1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FAEJilER. 



33 



altac'limcnts, or light muscles, or ringbone, -or ] 

 a cup produced by an ill- formed leg, is unfit- 

 to breed. MccLa-nical injuries, not produced 

 by constitutional defects rarely do harm. No 

 dam, imperfect in form or stature, of bad 

 temper or bad feet, should ever be bred, and 

 if a certain color is desirable breed to that. 



Before closing I wish to refer to the term 

 thoroughbred as accepted by the public. I 

 believe in thoroughbred animals, and in their i 

 power to reproduce their kind, but I do not 

 believe in assuming that animals are worth 

 breeding because they are recorded in the 

 herd or stud book for several successive gen- 

 erations. I have seen many worthless re- 

 corded thoroughbred animals, very far from 

 well bred ; and also I have seen many thor- 

 oughly bred animals which could not be found 

 in the stock or stud book. 1 approve of the 

 record by all means, but the thorough breed- 

 ing does not make the record. The time may 

 come when men of wealth and leisure and cul- 

 ture will give their money and time and re- 

 search to this interesting subject. I do not 

 know of a more noble undertaking for such 

 than to advance the interests of a IState like 

 ours in this respect, — an interest to be felt in 

 every household in Maine. 



AGKICUIiTURAL FAIRS IN" KENTUCKY. 

 From the accounts which we have seen of 

 the Fairs in Kentucky, we infer that they have 

 been unusually successful the past season. 

 The following picture of one of these exhibi- 

 tions brings out a social feature which may be 

 too much wanting in our New England Shows, 

 and may aflford farmers and their families a 

 hint worth considering. It is from the Lex- 

 ington Home Journal : — 



No people in the world probabh', understand 

 better than Kcntuckians, the an of getting up 

 such inlcrcttiiig and instructive exhibitions and of 

 extracting from them the Invgest, amount possible 

 of pleasure. They think of them, and prepare for 

 them months before hand; every animal or article 

 to bo shown is taken in hand and brought to the 

 highest state of perfection, and eveiy member of 

 the family, and olten an entire neighborhood feel 

 a personal interest and pride in the success of this 

 entrj^. Then, when the fair' is held the induce- 

 ments to draw a large crowd arc numerous and 

 strong. As hospitality is a characteristic of our 

 people, every tamily and frequently several fami- 

 lies will unite in their culinary airangements, and 

 at dinner time such bounteous repasts are spread 

 — consisting of every substantial and delicacy ttiat 

 could be ibouglit of or provided — as would make 

 a royal feast look pjor by contrast. Such joyous 

 junkeiirig under the spreading greenwood trees, it 

 is well worth a day's travel to witness and several 

 day's ride to paiticipate in. Never did Epicurus 

 or Heliogabuius or any of the ancient lovers of 

 good eating have opportunities totiiiilate their fas- 

 tidious palates at such glorious SN-inposiums, The 

 hos()it.il)ie host and his estimable wife, while tn- 

 tertaming assembled friends, in%ite all who may 

 ' need SLieli attentions to their tables. Everywhere 

 people aic enjoying themselves. It is the eagerly 



anticipated annual respite from business confine- 

 ment, the daily toil and household cares, and 

 young and old make the most of the festive occa- 

 sion. For pure unalloyed enjoyment, commend 

 us to these autumnal gatherings in Kentucky. 



In contrast to the above the Country Gentle- 

 man publishes a communication from a "highly 

 intelligent and well informed farmer," in 

 which a Northern "Modern County Fair" is 

 described, by commencing with the following 

 sentence : — 



^'Almost every hodyivas tliere — except plain 

 farmers.'''' 



How shall a more general attendance of 

 "plain farmers" be secured at our New Eng- 

 land I airs ? 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



W"ARTS ON CATTLE. 



I have a steer which has a wart growing on the 

 top of its head, and can I, through the columns 

 of your paper learn how to do away with it ? 



Wayne, Me., Aov. 10, 1868. A Subsckiber. 



Remaeks. — In doctoring warts it is desirable to 

 understand something of their nature, shape, &c 

 They are sometimes removed by tying a small 

 hard string or cord around them, and occasionally 

 tightening it till the wart comes off. Sometimes 

 they arc cut off, and the roots cauterized by a hot 

 iron. Mecurial and other dangerous preparations 

 are also successfully used. Asa sample of "cures" 

 we copy the following from the X. E. Homestead : 

 "If lunar caustic be rubbed on the surface after 

 the tough end is pared well, a cure is generally 

 effected. It should be repeated several times, if 

 necessary. One drachm of muriatic acid added 

 to three drachms of muriated tincture of iron, the 

 acid nitrate of mercury, one drachm of arsenic 

 added to one-half ounce of strong nitric acid, all 

 of them will accomplish the object. Compound 

 alum water, juice of sumach, garlic, milk weed, 

 strong sugar of lead water, &c., have some repu- 

 tation as remedies. The strong acids will, how- 

 ever, do best, where the scissors or string will not 

 answer. 



If the acids are used, the parts close by the 

 wart should be smeared with oil or lard, to pre- 

 vent the acid from spreading and making a sore. 

 If it is seen to be working too deeply, soda and 

 pearlash water sopped on, will stop further action." 



BOTa IN HORSES. 



We have received a copy of a pamphlet entited 

 "The Farmer's Friend, the Horseman's Guide, and 

 Horsemanship Made Easy in one Lesson, by Dr. 

 H. S. Harey, Columhus, Ohio;" also a communi- 

 cation Irom the same writer, dated at Perkinsyille, 

 Vt., on Bots in Horses, in which some "new ideas" 

 are advanced. lie regards bots as a part and par- 

 cel of the horse — "one of his natural organs," as 



