vol. xii. no. r. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL, 



53 



From //"■ LouisiSlia RcgisU r. 

 DISEASE IIV HOUSES, CATTLE, &c. 



A disease very destructive to horses, cattle 

 and lmiis is "ntow |>re\ :ii liiifr in the lower part ol 

 Baton Rouge aiid the adjoining parish of Living- 

 ston. It first appears by swelling, which is not 

 confined to any particular part, hut generally un- 

 der the joints of the head and n< ck, and between 

 the fore legs. In many cases the animal dies as 

 soon as tin- swelling appears. — Some live twenty- 

 four hours longer, and some have been cured hj 

 the use of medicin.es, the first application of which 

 was made even after one day from the first attack. 

 We have not heard a name for the disease. The 

 swelled parts on being opened, before or after tar 

 animal is dead, discharge a slimy, yellowish fluid. 

 In some oases the discharge is white. — The only 

 remedies we have heard ofheing tisedare bleed- 

 ing, calomel, and after calomel, active inrgatives. 

 Horses are first bled to the quantity pfaeallon, or 

 gallon and a half; about an ounce of calomel, 

 mixed with bread or any other convenient article 

 to form a bolus, is next administered, ano after a 

 lapse of two or three horns, some active purgatives 

 are given. The animal is said to be out ol danger 

 as soon as the bowels are loosened. We hive not 

 heard of any mode of treatment for either cattle or 

 hogs. Some cattle on being opened were found 

 to have the gall bladder very much enlarged, 



Several farmers have lost all their horses , some 

 as many as six or eight. It is the opinion of some 

 that the hogs take the disease from feeding ou cat- 

 tle that have died of it. 



The above we have learned from persons who 

 have lost stock by the disease. We vfojld be 

 obliged ifany of our friends would furnish us with 

 something in detail in relation to the disease and 

 the best mode of treating it. 



ell's Gt 



ee Farmer. 



POISON FROM NEW HONEY. 



A son of nine, and a daughter of six years, md 

 only children of Samuel York of Farmingon, 

 died a few days since in consequence of eating tew 

 honey. They lived about thirty-six hours. 



It is, perhaps, not geneially known, that hoiey 

 recently gathered by bees at a certain season of 

 the year, frotn the flowers of some poisonous 

 plants, possesses their deleterious qualities in a 

 highly concentrated state, when fresh, and may 

 prove fatal, if taken in sufficient quantity. It lias 

 been ascertained, that the poisonous eft'ecYs of some 

 plants, as for instance, the Lamhkill, so called, de- 

 pend upon a certain agent, named by chemists, 

 Prussic Acid. It is also found that this acid very 

 soon loses its hurtful properties by decomposition ; 

 so that honey containing such an agent at first, 

 would of itself become pure in a short time, being 

 suffered to remain undisturbed. Occurrences of 

 death from this cause, are no doubt exceedingly 

 rare. Though one such fatal instance, among 

 hundreds who might at other times partake of this 

 delicious substance without injury, ought to prove 

 a sufficient caution to deter from the use of it, at 

 that season of the year, which might create a lia- 

 bility to injurious if not fatal consequences. 



From a consideration of the embarrassments 

 and difficulties, which at first presented themselves, 

 in judging correctly of the most probable cause of 

 death in these two cases, in so very sudden and 

 surprising a manner, it is quite reasonable to con- 

 jecture, that such instances may have happened 

 oftener, and no satisfactory cause could be assign- 

 ed for the strangeness of the symptoms and the 

 fatal consequences that followed.— Kennebec Jour. 



From Good 

 IVY. 



An ounce of -preventive, better than n pound of 

 cure. — I noticed an article in Goodsell's Genesee 



i". inner on the subject of poison by ivy, and as it 

 is one which interests farmers at this season of the 

 year, being about commencing their mowing,] am 

 induced to state for the benefit of others what I 

 have learned on that subject. In the year 1817, 

 ! ua - engaged in charing up a piece ol' low land 

 where much of the ivy grew, and having a num- 

 ber of times before experienced the sail effects, l>\ 

 ti aily losing the use of both bauds and feet, I ap- 

 proached my labor very cautiously, watching 

 every step lest I should touch my enemy. 1 bad 

 at. the same time a man to work with me, who, 

 seeing my fearful situation, told me to "chew the 

 i aves and swallow the juice, and I need not be 

 nfraid'of being poisoned." I hesitated, supposing 

 the remedy would be worse than the disease ; Inn 

 from bis repeated assurance, that it would not hurt 

 one, and having his example in the case, I ventur- 

 ed. The consequence was, I labored amongst it 

 for several days without experiencing the hast in- 

 convenience. From that time to the present, it 

 has been my practice when exposed to the effects 

 ol' the vine, to chew the leaves, and have never 

 been poisoned when I have done so. 



M. ATWATER. 

 Brighton, 8th mo. 17th, 1838. 



Note Ed. — The vine above alluded to, is the 

 Rhus toxicodendron, of L. and the variety radicans, 

 a creeping vine from which many small roots pro- 

 trude. It is frequently found in meadows upon 

 stumps, into which the roots penetrate. 



From the Kingston, (U. C.) Chronicle. 



HYDROPHOHIA. 

 A very affecting account of the effects of this 

 terrific disease has been communicated to us, 

 which occurred in the family of Mr. Moss, a re- 

 spectable farmer, residing near the village on the 

 river Trent. While Mr. M. and family were sit- 

 ting at home, a dog, belonging to the house, sud- 

 denly flew at his master, and bit him very slightly 

 in the hand. He then attacked a daughter about 

 12 years old, and bit her in several places. A son, 

 a young m;.n of 18 or 20, endeavoring to beat off' 

 the mad animal, received a wound upon the lip, 

 and how it was inflicted in the confusion and ter- 

 ror of the moment, whether by himself with the 

 cudgel he was using, or by the dog, he cannot tell. 

 The daughter (an interesting young woman) lin- 

 gered along for several days in the horrors of in- 

 sanity, and died. The father is now in such a 

 state of phrouzy, that he is obliged to he chained ; 

 and the young man, laboring under the agonizing 

 apprehensions that he is also infected with mad- 

 ness ; his mind haunted with the death of his sis- 

 ter, and the terrifying situation of his father, is in a 

 condition scarcely less pitiable than that of the un- 

 happy maniac. , 



A number of cattle we are informed, have been 

 bitten at Belleville. 



CURIOUS FACT IN THE ECONOMY OF BEES. 



M. de Jones de Gelif.f, pastor of tlfPRi inches * 

 of Colombier and Anveniier, in the prjnci pajjf y of 

 Xeufchntel, Switzerland, in a work tians^ilw'into 

 English under the title of 'The Bee Preserver, or 

 Practical Directions fbr Preserving and Renewing 

 Hives,' affirms a very important andsingular fact 

 with regard to the economy of bees. It is, that 

 'when two orthree distinct hives tue united in 

 autumn, they are found to consume together scarce- 

 ly any more honey during winter than each of 

 them would have consumed singly if left separate.' 

 In proof of this remarkable circumstance, the au- 

 thor states a variety of experiments, to which he 

 bad recourse ; and all of which led uniformly to 

 the same conclusion. And, imbed, he shows 

 positively, by a reference to •jpwards of thirty 

 hives, six of which had their population thus doub- 

 led, that the latter do not consume more provision 

 during winter than a single hive does, and that, so 

 far from the bees suffering from this, the double 

 hives generally send forth the earliest and best 

 swarms. The translator, says the Quarterly Jour- 

 nal of Agriculture, who is a lady of great accom- 

 plishments, and habits of correct observation, has 

 practised in Scotland most of the plans recommen- 

 ded in the original work, with the same results as 

 the author. 



Something New. The Concord (Mass.) Gazette 

 mentions that on Wednesday last, about 200 la- 

 dies, organized as a "Female Charitable Society," 

 formed a party for the purpose of gathering ber- 

 ries. In the evening a Fair was held, at which 

 they sold their berries at auction for the handsome 

 sum of $40, which sum is to be appropriated to 

 the objects of the Society. "This is one way of 

 raising the wind." 



HINTS TO MECHANICS AND WORKMEN. 



If you want to avoid the diseases which your 

 particular trades are liable to produce, attend to 

 the following hints : 



Keep, if possible, regular hours. Never sup- 

 pose you have done extra work,- when you sit up 

 till midnight, and do not rise till eight or nine' in 

 the. morning. 



Abstain from ardent spirits, cordials and malt 

 liquors; let your drink be that of Franklin, when 

 he was a printer — pure water. 



Be particular in preserving your skin clean, by 

 frequent washing of your hands., face and mouth, 

 before each meal, and of your whole body at least 

 once a week, and by combing and brushing the 

 hair daily. Always have a fresh air in the room 

 in which you work, but so that you will not be in 

 a draft. 



Take a short time in the morning, if possible, 

 and always in the evening, or towards sundown, 

 for placing your body in a natural posture, by 

 standing erect and extending your chest and limbs 

 by a walk where the air is fresh. 



If confined in doors, let your food consist, in a 

 large proportion of milk and bread, and well boiled 

 vegetables. Meat and fish ought to be used spar- 

 ingly, and only at dinner. You are better without 

 coffee, tea, or chocolate. If you use any of them, 

 it ought not to be more than once a day. — Journal 

 of Health. 



" 'Pon my soul 'tis true — what will you lay it's a lie.'' 



"An Itch for Business." The Hartford Review 

 says, a pedlar from Connecticut lately travelled 

 through Virginia, shaking hands heartily with eve- 

 ry one he met, whether they purchased or refused 

 his merchandise. Directly it was discovered, that 

 to every one with whom he had shaken the friend- 

 ly hand, he communicated the itch. Immediately 

 after this discovery, another pedlar, his partner, 

 came along with a good stock of sovereign itch 

 ointment. It is perhaps needless to say that he 

 made large sales at a good per centage. 



