576 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 5, 1924 
in the State. In counties where associations have 
not been organized the individuals may deal directly 
with the State association, and thus receive any 
benefits. Advance payments are made on members' 
wool when requested. Shipments of wool range 
from 30 lbs. to 3,000 lbs. and over, depending on 
the number of sheep a farmer may have. Un¬ 
doubtedly, sheep growing is today the most profitable 
of the live-stock industries. The outlook for the im¬ 
mediate future is also encouraging. There is room 
for many more sheep in the East during these times 
of labor shortage. f. e. robertson. 
A Plain Story of Sheep 
ARE IN DETAILS.—The man who intends to 
take up sheep husbandry ought first to take a 
leaf from the book of the successful industrialists 
and apply their minute attention to details and ob¬ 
serve that they invariably supply adequate equip¬ 
ment for the prosecution of their enterprises. In¬ 
efficient appliances are a source of vexation and dis¬ 
appointment. They cause the loss of ewes and 
lambs, and generally interfere with that smooth¬ 
ness of operation which is so essential to profit. 
Every farmer who has chased the cattle out of a 
poorly fenced cornfield will see the point. 
AN ALFALFA BASIS.—Alfalfa, which yields SO 
per cent more dry matter per acre than corn, is the 
best basis on which to build up a flock of sheep, 
though any fine leafy legume will give good results 
for Winter feed. Sheep with lambs must have a 
ration rich in protein. For the first five months of a 
lamb’s life it is essentially a dairy proposition; the 
more milk he gets the more meat he will put on. 
Timothy hay is not good because it is low in protein, 
the chaff spoils the wool, and the harsh, sharp heads 
cause fatal bowel trouble in the little lambs. Years 
ago it was our custom to winter about 500 ewes on 
marsh hay in open sheds, but it was impossible to 
save many of the lambs until grass came. I recol¬ 
lect seeing a pile of dead lambs which would have 
made a fair load for one horse. Probably from this 
old method comes the idea, common in this country, 
that lambs should not come befoi’e May 1. Nowa¬ 
days we winter our flock in a warm basement, and 
feed Alfalfa, so we can have our lambs come as 
early as they will. Five per cent will cover our 
losses. Full feed with warm housing sweats a pound 
or more of grease into each fleece. 
THE YOUNG LAMB.—As soon as a ewe lambs 
she is put with her lamb in -a tight pen about 4 ft. 
square. We leave them alone for about two or three 
hours, by which time they have got acquainted. If 
the ewe has been well fed the lamb is usually able 
to find his dinner without help; the ewe's udder is 
distended and uncomfortable, so the little stranger 
is very welcome indeed. If at the end of three hours 
the youngster has not connected with his source of 
supply, one man sets the ewe up on her rump while 
another puts the lamb on a teat or, if he will not 
suck, milks into his mouth. Sometimes it takes two 
or three days to get the little fellows going. It is a 
job for strong and patient men. No others will 
answer. The ewe is left in the pen for a week or 10 
days, and the lamb watched to see that he does not 
get “plugged up behind.” Sometimes the feces accu¬ 
mulate around the rectum so that it is necessary to 
scrape the lamb off with a stick or corncob. If this 
is not attended to the lamb will die. Once in a while 
a ewe refuses to own her lamb. In that case we turn 
it over to the women to raise on a bottle. It rarely 
happens in an Alfalfa-fed flock, and the effort pays 
better when applied to prevention rather than cure. 
FURTHER CARE.—The ewe should not be re¬ 
turned to the flock till her lamb is able to fend for 
himself a little. We have a trough in the feed alley 
with oats in it. The lambs soon learn to get through 
the partition fence and help themselves. Then how 
they grow! If we bought grain perhaps we should 
feed something else; we feel that we have more 
money from converting our land and labor into lamb 
than from trying to make a profit qn expensive feeds. 
The flock is turned out for exercise every decent day, 
and has an abundance of water and salt. They are 
pretty well crowded, having only 12 sq. ft. of floor 
space per ewe. I think 16 ft. would be better, with 
lambing pens and creep additional. Individual man¬ 
agement would make a difference. The point is to 
strike a balance between the feed and shelter avail¬ 
able, so as to secure the maximum return from the 
use of both. 
SHEARING.—We have just finished shearing 
(Mar. 12). We consider that the wool is at the top 
of its condition now. Full feed in a snug basement 
has produced a long staple, full of grease. Several 
12-lb. fleeces justify our opinion. From now on the 
fleeces would tend to dry out and become lighter 
rather than heavier. We attribute our success in 
Winter handling to simple diligence, Alfalfa and 
proper shelter. h. r. s. 
Bluff Point, N. Y. 
“Title By Adverse Possession” 
Can you tell me the meaning of “title by adverse pos¬ 
session?” Some are of the opinion that title can be 
gained merely by occupying a piece of land continuously 
for 20 years. I hold that the land must be so occupied 
in the face of dispute as regards ownership. For in¬ 
stance, if there were no fence on a line between my land 
and that of my neighbor, and I build a fence where I 
claim the line lies, but I really put the line over on his 
land 10 ft., and he disputes the location of the line, but 
Cortland Apple Tree Eight Years Planted With 
Fourth Successive Crop. Fig. 210 
takes no action to dispossess me for 20 years, then I can 
claim title by adverse possession ; but if he knows noth¬ 
ing about the correct line and does not dispute the loca¬ 
tion I have made, I cannot gain tijle merely by occupy¬ 
ing the land for 20 years. Is this latter view of the 
case correct or not? 
It might be well to caution your readers about the 
laws regarding subdivisions. If land is subdivided into 
lots, blocks, plots or sites, with or without streets, for 
the purpose of offering to the public, a map must be 
A Little Ohio Girl and Her Friend 
filed with the county clerk, and a duplicate with the 
town clerk. No street may be laid out less than three 
rods wide,' excepting that in certain cases an existing 
street or road width may be extended for not more than 
a mile. F. T. M. 
New York. 
ORPUS JURIS defines adverse possession as 
follows: “Adverse possession, generally speak¬ 
ing, is a possession of another’s land which, when 
accompanied by certain acts and circumstances, will 
vest title in the possessor. No matter in what juris¬ 
diction the determination of what constitutes ad¬ 
verse possession may arise, the decisions and text¬ 
books are unanimous in declaring that the posses¬ 
sion must be actual, visible, exclusive, hostile, and 
continued during the time necessary to create a bar 
under the statute of limitations. Whenever any of 
these elements, or any othei element inquired by 
statute is lacking, no title by adverse possession can 
x*ipen.” 
The laws of the State of New York provide 
“Where the occupant of those under whom he claims 
entered into the possession of the premises under 
claim of title, exclusive of any other right, founding 
the claim upon a written instrument as being a 
conveyance of the premises in question, or upon the 
decree or judgment of a competent court, and there 
has been a continued occupation and possession of 
the premises included in the instrument, decree or 
judgment, or of some part thereof, for 20 yeai's, 
under the same claim, the premises so included are 
deemed to have been held adversely; except that 
where they consist of a tract divided into lots the 
possession of one lot is not deemed a possession of 
any other lot.” 
For the purpose of constituting an adverse pos¬ 
session by a person claiming a title founded upon 
a written instrument or a judgment or decree, land 
is deemed to have been possessed and occupied in 
either of the following cases: 
1. Where it has been usually cultivated or im¬ 
proved. 
2. Where it has been protected by a substantial 
inclosure. 
3. Where, although not inclosed, it has been used 
for the supply of fuel or of fencing timber, either 
for the purposes of husbandry or for the ordinary 
use of the occupant. 
Where a known farm or a single lot has been 
partly improved, the portion of the farm or lot that 
has been left not cleared or not inclosed according 
to the usual course and custom of the adjoining 
country, is deemed to have been occupied for the 
same length of time as the part improved and cul¬ 
tivated. 
Where there has been an actual continued occupa¬ 
tion of premises under a claim of title, exclusive of 
any other right, but not founded upon a written 
instrixment or a judgment or decree, the premises 
so actually occupied, and no others, are deemed to 
have been held adversely. 
For the purpose of constituting an adverse pos¬ 
session by a person claiming title not founded upon 
a written instrument or a judgment or decree land 
is deemed to have been possessed and occupied in 
either of the following cases, and no others: 
1. Where it has been px-otected by a substantial 
inclosure. 
2. Where it has been usually cultivated or im¬ 
proved. N. T. 
How to Handle Bones 
I have many stray, bones lying around on the farm, 
which I would like to use for fertilizer. I am burning 
wood in an old-time box stove, and could reduce those 
dry bones to ashes. Would this destroy the mineral 
value? R. B. c. 
Ohio. 
HEN you burn these bones you drive away all 
the niti’ogen. You have left in the ashes a 
good quantity of phosphonis and lime. There is 
practically no potash in the bone. By driving off the 
nitrogen you lose about half the fertilizing value of 
these bones, but the cost of reducing them in other 
ways is generally so heavy that it is almost impos¬ 
sible to carry out that work in ordinary farm prac¬ 
tice. The best way woxxld be to crush these bones 
in a bone grinder; that gives a form of bone meal 
which makes excellent fertilizer. A very strong mill 
and heavy power is required to do this work. The 
manufacturers often smash or crush the bones and 
then treat them with sulphuric acid to make them 
available. We do not advise the use of this power¬ 
ful acid on the farm by ordinary hands. The bones 
can be softened by mixing them with unleaclied 
wood ashes, keeping the entire mass wet with liquid 
manure. After several months of this treatment, 
the softer bones are reduced so that they can be 
crushed l'easonably well. Some good x*esults are re¬ 
ported whei-e the bones are broken up with a sledge 
and mixed with inoculated sulphur in a compost 
heap or pile of rich soil. The bones are softened in 
this way so that they can be smashed with a heavy 
sledge or maul. All this requires considerable work, 
and if you realize that you lose the nitrogen when 
you burn the bones that is perhaps the most practical 
way of handling them. 
