..Lorain county. 37 Wm. Shaw, Montville..... 4 751 Leicester..]...................... No. 2.-I have never kept the finest grades of sheep. I keep those that produce a heavy fleece, and those that produce the most mutton. The best grades for this, in my estimation, is the Southdowns and Leicester ewes, crossed to French Merino bucks; those make a beautiful sheep for fatting. I have wintered 150 head this winter, one-half I have kept in the dry, the rest were out; I have tested this to my satisfaction that sheep kept in the dry will take one-third less feed than those that run out; and the sheep kept in dry are a great deal the stoutest sheep, more particular such a winter as this has been. I give all my sheep grain; they wool enough better to pay for their food, besides this, when spring comes they are so much stouter that they summer better. The best mode of feeding hay is in racks, so they can get their heads in; by this means they waste less than in any other way. M. V. EDDY. No. 13. The first of my flock was the common sheep of the country, which I bought in the winter of 1844, and by always selecting the best ewes and using fine wooled bucks, but from no particular flock, except one from Seth Adams, of Perkins, in the fall of 1853, by which I got my flock up to a good grade of fine wool. In the fall of 1857 I went to Canada and bought two Leicester bucks and three ewes. I have been crossing by Leicester bucks on fine ewes, trying to raise a flock of larger sheep, and not to get the wool too coarse. I have had half-blood weathers that weighed 237 pounds gross. A. AINSLIE. No. 35.-My sheep average about seven pounds of wool; I can get as much for my wool as my neighbors can for Merino wool. I had eight head of ewes of Mr. Sheldon's imported stock, that raised last season sixteen lambs; for those lambs they awarded me the first premium. They also awarded me a premium on the ewes. ABRAM CLINE. NOTE.-The flock of Mr. James Pittsford, of Granville, Licking county, were reported to me as being half blood Spanish Merinos, and so published in the Report of 1862. Mr. Pittsford assures me that his flock is thoroughbred Merino; and that there are no half blooded sheep in it. It has been suggested that the reporter to me may have intended to class Mr. Pittsford's flock as half Spanish and half Vermont Merino. However, until it is better established than at present generally conceded, that the Vermont sheep are a distinct race, the suggested classification is rather too finely drawn. JNO. H. KLIPPART. SHEEP HUSBANDRY. In describing the qualities of the fleece, on page 393 of Ohio Agricultural Report for 1862, reference was made on page 395 to the yolk, or an oily substance exuding from the skin of the sheep. One object designed by nature in furnishing this yolk appears to be to soften the scales on the exterior of the fiber. To this yolk the wool is indebted for much that makes it superior to hair, for it renders it softer, more pliable, and more readily worked than it otherwise would be. This yolk is plentifully supplied in young and well fed sheep, but in old and half starved sheep it is scarcely perceptible, and their fleeces partake as much of the character of hair as of wool. For the want of it the scales are not so soft and the fiber not so pliable, and cloth made from such stock is harsh and tender; and science has failed thus far to discover an unction which can render that wool soft which has been left harsh by nature not supplying its own emollient. The ancient Romans appear to have exhausted every known expedient to aid nature in producing a soft and delicate filament. They smeared it with fine oil moistened with wine; the fleece was combed while growing, that it might not become matted, and the sheep was washed several times a year. This lack of yolk in old and ill fed sheep is another reason why we would urge upon the farmer the necessity of keeping his sheep in good condition, and disposing of them before they become old. Those who have old and badly fed sheep should not complain because their neighbors, who have young and well fed animals, obtain a higher price for their wool, though it may be coarser than their own; for it will make softer and firmer cloth than finer wool from poorer and older sheep. Though this yolk is essentially necessary to the production of good wool, yet no more is required than just sufficient to keep the fibers soft and pliable. Any quantity in excess of this is of no benefit to the wool, but is sometimes injurious. Some farmers feed for the purpose of exciting a large supply, thinking that by so doing they obtain what many may suppose a heavier fleece; but the quantity of wool is not increased by the increase of yolk, and the purchaser would certainly be unfit for his business if he did not make a proper allowance for all excess of grease and dirt, and it seems to be a poor speculation on the part of the farmer to feed his sheep with special reference to producing yolk. His fleece will hold from twenty-five to thirty per cent. cxcess of the proper quantity required in good healthy wool, which would amount to about two pounds, and this, in some cases, is produced in a week, and in order to have this two pounds of yolk at the time of sharing they will produce in the course of a year from fifty to one hundred pounds; and it is not unfrequently produced at the expense of the pulp, which is the source of the wool. When this is the case, the wool, though soft and pliable, will be weak and stunted in growth. Generally this excess of yolk is produced at the expense of mutton-the food of the sheep in place of building up the carcass and fattir g it, is expended upon the yolk-the farmer frequently finds his endeavors to feed his sheep defeated. He has fed high, and is surprised that his sheep have not gained in weight. It is also produced at the expense of milk. Sheep which produce large supplies of yolk are always deficient in milk. Corn too liberally fed to sheep will produce this effect. It contains a great amount of oil, and in place of producing fat, as in some domestic animals, it too frequently produces oil in sheep. Wool having its origin in the skin, will be affected by whatever affects that part. Too much dry food is apt to affect the skin of all animals unfavorably, and man is not excepted. While all succulents have a happy influence upon the coats both of the horse and cow, some of the sleekest coated horses are indebted to a small supply of potatoes daily, for the softness and brightness of their hair. Corn and hay are dry food, and fed exclusively and liberally to sheep are apt to affect their skin unfavorably, and consequently their wool. It has frequently been noticed that sheep which have been fed liberally with corn, show a falling off in the build of the staple during its winter growth, and is sometimes as weak as though its feed had been deficient; the bottom of the staple is often yellow, and filled with a salvy substance, a sure sign of skin disease. This is noticed in wool when the sheep have been fed upon roots and hay, and scarcely ever is there an excessive supply of yolk from sheep so fed, but in a great many cases where sheep have rapidly improved on such feed, while those fed upon corn and hay have lost weight, which could only be accounted for from the fact that corn, containing a great amount of oil, produced yolk and not fat. A little corn, with roots and hay, no doubt would be good feed. In this connection we would urge upon the farmer the importance of looking well to his sheep in the fall. They are too often suffered to run too late in the pastures after the feed has been seriously impaired by the frost, and consequently lose condition. The growth of the wool is affected, a weak place is produced in the staple at this time, and any animal suffered to lose condition at this season of the year, cannot, afterwards be restored when the weather is much colder, only at a greatly increased outlay. A little feed sometimes judiciously supplied before folding time, might be of more benefit than high feeding after they are housed. The farmer never ought to keep black or grey wooled sheep. Their fleeces are never so valuable as white ones, for they are restricted in their use. They cannot be used for any other color than black, and that is never so lively as black from white wool. A very slight mixture of black fibers is a serious injury to worsted wool. Never keep or buy sheep with black legs or black faces, except Southdowns, for mutton, for if when young you cannot find black fibres in the fleece, they will come in as the sheep grows older, and materially affect its value. The value of worsted goods depending to a great extent upon the bright ness of the colors, the clearness of the whites, or the lustre of the blacks, whatever prevents the obtaining these desirable objects depreciates the value of the wool in which it is found; consequently unwashed wool if not disposed of soon after being sheared, so that it can be scoured before sweat * ing, will be so stained by the yolk that a pure white cannot be obtained, and the tendency will be to dull whatever color is imparted to it. In addition to worsted goods known as Mouslin DeLaines and Lastings, there are a large variety made with cotton warps, silk warps, and cotton with silk and satin stripes; also all-wool Merinos and Thibets, none of which are made in this country. The dry goods report published in the New York Independent, August 20th, says: "British dress goods, plain colors, DeLaines, Alpacas, Coburgs, etc., have been sold in large quantities. Fancy dress desirable novelties have also sold well. Saxony dress goods are also very active. High colored fancies are in great demand. French worsteds of Fall style, plain DeLaines and Merinos are in much demand." And all this demand must be supplied from a foreign market, while nothing stands so much in the way of their being produced here as the want of the right kind of stock. And in no country in the world is this class of goods better adapted to the wants of the people than in this. There is nothing surpasses all worsted or worsted and cotton goods for gentlemen's Summer wear, for they are as light as cotton or linen, and when their durability is considered they are as cheap; and when compared with woolen goods their lightness, cheapness, and durability would, if produced in sufficient quantities, take their place to a great extent in the Summer season. While the variety and richness of colors which can be imparted to worsteds, and their warmth when compared with cottons, render them very desirable goods for ladies' and children's Winter clothing, and what renders them more particularly desirable for children is the fact that they can scarcely be made to take fire. It is not because the right kind of wool cannot be produced in this country that we are indebted to the foreign manufacturer for these goods. There is a sufficient variety of wool produced in this country to produce all the varied kinds of worsted goods produced in the world. We lack nothing but quantity; and we have this advantage over every other country in the world: ours is the only one that can boast such a varied production. England can produce no such wool as the Merino of Vermont, Michigan, Ohio, New York and other States, while Saxony can be produced with care, equal to the finest Silesia. During the present Summer, Germany has yielded to Vermont the palm for producing Merino. George Campbell, Esq., of Vermont, exhibited twelve sheep at the exhibition of all nations at Hamburg, and obtained three prizes-first prize for the largest quantity of wool, second prize for the longest staple, and third prize for quantity and quality combined. And Mr. N. L. Chaffee, of Ashtabula county, exhibited at the State agricultural fair in Cleveland in 1863, a Shropshire Down buck which obtained a prize. This we should suppose would forever set |
