712 
I'HE R.UR.A.L, NEW-YORKEK 
May 15, 1915. 
Stable Ventilation. 
I am going to remodel my barn this 
year, and wish to put in some good ven¬ 
tilating system. I am going to put up a 
basement 30 by 70 feet and eight feet 
high, with one row of cattle extending the 
whole length; an eight-foot drive behind. 
Will you advise a good plan of ventilat¬ 
ing? i- J- T. 
Clymer, N. Y. 
There are two good ways of ventilat¬ 
ing such a stable, by windows and by 
the King system, the former being the 
more simple. There should be a row of 
windows about four feet from the floor 
on each of at least two sides of the sta¬ 
ble. and these may be of single sash 
hinged at the bottom to drop inwardly 
at the, top. A V-shaped board on either 
side of each sash will close the side open¬ 
ing and force the air to enter the win¬ 
dow at the top when the sash is dropped 
back a fevf inches for ventilation. This 
board forms what is known as a “hopper 
side.” is affixed to the barn wall, and 
has along its inner edge a wooden strip, 
or stop, against which the sash rests 
when open. By opening these windows 
on one or the other side of the stable, 
according to the direction and velocity 
of the wind, one can obtain a good cir¬ 
culation of air without direct drafts 
upon the cattle. Several small openings 
for fresh air near the ceiling with one 
or more large air chutes extending from 
mar the floor to above the roof consti¬ 
tute the King system. This cannot well 
be described without drawings but you 
will find in Bulletin No. 30, “Barns and 
(hitbuildings,” obtainable upon applica¬ 
tion to the State College of Agriculture 
at Ithaca, N. Y., a discussion, with il¬ 
lustrations, of methods of ventilating Sta¬ 
bles which will give you the information 
you wish. M - B. D. 
Mountain Mutton. 
Of all the possible profitable proposi¬ 
tions that are offered to the observing 
farmer today there is none comparable to 
the opportunity offered by the hilly or 
semi-mountainous regions of our North 
Country: the northern and eastern por¬ 
tions of New York State, and some sec¬ 
tions of Vermont and Massachusetts. 
The proposition is the raising of sheep 
upon these highlands. There is no land 
anywhere better adapted to the econom¬ 
ical production of mutton, and no loca¬ 
tion with better markets. In some of 
these sections the producer would not 
have to even deliver his produce, as there 
are countless hotels and small Summer 
resorts that ha\;e an almost insatiable de¬ 
mand for Spring lamb and first-class mut¬ 
ton and they are often after the animals 
before they are ready for market. 
These rolling hills and mountains are 
usually well supplied with water and are 
often covered with grass when there is but 
little on the lowland pastures. Besides, 
there is. the underbrush and the low 
hanging branches so relished by sheep; 
it would seem that the hills and downs 
of the English Isles must yield first place 
to these regions. There is tillable land 
enough to produce such roughage as 
would be required to winter the breeding 
flock, Bed clover being indigenous to 
many of the side hills and valleys and 
Timothy always a sure grass for hay. 
Sweet clover will grow on much of the 
soil and in some places Alfalfa does fair¬ 
ly well. The greater profit would be 
obtained by selling the lambs and per¬ 
chance by buying up sheep in the Spring 
and fattening them upon the pastures. 
Of all the breeds of sheep two seem to 
offer the best and most numerous char¬ 
acteristics: The Cheviots for the highest 
elevations and the Shropshires for the 
more favorable parts. The Cheviots orig¬ 
inated in just such an environment, 
heights of a thousand feet and more be¬ 
ing common; the cold windy hills not 
harming them, and even the snow not be¬ 
ing too severe an obstruction to them. 
They are highly prized in the British 
Isles, some selling for fancy prices rang¬ 
ing from $150 to $775. They are very 
hardy, produce strong vigorous lambs in 
large numbers, the ewes averaging one 
and one-half a head. Their fleeces are 
not of the heaviest, though they average 
about six to nine pounds for ewes and 
seven to 11 for rams. The wool is of 
average quality and is said to shrink less 
than some other wools. The size of the 
Cheviot is medium mature rams weigh¬ 
ing 200 to 225 pounds, ewes 150 to 165 
pounds. The flesh is of good quality not 
over fat and contains a good proportion 
of lean meat. The Cheviot is somewhat 
peculiar in the fact that it does not feed 
around in flocks but seems to like to be 
by itself more than do other sheep. 
This breed is essentially a grazing breed 
and is also a very profitable one. The 
Shropshire is a very excellent breed, do¬ 
ing well on fair pasturage, and excep¬ 
tionally so on the best of pastures. They 
fatten readily and yield a fine quality of 
flesh, consuming less food per pound gain 
than other breeds excepting perhaps the 
Southdown. Their mature weights are 
about those of the Cheviots. Their per¬ 
centage of fecundity is high, often aver¬ 
aging a lamb and a half to a lamb and 
three-quarters. They are hardy and early 
maturing. A breeder might, too, breed 
purebred stock easily and without fear 
of mixing with neighboring flocks; this 
would of course add to the value of the 
flock for then rams could be sold for a 
sum greater than they would bring as 
mutton, and the breeding of purebred 
stock always adds interest to the business, 
because then the breeder is improving 
bis stock and the general standard of the 
stock of the whole State. 
w. j. IIAGAR. 
It. N.-Y.—This is all true, but the sha¬ 
dow on this bright picture is cast by 
dogs! 
The Sheep-killing Dog. 
The U. S. Government has finally de¬ 
clared war. No. hostilities are not likely 
to break out with any European country, 
but the Government has fired a lively 
volley of words on the sheep-killing dogs. 
There is a bulletin on the subject, No. 
652, from the National Agricultural De¬ 
partment. It seems that the dog is re¬ 
sponsible for a loss of over $140,000,000 
in sheep which might be produced if 
farmers were not in fear of the dogs. 
These dogs have caused a decrease of the 
number of sheep, and it is concluded that 
something over 100,000 sheep are killed 
each year. In addition to the sheep that 
are killed, two or three times as many 
are wounded or frightened so that they 
never entirely recover. It is well known 
that a flock that has once been worried 
or chased by dogs never makes a success 
at either wool or meat production. The 
Department of Agriculture sees three 
ways of getting rid of the dog nuisance. 
Sheep-tight fences may be put up, but 
these are expensive, and it is very dif¬ 
ficult to prevent sagging or falling down. 
The best outlook seems to be in a uniform 
State law which would hold throughout 
the country. The principle involved is a 
tax so heavy that it would discourage 
those who do not care enough about their 
dogs to keep them under control. 
A remedy that is suggested for this sit¬ 
uation is a uniform State dog law em¬ 
bodying the principle of a tax upon dogs 
sufficiently heavy to discourage those who 
are not willing to take^ care of their pets 
from keeping them. Under this plan all 
dogs over six months of age must be. li¬ 
censed each year, the tax paid at the time 
of licensing and a metal tag bearing the 
license number attached to the dog’s col¬ 
lar. Any dog found without this tag. un¬ 
attended and off its owner’s premises, may 
be killed. When found unattended on a 
farm where sheep are kept the dog may 
be killed whether it has the tag or not, 
and under any circumstances a dog 
caught chasing or killing sheep may .be 
killed. All dogs which can be proved to 
be sheep killers must be killed whether 
caught in the act or not, and a reward of 
$15 should be offered for any one identi¬ 
fying a sheep-killing dog. The money re¬ 
ceived from dog taxes should be devoted 
to reimbursing sheep owners for their lost 
stock and the county should in turn re¬ 
cover this money whenever possible from 
the dogs’ owners. A special license should 
be issued for kennels where large numbers 
of dogs are maintained under such condi¬ 
tions that they cannot possibly do any 
harm to neighboring flocks. 
“What is your name, little boy?” in¬ 
quired the kindergartner of her new pu¬ 
pil. “I don’t know,” said her little boy. 
“Well, what does your father call you?” 
"I don’t know,” still bashfully. “How 
does your mother call you when the grid- 
dlecakes are done?” “She doesn’t call 
me," beamed the new pupil; “I’m there.” 
—Ladies’ Home Journal. 
m 
“Come Over to See 
the Milker, Judson ? 
T HERE it is. You’re the sixth neighbor 
that’s called today. I’m mighty proud 
of the machine. It’s advertising my dairy. 
Luke had a piece in the Bugle about it last 
night. 
And Jud—I took Sunday off, something 
I haven’t had a chance to do since the 
Mayflower landed. The Milker has ‘The 
Teat Cup with the Upward Squeezed patented 
by the folks who invented it and used only 
on the 
SHARPLES 
N/l I L.K E R 
This Teat Cup gently massages the teats 
upward 55 times a minute, keeping the blood 
circulating as it ought to and the udders and 
teats in the pink of condition. 
Cows like it?—Jud, they take to it like a 
calf was getting its breakfast. The Teat Cup 
isn’t particular what kind of teats it milks. 
Snuggles over long ones, short ones, thick 
and slim ones perfectly. Put it on that 
three-teater I was thinking of shipping to the 
beef folks; and, honestly, I think the old 
girl’s coming back to life and means to get 
in the big producer class. 
The boys grin while they milk now. They 
get plenty of sleep, milk quickly, and get out 
in the field a couple of hours earlier. Better 
get a Sharpies, Jud, and cut out that hand¬ 
milking drudgery, or your trade will switch 
over to me.” 
It is our conviction that cows cannot be successfully 
milked by a machine without the upward squeeze. This 
process is covered by the broadest patent which our 
Government can grant—a process patent—owned by us. 
No other milker made in the world today gives an 
upward squeeze. W e will promptly defend our customers 
and ourselves should any infringement be attempted. 
The SHARPLES TUBULAR CREAM SEPARATOR 
is made in the oldest and greatest separator factory in 
the U. S. 
Send for literature describing in full detail the manifold 
advantages accruing from the every-day use of Sharpies 
products. Sent anywhere on request. 
The Sharpies Separator Company 
West Chester, Pennsylvania 
m 
Principal Branches : 
Chicago San Francisco 
District Offices and Agencies 
Everywhere 
H 
