1838] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



635 



gave the steer the vine, as he informed me ; he 

 ate it, and the next morning the steer was found 

 dead. 



6. Two purchasers of caitle, Messrs. Harrold 

 and llarrod, living in the corners of Clark and 

 Faj^ette Counties, on the head waters ofthe Little 

 Miami, 1 think, had purchased about 120 head : 

 The drove was divided, 60 were placed in a mea- 

 dow that had been kept clear of shrubbery and 

 vines, andGO put into an adjoining enclosure, taking 

 in some woodland. The cattle were fed on the 

 same hay and watered from the same well — most 

 of the 60 enckised in the woodland died. It was 

 winter; snow was on the ground ; it was discover- 

 ed that these calile had eaten the vine down to 

 the very roots I So this was a siubborn fad. 



6. A man not far from the same vicinity, by the 

 name of Allen, had a horse that broke out of his 

 enclosure, and ran oft into the barrens ; he trailed 

 him up, found him browsing on the vine, and had 

 eaten a considerable quantity of it : being vexed 

 at the animal, he caught him and mounted him 

 and rode him home at full speed ; this heated the 

 blood of the horse, he took the " trembles, " and 

 died ! 



I could still proceed with statements of facts of 

 like nature ; but will in place thereof give — 



Vouchers. — The following papers a few mi- 

 nutes ago I laid my hands on, by overhauling 

 some old papers. They have been before pub- 

 lished in Ohio, but now taken are from the origi- 

 nals : 



I hereby certify, that my father settled upon 

 the waters of Mad River, about the year 1801 — 

 that in harvest the cattle took the "trembles," — 

 that the country was settled some time before the 

 cattle took the "trembles" — [range first eaten on,] 

 — before this "the puking-complaint" was not 

 known among the people — that in cases of cattle 

 having the "trembles" and dying, the manifold of 

 the paunch was dried up — that believing the com- 

 plaint to be caused by a poison vine, we looked 

 for it, took some of it, and gave it to a calf^ and 

 the next morning, (after eating of it,) it took the 

 "trembles." Each of us chewing some, (myself 

 and father,) and it caused the water to run from 

 our stomachs, and we were seriously affected by 

 it; we did not swallow the juice. No one in the 

 country believed it to be the water that caused 

 milk-sickness. The vine described by Mr. Th. 

 S. Hinde is the vine referred to by me. 



'W. Tavlor. 



Champaign County, Ohio, Aug. 19th, 1833. 



We state, that Thomas Parker, a neighbor of 

 ours, from the information given by him, had a 

 cow that, after eating the vine, died. Our father's 

 cattle also died after eating of it. Mr. Schoon- 

 maker and a part of his family died ofthe pukinji- 

 complaint. Mr. S. gave a dog a crock of cream, 

 he ate it and it died. The crows, ravens and buz- 

 zards that ate the carcass of the cattle of Mr. 

 Schoonmaker died. Our brother, T. Taylor, lives 

 at the place — the water is pure and wholesome. 



Wm. Taylor. 



August 19th, 1833. S. Taylor. 



I do hereby certify, that I lived in Clark county, 

 Ohio, for sixteen years — that I had been uniformly 

 of opinion that the water drank by the cattle was 

 the cause of the milk-sickness or puking-complaint. 

 Having been told to the contrary, and that it was 



the catmg of (he poisonous vine produced it, I did 

 not believe it. I then ale a liandlul; the next 

 day I was attacked with puking, and sick a month; 

 Dr. Neadham of Springfield, attended on me, and 

 I recovered. I now live on Lewis's Reserve, Lo- 

 gan County. J ABIES M'Manna. 

 August 11, 1833. 



Description of the vine. — 1. It grows as a 

 shrub, somewhat resembling a hickory or buck- 

 eye bush; when not attached to a tree, grows 

 bunchy or bushy at the top. It is also found 

 clinging to fallen limber, old rotten logs, in wet 

 places, near the ed<re of ponds, creeks and hol- 

 lows of hills, frequently around stumps along the 

 road, and sometimes in pastures or meadows. It 

 has a singular leaf with one or two notches or 

 saw teeth on each side. 



2. As a vine when it attaches itself to a tree, it 

 runs up as a creeper attaching itself to the body 

 of the tree to a considerable height, and bears a 

 berry, with a buff or brown coat, in bunches, and 

 is minutely described as a vine affecting the vine- 

 yards ofthe Asiatics, and styled by the Arabs 

 ''The wolf grape;'''' and by Isaiah the "wild 

 grape." I enclose one or two of its leaves for 

 your inspection. Th. S. Hinde. 



Mount Carmel, Jll, Sept. 29, 1838. 



^ The poison vine referred to uniformly has 

 three leaves on a stem — the poison ivy five, and 

 notched all round. The wild creeper or trumpet 

 flower, a long stem and many leaves. 



ADDRESS OF W. S. MORTON, PRESIDENT OP" 

 THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF CUMFER- 

 LAND, DELIVERED AT ITS ANNUAL MEET- 

 ING, ON THE 12th OCTOBER, 1838. 



Communicated for publication in tlie t'armers' Register, by- 

 order of tlie Society. 



Gentlemen — At our last regular meeting, it was 

 determined, that we should, at each annual meet- 

 ing, invite some gendeman at a distance, to come 

 arnong us, and address us, on some subject con- 

 nected with the great cause which has associated 

 us. This resolution, could it be successfully exe- 

 cuted, might be productive of much good. Be- 

 sides the pleasure afforded from liearing such ad- 

 dress, much valuable information might be ob- 

 tained, and a refined and enlarged benevolence, 

 so dignifying to agriculture, might be diffused. I 

 particularly regret, that in this, our first annual 

 meeting, we have failed to enjoy the aid of the 

 highly qualified gentleman selected for this occa- 

 sion. And I crave your indulgence, while I of- 

 fer you, in connexion with this disappointment, 

 only my own efibrts at the fulfilment of an official 

 duty. 



It has been much the fashion of late, to eulo- 

 gize the present age, for the amazing develope- 

 ments of the talent for discovery, which it has dis- 

 played. And, it has been almost equally common, 

 to remark, that, while the other sciences and arts 

 have been wonderfully improved, and new arts 

 and sciences have suddenly sprung into existence, 

 and risen, at once, almost to ihe summit of per- 

 fection, agriculture, as if depressed by its connex- 

 ion with the earth, has grovelled in the beaten 

 track of ancient usage, without improvement. 

 While I cannot subscribe to the truth ofthe ob- 



