366 



NEW ENGLAND FARRIER. 



Aug. 



mended above, or one composed of a part of the 

 materials mentioned, might prove beneficial. We 

 have much faith in the free use of pure cold water 

 in all euch cases. A decoction of 4 ounces of 

 worm\vood in 2 quarts of scalding vinegar, applied 

 cold is recommended by Dr. Dadd for strain in the 

 hips, and would perhaps be beneficial in case of 

 stifle. For deeply seated strains, Mr. Cole recom- 

 mends : Spirits of turpentine, half a pint ; oil of 

 organum, half an ounce ; olive oil, a pint and a 

 half; cantharides, half an ounce; mixed together 

 in a bottle. Rub in, morning and night. Should 

 it produce redness and tenderness, reduce by add- 

 ing olive oil. 



CVRING HAY, SALT AND LIME. 



Mr. Browx : — I noticed in the New England 

 Farmer, under date of August 17, 1867, an im- 

 proved method to me, of curing hay, viz. : four 

 quarts of lime and two quarts of salt. It appeared 

 Irom the same paper, that you also put down one 

 square in the same way. Please state the partic- 

 ulars in regard to the value of the hay, compared 

 with that cured by the common mode. What be- 

 comes of the lime ? Is it all taken up by the hay, 

 and therefore into the animals' stomachs ? If so, 

 are such quantities of lime good for animals ? 



Fitchburg, Mass., June 2, 1868. E. Graham. 



Remarks. — The grass upon which we put the 

 salt and lime was cut upon a* lawn, was not more 

 than five inches high, very juicy, and consequently 

 difiicult to cure. • It was dried as well as the 

 weather would permit, but when put into the barn 

 was damp and heavy. The lime and salt mixture 

 was added as the hay was stowed away. On ex- 

 amining it several times, no heat or musty smell 

 was found. It was fed out in March, and the cat- 

 tle ate it freely. It had not, however, the sweet 

 and fragrant odoi;that well made hay usually has. 

 We should recommend th^ use of the lime and 

 Bait only where it is found necessary to put hay 

 into the barn imperfectly cured. Nothing can add 

 value to the richness and flavor of English hay 

 that is well made. 



A lot of grass cut from the same lawn about 

 fourteen days previously was dried out of doors 

 as well as the unfavorable condition ot the weather 

 would permit, was taken to the barn and spread 

 over the empty floor and scaff"olds, but in spite of 

 frequent turning and attention, grew musty, and 

 was essentially injured. 



The salt and lime probably attract the moisture 

 ia the hay to themselves. When the hay was fed 

 out, some portion of the lime was found to fall 

 out in a fine dust, while pitching it over. 



A correspondent of the Ulica Herald, Mr E. 

 Lampher, of West Martinsburgh, N. Y., who used 

 "less than a bushel of lime on forty tons of hay," 

 put in the bays two years ago, while that in sheds 

 was not limed, says that the limed hay came out 

 all bright, but dusty. Stock cat it well, but when 

 his cows come in, in the spring, they did not give 

 as much milk as they lid the spring before, or this 

 spring, although they were messed with better 

 grain for milk than they have been this spring. 



One of his horses has the heaves, and cannot work 

 on the limed hay without wetting, while other hay 

 affects it very little ; his other horse has no heaves 

 nor cough, but can eat the limed hay but a few 

 days without coughing badly. He has some of 

 the hay now, but cannot feed without wetting. In 

 this case it appears that the lime was used without 

 salt. 



COOKING FOOD FOR CATTLE. 



It appears to me that extravagant statements are 

 occasionally puhli^hod in agricultural papers in re- 

 spect to the advantai^'es of cutting and cooking 

 fodder for animals. In the Monthly Farmer for 

 December last, page 572, there is a brief report of 

 the discussion of tliis subject at one of the even- 

 ing meetings held during the New York State Ag- 

 ricultural Fair at Bulfalo, last fall. Some consid- 

 ered two bushels ot; steamed fodder berter than 

 three uncooked. One said that by cooking, the 

 value of food was doubled ; another that it was 

 trippled. Supposing the lowest estimate to l)e the 

 true one, what a pity that farmers generally are 

 not convinced of it. What an immense gain to 

 save even one-third of our fodder. It would very 

 sensibly lower the price of hay. Why do not 

 some of our agricultural societies or agricultural 

 colleges decide this matter by accurate experi- 

 ments ? Is it not their appropriate business ? 



Derri/, N. H., Mat/, 1868. e. b. 



Remarks. — The medical college, the theological 

 seminary, and the scientific school have failed to 

 settle questions on which men disagree in medi- 

 cine, divinity and science. Why, then, should we 

 expect the agricultural college to be more success- 

 ful In harmonizing the "many minds" of farmers ? 

 No, friend "B," the agricultural college may do 

 much good ; it may train the "head to save the 

 heels ;" it may compel chemistry and geology and 

 many other sciences to put their "shoulder to the 

 wheel" of the farmer's cart, and to prepare the 

 manure for his impoverished soil, — but it will 

 never do the thinking for the men who have the 

 granite of New Hampshire in their bones, the air 

 of the Green Mountains in their lungs, the sunrise 

 of Maine in their eyes, or the memory of the Pil- 

 grim Fathers, or of Roger Williams in their hearts. 

 The agricultural college may stimulate inquiry, 

 investigation, and experiment ; but it will never 

 supersede the necessity of individual thought and 

 experiment. 



DEEP PLOUGHING. 



I wish to inquire through your paper about deep 

 ploughing; wlictlier eighteen inches are not better 

 than twelve would be on most soils ? 



IVeston, Vt., June Sth, 1868. E. A. Moore. 



Remarks. — Very few farmers plough anything 

 like twelve inches deep, and yet among all those 

 who practice shallow ploughing there is not a sin- 

 gle one probably that would not like a rich soil 

 even eighteen inches deep. But will ploughing 

 alone secure such a soil ? Many of our agricul- 

 tural teachers seem to think so, and advocate uni- 

 versal'decp ploughing. In his new edition of Ele- 

 ments of Agriculture, Mr. Waring says, "the ad- 

 vantages of deep ploughing cannot be too strongly 



