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from the west for pure fine-wool sheep for breeding purposes, and Michigan could realize a golden harvest by providing for this demand.

Mr. Watkins: I have great difficulty in feeding or shearing wrinkly sheep. Can't the breeder get rid of the wrinkles and give us a sheep with less oil in the fleece?

Mr. Fellows: I don't want wrinkles for the sake of the wrinkles, but the good sheep are wrinkled. Neither do I want an open-fleeced sheep, with long legs and bodies. They are good to feed but not good for wool. We breed for mutton and wool, not to sell to some one else to make mutton. No sheep will give good returns of wool unless it has an oily fleece.

SHEEP HUSBANDRY.

BY T. V. QUACKENBUSH.

[Read at the Plymouth Institute, Jan. 12, '85.]

MR. CHAIRMAN-I speak upon this subject in the hope of drawing forth a discussion upon it.

I would recommend raising a few sheep on every farm that is not marsh or low bottom land. They convert our coarse fodder into the most valuable manure, and in summer they keep down the weeds and grass on our fallows and the brush and briars in the fence corners. For several years sheep have paid a good interest on the money invested in them, with little labor, and though for the past year the profits have been small, I think them not less profitable than wheat, barley, potatoes, or oats. Mutton sheep have brought a fair price this fall. Wool is low and I fear that without some protection many flock masters will be driven from this industry. Only flocks shearing from 12 to 15 pounds per head will pay to raise for wool. We cannot expect much higher prices without protection to this industry. I was told by a business man not long since that it was over-production that caused the depression in the sheep and wool trade; but with the 87,000,000 pounds of imported wools that flooded our markets in 1884, it does not look much like over-production.

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I have never had any experience with the Down or mutton breed of sheep, and can, therefore, only speak of the Merinos.

I would have my sheep barn or shed facing the east, it being more protected from the cold storms in winter, and the young lambs in the spring can get in the warni morning sun, which is very desirable. I would have a large yard on the east side of my barn so that the sheep would have plenty of room for exercise in the open air nights when brought to the barn, and I should bring them to the barn every night for protection from the ravages of dogs, and that the shepherd may see his sheep every day and know if anything is wrong with them. I would not recommend close housing, but let them run out unless the weather was stormy. I would have large slide windows on every side of my barn and keep them all open except in stormy weather, and then only close those on the side from which the storm came. I would have a driveway through my barn for convenience in hauling out the manure, which should be done often. The doors should be wide slide doors, to enable the sheep to run out rapidly without crowding or getting hurt, which they are apt to do

through a small door-especially breeding ewes. I would have the distance between the ground and ceiling ten feet, with a matched floor over-head to prevent dirt and hay seed from getting in the sheep's wool. The stables should at all times be kept well bedded with dry straw. If it should rain in the night when the sheep are in the yard they will run into the barn themselves to get under shelter if they can have a clean, dry place to go to. I would feed my breeding ewes cornstalks in the morning and straw at noon in the yard and hay at night in the barn. I prefer fine clover hay, cut early and well cured. I would give them a feed of grain once a day, one-third each of corn, oats, and bran, with a feed of roots once a day. Lambs should have a little clover hay three times a day, with a feed of grain twice and roots once a day. I prefer the sugar beet as a root feed.

If any of the lambs are small and weak they should be separated from the rest and given a little extra care. So, too, with the older sheep. Care should be taken to not feed more at a time than will be eaten up clean. They should have free access to salt and water at all times. All ewes should be tagged before going into winter quarters, and again in the spring and their hoofs properly trimmed. Breeding ewes should be thoroughly tagged two or three weeks before they begin to drop their lambs. I would have all the lambs dropped from the first of March to the middle of May. I always lose a less percentage of early lambs than of late ones. If the ewes have not been separated previously, as soon as the lamb drops I separate them from the flock and put them in a warm place and when the lamb is a week old give the dam all the hay she will eat, with grain twice and roots once a day. If the dam does not give enough milk for the lamb I would feed the lamb cow's milk, giving a small quantity at first and increasing the quantity as in my judgment the lamb required. A great deal depends on giving a lamb a good start when it is young. If they are stunted in the spring they never seem to do as well as they would have done had they been kept thrifty and growing right along. Care should be taken to not over-feed or crowd them, for many a lamb is spoiled by this forcing process. I would turn my sheep out in the spring as soon as the grass got fairly started and give them a light feed of hay when they came up to the barn nights, until the pasture got sufficiently started. During the summer months their noses should be tarred once in two or three weeks to prevent the attack of the gad fly, and as often as once in two weeks I would mix a little sulphur with their salt-about one-fourth pound of sulphur to a pan of salt. About the middle of August we wean our lambs, taking them from their dams and turning them into a fresh clover pasture where they can have plenty of fresh water at all times, and a small feed of oats or oats and bran once a day. Their dams should be put on short feed for a few days to stop the flow of milk in a measure. Those that give a large quantity of milk should be milked once or twice to prevent caking of the udder. Some prefer to turn the lambs with their dams after two or three days, for a short time, and perhaps this would be the easiest way to handle a large flock.

As soon as November first, we should commence to feed a little hay when they come up to the barn at night, just what they will eat up clean; and if the pasture is short (which is apt to be the case at this time of year) we would give a feed of grain once a day. They should not be allowed to run down before being put into winter quarters, for it is much easier to keep sheep up in good condition than to get them up after they have begun to run down. This brings us to where we commenced with our sheep in winter quarters.

In conclusion I would say, if we must produce wool at a lower figure in the future, I can see no better way to help us out than the improvement of our sheep. There never was a better time to improve in breeding than now. Weed out the culls, all those with a short, gummy staple, and loose open fleeces, and those with bare legs and faces or any objectionable points and send them to the shambles. Then by using improved sires on the balance of the flock, and by careful and judicious crossing, a flock of merit can soon be bred. The breeder should always have a certain type to breed for, some uniform standard, and always endeavor to breed to that type. Most of the sheep in grade flocks through the country are small, but if the farmers would take a little more pains, and use better sires, and take better care of their lambs when young, they would soon be growing three fibers on their sheep where there grow but two now, and would have a carcass that would bring nearly double when sold for mutton, besides having a flock that would be pleasing to the eye. Some farmers do not seem to care to improve their sheep. If they can raise sheep with a loose, open, dry fleece, with a staple of from three-fourths to one inch in length, weighing four or five pounds per head and can get a cent or two more per pound than their neighbor they feel satisfied. They never stop to think that their neighbor is raising a staple of wool from two to four inches in length, weighing from ten to twelve, and perhaps fifteen pounds per head. Some buyers never seem to take this same fact into consideration. If the fleece is only light, no matter how short the staple or how little wool there is, it is all right and they are satisfied. But a fleece that has double the length of staple and one-third more density is too heavy and they don't want it. I offer these remarks simply as my own opinion, and as observation and experience have taught me, but not as undisputed principles.

DISCUSSION ON ABOVE PAPER.

Mr. Power: What is your object in using sulphur with salt?

Mr. Quackenbush: It keeps sheep in good condition and I think prevents ticks. Mr. Vander Voort: How much land should keep 100 sheep? Mr. Quackenbush: With mixed farming, one sheep per acre.

BEE-KEEPING.

BY A. B. PIERCE.

(Delivered at Plymouth Institute, Jan. 13, 1885.)

Is it well to try bee-keeping?

Yes, if you can give it the necessary care, but if you have had no practical experience, I would say begin small and go slow. Two to four colonies are enough to start with, and they will probably increase quite as fast as the experience and knowledge of the owner in their management.

There is now plenty of bee literature, giving, perhaps, all the information necessary for bee-keeping, but I would recommend beginners to visit the nearest experienced bee-keepers and thus see for themselves how things are done.

Bee-keeping may be regarded as rural economy, and also as an intellectual

pursuit, for no one who studies the habits of the bee will ever find the materials for new observation exhausted. It leads to the study of botany and the laws of nature before we know it.

[The speaker here gave a succinct account of the natural history of the bee, which being, of course, the same as is found in the books on the subject, need not be repeated here.]

How should we arrange the apiary?

I would choose slightly undulating ground, not over 100 feet from the dwelling, or if you have a bee house, it should be in the center of the apiary. My apiary is 100 feet square, with the hives ten feet from center to center each way, thus making ten rows of ten hives each.

Shade is essential in very warm weather to keep the combs from melting. Small trees are better than large ones, and grape vines serve the purpose very well. Large trees are troublesome, as in the swarming season the bees are liable to settle in their tops.

As bees are natives of a warmer climate than ours, it is necessary that we should give them some winter protection. My experience is in favor of wintering them in a dry, well-ventilated cellar, though some prefer chaff hives.

Bee axioms.-There are a few principles with which every bee-keeper ought to be familiar.

First, Bees gorged with honey never volunteer an attack.

Second, Bees when frightened by smoke fill themselves with honey and lose all disposition to sting unless they are hurt.

Third, Bees dislike any quick movement about their hives, especially any motion which jars their combs.

Fourth, A moderate increase of colonies in any one season will, in the long run, prove most profitable.

Finally, the essence of all profitable bee-keeping is contained in the apiarist's golden rule: Keep all colonies strong.

BEES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT.

BY H. D. CUTTING.

(Read at the Manchester Institute.)

I would advise every bee-keeper to subscribe to some one of the many excellent bee journals published for their benefit.

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If you have good, movable frame hives, you are that much in advance of the "box hive man, but do not be in a hurry to throw away your hives, whatever they are, just because some one tells you he has a better one. Don't pay out money for patent hives, for you can get as much honey from a common box with movable frames as from the most costly hive.

In locating hives, it is important to have protection from strong west and north winds, but do not place your hives under the shade of trees or buildings. Bees require sun, and though in the extreme heat of summer they require shade, it is easier to shade your hives when necessary than to remove a shade cast by buildings or trees. You gain from one to three hours work from colonies exposed to the early morning sun over those in the shade.

As soon as spring opens, choose a warm day when the bees are flying and look them over to see if they have sufficient honey, for at this time (about the first of April in this locality) they begin to consume large quantities for brood rearing. If you find but little honey, it will be best to feed them. Use granulated or coffee "A" sugar. If you have any honey left over from last year, take sugar and mix honey enough with it to make a plastic mass that you can ball up in your hands; place it on top of the frames where the bees can have ready access to it, and they will take it all below as they want to use it. I prefer a liquid feed made by taking coffee "A" sugar and pouring on just enough boiling water to dissolve all the sugar and make a good syrup. This you can feed from the entrance if the weather is warm; if not, feed inside the top of hive. In the absence of regular bee feeders, you can use shallow tin pans or the little wooden butter trays from the grocery. Put in two or three small chips so no bees will be drowned. I have often taken out a frame of empty comb and poured the warm syrup into that and placed it near the center of the hive, or, in the case of a small colony, at one side of the cluster, so as to not separate the young brood, for, with all your manipulations, you must guard against chilling the brood or starting the bees to robbing. It is much easier to prevent robbing than to stop it after it has once commenced.

By this time you should know about how many hives you will want for the season. Have everything in readiness before your bees swarm, for it is poor policy to begin to look for a hive when your bees are hanging in the bush. You should know just where they are to stand and have the platform in place, with the hive all ready for the swarm. I think it best to have your sections or honey boxes all ready to put on the hive as soon as your bees are in; they work in them just as well and it is less work to put them on when the bees are first put in.

As soon as your swarm is in the hive, remove it to the place where it is to remain; don't wait until night, but get them established as soon as possible, for they often begin to take their bearings before all the bees are in the hive. It is well to look to your colony a few days after being hived to see if they are going all right.

A careful man can take off honey during the honey flow without smoke, but I would advise you to provide yourself with a good smoker, for if your bees are inclined to dispute for the possession of their treasure, you can subdue the most vicious hybrids by a thorough smoking.

After the honey season is over, take off all boxes and ascertain just what condition your bees are in. If you find any weak colonies, commence to feed sugar syrup; it will stimulate the queen and keep her laying, and you can, with a good queen, breed up and make a good colony of young bees before frost kills the pollen, for after the pollen is gone it is useless to feed for the sake of increase. If they are short of stores, feed all they will take as rapidly as possible. Bees will take hot syrup much faster than cold.

PACKING FOR WINTER.

At present I prefer to pack bees on the summer stands. From many reports it is conceded that bees will consume more, wintered on the summer stands, than when placed in a cellar. If you had one hundred or more colonies I would advise putting one-half in the cellar, the balance on the summer stands, note carefully all the conditions, and then you can judge for yourself which plan is most satisfactory. But I would advise the farmer with a few stacks of

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