“to IMPROVE THE SOIL AND THE MIND.” 
New Series. 
ALBANY, AUGUST, 1849. 
Vol. VI.— No. 8. 
Agricultural Jfotcs. 
Husbandry of Vermont. 
We had lately an opportunity of passing through se¬ 
veral of the western counties of Vermont, and offer the 
following notes in regard to the different matters to 
which our attention was drawn. 
Sheep. —Beginning at the farther end of our tour, 
we first called on S. W. Jewett, of Weybridge, whose 
flock of sheep is well known. Since we had before 
fceen it, Mr. J. has imported some ewes from the flock 
of the late Lord Western, Essex, England. They had 
just been shorn. We did not see their fleeces. They 
are well shaped sheep, and of good size. Mr. J. is 
crossing them, and a part of the rest of his flock with 
a ram of the Taintor importation, and has some hand¬ 
some lambs of this cross. 
M., & A. L. Bingham, of Cornwall, have noted 
flocks. The former has 500 and the latter 1400 head, 
including Iambs. Their aim, we understand, has been 
for several years, to produce sheep of strong constitu¬ 
tion, with heavy fleeces, of about the quality of com¬ 
mon Merino. Mr. M. Bingham showed us 400 fleeces 
very well washed and put up in good order, which he 
informed us averaged five pounds each. Messrs. B. 
have purchased sheep of Mr. Taintor, of Hartford, Ct., 
imported by him from France. Mr. M. B. sheared 12 
ewes of this stock the present season. They were not 
washed. One of the fleeces weighed seventeen pounds, 
and the average was thirteen pounds ten ounces—twelve 
months* growth. Mr. A. L. Bingham has between 
forty and fifty, of different ages, of the Taintor stock, 
and a similar stock imported by F. Rotch, Esq., of Ot¬ 
sego county, N. Y. Of these, several had their fleeces 
on, and are to be shown at the next N. Y. State Fair. 
These sheep are much larger than any of the Spanish 
face that have heretofore been introduced here, and pro¬ 
duce much heavier fleeces than any others with which 
we are acquainted. Their bodies, and even their heads 
and legs, are thickly covered with wool. Some of them 
have very great perfection of form, with very even flee¬ 
ces, of good quality for Merino. 
Wm. R. Sanford, of Orwell, has a flock of fine Me¬ 
rinos, which for several years has numbered from 300 
to 500 head. Mr. S. has managed his flock with much 
care and judgment, and it has long held a high rank 
among the best of this section. This year’s clip. 300 
fleeces, well cleaned and nicely put up, averaged over 
four pounds each. 
J. H. Chittenden, of Orwell, has a flock of 333, a 
portion of which are Saxons, from the flock of Mr. Colt, 
of Pittsfield. Mass., and the younger part of the flock 
are a cross of these on Merino. The fleeces averaged 
$ lbs., 5| ounces, clean, and in good order. John W. 
Bacon, of Orwell, has 215 sheep, mostly of Saxon 
jbloodj the fleeces of which averaged 3| lbs. the pres¬ 
ent season. 
Jesse Hines, of Brandon, usually keeps about 450 
pure Merinos—has this season 364. Mr. H. has exhi 
bited sheep at the shows of the N. Y. State Ag. Socie¬ 
ty, which have been highly commended. After exam¬ 
ining his whole flock, we are enabled to say that in our 
opinion, he is a judicious and careful breeder. His 
flock shows great uniformity in shape and weight of 
carcass, and presents an admirable appearance of 
healthiness and thrift. From what we saw of the 
fleeces, there is a general uniformity in the style of the 
wool, and the prices at which it has sold denote its 
quality. For several years past, excepting last j r ear, 
it has brought an average of about forty cents per lb., 
and the fleeces have averaged 4£ lbs. each. 
J. S. Pettibone, of Manchester, has 400 sheep. 
They are. descended from ew r es of the Humphrey stock, 
crossed with rams from the Jarvis flock, and others 
from the flock kept by the Shakers at Enfield, N. H. 
He has paid much attention to the management of his 
flock for many years, and his care and attention has 
been well repaid. In respect to wool, this flock pre¬ 
sents rather a peculiar character. It has generally an 
unusual length of staple for Merino wool, and is very 
soft, elastic, white and free from gum. The weight of 
the fleeces, washed, comparing one year with another, 
has been 4^ lbs. He has now, two years’ clip on hand. 
For several previous clips, he has obtained forty cents 
per pound. We would not presume to dictate so expe¬ 
rienced and successful a wool-grower as Mr. Petti¬ 
bone, —but we were so struck with the style of much 
of his wool, that we should like to see the experiment 
made, with a selection from the flock, for the produc¬ 
tion of thafinest kind of wool for muslin de laines*and 
merino cloths. It appears to us that wool might in this 
way be obtained, which would be very superior for these 
purposes. 
Shelter and Food for Sheet. —The importance of 
shelter for sheep, is acknowledged by all the best wool- 
growers with whom we conversed, and most of those 
we visited, have made good arrangements in this res¬ 
pect- Mr. A. L. Bingham has extensive accommoda¬ 
tions of this kind, lately completed. His sheds, placed 
around his barns and yards, with their various divisions 
and apartments, for sheep of various ages and condi¬ 
tions, seem almost like a labyrinth; but when their si¬ 
tuation and their relative connection is understood, they 
are seen to be very convenient. Though all the apart¬ 
ments can be well aired and ventilated, the temperature 
can be so regulated in some of them that they may be 
warm enough to have the lambs come at any time in 
the winter, without any danger of their suffering from 
cold. Most of the farmers we have named, have such 
shelters that the sheep can obtain protection from 
storms at all times, and many deem it important that 
they are not wet during the winter. 
Much attention is paid to feeding the sheep. Hay, 
straw, and pea-haulm constitute the bulk of winter food. 
They are fed. mostly, in oblong boxes, with round 
