530 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



If the buildings are on a higher point than the spring, the water can be forced up by a 

 hydraulic ram or by means of a windmill, either of which are not expensive, and, if properly 

 cared for, are quite durable. 



A clear, running brook that never dries up in summer is of immense value on a farm. 

 Ponds of pure, fresh water are also to be highly prized, but ponds of stagnant water are 

 seriously objectionable in any locality, rendering it extremely unhealthy for both man and 

 beast. The importance of having a good supply of pure water for stock of all kinds is very 

 properly set forth by the late Alexander Hyde, whose pen has given so much valuable agri 

 cultural instruction to the world: 



&quot;All farmers recognize the necessity of good food for their stock, but the value of pure, 

 wholesome water is not so generally appreciated. It has been said that green, succulent grass 

 is both food and drink for sheep in the summer, and in the winter, when they exercise and 

 perspire but little, snow will furnish them all the drink they need. Sheep may possibly live 

 under such management, but they cannot thrive, and if they coiald talk they would tell a sad 

 tale of suffering. Snow is a miserable substitute for water. Sheep will eat it if they can get 

 nothing else, but it is so cold that it partially paralyzes the mouth, throat, and stomach, and 

 when reaction takes place, it is accompanied with more . or less fever, and the health of the 

 animal is impaired. Precisely what the action of snow is upon the sheep we can learn by 

 trying it as a substitute for drink for ourselves. The first feeling may be one of refreshment 

 to the parched tongue, but it is followed by a sensation of numbness, and soon after heat and 

 increased craving for drink. 



Sheep can stand such cold treatment better than cattle and horses, but it is poor economy, 

 to say nothing of its cruelty. If they can have convenient access to pure water, they drink 

 a dozen times a day, and often leave the feeding-rack to go to the watering- trough. As for 

 cattle and horses, no one pretends that they can get along without daily rations of water. 

 Many, however, compel their cattle to go to such a distance from the stables for drink that, 

 in a cold, blustering day, the beasts hesitate whether to expose themselves to the winds and 

 snow or suffer with thirst. Generally they muster up courage enough to start off for the 

 brook or spring once a day at least, but sometimes have to be goaded into going even once. 

 If water is brought into the yards where cattle have free range, they will drink three or four 

 times each day, and this is much better for them than to stuff themselves once or twice, till 

 they are as round as a snow-ball, and almost as cold. 



Drink early and drink often, is a much better maxim for stock, than its paraphrase is for 

 voters. The health and thrift of an animal depend about as much upon its drink, as upon its 

 food. Water is so common and so cheap in most parts of our country that, like air, its vir 

 tues are not sufficiently prized. A Northern farmer needs to go upon the prairies of the 

 Southwest to fully appreciate the value of the springs and rivulets that ooze out from the 

 hills and flow through the valleys of his well-watered section. This abundance of pure 

 water is no small compensation to the New England farmer for the want of the deep and easily- 

 tilled soil of the prairies, and the wonder is that he does not better improve his facilities for 

 irrigating his land and watering his stock. A Texan stock-breeder, owning a ranch of 5,000 

 acres and a flock of 4,000 sheep, recently told me that the great drawback to the success of 

 his business is the want of water. Here at the North, when almost every farmer possesses a 

 spring, the water of which, at small expense, can be brought to the barn, comparatively 

 few farmers avail themselves of the blessing. Such neglect shows ignorance or shiftlessness, 

 possibly a mixture of the two. So much has been said of the value of pure air, that the 

 community are generally alive to the importance of securing good ventilation both in the 

 house and the barn, but pure water is equally essential with good air. True, both man and 

 beast can go without water longer than they can without air, but the suffering for the want 

 of it is more intense than that from the want of food. Shipwrecked and starving sailors 



