NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



223 



Remarks. — "Good wine needs no bush," any 

 more than such a communication needs words of 

 ours. We thank our fair correspondent for her 

 favor, and hope at some time to taste her "bread 

 and butter." 



For the New England Farmer. 

 WORMS IN HORSES. 



Mr. Editor : — Having a colt that is badly afflict- 

 ed with worms, (a.) I wish to inquire through you, 

 or some of your correspondents, the best method 

 of destroying them, and likewise the best mode of 

 feeding (b.) and training colts from the time they 

 are taken from the mare till old enough for labor. 



Minot, Me. A Subscriber. 



Remarks. — (a.) The evil you speak of is un- 

 doubtedly occasioned by some derangement of the 

 digestive organs. Set those right and the other 

 difficulty will probably disappear. But, as a par- 

 tial remedy, give the colt cut feed for a week and 

 sprinkle a gill of clean wood ashes upon it every 

 Other day. After this give him a similar feed once 

 a week, and we think you will have no more dif- 

 ficulty, if the general health of the animal is good. 



(/>.) To answer the question, tohat is the best 

 mode of feeding and training colts 1 would require 

 more time and space than we can conveniently de- 

 vote to the subject now. But briefly, feed the colt 

 generously on good nutrient food, such as sweet 

 hay, a few roots, and grain of any kind in small 

 portions at a time. Give him good pasture in 

 summer, a warm, dry shelter in winter, that he 

 can occupy when he pleases. Feed generously, 

 always, so that while the head and limbs are en- 

 larging, the muscles may be kept full and perfect. 

 Animals which have been stinted in food and the 

 flesh kept low, and at the same time chilled by 

 exposure to storms or severe winter weather, will 

 scarcely assume that beautiful symmetry which 

 marks those that have been well fed, and cared 

 for. And this is not the only injury they sustain. 

 The constitution is affected, and the spirit and 

 energy of the animal is depressed beyond recovery. 

 They begin their service with the symptoms of old 

 age, and never outgrow them. 



The breaking of a colt should be commenced be- 

 fore he is twenty-four hours old. Handle him 

 frequently — make a pet of him. Bridle him young, 

 and the winter when he is two years old, place a 

 wagon saddle on his back, and buckle the girt 

 loosely. Take it off at night, and after doing this 

 a few times, add the breeching, and pursue this 

 course with all parts of the harness, until the 

 whole is familiar to him. Then add the whipple- 

 tree and while a careful person leads him, hold 

 back so that he may feel the pressure of the collar 

 or breastplate gradually. If he is high spirited, 

 so much the better — if you do not beat him. Be 

 resolute and firm with him, but not abusive. Let 

 him understand that you are master, but a humane 



and reasonable one. Treat him in this manner, 

 and ninety -nine in a hundred will need no other 

 breaking. Breaking is the word, no other will 

 express the practice which has obtained. They 

 have been broken, head, back and legs, until they 

 were nearly valueless, and not from any fault of 

 their own, but from the ignorance of the breaker! 

 Colts do not refuse to work from any disposition 

 not to earn a living, but because they do not un- 

 derstand what is required of them. They need to 

 be educated, and this must be done gradually — not 

 in a day, or a month, but months. These are only 

 a few brief hints — study the animal yourself, and 

 you will learn what course is required to be pur- 

 sued. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 PREPARATION AND APPLICATION OP 

 MANURES. 



BY J. W. PROCTOR. 



Mr. Editor : — Next to deep stirring and thor- 

 ough pulverization of the soil, is the judicious ap- 

 plication of manures, to insure successful culture. 

 In most of our fields, that have been under cul- 

 ture the last fifty years, such applications are in- 

 dispensable. How these manures shall be secured 

 and prepared, are questions that present themselves 

 to every cultivator. Perhaps, in no way is there 

 occasion for the application of science, strictly 

 so called, more than in the preparation and appli- 

 cation of manures. The minute subdivision of 

 manures, and the complete intermingling them 

 with the soil, is the first thing to be attended to. 

 This I have so often seen illustrated, by the gar- 

 deners and growers of vegetables, in my vicinity, 

 that 1 cannot doubt, that the nearer the farmer 

 imitates these operators in their preparations for 

 the reception of the seed, the more certain will he 

 be of an abundant harvest. 



One of the greatest mistakes made in the ap- 

 plication of manure, is the putting them upon the 

 lands in a crude and immature condition. More 

 than half their virtue is lost by such mistakes. 

 The best cultivators rarely use their manure, un- 

 til it has undergone a preparatory process of about 

 one year. They believe that much is gained by 

 such delay in use. This is peculiarly the case 

 with Mr. Mason, of Beverly, the gentleman to 

 whom I have heretofore referred, as the most suc- 

 cessful grower of crops in our county. Situated 

 on a farm with soil of naturally ordinary quality, 

 with vigilance in the collection and preparation 

 of his manures, he has made his acres yield an 

 income of more than three hundred dollars, with 

 a continued improving condition of the soil. And 

 this, in reference to nearly all the vegetable crops 

 generally cultivated, such as onions, cabbages, 

 beets, carrots, medicinal herbs, &c.,&c. Such an 

 income from our grain crops is not to be expected ; 

 but one hundred dollars an acre may readily be 

 obtained from these — when the lands are properly 

 prepared. 



Manure may be classed under the heads of ani- 

 mal, vegetable and mineral. The excrements of 

 animals, and decayed animal substances, are used 

 for this purpose. Decaying vegetables, not con- 

 sumed by animals, yield manure. Lime, gyp- 



