January 12. THE COTTAGE GARDENER, 283 
first by all available means, for besides the weather, a 
host of enemies will very likely attack the crop. Mice, 
in the first instance, will seize aud devour the seed just 
when it is coming through the ground, if not before. 
Rats are equally destructive, and worse to trap, but they 
are rarely so numerous. Wood Pigeons are also sad 
l enemies; these are only frightened away by the use of 
gunpowder ; while, perhaps, the worst to combat is 
j tho slug, which, in mild seasons, abounds in such 
j numbers as to render the protection of tho crop a 
! work of difficulty. Nevertheless, it must be persevered 
j in ; and in addition to tho use of coal-ashes as a covering, 
' and of lime, soot, &c., as dustings, the rows might also 
! be partly covered with barley chaff, which is one of the 
. best of all coverings, being a preservative against the slug, 
j as well as a protector to the plants themselves. We, there¬ 
fore, urge on the necessity of this article being more used 
by gardeners who have the means of obtaining it, for it 
not only saves Peas, but it will be found useful to other 
things as well, its sharp points, and angular file-like 
sides, rendering it a more formidable barrier to the slug 
than anything else we are acquainted with. It is 
needless to say that sticks should be supplied as soon as 
possible; and when severe frost sets in suddenly, 
after a long period of mild weather, some other covering 
should be adopted as well. This will suggest itself 
to the cultivator in sundry ways; and it is not the most 
costly that is at all times the most useful, for a few 
boughs of Furze, evergreen Firs, or anything that way, 
will sometimes serve as well as waterproof covering, &c. 
In closing this account, I cannot recommend any one 
Pea in particular as likely to meet all the wants of the 
case in hand, for I believe the number of really distinct 
kinds is much fewer than many people imagine. I 
have so repeatedly been deceived in a so-called new one 
being only a “Kent,” or “Charlton,” that I fear it will 
not be safe to say which are generally good; but I have 
found Warner's Emperor universally so, aud as it is a 
fair, good kind, of medium height, and not new now, 
consequently, likely to be genuine, I would recommend 
it to the inexperienced for the earliest crop. Later crops 
I will speak of hereafter, as other considerations will 
determine these; and as the first crop will have been 
sown some weeks before these pages reach the reader, I 
would advise those who have not tried this Pea in 
November, to try it in January, and I question much if 
the six weeks difference in the time of sowing will 
make more than half that number of days in the 
gathering, other things being the same. This, however, 
with other matters relating to second crops, must be 
postponed t.o another time. J. Robson. 
MANAGEMENT OF DOWN EWES AS 
BREEDING STOCK. 
(Continued from page 244.) 
There aro two circumstances which concur to make 
a Hock of Down Ewes, as breeding stock, in all proba¬ 
bility, more profitable for the future than they have 
been hitherto; first, the great and increasing consump¬ 
tion of mutton and lambs; and secondly, tho almost 
entire supply of wether mutton being obtained by early 
maturity, and derived from sheep killed at two years old 
or under. Coupling these two, with other favourable 
circumstances, it must be considered as highly en¬ 
couraging to flock-masters to proceed with energy and 
judgment in increasing, as much as possible, the extent 
of their stocks of breeding Ewes. 
Early maturity is certainly become a new feature in 
fattening of sheep; and, as it is likely to be very much 
more extended, there is no doubt but it will induce 
breeders of Down Sheep to use more judgment than has 
been hitherto shewn in the selection of their stock. 
This brings us to one of the most important points in 
the whole range of sheep management; and one upon 
which the success aud profit of a flock mainly depends. 
For it must be admitted, that those kind of sheep which 
are most in demand by the purchasers, and which will 
consume the green crops of the farm with the greatest 
amount of profit, possess those qualities which should 
direct our judgment in selection. 
Under the head of “Downs,” I must name three 
varieties as demanding our attention, the origin of all, 
being, without doubt, the South or Sussex Downs; tho 
other two being founded upon crosses with other breeds, 
and are called the Hampshire Downs and Shropshire 
Downs. The two latter are at the present day engross¬ 
ing the attention of breeding and flock-masters to a 
much greater extent than formerly. It is, however, 
well known, that all Down varieties of Sheep have been 
greatly improved for useful and profitable purposes by 
the advocates and admirers of each particular sort. It 
may be considered a somewhat difficult task to advise 
parties to select as breeding stock, for general purposes, 
any sort in particular, as the soil, situation, and climate 
must be taken into account. My intention is, however, 
to offer a few ideas upon tho subject, and which are 
gleaned chiefly from my own experience and observa' 
tion. For farms situated upon tho high and exposed 
chalk hills of the southern counties of Hampshire, 
Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, and Berkshire, the improved 
variety of Hampshire Down proves to be well adapted- 
There is no question but that they are more hardy 
than the pure Sussex Down; which fact, together with 
the advantage of additional size, and early maturity, 
has influenced the minds of breeders in selecting this 
variety; and I do not hesitate to say, that the Hamp¬ 
shire breed are quietly making way, and driving the 
Sussex Downs from many of the above-named districts. 
In the south-western counties of Dorsetshire, Somer¬ 
setshire, and Wiltshire, upon the best soils, whore 
breeding flocks aro kept, the Sussex Downs still pre¬ 
dominate, although they are greatly improved in size, 
and in many other respects, since their first introduction, 
which took place after the Horned Sheep of these districts 
were given up. Many of tli6 finest flocks of breeding 
Ewes of these counties still retain the advantages which 
I they derived from a cross with the Horned Dorset; and, 
i although they are, in appearance and geueral character, 
South Downs, yet this dash of the breed, together with 
the influence of soil and climate, gives them the pro¬ 
pensity for early breeding, and for the purposes of 
producing early Down Lambs, renders them much in 
request by graziers in arable districts. 
The Hampshire variety of sheep differ widely in this re¬ 
spect, and their lambing season is from five to six weeks 
later; nor is this singular, when it is considered that the 
derivation of the breed was by crossing with the native 
breed, and that the soil is cold and backward upon which 
