Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1875-02-17

in the fall spread on a coat Of loose, coarse
manure in the spring, and mix thoroughly
with the soil then furrow out and drop in
the seed | drop plaster and ashes in the
hill with the seed. | am careful to select
my seed, cut it lengthwise, and drop one
piece in each hill have one kind that
have planted forty-seven years in succession,
and it is worth all your new varieties
The paper Of the Hon. A. i. Kinney
on "Shcep lIusbandry," which had been
omitted in the morning. was called for, and
read as follows
JUDGE KINSEYs PAPER
Previous to 1909 the sheep Of this country were
\ mostly descendants OF the coarse British breeds.
| The earliest importation Of merino sheep, ~ any
| considerable numbers, was In 1909 Mr. William
| Jarvis consul at Lisbon, Portugal, imported sew
/ em hundred, and large numbers were impoftedby
Others. The price OF sheep az this time was very
high, and imported rams sold, In some instances,
| as high rs 81 600. and wool, unwashed, from one
10 two dollars per pound; but In 1919, such a re-.
vusion had taken place that merino sheep sold
for 500 The price OF wool did not rally for nine
/ successive years and during this time nearly all
| the mcrno hocks had been broken mp or adul-
teratod About 1924. new impetus was given 20
| the production Of fine wool, and the SaXons were
| largely imported TO the United States. The tariff
| NJ ISIS led the people 10 produce fine wool re-
| gardess Of every other consideration, and nearly
! all hocks had been crossed with SaXons. This
/ was the condition until about $50 few Hooks
/ had been kept pure, except the different families
! " Spanish menno which had been mixed or
crossed, so that from the best authorities no par
/ ticular family had been kept aud the resemblance
l was such that consul Jarvis SAYS that he CON
| sidered il Of no Importance About 1910, the sub
ject attracted more attention, and the heavy teoces
became Of importance The focks that had been
| kept pure were a part OF consul Jarvis stephen
! Atwoods, of Connecticut, and Jacob \. BAkes-
lees, Of Connecticut; these were from the I'M
/ portation Of Col. Humphrey. The flock of Judge
/ Charles Rich, " Shorcham, VT which he pur-
chased Of Or Andrew Coch' Of Flushing !. J., IN
the year 1928; also flock owned by the Shakers,
| Of Lebanon, y. H., and a flock owned 10y Friend
Williams, Of Hanover n. II these sheep were
from the Importation Of consul Jarvis, and con-
signed 10 Iichnor, Parsons, Gorham Derby, of
Boston, Mass from these ioclSa the eastern part
Of Vermont had been largely supplied.
Among the pioneers In this improvement pre-
yious to 1870 were Mcssrs Perkins, Claln Grant,
Of Lyme and Dewey Of Hanover y H., and in
Vermont Hon Nathan Cushing Of Woodstock,
who purchased his sheep Of Mr. Blakesleo Of Con
nccticut and proved himself master breeder
having brought the average OF his heeces from
about four pounds 20 the average OF ten pounds,
unwashcd his flock of about four hundred sheep
shearng in 1870 four thousand pounds Among
others in the western part of the state were David
and German Cutting; - Suckney, y. L. aud
Merrill Bingham, of Cornwall.
About 1874 Hon. Edwin Hammond, Of Middle
bury, and Hon K Sanford, purchased of stephen
Atwood Of Connecticut and added Others to this
purchase in 1915 and 46, and they soon became
the noted breeders Of the state, and beside these
great lights, all others became dim only as they
reflected from them
Thus far have followed the mcrino sheep from
its importation In 1910, the sheep Natives, or
graded by Saxon, were thin fleeccd, and very open
wool not loaded with oil or yolk Flecces would
only average from two and one-half othree pounds
and in lo4j, only one flock IN Washington county
of my acquaintance, reached the enormous weight
OF three pounds and nine ounces Hooks had
been benefited very little by purchasing Rams
Of one Crowningshield who was in this vicinity
short time with n flock Of sheep which ! suppose
were Merino, but know nothing of their podi
they went
Hut considerable attention has been given 20
sheep husbandry since 1910 in this state, and the
result has been that We have raised the weight or
average Of feeccs from two and one-half or three
pounds TO five or six pounds, and in some instances
from eight to ten pounds
This can only be reached by jndcious breeding
An accident or accidental cross, may improve our
focks wonderfully, but it is only by constant care
and watchfulness that we can make any progress.
prefer the fine wool because first we can
keep larger hocls second, the average price Of
fine wool Is higher; third. shear more surface
on fine than coarse wool for the keeping we eV-
pend would recommend the following rules 10
he observed in your care Of sheep
FTSf-With regard to management never starye
a sheep, especially in summer,
Second--Do not feed much grain if You have
good hay, but at all events never let your sheep
grow poor.
Third-Many farmers lose by letting their sheep
live as long in autumn without feeding rs possible
consequently, If they are in good condition in
October, and lose flesh and are made to gain
| again, there will be tender place in the wool.
! F0urU-llaye your lambs come in March, If
/ coarse wool; In May, il fine,
FWh-Shear your sheep, II possible, before the
| twentieth of MAY
| Sirh-Keep your sheep from all cold storms
at all times OF the year and be as careful Of them
/ AZ Of your horse. Many sheep perish by showers
! after shearing, even in July; so | say shear at
/ time Of year that they can be housed for a week
after shearing, and in storms in autumn, If sheep
are exposed, 1t takes long time 10 dry the wool,
and the sheep are consequently uncomfortable for
a long time, colds and consumption are the result
| SereHd- Raise the standard of your flock;
weigh every fleece at shearing number the sheep,
and note the weight Of the fleece, and then sell
kill your poorest sheep, as like produces like, and
your average will soon go from four 10 seven pounds
But little need be said about raising lambs only
take care of them, and be sure especially TO know
| whether the lamb is able TO draw the milk
] Many lambs especially when at pasture, perish
when they otherwise might live, because not able
/ have lambs come at the pasture, as they do not
receive the attention they ought
Much more might be said with regard to the
| general management in feedipg, sitiug, curing
! diseases, castrating and docking lambs but
| think have said enough, and If any hints that
| have suggested will prove Of use to my brother
| farmers feel that shall be amply repaid.
The Secretary now addressed the meeting
on the general principles Of fertilization"
lie proceeded to show the formation of the soil
from the original rock, and by the use of
tables showed what each kind of crop took
from the chemical properties Of the original
soil for its support. lie then went ON to
show the necessity Of fertilization, to sup
ply, as far as possible, these properties which
had been eliminated lie gave tabulated
analyses Of different fertilizers, also showed
their money value as estimated from differ
ent specimens. He showed that, beside pro
per fertilization, good blowing, proper drain
age and rotation of crops was necessary to
proper tillage. The Professors remarks
were eminently practical, and very valuable.
They were so full of statistical information
and illustration that any incomplete abstract
would do thempoor justice, so we content our
selves with outlining the general course of
his remarks leaving the outline to be filled
out in the minds of those who had the pleas
ure of hearing him.
After the close of the Professors remarks,
a brief discussion arose in regard to the
value of ashes as fertilizer ON clay soil,
about which there were apparently different
experiences, but where really there was no
ground for difference. But without fully set
Ting the matter to the full satisfaction of all
present and participating in the discussion, a
recess was taken till after supper.
EVENING SESSION.
The chair having called the meeting to
order an interesting paper on "Cheese "
was read by j. L. Coburn, Esq, of East
Montpelier, in which he compared the meth
cd of making cheese a generation ago with
that of the present day, referring especially
and in detail To his own method of manu-
facture. The paper provoked an interesting
| discussion, as there were some of the most
prominent cheese makers of the county pres
ent notably, Messrs. Foster, of Calais, and
Davis, of Fast Montpelier but the conclusion
of the whole matter seemed to be that the art
of cheese-Inaking was still in its infancy, as it
was generally conceded by all that very
LITTLE rVng really Gnou-t, about Tho t,oitor