The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1877-05-11

ON mixed farms, to keep one sheep for eve
~ acre Of tilla5le land. This can be done
on nearly every cotton plantation, and will
add to, rather than diminish, the. cotton |;
and when other crops Of sheep feed fail,
the cotton seed makes an excellent feed,
l have wintered our sheep entirely on raw
cotton seed, fed twice a day, at the rate of
three bushels to the hundred sheep even
when we have plenty of other feed, we usu-
ally give them some cotton seed, of which
they arc very fond. Our sheep pay us
much better, in proportion to outlay, than
any crop we raise, and if l had the money,
L know Of no investment l would rather
make, than to buy few hundred Merino
sheep want five hundred on our little
farm, and will not be satisfied until l get
them.
AS an evidence of the profit of the Me-
rino sheep, | will state that wintering ewes
last winter cost me fifty cents head, and
twenty-five yearlings averaged eight pounds
Of wool, some going as high as ten, while
our brecding-rams sheared from fourteen to
twenty pounds this wool is worth in the
dirt about thirty three and third cents
per pound. Ewes having lambs will yield
about one-third less than those that are
without lambs, but always enough to pay for
| herself and lamb for one year, 80 the lamb
starts out of debt and pays well as he goes,
and never dies insolvcnt. The greatest
drawback to the sheep business is not the
want Of grass, hay or turnips, but the dog
| and thief; the former can be disposed OF
with shortened biscuit, but the latter fur.
| nishes knotty question | can't solve.
how O. ,,,.n
theory that differs from the generally re.
ceivcd opinion Of knowing ones it is, that
sheep are rarely killed by very poor dogs
negroes dogs rarely kill sheep without the
aid of the owner it is the fat, well-fcd ras
cal that does the mischief; at any rate, this
has been my experience. The fat dog be-
gins the killing for mischief, but after hi.
frolic is over he returns to take bait o
fresh mutton, when. if you arc in time tc
put in fresh strychnine, you will get hin
every time. The poor dog hunts for the
crumbs, and dead carcasses
| We have succeeded very we'll in raising
cattle, but only keep a few, as the sheer
pays so much better | have lost more il
hogs than any other stock, which is always
a heavy loss as they cost so much to rails,
them. am sure that we ought only t.
keep few cleaners, and leave the bulk Of tn
hog business to ten cents bushel corn men
hogs will not pay where corn is worth fft,
cents per bushel.
l should have added lucerne TO the ha,
crops spoken of above. About four year
ago, prepared about half an acre of ricl
land, that had been heavily manured tn
year before, and planted in cotton, to pre-
pare for luc, ,rne; the land was well prepared
in the spring, think in March, and the seet
sown in drills, eighteen inches apart; it sool
came up and grew off rapidly, and the sec
ond year VIC cut five crops of hay, which
did not weigh, but believe it yielded at lcas
two tons to the acre ut each cutting; Jus
think of ten acres in such a crop, and hov
many sheep it would feed but the Ian,
must be made very rich to yield such crops
j. WASH WATTS, Rural Curoinian.