1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARINIER. 



601 



for want of room in this case, it is well to ar- 

 range a box similar to that shown in Fig. 5. 

 A stake is driven in the ground near the fence 



Figure 5. 



to which the box is nailed. This may be ob- 

 jected to on account cf its requiring to be 

 cleaned afcer a storm. This may be oDviated 

 by tbe arrangement shown by Fig. 6, where 

 the bo.x is represented as 

 bottom up, for the pur- 

 pose of cleaning it. It 

 was inverted by removing 

 a wooden pin from the 

 hole in the post above K. 

 The dotted lines and ar- 

 row indicate the way it was 

 turned. When in this po- 

 sition neither rain nor 

 snow can get into it. It 

 is so clearly shown in the 

 figure that a further description is unnecessary. 



Figure 6. 



EQUISETUM ARV£NSE. 



Horse-tail, Colt's-tail, Fine-weed, Mare's-tail, 



Polypod, &c. 



We publish on another page a valuable 

 paper, detailing experiments in the use of this 

 weed with hay fed to horses. In Dr. Hayes' 

 report of the result of his analysis of the plant 

 sent to him by Mr. Fairbanks, as "Colt's-tail, 

 or Fox- tail," and which it was supposed 

 caused the death of a valuable horse, it is re- 

 marked that the botanical name of the plant 

 was not known. We think it a little singular, 

 and it is certainly to be regretted, that the ex- 

 pense of a careful analysis should have been 

 incurred without ascertaining this fact. Com- 

 mon names are entirely unreliable. We pre- 

 sume — but of course we are not certain — that 

 the plant analyzed is the same that is also 

 known in some sections as Horse-tail, in oth- 

 ers as Mare's-tail, as Polypod as Pine-weed, 

 from its near resemblance to a miniature pine 

 tree, &c. 



In reply to an inquiry in relation to this 

 plant, some four years ago, we were nnisled by 

 our correspondent's use of the word Mare's- 



tail, to the conclusion that its botanical name 

 was Hippuris vulgaris. Our attention was 

 called to this mistake by Mr. Wetherell of the 

 Boston Cultivator, and we are now satisfied 

 that it is Equisetum arvense. The scouring 

 ruth belongs to the same order. This genus 

 of plants are noted for the large amount of 

 silex they contain. In some cases its ashes 

 have been found to be one half silex by weight. 

 Hence the plant would seem to be far better 

 fitted for the gizzard of poultry than for the 

 delicate and somewhat peculiar stomach of the 

 horse. And it is therefore possible that the 

 deleterious effects ascribed to its use may be 

 mechanical rather than poisonous. 



Judge J. W. Colburn, of Springfield, Vt., 

 late President of the State Agricultural Soci- 

 ety, in a communication to the Boston Culti- 

 vator, in 18G5, says, "when dried with the 

 hay it becomes hard and briitle. It needs ru- 

 minating animals to prepare this dry, wiry 

 substance for digestion. Sheep and horses 

 eat it with a relish, but it is fatal to horses 

 when fed indiscriminately with hay, particu- 

 larly where it is liberally intermixed. It 

 causes a stoppage in the bowels, induces blind 

 staggers, and often kills the animal. I lost 

 two, and saved three by veterinary treatment 

 before being fully assured of the cause." 

 Judge Colburn says it is known in his neigh- 

 borhood as the Pine-weed. 



A correspondent of the New Hampshire 

 Journal of Agriculture for 1865, who had 

 three horses sick with this disease In a single 

 week, one of which he was obliged to keep in 

 a swing for several days, says, "It is difficult 

 to tell how this plant operates upon the sys- 

 tem of the horse, but its cflFects are decided. 

 The hind legs refuse their office as if para- 

 lyzed. The eyesight is affected, and the horse 

 shies and steps back as if scared by some ob- 

 ject in fiont. The bowels refuse their office, 

 as also the urinary organs ; the blood is black 

 and thick, becoming almost like liver as soon 

 as passed from the veins, and the animal be- 

 comes prostrate in a few days unless relieved 

 by proper treatment. We recommend bleed- 

 ing upon the appearance of the first symptoms, 

 for temporary relief, after which the bowels 

 must be opened by giving bran mashes, green 

 feed, &c. Then give a ball made of the fol- 

 lowing : Barbadoes aloes, one ounce ; pulver- 

 ized ginger, one drachm ; pulverized gentian 



