Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-01-22
agricultural.
How to get Heavy Fleeces.

The first step to get the heaviest unwashet
heeces, is to breed from rams and ewes iwhicl
have that combination of wool and yoll
which weighs most secondly, to prOmot,
the growth of wool and the secretion of yOll
to the greatest practicable extent by higl
keep; and thirdly, to prevent any portion o
the yolk from being washed out of the WOO
by rain or snow, or dried out by strong dry.
ing winds.
To get teg's fleece to brag of in the
newspapers, he should be dropped early il
winter (say January,) receive what grain
etc, he will eat in addition to his dam I
milk, until weaning-thrOugh the summer
in addition to good pasture-through the
fall-through the ensuing winter and up tC
the time of shearing. He must be carefully
watched and tended to see that he is never
fed enough to cloy his appetite, but he must
be given as much as he will safely bear. L
drop of rain promises to fall, his owner
should leave hay or grain to be spoiled IL
the fields, or, if any meeting, leave in the
middle of the sermon and run his horse
home, rather than allow an ounce of yolk tC
be washed from the fleece. lie should be
kept near to the house for greater conve
nience in this respect, and if business calls
the owner away few hours, he should
strictly charge the women and children to
rush out and So get in the ram. if a sprinkle
is threatened. In winter he shout never be
let out of the stable, unless lie out or kept
under the eve of an attendant-for if he lies
down on the snow even, it will subtract
some of the precious yolk-
As to feed, it should be of the best. The
hay should be without dust and as green as
a leek. He should be allowed to pick off
the fine tops and the incest leaves, but never
should be allowed to exert himself sufficient
ly to consume any other portion of it. By
any means give him no light oats or any
kind of grain not of the choicest quality, 1t
is said that oil cake and certain other feeds
are great on producing yolk. We do not
know how this is. Perhaps Professor Agas-
siz or some other learned gentleman can in
form you.
When shorn. all the sweat balls = from
the belly, inside the legs, and scrotum.
should be carefully put inside the fleece
Half a peck of these black rounded knobs of
grace and dirt-from the size of ounce bull
lets down to peas-add to the weight of the
fleece /" beautifully Use Irvine freely. A
quarter of pound is not too much, if used
iudiciously 1t can be taken off afterwards
if necessary. If you weigh with an old pair
of farm stcelyards, not tested within the last
twenty five years, be pretty sure that they
don't weigh too light, and don give too
quick weight.
If YOU start with a tolerably heavy wooded
and yolk fleece teg, and follow these direc-
tions closely, YOU will be likely. if your teg
does not happen to die before shearing, to
beat your neighbors all hollow, who have
lambs come at the ordinary time, and treat
them in the ordinary way And the merits
of the system are conclusively proved by the
fact that you will thus utterly beat sheep
worth twice as much as yovr own. and
which would easily beat yours in weight OF
fieeces under the same management. Your
teg will shear twice much unwashed wool
as he would do if dropped at the usual time,
and treated in the common way. You can
sell him for from four TO six or even ten
times as much-especially to newbeginners
who expect to get rich by ram selling in five
years.
Ii is true that the system requires some
risks. High-fed and summer-grained tegs
sometimes die off unaccountably in winter.
The forcing system render them far more
subject to diseases than merely well kept
sheep, especially in large hocks; and some
times, without the appearance OF any posi-
tive disease, they go off their feet and come
into the spring no larger, and not half so
strong as they entered the winter The
forcing system requires an experienced prac-
titioner, quick eye, and constant care he
should be able to pick out q teg that has
missed a single feed He should ever be on
the watch
There is no doubt that forcing impairs the
constitution. If not continued the second
wear, the's brag fleece is lost. If kept up,
the animal, especially if ram and worked
pretty hard, is quite likely to die. We
doubt whether fifty per cent, of the high
priced rams of the country survive their
fourth year
Under the common, old-fashionsd treat
ment the third or fourth fleece was usually
NJ
the sneciaI circumstances of the case. A
very early dropped, and forced the first year,
a teg sometimes sheares more than it ever
will afterwards, if put under common treat
ment. If forcing, however, is kept up, it
will shear more than the second year. After
wards the amount will materially dwindle.-
DR.. Randall in Rural New Yorker.