THE CULTIVATOR. 
27 
Simple substances, synonymous with elements; not divisible. 
Smelting. The operation of fusing ores, to separate the metal from 
the sulphur, arsenic and other matters with which they are 
combined. 
Solution, the perfect union of a solid substance with a fluid. 
Sulphates , sulphats, salts formed by the combination of any base 
with sulphuric acid. 
Sulphurets, combinations of alkalis or metals with sulphur. 
Tartrates , salts formed by a combination of any base with the acid 
of tartar. 
Tartaric acid, the acid found in the grape. 
Torrefaclion, roasting of ores. 
Trituration, the pulverizing, or union of bodies by friction. 
Thermometer , an instrument to show the relative heat of bodies, and 
of the atmosphere. 
Vacuum, a space unoccupied by matter. 
__SHEEP HUSBANDRY._ 
THE SHEEP.— {Continued from page 149, Vol. 3.) 
SOUNDNESS. 
Soundness is intimately connected with “truenessit means 
strength of the fibre generally, and also a freedom from those 
breaches or withered portions to which allusion has been made.— 
The unassisted eye, or at least the eye of the wool-stapler or sort¬ 
er, will readily detect the breaches; but the hair generally may not 
possess a degree of strength proportionate to its bulk. This is as¬ 
certained by drawing a few hairs out of the staple, and grasping 
each of them singly by both ends, and pulling them until they 
break. 
Soundness is a very important property in wool, and was abso¬ 
lutely indispensable in long wool when that alone was subjected to 
the operation of the comb. If it broke in pieces in the act of 
combing, the shreds (termed noils) were useless in the worsted ma¬ 
nufactory, and, indeed, were regarded as little better than refuse: 
when it is recollected that the clothing-wools are not required to 
possess so great a degree of strength as the old combing ones, but, 
on the contrary, would be less useful if they had this strength ; and 
that now, many short wools being made to undergo the process of 
combing,—the sound portion of one part of the staple may be mix¬ 
ed with the tender fibre from another part of another fleece, and, 
possibly, even a denser pile may be raised on the surface of the cloth. 
There is, however, a limit to the tenderness of that clothing-wool, 
which may pass muster with the manufacturer. Not only the pile 
may be properly broken under the operation of the card, but it may 
become so comminuted that it will either be driven away, dissipated 
by the action of the cylinders, or it may afterwards break, and the 
fabric of the cloth be destroyed under the beating of the fulling- 
mill. 
The wool of sickly or murrain sheep is generally not only finer 
than in a healthy sheep of the same breed, but it possesses this ten¬ 
der quality, not to be detected by the eye, nor even by the micro¬ 
scope ; unless that it may be suspected by a slighter degree of po¬ 
lish, and not having so full and round an appearance. 
Age has often much effect in deteriorating the fleece. The yolk 
lessens in quantity after the sheep, and especially the ewe, is six 
years old; and, to the decrease of the yolk, there soon follows a hard, 
inelastic, unyielding character of the wool, that renders it useless 
for several purposes for which the younger, and especially the weth- 
er-wool, is sought. Mr. Luccock applies a very singular, but ap¬ 
propriate word, to this old ewe-wool—“ it dies in the bowl”—it 
sinks in the water in which it is washed—and acquires there a 
shrivelled and dead-like appearance. It is difficult to spin, and it 
materially injures the manufacture in which it is employed. 
The wool often becomes considerably injured by felting while it 
is on the sheep’s back. This is principally seen in the heavy 
breeds, especially those that are neglected and half-starved. It ge¬ 
nerally begins in the winter season, when the coat has been com¬ 
pletely saturated with wet; and it increases until shearing time, 
unless the cot separates from the wool beneath and drops off. The 
colling of wool is only an injurious extension of the process of felt¬ 
ing—the wool forms into a hard thick knot that can scarcely ever 
be unravelled. 
Some breeds are more subject than others to this defect: the 
Morfe sheep and the Cheviots have been especially accused of pos¬ 
sessing this harling property in the wool. It occurs before the wool 
has begun to separate from the skin; but then by its weight, and 
the manner in which it acts on the portion below, the wool begins 
to be gradually detached from the back and connected only by a 
few scattered hairs, while a new crop grows underneath. 
Collections of a similar kind are frequently seen under the ears of 
long and fine-haired spaniels. 
Mr. Parkinson speaks of two diseases, or rather defects of wool. 
The first he calls a feathery wool, set very thinly upon the pelt, and 
falling very closely together. “When shorn it laps up in very 
small bundles, and weighs heavy, according to its substance, but 
the whole fleeces are of light weight; it also is weak and curled, 
and breaks much in combing.” This, with his wonted prejudice 
against the improved Leicesters, he affirms to be the usual charac¬ 
ter of their wool. 
The other defect he calls watery wool,—“ it is so full of grease 
that it looks damp; and a stranger to this kind of wool would be 
assured that it had been wetted, and the proper smell of the wool 
will alone undeceive him.” This wool, according to him, is fre¬ 
quently seen on the coarse Lincolns. He says that this watery 
wool is a very bad sort, and on poor sheep is frequently cotted, and 
at all times is of an objectionable quality for the manufacturer. 
Wool is generally injured by keeping. It will probably increase 
a little in weight for a few months, especially if kept in a. damp 
place; but after that it will somewhat rapidly become lighter, until 
a very considerable loss will often be sustained. This, however, is 
not the worst of the case; for, except very great care is taken, the 
moth will get into the bundles and injure and destroy the staple; 
and that which remains untouched by them will become considera¬ 
bly harsher and less pliable. If to this the loss of the interest of 
money is added, it will be seen that he seldom acts wisely who 
long hoards his wool, when he can obtain what approaches to a fair 
remunerating price for it.— Library of Useful Knowledge, Farmers' 
Series. 
Young Men’s Department. 
HINTS TO YOUNG FARMERS—No. V. 
CULTURE OF THE MIND. 
You know well, that one piece of land, a garden for instance, yields 
vastly more than another piece of ground of equal natural fertility. 
And you know equally well, that one man abounds more in know¬ 
ledge and usefulness, than another to whom nature has been alike 
bountiful. It is culture—it is the indqstry and perseverance of man, 
exerted in one case, and not in the other, that produces the marked 
contrast in both. The cultivator is sure to be rewarded, in his har¬ 
vests, for the care and labor which he bestows upon his soil; and 
the reward is no less certain to him who devotes his leisure hours to 
the culture of his mind. The soil administers to our animal wants. 
Knowledge not only greatly assists in supplying these wants, but is 
the primary source of intellectual wealth, which dollars alone cannot 
give, and, when consorted with good habits, tends to refine, elevate 
and distinguish men above their fellows. Talent is not hereditary. 
You will see, on looking around, that most of the distinguished men 
of our country have sprung from humble or obscure parentage. 
They are indebted for present distinction to the culture which they 
have themselves bestowed upon their minds. The road to useful¬ 
ness and honorable distinction is equally open to you, and the time 
has arrived when you must decide, whether you will compete for the 
noble prize. 
If you wish to be prosperous in your business—to know, and to 
profit by, the improvements of the age—cultivate your mind—for 
this is the great labor-saving machine. If you wish to see your chil¬ 
dren intelligent, thriving and respected, teach them, by example, to 
cultivate the mind. If you would be useful to your friends, and merit 
the confidence and esteem of your neighbors, seek early to qualify 
yourselves for the duties of social life, by the culture of the mind. If 
you aspire to intellectual enjoyments, which flow from the study of 
the material world—from the order, harmony and beauty, which meet 
us in every walk, in the manifold and wonderful works of the Crea¬ 
tor-—cultivate the mind. In fine, if you would prosper in your bu¬ 
siness, in your family and in society, cultivate the mind. 
But knowledge is not always wisdom ; and therefore, be as scru¬ 
pulous in regard to your studies, as you are in regard to the seed 
which you deposit in the soil. You will reap whatever you sow; 
and the mind is as liable to be cumbered with weeds as is the soil. 
