The progressive farmer., 1901-10-08
Live Stock.
SHEEP IN THE SOUTH.
< vi.

Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer.
Connecting Link-COmpOst Barn-It is EoOn
Omy to Compost Fertilizers on the Farm
The Ideal 500 Again-45o Acre Plantation
80 to Cotton, 80 to sAeep-MethOd and
II System Essential-Humus and Muck
r. Elements Valuable in Compost.
Correspondence of The Progressive Farmer.
Sheep husbandry in the South
should be in adjunctive cooperation
with cotton growing agriculture.
From what has already been said, 1t
is evident that sheep manure as a
fertilizer is the important connect
ing link between the two industries
and this is why write so much
about it and follow the matter up so
clearly in detail The discussion of
this link belonge as much to the
sheep husbandry business as it does
to the cotton farming.
AS there is a stable for horses, a
sheep barn for sheep, q cattle barn
for COWS, hen house for chickens,
so should there be a compost barn
for manure, ample in size TO hold
and completely compost annually all
the manure made and used on the
farm.
Just here Unjust say regret very
much that Gas Editor Poe writes me)
they cannot publish two chapters I
wrote for them, as they cannot
secure the cuts for diagrams sent
of sheep barns, showing plans of
barn with feed racks, divisions, &C.,
because sheep husbandry in the
South conducted on the high and
profitable plane of which have been
writing, must have buildings and
improvements commensurate with
the business, and especially so when
it is to be conducted in conjunction
with advanced methods of cotton
agriculture, where the manure is to
be saved and scientifically oomposted.
Some things in these latter chap
tePs will seem almost irrelevant for
want of the chapters that have been
left out,
My writings have no reference to
buying up one or two hundred ewes
and turning them out in a "woods
pasture" with the wild cats, foxes
and dogs, day and night, and if fed
at all, turned in ''feed lot" with
calves, steers, COWS, bulls: colts and
mules. know that has been custom
and a few have succeeded even that
way, but I wish it understood, 1 am
not writing for that kind of business,
for four times out of five it is failure
and that way should fail five times
out of five.
Why should the farmer pay a fer
tilizer factery ga middle man') for
composing his fertilizer when he
can as, we'll, and at less cost, do it
himself on the farm where nearly all
of it should be, and in fact is pro
duced?
1t is not economy nor business-like
for him not Go it on the farm.
Our last nine-year sheep illustra-
tion described the keeping of a flock
averaging about 800 per annum for
the nine years. Ideally let us take
for example this 800 sheep as in the
onto a plantation of say
450 acres, 16O of which is continuous
ly run in cotton, yielding the aver
age product of one half bale per acre
while the remainder, 29O acres, is
timber, pasture and perhaps so acres
used for corn, &c.
With necessary fencing, sheep
barn, &C., previously described, we
bring onto this place the 300 sheep in
the fall season having decided to de.
vote 80 acres to cotton, 80 acres to
sheep, giving them the use of the
of the farm except what
is needed to keep the stock necessary
to run on plantation of that size as
proposed, that is, the whole planta-
ton as it's two main purposes to be
devoted to the growing of 80 acres
of cotton and keeping the average
flock of 800 sheep while nothing else
is to be sold from the place except
fruit and surplus of necessary stock
and things.
When sheep ara kept on a cotton
farm in number and manner as above
described, it should be rule to re-
serve all the cotton seed meal that
can be made from all of the cotton
seed sold, and feed the same to the
flock of sheen during the year. along