134 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



is, to say ihe least, somevvliat olijeclionahle. It is I 

 liie opinion of many, that cattle should not be com- ' 

 pellej to go out of their yard forwater ; and the 

 following among other reasons are atlduced. IT 

 water Ciinnot be obtained bycatiie u-iihout travel- 

 ling one fourth of a mile, they will many times 

 Buffer exceedingly lor the want ol' it, rather than go 

 Eo lar lor it. It good fresh watercan be had by them 

 without going out of the yard, they will drinU very 

 much oftener than in the other case, especially in 

 cold weal her. Again. The oldest and sionixest 

 cattle v/ili generally go first to water. When ihey 

 have drunli, they reuirn, and on their way meet 

 oihero in the narrow enow-path, and of course 

 drive them back. In which case, the youngest 

 and most leeble of the herd will have much trouble 

 and vexation in obtaining vv'alerat ail. And again. 

 The amount of manure which is dropped, and 

 for the most part lost, in such case, is very consi- 

 derable in the course of ihe winter, and it is by 

 many farmers esteemed a mailer of no small 

 importance that £[// the manure should be saved. 

 Some say, even, that they may as well vvasie the 

 food of cattle as the food ofplanis. 



And besides, when cattle go to a spring to drinic, 

 especially if Ihe snow is deep, ihere will generally 

 be great difficulty in reaching the water on account 

 of the bank of snow and ice, unless they siep inio 

 it, which cattle are very unwilling to do. I have 

 seen many watering places where caitle, in order 

 to obtain a drop of waler, were obliged to get 

 down upon their l<nees, and even then obtain it 

 vviili the greatest dilKcuhy. 



Neither do i believe the exerc/se of this travel 

 of cattle a considerable distance to water is ol 

 any advantage in preventing the hoof ail. Eut i 

 am very strongly inclined to t! e opinion, whicli 

 was advanced some time since by Gen. M. Brooks 

 of Mount Morris, and also by Heman Chapin, 

 esq., of East Bloomfield, to vv-it, that the "foot 

 ail," or " hoof ail," as it is called, is the result of the 

 freezing 0? [ho- feet. And it would seem more pro- 

 bable that the lijet would become frozen by being 

 first wet or covered with mud, tlian if they were 

 kept dry and clean. 



i believe, therelore, most sincerely, that if cattle 

 are kept in a well enclosed, comlbrlahle yard, with 

 open sheds, or hovels even, for their proiection 

 from storms, where they can have fiee and unin- 

 terrupted access to good water, antl plenty of salt, 

 the yard kept constantly littered with straw, so as 

 10 make it always dry, and the cattle put up every 

 night in a stable filled to their knees with tlie seme 

 article, they will never have the " hoof ail." 



I know that with many a very strong prejudice 

 exists against wells tor the supply of water (or cat- 

 lie. And probably a stronger prejudice prevails 

 against the labor and trouble of drawing it. But 

 the expense of thus furnishing v.-ater (or cattle in 

 wipter is comparatively trifling ; when, by an 

 under drain, or any other contrivance, running wa- 

 ter can be conveyed into the yard, so much the 

 better. And in many cases this may be done with 

 "very little cost. But where this is impracticable 

 1 would pump water for all my caille, horses and 

 sheep, rather than compel them lo go abroad for 

 it even though the distance did not exceed thirty 

 rods. 



There are several farmers of my acquaintance, 

 whose cattJe, if they have any water at all during 

 the winier, are obliged to travel from cue fourth to 



three fourths of a mile for if, and when they arrive 

 at the spot where waler can be lound it is only lO 

 to be obtained by them through a hole cut in the 

 ire, which may be from six to eighteen inches in 

 thickness. 



I have a good spring of water about sixty rods 

 from my barn, and lor two or three winters drove 

 my cattle lo it, every day, especially in cold wea- 

 ther. But since I have duij a well contiguous to 

 my cattle yard, and put a pump in it, I find it much 

 less trouble to furnish water fcr my stock in ihe 

 yard than it was even to visit Ihe spring every day 

 to see that is was attainable there. And besides, 

 there is much less quarreling among the caitle, 

 and it is so much more comfortable for them to 

 driid< tlom a trough conveniently situated, that' I 

 would not be wiihout this appendage to my barn 

 yard, even though it should cost me SIOO. 



And moreover, all the manure of the whole 

 herd is in the yard, intermixed with the straw and 

 liner thereof, in good condition for spring use, 

 which is a matter of no small importance. 



These, and such like, arc the reasons why I am 

 opposed lo the practice ofsending canle from fifty 

 lo a hundred rods lor water in winter, expressed, 

 however, with due deference to the opinions of 

 more experienced herdsmen. 



Winter protection. — I am aware there are 

 many fijrmers who think it a matter of no con- 

 sequence, whether our domestic animals are 

 afforded any proiection from the severity of the 

 winter. It is probably true that most of them v/ill 

 live through the winter wiihout ii, if they are well 

 \ti\. But are we not taught a lesson on this subject 

 from the habits of wild animals'? Not one of them, 

 as far as my recollection extends, is without, or 

 does not provide himself with, conifbrtabl%*shelter 

 or home for the winter. Are we not told, also, from 

 authority which shou'd not be disresarded, that 

 the merciful man is mercifid to hie beast? And 

 where is the farmer, who by a profusion of the 

 blessings of a merciful Providence is made comfor- 

 table, can he unmindful of his domestic animals, 

 from which he receives his l()od, and his raiment, 

 and afford them that proieciion from the chilling 

 blasts of winter, byvvhich they are rendered com- 

 fortable not only, but are thereby rendered m.uch 

 more profitable. 



Another very great advantage of stabling cat- 

 tle is the saving of feed frou) waste. I have seen 

 farmers, otherwise respectable, throw their hay 

 upon ihe ground when covered wiih mud and 

 filth, for Ihe food ol cattle, horses and sheep all in 

 the same yard. In which case one half, at least, 

 of the hay, was trod into the mud and water. But 

 where cattle are stabled, each having his mess by 

 himself, and then the younger and weakeranimals 

 unexposed to the encroachment of the older and 

 stronger, consume their food with peacefulnessand 

 contentment, wiihout annoyance and without 

 waste. 



Still another advantage to be derived from this 

 course of a plentiful use of straw every day in litter- 

 ing the yard and stable is, the animals are not only 

 kept dry and comfortable, but the straw is all turn- 

 ed to a good account. There are many farmers 

 who seem not to know what to do with ifieir 

 straw. Year after year it i« suffered to accumulate 

 in immense piles about the barn, till it becomes a 

 nuisance. But if it is daily scattered in the yard 

 for the cattle to pick upon through the day, and 



