160 THE CULTIVATOR. May 
He states that he sent some sheep last year to the 
Choctaw station, “ and owing to the admirable obedi¬ 
ence of my [his] agents,’’ they reached there, as he 
was informed, “ hog fat.” 
Many persons would undoubtedly be much pleased to 
learn the name of this “ intelligent” and “ trust-worthy” 
sheep-breeder. It would be especially gratifying to know 
how long this superior stock or family of sheep has been 
in his. hands, of how many it consists, and at what 
price his wool has sold, and if their great excellence 
has been attained by his “ art of breeding,” what par¬ 
ticular system has been pursued, and through how long 
a period his experiments with this flock have extended ? 
But seriously,.I cannot but wonderj that any man in 
his senses should have considered this letter in any other 
light tlidn that of a humbug,” as a specimen of which 
it is certainly a “ rara avis.” O. P. Q. 
The Season—Guano. —Extract of a letter, dated 
lL Queens Co., April 6th, 1S47.—Our farmers are gen¬ 
erally preparing to sow their oats. Some few have 
done so already. The weather is unusually cold and 
wet for this season. Winter grains look very poor, es¬ 
pecially such as are on heavy land. Our farmers have 
sold, the past winter, much corn at high prices—75 to 
100 cts. per bushel. There have been some large pur¬ 
chases of Guano for use, the present .season. One far¬ 
mer has 15 tons for his own use.. Those who used it 
last year, generally were pleased with it.” 
Effect of example. —A correspohdent at Simsbury, 
Ct.., says that although the-, farmers in that vicinity are 
opposed to “ book-farming,” example has more or less 
influence on them. He cites an instance, as follows: 
“ My father commenced putting swamp muck oiviiisland, j 
some of Which is light and sandy. People passing by 
at the time shook their heads, and said it was of no use, 
it was a waste of labor; out he told them to wait and 
see. This was seven yeai ago; now all these farmers 
are carting muck themselves, into their yards and on to 
their lands, and they have greatly improved them.” 
Killing Rats. —In the December number of the 
Cultivator for 1846, you give a recipe" for destroying 
rats. Looking over a file of papers for 1830 and ’31,1 
read that pulverized cantharid.es, spread on bread and 
butter, were a positive remedy for rats—that after par¬ 
taking of the dish, they would leave the premises alto¬ 
gether. Alexander Leeds. St. Joseph’s , Mich. 
An Important Trifle. —We see no reason why 
writers on farming and domestic economy should not 
be correct in the use of the English language; yet a 
very common blunder is committed by many ot them, 
under a false notion of being very accurate and precise. 
The plural of words is formed by adding s at the end 
of the singular, but in the instance' alluded to, it is 
formed by crowding the a into the middle of the word, 
thus,— spoonful and shovelful, should, like all other sin¬ 
gle words, be changed to the plural by the addition of 
a, as spoonfuls and shovelfuls ; and hi ot by placing it in 
the middle, as spoonsful and shovelsful. It you wish to 
say three spoons full, this will of course be correct, for 
here there are two distinct words, fully spelled out, and 
the plural indicates the three implements or spoons used 
on the occasion; but the word spoonful designates a cer¬ 
tain quantity, precisely as the word bushel does; and it 
is no more correct to say three spoonsful, than to say 
three halfsbushel. O. 
Exportation of Ice. —According to the 11 Horticul¬ 
turist,” New-England ice is shipped' summer and win¬ 
ter, on voyagqs of 16,000 miles, crossing the equator 
twice, supplying vast ice-houses in the East Indies, and 
where it is constantly kept the whole year. 
WOOL FOR THE ENGLISH MARKETS. 
The season is close at hand when sheep must be 
sheared, and the wool prepared for market. Conside¬ 
rable of our wool has latterly been sent to England, and 
more of it might undoubtedly have been sent there to 
-good advantage, but that the bad condition of American 
wool has greatly retarded its sale, and depreciated its 
value. Mr. Hamilton Gay, of New-York, who has 
been considerably engaged in the exportation of wool, 
stated in a circular issued last year in reference to the 
subject, that nearly all the wool sent to England from 
this country in 1845, was lessened in value to the 
amount of a penny, English, (about two cents,) per lb. 
in consequence of the u oil, yolk, and dirt.” which the 
fleeces contained.- 
Mr. Gay directs that great care should be taken to 
wash the sheep thoroughly before shearing, and that 
they should be sheared as soon as they become dry. 
That in tying up the fleeces, the loose locks, clippings, 
and tags, and everything uiielean. or of an inferior qua¬ 
lity, together with the coarse wool from the thighs, if 
there be any, should be wholly rejected, and the fleeces 
tied up firmly,-so as to keep their shape, and show, as 
is customary, the best part of the fleece on the outside. 
In regard to packing and sacking, he directs that the 
wool, befoie it is put in sacks, should be carefully sort¬ 
ed, according to the grades of foreign manufacturers. 
His directions on this point, are not however, sufficient¬ 
ly minute to enable the wool-grower here to fully under¬ 
stand what should be the character of the different sorts. 
He says — u The broad-cloth makers in the west of Eng¬ 
land—the worsted combers of Yorkshire—the flannel 
manufacturers of Rochdale—and those who make hosiery 
in Nottingham—purchase in their several markets, a sup¬ 
ply suitable only for their own machinery. So nice does 
this discrimination run, that the fleeces of fine wool taken 
from the sheep one year old, which wefe never before 
shorn, are mostly sent to one part of the countiy and 
there sold to be used for one purpose, and the fleeces ta¬ 
ken from the same sheep the next season, are taken 
to another part of the country, and there wrought into 
a very different kind of goods.” 
In filling the sacks, Mr. Gay observes that the wool 
should never be pressed by machinery, but carefully 
packed by a man inside, anil the fleeces of weak staple 
rejected and packed by themselves. 
Mr. Morrell, in the “ American Shepherd ,” gives 
particular directions in regard to preparing wool for 
market. He recommends that the fleeces, as fast as 
they are taken from the sheep, should be spread on a 
table, the outside uppermost. The fleece is then care¬ 
fully spread out, the ragged portions from the neck, 
head, and skirts separated, and the fleece then made as 
compact as possible, by pushing the sides towards the 
centre. li The loose wool is then thrown upon the 
fleece, which is followed by turning over the sides and 
ends so as to form an oblong stripe, say about two to 
threeTeet long, and one and a half wide, which moved 
to the front edge of the table. He then commences to 
roll the long stripe, aided by a boy at the other end of 
it, who lay their arms flat from the elbow to press the . 
wool as the rolling proceeds, till the stripe is reduced 
to six or nine inches in width, depending on the size of 
the fleece. The boy then mounts upon the table, and 
each commences rolling from the ends of the stripe till 
the parts meet, when the boy rolls his portion on the 
top of assistant’s, firmly pressing it till the twine is 
passed round both ways and tied, which effectually se¬ 
cures the fleece, no matter how roughly handled. Af¬ 
ter it receives a slight pressure, it presents somewhat 
the form of a cheese.” He earnestly enjoins that the 
fleeces should be thoroughly cleansed, and nothing put 
within them but !i chan things .” 
