310 WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
if sheep stood as high in the estimation of the western farmer 
as hogs, his gain in health and profit would be immense. Sheep 
should run on dry land, as there is nothing more detrimental to 
their health than dampness. When yarded for the winter, the 
flock should be formed into separate divisions, that the strong 
may not oppress the weak, and that the sickly may not contam¬ 
inate the heaJthy. They must be fed with good hay, with a 
very liberal allowance of roots; indeed in many parts of Eng¬ 
land sheep are wintered almost entirely on turnips, and thrive 
well. I attribute the lean backs and big bellies of the Wiscon¬ 
sin sheep to the fact of their being confined for six months of 
the year to dry hay without any variation. A little grain is 
beneficial, but beans are recommended, as contributing from 
their oily nature to the growth and firmness of wool. Sheep 
well-wintered will not slink their lambs, nor cast off their wool; 
hence the radical policy of their management is to keep them 
on a mixed and generous diet, when in a great measure, the 
wool and the lambs will take care of themselves. 
Hogs. —As one of the objects of keeping hogs is to profita¬ 
bly consume what would otherwise be wasted, as swill and milk, 
it seems their number ought to be regulated by the number of 
cows, one hog to each cow being a fair proportion; were there 
no cows kept on a farm, this rule would fail, as indeed it should, 
for the farmer that would not make his own butter would not 
be likely to raise his own pork. The best breed of hogs is a 
mixture of the Berkshire and Suffolk, which will secure both 
fatness and bulk. It is a cheering sign of progress among us 
that improved breeds are rapidly working out the aboriginaj 
Wisconsin hog, an animal as wild as a deer, as savage as the 
wild boar, and harder to be fatted than an Arab. During sum¬ 
mer, hogs ought to flourish in a clover lot, with milk and a little 
meal in it to drink; and kept, well through the season, they 
could easily be finished off in the fall by the application of meal 
in a more condensed form. ITogs should never be allowed to 
run at large, as that is a positive nuisance, and it is more rea¬ 
sonable that their owners should fence them in, than that the 
