1904. 
THE HOTHOUSE OR WINTER LAMBS. 
Care, Feeding and Marketing. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
York who handle most of the hothouse lambs, and all of 
these we have found honorable in their dealings. 
763 
WATER SUPPLY FOR A FARMHOUSE. 
Utilizing the Rainfall. 
SHROPSHIRES PREFERRED.—There is probably 
no branch of farming and stock raising which requires 
more special adaptation and careful attention to details 
than the successful raising of hothouse or Winter 
lambs; during the decade in which I have been in the 
business I have seen scores retire from it disgusted, and 
very few who were in it when I commenced continue 
to raise and feed them. It seems to be like the poultry 
business; many will succeed with 20 sheep, but when 
they increase their flock to hundreds something goes 
wrong. In starting in the business the first recpiisite 
will be the flock of ewes. I prefer Shropshire grades, 
with a Merino strain, but others have good success with 
Hampshires, Leicesters, Cotswolds and Dorsets, but 
whatever the breed, they should be strong, well-formed 
deep milkers, not under two years of age. The ram 
should be a purebred, preferably a Hampshire or Dor¬ 
set, from two to five years of age and of model mutton 
form. The building should be warm and thor¬ 
oughly well lighted, with a floor space of at 
least 10 square feet to each ewe. They should 
be separated in pens, partly formed by the racks, 
so that not over 12 or 14 sheep are in one pen, 
and the pens so arranged as to give an alley 
reaching them all for feeding purposes, etc. I 
find it an advantage to shear my ewes early in 
December, the building being so warm that they 
do not suffer from it. Some good growers 
shear again the last of June, and find, they 
claim, that they get many more December lambs. 
The ram should be placed with the flock the 
first of June, and after two weeks it will be a 
great advantage to confine him in the barn, in 
a cool place, during the day, feeding him a little 
grain and some green clover hay, and turning 
him with the flock at night. The flock should 
never be pastured on low moist level land; to 
be successful you must give them a high, dry 
airy run. 
FEEDING AND CARE. —The Winter feed 
I have found best is for the ewes silage in the NEW 
morning on which 1 feed them their grain. In 
my experience I have found that cornmeal 
with bran and a light ration of cotton¬ 
seed meal and oil meal is best. At noon 
a feed of clover hay or bean fodder, and 
at night silage or clover hay, but this ra¬ 
tion can be changed to suit the shepherd, 
owner remembering that he is feeding for 
milk. For the lambs a self-feeder should 
be arranged sufficiently large to accom¬ 
modate the number of lambs you have 
without crowding, 'Their feed should con¬ 
tain some corn, either whole or cracked, 
and plenty of bran, and a small amount 
of granulated oil meal; keep grain before 
them at all times. I have found refuse 
cabbage fed once a day to my ewes and 
lambs eaten much better than roots, and 
the flock seemed healthier for it, when 
procurable, but one thing is a necessity, 
plenty of pure water and all the sunlight 
you can get. 
DRESSING THE LAMBS.— If all 
goes well, the lambs at 10 or 11 weeks 
old should weigh from 48 to 50 pounds 
when they are ready for market, and 
when they get to that point they must go 
or they will be a loss. As to dressing, 
which is the worst part of the business, 
we tic their hind legs together just above 
the hoofs, and stick them through the 
throat close to the head, with a narrow- 
bladed sharp-pointed knife, holding them 
by the forefeet and head so they cannot 
bruise themselves, until they are dead. 
Most dressers open them from between 
the hind legs through to the throat, re¬ 
moving the stomach and bowels and separating the caul, 
which should be wrapped in a cloth. Take out 
the swallow pipe and the gall, and wipe the lamb 
dry inside with clean cloths. Take two sticks about 12 
to 14 inches long, sharpened at both ends, inserting 
them through the flank; bring them across the back, 
diagonally, and push them through the meat near the 
breast bone, so as to go through the inside of the lamb 
and make it appear better. Liang the caul over the 
front, then hang in a cool place until the animal heat is 
all out. When ready to ship, iay the lamb on a bench, 
trim it carefully and wipe it dry, remembering that ap¬ 
pearance is what makes sales; tie a piece of cotton cloth 
so as to cover the caul and protect it from dirt, tying it 
on the back. You can either sew the carcass in burlaps 
or place two or three in specially made crates for ship¬ 
ment. There are three or four commission firms in New 
PRICES AND PROFITS.—Now as to the price, 
which to the grower is the main consideration, at and 
just before the holidays the call for these lambs com¬ 
mences, but the best market is usually through the month 
of January. The price after the first week in March 
usually drops very fast. We frequently make shipments 
which only net us from $2.50 to $3 a head in the latter 
part of Spring, and we have to look back to our $10 and 
$12 lambs in January for consolation, but they have to 
go, as these high-fed animals are never of any account 
when turned out with the flock. But after all I have said, 
the shepherd himself is the main factor in the whole 
business. If he does not love sheep and like to care for 
them seven days in the week and a large share of the 
hours in a day, he would better turn his attention to 
some other class of stock; they must be watched care¬ 
fully, ailing ones separated from the flock, and he should 
know how to doctor them. Pie must keep them free 
PEPPER MAGNUM DULCE MUCH REDUCED. 
See Ruralisms, Page 76G. 
NEW CROSSBRED UPRIGHT PEPPER, REDUCED IN SIZE 
See Ruralisms, Page 7(5(5. 
from ticks, with clean beds, see they have pure air, plenty 
of pure water and that the mothers own their lambs and 
properly nourish them. In fact, he has got to be a first- 
class man, and it is very few such that can be hired to do 
the work. Of course there will be losses, bad seasons, 
lambs soured on the road, etc., making plenty of perplex¬ 
ities, but the business is fairly profitable, and there is 
just enough speculation in it as to price to make some of 
us enjoy it. It is frequently said that this method of 
handling wears out the ewes quickly. Such is not my 
experience. I have had ewes seven years old raise good 
lambs, and my flock is always healthy and strong. The 
wool usually from these sheep brings a little advance over 
that of common flocks, and they shear heavier fleeces. 
Genesee Co., N. Y. w. u bradley. 
R. N.-Y.—Fig. 340 shows Mr. Bradley with a group 
of lambs ready for market. 
A neighbor, in remodelling his house, has planned 
and, with the assistance of a local plumber, put in a 
water system, shown at Fig. 339, which is simple and 
inexpensive, and yet giving all the service that is re¬ 
quired in a country home. I give an outline of it, 
thinking it would suit many other farmers who are not 
within the reach of city water, and who do not care to 
go to the expense of a plant of their own of the more 
elaborate kind. In this case the rain water from the 
roofs has been utilized for supply, thus doing away with 
costly and wearable windmills or engines to raise the 
water. A leader from a small portion of the building 
carries water to the tank, which holds about 15 barrels, 
and is placed well above the second floor. Water from 
the remaining roofs is carried directly to the cistern 
under the house. An overflow pipe runs from the tank 
to the pipe, leading to cistern. Water is led from 
the tank to both rooms and also down to the pump 
at the kitchen sink. Where this pipe enters the 
pump is a cut-off, and just above that is a faucet, 
so that water from the tank can be used for 
kitchen purposes. Usually, however, water is 
pumped from the cistern for use at the sink, and 
if the tank becomes empty the cut-off is opened 
and water can be pumped to the tank or to the 
bathroom above. A pipe from the bathroom 
and kitchen sink leads off the waste water, being 
properly trapped at the second and first floors, 
and connecting with a three-inch soil pipe which 
empties in porous soil some distance from the 
house. The soil pipe is made large and has a 
good fall to insure against stopping up by sedi¬ 
ment. 
There is no filter at the cistern, but one could 
easily be constructed, the water carefully 
strained and care taken after a dry spell to lead 
the first flow of water from tank and cistern, 
thus removing from the stored water dust or 
other foreign matter which may have collected 
upon the roof. The cistern is protected over- 
Fig. 341. head by an adamant ceiling, making it per¬ 
fectly tight, keeping out all dirt, vermin, etc. 
The pipe from the tank is connected 
near the kitchen stove with a small stove 
tank to furnish warm water when so de¬ 
sired. This arrangement for getting hot 
and cold water in the bathroom is not so 
convenient as some, but answers every 
practical purpose for a farmhouse. The 
hot water is pumped into the bath tub, 
while the cold water is got direct from the 
tank. 
A point to be noticed particularly on 
this plan is the arrangement of the cut¬ 
offs and valves at the pump by which 
water can be used both upstairs and 
downstairs from either the tank or the 
cistern as conditions may require. Over¬ 
flow water from the tank goes into the 
cistern and the latter is also provided with 
an overflow, so that when both tank and 
cistern are full the water is carried away. 
This plan has worked well so far, and 
the only point where it may possibly fail 
is in not having a filter to the cistern or 
some means by which the water in it may 
be aerated. Mr. Bishop, the owner of the 
property, reasons about the things he 
meets with, and says that the good a filter 
does is largely in theory. He says: "If 
there is a dead dog in water a filter will 
not purify the water.” This may be true, 
but not to the point. There are no dead 
dogs in rain water, but there are many 
organic particles as the water leaves the 
roof which may be stopped in a mechan¬ 
ical way by a filter, and which, not being 
stopped, may cause a fermentation in 
the water after a certain time. A good filter, properly 
Fig. 342. 
arranged, would be a preventive of “spoiled” water and 
would keep the water in such a condition that it could 
be used for drinking or any other purpose, a great con¬ 
venience in a water supply of any kind. 
_ GRANT DAVIS. 
Do not imagine you can make a fortune distilling “extracts” 
from roots or bark. The fortune is not there. 
The idea that land plaster has great value in fixing 
ammonia in stable manure is likely to join the ranks of the 
“has beens.” Kainit or acid phosphate will do this work 
better besides adding actual plant food. 
A New York woman upset an alcohol stove with which 
she was curling her hair and, when it blazed, tried to throw 
it out of the window. With the usual perversity of feminine 
aim, the lamp went into a closet and burned all her best 
gowns, and her husband is probably wondering whether the 
ability to throw straight ought not to form a part of every 
woman’s education. 
