1868. 



NEW ENGLA^T) FARJ^IER. 



419 



and the branches are filled with them. Oa one 

 twig there were twenty-three puifs and five sound 

 plums. The puffs vary, as you see, from a half 

 inch to one and one-fourth inches in diameter. 

 We know of no cause or cure. Some wild cherries 

 are affected the same way. Please give us j'our 

 opinion of tiiis development. The sound piums 

 are about the size of marrow beans. 



Irasburg, VL, June 15, 1868. Z. E. Jamesox. 



Remarks. — We are unable to give any satisfac- 

 tory explanation of the condition of Mr. Jame- 

 son's plums. We observe they have no stones in 

 them. Is it owing to deficient impregnation ? Is 

 it a development of the ovary into a sort of fungus 

 or smut in the absence of the stone or seed ? 



We notice that the editor of .the Canada Far- 

 mer, whose attention has been called to the same 

 singular condition of this fruit, is also unable to 

 define or account for the disease. 



BLEEDING OR "WEEPING TREE3. 



The trunk of my Horse-chestnut tree is bleed- 

 ing badly, and I cannot divine the cause unless it 

 is Ihe work of the borer. The bark appears to be 

 broken in several places, and the sap is flowing 

 therefrom quite freely. What can I do to prevent 

 it ? A. B. 



July 20, 1868. 



Remarks. — We are unable to advise our corres- 

 pondent, but hope some of our readers will do so. 

 A similar inquiry was lately addressed to the edi- 

 tor of the Maine Farmer, in respect to what the 

 writer calls the "weeping" of an elm tree. In reply 

 the editor remarks: — "We have have seen an elm 

 upon the grounds of Wm. R. Smith, Esq., in Au- 

 gusta, that is troubled with the disease or habit of 

 "weeping," alluded to by our correspondent. On 

 the south side of the tree, about three feet from the 

 ground, the sap oozes out and trickles down the 

 bark in a constant, uninterrupted flow. When it 

 first comes out it is quite clear, but as it runs down it 

 is changed to a thick, brownish matter, about the 

 consistency of mucilage. The flowing of the tree 

 in this manner was first observed a year ago last 

 spring. It continued through the season, and 

 again commenced this spring, although the quan- 

 tity of sap that forces its way out is much less this 

 season than it was last. The tree is something over 

 a foot in diameter, is probably thirty years old, 

 and has the appearance of a healthy, vigorous grow- 

 ing tree. This is the first and only instance of 

 "weeping" in an elm tree that has come under our 

 observation. The effect is probably caused by an 

 over-supply of sap, which escapes from the tree in 

 this manner, or the course of the sap becomes in- 

 terrupted by some agency for which our knowl- 

 edge of vegetable physiology is not sufficient to 

 account." 



SICK CATTLE — CHERRY LEAF POISOJT. 



About three weeks ago, T first noticed that one 

 of my yearlJURS was sick. One of the joints in the 

 fore leg swelled nearly to the shoulder. The ani- 

 mal did not feed like the rest of the cattle. In 

 breathing, which appeared to be labored and pain- 

 ful, it made a wheezing noise. A blue sort of film 

 covered the eyeball so as to render it totally blind, 



and a yellowish, frothy, and very offensrve matter 

 was dif^charged from the mouth and nose. Hard 

 bunches rose from the shoulder to the head under 

 the hide, and the creatui;e soon died. Another has 

 commenced wheezmg in the same way. If the 

 editor of the Farmer or its readers can tell me 

 the disease or its cause, and prescribe for it at once 

 you will greatly oblige one whose stock of cattle is 

 not large, and who wishes to arrest the disease be- 

 fore they all "go for it." Azem Niles. 

 West Stoanton, VI., July 22, 1868. 



Remarks. — From the foregoing statement we 

 have little doubt that the cattle were poisoned by 

 eating cherry leaves— probably those on branches 

 broken in gathering fruit, or otherwise, and more 

 or less wilted. Articles upon the subject will be 

 found in the Monthly New England Farmer 

 for 1867, at pages 494 and 534. In the one on page 

 534, Mr. E. French, of Braintree, Mass., gives an 

 account of two cows which he saw that had eaten 

 wilted cherry leaves. One died ; the other was in 

 great agony and would probably have died had she 

 not been relieved by forcing about half a pound of 

 the soft ends of a strip of salt pork down her throat 

 till she swallowed it. His theory was that instead 

 of poisoning, the leaves being wilted, tough and in- 

 digestible, choked the animal. We think, however, 

 there can be no doubt of the 'poisonous properties 

 of the wild cherry leaves. Doses of oil, fat or 

 grease are recommended, as are also drenchings of 

 water dashed upon the animal by the bucketful. 

 But prevention is better than cure. Mr. H. C. 

 Meriam, Lowell, Mass., has had cattle poisoned 

 by eating the leaves on the cherry brought to the 

 door-yard for firewood, and advises farmers to 

 manage their cherry trees on the farm as carefully 

 as they do the arsenic in their houses. 



HORSE RACING AT FAIRS. 



To the article in the Farmer of July 18, on this 

 subject, I wish to add my heartv amen! The 

 writer expresses my own sentiments, and I be- 

 lieve the sentiments of thousands who are inter- 

 ested in the proper management of our agri- 

 cultural Fairs. Men of principle and women of 

 respectability who are willing and anxious to 

 take an active part in agricultural exhibitions, 

 and who believe they ought to be made instruc- 

 tive and beneficial to themselves and their fami- 

 lies, cannot now even visit them with a clear 

 conscience. The "pure agricultural horse-trot" 

 has opened the door to the horse-race, with its 

 train of jockeys,, gamblers, drunkards, and other 

 baser specimens of shipwrecked humanity. To 

 their performances the bulk of the money raided 

 for premiums on agricultural productions, and a 

 large part of the time assigned to their exhibition, 

 are now devoted. "For the best speed of horses 

 one thousand dollars," "for the best tmir of work- 

 ing oxen, twenty-five dollars," which I copy from a 

 "List of Premiums" now before me shows the way 

 in which the money goes that farmers contribute to 

 promote agricultural Fairs, and which they pay at 

 the gate as admission fees. 



Let the programme be changed ; but not to the 

 exclusion of the horse show. That noble animal 

 is just now acting too important a part in our 

 farming operations for that. But what have far- 

 mers to do with a speed exceeding seven or eight 

 miles per hour ? Give more time and monev to 

 ploughing with two, three, or four horses ; to mov- 



