272 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



is frequently very great ; but we are sorry to know 

 he is sometimes most grossly and wantonly abused. 

 The horse, though, when kindly treated, he will 

 manifest great attachment and perfect obedience, sub- 

 mitting to severe labors, will sometimes exhibit great 

 and provoking obstinacy. This leads to cruelty, and 

 sometimes unmerciful beating. 



From experience and observation, we are fully sat- 

 isfied that whipping only inci-eases the difficulty, and 

 makes him more obstinate. Although it is somewhat 

 difhcult to command one's temper, when the horse, 

 knowing your wishes, persists in refusing to obey, 

 still I am satisfied that kindness will sooner bring 

 him to obedience than an opposite course of treat- 

 ment. 



"When in full health and plight, he will be as fond 

 of moving forward as you are to have him do so. A 

 little patience is much better than the whip. We 

 once asked a horse-dealer how we should manage a 

 contrary horse. He replied, " Never let him know 

 but that he behaves just as you want to have him." 



Horses are often made vicious in breaking, as it is 

 called, and in training, when young, by bad manage- 

 ment. In breaking colts into the harness, they 

 should never know that they can break away. 

 When convenient, the younger you begin with them 

 the better. Accustom them gradually to the halter 

 and harness. 



The halter, in the first place, should be so strong 

 that Ihey cannot break it when made fast to a substan- 

 tial post. They will seldom try its strength more than 

 once or twice ; and the same with any part of a 

 harness. If they find they can break a halter, it is 

 seldom forgotten, and becomes a very vicious habit. 

 After two years old, they may be placed by the side 

 ot a steady horse, and afterwards in a light carriage, 

 followed up every day for some little length of time. 



In shoeing the first time, be sure you get a good, 

 strong smith, that will hold the foot as long as he 

 wishes ; not too long at first, lest he should be weary. 

 Horses are not unfrequently very troublesome 

 through life by a fault in first shoeing. 



The signs of a good road horse, and for speed, are, 

 a small head, a short back, and fiat legs. Something 

 may be known by the countenance, which cannot 

 well be described. A bright full eye, wide nostrils, 

 and a projecting wide forehead, may be considered 

 some of the signs of courage and long wind. The 

 color of horses depends somewhat upon fancy ; but 

 bay, dapple gray and black are the most preferred in 

 our county. 



The three greatest and most common faults to 

 which horses are liable, are stumbling, kicking, and 

 shpng. We know of no remedy for the first. The 

 second may be avoided by using him to the harness 

 about his haunches and head, when out of the car- 

 riage, and when he can do no mischief. Shying may 

 be quite benefited, if not cured, by stopping and 

 moving slowly by the object, instead of urging the 

 horse to breast it at once. 



The Arabian breed of horses are attracting some 

 attention in our county. They have not yet come 

 to years quite sufficient for use. They promise 

 speed, courage, docility, and an exemption from 

 most of the principal faults of road horses. 



The growing of this kind of stock in our county is, 

 at the present time, receiving great attention, if we 

 may judge from the number at the show. We be- 

 lieve it to be as profitable as any other stock, as very 

 few horses, at four years old, are worth less than 

 from scveaty-five to one hundred dolLas. The de- 

 mand and the value have not lessened, but rather in- 

 creased, since the introduction of railroads. 



Now, let us bespeak for this noble animal kind 

 treatment, good keeping, and light burdens. With 

 such gentle usage, the horse will love and serve you 

 faithfully for twenty- five, forty, and even fifty years. 



Do not maim or disfigure him by the cruel practice 

 of pricking, nicking, or even cutting off a single hair, 

 which the Author of nature has furnished him with 

 for his special accommodation. And good taste will 

 require, that in his natural garb and form, he actually 

 shows the best, and is the most comfortable to him- 

 self. Curry and groom him every day, and give him 

 a blanket and a warm stable in cold weather, and 

 clean straw to lie on. Talk to and with him, for he 

 will soon understand your language, and manifest 

 signs of recognition, or the tenor, at least, of your 

 words. 



Horses like to be petted, and words of encourage- 

 ment, we will again repeat, are better, under all cir- 

 cumstances, than the whip. 



For the committee. 



R. A. MERRIAM. 



S.\r,EM, SepL 27, 1849. 

 — Trails. Essex Ag. Society for 1849. 



SUGAR GROWING IN LOUISIANA. 



The Baton Rouge Advocate of July 11, after 

 speaking favorably of the high lands in tlie States, as 

 adapted to the cultivation of the sugar-cane, says, — 



The last two years have brought a vast cultiva- 

 tion, more, perhaps, than for any previous ten years. 

 In this section, the sugar mill is rapidly taking the 

 place of the cotton gin ; the unoccupied lands are 

 coming into cultivation, and even the worn-out and 

 abandoned cotton fields are found well adapted to 

 the raising of this crop. There are now being 

 erected, in this vicinity, no less than fifteen sugar 

 mills, at probably an average cost of $10,000 each. 

 This will bring into cultivation not less than five 

 thousand acres of land, throwing into the market 

 one hundred and forty thousand hogsheads of sugar, 

 which will find its natural transit through Baton 

 Rouge. 



Agriculture ix New Hampshire. — A state ag- 

 ricultural fair is to be held at Concord, N. H., on 

 the second and third days of October next. A large 

 number of premiums will be awarded in all depart- 

 ments of agriculture and mechanics. The premiums 

 are large for the first effort, varying from one to 

 twenty dollars, and the committees are largo and 

 well chosen. The fair is got up under the auspices 

 of the N. II. State Agricultural Society, recently 

 formed. 



Fallen Fruit. — Be very careful to gather all 

 punctured or decaying fruits, whether on your trees 

 or on the ground, and give them to your hogs. If 

 you do not, the worms which they contain, and 

 which have been the cause of their premature decay, 

 will make their escape into the ground, and you will 

 find the evils which await their visitations increase 

 upon you another season. 



Agricultural. ^ The Delaware State Agricultural 

 Society has passed resolutions, protesting againsc the 

 Canadian reciprocity bill, and advocating an agricul- 

 tural bureau at Washington. 



A Bio Calf. — Dea. David Alden, of Southboro', 

 lately killed a calf, that weighed, when dressed, one 

 hundred and seveiitij-fii^e pounds. Has any one beat 

 this, or even equalled it ? 



