1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



447 



eating his evening meal he lies down upon a 

 bed of sand an inch thick, in order to relax all 

 his muscles and give them rest. What fol- 

 lows ? If you recollect how rapidly the heat 

 is abstracted from your hand when you take 

 hold of a piece of iron or marble in a cold 

 day, you can not doubt what follows. The 

 sand is much like the marble or iron, and as 

 is said above, "is a very cold article." The 

 operation that then goes on, is, for the ani- 

 mal to communicate its heat to those portions 

 of the sand which come in contact with its 

 body, and the sand passes it along from parti- 

 cle to particle, in some measure, still farther 

 off. This process goes on until the outside 

 temperature of the animal and the sand are 

 the same. Instead of communicating heat it 

 abstracts it, and that in no small degree. 



The second reason for using it is, to absorb 

 the liquid droppings and prevent their being 

 wasted. It does prevent their running off in 

 some measure, but probably not much as an 

 absorbent. Sand has little or nothing of the 

 property of peat to absorb liquids; but its 

 particles being small and coming close to- 

 gether, prevent liquids from flowing away with 

 any facility, and being aided by the vegetable 

 portions of the manure these are held back and 

 preserved. This is better than nothing, and 

 where it is used as a top dressing on low lands 

 has a decided and permanent eflfect in improv- 

 ing them. For all uplands, however, with the 

 exception of those which are quite clayey, 

 one cord of good peat wQuld be worth more 

 than many cords of sand. Next to charcoal, 

 peat has the largest absorbing power of any 

 substance which is at the command of the far- 

 mer in any considerable degree. Even on 

 high, rich loams, it will produce the happiest 

 results when properly prepared and applied, — 

 and on sandy land it will work a complete 

 revolution. 



In hot weather, we can see no objection to 

 the use of sand as bedding, for animals not 

 heated by labor. 



CATTLE DISEASE IN ILLINOIS. 

 The Champlain County, 111., correspondent, 

 (B. F. J.) of the Country Gentleman, writing 

 •Sept. 2, says that the important fact of the re- 

 port of Mr. Ranch, principal Health Officer of 

 Chicago, who has the official charge of the 

 sanitary condition of the Union cattle yards at 



Chicago, is that any and all sick and infested 



cattle may and do infect other cattle. He also 



states that the "Canadian Commission" sentto 



Illinois to report on the cattle disease, were 



not long about their investigations, and went 



home, as he learns, convinced that the Spanish 



fever (so-called) is really the true rinderpest. 



He says : — 



Cattle continue to die, and it is now generally be- • 

 lievedthat sick native cattle will infect healthy na- 

 tive cattle. I have a valuable cow at home which 

 has never been exposed, and I am now so con- 

 vinced that she might take the disease from sick 

 native cattle, that I would not trust her six hours 

 on the street or public road for half her value. I 

 am told by physicians of character and standing, 

 that ^05^ mortem examinations reveal tlie fact that 

 there is violent infliimmation and exteniive lesions 

 of the duodenum, in every death following the pre- 

 vailing disease. This is the prime pathological 

 fact; other organs are more or less affected, but 

 the duodetmm always and distinctively. Therefore 

 our physicians conclude that the disease showing 

 a parallel development, it probably has an origin 

 not unlike that of typhoid fever, and that its treat- 

 ment should be in a manner similar to the treat- 

 ment of that disease. The losses will, I am con- 

 vinced, be equal to the highest estimate I have 

 made, viz. : 150,000 head of cattle ; those of Cham- 

 paign county threaten to amount to half a million 

 ot dollars. 



Diseases so often change their character or 

 type on change of location and other circum- 

 stances that we have feared some new develop- 

 ments of this Spanish fever. We are not pre- 

 pared, however, to endorse the conclusion of 

 the Canada commission, and hope that the 

 fears expressed by the writer as to native cat- 

 tle transmitting the disease will prove ground- 

 less. « 



BEPOKT OF THE W^HEAT CHOP. 



A gentleman in this city deeply interested in all 

 that relates to our industrial advancement and 

 prosperity, wishes us to suggest to the different 

 postmasters throughout our State, that they col- 

 lect front the farmers in their own towns the 

 amount of wheat each has raised the present- sea- 

 son, and send the same to us that it may be pub- 

 lished in our columns. The plan strikes us as one 

 that can be satisfactorily accomplished without 

 much effort, and we hope farmers will endeavor to 

 tell their postmaster, when calling for their paper, 

 how much wheat they have grown the present sea- 

 son, and are sure they will gladly send it to us for 

 publication. What town shall be first to report ? 



We copy the above from the Maine Farmer. 

 The thought is a good one, and we hope the 

 farmers of that State will give attention to it. 

 A similar course in our own State would prove 

 of value, and we hope to receive returns from 

 all parts of the State, or from any of the New 

 England States. 



Our old and steadfast friend, Henry Pook, 

 Esq., of New York, in speaking of the cul- 



