1838] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



159 



placed on his neck and he was put in the shads of 

 a cart alone, and driven a mile out and back, and 

 was perteciiy tractable. The two negroes who 

 liad hold of him were perfectly astonished. The 

 following day, however, he became sullen, but 

 was gentle to handle, would go a little way and 

 then (all tiat on the ground, but was in no way vi- 

 cious. The third day he exhibited the same sul- 

 lenness, and alter various means had been resort- 

 ed to, to move him, some straw was placed along 

 side of him, and fire applied to it; as soon as the 

 blaze reached him, he jumped up and went to 

 work honestly. He has fine spirit, can be ap- 

 proached every where, and handled with perfect 

 gentleness — he never laid down after the firing, 

 and never from the first showed any bad symp- 

 toms but the one of being sullen." 



3d Experiment. — " The next trial was on a fine 

 four-year-old mule. A partial attempt had been 

 made to break him last summer, but he kicked 

 every thing to pieces, and I determined to wait for 

 the secret. He was exceedingly vicious, and 

 difficult to approach. We finally succeeded in 

 barring him up in a stall, and getting a bridle on, 

 and securing him properly. The operation com- 

 menced by very slow degrees and great caution. 

 He twice got over the bars of the stall with two 

 powerful men holding on to him. You will un- 

 derstand, that his position was reversed, his rump 

 was against the manger, and two bars were put 

 across the stall, resting against the post, the upper 

 bar as high as the top of his back, and to my as- 

 tonishment he got over, but did not get loose. It 

 was a long time before the arcanum took effect, 

 and I had absolutely begun to despair. A violent 

 storm of wind and rain came on during the opera- 

 tion, and I was much troubled what to do; but 

 just as the rain abated, he began to yield; we 

 could then handle him any where; the gear was 

 put on him, he was led out and put in the shafts of 

 a light cart, the wind blowing terribly, he moved 

 ofi' finely, was driven out several miles and back; 

 taken out, led, and after dinner, eight or ten light 

 loads of manure were hauled by him. He is true 

 lo the draft, has prodigious spirit, and works well 

 in a cart; he has, however, kicked a few times. 

 This mule could probably never have been sub- 

 dued by the ordinary methods." 



4th Experiment. — " I broke another mule of the 

 eame age as the above, this evening, with about 

 one-fourth part as much of the arcanum as was 

 used on the preceding." 



It is proper to remark, that the same gentleman 

 tried the remedy on a fine blooded mare last win- 

 ter, and failed to produce any effect, or if any, 

 very slight. But believing that circumstances 

 prevented a full and fair trial, the report of her 

 case is deferred until another effort is made. 



In relation to the experiments above reported it 

 is also proper to explain that the sullenness of the 

 bull might probably have been overcome by the 

 application of the arcanum, though the firing was 

 equally as easily applied. As to the prolonged 

 and tedious operation on the mule, in the third ex- 

 periment, the cause is perfectly apparent to us, 

 and we were surprised that it did not occur to the 

 very intelligent operator. It was the violent wind. 

 We cannot with propriety explain the modrts ope- 

 randi of this cause in this place, but it will be per- 

 fectly plain when suggested to those in possession 

 of the arcanum. The weather should always be 



perfectly calm during the operation, or the animal 

 shouiil be placed in a stable perfectly closed 

 ag;unst its eflects. It was not, we think, the de- 

 vilishness of the animal, that resisted such perse- 

 vering treatment, but the unfiiir chance the treat- 

 ment itself had of being efiiectual. 



Now let us ask all persons acquainted with 

 horses, to examine the above cases candidly, and 

 to veA'nTio the statements of ' Sigma,' fabove re- 

 ferred to,) and then say whether there is any de- 

 lusion in the ' secret for taming wild horses.' Next 

 to the evidence of our own senses, is the testimony 

 of re[)Utable men; but we surely cannot resist 

 both. We know the magnitude of the draught 

 we are making upon human credulity; but are we 

 not armed with a force that at least authorizes the 

 attempt? We know full well that the present re- 

 ceived system of philosophy, will' reject even ail 

 the testimony we have adduced, because " (he 

 why and because" are not developed — because the 

 philosophers cannot trace the effect to the cause, 

 or because an effect is said to be produced by a 

 cause not heretofore recognized! But we will 

 venture to place before them, a still more fiarmida- 

 ble stumbling block. This singular effect is pro- 

 duced by causes heretofore held by philosophers to 

 be utterly powerless! Though they have been 

 known, perhaps, for hundreds of years, and used 

 by millions of people, with the thoughtlessness of 

 thumbing a nosegay, none but the initiated few 

 ever suspected the power of the toys they were 

 playing with. Physicians do not recognize in 

 them any medical effect whatever, (nor'are they 

 mentioned in their books,) and yet the writer of 

 this believes them to possess a power over the ani- 

 mal economy, superior to that of any received 

 practice. How they operate the writer has not 

 fully made up his mind upon, but he thinks from 

 the few observations he has been able to make, 

 that they efflsct a complete change in the nervous 

 system, rendering the animal proof against ner- 

 vous irritation of all kinds. 



The most unpleasant circumstance connected 

 with this great remedy is the necessity we are un- 

 der of keeping it secret. The few persons who 

 possess it, have obtained it under solemn pledges 

 that it should not be published, and paying con- 

 siderable sums. We have the privilege of com- 

 municating it to individuals in our discretion, but 

 not to authorize them to divulge it to others. 

 This circumstance of secrecy gives it the appear- 

 ance of a speculation, and causes doubts as to its 

 value. As soon, however, as all interested, shall 

 have been indemnified; we have hopes of getting 

 the privilege of publishing it, and we pledge our- 

 selves to the public that we shall omit no effort to 

 accomplish the object. 



REAPING MACHINE. 



The Mernorial de V oilier mentions a very sim- 

 ple and ingenious machine, which had just been 

 examined, the aim of which is an increase of pro- 

 duce to the cultivator, with less labor. Its other 

 advantages are, the simplicity of the mechanism, 

 the facility of construction, and the moderate 

 price (15 francs at most.) Two sickles, seven or 

 eight pieces of wood, some semicircles (demi-cir- 

 cles,) and two yards of cloth, compose the mate- 



