The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1875-03-27
3mths EARN.
Tim Bunker on HoOkertOwn Views of
Mutton.
From tie american Acricu1turist.

It'll keep a month";" said Seth
Twlggs, as he took his seat on the sill
of the Westinghouse shed, crossed his
legs, clasped his hands over one knee
and blew that long puff of smoke that
indicates a pipe freshly lighted land
that is strong pint in any kind of
meat in these days, when you have to
pay two prices for everything you get
out of the butchers cart. In old times,
you see, you could keep yourself in
meat all winter by changing round a
little when you butchered But now
everything goes to the market, and
every Teller has to look out for HIM
self"
And they du it, tew," said Jake
Frink, "every time. Not much chance
for Teller in this world unless he's
extra smart -
And let's Ticker alone" added
George Washington Tucker, whose
breath was perfumed with the odors
of the only rum hole not yet cleaned
out of Hookertown.' Not even cheap
mutton can help man who drinks"
The man lies that says I've spilled
quarter of the Ticker you have" said
Jake Indignantly.
"Then again. said Seth, who was
not to be switched off from the main
subject by the mild palaver of his neigh
bors, as Mr.. Spooner would say, NUT
ton is the best meat in the world, and
the cheapest You see them grades
have run in my brush pasture all sum-
mer, and / don't believe the flesh they
have laid on has cost me cent a
pound, for the pasture warn't worth
much anyway. just kill wether in
December, and hang him up in the
shop, and you can cut chops off of him
a whole month, certain, and | guess all
winter. My mutton alters gets eaten
up so quick that l never have a chance
to know how long it would keep"
Get bigger kind Of sheep" said
Deacon Smith, land YOU will have a
chance to know. There is some differ
encc between a scrimpy Merino that
wouldn't cut ten pound to the quarter
and a Cotswold grade that will weigh
twenty-five pound to the quarter and
upwards. Hang up such a carcass
and you could have roast as well as
chops all winter"
Il shouldn't wonder if you're right,
neighbour" said Seth, musing between
the puffs "Where grass don't cost
much you might as we'll have big
sheep as a little one, and mutton is
about the same thing, greater or less. y
You are mistaken there" said the
Deacon: South-Down mutton, well
fed, is much better eating than any of
your small breeds. The Cotswold cross
cnlarges the carcass and puts little
more fat into the rather lean South
Down meat. The lambs are larger,
and you could send them earlier to
market, and get better price. ! would
not have Merino sheep on my farm"
1.-The wool is fine," suggested Seth.
Il know" said the Deacon, "but
there is next to nothing of it-and there
is not such difference between very
fine aud middle woods as there used to
be. There is good market for all the
wool YOU can get from South-Down
grades, and there is likely to be so long
as wooden goods are used"
"And sheep are great on cleaning up
brush pastures, " said Jake Frink, who
seemed to appreciate them chiefly as
labor-saving machines. "You see |
have not used bush-scythe in my pas
ture for twenty years"
You might say forty" said Tucker,
land no man would dispute you-guess
there amt such an article among your
kit of tools"
Its rusty III allow" said Jake,
"you see, the sheep have done the grub
bling mostly, and man don't like to
waste any elbow grease"
This conversation of my neighbors
at the fall fair on Hookertown Green,
shows the drift of public sentiment on
the sheep question The fact is, we
want more sheep-your wife wants
them, and your children want them,
and we must have them The old cry
of dog will not do for this Common
wealth, for we have a dog law that
keeps the ours under. They are roundly
taxed, and if "a sheep owner loses
sheep by dogs, he can present his bill
to the Select Men, and get something
like the value of those destroyed. This
is fair, and, en- the whole, fosters sheep
husbandry. We cannot have any kind
of stock without encounterng some
enemies-and running some risks
Dogs are not half so dangerous to sheep
as skunks and weasels are to poultry.
And yet we contrive to raise respect
able amount of chickens, ducks, turkeys,
geese, and eggs, on almost every farm,
and these little items help to swell the
farmers profits The wool is second
airy matter, whether it be long or short,
coarse or iinc. We want sheep mainly
for their flesh. 1t is a wholesome, we'll
favored meat, and the dressing can he
easily managed by the farmer himself,
and with a little corning in Summer
and none in Winter, the carcass is
readily disposed Of Farmers ought to
eat more fresh meat, and would do so
If they raised it upon their own farms.
There is not SO much temptation to sell
mutton as there is poultry, for it only
brings about half the price. 1t proba-
bly, goes quite as far in sustaining muscle
Then sheep as fertilizers of the soil are
Invaluable, point not touched upon
by my neighbors. Any pasture where
they run is constantly improving in its
capacity to yield grass Brush dies
out under the constant cropping, weeds
disappear, and the green smooth sod
remains, and grows ranker each year
This advantage is so great, that some
very close observers say, the keeping
Of sheep costs the farm nothing This
is so, Then what we eat and sell from
the flock is clear gain. Dca Smith
might have told good deal more than
he did about Cotswold crosses. The
fact is, he sells lambs from South Down
grades by Cotswod ram, that bring
him on an average nine to ten dollars
each, every Summer And they are
all turned off in the early part of the
season, while there is flush feed in the