158 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
May. 
As ornaments to the grounds of gentlemen of wealth 
and taste, this variety of sheep is unrivaled. They 
have no taste for roving, never escape from their enclo¬ 
sure, are quiet and harmless among shrubbery and trees, 
gentle and even affectionate and grateful among chil¬ 
dren. Their great square forms and fleeces of snowy 
whiteness, are suggestive of comfort and good cheer, 
and their broad countenances beam with a quiet content¬ 
ment and freedom from anxiety, which a wise man might 
well envy. 
To many, the humble occupations and quiet pleasures 
of rural life, appear insipid, but for myself, I glory in 
the sentiment which the great bard of nature has placed 
in the mouth of his shepherd—“ I am a true laborer; 
I earn that I eat, I get that I wear, I owe no man hate, 
envy no man's happiness, glad of other men’s good, con¬ 
tent with my harm, and the. greatest of my pride is to 
see my ewes graze, and my lambs play.” John T. 
Andrew. West Cornwall , Ct. 
Stocks and Crops in Caledonia County, Vt. 
No one interested in fanning operations can pass through 
Caledonia County, without observing every where nu¬ 
merous evidences of the genuine thrift and manly inde¬ 
pendence of the cultivators or her fertile soil. The 
true spirit of improvement seems to be hovering over 
their beautiful farms, counselling them to greater effort 
for the elevation of their profession to its true rank and 
dignity. It is a cheering sign of the times that a spirit 
of inquiry, of experiment and improvement, prevails 
among the mass of farmers in all parts of the country. 
They are anxious to know more of the rationale of their 
business. They are not satisfied with travelling the 
old paths their ancestors trod, but with a noble enthu¬ 
siasm, are launching boldly out upon a new, yet promi¬ 
sing course of culture, which augurs well of triumphant 
success. A halo of light is thi'own into every depart¬ 
ment of his business by the revelations of science, in¬ 
spiring him with a newer life and prompting him to ex¬ 
ert a more powerful and energetic action. 
The farmers of Caledonia County have caught this 
spirit. We behold it in their more generously cultiva¬ 
ted fields, in their improved stock, and in the almost 
unparalleled product of their dairies. 
It is a peculiar characteristic of this section of Ver¬ 
mont, that equal fertility extends to the tops of the 
highest hills, affording the very best pasturage in the 
world. Hence the large quantities of beef, annually 
turned off to market and fattened at the cheapest rate. 
The stock of cattle are mostly the improved native. 
They are esteemed the best for the dairy. In some 
parts of the County, the Devons have been introduced, 
and are preferred for working oxen and early beef. There 
are also some herds of Durhams and Ayershires, which, 
crossed with the native, produce very fine stock for all 
purposes. 
Ira Brainard, Esq., of Danville, has a pair of steers, 
four year’s old, a cross of the Devon with the Durham, 
which weigh 4,300 lbs. and girt eight feet. They have 
not had extra keeping till within a few months. Mr. 
B. is preparing them for the shambles, and we shall 
again hear a report from them, sueh as will do honor to 
the owner and the State. 
i I mention in this connection, a mammoth yoke of three 
year old Durham steers, owned by Mr. Daniel Richard¬ 
son, of Waitsfield, Washington county, the girt of which 
is seven and a half feet, weight 3800 lbs. These cattle 
are thought to be the best in Vermont. In size and 
beauty they are seldom equalled. 
Last year, Mr. Brainard raised 216 bushels of oats 
on two acres. The ground had been heavily manured 
from the barn-yard, the year previous, and planted with 
corn and potatoes. It yielded a profitable crop. Six 
bushels of oats to the acre were sown. Many of the 
farmers are in favor of heavy seeding with oats; five 
cr» and six bushels are commonly sown on an acre, where 
J/ the land is rich and well prepared. Large crops are 
7 } raised in this County. The average yield per acre is 
about 60 bushels. The best farmers get from 75 to 100 
bushels. Mr. Joel Fletcher, of Lyndon, raised in 1852, 
2,000 bushels, worth 42 cents per bushel. His crop of 
potatoes from 22 acres, amounted to 7,000 bushels, worth 
25 cents, to be manufactured into starch. They were 
the long red variety. He also raised 150 bushels of 
herds-grass seed, which he sold for $3,30 per bushel. 
He uses large quantities of muck, mixing it equally with 
stable manure, and applying it in the spring, at the 
rate of about 25 cart loads to the acre. Spreads and 
plows in for potatoes, and the next year follows with 
oats, and seeds down with herds-grass and clover, using 
•one peck-of the former and 10 lbs. of the latter. Mr. 
F. has a beatiful herd of Devon cattle. He usually win¬ 
ters 100 head. One pair of yearling steers weighed, in 
Sept. 1852, 2,050 lbs. They followed their d!ims the 
first summer, and have had liberal keeping since. 
The farmers in this County are beginning to appre¬ 
ciate the value of turneps and carrots for their stock. 
The largest crop of carrots w r as raised last year by Mr. 
J. C. Hodge, of St. Johnsbury. The product on 11 
rods of ground, was 110 bushels, or at the rate of 1,760 
bushels per acre. The variety rvas the long orange red. 
The ground was heavily manured with well rotted stable 
manure, and plowed in about tw elve inches deep. Soil, 
a black rich mould mixed with gravelly sub-soil. Seed, 
sown the 1st of May in drills one foot apart, and 
thinned to four or five inches distant. 
Wheat is raised with success upon the higher hills. 
On the low lands, the rust and wevils destroy the crop. 
It has been found necessary to sub-soil, in order to get 
a good return. Many have tried the experiment, and it 
proved very satisfaetorj^. The average crop is 20 bush¬ 
els per acre. 
Caledonia County has a flourishing Agricultural So¬ 
ciety, which creates a spirit of emulation among the 
fanners, and they vie with each other in attaining the 
true and most important object of making their farms 
the most productive with the least expense. W. A. 
White. Lancaster , N. H. 
Young Lambs. 
To raise a lamb, that’s “over the dam,” 
Mind what I say, lie’ll skip and play. 
It is a very nice operation to raise a young Iamb, after 
he refuses food, has a cold mouth, stiff neck, &c. 
We have been successful in hydropathy on man and 
animals, contrary to old practice.* Put the lamb into a 
bucket of water, as warm as you can hold your hand 
without scalding; let him remain there about four min¬ 
utes, or until all tremor subsides. Then take him out, 
and wipe him over with a warm cloth or sponge, and if 
not too far gone, give him a table-spoonful of warm 
drink. Strong green tea, or ginger tea, adding sugar 
and milk, or all mixed together, are good. Hot wool 
blankets should be in readiness, and wound close around 
him, covering all but his head, from the air; let there be 
two sets, and change often. As soon as he is so far re¬ 
vived, as to act like eating, give him a tea-spoonful or 
two of milk, warm from the ewe, or “new cow’s milk.” 
As soon as he is hungry, and not before, feed him lightly. 
Here the great secret lies in feeding and rearing young 
lambs. We are apt to over feed; this often kills them. 
Their stomachs are weak, they cannot digest but a little 
at a time. Therefore feed but little and often at first. 
Let us reason—Of what use is an extra quantity 
of food forced into the stomach, where There is not 
sufficient gastric juice, the solvent of the food, or other 
chemical agents, which weak nature has not at com¬ 
mand, to dissolve and digest the food lodged there at 
once 'l 
The stomach acts like the mill, which was so over¬ 
fed as to clog the wheels. The inoffensive lamb has no 
other remedy, but premature death. S. W. Jewett. 
Middlebury, Vt., March 17, 1853. 
The care and attention the farmer bestows on his 
domestic animals is a sure index of his thrift, as well 
as of the natural kindness of his disposition. 
