THE CULTIVATOR, 
39 
they will last for a long time witli such cultivation ; and although 
when on first learning their process, my preconceived opinions con- 
demed their system, yet further inquiry and reflection, convinced 
me they were correct. The oat crop, particularly, they held to 
improve with cultivation. 
Now do not all these facts prove, or at least imply, that there 
is some latent quality of the soil particularly friendly to the pro¬ 
duction of these different crops ? And do they not open a new and 
most interesting field for observation and experiment ? And in the 
relation of these circumstances, is not much of hitherto sound the¬ 
ory and settled experience put at fault? I confess that it seems 
so. In my own green experience, I find oftentimes that approved 
modes must be dispensed with, and others more suitable to the new 
and different soils that we cultivate, adopted. An analysis of some 
of our western soils, with the best plans of their cultivation, might 
be amusing, if not instructive to many of your distant readers: and 
although not prepared to give the former, yet I may at some fu¬ 
ture opportunity give you a chapter on the latter, and show you 
how amply they possess in themselves, inexhaustable elements of 
fertility; and why, contrary to the opinions of many of our Atlan¬ 
tic neighbors who fully believe that all new lands must be in a few 
years exhausted, and without stimulant by manure, become as im¬ 
poverished as their own, they may, by judicious cultivation, re¬ 
main abundantly productive, and an almost inexhaustible source of 
wealth to their proprietors. 
I am so well convinced of the utility of stocking newly cleared 
lands into grass for mowing and pasture, with wheat and oats, that 
I shall this spring'put in upwards of 100 acres with oats alone, 
having already sown about fifty acres with wheat. I last June had 
about 40 acres laid into grass with oats immediately after cleaning, 
with a thorough harrowing; and a finer, and more promising piece 
of grass I have seldom seen. Timothy and red clover, with an 
occasional sprinkling of red-top, is the principal grass used in this 
region. These lands are excellent for wheat as well as grass, and 
will bear ploughing and laying down with evident advantage as 
occasion may require. The white clover rapidly works in, making 
a thick bottom, and adding largely to the crop of hay. For a rich 
supply of after feed, no grass can be more valuable and nutritious. 
Here I am reminded of another fact, which is, that on some por¬ 
tions of our rich wheat lands, unless watered, the red clover, ti¬ 
mothy and red-top are in a few years run out by white clover and 
blue grass, which renders their ploughing up and cropping neces¬ 
sary in order to let them again well into meadows; a fact which 
fully demonstrates to my mind the above expressed opinions, that 
particular soils are peculiarly fitted by nature for certain crops, and 
require a totally different course of cultivation from others. 
Very truly and respectfully yours, L. F. ALLEN. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS, IN RELATION TO SHEEP 
HUSBANDRY. 
The five queries which are quoted below, came from an anonymous corres. 
pondent. They were forwarded to a gentleman pre-eminently distinguish¬ 
ed as one of the best judges of stock, and withal an extensive breeder, who 
has promptly and very obligingly furnished us with the subjoined answers. 
1. “ Of what breed, or stock had a. beginner better compose his 
Jiock, his object being the growing of fine wool ?” Pure Merino, 
crossed with high bred South Downs. 
2 ... “ What are the prices at which the Saxony, South Down. 
Cotswold, Leicester , Bakewell, or Merino ewes, can be purchased 
respei tivdy, after shearing ? ’ From a good flock, you cannot 
select ewes, or it would not long remain a good flock; lambs or 
yearlings may be selected perhaps-—price very various—depending 
on purity of blood, and individual excellence. 
3. “ Wliat breed produces wool of the greatest value?” Saxony 
per pound —Merino per fleece. “ And what breed yit Ids the heavi¬ 
est fleece. ?” The great Lincoln, or Romney Marsh sheep. 
4. “ What breed is most hardy and best adapted to our climate V’ 
South Downs, certainly. 
5. “ On ivhat lands lioiv many sheep per acre can be profitably 
kept?” That depends on the breed of sheep, and qual’ty of land, 
but much fewer than are generally kept. 
The Saxon sheep undoubtedly produce the finest wool; but their 
fleece is light, seldom exceeding 2J lb. in weight, and is too open 
to resist our storms. They are feeble in constitution—require 
great care, are poor nurses, and their lambs are ra sed with diffi¬ 
culty. The mutton from such sheep must necessarily be of a mi¬ 
serable description. 
I believe that in Connecticut, even the pure Saxony sheep may 
now be purchased at a comparatively low price, say from six dol¬ 
lars to four dollars a head, and perhaps lower still. 
The old fashioned pure Merino sheep, which were imported by 
Col. Humphrey, and those associated with him, (but which are 
now almost extinct) were a much better constitution sheep, and 
more than made up by quantity for the difference in the quality of 
their fleece—the close, thick texture of their wool resisted our cold 
wet storms—their lambs were much easier raised, the ewes were 
better nurses, and on the whole, I am convinced they are a much 
more profitable sheep than the Saxony. I must, however, re¬ 
mark, there are several varieties of the Spanish sheep; and I would 
carefully avoid the “gummy”* family fleece, which however, 
must not be confounded with that, which, though ol a dark color, 
contains only the grease necessary to render it impenetrable to the 
weather; the former being very objectionable to the manufacturer, 
vvhile the latter is readily cleansed and worked. 
I desire to be understood as speaking of the pure breeds, and not 
of grade sheep, which so universally abound in this state, for they 
have no distinctive or fixed character, but vary with their degree 
of consanguinity to the pure imported blood. Indeed I feel well 
assured that there are very few individuals of the pure unmixed 
blood to be found. 
The earlier merino flocks of this state, were obtained from the 
introduction of imported bucks, and those were purchased at great 
prices, which, with the native ewe, formed the ancestry of our fine 
woolcd flocks: these had not attained nearly to the excellence of 
the pure merino, in the staple of its wool—its compactness—its 
uniformity, or softness, when the Saxony cross was introduced, 
and became almost universal in a surprisingly short time—and this 
is the true history of almost all our fine grade sheep in this state. 
It is not, therefore, to these flocks that I allude, when I speak of 
pure merino, or Saxony sheep. 
As to price, I presume such merino sheep are more costly now 
than the Saxony ! from the fact that farmers are now aware of their 
error in using the Saxon cross, which has ruined the constitution 
of their flocks, decreased their clip of wool nearly one-half, and re¬ 
duced their produce, until, with ordinary management, more than 
twenty five lambs to an hundred ewes, are seldom raised. A me¬ 
rino buck, of unquestionable purity, whose ancestry were both im¬ 
ported, will now sell for twenty-five and thirty dollars ; the same 
animal, eighteen months since, might have been picked up at $8 
and $10. 
The Leicestershire, Bakewell, and Cotswold sheep, are so cross¬ 
ed and mingled in this country, that the distinction is lost, except¬ 
ing to the practised eye, who can find individuals in the various 
flocks which partake, as it may happen, more of the characteris¬ 
tics of the one parent or the other. These are a long, coarse 
woole-d sheep, possessing much beauty of form, early maturity, 
and are quick feeders; but they require rich lands for their pasture, 
and though their constitutions are good, yet their fletce is suffici¬ 
ently open to admit the penetrating rains of our severe storms, 
and then it is, that their heavy fleeces are seen separated along the 
ridge of the back, thus admitting the wet directly to the skin, un¬ 
til the animal is chilled through. They are good nurses, and make 
fine lambs; their meat originally coarse and long in the grain, and 
white in its color, was much improved by Mr. Bakewell, and un¬ 
der his management, become superior to the other large, long 
wooled sheep. Some of the best flocks of this variety may, I be¬ 
lieve, be found in the sheep folds of Mr. Dunn, and Mr. Wilkin¬ 
son, in Albany county, or of Mr. Adcock, Mr. Musson and Mr. 
Clark, in Otsego county, all of whom have given much attention 
to this fine variety of sheep. Average produce in wool, I should 
think, from five to six pounds, though individuals are found, car¬ 
rying fleeces of ten and twelve pounds! Price of good lambs, I 
believe, from ten to fifteen dollars. 
The South Downs are as yet but little known in this country, 
but in my opinion, are decidedly better calculated than any other, 
for the domestic purposes of our farmers. They are of a medium 
* The term “ gummy” is in common use with farmers, and will be under¬ 
stood. 
