The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1907-03-08
BRgfIzIR6jl and
aAsGAlRDEN


During the winter months the care
of sheep means principally two things
shelter and feeding. The average
farmer puts too much care on the
former and not enough on the latter.
Experience has shown that flock
will 90 through winter with no
more shelter than that afforded by
an open shed, and cases are constant
ly occurring in which sheep are great
ly injured by excessive care in the
matter of shelter. But no one ever
saw a flock come thrifty through a
winter without judicious feeding. The
sheep will still be sheep and lambs
will be born, but during the next sum
mer there will be pddnty of chanceA
to wonder why some neighbours lambs
look fat and his ewes have so quickly
picked up since the weaving. {.
The two requisites of sheep barn
are dryness and ventilation. Damp
ness and drafts will bring on pneu-
monia, and dampness in the litter Will
cause foot-rot and kindred ills. Too
much heat will bring tuberculosis
and the health inspector. But once
nave dry quarters and plenty of air
and full half of the risk of sheep
raising will be eliminated
Some prefer to leave the litter down
all winter, and if plentifully given
and of the right kind it may be al
lowed to accumulate. AS 1t is trodden
down compactly it gives off no more
odo. than can be absorbed by the
fresh litter daily thrown down. If
should 10 ,'ur through the cutter. 1t
increases their power of absorption
and makes removal easier. If litter
is removed weekly there will be more
odor. and fresh litter should be spread
thickly at once.
Under no circumstances should the
used litter be heaped where the sheep
can get at it. Fermentation rapidly
sets in, giving forth vapors and gases
in damp weather The sheep will lie
on it and catarrh and pneumonia
'>rill inevitably ensue, or the wool will
come off in patches.
Feed racks should be made so that
the sheep may get at the feed without
filling their fleece with dust and chaff
or getting the wool torn from their
necks. Troughs for roots should have
partitions to stop crowding. Many
ewes lose their lambs from being
TANNED at the feeding troughs
The best feeds are clover hay, mea-
dow hay, roots and bran. With good
hay and an allowance of roots and
bran sheep will pass from the green
succulent food of summer to that of
dry concentrated character without
the attendant ills of such changes.
Run the roots through root cutter
to prevent choking on large pieces,
and be careful not to feed in excess
and when too cold When fed prop
erly their laxative effect BEAUTIFULLY
opposes the tendency of the hay and
adds a considerable proportion of
phosphates and sulphur for the grow
in excess, and cold the large quantity
of water contained and their bulk re-
duces the temperature of the animal
too much and is particularly harmful
to the ewes. Some mix the bran and
roots together
Keep rock salt in the feed troughs
and plenty of fresh water accessible
Foul water is deadly to sheep. Jig
ARRANGEMENT OF SHRUBBERY
With the leaves stripped from shrub
berries, the planter has an opportunity
to observe what the skeleton of his
plan looks life. If it is not satisfac-
tory, he can rest assured that the
mere growth of leaves in the spring
will not materially improve. matters
Strawberries as rule are too care
lessly thrown together. This applies
to the grouping of ten shrubs or a
hundred. The average planter does
not give the subject any serious
thought. but buys his stock and sets
it out irrespective of it's suitability.
Recently the writer was shown a
list of shrubs prepared by a so-called
landscape gardener and designed to
cover space of twenty feet wide and
fifty feet long. The list was too long
by half and the most of the shrubs
included were not at all adapted for
harmonious results.
Here, for instance, is plan of the
kind of arrangement that usually does
dclty for design in strawberries.
Weigela, LOnicera, Cornus alba,
Golden Elder, Purple Barberries, Hy-
drangea, p-g., Spirea Van Houten,
Philadelphus cor, Berberis, Rosa rug
osa Symphoricarpus vulgaris, Rosa
rugosa alba, Thunbergii and SO on.
A sort of mosaic of a patch of this,
a patch of that, and a patch of the