The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1876-02-05

the manufacturer and the producer of
the raw material to supply his estab-
lishment, and the food for his laborers,
and those who stood between the
| manufacturer and the consumer.-D.
F. Boyden, IN Vermont Farmer.
POINTS IN FAVOR OF SHEEP.
A Spanish proverb says: "Sheep
have golden feet, and wherever the
print of them appears the soil is turn
ed into gold The history of farm
ing in every country Qhe Chicago
Times says) in the world shows that
the raising IF sheep has ali important
connection with keeping up the .fertil-
ity of the soil. For retaining a.
worn out farm there is no stock SO
good as sheep. The manure they
make is seldom reckoned among the
profits of sheep husbandry, but it is
in reality One Of the chief SOURCES et
income. Most farmers realize this
who have abandoned sheep raising at
times whenwuul and mutton ruled low.
Sheep are vegetable scavengers. They
will eat and digest Very large tiurtibet
of plants that horses and cattle will
never touch. They will make very
comfortable living on little more than
the leaves Of bushes, As rule one
sheep may be kept to every COW and
horse in a pasture without detriment
to the feed these larger animals con-
sumo. Such is their desire for vari-
ETY. of food that they will often leave
grass to Feed OH the leaves of bushes
and weeds. Sheep will search higher
and lower for feed thar horses and
cattle. They are last % leave the
pastures in the fall, and the first to
return in the spring. For seven Of
more years Of its life sleep will
yield a. fleece cqiial Id vaiile to The
body from which it was taken. During
all this time.the increase in number
will pay for the keeping. The differ
ence between the price of wool at the
place where it is shorn and where it is
marketed is less sthah for any article
produced on farm, with the except
ion of cheese. If the price does not
meet the growers views when it is
taken off, it may be stored a year at
one per cent of its value. and it is
quite sure to increase that amount in
weight. In all old countries where ag-
riculture has made the greatest advance,
sheep-raising has constantly grown in
Importance. During the past hun
dred years the number Of sheep in
Great Britain has doubled, while the
price of wool has doubled, and the
price of mutton has more than quadru-
pied. This has been the case, not
withstanding the fact that wool is now
so cheap1y produced in Australia,
South Africa, and other countries
under the English rule. No branch
of farming in Great Britain is in a
more prosperous condition than the
production of wool and mutton. The
demand for mutton always increases
as a community increases in age and
wealth. Old butchers in this city
state that the demand for mutton,
as compared with beef, increases every
year. At present mutton retails at a
higher price than beef. Asito spring
lamb, it is dainty that always COM
mands fancy price. A farmer who
has the conveniences for raising verv
Eearly lambs has source Of income
superior to anything involving the
same amount of capital. In this, as
almost every thing depending on thesea-
son, the earlier in the season the higher
the price. Sheep are best adapted to
furnishing meat for farmers family
of anv animal he raises. The carcass
being small, it can generally be eaten
fresh, without any of it being liable to
injury. Mutton can be kept much
longer than beef under the same cir
cumstances, and its flavor is improved
by its being kept reasonable length
of time. No meat is the, superior of
mutton when cured with salt, boiled,
and eaten with vegetables. Cold roast
mutton is superior to beef, owing to its
| fine flavor and excellent keeping quail
tiles. A nice mutton chop is the finest
| breakfast dish that can he found for
the same cost. The health and bill of
fare of farmers would both be better
if fresh mutton more generally took
the place of salt pork. 1t is easy for
farmers to provide themselves with
constant supply of this most delicious
meat. By keeping few wethers in a
pasture by themselves. and granting
them, an animal may be ready to
slaughter at any time. Any farmer
can learn to properly dress sheep, and
the operation requires no appliances.
Sheep pelts always bring cash, ana can
generally he sold at good prices at
home. Sheep-raising has its ups and
downs like almost every kind Of bust
ness, but it is question if any kind'of
business has paid better for a series of
years. The rapid increase of sheep is
very favorable to farmers of small
means who wish to engage in wool
growing. Sheep raising is too much
neglected in the west and south.
The animal that furnishes clothing,
food, and light, which eats what other
animals reject, which crops hillsides
too steep for other animals to ascend.
is entitled to vastly more credit than it
receives.
The Hot Springs on Mount Shasta.
A very remarkable feature of Mount
Shasta is the collection of hot springs
4,,-, L,,,J.oJ foot hoIo,,, tho ton The