452 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



any other cause briefly checking perspiration while 

 thi- horse is in a heated condition ; causing severe 

 inflammation of the parts of the system which have 

 been recently arduously taxed — most frequently the 

 muscles of the shoulders and the flexor tendons of the 

 anterior limbs. These are more severely taxed in fast 

 driving in light vehicles than any other parts of the 

 muscular proportions. Although ahorse, from long 

 and general fatigue, thus exposed, is quite as likely 

 to have the entire system affected, as otherwise. 



But for the contraction of the feet. The inflamma- 

 tion of the tissues of the limbs of the horse cuts 

 off the supply of nourishment, through the assimi- 

 lative organs, to the horny texture, and consequent- 

 ly they become dry and brittle, contract upon the 

 coffin-bone, diminishing the space and use of the 

 sensitive lamince, between the crust of the hoof and 

 the coffin-bone within, and if not soon relieved, os- 

 sification takes place, and the horse is permanently 

 lame. The horse, losing the spring-like elasticity 

 of the foot, (between the coffin-bone and the crust,) 

 consequently strikes a dead blow upon the distal 

 end of the lower pastern-bone every time he puts 

 his foot to the ground, causing pain and soreness 

 and constant lameness. 



I would like much to treat your readers, (espec- 

 ially your smiths,) to a chapter on horse shoeing, 

 and may do so at a future time, if you desire it. 



Georgetown, Mass., Aug. 4, 1857. M. D. 



Remarks. — The horse is a most useful and no- 

 ble animal, gratifying the pride of man as well as 

 ministering to his tastes and necessities, and any 

 thing instructing us in regard to his proper treat- 

 ment is valuable, "M. D." will please accept thanks 

 for the above, and furnish the "chapter on horse 

 shoeing" whenever he is moved thereto. 



That the curculio's effects upon fruit are bad, I 

 think no observing pomologist will doubt, yet to at- 

 tribute the sole cause of the scarcity of fruit this 

 year, and a still greater scarcity last year, to the 

 destructive powers of the curculio, is, I think, not 

 just. J. 



Winchester, Aug. 7, 1857. 



For the New England Farmer. 



"NO APPLES TEIS YEAR !" 



Mr. Editor : — I noticed a recent article in your 

 journal, under the above caption, in which I think 

 Mr. F. has not viewed this section of his fruit-grow- 

 ing town. 



He says that the curculio, in comparison with last 

 year, appears this season, "in increased numbers, 

 and will probably again destroy our crop of apples." 

 I know not whether this remark was intended to 

 apply in a general sense, or whether it was intend- 

 ed for a special locality ; but be it as it may, I think 

 it is not at all applicable in this immediate vicinity, 

 where farms have usually yielded hundreds of bar- 

 rels of apples in one year, while last year, the own- 

 ers of these farms had only a scanty supply for do- 

 mestic consumption. The occasion of this scarcity 

 was attributed, not only here, but elsewhere, to a 

 cold north-east storm, at the time the trees were in 

 blossom ; by others to the "atmospheric influence" 

 of a thunder-shower, which passed over this section 

 at nearly the same time. Be the cause what it may, 

 it is safe to aver, that nearly all the fruit in this vi- 

 cinity, notwithstanding we had a full blossom, wither- 

 ed and fell from the trees previous to the twentieth 

 of June. This year, at the present time, fruit looks 

 much more promising and abundant, compared with 

 the last fruit season, though in numbers much more 

 limited than we have been accustomed to see in 

 seasons previous to last year. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



MAKING OF BUTTER. 



In the Country Gentleman of July 30, (Vol. X., 

 No. 5,) is an elaborate table, containing facts of 

 much value, as to the quantity of milk required for 

 the making of butter. It purports to be an ac- 

 count through the season from May to December, 

 and the average is nearly twelve and a quarter 

 quarts of milk to a pound of butter. This is rath- 

 er more than is taken in our best dairies. I had 

 supposed /en quarts to be about the quantity. I 

 do not now speak of those gallon cows, of which we 

 used to hear so much from certain quarters. Have 

 they all disappeared ? Or have their owners im- 

 proved their manners and their veracity ? x. 



August 10, 1857. _ 



TO CURE HORN AIL. 



Mr. Editor:— I have seen, in the Farmer, in- 

 quiries made to know what would cure horn dis- 

 temper in cows ? I can tell my experience. I had 

 a good cow several years ago, that was taken, as 

 we supposed, with the horn ail. I tried almost every 

 thing, boring the horns, putting in saltpetre, pep- 

 per and salt, and salt and vinegar, to no purpose. I 

 heard of a remedy which I tried which effected a 

 cure in a short time. It was British Oil, about a 

 table-spoonful turned into each ear ; I have tried 

 the same several times since, and always with good 

 effect. I never have had to put in but one dose to 

 effect a cure. 



destruction of ticks. 



Ticks are very injurious to the growth of sheep 

 and wool, beside being very painful to the sheep. 

 I was reading in the Farmer, by a correspondent, 

 I think from Ludlow, Vt., that by feeding sulphur 

 to the sheep in February and March it clears out 

 the ticks. I tried it a year ago last spring with 

 part of my sheep, and found it had a good effect, 

 but did not clear them all out. Last spring I had 

 about two hundred sheep in three flocks ; I fed 

 all of them with sulphur; I had over one hun- 

 dred we kept by themselves in a pasture, and but 

 two ticks were found on the whole of them when 

 we sheared them ; the others were pastured with 

 other sheep, and had ticks without number. 



A HAIL STORM. 



There was a very destructive hail storm passed 

 through this section on the 24lh of July ; it took a 

 strip about a mile wide, and cut everything before 

 it — smashed down corn and English grain, grass, 

 potatoes, and smashed out window-lights without 

 number. It passed through the north part of Casr 

 tleton with a heavy wind, and tore down some 

 buildings. ZiMRi Howard. 



Sudbury, Vt., July, 1857. 



Remarks. — Some sensible remarks were recent- 

 ly made in a communication to the Farmer, on the 

 subject of the disease generally termed horn ail, 

 showing that the difficulty does not lie in the horn, 



