THE FARM.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 867, 12 October 1888, Page 18

THE FARM.

Something About Sheep. (From the Mark Lane Express. ) DORSET BREED. A white faced horned race, inhabiting mainly the county from which it derives its name. It is not confined to Dorsetshire, however ; it has lately been spreading very rapidly both at home and in America, where it is evidently very highly esteemed. Their points include early maturity, early and prolific breeding, and rapidity of fattening. They are eminently fitted for the production of early lambs for the fat market, while in general feoundity they surpass all other breeds in existence. They breed twice a year, and yield per head from 51b to 81b of very short wool. CHEVIOTS. In mauy respects this hardy, white-faced breed is regarded as the most valuable of mountain sheep. It originated in the county of Northumberland, where it is still extensively bred, but the southern counties of Scotland have been the of the breed for many years. It has also been introduced into many of the more northern of Scotch counties with considerable success, but it has had a stiff opponent to fight in tho Scotch Blackfaced or Highland Sheep, with which it has vied and varied for upward of half a oentnry. As is natural to expeot of a breed so widely diffused over an area of diversified soil aad climate, it lias been difficult to maintain a uniformity of Cheviot type. In the south-western districts of Scotland, for example, which contains some very well-managed flocks of Chevicts, the sheep are of a much larger size than in the Borders, and there has latterly been a clashing of tastes and fancies in some of the leading Scotch showyards. The Cheviot breed may be said to range up

to an elevation of well nigh 3,000 feet, being exceptionally hardy. 1 Its face and legs are covered with .short, wiry, pure white hair, which extends over tho ear and well back behind the head. In some instances the ram is horned. in.others he is hornless. His nose is highly arched, nostrils black, and eyes dark,, full bright. The wool is moderately long and very close set—straight and free from kemp—covering equally and well all parts of the body, including legs, down to the knees and hocks. The clip of woo!, which is generally shorn early in July, runs from 31b to '4£lb per head. In its wealth of mutton the ; Cheviot far outweighs the Blackface. Wethers from the hills three years old, killed and:dressed, scale from 701 b to 801 b, while others a year younger, if fed turnips, usually attain about the same weight. Cast ewes are purchased by Lowland farmers for crossing purposes. Thoy are mated with Lincoln, Border Leicester, and Wensleydale rams, the result of which is a lmlt-bred stock, now extensively fed on the lower arable farms ia Scotland. .

THE HIGHLAND BLACKFACE. It is estimated that this ancient raoe of Scotch mountain sheep constitute, in round i.umbers, 4,000,000, of the entire sheep stock of Scotland, which numbers upwards of 6,000,000. On account of their exceptional hardihood, they are better adapted to withstand the abrasions of the Scotch climate than any other breed. They can live and thrive ou the scantiest herbage,, and their pasture" extends to the very summits of the heath-clad mountains—to the extraordinary altitude of close on 4,000 feet. From time immemorial it has been famed above all other breeds for the quality of its mutton. It does not yield so much as the more unrefined breeds of the Lowland districts of the country, but its mutton commands the highest market prices omacoount of its superlative flavour., Its wool is of an inferior character as compared with that of the softer and more highly-fed breads. Still, the rough texture peculiarly adapts its wool for the special industry of carpet-making, and has thus maintained its value better than the more delicate coats; which have no such specialty. The origin of the breed is obscured in antiquity. It is supposed to be of foreign descent, and to have been imported into Scotland by one of the Scottish kings for the use of the royal household. -We are inclined to believe, however 1 , that, it originated among the mountains in the" North of England or some of the more mountauous parts of Scotland. The form and general independent bearing of the sheep point it out as the native of a high and stormy region, and it has been known to inhabit the higher altitudes of Scotland for several centuries. During the past thirty or forty years it has been greatly enhanced in value through increase care and attention, and better general attention on the part of breeders. . j.y'

OTHER VARIETIES. There aro numerous other sheep in the British Islands. One of the principal of these is the

DEVON LONG-WOOL, The Devon Longwool breed resembles the Lincoln somewhat, though of a considerably smaller type. It is not so fine in bone and quality as most of the other English breeds, still it is much iu favour in certain parts of Devon, Somerset, and Cornwall. The face is white, with a lock on the forehead, and well-woolled on the cheeks. It contains an admixtuie of Leicester and Cotswold blood, and resembles the latter breed not a little.

THE ROMNEY MARSH sheep are a useful, long-woolled, hardy, white-faced variety, not unlike the Cheviot. In this breed, the use of Leicester blood has been attended with capital results. It is, if anything, larger than the Leicester, while it yields good wool, being one of the closest coated of the long-woolled breeds.

; : lonks. These large-sized, black-faced, horned sheep partake not a little of the character of the Scotch Highland breed. They inhabit the hills in the Keighley district of Yorkshire and Lancashire. Like the Scotch black-face they subsist on poor pastures, being very hardy. The ewes are remarkably good milkers, and when mated with a Loicester ram produce a good profitable cross, weighing about 161 b per quarter when a year old. The clip varies from 51b to 71b per fleece; the wool, which is rather short and strong in the staple, is largely used for blanket-making in Rochdale. EXMOOR SHEEP resemble the Dorset breed. They exist chiefly in West Somerset and North Devon. Their faces are white, nostrils black, and horns slanting baokwards. Their wool is close and fine, weighing from 41b', to 51b per fleece, and their mutton is generally of very good quality. THE HERD WICK breed is the hardiest in England. It has its home among the hills of Cumberland aud Westmoreland, and the colour of itß face is speckled. Rams and wethers are horned. In these high-lying and exposed regions the Herdwick breed is greatly appreciated. THE WENSLEVDALE is another Yorkshire breed, largely made up of Leicester blood. It is open in coat and rank in wool, and has been found a successful croßser with the Scotch mountain breed, which has been extensively introduced by the farmers of that district. THE CLvTN FOREST breed prevails in the Clun district of Shropshire, the south of Radnorshire, and the adjoining portions of Montgomery. They are deeply infused with Shropshire blood, and. the ewes, which are capital mothers when crossed with a pure Shropshire ram, produce lambs which weigh remarkably well. Their wool is about the same weight as that of the Shropshire, but a trifle coarser. WELSH AND IRISH BREEDS. Welsh mountain sheep are a hardy, hornless, white.faced race ot great agility. Their mutton is very fine, but the yield small—from 121 b ts 131 b per quarter. The wool ia a trifle coarse, while the clip varies from 21b to 31b per head." Another Welßli breed of muoh greater antiquity is the Tan Face, a short legged, hardy little breed, cloaely coated with wool of good quality. The native breeds of Ireland are the Roscommon, the Wicklow, and the. Kerry. The first named is found in Connaught, and is the moat important of the three, being improved from its original form by crossing with the Leicester, IJ resembles the Lincoln in point

bi size, and yields. fleece of long Silky wool. '! SCOTCH HALF-BREDS. , Although nominally a hybrid race, this is hue Of the best rent-paying classes of sheep in existence. It is the produce of the Border Leicester and Cheviot ; and has for many years absorbed increasing attention in the Jiorder districts of Scotland. Its distinctive features have been summarised thus : : —Head of fair Bize, with' lively, prominent eyes ; ears of moderate length, well covered with hair ; the face being also covered with clean white hair; the neck and chest should be full; the ribs, rounded and filled well up behind the shoulder,;' the legs of moderate length, and free of wool ; the hiud-quarters full and well-proportioned; the rumps full ; the tail neatly set, well covered with wool, which reaches to the hooks ; the pelt thin and well covered with wool (somewhat resembling that of the Leicester in quaaty, but without the curly appearance) coming well down on the quarters, forward On the neck, and completely covering the belly.. The Bheep should exhibit an open, _ sprightly countenance, giving every indication of hardiness. No wool must, appear on the head—the possession of such indicates that the animal is not a true half-bred. E nsilage C ard. Short instructions relating to the ensilage system were asked for at the annual meeting of the Ensilage Society, held at the Royal Society’s tent in the Nottingham showyard. and Lord Egarton, the chsirmaD, acting for ' the Earl of Londesborough, president, recom'•i* mended their publication in the present ' emergency, when much forage is spoiling, and to save the abundant crop of aftermath probable after the recent storms. In answer also to numerous correspondents, the Hon. Sec: of the Ensilage Society, (109, Cheynewalk, S.W.) would recomniend in this unsettled season the following appliances and methods, which have been found efficient, and which may be adopted with confidence. At the same time, no opinion is meant to be expressed as to which appliance is best. Many makers of ensilage have proved the efficiency of A. The Johnson wire rope and drum tackle. Agents, Aylesbury Hairy Company, Piccadilly. For stacks. B. Reynolds and Co.’s chains and screw tightener. Acorn Works, Edward-street, Blackfriars, S.E. For stacks or silos. C. Blunt’s lever appliances. Ensilage Press Company, Leicester. For stacks. D. Hydraulic pressure. o, ' W. Wilson, Rigmaden Park, Kirkby Lonsdale. For atacks-and silos. E. Lampit’s screw frame, Tucker’s patent. Vulcan Foundry, Baubnry, Oxon, Stacks. F. Pearson’s water roller system. Wolverhampton. Stacks or silos. Either of the makers of theabove furnish descriptive pamphlets that plainly indicate the use and manner, of working their systems. Novices, however, are recommended to obtain one or other of the following publications : Silos for Preserving British Fodder Crops, price 6s. Field Office, Strand. Of this there is a pamphlet form (price 6.1, by post 7d), entitled Short Notes on Silo Experiments and Practice. Stack Ensilage. By E. 11. Row. Walter Scott, 24, Warwick-lane, E.C. Is. The Ensilage Stack Book, price 6d. Eusi’age Press Company, Laicester, Besides the pamphlets of the Aylesbury Dairy Company, and of Mr Wilson, and of Messrs Reynolds and Co. There is also a useful book on the ‘Construction of Silos,’published by Batsford, 52, High fiolborn, W.C. ; and a few copies of the ‘Ensilage Year Book’ remain on sale, price Is each, from the Hon. Seo. of the Ensilage Society, on receipt of stamps. But many persons are wishful at once—tomorrow —to commence operations, and make what salvage they can of .the deteriorated fodder crops now down,gor ready to be cut; and they have heard, truly, that the ensilage system may be successfully carried oiit without any of the above appliances. Here the hou. secretary does not hesitate to express • the opinion that when silos are used (and these are most economical in the long run), the dead-weight pressure, by dry earth, sand, bricks, stones in bags or boxes, &c,, have'not in efficiency been surpassed by any mechanical means introduced, and the deadweight system may also be applied" to stacks. Nevertheless the systems above mentioned, and doubtless other mechanical appliances, are efficient, convenient, and immediately available ; whilst their manufacturers claim that their appliances are in reality less costly in us/e than is the labour involved in carrying out the dead-weight system ; and doubtless this argument is a strong one, especially in respect to making ensilage in stacks. The advocates of making ensilage in ‘clamps’are increasing in numbers. Their plan is to cart the forage into a Blight excavation, or even upon the flat field surface; and load after load is shot down as long as the horse and cart can pass over the bulk. In a recent successful case the experimenter covered the top of the mass with earth in bags, whioh soon, by their weight, reduced the size of the heap, against the si.le of which earth was placed, as in a mangold clamp ; the top bags were then emptied, and thus sealed in the whole bulk, which was found to be excellently preserved some mouths afterwards. Probably, however, most farmers will prefer the following plan. The arrangements aro such as mo3t tonants can successfully carry ou, and at a minimum • of expense. T ■; Directions : Where it is proposed te make an ensilage stack, place six or more poles, according to the quantity to bo stacked , brace the poles together, say, at 10ft to 18ft from the bottom, Fix a pulley at either corner of this framework, by which mould boards (a couple of 10in planks) may be hauled up as the work of building the stack progresses These boards, at first resting on the ground, form a convenient framework to contain the crop, and allow it to be well trodden, down, in successive layers, -these boards are hauled up as the stack rises until the building is complete. They then are available to enclose tho dead weights, whatever they may be, and form a plate to carry any covering that may be adopted. It dry earth is used, it should be shot direct on tho forage, to which it will form an air-tight roof. At other times a flooring of boards m

laid on the staok, and upon such floor bricks or other weights are plaoed, and then straw or tarpaulin has to go over all to keep out the weather. ' The books referred to furnish all details as to the amount of pressure required under different circumstances, to regulate and control the temperature desirable. It may be added, that it is quite within measurable distance of agricultural praotice to make ensilage a marketable procuct, by the further use of Ladd’s prize press. With an experiment the hou. seo. will shortly make, and it is believed the result will be ensilage blocks suitable for army forage, and for consumption in town dairies and aboard ship, will be produced, —‘ Invicta ’ in The Field.

In Professor Henry’s ensilage artioles, being published in the Breeders’ Gazette, be says that last season he urged that the fodder be wilted before it was put into the silo, and his own experience, with that of many others, corroborates this, method of procedure, which has the additional advantage thut less water is handled in the operation. If it is intended to allow the fodder to wilt, the com bad better be cut and shocked, after which it may stand from three to ten days, depending upon the maturity of the stalks at the time of cutting, and the weather. One of the advantages of cutting and shocking is that when it is over the force of men employed in this operation can be changed to filling the silo, if the corn is out and plaoed in the silo at once quite a force of hands is needed, but by cutting and shocking first we can avoid this doub.e force. In regard to the kind of feed-cutter to be used, it may be said that there are several valuable machines before the public, any one of which will prove satisfactory if properly managed, The only point he desire 3 to urge is that a large machine be purchased, one having about double the advertised capacity. Small cutters‘.are a nuisance; hand-power cutters are out of tho question. The cutter should be driven by three horses on a sweep power or two on a tread, or by a steam-engine. ' .- There are many farmers who desire to have silos, but dread the experience aud expense of machinery. Corn-fodder may bo preserved in a perfectly satisfactory manner without running it through the feed-cutter, and may be drawn from the field anddepoaited directly in the silo. The expense of putting corn fodder through tho feed, cutter, first aud last, is not far from half of all that incurred from the time of cutting tho fodder to closing the silo. To fill the silo with long fodder let it be drawn in the usual manner and lifted at once into the pit, which can be accomplished ia several ways, either by hand or tho horse hayfork, earner and slings. In the silo it should be distributed evenly and probably bad better bo placed in regular iayerß, lapping ‘shingle fashion ’so that it will settle evenly. There is no doubt but that long fodder will keep just as well as that which is cut up, and Professor Henry ia not at all certain but such silage is even better in some canes than that made by cutting up the stalks into small pieces. When cut into small pieces the fodder is considerably bruised, and there is much more exposure of the juices to the air than there is where whole fodder is used. The only difficulty with long fodder comes at the time it is to be. taken out for feeding purposes ; theD, if large varieties have been used, the mau who attempts to get it out of the silo will need strong muscles and a large degree of patience to enable him to tug at the compact mass,, which is quite difficult to manage. Twenty-five cows will eat up the silage about as fast as one man can get it Slow filling is without doubt the best method for securing good silage, no matter what material we were using, be it clover, long fodder-corn, or fodder cut fine. When the pit has baen filled three or four feet deep no more should be placed within it until this layer has heated to tho neighbourhood of 125 deg. Fahrenheit. No packing down is needed except in the corners and along the walls ; at these points they endeavour to firm the silage just as much as possible. He wishes we could avoid this operation, and in the future they may do so. He believes the silage would be better without any tramping or packing if we could only get it to settle uniformly without. We should endeavour to secure an elevation in temperature of from 120 deg. to MfMeg. uniformly throughout the mass of material. If the contents of the silo heap up to .different degrees in different places we cannot expect them to bo uniform in quality, though all will be eaten by the stock. Fortunately we do not have to be very particular in our practice to obtain a very good quality of silage. He would advise, therefore, that a person allow the temperature to run from 120 deg. to 140 deg. when the thermometer is buried a foot deep in the fodder; but when these conditions aro not obtained, no matter whether the degree be lower or higher, to go on without feeling anxious in the matter.

THE WHEELBARROW ON THE FARM. Howoften we must move things tooheavy to carry, yet not heavy enough to justify hitching up a team to haul them. But the team must be bitched and half an hour ia consumed, when the article could have been moved with a wheelbarrow in five minutes. The railroad barrow is tho oheaper, and answers well enough for conveying dirt, manure, or vegetables ; but the garden barrow-, with a higher whesl and movable side, boards, ia more convenient. It is tho allpurpose barrow. Let the bo named first among the labour-saving devices of man. It truly lengthens life, for it raves energy ; and it makes life more pleasant, for it conduces to ease. It costs little and lists long when well oared for. More than half of it can be made by the fanner. If you have not one, and aro unable to buy one, make what yon can of it and have the blacksmith complete it, and you, too, will sing the praises of the wheelbarrow. A correspondent of the Kansas City Live Stook Record gives the following suggestions : In -breaking or training colts for road or farm, get an active, patient, horse man to take charge of them, and, as far as ;possible^'avoid' l everything 'likely to scare or hurt them. Trainers of colts should begin

work by moving about in their stalls till something of their tempers is learned If nervous, confidence must be gained by patting, stroking and rubbing on the nose, face, ears, neck, shoulders, back, legs, etc. By so doing, most colts will quietly permit lifting of their feet and free handling all over. Should really bad temper bo exhibited, hard measures may have to be adopted before they are taught that it need not be shown. When a thorough understanding has been established between man and colt, a bit should be put in the colt’s mouth, after which ho should be taken out and made to walk, trot, and stand when asked. On being returned to the stall, let him again be well handled, his legs rubbed, and hfs feet lifted, etc. Portions of harness should next be placed on crib or manger, that by seeing or touching them, he may learn they are harmless. This learned, they should slowly be raised and quietly put on, after which the colt should be walked, etc., in them out of doors. A roadster colt should be made well ao quainted with the bit before he is mounted or put iu harness. Mounting should be praotised in the open field and on the naked back till quietly.submitted to, when mounting on a saddle will seldom be objected to. Both cart and roadster colts should first be made to pull on traces. To do this the trainer and another should hold the colt by a rein each, on opposite sides of the head. To eaoli trace a rope should be attached and the ends given one to each of two men well apart, behind tho colt. W hen ho moves forward they should gradually tighl en the ropes until pulling is established. At the same time they should approach each other and make the traces press bard or light on his sides and thighs, as he seemed disposed to bear them. By this means he will in most cases soon come to diaw a log or light harrow quite pleasantly ; if not, repeat the lesson till he does so. When a cart colt comes to pull quietly by himself, he should be yoked on to au active and good-tempered companion. The new arrangement may annoy, but if nothing hurts or frightens him, the annoyance will soon pass and he will gradually settle to his work. All youug horses are apt to ‘ bolt’ when first put to draw anything they are unaccustomed tc. Care should he taken to prevent this, otherwise disagreeable or worse results may follow. Roadsters are generally more sudden iu their movements than cart horses ; hence snch movements should be specially guarded against. Before being put on a road in harness, a ro dster should be ridden behind, before, and alongside another horse ia a trap A g'g is, perhaps, the best conveyance for him to be first 1 arnessod to, and an open field the best place for him to start it in. In driving, use a b t not likely to hurt, hold the reins tightly till the colt is accustomed to them. Unco on the mad give a turn on it daily, overlook petty faults, punish only when gentle means of correction fail, but never unless the colt knows what he is punished for. Harness is apt to chafe the skin oFh rsea unaccustomed to it. Chafed parts should be bathed and have cooling lotions applied to them.