470 



NEW ENGLAND FARRIER. 



Oct. 



and three quarters to two bushels to the acre, from 

 the first to the tenth of September. A small patch 

 of two or tbree acres will furnish flour for a good 

 sized family, with fifteen bushels to the acre 

 only. Will farmers give us the results of their 

 experiments in raising wheat ? Henry Poor. 

 Brooklyn, L. I., Aug., 1868. 



BLOODY MILK. 



In reply to correspondents in Roxbury, N. H., 

 Fitchburg and South Abington, Mass., who have 

 recently inquired for a remedy for bloody milk, 

 we will say that we think it most probable that the 

 trouble arises from some local cause, rather than 

 from a vitiated condition of the whole system. 

 Milk is so nearly allied to blood, that a slight de- 

 rangement of the delicate organs might result in 

 bloody milk. It may be the result of bruise or 

 sprain caused by jumping over fences and logs, or 

 of being trodden upon by other cattle while lying 

 down, or of being hooked or jostled by other 

 cows, or abused by boys. It may also arise from 

 a "cold" taken by the cow while lying with the 

 ndderpn damp ground, or from exposure to the 

 gi-eat and sudden changes of our climate. Cows 

 are often crowded too closely in stalls and yards, 

 where they quan-el with each other about their 

 feed, and tread upon and bruise each other when 

 some of them are lying down. If the bloody 

 nrtlk is caused by a bruise, that should be healed ; 

 if by inflammation, that should be removed. It 

 may be well to bathe the udder with soft warm 

 water, and administer some medicine. An ounce 

 of saltpetre, dissolved in water, given three times 

 in the course of a week, may have a good effect. 

 The old remedy of a piece of poke root, the size 

 of a small hen's egg, grated or cut fine, and given 

 in oats or other feed, once a day for two days, is 

 also recommended by some. Poke root, however, 

 we believe is less popular with veterinaiy practi- 

 tioners than formerly. In our own stock there 

 are cases of bloody milk nearly every year, but it 

 usually continues for only a day or two and then 

 subsides without other medicine than bathing the 

 udder. 



HARROWING SWARD LAND. — A COW WITH A COUGH. 



I noticed in a recent number of the Farmer an 

 inquiry in regard to harrowing sward land. I will 

 give my method. I use a Side-hill or Swivel 

 Plough, which I prefer for several reasons. Har- 

 row lengthwise the furrows slightly, in order to 

 settle them down ; then han'ow crosswise, first 

 running the harrow in the direction in which the 

 furrows were turned, going back in the same 

 place, and so continuing, which pulverizes the 

 ground with less labor and renders it smoother 

 thau can otherwise be done. 



I have a cow which has been aflBicted with a 

 cough fur the last nine months, with discharge of 

 a thick matter from the nostrils, but which does 

 not appear to affect her general health materially. 

 Will you or some one else give me the cause and 

 remedy through the medium of the Fakmek ? 

 A Subscriber. 

 « East Hardwick, Vt., Aug. 10, 1868. 



Remarks. — A cough is not a disease ; it is sim- 

 ply an effort of nature to throw off one. Still, ip 

 common language, we may say that there are few 



things more dangerous or alarming than a cough, 

 in man or beast. How many "colds," that with 

 proper care and treatment might have been broken 

 up and cured at the commencement, end in fatal 

 consumption. So with cattle, a cough that might 

 have been removed at first by warm housing, a 

 few mashes of bran or shorts, plenty of roots or 

 other green food, frequent currying, or perhaps a 

 dose of physic, ends in serious inflammation of 

 the lungs. Dr. Dadd says the first object is to in- 

 duce action to the surface by friction and counter 

 irritants,, and recommends that the throat, and feet 

 if necessary, be well rubbed with a mixture of 

 olive oil 4 ounces, oil of cedar 1 ounce, and liquid 

 ammonia half an ounce. Then give a dose of 

 powdered liquorice one ounce, composition half a 

 teaspoonful, in a quart of gruel, to be repeated 

 two or three times during twenty-four hours. A 

 drink of any warm aromatic tea, such as penny- 

 royal, "catnip or aniseed, may be useful. Mr. 

 Youatt says that an epidemic cough that was very 

 fatal in England in 1830-31, was caused by the 

 small passages of the lungs being absolutely choked 

 by myriads of little worms. 



cherry leaves poisonous for CATTLfi. 



Noticing in the Farmer of August 1st, by your 

 answer to an inquiry relative to the cause of a dis- 

 ease among certain cattle, that you think were 

 poisoned by eating cherry leaves, I wish to know 

 to what kind or kinds of the cherry you referred ; 

 and whether the poisonous properties are confined 

 to one species or belong to the whole. 



This is a subject which I think may well merit 

 attention, as the wild cherry, especially the black 

 and red, grow in great abundance here, and there 

 is a ready access to it in the pastures for stock of 

 all kinds. J. P. Carb. 



Waterford, Vt., Aug. 5, 1868. 



Remarks. — From statements of cases of fatal 

 poisoning by eating cherry, leaves, it appears that 

 both the wild and tame cherry at some seasons, 

 and under some circumstances, are poisonous. It 

 is supposed that they contain Prussic Acid. It has 

 been supposed by some that they are dangerous 

 only when wilted, but cases have occurred in 

 which the green leaves have poisoned animals. A 

 farmer in Plymouth county, Mass., who had tbree 

 cows killed in one day by eating the wilted leaves 

 from a wild cheny that had been blown down in 

 the pasture, some time afterwards finding that the 

 cream from his milk would not make butter as 

 usual, suspected his cows had eaten something in- 

 jurious. He therefore watched them, and found 

 that as soon as they were let into the pasture the 

 cows went to the wall and commenced browsing 

 some cherry trees within their reach. The cows 

 were removed to another field, and in a few days 

 the milk resumed its proper quality. A lady in- 

 formed one of the editors of the Farmer that a 

 dose of half a pint of vinegar and two tablespoon- 

 fuls of chalk had proved effectual in several cases 

 of cherry poisoning. It is probable that the cherry 

 leaves are poisonous only, or mainly, at a certain 

 stage of their growth or development. As salt is 



