456 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



gle piece of leather, like that composing the out- 

 side of a collar, without any lining or stuffing, 

 he assures us, is better than anything else." — 

 Boston Journal. 



ROUNING AND TROTTING HOBSES. 



A writer, over the signature of "Hiram," in 

 the Spirit of the Times, thus alludes to the dis- 

 tinction to be observed between running and 

 trotting horses. He says : 



I think it has been fully shown, by good au- 

 thority, from experience in crossing the ass with 

 the horse, that the sire gives the external form ; 

 although the mare brought the seed to life and 

 perfection, still the creature to all outward ap- 

 pearance, is an ass ; I contend, in order to have 

 a good running animal, you must have a good 

 running form, and to have a good trotting horse, 

 you must have a good trotting form. I know, al- 

 so, that there are exceptions to all general rules, 

 and that horses trot and run in all forms ; but 

 that does not reach the case, or if it does, it 

 makes no difference v.hat we breed from, as far 

 as form is concerned, for I hold that the form of 

 a full-blooded running horse is directly the re- 

 verse of a trotting horse in many respects — some 

 of them I will here notice. The legs, for instance, 

 of the running horse, from the body down, 

 should finely taper, with long yielding pasterns, 

 high-reaching loin, and a long, small neck, and 

 may be yewed at that. Now I hold that the 

 above qualifications are essential to the running 

 horse of good blood, and diametrically opposed 

 to a good trotting horse. I will now give you 

 what I consider the qualifications in the form of 

 a good trotting horse, opposed to that of a run- 

 ning horse. His leg should be strong, holding 

 its size well to the hoof, short, straight pastern, 

 going from the leg into the foot, loin well filled, 

 gently descending from the coupling to the with- 

 ers, which should be thin and well raised, with a 

 strong, well-proportioned neck, not too thick and 

 chunky. 



To Prevent Cats Killing Chickens, &c. — 

 Miss Harriet Martineau, in the new London pa- 

 per, "Once a Week," is publishing a very inter- 

 esting series of sketches entitled "Our Farm of 

 Two Acres," — in one of which sketches she gives 

 the following as a sure preventive against the 

 killing of chickens or birds by cats : — "When a 

 cat is seen to catch a chicken, tie it round her 

 neck, and make her wear it for two or three days. 

 Fasten it securely, for she will make incredible 



efforts to get rid of it. Be firm for that time, and 



the cat is cured. She will never again desire to [under the shade of an old apple tree, showing 



LETTER FROM MB. BRCWN. 



Attlehoro\ Mass., Aug. 10, 1859. 

 Messiis. Noi'Usk, Eaton & Tolman : 



Gents : — I was ciUed here this morning to look 

 at a farm with a view to its permanent reclama- 

 tion, including a thoroua:h system of underdrain- 

 ing. It belongs to a family, one of whom is a 

 cUrgyman settled over a parish in Worcester 

 county ; two other sons are merchants in New 

 York city, while a fourth, with an aged parent, 

 abides at home to guide the plow and feed the 

 kine, to subdue the waste places and make them 

 teem with fertility, and blossom as the rose, and 

 himself to remain one of the Kings of the soil, a 

 position no less dignified, useful or honorable 

 than his brothers have selected, and one of a class 

 to whom the country must always look for de- 

 fence and support in time of trial, and for those 

 productions which go to make up the wealth of 

 any nation. 



With a discriminating judgment, and with 

 great good sense, the minister and the merchants 

 concluded to invest liberally of their surplus in 

 the soil, not only with the hope that profit would 

 come out of it, after many days, but that the 

 homestead might be made attractive and beauti- 

 ful, where themselves and their children could 

 annually return and breathe the sweet odors of 

 new mown hay, of the fresh flowers that nod over 

 the babbling brook, and hear the familiar sounds 

 that closed in the calm evenings, or woke the 

 bright mornings of their early years. The same 

 sound judgment that led them to these wise con- 

 clusions, also prompted them to apply to practi- 

 cal men for advice. I referred them to a strictly 

 professional man, l)ut they elected to abide by 

 my decisions, and hence my reason fur dating 

 from this thriving and pleasant town. 



The farm contains many natural advantages — 

 has a sandy loam upland, beautiful meadows at 

 the base of gentle slopes, and a cold, springy, 

 rocky and repulsive pasture. But the outlets of 

 the water-courses, and the indications given by 

 the character of the vegetation which everywhere 

 met the eye, left no doubt on my mind as to the 

 course that ought to be pursued ; so the lines 

 were laid down, the principles of the process dis- 

 cussed and enforced, and diagrams of the whole 

 plan were made of the rushes which grew luxuri- 

 antly upon the spot, and placed upon the ground 



touch a bird. This is what we do with our own 

 cats, and what we recommend to our neighbors ; 

 and when they try the experiment, they and their 

 pets are secure from reproach and danger hence- 

 forth. Wild, homeless, hungry, ragged, savage 

 cats are more difficult to catch ; but they are 

 outlaws, and may be shot with the certainty that 

 all neiarhbors will be thankful." 



the direction of the lines, their distances apart, 

 and giving a distinct illustration of the whole 

 thing. 



I felt confidence in assuring my friends that 

 one acre of the pasture reclaimed, would supply 

 as much feed, and of a more nutritious character, 

 than five acres now does, and that 850 per acre 

 expended upon it, would give one of the safest 



