66 



Lockjaio. — Lime-Burning. 



VOL.V. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Sir, — I copy from the Hereford (England) 

 Journal, an account of the cure of a lock-jaw 

 in a mare, which is worth preserving in your 

 pages ; there is nothing preposterous in the 

 means adopted, and that is saying very much 

 in favour of a trial ; and should it be found to 

 succeed, relief will be obtained in one of the 

 most awful and distressing cases with which 

 nature, either human or animal, can be af- 

 flicted. I once prevented a lock-jaw in a 

 mare, by the immoderate use of the digitalis, 

 or fox-glove; the casualty occurred during 

 the summer, when plenty of that narcotic 

 could be obtained, and a decoction was made 

 of its leaves, with which the mare was 

 drenched three times a day. It was wonder- 

 ful to witness the entire prostration of the 

 poor animal, but it gave time for nature to 

 rally, and her valuable life was preserved. 

 Here follows the account — 



" Owing to the adoption of a remedy sug- 

 gested in the columns of the Hereford Jour- 

 nal a good while ago, a valuable mare, the 

 property of Mr. Stanbury, Supervisor of Lud- 

 low, was recently effectually saved from 

 death by lock-jaw, produced by mal-treatment 

 for sand-crack ; we give the detail of the cir- 

 cumstance in the words of the owner of the 

 animal. 



" In consequence of one of the tendons be- 

 ing injured by the shoeing-smith, lock-jaw 

 ensued : the best advice was procured, but it 

 proved of no avail, and the mare gradually 

 sunk day by day for a fortnight ; and, all at- 

 tempts to support nature failing, ray distress 

 at seeing a faithful creature, who had been 

 my companion for years, suffer so much, in- 

 duced me at last to give directions that she 

 should be shot. I left home tJiat morning at 

 nine o'clock, and mentioned the circumstance 

 to a friend, who is a subscriber to the Here- 

 ford Journal, and, to my surprise, he pointed 

 out a case of cure of lock-jaw, mentioned in 

 an old number of that paper. Many minutes 

 did not elapse before I was on my road home, 

 to countermand the order for the destruction 

 of the poor animal, and the proposed remedy 

 was immediately put into operation. Be- 

 tween two and three hogsheads of water were 

 thrown upon her spine, and often I thought 

 she must sink under the suffering ; but per- 

 severing, I at last perceived her skin become 

 loose, and, as it were, to creep upon her; 

 this over, she was well wrapped in blankets, 

 and, by kind treatment and diligent attention, 

 with nourishing diet and gruel, she recovered, 

 and has since been as well as ever she was: 

 and this circumstance is well known to nearly 

 every inhabitant of the town of Ludlow. 



The owner of the animal is anxious that 

 this case should be made known for the be- 

 nefit of the public ; and because he thinks 



this is a proof of the utility of the hints fre- 

 quently thrown out in the newspapers." 



Would the amiable writer of the very sen- 

 sible article signed T, at page 21 of the 

 last number of the Cabinet, oblige your read- 

 ers with his opinion on the above, and say 

 whether in his opinion, faith might be placed 

 in the result ; if he approve of the manner 

 of treatment, perhaps he would inform us of 

 the mode of its operation. Aqua Equus. 



To tlie Editor of the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Lime-Burning. 



Sir, — A person who has passed a great 

 portion of his life in Wales, in agricultural 

 pursuits, wishes to draw attention to an ar- 

 ticle, in the Farmer and Gardener, in order 

 to bear his testimony to the errors contained 

 therein. It is said, " The practice of lime- 

 burners in Wales, was, formerly, to burn their 

 lime in kilns, made broad and shallow, but, 

 lately, they have begun to manufacture that 

 article without any kiln at all. They place 

 the limestone in large bodies, the stones not 

 being broken small, and calcine these heaps 

 in the same way used for preparing charcoal. 

 To prevent the flame (!) from bursting out at 

 the tops and sides of these heaps, turfs and 

 earth are placed against them, and the aper- 

 ture partially closed ; the heat is thus regu- 

 lated and transferred through the whole mass, 

 and, notwithstanding the increased size of the 

 stones, the whole becomes thoroughly cal- 

 cined. As a proof of the superior advantages 

 that lime in these clumps has, over lime burnt 

 in the old method" (or in kilns) " a preference 

 is always given to that burnt in heaps. This 

 practice prevails also in England and Scot- 

 land." 



Now, there is no trutli whatever in this 

 statement — lime has been attempted to be 

 burnt in the way above-mentioned, by a very 

 few lazy and improvident men, but it has ne- 

 ver succeeded, or been practised by them a 

 second time. The writer remembers having 

 seen a spot upon the estate of Lloesgoed, near 

 Brecon, where the owner, W". Alder, had 

 made the attempt, and there the remains of 

 this lazy-bed kiln are, no doubt, to be seen to 

 the present day — a large heap of uncalcined 

 limestone ! But there was not a good man- 

 ager in the country who did not, and who 

 does not reprobate the attempt — it has never 

 been a practice. The writer in the Farmer 

 and Gardener is not satisfied with stating 

 what he calls the fad, but assures us that a 

 preference is always given to lime burnt in 

 this way. Now, this is no more true than 

 that the lime-burners in Wales were formerly 

 used to burn their lime in broad and shallow 

 kilns — " tell that to the marines, the sailors 

 won't believe it." Calc. 



