1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



503 



hay, and found quite a quantity of the "colt's- 

 tail" mixed with it. 



The treatment I adopted was rest, absti- 

 nence, and a change to clean hay, and in 

 three days my horse was well, — lively as 

 ever. 



Not exactly relishing the idea of losing my 

 hay, and having a little doubt in reference to 

 the"c )lt's-tair' theory, after a few days I com- 

 menced feeding the weed v' hay again, and in 

 a'lout one week found my horse pretty "tip 

 sy" again, or with the same symptoms as be- 

 fore, only aggravated. Treatment, as at firat. 

 with same result. This horse was about ten 

 years of age, nervous, and of high mettle. 



Thinking that possibly there might be some 

 idiosyncrasy, or peculiarity about this horse 

 that rendered him more susceptible to its. ef- 

 fects than other horses, I fed this weedy hay 

 to two young horses — four years old — and in 

 a few days they exhibited the same marked 

 symptoms, but in less degree ; one being af- 

 fected a day or two before the other. 



My doubts were now somewhat removed. 

 But in revolving in my mind wherein I might 

 have arrived at an erroneous conclusion in the 

 premises, it occurred to me that, possibly, 

 there might have been some other article in 

 the hay that produced this effect. I was, how- 

 ever, quite cautious about purchasing hay con- 

 taining coWs-tail for a year or two, but at 

 length was "caught" by buying a mow, the 

 bottom of which 1 could not see at the time, 

 and which proved to be pretty thoroughly mixed 

 with it. This gave me the opportunity of 

 trying the herb again, in full doses, and. as I 

 glory in being an allopath, I gave this heroi- 

 cally. I came near paying dearly for my pre- 

 sumptuousness. However, the old horse (the 

 "General") is still alive and is doing me good 

 service, but he has eaten no more colt's-tail 

 from my feeding. 



Suffice it to say that in this last case the 

 symptoms, treatment and result were nearly 

 tne same as in the first experiments; except 

 that iu the last, bleeding from the mouth might 

 have been resorted to. 



I have since had occasion to notice the same 

 effects upon the horses of others, in a number , 

 — I might say very many — instances. And as 

 this Weed grows in profusion in the valleys, 

 and to a limited extent upon the highlands in 

 this section of country, 1 think, (if my exper- I 

 iments, o!)aervatioris and conclusions are cor- 

 rect,) that a timely caution in regard to the 

 feeding of it may be of practical utility to 

 those who have the care of so noble an animal 

 as the horse. And although my experiments [ 

 may appear, at first, to militate with the anal- 

 ysis of Prof. Hayes, yet I tuiuk it may not be 

 impossible to reconcile them. 



1 would s ly, farther, that cattle and sheep 

 seem to tat this weed with impunity, so far as 

 I kuow. 



W. A. Weeks, M. D. 



Walden, Vt., Aug. 16, 1869. 



AQRICULTUKAL ITEMS. 



—A correspondent of the Western Rural cautions 

 farmers not to feed string beans, cooked or un- 

 cooked, to hogs. He says they will surely kill 

 them. 



—A correspondent of the Western Rural has 

 cleared his own hands and those of his friends 

 from warts, by rubbing them with challi a few 

 evenings before going to bed. 



— There are some large farms in New England. 

 Col. David M. Clough, of Canterbury, N. H., has 

 a field of corn of twenty-two acres, and anuther 

 of oats of seventeen acres, and will cut 150 tons 

 of hay tbis year. 



— It is said that the introduction of the waters of 

 the Mediterranean to the lakes by the I>thmus of 

 Suez, has sensibly increased the hygrometric hu- 

 midity of the atmosphere, and that fogs, as dense 

 as those of Paris, have been observed in the rain- 

 less district. 



— Cows sometimes get a surfeit of grass, espe- 

 cially in wet, warm weather, when the grass is 

 succulent and rich. This feed distends the bowels 

 uncomfortably. An armful of hay once a day will 

 serve to absorb some of this moisture, and benefit 

 the cow in several respects. 



— Of the students in the Cornell University last 

 year, there were engaged in Agriculture, thirty; 

 Art5, forty; Chemistry, ten ; Elective, eighty-one; 

 Engineering, thirty-nine; Mechanic Arts, twenty- 

 seven; Natural Science, fourteen; Philosophy, 

 twenty-eight; Science, 143. 



— Ihe Canada Farmer says that the natural 

 course of vegetation does not exhaust, but rather 

 enriches the soil by eliminating plant food, and 

 restoring it to the land in decayed vegetable mat- 

 ter. It is the artificial method of growing crops 

 and removing them entirely from the land, without 

 any return that impoverishes. 



— A correspondent of the Country Gentleman 

 says that hand friction — always rubbing down — 

 will certainly keep wind galls from increasing, and 

 if well applied for half an hour at a time, twice a 

 day, will remove a new one, or materially check 

 one of long standing. 



— An Illinois correspondent of the Country Gen- 

 tleman mentions, as observed facts, that if the 

 wheat ear is not fully grown and the kernel there- 

 in fairly formed by or before the first week in July 

 it will never fill with sound grain; and that if 

 corn is not ripe by the first day of September it 

 will not get ripe at all. 



— A correspondent of the Western Rural says 

 that Carbolic acid solution, (six drachms of the 

 pure acid dissolved in one gallon of water,) is a 

 cheap, harmless and certain preventive against the 

 ravages of the bugs on vines. The yellow striped 

 bug seeks other quarters immediately after it is 

 applied. Wet the vines with the solutijn and 

 pour a little at the roots of each stalk. I have 



