726 



FARMERS REGISTER. 



[No. 12 



you the following sketch of my plan. The only 

 expense is at the commencement, as it may then 

 be necessary to get a few bricks of the best mush- 

 room spawn: alierwards, enough may be saved 

 every year from the dung, &c. 



My plan is this. About the middle of July, 

 when preparing the ground for early broccoli or 

 Savoy, I have some of the best fresh horse dung, 

 that is short, and has not much straw in it, dug 

 in the furrow, under the soil where the row of 

 broccoli or Savoy plants are to be planted. The 

 furrow is filled pretty full of the dung, and trodden 

 rather firm, and a few pieces of the spawn are put 

 in it; the mould is then dug over it, and the dig- 

 ging is continued, until where the next row of 

 plants is intended; which furrow is filled with dung 

 and spawn as the (ormer; and so on, as far as the 

 ground is to be planted, and nothing further is re- 

 quired. I do not use any more dung in this way 

 than would be required for the same quantity of 

 ground if spread ^regularly over it in the usual 

 way; and the plants grow more vigorously by 

 having the dung under them. I consider that the 

 broccoli or Savoy plants are of great service to the 

 working of the spawn, by shading it from the hot 

 eun and heavy rains. 



About the middle of September, the mushrooms 

 come up in the greatest quantities, large and fine. 

 I have this morning(Sept. 21.) gathered nearly 

 half a bushel of large mushrooms from about two 

 poles of ground, planted as above; and have, had 

 two or three gatherings before, and expect to have 

 a good many more before the season is over. 



September, 21, 1835. 



ON THE ABUSE AND PROPER TREATMENT OV 

 WORK HORSES. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Registre. 



Amherst, Feb.21st. 1836. 



I was much pleased with a communication 

 signed W, from Charlotte, in the February No. 

 of your useful and valuable journal, on the feeding 

 of work horses. In no other portion of the globe, 

 where that invaluable animal, the horse, is domes- 

 ticated, is he more esteemed, more lavishly fed, and 

 yet at the same time, more cruelly and shamefully 

 neglected, than in Virginia, east of the Blue Ridge — 

 and I am always pleased to see any effort made to 

 meliorate the condition of this faithful and steadfast 

 friend of man. It has been frequently a matter of as- 

 tonishment to me, that the Virginians, with their 

 proverbial fondness for the horse, (to say nothing of 

 his acknowledged and indispensable value) should 

 always have been, and continue to be culpably 

 ignorant or [negligent in what I will call horse- 

 husbandry. Nine men out of ten pay no kind of 

 regard either to his comfort or his nature. He is 

 treated more as a machine made of wood or iron 

 than as a living being. In winter he is exposed 

 in wretched hovels to the "peltings of the pitiless 

 storm," and in summer he is imprisoned in the 

 same miserable gaols, to inhale the noxious stench 

 and malaria arising from the putrescent, excrement 

 and filth of his stall. After a hard day's work, 

 or ride, the unthinking (not to say unfeeling) 

 owner (or brute) alights from the back of this 

 faithful and jaded friend, and instead of going to 

 his stall — in person attending to his food — seeing 



that it is neither too much nor too little, and of 

 the right sort, and causing his stiffened joints to be 

 rubbed, and the perspiration and dust to be curried 

 from his skin and a soft bed thrown down, upon 

 which the wearied creature may repose and resus- 

 citate himself for the morrow's labor, as common 

 gratitude and interest both would suggest, this 

 submissive and uncomplaining servant is coldly 

 consigned over to the tender mercies of the slave; 

 and too frequently, after a day perhaps of unprece- 

 dented labor, spends a night of corresponding in- 

 quietude and misery. No wonder then, that we so 

 frequently see such woe-begone and miserable look- 

 ing jades tottering along in our teams. No won- 

 der that the horse is becoming short-Jived, and, as 

 many farmers think, unworthy of raising; and no 

 wonder that that long-eared, stubborn, ill con- 

 trived wretch, that thrives upon beating, the mule, 

 is so fast succeeding and shoving out this noble 

 animal. Your correspondent has well observed, 

 "that the master's attention is half feed." Yes, 

 sir, in this word attention is comprised,J]the whole 

 wisdom of horse management; and this necessary 

 attention needs no phrenological bump for its de- 

 velopement; neither need a man "like a poet or 

 painter, be born with it" — for it is so simple that 

 any man, be he white or black, may learn it, or be 

 made to learn it. Were I asked what is the best 

 method for keeping horses in good order? Without 

 stopping even to glance at what kind of food they 

 ate, I should promptly answer atttention. This 

 is the whole and only secret; for whilst some kinds 

 of food are decidedly better and cheaper than 

 others, yet with attention a healthy horse 

 will thrive on any food that he will eat. In the 

 first place, attend to your stable — make it a com- 

 fortable house — let it keep out the rain and ward 

 off the winter winds. In summer, when the 

 weather is fair and hot, when you take out of har- 

 ness at night, feed your horses in a lot adjoining 

 the stable (leaving the stable door open in case of 

 rain) — for it is too bad after a horse has labored 

 hard all day, to cage him up in a narrow cell all 

 night; turn him into a lot and let him wallow and 

 walk about and enjoy the cool breezes. At least 

 once a week (for the horse is a cleanly animal) 

 clean out your stalls and throw the litter into your 

 farm-pen. You will add greatly to your stock of 

 year's manure, and infinitely to the health and 

 comfort of your horse. As often as you clean out 

 your stalls (or oftener) make your ostler throw an 

 armful of straw or leaves into each. Water regu- 

 larly. Bleed not unfrequently. As often as you 

 think of it, if it is once a day, throw a small quan- 

 tity of salt into the trough of each horse; and, 

 finally, curry and rub in the morming, at noon, 

 and at night; and whatever you may feed on, the 

 increased strength and ability of your horse will 

 amply compensate you for all trouble; and if a 

 blooded horse, will be worth two of the best mules 

 that ever were captured in Santer Fe. But the 

 trouble (this great enemy to the happiness of the 

 horse,) although it seems formidable at a dis- 

 tance, when you approach, it dissipates to nothing. 

 Get into the habit yourself of attending to the 

 comfort of your horse, and get your ostler or head 

 ploughman into the habit, and he will soon take 

 all the trouble off of your hands. Let your ostler 

 find out, that you are determined to have your 

 horses attended to — that you can, at a glance, tell 

 whether they have been rubbed, curriea, &c. &c. 



