No. 16. 



Ringbone. 



307 



not yet been told, as the reader would at once 

 perceive, if he should visit the spot, particu- 

 larly in strawberry time, which will soon ar- 

 rive after this communication emanates from 

 the press. He will there see as many straw- 

 berries as will sell for $600; cabbag-es, lima- 

 beans, early potatoes, asparagus and tomatoes 

 growing close to, and resting on the fences, 

 and in fact every other kind of frait and vege- 

 table that is sold in the market, of the earliest 

 growth and in the highest state of perfection. 

 It is not easy to get a dinner at one of our 

 best hotels, or on board any ofour large steam- 

 boats, without paying tribute to my worthy 

 friend, the gardener, who riclily deserves all 

 he gets, as a reward for his intelligence, his 

 indefatigable industry, and his sound econo- 

 my. But to conclude, he is now worth enough, 

 afterthe toil ofnear fifty years, to purchase five 

 of the best ships belonging to this port, all ob- 

 tained without the taint of speculation of any 

 kind, but by honest industry directed by 

 sound intelligence ; and all this has procced- 

 ed,primarily from he and his wife, botli pulling 

 at the same end of the rope, and by his being 

 "kind to the soil." West, 



Philada., Apri!, 1838. 



For tlie rarincvs' Cabinet. 



Kiasgboaie. 



Mcthinks it must excite involuntary feel- 

 ings of pride, in the breast of every Chester 

 Countyan, to observe how many of the wri- 

 ters in the Cabinet, hail from this "home of 

 agriculture." But tho.se feelings may have 

 been somewhat ailoyed on finding that there 

 is a little too much lunacy among us. 



I did not remember that horses, were 

 among the strange animals, which the celebra- 

 ted John Herschell, recently discovered in 

 the moon, by means of his newly invented 

 oxy-hydrogen telescope. Nor did I know, 

 till the reception of a late number of the Cab- 

 inet, that any intelligence of the veterinary 

 art in that distant luminary, had yet arrived 

 at our earth. Even yet I am left to conjec- 

 ture how or by whom we have received the 

 method of curing ring-bone in the moon. 

 Has some lunarian just returned from plant- 

 ing cucumbers or potatoes — or gathering his 

 crop — bringing the interesting intelligence 

 with him ] For you know that the moon is 

 a sort of common truck-jnitch for every luna- 

 rian. 



The remedy recommended by a German 

 for the cure of ring-bone (Cabinet, vol. ii. p. 

 181) is rational enough when divested of its 

 lunacy. It would be much better that reme- 

 dies should be recommended on principle and 

 according to their intrinsic value — and not 

 by the imaginary influences of the moon or of 

 aster-ology. The time has come when as- 

 trology should be discarded. Men and other 



animals are not now as formerly born under 

 the benign or malign influence of a govern- 

 ing planet, nor are the less important events 

 of their future lives under the relentless 

 government of a ruling aster or star. 



In this generation of anti's, I fear that many 

 ofour anti-lunarians would rather allow their 

 poor horsds to "limp on to the end of their 

 journey" than undertake an equestrian jour- 

 ney to the moon tor their recovery. It is for 

 tiie especial accommodation of these anti's at 

 home that the following remarks are penned. 



Every one is tluniliar with the general ap- 

 pearance and seat of ringbone. Its more 

 precise character may not be so well under- 

 stood. The foot of tlie horse consists of three 

 bones which lie below the great pastern or 

 fetlock joint? The first or pastern bone lies 

 between the grent and little pastern joints — 

 the second or coronet bone lies next and is ar- 

 ticulated with the last or coffin bone just 

 within' the upper edge of the hoof. This 

 last bone lies entirely within the hoof, and in 

 shape resembles the foot externally. Tlie 

 middle of these three, the coronet bone, ap- 

 pears to be the primary seat of ringbone. In 

 cases of long continuance it may extend to 

 the pastern and coffin bones. It consists of 

 a bony cumor growing from the surface of 

 the bone and rendering the motions of the 

 joints difficult and painful. It may probably 

 be produced either by sprains and bruises, or 

 by hereditary predisposition. 



The remedies which have proved most suc- 

 cessful in the cure of ringbone are such as 

 produce severe irritation on and copious dis- 

 charges from the surface of the tumor. 

 Among these are all powerful stimulants as 

 turpentine, oil of orgiganum, oil of spike, all 

 the blistering and caustic applications — and 

 even the red hot iron. 



In the incipient stages of the disease the 

 more mild remedies will often succeed ; but 

 when it has acquired inveteracy from dura- 

 tion it will sometimes resist the most power- 

 ful means, unless perseveringly employed tor 

 a length of time. 



The aquafortis, which a German recon)- 

 mends is of a caustic nature — and will act 

 more or less severe according to tlie manner 

 of its employment. Applied so liberally as 

 he recommends and aided by the heat of the 

 rye cake it would probably be unnecessarily 

 severe for recent cases. When milder means 

 have failed, and not till then, it should have a 

 fair trial. But the owner may choose his 

 own time and place to apply the remedy, for 

 I will venture the assertion that aqua fortis 

 will prove equally irritating, equally caustic, 

 when applied to the skin of the horse at any 

 other time as it would do "on the first day of 

 last quarter of the moon." And moreover, 

 it will prove quite as efficacious in curing 



