NEW ENGl^AND FARMER. 



PUBLIS HED BY GEO. C. BARRETT, NO . M, NORTH MARKET STREET, (at the Agricultural Warehouse.)^. G. FESSt^ EN, EDITOR. 

 VOL. XI. ^~ ~ ~ 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL 17, 1833. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



For the New EnvUind Fanner. 

 SWINE DEVOtlRING THEIR OFFSPRING, &c. 



Dear Sir, — 1 noticed in your ]>aijei- of tlie 20ll) 

 of March, an inquiry of one of your Constant 

 readers for the cause of the unnatural and disgusting 

 practice of sows destroyiug their oftsuriiig soon 

 after farrowing, and if you knew of any jnethod 

 to guard against it. Yon inalte some reference to 

 the Fanner's Assutant, Banister's Husbandry, and 

 to a conuiiunication in the 5th volume oF your 

 paper, from the Hon. Oliver Fiske , and give e.x- 

 tracts from the three authorities. You also invite 

 any of your correspondents, or friends to agricul- 

 ture ; to communicate any thing wliich they may 

 think causes the evil, or may in any way tend to 

 remove or even mitigate it. For more Jiau thirty 

 jears I have kept swine on my farm, ind for a 

 numher of years met with these vexatijus losses, 

 which led me to pay more attention to tie animals 

 previous to their farrowing, and fouid, almost 

 without an exception, that they sufleredfiom cos- 

 tiveness for three, four or five weeks; an] infiam- 

 niation was sometimes very evident, in soiie much 

 more than others; with those most afticted it 

 more frctjucntly hai)pened that the fevei raged 

 and a violent frenzy came en, the eyes wid, the 

 jaws striking violently together, and if the [:?rson 

 wlio fed tlicm attempted to get into tlie pen Wjuld 

 fly at him with greit fury, and it was diflicu* te 

 keep her off with a good stick or c!ub, alth<*t(jp. 

 previous to this the anima! appeared to know iiim 

 and be fond of his approach (when without a swill 

 pail), and crouched when he lubbed her with a 

 stick or brush, and very soon lay down and seem- 

 ed disposed to sleep under the operation. The 

 frenzy seemed to commence its violence about the 

 time of parturition, and the progeny was de- 

 stroyed sometimes before they had crawled to suck 

 I was very soon satisfied that costiveness was at 

 least one cause of the frenzy, and determined to 

 take measures to guard against it, and accordingly 

 the next season I directed flour of brimstone, given 

 to sows five weeks before they were expected to 

 farrow; a large table spoon heaped full was givei 

 two and three times every week 'in a pail of swill 

 or wash of the house (as it is sometimes called), 

 with a little wheat bran stirred into it, but no 

 meal; if the effect desired was not produced in- 

 creased moderately the brimstone and added a 

 few raw potatoes, as they answer the purpose oC 

 aiding the medicine better than when boiled — 

 when this has been strictly attended to I have 

 thought the pigs were saved, and lost only when 

 it was neglected. 



I never knew a sow to destroy her pigs that 

 run at large, ate grass in the roads, got at the 

 ground aiid rooted when and where she pleased : 

 the early litters are more frequently destroyed 

 than those that come later. The sows fur the 

 early litters are mostly put in pens the first jiart of 

 winter, the yards, generally, small and soon cov- 

 ered with the wet straw an<l litter from the pens, 

 which is frozen hard during winter and canno; 

 decompose till tossed over in the spring so that 

 the pigs if let out of their pea in winter (I mean 



I the breeding sows) cannot get at any earth to 

 root and champ over, vvhich I believe is neces- 

 sary for them, certainly serviceable. 



I agree that all animals should be treated kindly 

 .by those to whom the care of them is committed, 

 I they certainly do better for .such treatment. I 

 J cannot, however, consider the difficulty of which 

 your reader and correspondent complains arises 

 I ti-om any other cause than disease brought on in 

 I part if not wholly by obstructions in the intestines 

 which ol'tens end in frenzy and absolute derange- 

 ment. 



1 measured my corn and tap rooted vegetables 

 the growth of last season, had the ground careful- 

 ly and correctly surveyed as I believe, the crop I 

 tliought good, better than any I saw within thirty 

 miles; it was spoken of as very fine considering 

 the season, by all I heard speak of it, yet when I 

 came to ineasure the land, and the crop which I 

 made as much of as I could fairly — I was afraid to 

 venture a public exposure of the facts, they are so 

 very very ft>r short of premium crops, that attpear 

 to be substantiated by the most solemn declaration 

 of good men. 



By ihe Editor. We are sorry that the able and 

 experienced author of the above has prohibited us 

 from givicg his name to the public; but can assure 

 our readers that his statements n!ay be depended 

 on, aiid his name would add weight to his valuable 

 communication. 



NO. 40. 



^j.- the Neiv England Farmer. 

 REL.IEF OF CHOKED CATTLE. 



y^R. Fessesdkn. ,S'iV, — I observed in year 

 last paper, a conuiiunication from the Maine Far- 

 mer, relative to the preparation of a rope for the 

 purpose of removing substances lodged in the 

 throat of animals. I am always pleased to see 

 any advance towards the alleviation of animal suf- 

 fering, and I believe it the duty of every benevolent 

 man to e.xert all his talents in search of knowledge 

 which will tend to relieve the distress and re- 

 .store the health of unfortunate suflerers; to ob- 

 tain these desirable ends it is indispensable that 

 we should interchange opinions and promulgate 

 tiie results as extensively and frequently as possible. 

 We are very much indebted to your liberality in 

 opening the columns of your valuable and widely 

 extended paper for the discussion of so many use- 

 ful topics ; and I hope persons who have in 

 their possession any information which is of 

 service in the cure or prevention of diseases, &c., 

 in animals, will freely contribute it to the already 

 valuable stock in the former numbers of your 

 paper. 



When any substance is lodged at the top of the 

 gullet, it may, generally, be removed by the fingers 

 or a pair of forceps, but when it is lower there is 



no way but to push it down into the stomach 



with a tarred rope as suggested in the communica- 

 tion alluded to, but I would here propose an 

 amendment, by covering the rope thus prepared 

 with silk or cloth and before introducing it let it 

 be well greased or oiled. But what I should con- 

 sider still prei'erable, let it be covered with gum 

 elastic which can be done with a very trifling ex- 

 pense ; and surely no good farmer would let fifty 



cents prevent his being the owner of one of these 

 valuable instruments. , 



While reading the above notice a gentleman 

 remarked that he knew of an instance when neces- 

 sity led to the following singular plan for relieving 

 an animal who was nearly exhausted by choking 

 with an apple; the animal was cast upon straw, a 

 block was procured and placed under the apple as 

 It remained in the throat and by a blow with a 

 mallet the apple was crushed and the animal im- 

 mediately relieved. IIu.manity. 



Aprils, 1833. 



For the. Neiit E,i^/,md Farmer. 

 HIGH BUSHED CRANBERRIES. 



Mr. Fesse.nden, — Can any of your readers in- 

 form me whether they know of the high bushed 

 cranberry, and where any of it grows, and if so 

 whellier it can be obtained in any considerable 

 quandty.' It grows, I believe, from six to eight or 

 ten feet high, and has a leaf shaped somewhat like 

 a goose's foot. It is an extensively valuable medi- 

 cinal plant — although "its virtues are very little 

 knowt. 



If aiy of your readers are acquainted with any 

 localityof the plant they will benefit the public, 

 and peAaps benefit themselves by finding a good 

 market br a quantity, by sending a communication 

 to the N.E. Farmer. N. D. 



PortlaU, March, 1833. 



For the New England Farirur. 

 CHJEn"? COKCERNING BONNET GRASS. 



Mr. FiSSEKLtN. Sir, — Have the goodness to 

 inform me through the medium of the New Eng- 

 land Farmer, the best and cheapest method of 

 raising lonnet grass so called — also state what 

 kind of land is the most suitable, time of sowing, 

 &c. &c. Yours, A Subscriber. 



April, 5, 1833. 



TiETIV YORK AGRICULiTURAL. SCHOOLi. 



Ws regret that our limits do not permit us to 

 give at length the proceedings which have been 

 lately instituted in New York, for the purpose of 

 giving the youth of that State such an education 

 as may best qualify them for agricultural pursuits. 

 A pamphlet, in our possession, received by the 

 kindness of Judge Buel, shall be at the senice of 

 any person, who wishes to peruse or copy it. We 

 will give a few extracts indicative of the spirit per- 

 vading the documents alluded to and the motives 

 of those with whom they originated. 



In Senate, March 18, 1833. Sudam from the 

 select committee to which was referred the memo- 

 rial of the N. Y. State Agr. Soc. presented a long 

 and able report from which the following are ex- 

 tracts. 



" It will be conceded that there is no portion of 

 the community more entitled to the fostering care 

 of the Legislature than the tillers of the soil. The 

 farmers of the State of New York are a class nu- 

 merous, wealthy, industrious, patriotic, devoted to 

 our republican institutions, and cherishing with a 

 holy spirit the union of our States. Their po- 

 litical exertions are not called forth by a desire of 

 any great portion of their own body for legislatiTe 



