Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1866-11-06
RonKRr SEWERS,
JAMES d. WnsGnr, Com.
Tinornv DAY.


nAN8NGUBT, hOW0V XVUVs Otee 1OVO.
GENTLEMEN II answer such questions in
your circular as fall under my own observn.
tion.
|. The census returns show that. There are
fifty ewes 10 one buck and ten wcthcrs the
latter being sold usually at two years Of age
for muttoo.
2 Chiefly Mcrino; ten to one Of any 9th.
Ct breed. The Cotswold are beginning to
he used. and hope in Eve years 70 ace them
the most numerous there are probably
dozen small focks in this county now.
3. consider the long wool mutton sheep,
Cotswold, Leicester aud I.incolns, the most
profitable in Iowa. LIST. Because they arc
the hcal,hicst. hardest sheep. I'd. Because
they produce the most WOO, aud II sells for
the most money per pound, and the mos,
lambs. 3. Because they produce more aud
better mutton than the Mcrinos, and more
wool and more mutton than the SOuthdown
The Southdown produces very light fleece
and Il is not first rate combing wool.
3. believe that Cotswold sheep can be
wintered NJ vel! rs Merino, on the same
quantity Of food Tor the r, ason that large
part Of the Merinos' food il wasted in the
yolk deposited in the wool.
| propose making some experiments to
demonstrate this.
1. l have two hundred sheep
one hundred Cotswold and one hun
bred quarter and half blood Neriuo. and
Southdown.
g. The census ought TO answer: -
An individual can only guess: as | cult
vAtc sixty acres in tame grass TO forty in al
other crops, could not guess we'll This
county. Scott, being dense'y populated and
nearly all under fence has probably more
tame grass, than any Of its size (2l0, 900 to
PSI. 900 acrcs) in the State.
Il. No comparison can I've made. The i'm
provcnent caused by sheep is ten fold that
Of all other animals combined. had l20
acres timber pasture had been used a. .
common for twenty-five years: WAS not
half set in blue grass an! white clover, and
was growing up in hazel and sumach
bushes. In four years after fencing and sheep
pasture il is =, heavily set in blue grass
and white clover, that il will feed five hun
dred sheep At pasture. and the hazel and
sumach are dying out all over it.
A sheep will cat three per cent Of his
weight day. The Merino will probably
eat moro. suppose other farmers
generally feed NJ high a. do
! give for 100 days two ears Of corn
y day, aud hay or corn fodder Is much
~ they will eat corn aud hay fed twice a
day, and cornioider once. This makes three
bushels Of corn and 450 MS. Of hay to each
sheep. Corn for three years has averar cd
fifty cents bushsl; hay on the farm $40
per ton. This would make the value Of the
feed at least $3.50 per head. by feeding
corn-fodder or prairie hay, OF even red clo>
yer, (which 10 better aud cheaper for sheep
than timothy the cost may be reduced. =
Last Winter bought corn at Is cts. . bush
ell hay was worth oS 90 per ton tina.
would reduce The cost from e. 80 10 l IS
per head. ! am speaking Of the cost Of
wintering sheep ~ they ought to be. l
shall feed my sheep this winter with corn.
fodder and Swedish turnips, and expect TO 70.
dues the actual cost to me below 81 % net
head; how much below can tell next year.
8. In harms end sheds Of bea.ds or eirsv.
.. Give them al the corn can Induce
them TO eat, beginning with . saall quanti>
" and increasing Il.
10 prefer the month Of March. have
tried, iron necessity, On moothe from n
es0ber 70 Juae;l pssesr March, beeauee
early 0ouos - largest, otrooeeet, healthiuat
fteess nom diseases II the fall, better abl'
70 endure Ne coming whites. an1 90 he sold
q better price than later lambs. Tprsfs,
March TO the pssvioue months, becauss il
10 not % eeld; 70 he later neathsv becaus>
can attend = tAe ewes bottee-heviuR n
pressing farm Woek-and the blue grsss -
ready for them and they for the blue ei2ss
BY the lst to the 10th cf April, ia ordinary
seasons Because |! lsy in good supply q
Aupnena sNe s~ofa H.
and from the fact that I can spare more time
TOR the ewes than ct any other later month.
can raise more lambs tried May lambs
one year and lost half Of them BY diarrhoea
IN October and November. have lost 4
lev this fall, the late ones Of course, and
from Whit know and hear freo others, the
Ioes Of lambs from dogs, frost in winter and
snis ian epidemic. 10 serious drawback in
sheep raising in this State.
lambs.
II. There Is always : good market sor q,
seeep 10 Davenport, four miles fsou nj
nces, and my average price in the eprinss
%: been - per head with the fleece on.
10. wash my sheep 10 the Missasslpp
~. tre0 and after the 2oth u My, and
oseef 10 from eight y ~ dAyo 49,. r.
- oosn shs Sashioo tAat ce0psls wash
e. =: sv.:.s. wight 4 ~ ss.e..
yaeeeos - pnos yssss vas : y - -
e Nod. loef H. lasssr ~ is-hs q ~
-. r. OpoDWoa6o avsraesS , n. : =. ,
$3.50 ~. ~ 0Ulnmoa shsep 4 NJ ~
paisD = - 6snWula ~ whea i reeeAs'
-. - q ssees q lesnd ~ 9th.