140 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
CONDENSED CORRESPONDENCE. 
Sheep and Wool —Mr. John Johnston of Geneva, 
says he has read with a great deal of pleasure, the re¬ 
marks of Mr. L. A. Morrell, on the subject of sheep and 
wool. In allusion to Mr. Morrell’s observations on the 
practice which prevails in Scotland, of smearing sheep 
with a mixture of tar and butter, Mr. J. says it is not us¬ 
ually done immediately after shearing, but in October or 
November. Mr. J. says he has worked at the business 
for a month together. He thinks more sheep may be 
safely kept together than Mr. Morrell recommends—says 
he has frequently wintered over 600 in a yard not more 
than 150 feet square, and always had them in good con¬ 
dition—but he took good care to keep them well littered 
with straw. He has kept 400 in the yard alluded to, this 
winter, and has lost none. His sheep were fat when win¬ 
ter commenced, and are fat now. He lost an ewe from 
the premature birth of a lamb, and took 17 pounds of tal¬ 
low out of her; last spring the same ewe had 7 pounds 
of clean wool. He objects to Mr. Morrell’s mode of cas¬ 
tration, and would like to show him the Scotch mode. 
He says he knows be should stand no chance in a contro¬ 
versy with Mr. Mo.rell upon their trifling differences of 
opinion. He says, “ I Avas born the son of a shepherd, on 
the mountains of Scotland, was myself bred a shepherd on 
the very summit of Scotland; and there received only an 
education which even at that time was thought barely 
sufficient for a boy that w T as intended for nothing else but 
to earn his living by the sweat of his brow; but having 
thus been a keeper of sheep from my youth till the num¬ 
ber of my years is now more than two score and ten, I 
trust I know something of the habits of those animals and 
<heir management. I have kept sheep here, more than 
20 years, and I believe Avere the Scotch and English far¬ 
mers to lay out the money for grain to feed their sheep, 
which they now expend for tar and butter, it would do 
their sheep more good than sheep-salve. Highly fed 
sheep need no smearing.” 
Rye.— R. L. Pell, Esq., Pelham, Ulster Co., says:— 
<c I raised a crop of rye (secale cereale) last season, weigh¬ 
ing wxty pounds to the buslrel, in the followiug manner: 
On the 1st of September, the grain Avas placed in a vat of 
water, mixed with salt to a sufficient consistency to float 
an egg, and the light seeds were taken off with a skim¬ 
mer. After the grain had remained in the brine ten mi¬ 
nutes, it was drained through a sieve, mixed with lime, 
charcoal dust , poudrette and ashes, in equal quantities, and 
immediately sown at the rate of three bushels to the 
acre on a clover ley which had been Avell plowed ami 
harrowed; the crop was cut in the milk on the llth of 
July, and housed on the 18th. If left until dead ripe, a 
rain of three days continuance Avill cause it : sprout; 
and if sown when the ground is filled with moisiure, nine 
times out of ten it Avill rot.” 
Value of Straw. —Mr. Pell further says :—“ Farmers 
should on no account part with thear wheat or rye straw, 
as fields may for years be kept in heart, by merely re¬ 
turning the straw to them; it contains all the substances 
requisite for a succeeding crop of grain. By SprengeTs 
analysis, 1,000 lbs of wheat, leaves 11.77 lbs., and the 
same quantity of wheat straw leaves 35.18 lbs. of ash; of 
the straw ash, 28.70 lbs. are silica, without which sub¬ 
stance, it is impossible to groAv either wheat or rye. In 
1,000 lbs. of rye, there is 104 lbs., and of the straw, 28 
lbs. of ash; 22.97 lbs. of which is silica, showing plainly 
that the agriculturist may sell the grain, but on no ac¬ 
count the straw, which contains by said analysis, chlorine, 
phosphoric acid, potash, lime, sulphuric acid, silica, alumina, 
with a small portion of iron, magnesia and soda.” 
We give the four following paragraphs from a commu¬ 
nication signed “Jonathan,” from Burlington, N. J. The 
necessity for condensing, alone prevents us from giving 
his letter at length. The allusions are to articles con¬ 
tained in our Feb. number: 
Timothy Hay.— Our Kentucky friend is not much “ too 
severe on Timothy hay.” The writer has for many 
years, had ample opportunity of proving the comparative 
value of timotht hay, with other kinds of winter food for 
cattle; and has found it Avhen mowed at any time, inferi¬ 
or to most other kinds, and in fact, not worth as mueh per 
jton as the bright straw of our small grains. As a grass 
;for pasture, it is not early in its spring grOAvth, easily ef¬ 
fected by the drouth and by early frost, and the after har¬ 
dest produce is quite light. As regards the time of cut¬ 
ting it, (or any other grass,) I much prefer it being done 
'just before the blow appears. The leaves and stems of 
|the plant are then fresh, bright and nutritious, and the 
quality of the hay superior; and the after growth of 
[grass will generally be much more, and the sward much 
jmore safe from the destructive effects of drouth. Red 
'clover and herds grass are certainly much better for pas¬ 
ture or hay. The tap roots of the former, and the thick 
|mat roots of the latter, make a better sod for plowing; or 
[if to remain for pasturing and mowing, it will certainly 
j be found to produce at once a more valuable crop for con¬ 
sumption, and to be followed more readily by the best 
natural grasses. If the object is to sell hay, cultivate 
what will bring the best returns of course. 
To destroy Peppermint. —As suggested by you, D. 
T. Whitmore must have his meadow land sufficiently dry 
for the growth of good grass; and then in the latter part 
[of October, plow flat about five inches deep; pass a 
roller over it; then.in the spring, sow thick with oats, 
harrowing them in; and after harvesting them, sow buck- 
| Avheat and again harrow. In the follOAving spring, cross 
plow the same depth as at first; roll and harroAV tho¬ 
roughly, putting on a thin sowing of oats and a thick sow 
ing of grass seeds. If the sward should not appear suffi¬ 
ciently decomposed when the second crop of oats is to be 
soAvn, keep it an open fallow by frequent harrowings, 
and perhaps a light plowing, until say the first fall 
i month; when put on the grass seed and a thin sowing of 
buckwheat; the latter will spring up and shade the young 
grass from the injurious effects of the hot sun. Not an 
unimportant part of the process is, to give the ground 
about the time of putting on the grass seed, a coat of barn 
yard scrapings or Avell decomposed manure; by these 
j means, the expense Avill probably be met, or in a great 
measure by the returns of the oats and buckwheat crops; 
and the ground placed in nice order, free from the intru¬ 
der. If the ripening of the oats to be soAvn first, should 
be too late for the proper sowing the buckwffieat, it can 
be cut when first out in head, and make a fine lot of ex¬ 
cellent hay. It is important during the first year, that 
some crop should be kept growing, so as to smother in a 
great measure, the groAvth of the mint that has not been 
killed by the Avinter. 
Reflection.— We want emphatically more reflection, 
more careful examination into things; and notallow our¬ 
selves to conclude what Avill do well in one place, Avill 
necessarily do well in another, without considering the 
J difference that climate, soil and many other things rea¬ 
sonably make. 
j Manures.— “ First year at Farming” will probably find 
[that the top dressing of mauure will speak well next 
lyear and years to come. Let us hear from him after the 
first of October next. Use the manure if but one is to be 
applied; if both, experiment as suggested by the editors, 
but with only twenty or tAventy-five bushels per acre. 
Cleaning wheat from impurities. — A..correspondent 
who signs “ Frock & 'Browsers,” says a good plan to 
clean wheat from impurities, such as chess, smut, &c., is to 
pass it through a good fanning-mill. He says his practice 
“ is to remove all the sieves from the mill, put the screen 
in its usual place, and put the board that sometimes occu¬ 
pies the place of the screen, in the groove intended prin¬ 
cipally for the corn-sieve, slide it up just far enough to 
give length sufficient to the shoe, so that Avhen the mill 
is in motion, and the Avheat falling from the shoe, it will 
strike within about Iavo inches of the upper end of the 
screen; it Avill then have a chance to run the whole- 
length, and get rid of the cockle, dirt, kernels of smut,. 
chess, &c., and if proper care be taken not to let the 
wheat through too fast, the wheat Avill be found at one- 
end, its bad company all at the other.” 
Culture of Tea in America.— A correspondent 
signing “ H. R. Americus,” says:—“Nothing can be 
more certain than that our country is exactly suited to the 
culture of the tea plant, and is destined at no very dis¬ 
tant period, to be one of the greatest countries for this 
production in the world.” The reasons he gives- for this 
