The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1856-09-17
From tho Ashland (O.l Union.

Mr.. ED,roR Allow me to call the at
sention Of the agricultural portion Of
your readers to a few suggestion, which
may not be unworthy Of their consider.
alton. The intrinsic value, existing bo.
tween two herds Of cows-two hocks OF
sbcep-or two farms, lying equally con.
tiguous to market, is far greater than
most are willing to admit, on cursory
view Of the merits involved in the case.
OF two farms in the same township, one
may yield l3 bushels Of wheat to the
nero, and the other 20, with tho same
culture. Now the question arises-what
is the comparative value Of these two
farms for wheat purposes2 Is the ono
yielding l3 bushels worth something
over half Of the value Of the one produc-
ing 20 bushels to tho acrei Without
reflection, nine men out of ten would
answer in the affirmative. BY as M uch
as 8 exceeds the half of 90, by so much
i. the land worth more thau half the
value Of the other. Now thisis grand
blunder. The land yielding only l3
bushels, is not worth one third the val
us Of tie other In order to arrive ot
the truo relative value OF these two
pieces Of land, we must first deduct the
cost OF expense Of producing the crop,
which will be some $40 per acre, ana
then the relative proportion OF the bal.
arce will show the relative valua OF the
two pieces Of land. five rate wheat at
sl,O0 per bushcl, we gain $500 nett from
ono acre, and $1,000 from the other,
achich is more Than three times the
Drofts Of The first. Hence tho one piece
is intrinsically worth for wheat produc.
ing purposes three times tho ralnc Of
the other.
OF two cows the same principle holds
true. The one may yield three or five
times as much nett profits, after keeping
and labor is deducted, as the other, and
consequently is as we'll worth $50 as
the other is Sl2l
OF two focks of sheep, tho same prin'
ciple should govern in estimating their
real and relative value for wool growing
purposes One flock may yield an aver
age Of 8 lbs. per head, worth so cents
per To- or 81 so per fleece. The other
may yield lbs. per head, or 81 so per
fleece The comparative value Of these
two focks is seen, when the cost Of keep
ing the sheep a year, is deducted from
the money received for its fleece. Where
lands are worth from S35 to $40 per
acre, it will cost at least 81 40 to keep
an ordinary sized sheep year Deduct
81. 40 from the value Of the fleece 81 so,
and ten cents remain as the nett gain
from the light feeced sheep Deduct
SI,40 from $3.50. and 81 10 remains as
the nett profits from the heavy feeced
sheep. Now the proportion is as one to
eleven. Hence we arrive at this impor
tant truth, that one sheep yielding a
fleece worth S2,50,is worth eleven sheep
whose heeces arc worth each only Que
dollar and half For he who has tho
eleven and he who has tho one, have
each the same sum left in pocket, when
the cost of keeping is deducted from tho
gross sum received for their feeccs
For wool growing purposes, then, it in
evitably follows, that 100 head of sheep
yielding 5 lbs. Of wool per head. are in
trinsically worth as much as 100 sheep
yielding only three pounds per head
That it is quite as practicable to grow
5 lbs. of wool on sheep as 8, no man
will deny who is at all acquainted with
the true and correct principles of breed.
ing. BY always observing ono general
rule, you can most certainly obtain tho
object in view-viz improvement That
rule is nothing more nor less than this
always reject the comparatively worth.
eoloot bo
of their kind, both in male and female,
and pair them together, and the result
is Your rule out defects and propagate
cxcellcncies. To this course. let good
keeping be added, and you will ou,strip
the sluggard and sloven, who wallows in
the purlieus Of inactivity and laz,ness
and while he is bitterly cursing his stars.
and muttering imprecatiops as to his
bad luck, you arc on the highway to
distictiou and wealth; and all because
you were governed by few plain but
fixed laws, which the other overlooked
and rejects. Without an observance Of
these two plain points, it is in vain to
expect to improve any race of domestic
animals. You might as well expect to
gather wheat by sowing tares-to grow
| fruit and flowers upon an iceberg-or
cause animal life to live and flourish un-
der an exhausted receiver.
Domestic animals are as plastic in tho
hands of skilful breeder, as clay in
those of the potter
! "Tho cow-thc sheep-Is what il Is,
But can be what man wills"
One fact only. will We introduce, to-
! show that domestic animals can be great
ly improved in size and value, "Ons
hundred and fifty years ago" the average
weight Of cattle at the Smithtield mar
ket was not over $40 lbs, and that of
sheep % lbs. Now the average weight
of the former is over 500 lbs aud Of the
latter, so l6s.-showmg cattle 10 have
more than doubled, and sheep to havo
nearly thribbled
Improvement, Improvements is our
motto 'Tis a noble work-a pleasing
task-and We chccrfly say, let the good
work spread and prevail pntis
"The dwcllers in the wales ana on the rocks,
Shout to each other, and the mountain tops,
| From distant mountains, catch the ia wing joy;
! Till nation ailer nation, taught the straM
I E.rtL al tn. blast in,nravatnantS rouuA