1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



531 



gan to heal. But the disease, whatever it was, 

 seemed to settle on the lungs, and their breathing 

 could he heard in the house. Then she tried other 

 remedies^, among which was "Motber Bailey's 

 Soothing Syrup;" but one pig persisted in dying 

 in s;)iteof Mother B. The other was taken up for 

 dead, but finding life was not extinct, the farmer's 

 wife gave it a dose of '-Condition Powers," and 

 perhaps a second do^e, and the powders cured the 

 pig, and to-day it is worth twelve or fifteen dollars. 

 Can any of the readers of the Fabmer tell us 

 what ailed the pigs, or what would have cured 

 them ? F. D. 



Berlin, Vt., Sept. 22, 1869. 



SUDDEN FAILURE OF MILK. 



Allow me to give my experience in a case simi- 

 lar to that mentioned by "E. W. R.," in Farmer 

 of Sept 25. One night, eight or ten years ago, in 

 June or July, when cows were giving a paillul at 

 a milking, one of my cows gave only about one- 

 half the usual quantity, and the next morning 

 not more than two or three quarts, and by the 

 second morning less than a pint. The cow eat as 

 well as ever, and all that I could discover unnat- 

 ural was a slight discharge of thick matter from 

 the eye, which formed in scales at the corner, and 

 the horns were as cold where they joined the head 

 as at the tip. 



A neighbor told me to put spirits turpentine in 

 the hollow on the top of the neck, back of the 

 head. After four applications, night and morning, 

 the horns were as warm as natural, and the cow 

 gave nearly her usual quantity of milk. Since 

 then I have tried the remedy, always on the first 

 appearance of the disease, several times, and have 

 found one or two applications sufficient. Think I 

 have seen it tried at least a dozen times, and never 

 knew a failure ; still I do not know the cause or 

 nature of the disease, or the reason why the tur- 

 pentine produces the desired effect. Star. 



Chippenhook Springs, Vt., Sept. 27, 1869. 



MODE OF TYING UP CATTLE. 



I beg through the Farmer to reply to the in- 

 quiries of Mr. Jason E. Hart. New Haven, Vt., 

 about tying up cattle, though I feel somewhat diffi- 

 dent, for two reasons. First, I have so frequently 

 answered questions in the Farmer, that I fear lest 

 I should be considered a "bore." Second, that 

 advice from an Englishman may be regarded by 

 some Americans as old logyism and of questiona- 

 ble utility in this land of "progress." But sup- 

 posing Mr. H. to be a plain' sort of man, like my- 

 self, and that he cares little whether the best plan 

 comes from English or Yankee practice, I will as 

 clearly and as briefly as I can give him an idea of 

 the construction of cattle stalls, ways and modes 

 of feeding, watering, tying up, &c., in use by the 

 great ox feeders of England. 



The cattle stalls or sheds have floors of brick, 

 stone or boards, laid inclining a little to the cattle's 

 heels, so that all wet runs off into a gutter a few 

 inches below the stalls, and is conveyed into a tank 

 below the fold or stable, which receives all the 

 soakirgs from the fold. This liquid is pumped 

 up into a large iron box, halt' round, without any 

 top, and which swings on pulleys, so that up hill 

 or down it always hangs even. Thus the liquid 

 manure is conveyed to the grass land and scat- 

 tered over it much as water is from a street water- 

 ing machine. 



By the side of each ox is a straight, smooth 

 post, firmly fixed, on which is a large iron ring 

 and a chain, similar to a waggon lock chain, which 

 is fixed round the neck of the ox ; so that the ox 

 can at pleasure raise his head as high as he likes, 

 and when he lies down or rises, the ring slips up 

 or down the post easily, and is no. detriment to \ 



the ox in lying down or getting up. The cattle 

 are tied up to Aice each other, with a road or pas- 

 sage between them, with an outlet at each end, 

 and sufficiently wide for a man to take in as much 

 hay as he can carry on a fork, or a pair of large 

 water backets with yoke. Between each two head 

 is a half round cratch or crib, for hay, and threo 

 troughs. One each for cut turnips, bran-meal and 

 brewers' grains, and the third for water, lieing 

 lined with lead, so that two animals can drink out 

 of the same trough. A shed of the dimensions 

 you speak of would have several doors behuid the 

 cattle to clean out at. The troughs are fixed quite 

 four feet from the ground, the space under tuem 

 being open. 



Stall-fid cattle when put up to feed are not loosed 

 again till taken to the market. All the best meat 

 is stall-fed in England. Thousands of acres of 

 mangolds, Swedes and white stone turnips are 

 grown there and are cut by a machine into slices 

 about 1^ inch wide for cattle and slicep. Some 

 farmers boil their turnips, scald the meal and bran, 

 and mash up together. Before cattle are tied up, 

 they are turned into a field of mangolds or turnips, 

 hurdled off. When the enclosed lot is eaten pretty 

 close, the cattle are moved farther into the field, 

 and a leaner lot takes their place. This process 

 goes on till ready to tie up. I hope my reply 

 will meet your pleasure. 



John Whatmore. 

 Bridgenorth Farm, \ 



Dunleith, III., Sept. 24, 1869. \ 



concrete door-steps. 



Three years ago I wanted some door-stones. I 

 had some cement left after making a cistern. I 

 made square boxes, at the door where I wanted 

 the steps or door-stones, just in the shape I desired 

 the door-steps. I then mixed up coarse gravel and 

 cement and made a mortar or concrete, mixing in 

 cobble stones, and filled these boxes or moulds. 

 In a short time I removed these moulds and placed 

 boards over the steps for people to walk over 

 till the concrete was hardened. These cement 

 steps remain perfect, neiiher the frost nor weather 

 having injured them, and they are now so hard 

 that they wear as little by walking over them, as 

 would a common stone. 



I think this the cheapest way to get up a set of 

 door-stones. They should be made in the spring 

 of the year, so that they can have the summer and 

 fall to harden in. N. F. English. 



Hartland, Vt., Sept. 6, 1869. 



SICK HOGS AVITH PURPLE SPOTS. 



Last year my hog was taken sick in hot weather 

 and purple spots appeared on it that werj h srd 

 like bone. One of my neighbors intbrmed me that 

 some years previous he had a similar case. He 

 showered it with cold water and it got well. I did 

 the same with mine two or tbree times a day and 

 it recovered. I thought the disease was caused by 

 the hot weather. 1 had not thrown any water on 

 to it, nor wet its nest ls others did. 



Farmer Student. 



Wardsboro', Vt., Sept. 15, 1869. 



Preserving Eggs. — A Parisian paper re- 

 commends the following method for preserva- 

 tion of eggs : — Dissolve four ounces of bees- 

 wax in eight ounces of warm olive oil ; in this 

 put the tip of the finger and annoint the egg 

 all around. The oil will immediately be ab- 

 sorbed by the shell and the pores filled up by 

 the wax. If kept in a cool place, the eggs, 

 after two years, will be as good as if fresh 

 laid. 



