736 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



[No. 12 



DIARRHffiA IN HORSES. 



From the Franklin Farmer. 



Mr. Editor. — Some days pust, a person, who, 

 doubilegs, liaii heanl iluil I coulii ailvise him what 

 to do with a col', taken with a looseness of bowels: 

 after havin^ satisfied him as fiir as my KTiowledije 

 permitted, I thou<rht tiiat the inlbrmation might 

 be serviceable to others. Colts are subject to the 

 diarrhoea two or three days after their birth, like 

 children, by the accumnlation of matter in the in- 

 testines during their stay in the womb. Their ex- 

 crements are yellow and fetid. This evacuation 

 i.s accompanied by a Ikilureof appetite and weak- 

 ness, lasting for a short, time. If the looseness 

 continues, the colt, becomes very poor and dies. 

 These accidents often proceed from the uidieallhy 

 state of the mare, or a too great indulgence of 

 green foo(i towards the last two or three months 

 before foaling. It may have been observed that 

 all the horses.permitted to pasture in the spring, or 

 fed on green grass in the stable, are more or less 

 subject to a diarrhcea, which in most cases stops 

 of itself after having purged naturally the animal; 

 but in other cases it may become inveterate and 

 and fatal, according to the previous state ofhealth 

 of the animal, who miglit have had a begin- 

 ning of that disorder, which is often the case af- 

 ter foaling or abortion. It is prudent to watch 

 closely and guard against a diarrhoea that lasts 

 more than two or three days, but avoid to contra- 

 dict nature, which might produce worse conse- 

 quences, lor this looseness is caused in Ibals and 

 (calves) by the purging quality of the mother's 

 milk. When, however, it lasts too lonir, I use for 

 colts from 3 to 4 oz. of rhubarb mixed with mo- 

 Jasses or endive syruj), or assaftedita, lor three or 

 lour days only ; one ounce of this last fjr each 

 dose diluted in warm water. If the coif is older, 

 the disorder ma}' be caused by worms, in which 

 case chimney soot in new milk, from half an ounce 

 to two ounces according to the age of the colt, 

 ehould be given lo W\m. When the diarrhosa at- 

 tacks a dill grown horse, it is often necessary to 

 purge before stoppinij the disease, and lo consider 

 what was his general health previous to that par- 

 ticular disease. W. MENTEt.LE. 



RK3IARKS O'S FRUIT TREES. 



Form tlie Frrinklin Farmer. 



The following are e(iually appropriate to apple 

 and pear trees. Those trees, in order to last long 

 and bear well, should be dug aboiit one (i)0t deep 

 and two leet around towards the end of October. 

 The dry and de;id limbs. and the bad ones cutoff — 

 the outward loiigii and crevii^ed bark carefully 

 scraped, either with a rasp or any instrument for 

 the purpose. This may be done in February, 

 taking care not to hurt or damage the inner baik ; 

 ifthe live bark be touched, the wound should be 

 covered '.vith an ointment made of cow dung and 

 clay mixed together wiih urine. This will do well 

 also to apply upon those parts of any tree that 

 have been pruned. The hole around the trees must 

 be filled up early in IMarch with new earth. The 

 pciich tree must be jinined at the end of the win- 

 ter, and the wound to be covered with the above 

 jeomposition. Nature has designated the most 



proper time to plant the best peach stones; as those 

 which fall on tlie ground when the fruit is ripe, 

 and are buried by hogs or any thing else, most 

 certainly grow belter than if we plant lliedry seed 

 which we generally plant without success. As 

 soon as you see and eat such peacbes as are worth 

 liaving, put ihe kernels in the ground, in a trench 

 of six or seven inches deep, cover them well and 

 they vvill alt or nearly all come up the following 

 spring. To rub a pear or apple tree with fish oil 

 after scraping, is, I think, advisable, as a pear tree 

 5^ leet circumlerence, thus treated, has revived this 

 year, and instead of an almost dead condition, was 

 of superb foliage and bore fine fruit which it had 

 not done for the last three years. 



W. MEjXTELLE. 



PROCKEDINGS OF THE NORTH ANNA AGRI- 

 CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. 



To tlie Editor of the Farmers' P.ecister. 



The inclosed communications were made to the 

 North Anna Agricultural Association, at a late 

 meeting. In compliance with a resolution adoptfd 

 by that association, I now transmit them to you. 

 Should you be of opinion, that a publication of 

 them will in any respect promote the interests of 

 agriculture, you are at liberty to give them a place 

 in your valuable periodical. 



Very respect lully, I am, 

 Your obedient servant, 



\V. JHOLLADAY. 



December Srd, 1839.. 



CULTIVATION OF SUGAR BEET. 



To the ('hairman of the North Anna Agricultural Association. 



In compliance with a regulation of this associa- 

 tion, I make the following communication on an 

 experiment maile by me durinL' the present year, 

 in the cultivation of the suiiar beet. 



The ground selected lor the purpose was a lot 

 containing 29,123 square feet, (S3 square ieel more 

 than two-thirds of an acre,) on which for more 

 than twenty j-ears my hoirs had run a part of the 

 time I was fattening them. Throughout this pe- 

 riod the lot had borne amwally a crop of Indian 

 corn, intermixed with beans, peas, and Irish pota- 

 toes. Nevertheless the land had been kept in 

 good condition by wliat came Irom the hogs, and 

 I gave no additional manure to it. The greater 

 part of the lot lies sloping to the south-west. The 

 soil is what we usually call gray, with a good sub- 

 stratum of clay. 



Not having determined to cultivate the beet un- 

 til early in the spring, I had neglected to have the 

 lot ploughed as soon as it ought to have been. 

 The land was still hard liom the trampling of the 

 hoirs. In the month of April, after a rain, it was 

 coultered as deep as two strong horses could pull 

 the coulter ; nearly up to the beam of the plough. 

 It was then ploughed to about the same depth. 

 After this it was harrowed with a heavy harrow 

 drawn by two horses. By these different opera- 

 tions the lam? vvas brought into good tilth. To 

 prepare it lor the rf^ception of the geed, ridges were 

 thrown up, about two feet and a half apart, by- 

 turning together two furrows of a large plough. 

 A harrow was then drawn upon these ridges 



