418 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



with such a rope he could give aid without danger. 

 One going into the water alone, might attach a rope 

 to some object on shore, and to his person in such a 

 manner as to draw himself ashore, when in danger. 

 _ P. 



HOKN AIL. 



I have a valuahle cow, which I suppose has got 

 the horn ail. I have bored her horns ; they dis- 

 charge putrid matter ; she also discharges from 

 her nose. Is it hest to saw of!" her horns ? Please 

 advise me in your next, and much oblige an old 

 subscriber. ZiBA Eldridge. 



Taunton, June 29, 1857. 



Remarks. — We give the following, relating to 

 this matter from Dr. Dadd's Reformed Cattle 

 Doctor. 



"On applying the hand to the horn or horns of 

 a sick, beast, an unnatural heat, or sometimes cold- 

 ness, is felt: this enables us to judge of the de- 

 gree of sympathetic disturbance. And here, reader, 

 permit 'us to protest against a cruel practice, that 

 is much in fashion, viz., that of boring the horns 

 with a ginalet; for it does not mend the matter 

 one jot, and at best it is only treating symptoms. 

 The gimlet frequently penetrates the frontal sinus- 

 es (cavities,) which communicate with the nasal 

 passages, and where mucous secretion, if vitiated 

 or tenacious, will accumulate. On withdrawing 

 the gimlet a small quantity of thick mucus, often 

 blood, escapes, and the interested operator will 

 probably bore the other horn. Now, it often hap- 

 pens that after the point of the gimlet has passed 

 through one side of the horn and bony structure, 

 it suddenly enters a sinus, and does not meet with 

 any resistance until it reaches the opposite side. 

 Many a 'mare's nest' has been found in this way, 

 usually announced as follows : 'The horn is hol- 

 low !' Again, in aged animals, the bony structure 

 within the horn often collapses or shrinks, forming 

 a sinus or cavity within the horn; by boring in a 

 lateral direction the gimlet enters it ; the horn is 

 then pronounced hollow! and, according to the 

 usual custom, musi be doctored. An abscess will 

 sometimes form in the frontal sinuses, resulting 

 from common catarrh or'hoose;' the gimlet may 

 penetrate the sac containing the pus, which thus es- 

 capes ; but it would escape, finally, through the 

 nostrils, if it were let alone. Here, again, the 

 'horns are diseased,' and should the animal recov 

 er, (which it would, eventually, without any inter- 

 ference,) the recovery is strangely attributed to the 

 boring process. An author, whose name has es' 

 caped our memory, recommends 'cow doctors to 

 carry a gimlet in their pocket.' We say to such 

 men, lead yourselves not into temptation ! if you 

 put a gimlet into your pocket, you will be very 

 likely to slip it into the cow's horn. Some men 

 have a kind of instinctive impulse to bore the cow's 

 horns ; we allude to those who are unacquainted 

 with the fcict that 'horn ail' is only a symptom of 

 derangement. It is no more a disease of the horns 

 than it is of the functions generally ; for if there be 

 an excess or deficiency of vital action within or 

 around the base of the horn, there must be a cor- 

 responding deficiency or excess, as the case may 

 be, in some other region. 



•Horn ail,' as it is improperly termed, we have 

 said, may accompany common catarrh, also that of 

 an epidemic form ; the horns will feel unnatural if 



there be a determination of blood to the head ; 

 this might be easily equalized by stimulating the 

 external surface and extremities, at the same time 

 giving anti-spasmodic teas and regulating the diet. 

 The horns wil! feel cold whenever there is an un- 

 natural distribution of the blood, and this may ar- 

 rise from exposure, or sufi"ering the animal to wal- 

 low in filth. The author has been consulted in 

 many cases of 'horn ail,' in several of which there 

 were slow fecal movements or constipation ; the 

 conjunction of the eyes were injected with yellow 

 fluid, and of course a deficiency of bile in the aboma- 

 sum, or fourth stomach ; thus plainly showing that 

 the animals were laboring under derangement of 

 the digestive organs. 



Our advice was, to endeavor to promote a heal- 

 thy action through the whole system ; to stimu- 

 late the digestive organs ; to remove obstructions, 

 both by injections, if necessary, and by the use of 

 aperients ; lastly, to invite action to the extremi- 

 ties, by stimulating liniments. Whenever these in- 

 dications are fulfilled, 'horn ail' soon disappears." 



WARTS ON cows' TEATS — SCRATCHES ON HORSES. 



Can you or any of your subscribers give me a 

 remedy that will cure warts, on the teats of a valu- 

 able cow ? Also a remedy for the scratches on 

 horse's feet? o. H. 



Lebanon, Me., July, 1857. 



N. B. Are these apples eaten by the curculio, 

 spoken of by S. Fletcher in, an article headed "No 

 Apples this Year ?" 



Remarks. — We cannot answer your first inquiry. 

 Scratches may be cured by keeping the fetlock 

 clean and oiled with any clean, soft oil. 



The curculio does not eat the apple, but depos- 

 ites its egg in it, which causes it to fall to the 

 ground, when the young grub leaves the apple, goes 

 into the ground, and comes forth a perfect beetle, 

 or curculio the next year. 



A Hen Story. — I had a hen that hatched fifteen 

 chickens — ten pullets and five roosters — about one 

 year ago. 1 raised them all. Last fall I sold ofi" 

 all of my old hens and all my roosters, both old 

 and young, keeping only my ten young pullets for 

 layers. They commenced laying in November and 

 have continued constantly ever since. This spring, 

 had a present of a rooster, but still the half Shang- 

 hae and half Creeper pullets have not forgotten to 

 lay every day. But the most remarkable feature 

 of their character is that they have never wanted 

 to set. I would recommend every farmer to keep 

 ten pullets, and feed them well, rather than go in- 

 to the hop-raising business. — P. K. T. in the Ox- 

 ford Democrat. 



The Grape Culture in California is large and 

 increasing. In ten counties 12,857,225 pounds of 

 grapes were produced last year, and this year the 

 total will be 14,000,000. From this crop, the city 

 of Los Angelos makes 150,000 gallons of wine, and 

 6,000 gallons of brandy. 



Od* Mr. Everett has engaged to deliver the ad- 

 dress at the fall fair of the New York Agricultural 

 Society, at Bufialo. 



