354 



F A R M E R S' REGISTER. 



on the laiier, itliosyncrasies (dear reader, excuse 

 llie term) must be as fully ailended lo as would 

 be done by the I'ashionable boot maker in Regent 

 street, when taking account ofbunniona and other 

 peculiarities on the leet, ol' one of his fashionable 

 custoniei's. 



Unhappily for the poor horses, there are but 

 lew observing larriers in London, for there are too 

 many cockneys who ride in the park on their 

 curb rein, and know nothing of the habits or com- 

 lorls of the poor animal they bestride, to allow 

 farriers time lor improvement in their craft; and 

 as we have belbre observed tlie oracular saymgs 

 of ignorant grooms being received in preference to 

 the dicta of men of inlbrmalion, there is no en- 

 couragement held out to those who would other- 

 wise devote their time and energies to the question. 



It is much to be desired that a shoe were invent- 

 ed which should have the faculty of yielding to 

 the diHerent impressions which the hoof would 

 impart to it through its elastic action, which ac- 

 tion, however, is but slight. In applying a hard, 

 unyielding iron shoe to a horny substance which 

 gently contracts and expands during the action ol 

 walking, a degree of inconvenience must always 

 be ielt by the animal ; but, this inconvenience is 

 greatly increased when the natural position of 

 the loot is altered. Ii becomes, therefore, a mat 

 ler of vital importance to the well-being of 

 the animal that the shoe should be so tbrmed and 

 fastened on as to allow that action to continue un- 

 impeded which nature has im.parted to the horse's 

 loot. For this purpose we offer the (bllowing 

 directions, hoping that, as we have called the at- 

 tention of our readers to the subject, they will 

 give it theirearnest attention. 



The horse's foot being circular, and not oval, 

 the shoe should be made in that form ; or rather 

 the hoof should be measured, and the shoe made 

 exactly to correspond. An oval or eliptic foot is 

 generally, nay, we may say always, diseased. 

 It has assumed that shape in consequence of the 

 contraction of the bars, brought on solely by a dis- 

 eased stale of the frog for want of pretsure; and 

 in no one instance ofoval formed leet will the frogs 

 be Ibund healthy. The moment the foot is lifted 

 from the ground, the smell indicates the diseased 

 frog, though perhaps cockney equestrians consider 

 this the natural perlume of the organ when in 

 health. 



The shoe should be as light as possible consist- 

 ently with the labor the animal has to undergo. 

 Belbre it is put on, the hoof should be pared away 

 towards the heels, in such a manner that with the 

 phoe the horse should stand with the frog close to 

 the ground, as when in a state of nature ; when 

 the shoe is on, it should be filed away towards the 

 heels, being left sufficiently thick to enable the 

 frog in the natural position of the animal without 

 a rider or burthen, just to clear the ground ; so 

 that when the horse bears its burthen or its rider, 

 the frog of the shoed foot should receive the same 

 pressure from the ground that it would do if the 

 shoes were taken off and the animal turned loose. 

 When a horse ia shod according to the present 

 system, besides the various diseases brought on 

 by the want of the action of the frog, the animal 

 walks upon its toes, (the expression cannot be 

 misunderstood,) and the proper muscular action 

 of the foot and leg is perverted. Hence many 

 horses fall dead lame without the farrier being able 



to assign any cause for it, although he will talk 

 dogmatically enough on the subject to confound 

 those who know no better than himself. 



HARVESTING OF CORK. 



From the Franklin Farmer. 



As the season is approaching in which the farm- 

 ers will commence the securing the abundant crop 

 of corn with which a bountiful Providence has 

 blessed our country, it may be pertinent to the oc- 

 casion to offer a few remarks upon the best mode 

 of harvesting the crop. 



Our Virginia ancestors, and those who think it 

 wise to plant and cultivate and gather as our fa- 

 thers have done, pursue the old method; about 

 this time they gather the blades below the ears of 

 corn — after they consider the corn to be ripe, they 

 top the stalks and secure all of the fodder in stacks 

 for winter use. fn November they pull the corn 

 and remove it to cribs, where it is husked out at 

 leisure. This mode is rapidly yielding in the stock 

 districts to that first introduced among the graziers 

 on the south branch of the Potomac. The farm- 

 ers in the northern and middle districts of Ken- 

 tucky, and in the Scioto valley of Ohio, have ge- 

 nerally adopted this latter mode ; which is to cut 

 the stalks, corn fodder and all, and place them in 

 shocks commonly embracing 16 hills square. 



I have seen the richest crops of many climates 

 gathered, and there is no operation in husbandry 

 so animating as that of cutting corn in the mode 

 just mentioned. It is a most cheering prospect to 

 see 20 acres of corn pass in one or two days lo a 

 condition in which it is prepared to keep in the 

 field throughout the winter. This remark is pre- 

 dicated particularly upon the plan of riddling the 

 squares, instead of cutting the whole square at 

 once. It will readily occur to any observing mind, 

 that as corn does not ripen with precise regularity, 

 if the entire square is cut at once, some of the corn 

 will mould and sometimes even the fodder will be 

 afTected, if the cutting shall be followed by v/arm 

 or wet weather. To avoid this contingency some 

 graziers commence with the process of riddling, 

 that is, they select only such part of the 16 hills 

 square as may be ripe — go through the field in 

 this way and in 10 days complete the cutting of 

 the square. By this process several important ad- 

 vantages are obtained — the greatest amount of 

 fodder is secured, consistently with the paramount 

 object of saving the corn, and a nucleus for the 

 shock being formed by the first cutting in the 

 square, the shock becomes settled and stands bet- 

 ter during the winter. In the rich counties of 

 Clarke and Bourbon, they sometimes cut half of 

 the square on one side and then in ten days finish 

 it. Whilst many graziers in Fayette, Lincoln 

 and Shelby, prefer the process of riddling. 



In the course of October and November, these 

 shocks are shucked out, the corn placed in cribs 

 and two of the shocks placed together, or one 

 placed upon the ground and two others put 

 around it. 



It is the opinion of practical farmers, that the 

 practice of cutting corn in this mode secures the 

 greatest amount of corn and fodder with the least 

 expense, and is decidedly an improvement on the 

 old Virginia plan, more especially when applied 

 to the feeding of cattle or mules. T. 



