The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1876-11-16
YIELD AND FARM.

SHEEP-THE OUTLooK.-The Farmers
Friend, in commenting ON the general
outlook of sheep husbandry, gives the
following very sensible advice:
Farmers who keep large focks ofsheep,
should not dispose of them hastily, in
view of the low prices they bring, and
the cheapness of wool, as we are not al
ways to have such times as exist at
present. Probably in two or three years
the prices will advance fifty per cent,
from the fact that large portions of our
wool growers will either 90 out of the
business, or greatly reduce their focks,
no matter how much they are advised
to hold on" In some cases twill be well
to get rid of your poorest sheep, and thus
reduce your flOcks as little as you can,
and make them pay the expenses OF
keeping till prices 90 up. During the
last thirty years, there have been a half
dozen GIBBS in the prices of sheep and WOO,
and yet those breeders who "hOld on !"
came out all right. What you need
most is good breeding rams; and we an
mex what an old sheep raiser says: "The
best breed and best formed Merino rams
may now be had for $50 to 500, and the
long woods or Downs are quite rs cheap;
and when we reflect that we may have
fifty to one hundred lambs from single
sire, what waste of money it is to use
an inferior, fat-sided ram, because he can
be had for $40 to $l5! The defects of a
bad sire, used for single season, will be
visible in a flock for many generations. so
that the injury done cannot be estimated
and the services of such an animal will
never be accepted by an intelligent
breeder, if rendered as gratuity.
The selection of the breeding ram,
where mutton is produced, must be from
the long woods, or the Downs. If we make
choice from the former, we must be care
full to have an animal of stout and TO-
bust constitution. These sheep have
been so generally forced with artificial
food, that many of them lack the hardi-
ness required for the farmers purposes
What we must have, is a straight, round
barrel, on short legs, with short, stout
neck, and vigorous, masculine appearance
about the head. The body should be
we'll covered with long lustrous staple,
of uniform quality. If the selection
be of the Southdown breed, we should
have the samegeneral form as here de-
scribed, but we ought to have more
compact and snug carcass, with good
deal more weight for the bulk, than in
the long-wool breeds.
CAUSE OF MEGRIMs IN HORsEs.-A
correspondent of the Veterinarian says
that he has been in practice as a veter-
mary surgeon for thirty years, and has
taken pains to ascertain the cause of me-
grims. On examining the horses eye
Immediately after or during an attack, he
has formed it exceedingly convulsed and
acted upon by spasmodic affection of the
muscles-a symptom that could not be
present if the disease arose from disten.
ton of the arterial connections of the
brain. He has never seen saddle-hOrse
afflicted with this complaint, and all the
cases he has seen occurred when the sun
was shining brightly, or by moonlight,
when snow was on the ground.
He had favOrite pony which was
subject to megrims. He removed the
winkers from the bride and the pony
never showed any symptoms ofthem after
ward. 1t then occurred to him that the
reflectiorof the sun upon the winkers,
idlliuS uiItClIy Ou bHc OptiC uSIfc, was
the cause of this extraordinary COM
plant. Since then he has nad many
patients affected with megrims, and in
every case he has ordered the removal of
the winkers, or if there were none, to
have the eyes of the horse shaded with
a piece of leather three or four inches
wide, extending in front from winker to
winker. In every instance this treat
ment was successful. He feels satisfied,
from the symptoms he has always OBJ
served in megrims, that the brain is not
the seat of the difficulty.
ALwAYsUPToT IME.-The wide awake
farmer should make every preparation in
autumn for the timely performance OF
work the coming season. A week OF
delay in the routine Ofwork may derange
it for the whole summer. Weeds allowed
to grow cost tenfold to destroy. Those
who have ever travelled on an express
train out of time, will understand this,
Every hindrance is increased tenfold
Every local train must be waited for
Ten minutes too late is two hours loss
Provide every facility therefore in time
procure full set of tools; postpone
nothing that can be done now; and lay
out no more work than the force engaged
will carry through promptly and in the
best manner.