.28 
. 32.00 
28.00 
28.00 
How shall we read that ? Take the nitrogen first. 
Of liquid manure, well-rotted compost, and fresh, 
strawy manure, all farmers know that the liquid is 
available right away. Put it on grass or grain in the 
Spring, and you will notice a greener color within 48 
liours. Well-rotted compost comes next. Put it on 
cabbage and such crops, and they will jump, though 
not so fast as with the liquid. Every one knows that 
manure that has been three months in the compost 
heap is quicker than that drawn right out of the 
stable. We usually put the latter on corn, as we 
know that plant needs food most in the hot days of 
late Summer, when the slow-acting manure is at its 
best. 
The chemist divides the nitrogen in the fertilizer 
after much the same fashion. “ From nitrates,” 
means the part of the nitrogen which is found in 
nitrate of soda which, like liquid manure, is the most 
soluble form. In the No. 1 fertilizer, there were about 
seven pounds of nitrogen from this source. “ From 
ammonia salts,” represents the part from sulphate of 
ammonia. This form corresponds to the compost, not 
quite so soluble as the nitrate or the liquid, therefore 
not so likely to be lost. As stated before, Mr. Atkin¬ 
son likes to use sulphate of ammonia, because a good 
deal of his soil is light and somewhat leachy. “ From 
organic matter,” means the part taken from some or¬ 
ganic form such as bone, tankage, fish or cotton-seed 
meal. This is the slowest form to become available, 
because the organic matter must break up or rot 
first, and often this does not happen until hot weather. 
One object in making a high-grade fertilizer is to mix 
all three forms of nitrogen together. The nitrate 
starts the little plant, the sulphate carries it along, 
and the organic comes in later just when needed. 
Everybody knows that you cannot raise a good crop 
