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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



MORE THOUGHTS ABOUT BUILDINGS. 



The intense heat of the present and passings season 

 b) in^s to mind more thoughts in reference to arrange- 

 ment in the construction of dwellings. Any ■way by 

 whi.-h \vc may temper the intense heat of summer 

 would bo worth a vast amount, as resi^ects not only 

 conifort, but health. 



The tivst and most obvious reflection, in this con- 

 nection, relates to ventilation. Houses are often so 

 constructed that no air can find its Avay into any of 

 the rooms. The whole remedy for this is a right 

 location of windows and doors, which should be so 

 placed, with reference to each other, that a draught of 

 air may be had throUiih the house with the wind in 

 any direction. It is particularly needful to see to it, 

 so as to secure the draught at all events when the 

 wind is south or south-w'est. These winds bring a 

 suffocating heat, which, with all the air we can get, is 

 barely endurable, but which, without a drop of air, is 

 like the air of a heated oven with the oven-lid closed. 

 A north wind will find its way into the house at all 

 events. The east wind should also be afforded a 

 passage through the house, since it often blows 

 while the sun is intensely hot, and serves to brace 

 the system, so as to make the time of its prevalence, 

 within doors, eminentlj' pleasant. These remarks 

 apply to this lake shore, but it is possible that else- 

 where they may not hold ; but they will serve to put 

 the reader on the track of the truth in any locality. 



Another observation is, -that verandas eminently 

 become our western country ; as do wide overhang- 

 ing roofs, keeping the sun off the wall of the build- 

 ing, and serving to temper the air of the rooms. — 

 Venetian blinds are also a great luxury. A set of 

 these will cool a room several degrees during the 

 heat of the sun ; at the same time they shade it to 

 any desired degree of light. Houses in the country 

 are destitute of these blinds very extensively from 

 the impression that they are merely an ornament — a 

 notion very far from truth. 



Then, again, in the way of building materials. It 

 is a truth, that a house warm in winter will bo cool 

 in summer, from the fact that its walls are poor con- 

 ductors of heat, and will as readily impede its transit 

 one way as the other. A thin, rickety wood wall, 

 with one coat of plaster, will be hot in summer and 

 cool in winter. It is to be wished that unburnt clay 

 might be tried more fully than it has, even thoiigh it 

 be covered outside with boards. It is a non-con- 

 ductor, and might conduce to comfort most essen- 

 tially. 



Another matter is the shape of our windows. We 

 make them too short and too wide. They thus 

 serve to heat the house in the summer much more 

 than they ought. A long, narrow window will let 

 in as much light as is needed, and will admit far less 

 heat than one of the opposite shape. 



Much might be said about shading the house with 

 trees and vines. This may be carried to excess ; and 

 yet our clhnate, where the soil is dry, will admit 

 more shade than an English or New England one, 

 without the risk of dampness and the diseases which 

 result from it. — Prairie Farmer. 



In our paper of September 15, we gave the asses- 

 sors' returns for thirty-six counties, which showed a 

 falling off since last year of about 200,000 head. — 

 Complete returns have been received by the auditor 

 of state, for all the counties except Mahoning ; and 

 putting down that county with the same average 

 ratio of decrease as the others, the deficiency for the 

 whole state is, in round numbers, 275,000 head. This, 

 though not as great as we had anticipated from the 

 counties before given, will be found to affect the sur- 

 plus to a very material degi'ee — perhaps 50 per cent., 

 as we notice that the greatest falling off is in those 

 counties where the largest numbers are usually fed 

 and sold. — Ohio Cultivator. 



SCARCITY OF HOGS IN OHIO. 



We perceive thiit the pork and hog dealers at Cui- 

 clnnati are beginning to discover that the number of 

 hogs to be sold in Ohio this year is far less than the 

 past one ; and in conscciuence, the price of hogs has 

 advanced about $1 per hundred pound:?, during the 

 past two weeks. 



SCOURS IN SHEEP. 



Will any of your numerous subscribers inform the 

 readers of the Wool-Grower what will cure sheep 

 or lambs of the scours, as that disease is very com- 

 mon at this season of the year, and as yet I have 

 found no cure ? Yours, 



LUTHER BOYD. 



The scours is a kind of ardent purging or dian-hcea, 

 brought about by sudden changes of food, and ex- 

 posure to rough weather. The best and surest rem- 

 edy against the evil, under all circumstances, is known 

 by the name of English "Sheep's Cordial," and is 

 prepared as follows : Take of prepai'ed chalk, one 

 ounce ; powdered catechu, half an ounce ; powdered 

 ginger, two drachms ; and powdered opium, half a 

 drachm : mix them with half a pint of peppermint 

 water. Give two or three tablespoonfuls morning 

 and night to a grown sheep, and half that quantity 

 to a lamb. 



Mr. Kandall, in his excellent work on sheep hus- 

 bandry, gives the following simple remedj' : "If 

 the purging is severe, and especially if any mucus is 

 observed with the fseces, the feculent matter should 

 be removed from the bowels by a gentle cathartic — 

 as half a drachm of rhubarb, or an ounce of Imseed 

 oil, or half an ounce of Epsom salts to a lamb. This 

 should always be followed by an astringent, and, in 

 nine cases out of ten, the latter will serve in the lirst 

 instance. I generally administer, say one quarter 

 ounce of prepared chalk in half a pint of tepid milk, 

 once a day for two or three days, at the end of which, 

 and frequently after the first dose, the purging will 

 have ordinarily abated or entirely ceased." 



AxoTKER Remedy for the Scours. — AVe find in 

 one of our exchanges the following remedy against 

 that disease, which may be valuable to our corre- 

 spondents : — 



"In scours, the surface evaporates too little of the 

 moisture, and should be relaxed by diffusible stimu- 

 lants in the form of ginger tea. The treatment that 

 I have found the most successful is as follows : — 

 Take four ounces raw linseed oil ; two ounces of lime 

 water ; mux. Let this quantity be given to a sheep 

 on the first appearance of the above disease ; half 

 the quantity will suffice for a lamb. Give about a 

 wine-glass full of ginger tea at intervals of four 

 hours. Let the animal be fed on gruel, or mashes 

 of ground meal. If the above treatment fails to 

 arrest the disease, add half a teaspoonful of pow- 

 dered bayberry bark to each wine-glass of tea. If 

 the extremities are cold, rub them with the tincture 

 of capsicum. 



"The feeding of pine boughs we have formerly 

 practised, and think to be useful. Pine has a revul- 

 sive action on the skin, is stimulant and diuretic, and, 

 if used occasionally, might be the means of prevent- 

 ing many forms of disease in animals." — Wool- Grower. 



