THE CULTIVATOR. 
93 
below the branches around the trunk of the trees, which 
did prevent their access to the limbs, and afforded an 
opportunity of killing thousands at one brush with the 
paddle. 
Whole forests were stripped of its herbage this sea¬ 
son ; and, in many orchards not a green leaf could be 
found. The orchards and the wilderness only present¬ 
ed one vast scene of a scorching fire ; and many of them 
did not resume their wonted vigor after. Cider ad¬ 
vanced from one to four dollars per barrel—by the rise 
in fruit and cider, we were well paid for our enterprise, 
beside the preservation of a flourishing orchard from 
this destructive animal. The caterpillar, in the month 
of June, attains its full size, retires to some convenient 
spot, and securing itself properly to a leaf, or under 
the copings of walls or gates or palings, and about the 
eaves, doors and windows of houses, by a quantity of 
silken filaments, encloses itself in this wonderful garb, 
case, or cocoon of a conical figure. It there casts off its 
caterpillar skin, and commences chrysalis. In this 
state of rest and seeming insensibility, it remains foiir 
or five weeks, until the butterfly is ready for birth: it 
then quits the external covering wherein it lay impri¬ 
soned, and liberating itself from the skin of the chrysa¬ 
lis, remains till its wings, which are first short, weak 
and covered with moisture, are fully extended. This 
happens in about half an hour, when the animal sud¬ 
denly quits the state of inactivity to which it had been 
so long confined, and becomes with pleasure an inhabi¬ 
tant of the air. 
While in the period of chrysalis, cold and frequent 
rains do more to destroy and rid us of this voracious 
inseet, than all other incidents, or human effort. 
It has been frequently recommended to destroy them 
on the trees, by the application of strong soap suds; as 
soon as the soap water touches them they curl up and 
appear lifeless, but upon being dried in a warm sun, 
they crawl off as smart as ever. 
This butterfly is bred from the chrysalis in July and 
August, and may be found in cloudy days and at twi¬ 
light, depositing their eggs on the limbs of the trees. 
They live about eight or ten days, during which they 
eat little or nothing. One moth will produce from one to 
two hundred eggs. They seldom fly from one tree to 
another. SOLOMON W. JEWETT. 
Weybridge, Vt. Jlpril 11, 1840. 
Plans of Cheaper Houses Wanted. 
Messrs. Editors —There is hardly any thing touched 
on in your paper, so interesting to the reader, as the 
plans of building houses—so important to convenience 
and comfort, and also to economy. The expense of 
building, here in Dutchess county, after almost any of 
the plans given in the Cultivator, would be from two to 
three thousand dollars, beside another thousand, for 
corresponding fixtures and furniture ; enough to buy a 
small farm. And then we must have a shed behind 
it, to live in, for we here don’t think of living in the 
front part of our houses, not even to go in at the 
front door. Why, sirs, Avhat would you think of a family 
with a nice two story house, finished and furnished, 
who should leave their house empty, and live on the 
other side of the road ? 
Now you must know that a great majority of farmers 
are unable to build and furnish a palace ; neither does 
good taste require it; for a small plain house, well ar¬ 
ranged, looks as well as a large one; and it often hap¬ 
pens, that where a large one is built, there are no funds 
to spare for corresponding fixtures ; then, wo begone ! 
is the appearance of the whole establishment. 
I would that some of your ingenious correspondents 
would build us a smaller, cottage-like house, for one 
thousand dollars, and let us have about it a suitable 
lawn and trees, and I believe the sharpest critic will be 
pleased with it. 
As for paint, although essential to the well-looking 
of a house, it is not absolutely economical. The siding 
of the house Hive in has been on 59 years, which is yet 
good, without paint. To have kept this house well co¬ 
vered wath good white paint, Avhich must be renewed at 
least three times in sixty years, would cost tAvice as 
much as to reneAv the siding. Let paint, therefore, be 
set doAvn to taste, not to profit. N. REED. 
fimenia, March, 1840. 
CURING- HAMS. 
Editors of the Cultivator —In the January'’ num¬ 
ber of the Cultivator, I observed a recipe for curing 
hams, much the same as I used for many years, until I 
found one more agreeable to my taste, Avhich if you 
think Avorth the room in the Cultivator, may be commu¬ 
nicated to your readers. For a barrel of hams, say 
173 pounds, take 12 pounds salt, 8 pounds clean broAvn 
sugar, k pound salt petre, pulverize and mix thorough¬ 
ly : rub the hams Avell with the composition, pack them 
in a tight barrel, head it, and lay it on the bilge; roll it 
over eA^ery day or two ; it will soon make a pickle, 
which in four or fiv r e weeks will be nearly all absorbed 
by the hams ; Avhen they are ready to smoke, hang them 
butt end up in a smoke-house, rather open above, tight 
enough beloAV to prevent the effect of wind upon the 
fire. In about four weeks they will be sufficiently 
smoked, when they may be put in cloth or paper bags 
and white Avashed, or put in a dry, cool dark place out of 
the reach of flies. Cobs or hickory Avood are prefera¬ 
ble to any thing I ever used for smoke. I make use of 
no water during the process of curing. Hams cured in 
this Avay improve for the first year. G. S. 
Erie, Pa. Feb. 15, 1840. 
LINCOLNSHIRE SHEEP. 
Profile of Lincolnshire Buc/c, Nonesuch — [Fig* 60] — owned by L. D. Clifi— four years eld. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —As I observe that you 
have given quite a neAV interest to the Cultivator, by the 
representation of several fine cattle and hogs, I have 
thought that it would not be amiss to send you a profile 
of one of my Lincolnshire Bucks. It AA r as taken by W. 
L. Brown, Esq., of Philadelphia, who, being on a visit 
to this section, kindly volunteered to lend me the aid of 
his pencil. 
The Buck, of which the above is a just representa¬ 
tion, is noAV four years old, and his measurement, ta¬ 
ken in the presence of Mr. Brown, is as foiloAA'S : 
From nose to root of tail,. 4 feet inches. 
Height of fore shoulders,. 2 “ 8 ^ 
Height on the rump,. 2 ‘ 9 ^ 
Breadth across the shoulders,. 1 £ 6 
Breadth across belly,. 1 t£ ? 
Breadth across loins,. 1 “ 4 ‘ 
Girth round the brisket and shoulders, 3 “ 10 
Weight of Clean Fleece,..10 lbs. 
This highly improved Lincolnshire Buck, together 
with sixteen ewes of the same breed, Avas obtained by 
me about three years since, and all Avere of that cele¬ 
brated importation made by Messrs. George H. Gossip 
<Sr Brother, in the year 1836, direct from Lincolnshire, 
England. These gentlemen, by the way, vvere English 
born, and had been reared farmers in their native coun- 
try. 
PreA'iously, in the year 1835, I made an importation 
from England myself of two pair of sheep, one of Avhich 
Avas of the Lincolnshire blood, and the other the Cots- 
wold, and both were from the estate of the Earl of Lans- 
down, Yorkshire. 
It is now something more than twenty years since I 
first turned my attention to sheep, and during that time 
I haA'e bred the various breeds of improved mutton 
sheep, Avhich have from time to time been introduced 
into this state; and for the last seven or eight years it 
has been the chief branch in my agricultural pursuits to 
introduce and raise sheep of this order. In my earlier 
attentionsto sheep I became aAvare of the sad deficiency 
of constitution, (which has often been urged,) in most 
of the larger breeds of English sheep common among 
us, such as the Bakewell, Leicester, &c.; and that I might 
remedy this evil, I AA r as induced to incur much expense, 
in order to obtain a race of sheep, hardy, well adapted 
to our climate, and altogether different from any fami¬ 
liar to our best breeders. I had always observed that a 
sheep Avell woolled, wearing a thick heavy fleece, with a 
well formed carcass, always thrived the best, and Avas 
better fitted to undergo the rigors of our climate. And 
now in offering to the public the Lincoln sheep, I can 
say that they possess not only this qualification in an 
eminent degree, but that they are in ex r ery Avay Avell 
adapted to this country, more so than any breed among 
us. And in this assertion I think I shall be borne out 
by all Avho have been at any pains to raise them. My 
experience in the breeding of the Lincolnshires enables 
me to speak Avith assurance as to their true merits, and 
Avhat to me has been the result of experiment in their cul¬ 
tivation, I trust Avill not be laid to the charge of egotism. 
The folloiving are some of their most prominent charac¬ 
teristics. 
They are not over large, but carry great weight in 
their compass of carcass—have early inclinations to 
maturity and to lay on fat; the Avethers being fit for the 
stall, if you choose, at two, and at the farthest at three 
years old—I have turned them to the butcher at both 
ages. In their expression of countenance and in their 
action they are lively and quick, full of cheerfulness and 
agility. Their head and ear small, set Avith the utmost 
grace and symmetry upon a round, compact, well turn¬ 
ed carcass. Their skin the most delicate and soft to the 
touch, upon which grows a thick, long, and heax-y fleece 
ofAvool, completely enveloping the Avhole body from the 
ears bacltAvard. In habits they are domesticated and 
easy of restraint; they are gross feeders, not so delicate 
in their choice of food as other sheep, and thriving upon 
coarse and scanty pasturage. It is said by English Avri- 
ters, of this breed of sheep that they thrive best on low 
marshy grounds. Of this fact I have no positive proof, 
(my farm being mostly upland) other than that their 
fleece and constitution Avould seem to warrant the as¬ 
sertion. But this I do know, and that too from trial, 
that I haA r e never seen any breed of sheep which com¬ 
bines so many essential qualities for mutton sheep, and 
at the same time are so Avell adapted to the A'aricus cli¬ 
mates in our Avide-spread country. I have had occasion 
to send specimens of my flock to various quarters ot 
the United States, even to their southernmost limit, and 
am happy to say, that I haA'e heard good reports from 
all. 
The Lincolns are fitted in constitution to either cold 
or heat, and their heavy fleece is a great safeguard in 
either extreme. To the latter, the lamb, Avhen yeaned 
on a cold chilly day, often OAA r es its salvation, Avhen care 
is not at hand. One thing remarkable Avith the eAves of 
this blood is, that they always yean Avith great ease ; 
and in several instances I have noticed that Avhen my 
Lincoln bucks have been crossed upon small ewes of 
any blood whatever, these eAves, in consequence of the 
very small head and neck of the Lincolnshires, haA’e 
had no difficulty in bringing forth, as is common, and to 
the great danger too, of the life of such ewes, when 
crossed upon the larger and coarser breeds of English 
sheep. And it is my candid opinion that no breed of 
sheep has ever been introduced into this country Avhich 
offers so good a cross upon any and all of the A r arious 
breeds common among us as the Lincolns. Their cross 
upon the Bakewells, Leicesters, and Cotswold is good, 
improving each of the latter in constitution and beauty 
of form, and my crossings have been upon ewes bred 
Avith much care. 
As an evidence of the prolific nature of the Lincolns, 
and the hardiness of their offspring, I Avill state that I 
have raised in 1839, from 64 ewes (chiefly eAves 2 and 3 
years old) 92 lambs, and have not lost a lamb by rea¬ 
son of any exposure AA'hatever. When my eAA r es are 
older, more than half generally have twins. 
My flock numbers in all about 250 head, and most 
of them have descended from their great progenitor, 
Avho stands represented at the head of this article. 
Hitherto I have taken no very great pains to bring the 
Lincolns into extensive notice, preferring to stock well 
my OAA r n farm, and to test fully their qualities and ha¬ 
bits; and noAA r that I have done so, I boldly offer them 
to my brother farmers as a mosts uperior article, not 
surpassed, in fact not equaled, by any sheep this side 
of the Atlantic. I keep on hand continually a conside¬ 
rable number for sale, the prices A'arying according to 
the grade of blood and quality. 
The qualifications of these sheep for mutton may be 
judged of by the following statement. In February, 
1839,1 sold a lot of half bloods, tAvo shear Avethers, in 
the New-York market, at 25 cts. per pound—the ave¬ 
rage Aveight per carcass Avas 125 lbs. or 31 i lbs. per 
quarter. Thus it wall be seen that apart from every 
consideration of selling to agricultural gentlemen, it is 
an object to raise these sheep for the butcher alone ; 
and this I am resolved to do if my brother farmers Avill 
not have them. The Lincolns are also great producers 
of avooI, cutting in the clean from 6 to 10 lbs. per head. 
This commands a fair price at all times, varying from 
three to four shillings the pound. 
As for myself, I ahvays go in for the best stock, and 
I pledge myself that Avhen any one will produce to me 
a better breed of sheep than the Lincolns, I wall be his 
patron. I cordially inA'ite alt aaJio take an interest in 
fine stock, to pay me a A'isit, and view my flock for 
themselves. My place can be found at Carmel, Putnam 
county, state of New-York. 
It appears to me, gentlemen, that quite too little at¬ 
tention is given by our farmers, to the rearing and pro¬ 
per management of sheep, and also in adopting or choo¬ 
sing the proper breeds suited to the different sections 
and climate of our country. I hold it as a sounfi maxim, 
that all sections of our country contiguous to markets 
