—      — ■'--— »■■ r »--t j* ■ '.■    '
EXPERIENCE DEPARTMENT
What Breed of Sheep Meets Oar
Present Demand and Why?
1st Premium —The breed of sheep to
meeVour present condition, must be: 1st.
A mutton sheep, one that will respond
promptly to good oaro and gocd feed, at
any age from 30 days to old age. They
should become a well developed sheep at
eight months. 2d. It shonld bear a fleece
weighing from seven to ten lbs. at one
year old. Such a lamb may be had by
crossing "common" or grade Merino
ewes with a thoronghbred Dorset, Shropshire, Cotswold or Ramboulllet ram.
Perhaps with others I am only speaking
from experience. The "DorBet ram" fills
the bill the best for me and for the last
few years I have nsed the Dorset rams
exclusively, It was hard to give up my
beautiful Shrops, bnt I am keeping sheep
"for revenue only." My flrst lot of half
blood Dorset lambs averaged 45 lbs. at an
average age of less than 60 days and were
sold at 9 cents per lb. live weight. The
Shrops at the same age and with the
same treatment fell short. Early development should be the watch-word. Here
Is the record of a full blood Dorset lamb:
He was dropped Feb. 28th and weighed
April 28th, <M lbs.; May 'iSth, 85 lbs.; June
-3th, 99 lbs. Was weighed each time in
the morning wlthont feed or water. (He
then passed out of my hands.) They are
great foragers, hardy, docile and prolific;
will breed at any season of the year to
suit the convenience of the breeder. Will
breed twice a year if allowed and proper
ly managed; they are excellent mothers.
The best of milkers. Are less nervous
and timid than any other breed; will not
scatter and run at the approach of a dog.
My ewes sheared6.. to %%. lbs. of \i blood
combing wool and sold at Geo. Merritt A
Co's woolen factory at the top price, 16o
In my opinion any of the popular breeds
of mutton sheep, If given the same intelligent care that other farm stock receive
will meet our present condition, and
show as good profit as any stock on the
farm. Dip them and get rid of the ticks
and one of the unfavorable conditions
will be removed. W. B. Vestal.
Plainfield, Ind.
2d Premium. — When speaking of a
breed of sheep, or stock of any kind, men
are very apt to differ in opinion. It's a
common saying "many men of many
minds." Men may differ because of self
Interest But I feel sure it is not the
case with myself, as I have no Interest in
thoronghbred sheep, though I have
found both pleasure and profit in handling a small llock of mixed sheep, and in
watching the market very closely, of
both wool and mutton, I have concluded
that a good-sized, plump sheep, with a
heavy fleece of medinm wool ls the kind
of a sheep for the farmer to breed. When
I speak of the market, I mean the average farmer's market, which is onr local
market. This market does not pay the
farmer for an extra quality, according to
the sacrifice in weight, for either wool or
mutton, If you have a .very long, coarse,
nglywool, you will probable docked a
little. Bat If you have a very fine, short
■"ooi, yon will get no premium over a
good medium. Though your fleece will
be mnch less in weight. The same thing
In Belling the sheep to the shipper—while
he m«y demand a good quality, he is not
Tilling to pay for an extra quality. So
In my judgment the Oxforddown breed
conies nearest meeting the present demands. Why? becanse that breed produces a good medium wool, and mutton
°' heavy weight, while coarser breeds
»t» objectionable. If there is anything
In handling a finer breed the shipper
B*U the profit and not the farmer.
Bartholomew Co. A Reaper.
3d Premium.—In selecting a breed of
sheep at the present time, I think there
is none tbat will suit our present demand
better than the Cotswold. For the average farmer there ls no hardier breed of
sheep; they will stand more cold and exposure than most any other breed. The
ewes are good breeders, and good nurses.
They often have two strong lambs, and
occasionally three at a birth. The Cotswold will furnish more wool, and more
mutton, to the same quantity of feed,
than any other breeds. According to an
experiment made by the Carmel Kxperiment Station, between the Shropshires
and Dorsets, the Dorsets would make the
most mutton, but would take the most
feed, and were found to be the heartiest
eaters. The experiment was tried several times. Benjamin Williams.
Harrison Co.
The Cotswolds are the sheep for us to
have, I think, beoanse they will make
more fleece and also more mutton. I
used to raise lots of sheep but the dogs
got too numerous, so I had to sell them;
but I miss them from the farm; think
that I will have to get some again. It is
claimed for the Cotswolds to gain more
wool and flesh on the same quantity of
food than any other breed. They are
said to be one of the hardiest breeds we
have, also to be good ;breeders and good
nurses, giving plenty of milk to raise the
Iambs fine. Sheep are so nice to have on
the farm, tbey thrive where other stook
would almost starve, bnt of course they
must have some attention to make any
profit. Dingy.
Harrison Co.
KEVIEW.
' I do not keep sheep, bnt judging from
my neighbors I think Mr. Stewart is
right in thinking that the medium wools
etc., are the most desirable all round
sheep. The Cotswold is giving WBy hero
to the blaok faces. In fact the Shropshire have been popular here all along. I
should like to see Mr. Vestal's Dorsets.
Mr. Vestal was connected with the Geo.
Merritt Co. Woolen Mannfacturers for
years snd knows wool when he sees lt.
He seems also to know the exact weight,
gain, etc., of the carcass.
Farmers are so busy we aro not receiving quite enough copy on these topics.
We have no copy to-day on "Oar daty as
a citizen."
We have enjoyed the kindly, helpful
spirit of the members of tho experience
department very much, and many chatty
letters pass whero occasion suggests it.
We thank you for kind words spoken and
for criticisms and suggestions offered.
You all remember the three articles by
Mr. Hart, of Portland, on "Hog raising"
last spring. Well Mr. Hart has consented
to prepare three more on swlne diseases.
I like them very much and believe that
in many respects they can be carried out
by the general farmer. They also describe a standard which we should strive
to reach as nearly as possible.
The agricnltnral department at Washington In sending out Its perscrlptlon
given by Mr Hart said that it wonld be
worthless unless associated with good
sanitary conditions. Many farmers are
not accustomed to accurate, thorough
methods, and we are very glad to publish
these articles to show definitely what
"sanitary conditions" means. Please notice that all his remedies are simple and
cheap, and for small herds, for very valuable herds, they are exceedingly practL
cal.  They will begin next week.
No. 68, June 26.—How do yon manage
breeding and lambing?
Na 69, Jnly 3—What ls trne patriotism?
Onr duty as a citizen?
No. 70, July 10.—Cars and feed of sheep
from lambing to market.
No. 71, July 17.—Renovating an orchard.
In writing don't fail to note new points
not generally known; also other points
of real experience. Address all copy 10
days before publication.
Lot subscribers write experience only
on practical topics. Wo do not desire
essays but a pithy, chatty experience. A
sort of heart to heart talk, suoh as you
enjoy with a neighbor.
Carmel. E. H. Collins.
White Top and Morning Glory.
CrarrOBJ I. m_»_ nam*:
Yesterday as I rode to Noblosvllle I noticed a corn field full of morning glory,
almost big enough to hide a quail, and a
man was running through lt with a
spring tooth oultlvator. Now a tool like
that was just the making of those pretty
weeds. I stopped at the next barn and
asked a man If be ever saw the "gofers"
that are attached to cultivators, lie had
not used them. I told him they would be
tho salvation of that corn field. That
several companies make thom and they
cost about $3 50 a set of four. They look
like corn knives laid down nearly Hat so
the dirt runs baok over them. I mentioned thom once before in the Faumeu;
but must tell you how nicely they work
on my artichokes which had beon ln two
years, and of course the earth was fall of
them.
We broke the ground and harrowed,
and after they came up "thick as hall"
we yoked tbe gofers six Inches apart and
shaved out all between these rows of six
inches. A second running through kept
the rows pretty clear and made the green
row look nice. Then we ran a deep stiff
cultivator through and will follow lt
every week with the gofers. We are very
much pleased with them Indeed. We are
going to try them In corn if rain causes
foxtail to get bad and sodded, otherwise
we may not need it. Of course wild sweet
potato and morning glories will require
cutting out of the hill with a hoe. Thank
fortune, we don't have any of them.
In riding along one sees so much white
top, or meadow daisy; it Is even in the
hard road side and fences. Many farm,
ers seem at a loss to know where itcomes
from.   There is also mnch  cheat (chess)
The daisy and cheat are both winter
anunals like wild lettuce. And most
falls lately have been too dry to start
them. The seed may keep in the ground
for years biding its time.
A street in Fortville that was a heavy
pike for 17 years was cut away to lower
the grade, hauling the dirt into a low adjacent lot. That dirt came np thick with
mallow, which bad nndoubtedly lain dormant for 17 years.
Last winter wai just right for daisy and
glory, both are hardy and wheat being
winter killed left the opening for them.
Meadows also bad suffered for two summers and were full of openings.
A farmer once said ln an institute, that
he cleared some new ground and put it
in wheat and lt came nearly all cheat,
and he knew wheat damaged by weather
turned to cheat I asked him if his
horses and stock hadn't been running to
his straw pile every winter for years and
had the range of the woods. He said they
had. The cheat had passed the horses
and the soil was well seeded and lt didn't
grow in the shade.
Where Is onr wild lettuce this yoar? I
see a little scattered about but not one-
tenth as much as two years ago. 1 have
in mind a meadow near here whore a
couple of acres were killed by drouth in
one corner and two years ago that patch
was a sea ot lettuce. Last year there
was scarcely any and this year you have
to look carefully to find any.
If you don't poll English clover all one
way lt will fall every way and yonr mower will rnn under part of the timo and
make the big stems into hay.
For seed we have a Buckeye table rake
and it clips off tbe heads with no more
straw than red clover seed has and we
get it threshed at tbe same price and It is
easy to handle.   On Jane 5th, I was sur
prised to lind the white top "hinged" in
a burl at the crown of the root of English
clover; the poll broke half or more of lt
off right thero.
I told my foreman to try polling tbe remaining piece of English clover both
ways. If he can do that without woollng
tho clovor too much he will practically
kill all tho white top. When the cloyer
is not high enough to hnrt, poll both
ways, thus white top may be easily and
cheaply killed out of the pasture. Wo
poll witli a drag made of two boards, 2x1,
twelve feet long, and one four feet back
of the other. Boards aro nailed on top to
hold them. The work ls done best just
before the clover fall mnch, about the
time bloom lirst nhows. This ls early
enough to kill whito top before seeding
and also catches tho weed big enough to
break at the crown. The best time is
right after a rain while wet Hide a horse
and the plants are so plumb and heavy
that the best work is done. II. C. E.
A Wise Woman.
A Saratoga woman has shown rare
good Judgment ln dispct*ingof her money
for religious purposes. She has given
$20,000 to the Judson Memorial church on
condition that she bo paid tbe Interest on
the sum whilo she liver, and then the
amount to go to tlie church at her deatli.
Many poople ln the goodness of their
heart. make charitable gifts, and ln after
years themselves become the proper subjects of charity. Marcus Huling,sof Oil
City, who built Hilling's hall for Alleg-
bony college at a cost of $30,000, found
himself In straightened ciroumstances
before his death; and his gift was so far
forgotten that not a member of the college
faculty attended his funeral, not a resolution of respect or regret was passed nor
a class recitation omitted on account of
his death. Had he taken the wise precaution shown by the Saratoga woman
he wonld have been enabled to live com-
foitably to the end of his days, and the
college would perhaps have shown some
indication of pleasure at least on coming
into possession of the money, if not of
regret on account of the donor's death.
—Erie Journal.
Bricks of Straw.
A polish newspaper announces a new
Invention made by a Warsaw engineer,
who proposed to the city authorities a
quite original material for street paving.
Ileuses cubes of compressed straw instead of the wooden blocks used ia somo
other European countries. The manufacture of these straw cubes is carried on
according to a peculiar process. Straw is
cut ln pieces of a certain length, impregnated with a certain fluid, the composition of which Is a secret of the inventor,
and then pressed ln blocks. The inventor buys up bales of straw, binds them
closely together with wire and then immerses the entire bundle Into a hot solution, the smell of which indicates that
several materials like pitch, rosin, tar
and others of tbe same kind form part of
the mixture. These bundles of straw remain for a certain longth of time in the
solution and are then subjected to heavy
pressure in a machine, which they leave
in the shape ot ready cubes. Acoordlng
to the Inventor tbis paving material la
cheaper than wood, but more durable
and stronger, and at the same time more
elastic—Exchange.
Rolling- In.
Eon-out IHDitsA Ft axis:
The Indiana Farmer has been rolling
in the enquiries this spring. Had to even
return some money or else same stook
would have been sold twice. Poland
Chinas all sold out, nothing bat spring
pigs.   Success to the Farmer.
Antioch,    Wm. Cunningham A Son.
A. W. Warner, of Hamilton county,
suffered the loss of his barn and two
horses byincendiarism.