Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-04-29
UNION AND AMERICAN.
FARM AND GARDEN.

SHEEP RAISING IN THE SOUTH.
NEWBERN, DYER Co., Tenn, April
I7.-Believing it to be your desire to
further the farming interests of Ten
nessee, 1 take the liberty to write for
information in regard to sheep raising.
In the first place, what are the best
blOods for West Tennessee? a. VIII
sheep do as well In West Tennessee as
IN Middle andEast Tennessee? o. We
cannot have very good blue grass or
orchard, but the other varieties of
grass grow luxuriantly here.
Now I have a farm Of two hundred
acres, all under fence and all
clear but forty acres and the under
brush cut out from that. How large
a flock viii 200 acres support? 49, 1
have no sheep at all. want the best
blood for this soil; and, moreover, l
want to know where I can get a start,
say one ram and FIVE ewes, for the least
money. Can you tell me who has the
best flock of sheep IN Tennessee? a.
Do you think 1t q cheaper plan to buy
a flock Of common scrub ewes and
breed up than TO buy at the start a
thoroughbred flock? o. I have Just
read your notice Of Capt. Gibson's
flock IN Maury county, and am well
pleased, so far as I know, with his
Co5swold, and if you cannot advise a
better flock, please write me
whether he has any for sale. Co.
Anything IN the s~heep-raising
line that you can say viii
be appreciated highly by me. Are
there any books on sheep raising, or
stock raising generally, that you would
advise a young farmer to buy? (7.) 1
am a physician, and understand human
anatomy very well, and would like some
work on comparative anatomy, also COM
parative pathology. Where can l get
KIllebrew's Resources of Tennessee,
and what will it cost? ~
Inclosed find stamp; please write as
soon as convenient.
Respectfully, A. B. H.
The above letter was not intended
for the press, and would not be pub
Gshed did We not believe that it viii
benefit the great farming interest of
the South, without doing any harm to
the author. We are not in the habit
of treating any branch Of husbandry
as a private interest. a. The best
sheep for West Tennessee are those
which viii return to the owner and
shepherd the most money in wool and
mutton for the food consumed. These
are the COtswOld, Southdown and me-
rino sheep, with several sub varieties.
O. Sheep viii do as well in West Ten
nessee as in Middle or East Tennessee,
or any where else, if the owner of a soil
which is a little defective to produce
bluegrass, sheep-fescue, white and red
clover in paying cropF, viii have
the good sense to remove that
defect, which, in nine cases out
o. ten, he may easily do.
g. How large a flock Will 200 acres
keep Some fock-masters, by the aid
of turnips and other roots, would keep
one thousand sheep on a 200 acre farm
very comfortably; while another man
who knew little Of practical sheep hus-
bandry, would hardly take sufficient
care of a flock of forty head to prevent
the dogs killing halfstheir number. He
would also neglect to cultivate the very
nutritious grasses brought from the
Old World which gave US the fleece
bearing animals, so invaluable to trans
form any heritage into lustrous fiber to
make brOadcloth, fine bed blankets,
worsted and delaine goods. To change
very easily and very largely air and
1Cgter into grass, and grass into the best
sC0oI, is a science which all physicians
ought to understand and teach through
life In an easy and quiet way.
a. It would be impossible to say
who has the best flock in Tennessee
without seeing and carefully eIamin-
ing fifty or more Of the best in the
State. Capt. Gibson has taken great
pains to introduce the best that money
could purchase, and raises lambs
for sale of both sexes. g.
More money is generally made
by buying a flock Of common ewes,
wisely paying If need be- an extra
price for extra sheep, and breeding
them to the best pure blood rams, than
to purchase at the start a whole flock
Of high price animals. The gain In
cash comes from the rapid multiplied
ton Of really valuable blood. Male
parents do this more than twenty
times faster than females in the ovine
genus. Co., Answered. a. RandalI's
work on sheep husbandry is what you
want. Write to the editor Of Rural
NelC Yorker, New York, for the same.
Good works on comparative anatomy,
physiology, pathology, biology and
heredi5y are very scarce, but able men
have the labor OF writing them IN hand.
At another time we viii notice at
length this vital part Of southern agri-
culture with strict reference to readers
who have had a medical education.
The celebrated Doctor Rush, of Phila-
delphia, taught that country doctors
should own farms and take an interest
in all rural affairs. 1t adds alike to
their independence and their usefulness.
A good medical education is worth to
any farmer who deals with either plant
life or animal life, five times more than
it need to cost any farmers son.
SELLING THE OLD HOMESTEAD.
The restlessness Of the American
mind is prOverbial. and many a family