220 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
the scantiness of vegetation showed plainly that the soil 
much needed the manure, which, on those very farms, 
was wasting away, by various means, from the barn-yard. 
We are happy to say that there are farms on which a 
judicious management, strikingly in contrast with the 
above, is observable. Such an instance was met with in 
the farm of Seth Langdon, Neu-Haven. The admi¬ 
rable neatness of this farm attracts the eye of the travel¬ 
ler the moment he comes within its limits. The barns 
and sheds are so placed as to form a hollow-square. 
Mangers are fixed under the sheds for feeding cattle, (the 
sheep are kept in another place,) water is brought to the 
yard, and none of the cattle, except the working oxen, 
are allowed to go out of the yard in winter. They are 
fed, (all but some of the young cattle,) in the barns at 
night; and during the day are fed in the sheds, with the 
poorer sorts of fodder—a place for depositing which, is 
provided in one corner of the yard. The manure is all 
received into the yard, which is so formed that none of 
it can be lost, but is all carefully cleaned up in the spring- 
arid carried to various parts of the farm. The stalls, 
particularly those for cows, were well contrived anil 
neatly kept. 
The fences generally preferred are cedar rails and 
stakes. It is laid in the form of what is called “ worm 
fence,” in some sections. The stakes are set at the cor¬ 
ners, upright, which occasions much less inconvenience 
in cultivation than when they stand bracing. They are 
fastened by “ yokes” made by boring three inch holes 
through suitable pieces of wood, which are slipped over 
the top of the slakes; two rails being generally laid 
above them, which complete the fence. Stone walls are 
sometimes made, and are, when well built, an excellent 
fence for all stock but sheep. But as sheep are the chief 
stock, and they are apt to run over stone walls, rail fence 
is most common. We saw in one or two instances a 
wall built of rather small stones, with layers of grass 
turf interlaid, and the top finished with turf. It was put 
up by a Scotchman as an experiment, and time enough 
has not yet elapsed to ascertain how it will answer. It 
is supposed that the grass will live and assist in holding 
the wall. 
Grass Lands.— This section of country is particularly 
favorable to the growth of grass. Judging from appear¬ 
ances, it is our opinion that we have never seen any other 
land which is capable of sustaining as much stock f o the 
acre. On the rich alluvions of the Scioto, we have seen 
fields which may perhaps produce as great a weight of 
grass per acre, but it does not appear to be as nutritive 
as the herbage of the best Vermont pastures. On these, 
the turf, which is of the thickest and finest kind, is com¬ 
posed mostly of the spear crass, or Kentucky blue-grass, 
(Poa pratensis ,) with other grasses and white clover 
enough for variety. The hay made from these lands is 
of the most nutritive quality. We were shown samples 
in which the natural greenness of the grass was preserved 
almost unchanged, giving a delightful fragrance, it being 
almost as nicely cured as the famous “Shaker herbs.” 
Stock of all kinds will, and do actually fatten on this hay. 
It is a fact that oxen bought in the fall in only store 
condition, if properly sheltered and fed with such hay, 
become in the spring fit for slaughter, and are sent to 
Brighton market without any other feeding. In fact, so 
excellent is the hay which is made here, and so fine is 
the pasturage, that some of the best “grass beef” that is 
bought for the Brighton market is found here. 
In an article on the “'Agriculture of Addison county,” 
in the New-York State Agricultural Society's Transactions 
for 1844,” written by S. W. Jewett, some remarkable 
facts are stated in reference to a tract of this county said 
to be “fifteen miles in length and eleven wide—about 
one-half unimproved, covered with timber. This tract 
comprises six towns, averaging each five miles square.” 
“The census of 1840, enumerates 7,000 inhabitants; 
about 1,400 of this number were employed in agriculture. 
The number of tons of hay produced, were rising fifty, 
one thousand; neat cattle , nineteen thousand head; sheep , 
one hundred and forty-four thousand; and two thousand 
one hundred horses. If we include four more adjoining 
towns, we swell the number i>f sheep to two hundred 
and forty thousand six hundred and sixty-four.” 
Sheep. —The most important description of live stock 
for this section, is sheep, and these are kept in larger 
numbers in proportion to population and extent of terri¬ 
tory, than in any other part of the United States. The 
Merinos, full blood, and high grades of that variety and 
the Saxons, are generally kept. The Merinos were car¬ 
ried to this section at different times and by different 
persons from twenty to thirty years ago. It is a well 
established fact that all animals undergo changes to some 
extent, on being removed from a country they have long 
inhabited to one of a different soil and climate. This 
we think has been the case with the Merinos first trans¬ 
ferred to this district. The fertility of'the pastures, the 
regular and abundant supply of nutritive food the year 
round, with the healthfulness of the location, have ef¬ 
fected a visible change in the constitutional character of 
the animal. First, their general size has been enlarged. 
Every one who passes through this section, and observes 
the various flocks he may chance to meet, will see that 
their average size is considerably greater than that of 
Merinos commonly met with in other sections. Second, 
the fleece, especially of the larger class of sheep, and 
those which, having been bred here for some time have 
become fully acclimated, has generally lost something of 
its original fineness; but the capacity to bear a larger 
quantity of w'ool has been evidently increased, accompa¬ 
nied by improved hardiness and vigor of constitution, a 
thicker skin, and an adaptedness to the climate which 
leaves nothing in this respect to be desired. The in¬ 
crease in the weight of the fleece has been in some 
cases in a greater ratio than the increase in the weight 
of the carcass,—the wool being boih longer in staple, 
and more thickly set on the body. Numerous cases were 
made known to us by honorable and veracious men, of 
breeding ewes (Merinos) rearing lambs every year, 
having for several successive seasons yielded from five 
and a half to six pounds of well washed wool per fleece; 
and of bucks yielding from ten to twelve, and in one or 
two instances thirteen pounds. In most cases we exa¬ 
mined the identical animals to which we allude, and took 
from them samples of wool, which we can now show. 
The flocks which came under especial notice, were those 
of S. W. Jewett, Wightman Chapman, and Mr. James, 
of Weybridge; M. Bingham and A. L. Bingham, of 
Cornwall; L. O. Burchard, Ex-Governor Jenison, L. C. 
Hemelee, M. W. C. Wright and John T. Rich, of Shore- 
ham; Seth Langdon and Alvan Squires, of New-Haven; 
Charles L. Smith, of Bristol; C. B. Cook, of Charlotte; 
Henry S. Morse, of Shelburn. 
Mr. Rich’s flock consists mostly of the Merino stock 
purchased by his father, the >ate Hon. Charles Rich, of 
Andrew Cock, late of Flushing, Long-Island. They 
have short legs, compact bodies, and heavy fleeces, 
though not as fine in staple as some Merinos. Of a lot 
of one hundred and forty-seven ewes which Mr. Rich 
sheared last year, one hundred and five gave a fraction 
over five pounds per fleece, on the average. Mr. Rich 
has for the last two seasons been breeding from a buck 
bred by the Hon. William Jervis. This buck, called 
Consul, now owned by Mr. Rich, is the sire of Mr. 
Jewett’s famous buck Fortune. Consul is a buck of great 
value—is ten years old, yet he sheared last year ten 
pounds of washed wool, of excellent quality for Merino. 
Old as he is, his fleece is still well set, and we presume 
will not this year fall much, if any, short of its former 
weight. 
Mr. Jewett's flock consists of descendants from the 
imported Merinos of Messrs. Humphrey, Jarvis, D’Wolf, 
Cutf and Cock, with some purchased of William Davies, 
Esq., of Poughkeepsie. The buck Fortune was the 
produce of a ewe of the Cock stock, by the buck of Mr. 
Jarvis's breeding before mentioned. He is a large bodied, 
short legged sheep, carrying an enormous fleece of about 
medium quality. His average fleece has been eleven 
and a half pounds. He is now six years old. The lambs 
of his get are large, well formed, and strong. When 
we were there, two hundred and twenty-seven of Mr. 
j.'s ewes had lambed, and he had two hundred and 
twenty-five lambs alive and well. The lambs of the 
other two ewes were yeaned dead—so that every lamb 
was saved that was born alive. The loss from Mr. 
