FARMERS' REGISTER— QUERIES ON GRASS-LIME FOR HORSES. 775 



QUERIES ON OllCHARD GRASS. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register.' 



Intending this spring to sow some of the orchard 

 ;^rass tor the purpose ot'makin^ hay, can I get the 

 favor of you as soon as convenient, to forward nie 

 your views — 1. Of the time when the seed should 

 be sown. 2. The quantity to llie acre. 3. Tlie 

 manner of preparing the land for its rece[)tion. 4. 

 The proper time lor cutting when used as hay — 

 and lastly, whether or not tlie article will grow ad- 

 vantageously on high land. 



R. P. R. 



[Before the foregoing queries could be answered 

 properly, the season for which they were designed had 

 passed. It is hoped that before the next seed time, 

 some reader who is practically acquainted with orchard 

 grass will give the information desired, together with 

 such other statements on the subject as may be useful 

 to those commencing the culture.] 



THE VALUE OF LIME AS MEDICINE FOR 

 HORSES. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Jniliamsburg, Fa., March 27, 1S35, 



Believing that any communication which has for 

 ils object the health of that useful animal, the 

 horse, will be acceptable to very many of your 

 reatlers, I have thought proper to forward the fol- 

 lowing remarks, which, if it suits your pleasure, 

 may be inserted in the next number of your valua- 

 ble journal. 



It is probable that more horses are lost li-om the 

 effects of the grub worm, than from any other as- 

 signable cause. Knovvmg so well therefore, the 

 imminent danger from an attack of grubs |)roperly 

 speaking, it is a matter of the first moment, if 

 possible, by some means to prevent their genera- 

 tion. With this object in view, I have for several 

 years been in the habit of giving my horses a por- 

 tion of slaked lime in their food. Its effects are — 

 1. To correct any excess of acid in the alimentary 

 canal, andotherwise preserve the healthy condition 

 of the digestive organs. 2. It keeps up a healthy 

 action on the skin, as is evidenced by the sleek 

 coat of hair which the horse Avill have whilst un- 

 der its use. 3. It wdl cause the grubs to be evac- 

 uated, either entire or mutilated. My plan is, 

 during the spring and fall months (suspending its 

 use occasionally lor two weeks) to give a dessert 

 spoonful twice a day in some kind of chopped 

 food, with meal or bran. It is necessary in order to 

 remove the coarser parts of the lime that it should 

 be passed through a fine sieve. For this remedy, 

 I am indebted to the late Maj. John Pryor, of the 

 city of Richmond, who was proverbial for his 

 knowledge in veterinary science. It appears 

 that in travelling to the mountains during a season 

 of excessive drought, of a great number of wag- 

 gons on the road, he found the horses of but 

 one to look well. They presenting so fine and 

 healthy an appearance, and their general condi- 

 tion being so widely diflerent from all others met 

 with during his travel, his curiosity prompted 

 him to inquire of the driver of the team alluded 

 to, how it was that his horses were so fat. He 

 replied, that he gave them lime. Atlor a long ex- 

 perience, he became entirely eatisficil of tlie effica- 



cy of the article, and I can confidently recommend 

 it as an invaluable remedial agent in not only pre- 

 venting, but also in the expulsion of every kind 

 of worm from the intestinal canal of the horse. 



ROBERT P. RICHARDSON. 



For the Fanners' Register. 

 QUERIES ON SALT MARSHES AND MEADOWS. 



Will herds grass grow upon land which has 

 been occasionally overflowed by the salt water of 

 the bay, and in consequence thereof has become 

 well saturated with salt? Would it prove destruc- 

 tive to the grass, if the fide should overflow it 

 once or twice in the course of its growth? 



It would be conferring a favor on a brother 

 farmer, and perhaps on many, if any gentleman, 

 who possesses the information, would answer the 

 above questions, and give any other information 

 on the subject of meadows exposed to inundations 

 of the salt tide water. 



A FARMER. 



Mathews county. 



From Insect Transformations. 

 EARTH WORMS. 



The common earth Avorm (Lumbricusterres- 

 tris) is instinctively afraid of moles; and no soon- 

 er does it hear any subterranean noise, or feel any 

 shaking of the ground, similar to those indicative 

 of the approaching movements of its enemy, than 

 it makes a speedy escape to the surli\ce. Every 

 boy knows how to take advantage of this to pro- 

 cure fish baits, by thrusting a spade or a stake in- 

 to the ground, and moving it backwards and for- 

 wards, to imitate the advance of a mole burrow- 

 ing in search of prey. The worm, unable from 

 its instinct to discriminate between its subterranean 

 enemy and the spade, darts into daylight, and is 

 instantly captured for the boy's bait-bag. The 

 lapwing ( I'anellus cristatus, Meyer,) it is stated 

 by Dr. Anderson in his 'Bee,' is aware of this in- 

 stinctive fear in the earth worm of subterranean 

 concussions or noises; and when it cannot find 

 sufficiency of slugs,* &c. above ground, it pats 

 with its feet, till the earth worms, mistaking it for 

 an advancing mole, come forth to be feasted upon. 



IMPROVEMENTS MADE BY SMALL AND POOR 

 FARIMERS. 



The extracts from the British Farmer's Magazine in 

 this No. (page 724) were copied from another print, 

 our January number of that work not having then ar- 

 rived. Since its reception, we find that the most in- 

 teresting facts connected with the statements there 

 given, were omitted, and which we will now supply. 

 The meeting was at a public dinner given by the Earl 

 of Gosford, to his deserving tenants, with many other 

 invited guests, and the object was to distribute prizes 

 for, and to celebrate the valuable labors and improve- 

 ments of the preceding year. It was these labors that 

 were stimulated and brought to such important ends, 

 by the instruction and encouragement of Mr. Blacker, 



* "Nourriture; — insectes, araignees, vers, et petits 

 lima9ons." Te.mminck, Manuel d'Ornithologie, p. 

 552, 2d edit. 



