234 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Mat 



For the New England Farmer. 

 HOxi.SE FOOT AND HOBSE-SHOSING. 



It has been my lot to have two horses spoilt 

 by bad shoeing. On that account I was induced 

 to study the formation and nature of a horse's 

 foot. This portion of the horse, because it out- 

 wardly seems to be one solid block, thicker than 

 a driver's skull, and made, therefore, to be bat- 

 tered, without mercy, on roads, paved, &c., con- 

 tains a mechanism inside that is no less exquisite 

 than those mainsprings of grace which are en- 

 closed in the fine gold watch. 



The horny case is lined with plates that are at 

 once elastic and devoid of sensation ; thus concus- 

 sion is broken and blows are not felt. By this ad- 

 mirable combination of solidity and elasticity, the 

 given and most difficult mechanical jjroblem, to 

 wit, the moving of a heavy body with great ve- 

 locity, is solved. The outside is called the ''crust," 

 in England, and in France, the ''wall." The front 

 part of the hoof is thickest where the first and 

 heaviest shocks are met, and thinnest at the heel, 

 where expansion, not resistance, is required. The 

 ground surface of the foot is composed of a sen- 

 sitive sole, which is endued with a power of de- 

 scent and ascent according to the pressure on it 

 from above, and of the frog, a spongy, but less 

 finely organized substance, which swells at the 

 back part, bulby an-l well-defined in the unshod 

 colt. The whole use of the frog is an open ques- 

 tion ; but every one accords to it the most im- 

 portant functions. 



It is useless for me to go into the minute part 

 of the foot, but I will say that whenever there 

 is inflammation in the foot, however small, the 

 horse will rest it, to shift the seat of pain. At 

 first the disease does not show itself much, but 

 it is gradual. The spur of the horseman may 

 cause the horse to bear much pain, without flinch- 

 ing, but endurance has its limits. You will find 

 that he steps more carefully, nor does he put his 

 foot ahead, and there is also a lowering of the 

 head and neck to remove the weight from his 

 feet. Nature has formed the foot in the right 

 shape to be shod ; it does not need much trim- 

 ming. In pulling off" an old shoe, care must be 

 taken not to wrench the foot nor to injure the 

 external crust of the hoof. Care must be taken 

 not to pare the ground surface too thin ; rasp off 

 the rough particles adhering to the crust, but do 

 not pare the frog, as, if it is bared of its slight 

 covering, it is apt to dry up and crack. The 

 rough edges of it should never be removed. It 

 should be left to nature, for the frog throws off 

 its worn-out teguments, like a tree casting off its 

 dead limbs The hoof, in i;s natural shape, should 

 guide the smith in the selection of the form of 

 the shoe. The shoes should be of equal thick- 

 ness throughout, with a flat ground surface; shoes 

 with high heels are dangerously absurd ; the toe, 

 which ought to be raised, is lowered, and nature's 

 plan reversed, which elevates the point in order to 

 avoid obstructions. The web should be wide, and 

 of the same width throughout ; if drawn in at 

 the heel, it exposes the naricular joint, and if that 

 be inflamed, at once you have a lame horse. In 

 putting on the shoe, it should rest only on the 

 horny run of the foot ; it must not press on the 

 sole, thereby arresting the springy operations, or 

 encumber the heels, where the crust is thinnest and 



the power of expansion the greatest. Five small 

 nails for the fore foot and six for the hind are 

 sufficient ; large nails make too big holes in the 

 crust. They should be driven into the outer quar- 

 ter, where the crust is the thickest; not forced 

 in too high, but the points brought out as soon 

 as possible, clenched down broadly, and then not 

 too neatly rasped away, which weaken their hold. 

 The heel and inside quarter to be left free. When 

 a shoe is properly forged, there is no danger of 

 applying it hot to the crust, for the purpose of 

 removing the irregularity of the hoof. s. r. 



For the New En<;land Farmer. 



HUNGARIAN" QRASS-.COWS STABLED 

 NIGHTS. 



Mr. Editor : — Having read in your Taluable 

 paper something concerning Hungarian grass, I 

 thought I would tell my experience. Last sea- 

 son I procured four quarts of the seed, (paying 

 $1,00,) and sowed it the 2d of July, expecting it 

 to come on as buckwheat or the like, but to my 

 regret, it proved to be three weeks longer ma- 

 turing. A frost the 29th of September cut it as 

 low as it would melon vines, and I am left minus 

 any seed. It is a query in my mind whether it 

 can be raised and made as profitable as it is said 

 to be, by those that have the seed to sell. That 

 cattle and sheep would eat the straw when it was 

 raised from hay, better than they do oat straw, I 

 have no doubt. But when for the seed, it must 

 be sown so thin that it may fill well, that it would 

 be coarse and hard, rendering it unpalatable to 

 them. After seeing what I saw of it, I should 

 recommend to all who intend to sow some, to 

 buy sparingly, and sow early, and on good ground, 

 noting all its qualities and see if humbug is not 

 in the ascendency. 



Will someone inform me through the Farmer 

 whether a dairy of thirty cows can be kept in 

 stables nights through the summer months, and 

 do as well as they would in a pasture of eight 

 acres ? I have good stables and cellar for the 

 droppings, straw for litter, and hay to feed them, 

 if they will eat it. I want to milk at four o'clock 

 and at six. E. J. BUTTOLPH. 



Essex, Vt, 1859. 



Remarks. — We have no doubt but cows are 

 kept through the night, in well-ventilated stables, 

 as comfortably and healthfully as in a pasture, and 

 even more favorably, if there are no sheds in the 

 pasture. The stable should be clean and sweet, 

 and the floor well littered. 



LOCKJAW IN HORSES. 



This is a terrible malady to which horses are 

 sometimes subject, and it is generally fatal, owing 

 to the want of skill on the part of veterinary 

 physicians. The method pursued by them in its 

 treatment has been blistering, clystering, &c., 

 which rather aggravates than relieves the spasms 

 that usually attend it. Death generally ensues 

 by this practice, and the disease has been held to 

 be incurable. In a late number of the Edinburg 

 Veierinarij lievieiv, a new system of managing 

 lockjaw is described, and nearly all the cases in 



