•nafj- j- 



California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



future. Do your best with them, feed 

 them well, anil don't breed them till they 

 are quite miitui'e. 



Before that time comes, find out who 

 has the best breed in your neighborhood, 

 not too unlike your own in size. Never 

 mind the name, but find the man whose 

 pigs grow fast, and fatten well and whose 

 pork is best liked; he's the man we mean. 

 Having found him, get if possible the use 

 of his boar, cither as a favor or for a mod- 

 erate fee, if yon possibly can. Don't 

 mind so much about the fee; it will be 

 the cheapest outlay you ever made, for 

 we are not speaking of celebr.ated prize- 

 winning strains (unless offshoots from 

 them), but of good, well-bred, real qual- 

 ity animals that can be found within a 

 moderate distance, and for a very moder- 

 ate fee, almost anywhere. That one cross 

 alone on your own best sows, will do a 

 world of good. 



But further, when you have selected 

 the best of the offspring from this cross, 

 use for them, if you can, another boar of 

 the same sort. It is bad to go from one 

 to another; whereas, by putting your own 

 twice running to tlie same class of boar, 

 from a good breeder you get better and 

 better; and in this way, at almost no ex- 

 pense, you will ere long have got a much 

 better class of occupants for your styes. 



The rule is very simple; study to find 

 out your own best, and keep on crossing 

 them with the best you can get, always 

 crossing from the same sort it possible, 

 though it costs you trouble to find the 

 boar you want. Only keep on twice to 

 this plan, and you will find it pays so 

 much better you will be sure to go right 

 on of your own accord. The only ob- 

 jection is, it you keep on long enough, 

 you will find you have got before you 

 know it into one of the "new-fangled 

 breeds." Bat you won't mind it by then. 

 —Live Stock Journal and Fancier's Ga- 

 zette. 



The Berkshire Sw^NE Record. — We 

 learn that the American Berkshire Swine 

 Association is meeting with hearty en- 

 couragement from many of the promiu- 

 ent breeders of the United States and 

 Canada, among whom may be mentioned, 

 as an indication of the wide-spread inter- 

 est whioh the Berkshire Swine Record 

 has already awakened, Messrs. T. S. 

 Cooper of Pa., C. S. Taylor of New Jer- 

 sey, John Snell Sons of Canada, H. M. 

 Cryer of Ohio, and Theodore Eads of 

 Iowa. 



These and many others have expressed 

 themselves thoroughly in sympathy with 

 the work, and the very liberal support 

 with wliich it is favored on every hand, 

 encouraged the executive committee to 

 believe they will be able to close the 1st 

 valume by the 1st of August. 



Prom a recent interview with Hon. A. 

 M. Garland the Secretary of the Associa- 

 tion, we learn that it has been decided to 

 ofler a premium of $100, for the best ap- 

 proved essay on the history of the Berk- 

 shire hog. In order also to call forth if 

 possible, and to have permanently on 

 record everything of importance that is 

 known regarding the ancestry of such 

 animals as are registered, it is proposed 

 to allow to each patron, in the fii-st vol- 

 ume, sjjace not to exceed one page — at 

 the mere cost of printing, for the purpose 

 of giving a complete and detailed state- 

 ment of all facts throwing light upon the 

 past history of his stock. 



It is evident the Association is deter- 

 mined to go to bed-rock for a foundation 

 on which to build. The structure is not 

 to be erected on uncertain sands. The 

 establishment of a reliable herd-book for 



Berkshire swine has long been desired, 

 but the element of reliability has always 

 been deemed of such vast importance, and 

 withal so difficult of attainment, that the 

 task of founding such a work has hereto- 

 fore never been undertaken. The almost 

 universal response of encouragement from 

 far and from near, throughout the coun- 

 try, shows that the day has come when 

 such a work cannot longer be delayed. 

 The very thorough manner in which the 

 managers of the present enterprise are 

 doing business, and the excellent plan for 

 registers which has been matured, cannot 

 fiil to bring success, and to please all re- 

 liable breeders who want an authentic 

 record. The decisive rejection of spuri- 

 ous pedigrees will make this already val- 

 uable and pojiular breed of swine more 

 highly prized than heretofore, and will 

 greatly assist farmers and stock-men in 

 selecting animals best suited for the im- 

 provement of such stock as they already 

 have. — Prairie Farmer. 



Hoo Cholera — Enteric Fever. — The 

 period of incubation is from seven to 

 fourteen days, but is less in a hot climate. 

 Causes: Contagion, privation, starvation, 

 confinement, filth, etc. 



Symptoms: General ill health, shiver- 

 ing, fever, great dullness, prostrative fe- 

 ver, hides under litter, lies on belly, 

 weakness of hind limbs, and later of the 

 fore limbs, rapid, weak pulse, dry snout, 

 covered by blood-stained spots, which 

 also cover the skin, eyes, etc. , often a hard 

 cough, little or no appetite, intense 

 thirst, tender abdomen. After death, 

 blood staining infiltrations into lungs and 

 bowels, ulcers on bowels. 



Treatment: Give cooling, acid drinks, 

 buttermilk, sulphuric acid, etc. ; feed soft, 

 mucilaginous food, such as oil cake. Ad- 

 minister twenty drops of perchloride of 

 iron twice a day. Blister the abdomen 

 by means of mustard and turpentine; 

 stimulate if very prostrate. 



Prevention: Avoid all debilitating con- 

 ditions, poor or spoiled food; keep ani- 

 mals constantly thriving. Feed charcoal 

 or ashes, also tar or carbolic acid. Avoid 

 contact with disease. Burn infested pig- 

 peries and remove to a new place. — Prof. 

 James Law. 



Does the Use of Flour Promote Decay 

 of Teeth ? 



BY BPHKAIM CUTTEE, M. D. 



'HERE is no doubt that the decay of teeth 

 prevails to an alarming extent, and it is 

 very humiliating to our modern civiUza- 

 tion to have it characterized so gener- 

 tl^ ally by the occurrence of diseased teeth. 

 The ;utiology of this disease is a great, broad, 

 and deep subject. No doubt many elements 

 combine together to cause it; and the person 

 who should positively announce a single 

 agent would be dismissed as uuworthj- of at- 

 tention. StiU it is a matter worth discussing, 

 and deserving the attention of the ablest 

 minds. To ignore is not to arrest; hence we 

 offer a few suggestions for consideration. 



"The Chemical yews ascribes the potato rot 

 to a deficiency of lime and magnesia in the 

 soil. Different observers state the percentage 

 of magnesia in the ash of sound tubers at from 

 five to ten per cent. ; in the diseased tubers an 

 analysis shows only 3.94 per cent. Analysis 

 of sound tubers shows over five per cent, of 

 lime, but in the ash ot diseased tubers only 

 1.77 per cent, was found. A similar observa- 



tion was made some years ago by Professor 

 Thorpe, with regard to (hseased and healthy 

 orange trees; in the former there was a de- 

 ficiency of lime and magnesia." 



According to these authorities, a deficiency 

 of mineral salts in the vegetations named is 

 supposed to be a sufficient cause for decay. 

 Now, it is an interesting question whether 

 there is any article of food employed by man- 

 kind which is deficient in mineral matter. If 

 so, then it should be made known to every 

 family in the laud. 



Perhaps there is no article of food more 

 generally consumed than flour, that is, wheat 

 flour. In the forms of bread, cakes, and 

 pastry of all kinds, it enters into every house, 

 and is universally used and regarded as the 

 "stafl' of life." 



Does flour possess a requisite amount of 

 mineral matter? 



To answer this question, Mr. Sharpies, tho 

 well-known chemist, analyzed for me the 

 "Peerless Flour." He found .55 per cent, of 

 mineral ash, a little over half of one per cent. 

 He stated also that the proportion of ash in 

 the whole grain varied from 1.65 to 2.30 per 

 cent. So that the diminution of mineral 

 food varies from two-thirds to four-fifths. In 

 other words, by the use of flour, mankind 

 loses from two-thirds to four-fifths of the ele- 

 ments that go to make up teeth and bony 

 structures. This statement deserves to be 

 written in letters of gold over the door of 

 every bakery and kitchen in the land. 



Flour has been used for generations, and if 

 we can rely upon Mr. Sharpies' statement, 

 mankind has all this while been deprived of 

 the greater moiety of tho mineral food that 

 the Almighty intended it should have the ben. 

 efit of. Is it not natural to expect that the 

 bony structures shoiild suffer from this great 

 withdrawal? For it is a ijreat withdrawal. 

 Suppose that a water supply pipe should be 

 cut off two-thirds to four-fifths, would not the 

 supply be greatly dimiuished? Cut off the 

 same "quantity of time from the hours of day- 

 light; and would not our darkness be gi-eat? 

 Take away two-thirds to four-fifths of our 

 muscular food; would not a strong man be- 

 come very weak? Cut off air to the same ex- 

 tent; woiild we not lose our breath? And why 

 should the bony tissues not suffer in hke man- 

 ner when their food is withdrawn? I think 

 they do. Perhaps a little evidence in tho 

 contrary direction may throw light upon this. 



A dentist, whose name is well known, said 

 that he filled some fourteen cavities in the 

 teeth of his first-born child by the time he 

 was four years of age. He put his family 

 upon the "use of the whole grains, and the 

 next child had no retarded dentition, and not 

 a decayed tooth up to the same age! 



The same gentleman says that the teeth 

 which decay are not compacted or knit to- 

 gether with the firmness of healthy teeth. 

 There seems to be an arrest of perfect devel- 

 opment. Though what can be more natural 

 than to expect imperfect development and de- 

 cay, when from two-thirds to four-fifths of 

 the proper bone food is habitually withdrawn 

 from an article of diet which is more largely 

 used than any other? 



How common it is to see infants not cut- 

 ting any teeth at all, until they are twice as 

 old as they ought to be. The good effect of 

 the whole griin diet is shown iu Dr. Harri-' 

 man's second child, above alluded to. To be 

 sure, it is only one case, and must not be 

 made too much of. 



Now what is to be done about it? Certain- 

 ly one man's dicta amount to but very little 

 alone. What we need is evidence from others. 

 Suppose that every medical association of 

 the country take up this matter, have an- 

 alyses of flour made, try feeding mothers and 

 childi-en upon the whole grains of wheat meal, 

 oat meal, corn meal, beans, etc., and suppose 

 they all come to the same conclusion as tho 

 vniteT has done. Suppose they officially an- 

 nounce the result. Would it be long before 

 the general pubhc would heed the truth, and 

 thousands of persons would rejoice iu tho 



