'282 



r^EW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[April 1, 



■which converts the sulphate into a manure." We 

 have seen drained swamps which disappointed the ex- 

 pectations of the husbandman, though the soil was 

 black and apparently fertile, and liave no doubt that 

 its barrenness was owing to salts of iron, as the water 

 that flowed from it was covered with that kind of scum 

 ■which denotes the presence of iron. In this case a 

 bushel of quick lime would be worth more than tons 

 of barn yard manure for making the soil productive. 

 Chemical analysis would also furnish data for ascer- 

 taining whether plaisler or lime would prove useful as 

 manure. According to Sir Humphry Davy, all soils 

 which do not naturally contain plaister would receive 

 benefit from its application. 



Something of the kind suggested by our correspon- 

 dent might be united with other objects, specified in a 

 Taluable paper, published in the Massachusetts Agri- 

 cultural Repository for June 1824, and re-published in 

 the current volume of the New England Farmer, page 

 4 — " On the importance and practicability of procur- 

 ing and publishing agricultural surveys of the several 

 counties of this State." 

 ■ I 

 PHILADELPHIA SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING AGRICULTDRE. 



Stated meeting, March 16, 1825. — Dr Mease, 

 Vice President, in the chair ; the Collowing coni- 

 muDications were read — 



1. The answer of General Lafayette to tlie 

 address of the Society, presented to him by Mr 

 Breck, Representative in Congress from Phila- 

 delphia County, and a member of the Society, 

 with his certilicate of honorary membership 

 of the Society. 



2. A letter to the chairman from Benjamin 

 Harrison of Berkeley, Charles-Cily County, Vir- 

 ginia, dated January 21, 1825, in reply lo a let- 

 ter addressed to him, respecting a cure which 

 it was understood he had eflected of that fatal 

 disease, the Bloodij Murrain in cattle, by a 

 drench of the intusion of cedar berries. The 

 medicine was tried upon the sugpreslion of Mr 

 Jones of Gloucester, V'a. A <|iiart of the infusion, 

 confaininsf ah""' '"•"'a jjjnt of the berries, was 

 j,;..^,. at a time ; and in nearly every case, the 

 good effects were almost inslanlaneous ; a con- 

 siderable discharge from the bladder and bow- 

 els followed, and in five or ten minutes' lime, 

 the animal began lo eat. In nineteen cases out 

 of twenty, a perfect cure was effected. In many 

 cases the drench was repealed four or five times. 

 So rapid was the progress of the disease, (hat 

 cattle were found dead in the fields without the 

 owners having any apprehensions of their being 

 sick. As a preventive, Mr William Minge, of 

 James River, informed Mr Harrison of the use 

 of a mixture of clay, salt, (in the common pro- 

 portion for stock,) tar and powdered brimstone. 

 For filly head, one gallon of tar, and half a pound 

 of brimslone, per week, were employed. These 

 ingredients were put in a trough to which the 

 cattle had free access. The disease it appears 

 IS endemic* in Virginia, particularly in the dis- 

 iricts bordering on tide water, and is highly con- 

 tagious. The farmers of the' United States will 

 liave good reason to thatdv Mr Harrison for the 

 communication of an effectual cure for a disease 

 which has destroyed thousands of cadle in the 

 United Stales. In 1819 it prevailed with great 

 mortality in Chester countv. Some papers on 



* ICndcmic diseases are those that exist in a country 

 trom causes connected with it, as the fever and ague 

 in marshy districts. " 



the subject will appear in the fifth volume of 

 Memoirs of the Society, now in press by Abm. 

 Small. 



3. A letter to the Chairman from Dr Kerche- 

 val, of Bard's town, Kentucky, in reply to one 

 requesting some exjdanation and further account 

 of a fatal disease that prevailed among horses 

 and horned cattle in that vicinity, and described 

 by Dr Kercheval in the Medical Recorder of 

 Philadelphia, vol 4th, p. 445. — The external 

 symptom of the disease, was a swelling some- 

 times originating in the throat, but generally at 

 the breast, extending along the sides to the 

 flanks, and uniting across the loins. These 

 swellings were soft and elastic, and after death 

 were found to contain grumous blood, and co- 

 agulated lymph. The blood was in some in- 

 stances so dissolved, as to transude the skin. — 

 The progress of the disease was very rapid. — 

 Cattle brought up to the fold in (he morning ap- 

 parently well, died before noon: and many that 

 were feeding in the evening were found dead 

 in the morning. A serious peculiaiity of the 

 disease was, the communication of the virus or 

 morbid matter generated in the body of the an- 

 imal to those persons who flayed the animals 

 that had died of it. From a small and circum- 

 scribed vesicle, containing a dark and turbid flu- 

 id, a malignant and destroying ulcer was form- 

 ed which cruied in a mortification of the part, 

 and was accompanied by chills and fever, severe 

 pains in file joints, and along (he course of (he 

 spine, and prostration of the vital powers. De- 

 lirium and death followed. No remedy is men- 

 tioned ("or the disease in the brute animal. In 

 the human subject, stimulating applications, 

 consisting of carbonate of [lotash, and solutions 

 of sal ammoniac, in vinegar, to the parts alTecl- 

 ed, after removing the dead flesh, and bark in- 

 ternally, were successfully ajiplied and given. 



4. A pajier on (he hoof disease of horned 

 cattle, by the chairman. This disease was 

 shown by facts communicated by the late Jo- 

 seph Cooper, of New Jersey, by William Rusli. 

 an extensive grazier, late of Philadelphia, and 

 others, to proceed from the use, by the stock, 

 of hay made of the poa viridis, green or spear 

 grass, growing on meadows which were de- 

 prived of (heir accustomed supply of water, in 

 consequence of which (he seeds of (he grass 

 became alTected with ergot, similar (o (hat 

 which appears in rye. The disease appeared 

 to great extent in Orange County, New York. 

 in (he years 1818 and 1820, and has been de- 

 scribed by Dr Arnell, of (hat county. Dr A. 

 mentions the prevalence of the disease, also, in 

 Blooming Grove, New York ; the very place in 

 which Dr Rush had seen the disease during the 

 very dry summer of the year 1793. The grass 

 was the produce of bog meado-^ soil. The 

 same effects followed the use of the diseased 

 hay by the cattle, as were observed to take 

 place in France in persons who ate bread made 

 from the flour of rye, which was affected with 

 ergot [for particul.'irs, see the 3d vol. of Me- 

 moirs of (he Philadelphia Agricultural Society] 

 viz : The loss of hoofs in cattle, and mortifica- 

 tion of the feet in the human subject. The 

 remedies, which Dr Arnell found efleclual, 

 were stimulating ajiplications to (he feet, such 

 as, 1st. poultices of soap, rye flour, and salt; 

 2d. a wash of beef brine, applied several times 

 a day, and rubbing feet wi(h an ointment made 

 of the plant bitter sweet. These applicaiioDS 



enabled the part to throw off the disease. Of 

 the cattle thus treated, only one lost its hoofs. 

 An obvious preventive is to avoid the use of 

 hay affected with ergot. Early cutting of the 

 grass should be attended to. 



Report was made, and heard with satisfac- 

 tion, of (he increased circulation of the Alma- 

 nack annually published since (he year 1817, 

 by S. W. Conrad, on the suggestion of this So- 

 ciety, and for which the short papers on agri- 

 cultural and economical subjects, are communi- 

 cated by its members : four thousand copies of 

 the .Mmanac for this year have been sold. 



The old and steady friend of (he socieiy and 

 liberal patron of our benevolent institutions 

 Robert Barclay, of Berry Hill, England, present- 

 ed through the President an elegant and use- 

 ful work, (he '<■ Ilortus Gramineus Woburnensis," 

 or an accoun( of (he comparative nu(rition con- 

 tained in the grasses commonly cultivated in 

 England, illustrated by coloured engravings of 

 them. The experiments were carried on at 

 Woburn Alibey, (he sea( of (he Duke of Bedford, 

 by bis gardener, Mr Sinclair. The firs( report 

 on this subject appeared in (he Appendix to Sir 

 Humphry Davy's Agricultural Chemistry. The 

 care and trouble required in the conducting of 

 these experiments, must have been immense, 

 and (he in(elligence and praclical knowledge 

 exhibited by (he author are apparent through- 

 out the work. 



At the meeting preceding the last, another 

 munilicent friend in Scotland, (who desires his 

 name lo be concealed) made his annual offering 

 of friendship, by presenting the 6th Vol. of the 

 Transections of the Highland Society ef Scot- 

 land. The preceding volumes had been regu- 

 larly forivarded by the same gentleman. Among 

 a number of useful papers in the work, is one 

 c«<<i(aining reports from various practical engi- 

 neers in England and Scotland, on Rail Roa'ds. 

 The voliims was immediately placed in the 

 hands of Air Carey, one of the acting committee 

 of the Pennsylvania Society for Internal Im- 

 provement, and an abstract of the contents of 

 the paper has been printed, and is now in circu- 

 lation. 



ARTICLES ABRIDGED FRO.M PROFESSOR SILLI.M.^n's 

 .lOlR.N'AL OF SCIENCE AND ARTS. 



Rocking Stone. — Dr Jacob Porter describes a 

 rocking stone in Savoy, in Berkshire county, sup- 

 posed to weigh 10 or 12 tons, which mav be 

 easily moved about live inches, by the hands or 

 a shoulder, or by standing on the summit and 



leaning the weight rA the body on one foot. 



It is of granite, and rests on "the summit of a 

 ledge, touching it in three points. Dr Porter 

 also notices a remarkable limestone rock in 

 Lanesboro, 26 feet in length and 18 in breadih 

 which res(s on ano(her rock for about 2 1-2 feet 

 having no other suppor(. 1( is immoveable. 



Acceleration of xcatcr 'a-heels. — The au(hor3 of 

 (wo letters published in the Journal remark that 

 it is a well known fact, that the velocity of wa- 

 ter wheels is greater by nigh( (han by dav. 



In the spinning of cotton, it becomes necessary 

 lo lower the gale and let on less wafer in the 

 evening than in the day time. These writers 

 are inclined toaltribute this acceleration of wa- 

 ter wheel:* to the increased pressure of (he atmos- 

 phere in the night, and one of them observes, 

 tlfat the Slime result takes place in (he winter 



