Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1895-11-15
HILL FARMs OF NEW ENGLAND.
Sheep the MOst Profitable Crop-RecIaIm-
leg Poor Land In Three Years.

leg Poor Land In Three Years.
Tho hill farms of New England can
be reclaimed easier with sheep, and with
more profit, than in any other way.
Land can BIZ bought at low figure and
from 100 to 500 sheep put on the place.
according to the size of it, The place
should be inclosed with barbel wire
fence of five or six strands, the three
lower ones six inches apart, strung
tightly upon good posts SET. a rod apart,
which will keep the sheep in and the
dogs out. A few acres of tillable and
moving land should also be fenced in
OH which to raise some grain and cut
some hay. A rotation of corn, oats and
clover will give the best results and be
found the most profitable. Two horses
will do all the work necessary on such
a farm, and two COWS supply the family
with milk, butter and cream. One man
can plant what few crops are put in and
take care of the sheep, with an extra
man at harvest and at lambing time,
when some one should be with the ewes
night and day to give any needed as
sistance.
The barns or sheds should be made
tight and dry, and warm if early winter
lambs are to be raised. A sheep will
stand much cold if the air is still, but
draft and dampncss are injurious to
them. Inclose the sheds Oh all sides and
put several windows in the south side
for light and warmth Sheep like the
sunshine, and enjoy summing themselves
water should be conveyed to them in the
stables, where You can have it before
them all the time On clear, fair days
the sheep may be let out in the yards,
but during high winds and storms they
should always be kept housed.
Cover thickly as much land as possible
with the manure in the winter, and
and sow it to peas and oats and cut
what grass you can on the meadows If
you can spare it, pillow under the oats
and peas before they ripen, ,-'l sow to
buckwheat; pillow this under and sow to
rye. If you must have the oats and peas
to feed, cut them at the proper time and
put i'll a crop of rye. Harvest the corn
and put it il the silo, if you have one ;
if not, cure and husk it and feed the
whole corn shelled, cutting and steam
ing the stalks for the sheep and other
stock. The next spring SOW crop Of
oats on the corn stubble and seed heavily
with clover; pillow under rye when it is
we'll up and plant corn. The winter s
manure may be used partly on the land
for corn and partly on piece of old
land to be anted to oats and peas as in
the year previous, and the same rotation
followed.
This rotation will be under full head
way the third year. One piece will be
in clover. which will yield two cuts, and
be followed with corn. A second piece
will be i'll oats seeded with clover, and
third piece will be in corn, to be fol-
/ lowed by oats. All the manure should
/ be placed on the ground for corn, unless
some is wanted for the pastures or a
piece Of natural meadow. By this sys-
/ TEN of rotation all the tillable land can
be brought up to IA fair state Of produc-
tiveness i'll three years. The pastures
will be improved by the sheep on them,
especially when grain is fed. The ex-
pense of conducting such farm will be
very small. But little labor being re-
CURED, the question of hired help is
nearly or quite solved, says The New
Eng land Homestead, from which the
foregoing is reproduced.