Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1880-02-04
Keeping of Sheep, or Sheep VS.. Cows.

1t has been the universal talk for the
last ten or fifteen years that our farms
have been running out, or that our lands
do not produce as they formerly did. And
the question arises, What is the reason for
it, and how shall we reclaim them pat
least, how shall we bring up our pasture
lands? Let US consider for few mo-
ments how we have dealt with them for
the last twenty years, and see if we can
not find some Of the causes which have
brought them into this state.
1t is very well known to US that the
principal business of the farmers of the
state of Vermont for the last fifteen or
twenty years has been dairying-the
keeping of cows and making butter and
cheese. They have not only skinned
the milk and sold it, but the most of us,
think, have SKINNED the whole surface OF
our farms and taken it to the market and
sold it by the pound. And from present
returns of our farms l am inclined to be-
lieve that we have not only taken all the
cream but some portion of the sour milk.
10 say the least, some of them look rather
blue. From present appearances it seems
TO me that we must do something to re-
cuperate our old dairy farms. The ques-
ton at once arises. How shall we do it, or
what stock can we keep that will bring
back our land to be more productive and
more remunerative to the farmer finan-
ciallyP
think, brother farmers, that there is
no better way than to keep sheep, OF put
our COW pastures into sheep pastures.
am of the opinion that there is no way that
we can do it so profitably and economical.
y as to keep sheep. We have such q
large proportion of our pasture land that
is not feasible for tilling, and were it SC
we have not the means 10 furnish tie
amount of fertilizers that they would re-
quire to be at all remuneratiye to till.
| think if the farmers of the state would
| turn their attention moro to the keeping
OF sheep and less cows, it would not be
many years before we would see change
for the better in many of our farms, and
financially our farmers would be on the
advance.
do not say that l would advocate the
entire abandonment of the dairy for sheep
but, us | have before said, keep more
sheep and less cows for the good of our
farms. And taking the last seasons
prices for dairy products compared with
the prices of wool and mutton, l think
financially it would be quite as well for
the farmer had he kept more sheep.
AS to the kind of sheep, we should keep
such as are profitable for mutton as well
as wool. | would suggest that we keep
the long wooded sheep, such as the Leices-
ters, Southdowns and Cotswolds, for am
no lover of the Merino sheep-such as
have been kept by the farmers of YER
mont in years past that would stand all
their feet on an old-fashoned cent in a
cold day in the winter, and were only
valuable for the small amount of wool
they produced compared with the large
amount of grease and dirt. Let the farmer
select that kind that will produce a good
fleece of wool and II good carcass for NUT
ton. AS to the particular breed, it is a
matter of opinion as to the best. There
is quite diversity of opinion among
farmers as to the different breeds of sheep
as well as cows. 1t is certainty that
the object of the farmer should be to OBJ
tain and keep those breeds that are valu.
able for mutton quite as much as for
wool. There has not for the past few
years been anything produced upon the
farm that has been more remunerative to
the farmer than the raising of good lambs
for the markets,-Read at agricultural
al Jc6erSomrilc.