1846 . 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
347 
horse; so that by breeding the mares spoken of to him, 
the blood will be kept up to about as high a point as it 
hhs ever attained in any former period. Experiments 
are also being made with some large and fine mares of 
tie “Messenger” stock, which are rearing foals by this 
and other Morgan horses; and if these efforts are con- 
timed, I have no doubt that in a few years a stock 
will here be gathered which will be of great benefit to 
tf.e country. S. W. G. 
Boston , Oct. 14, 1846. 
[Note. —It was stated, in our notice of the death of 
the Bulrush Morgan , in the Cultivator for June last, 
that he was the last of the progeny of the Justin Morgan 
hqrse; it should have been—the last of the male proge¬ 
ny, &c.-—E d.] 
FINS WOOL. 
Mr. Tucker —The intelligent observer of wool¬ 
growing, must have perceived during the last few months, 
that a crisis ” has at length arrived in this important 
article, long foreseen, however, by the more sagacious. 
It consists in the error of farmers generally, that be¬ 
cause coarse and medium wool formerly paid a fair pro¬ 
fit, it would always be so; hence, at length, the over¬ 
production of wool of low qualities, and consequently, 
low prices, that surely follow in all cases where there 
is a want of equability of supply and demand. But the 
eyes of all such are now opened to see the fallacy of 
their anticipations; and this being the fact, the ques¬ 
tion arises, will they shut them to what is clearly their 
duty for the future? 
To the inert and sceptical, who are slow to believe 
and act, I will barely state the fact, that three sheep is 
the average number which can be supported on an acre 
the year round; and from this data, all can readily cal¬ 
culate the degree of profit realized from growing wool 
worth only from 16 to 25 cents per lb. Compared with 
the production of almost anything else within the far¬ 
mer’s range, the conclusion is inevitable, that sheep 
producing no finer wool are worthless; unless of the 
mutton varieties, the carcase of which, when well fat¬ 
ted, in the neighborhood of our large towns and cities, 
will always be in requisition, and profitable to the pro¬ 
ducer. But it is not my purpose to enter into minute 
details relative to the comparative profits of growing 
coarse, medium, and very fine wool, for my time will 
not at present permit me to do so; but merely to hint 
the subject for the reflection of all interested. To those 
who grow indifferent wool, I ask, when it costs no 
more—nay, not so much—to support a sheep whose 
fleece will command at the present time, 50 cents per 
lb., will they keep on their premises such as produce 
wool of the value of 20, 25, or even 30 cents per lb? 
The careless and unambitious probably will, but the 
thrifty farmer who desires an adequate compensation 
for his labor, will not long submit. The period for 
aiming to grow the finest wool has come, and simply for 
the reason, because it now is, and will continue to be, 
the most profitable. But more anon, when convenience 
will allow me to continue the subject. 
My principal object now, is to call the attention of 
your readers interested in wool-growing, to the splen¬ 
did flocks of fine-wooled sheep kept in Washington Co., 
Pa., and the adjoining county of Brooke, in Virginia. 
It is the opinion of Mr. Lawrence, of Lowell, who has 
had the opportunity to test the wools of that region, 
that the blood is of the highest order of excellence; 
and that several flocks will rival, in all those properties 
desirable for the manufacturer, some of the most noted 
of Saxony. No praise could be higher or more un¬ 
questionable. 
Among those which claim the first attention in point 
of fineness, is Mr. Samuel Patterson’s, of Washington 
county, whose flock numbers about 1,200. In order to 
set aside all doubt at once, I will state the fact, that Mr. 
P. received seventy-five cents per lb. for one hundred 
of his buck fleeces, (nearly all yearlings,) the present 
season, purchased by the Northampton Manufacturing 
Company; and on his authority, received about fWo 
months since, he would probably obtain 70 cents per 
lb., for the residue of his clip. The fleeces of his entire 
flock have heretofore averaged from 24 to 2% lbs. ; and 
from the specimens I have seen of the wool ofhis last clip, 
it was most thoroughly washed; indeed, with the excep¬ 
tion of Messrs. Perk ins & Brown’s wool, of Akron, Ohio, 
I have never seen wool so perfectly clean. His process 
of cleansing is the same as that of Messrs. P. & B., 
which they should favor the public with a knowledge of. 
Within the last week, myself and brother, H. K. 
Morrell, have received a number of bucks purchased of 
Mr. Patterson, selected by samples forwarded by letter; 
and it affords me pleasure to state, that no disappoint¬ 
ment has resulted from this mode of purchase. In the 
language of one who well knows Mr. P., “ he is every 
inch a man,” and I have all confidence in stating, that 
those who buy of him, may safely follow my example. 
The forms are very symmetrical,—the wool will sort 
extra and super extra—very compact, and several of 
them, the staple very long. The base of Mr. P.’s flock 
is Merino, descendants, for the most part, (as is the 
case with a number of flocks in his section,) of Gen. 
Humphrey’s importation of 1802; together with choice 
selections from time to time, from the celebrated flock 
of the late Messrs. Wells & Dickinson, of Steuben¬ 
ville. For further and more minute information of 
the pedigree of his sheep, I refer your readers to the 
Hon. Robert G. Nicholas, of Geneva, and my friend 
Daniel Rogers, of lloosic, both of whom have obtained 
bucks of him within the last year. 
For the benefit of those who wish to communicate 
with Mr. Patterson, I w'ill state that his post-office ad¬ 
dress is Patterson Mills, Washington Co., Pa. 
Yours, &c., L. A. Morrell. 
Lake Ridge , N. Y., Oct. 1846. 
PLANTING- MOUNTAIN ASH AND CHERRY SEED, &G 
R. H. Williams, of Westmoreland, N. Y., wishes to 
be informed relative to the planting of the seeds of the 
Mountain ash, and cherry stones, so as to secure their 
vegetation. He states that he planted the berries of the 
mountain ash in autumn, others he hung up to dry and 
planted in the spring, ami others again he picked from 
the tree in spring and planted. None grew. They 
should have been washed from the pulp in autumn, and 
before becoming dry mixed with twice their bulk of 
sand and exposed to the weather in a continued moist 
state till spring. The most convenient way of doing 
this is to bury them in a cotton bag, after mixing with 
sand, just beneath the surface of the soil. Early in 
spring they are to be planted in a bed of the richest gar¬ 
den mould, not more than half an inch deep, and if the 
soil is not decidedly sandy, a sandy compost must be 
made to cover them, otherwise a crust will form by 
rains and drying, and prevent the young plants from 
pushing through. If the seeds are left in the pulp 
through winter, they ferment, and are killed. 
The same correspondent states that he planted plum 
and cherry stones in autumn, but none grew. The 
probable cause of failure, was the drying of the stones, 
by too long exposure to the air. They must be planted 
in moist soil, or mixed with moist sand, immediately 
after taking from the fruit. 
He also inquires the proper time and manner to trim 
currant bushes. Early in spring is a suitable time for 
pruning, but it may be done in autumn and through 
winter. All suckers should be prevented from grow¬ 
ing, as by producing a thick mass of brush they lessen 
the size of the fruit. Old and superabundant branches 
are also to be thinned out. There is, however, one or 
tw r o other requisites in currant culture more important 
than pruning. These are to renew the bushes by plant¬ 
ing new ones, after the old ones become seven or eight 
years old; and to give them a rich soil, and deep, mel¬ 
low, and constant culture. By these means, the fruit 
will be more than triple the size of that grown on old 
unpruned bushes, growing neglected in grass and 
weeds. 
