FARMERS' REGISTER— ON THE RUST OF WHEAT, &c. 



417 



The corn stalks, it is admitted, should be trodden: 

 they cannot be converted into manure and mixed 

 with the foil otherwise. The oxen and other cattle 

 can generally manage the whole of them, llj how- 

 ever, the horses are to be led with, and to tramp 

 a part of the corn stalks, let them be placed in the 

 dung pen in the liill, before any manure is carried 

 into'it, and let the horses into that pen till they 

 have subdued so many of the stallcs as is allotted 

 to their share; then pile them up, and during the 

 balance of the winter, throw the dung from the 

 stable and leaves with them, and covering the 

 whole from time to time, as stated above. 



As to the feeding of horses and mules, we ge- 

 nerally labor undei^two mistakes. The one is, as 

 to the quantity of grain — the other is, that a plouo^h 

 horse or mule cannot eat too much dry long fo- 

 rage Horses or mules should never eat as much 

 coi-n as would produce the slightest heat or fever, 

 or excite a morbid appetite. I should prefer grind- 

 ing all the corn into homony or meal: it will save 

 about one-third; and is a mucli safer food — not as 

 liable to produce colic, founder, or fev^er. One and 

 a half gallons of meal per day is as much as any 

 common sized plough-horse ought to eat. One 

 gallon per day is sufficient for a common sized 

 mule, with hay or fodder, and a small quantity of 

 cut oats. It is much safer to under-feed with grain 

 than to over-feed. And this rule applies as well to 

 the horse of delicate appetite, as the glutton. The 

 horse or mule of delicate appetite, if perchance he 

 gets hungry, and is over-fed, will lose his ai)petite, 

 and be killed up if kept at work. The glutton, if 

 indulged by over-feeding, will increase his appe- 

 tite, and will either bloat up with flesh like a whis- 

 key sot, or become a garran, vvilh morbid ajipe- 

 tite. In either case is a horse in possession of his 

 powers, a continuance of such a course makes him 

 subject to sudden and wjlent disease and death. 

 The horse in full possession of his poAvers, is 

 neither flat nor poor, but at the medium between. 

 If he is fed under what he can well digest, he 

 Avill decline a little on constant work, but every 

 time he gets rest he will thrive like a pig. As to 

 the quantit}^ of long forage, a greedy horse or 

 mule can, and will, eat too much if given to him. 

 It has long ago been ascertained that a horse with 

 his stomach lliU of long forage, could not perform 

 in the race or quick draught. It had been ascer- 

 tained by divers persons, as they supposed, whose 

 letters are to be found in the American Farmer, 

 that rj'e and wheat straw were unwholesome for 

 mules. In reading an English periodical the 

 whole secret was disclosed to me. That work 

 maintained that long forage should be weighed or 

 measured to a horse, &.C., and treated of" tlie inju- 

 rious effects of too much long forage. When the 

 Btomach is too full, the lungs have not room to 

 play: this produces a diifieulty of breatliing. When 

 the horse, &c. is put to work m this predicament 

 his difficulty of breathing soon produces heat, 

 thirst, sweat, and exhaustion. But this is not all: 

 the lungs become diseased in a very short tim.e by 

 being frequently prevented from receiving fresh 

 air and discharging the old. The mule is much 

 greedier than a horse, and will eat much more 

 long forage of the coarser sort than a horse. Rye 

 and wheat straw have perhaps a stronger fibre, 

 and is slower in digestion than any other long fo- 

 rage. This accounts at once w]i\- it is that it is 

 (supposed to be unwholesome for mules. Notv/ith- 



standing the united statements of the several wri- 

 ters in the Farmer, I will venture to assert that 

 both rye and wheat straw will be found wholesome 

 tbod for a mule or horse, if limited to a reasonable 

 quantity. It is good economy to cut all the long 

 forage for horses, and to feed in the trough without 

 wetting it. Another thing — the horse or mule 

 should not worlc more than ten hours in twenty- 

 four. He should have as much rest as the day 

 will admit of at noon, consistent with ten hours 

 labor; and while at rest should have every com- 

 fijrt ol" shade, air, water, feed, and good cleaning. 

 It will be found that ten hours per day in a brisk 

 walk is much more than the quantity of j^lough- 

 ing usually perlormed. Sixteen miles per day 

 will make four furrows in each rov*^ of 4000 corn 

 hills, five feet apart. Those who work an ordina- 

 ry horse more hours per day, will find the horse in 

 worse condition, and doing less work; and moreo- 

 ver the work is not as good. The plough cuts 

 cleaner, and turns better, and is lighter draught in 

 brisk motion than in slow. Care should be taken 

 that the draught of the plough should never be too 

 heavy for the strength of the horse. A very tri- 

 fling matter in this"i-espect will do great injury to 

 the liorse. It was the last ounce that broke the 

 camel's back. Every planter should breed his 

 own horses and mules. Every person on the 

 plantation then knows all about them. They 

 know what they can eat, and what service they 

 can perform — their good and their bad qualities: 

 and above all, the whole family are attached to 

 them, and are dis^wsed to treat them kindly. 



LAWRENCE. 



ON THE RUST OF WHEAT, AND OTHER PLANTS. 



To the Editor of the Fanners' Register. 



Prince Edward C. H. Nov. 1834. 



Y/iih the enclosed amount to pay my subscrip- 

 tion, I transmit to you a lew remarks on the iTist of 

 wheat, hoping that the reflections thus thrown to- 

 gether may eficit inciuiry in relation to the subject, 

 and, at least, give something hke a systematic di- 

 rection to future investigations. It was my de- 

 sign to have addressed you sooner, but various 

 hindrances and interruptions, incident to the life of 

 a professional man, have interfered, and forced me 

 to defer it until now; too late I fear, to allow any 

 one an opportunitj', (this season) of employing 

 the means of prevention here suggested. 



The rust of wheat and rye, had for many years 

 engaged my attention, as a curious subject in the 

 natural history of the diseases of these valuable 

 articles of agriculture. I have never (from any 

 explanation afforded me, of the nature and direct 

 causes of it,) believed that it was fully understood 

 in what manner rusi; is formed, even by the most 

 experienced of our agriculturists. In the views 

 which are here expressed, my own observation and 

 reflections have governed, almost exclusively. 

 Rust is to be regarded as a disease; and, like seve- 

 ral others, incident to the vegetable kingdom, must 

 be referred to the want of a proj^er balance be- 

 tween the active circulatory, or sup])lying, and the 

 secerno-nutritive, or secreting and nourishing or- 

 gans. Wheat and rve are not its only victims. 

 Tobacco, cotton, corn, and perhaps many other 

 vegetables, are also subject to the same, or a simi- 

 lar affection. According to the \-iews here advo- 

 cated, a close analogy is to be traced between the 



