378 



NEW ENGLAND FAR^MER. 



Aug. 



As the saccharine matter which is thns deposited 

 in the roots, or in the all)umen, or in the joints of 

 plants, iiiiist lie diluted by the moisture absorbed 

 from the earth l\y their roots, we understand why 

 the leaves of the lower branches of trees arc first 

 expanded, as seen decidedly in the hawthorn 

 hediics in April, as these must first receive the as- 

 cending sap-.juice, as was observed by Dr. Walker 

 in his account of the maple." 



FOOT ROT IN COWS. 



In some sections this disease seems to be 

 increasing among our dairy cattle. We have 

 heard of many valuable cows being affected 

 with it this season. It does not seem to be 

 confined to any particular season of the year, 

 or method of keeping. A neighbor asked us 

 this morning, June 17th, what he should do 

 for a fine young cow, quite lame with foot rot. 

 She has been in a good pasture three or four 

 weeks, and is in good condition. It has been 

 in some of our herds through the entire win- 

 ter. Various remedies are resorted to, with 

 more or less success. Oil of vitriol, — sulphu- 

 ric acid, — is the established remedy in the foot 

 rot of sheep, and we believe seldom fails, when 

 seasonably and properly applied. ' This is very 

 often used in the foot rot in cows, and though 

 a severe remedy is commonly successful. 

 Blue vitriol, pulverized and sprinkled en the 

 part affected, or made into a strong solution, 

 and applied with a swab, is used extensively. 

 White vitriol — sulphate of zinc — is used, and 

 in mild cases, with good success. The parts 

 should be well cleansed, and the remedy thor- 

 oughly applied, and repeated daily until the in- 

 ilammation and swelling subside, and the parts 

 assume a healthy aspect, and afterward they 

 should be applied occasionally as needed. 



Oil of spike, procured from the Lavandula 

 Spica, a variety of wild lavender, spirits of 

 turpentine and tar, are among the common rem- 

 edies, and they are all sometimes successful. 



Poultices of bran and flaxseed meal, applied 

 warm, are often useful in allaying the swelling 

 and relieving the pain. The pain is often so 

 great as to cause a good deal of fever, and to 

 dry up the milk. Cows affected with the dis- 

 ease will stand for hours in water in the pas- 

 ture, where they can have access to it. It 

 probably allays the heat and pain. 



After the swelling is abated, any of the 

 above remedies may be used. It will be ob- 

 served that they are all highly stimulating and 

 irritating to the skin. ♦The oil of vitriol and 

 the blue vitriol are even caustic, when applied 



in their full strength, which they never should 

 be, unless it is necessary to eat away a por- 

 tion of dead flesh. The origin of this disease 

 is obscure, and it is a debated question whether 

 it is contagious. When it gets into a herd it 

 is apt to extend, and it often happens that one 

 or more of the cows will be troubled through 

 the whole season, and sometimes they will be 

 attacked a second time. 



A Mr. Whitman suggests, in the New York 

 Tribune, that it is caused by an insect burrow- 

 ing under the skin, as the acarus or itch insect 

 causes the itch, and that the proper remedy is 

 one that will destroy the burrowing insect, and 

 prescribes a remedy that is successful in cur- 

 ing the itch, and is the best remedy we have 

 ever found for scratches in horses. 



The remedy is the red precipitate, or pe- 

 roxide of mercury, made into an ointment 

 with lard, one ounce of the powder made very 

 fine, rubbed up with four ounces of lard. 

 This is applied to the part, and rubbed or 

 heated in by holding a hot iron near it. When 

 the disease is between the claws, a string may 

 be smeared with it and drawn between them. 

 One thorough application is generally success- 

 ful, but it should be repeated until it is effec- 

 tual. This is also a powerful stimulant, and 

 whether the disease is of insect origin or not, 

 we have no doubt will prove useful. If a 

 more careful investigation should prove the 

 disease to have such an origin, this remedy 

 will be a specific for it. This and other prep- 

 arations of mercury are the most effectual 

 remedies itiown for all parasites affecting the 

 flesh and skin of both animals and men. 



IMPROVEMENT OF STOCK. 

 We learn by the Rutland, Yt., Herald that 

 Mr. Daniel Kimball, of Clarendon, Vt., hav- 

 ing kept his thoroughbred Short-horn bull, 

 Mogul, as long as he thinks expedient to keep 

 one animal, has recently sold him to S. D. 

 Townshend and H II. Waldo, of Walling- 

 ford, Vt. Mogul was bred by L. J. Wright, 

 of Weybridge, is of a red roan, and weighs 

 about 2300 lbs. .So well satisfied is INIr. Kim- 

 ball with Mogul's stock that he very willingly 

 agreed to donate to the use of the Wallingford 

 or some other agricultural association the sum 

 of S-JOO, provided that after the use of Mogul 

 for five years the farmers in that section do 

 not acknowledse that he has benefited their 



