214 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



Sept. 



SINGULAR MORTALITY AMONG SHEEP. -INQUIRY. 



Messrs. Editors : — I have a mystery that I can- 

 not solve in farm operations, and wish to call the 

 attention of some of your wool-growing correspon- 

 dents, thinking perhaps some of them may have had 

 luck of the "same sort." On the 16th of July, at 

 evening, I turned a flock of sheep, bucks and weth- 

 ers, from a grassy fallow of thirty acres — the flock 

 not being large enough to keep the grass down. 

 The next day at 2 o'clock p. m. I turned in about 120 

 ewes and 80 lambs. On the 18th they were seen, 

 and turned out about sunset, 28 ewes having died in 

 about 30 hours. I have been unable, as well as all 

 my neighbors, to ascertain the cause of their death. 

 No poisonous plant could be found, and the idea of 

 poison seemed unreasonable, as the first flock had 

 been confined to the same field for some three or four 

 weeks previous, and were again put in about two 

 weeks after — not an individual manifesting the least 

 symptoms of disease. 



The ewes had been kept in a field about one-half 

 in fallow, the other half in clover, good feed, and all 

 the sheep healthy and in good condition. They were 

 immediately turned back to the clover field, and no 

 signs of disease have been seen since they were 

 taken from the field of death. The dead were found 

 scattered promiscuously over the field, most of them 

 remaining in a position of rest, with their feet under 

 them. I am unable to describe the symptoms or the 

 effects of the disease upon the body, as none of them 

 were examined. There were no visible signs of 

 diarrhoea, or discharge of mucus from the nose. I 

 can find no disease described by any author that I 

 have yet read, that rages with such fearful mortality. 

 If any of your numerous readers have had any such 

 experience, and ascertained any cause, I should like 

 to hear from them through the Farmer, if you can 

 spare a corner. Norman J. Kellogg. — Avon, JY. 

 Y., August, 1849. 



Warts on Cows' Teats. — We give the following 

 from "Allen's Domestic Animals," in answer to an 

 inquiry on the subject by a subscriber to the Farmer 

 at Cazenovia, N. Y. : — 



Warts are of two kinds; the first, on the outer 

 skin, may be removed by rubbing with camphorated 

 olive oil. The others penetrate into the flesh, and 

 may be removed by a ligature of fine twine, or silk, 

 or india-rubber drawn into a string, and tied tightly 

 around the wart, which falls off in a few days. 



Remedies. — Nitrate of silver, (lunar caustic,) ap- 

 plied to the wart, will remove it, but it produces a 

 sore. 



Apply a strong wash of alum. 



Rub with the juice of milk-weed. 



Poultice with grated carrot. 



Cut off the wart with sharp scissors, when the 

 cow is dry. It will bleed little, and soon heal. 



Sore Teats may be healed by rubbing with goose 

 oil, cream, new milk; or make the same applications 

 for it as for caked bag. The bag and teats should 

 be well cleansed with warm soft water, if to be fol- 

 lowed by any ointment. 



The following application is recommended by 

 Youatt: One ounce of yellow wax and three of 

 lard; melt together, and when cooling rub in one 

 quarter ounce of sugar of lead, and a drachm of alum 

 finely powdered. — lb. 



CATTLE TRADE OF THE WEST. 



An interesting account of the cattle trade of the 

 Western States, especially that portion of it which 

 centers in the Scioto Valley, Ohio, is given in the 

 annexed extract from one of Mr. Mansfield's letters 

 to the Cincinnati Atlas. Though a very important 

 branch of our productive industry, the modus operandi 

 of this business is not generally understood. It is, 

 however, conducted with much system, and is yearly 

 becoming of greater extent and importance. Mr. 

 M. says: — 



" While at Yellow Springs, I saw a fine drove of 

 cattle, which were driven from the Wabash. I was 

 told that about twenty-five thousand head a year 

 passed that point — that being a common route from 

 Illinois and Missouri to the grazing lands of Madison 

 and Fayette. This is an immense business, and 

 employs four classes of persons. 



1. The raiser of cattle, who sells his animals at 

 one or two years old, or even three, to the grazer. 

 The raisers are chiefly in the great prairies of Illi- 

 nois, Missouri and Iowa. 



2. The grazers are chiefly the owners or renters 

 of the great pastures of Madison, Fayette and Union 

 counties, Ohio. 



3. The cattle feeder, (who is the corn raiser,) who 

 takes the cattle in the autumn, and feeds them on 

 corn till they are fat enough for the markets of the 

 Atlantic cities. Sometimes two of these occupations 

 are united, but not often. 



4. The fourth class of business which arises out 

 of the cattle trade, is that of the banker, who fur- 

 nishes the funds. The banks of Chillicothe, Circle- 

 ville, Columbus, and Xenia, taken together, do more 

 of this sort of business than any other. It is the 

 most profitable banking business done in the State. 

 The cattle trader about to' buy a drove of cattle to 

 fat with his corn, applies to the bank for a loan. 

 For this he gives a bill of exchange on Philadelphia 

 or New York, at four months, which the bank dis- 

 counts — receiving the funds when the cattle are sold, 

 and getting both interest and exchange, which brings 

 the profit to about ten or twelve per cent. But this 

 is not all. The cattle feeder receives the notes of 

 the bank, which are paid to the grazer, who pays 

 them out for cattle through the entire Western 

 States. In this manner, tMfc circulation of the bank 

 is kept out. These transactions are as truly com- 

 mercial and safe as they can be possibly made; for 

 they are all based on the actual sales of cattle in the 

 Atlantic cities. I suspect the sales of cattle in the 

 counties of Ross, Pickaway, Franklin, Madison and 

 Fayette, amount to near a million of dollars, and 

 which, therefore, supply that amount of bills of ex- 

 change." 



Effect of Salt on Wheat. — The Rochester 

 American, of a recent date, says: — Some of our 

 readers may recollect that last fall we mentioned an 

 experiment made by Mr. John Park, of Gates, by 

 sowing a barrel of salt to an acre upon a summer 

 fallow. The ground was plowed once the preceding- 

 fall, plowed again in May, and salt sowed thereon as 

 above; and afterwards plowed twice before seeding. 

 On the 1st and 2d of September, wheat was sown, 

 two bushels to the aero. The crop has just been 

 harvested, and Mr. P. is confident will yield 40 

 bushels to the acre. The berry he considers equal 

 to the finest English wheat. 



