112 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



rollers, where it is combed by a toothed band. 

 The product of a crop of nine acres of fliix in 

 Rensselaer county was given at 4,237 lbs. of lint. 



TRAINIMO COWS AND STEERS. 



Thb Maine Farmer has an interesting article on 

 this subject, from which we make a few extracts : 



"All domestic animals require some sort of 

 training or education — some more, some less, ac- 

 cording to the usages to which they are put. Thus 

 the cow is required to stand tjuietly while you are 

 milking, and to 'hoist' the right foot and place it 

 back of the other, in order to give you more room 

 to use your hands while milking. This is generally 

 the extent of her schooling; but if she be taught 

 to allow herself to be led about by the horn, 

 gently and peaceably, it would add to her value 

 and to the ease of her management. For steers, 

 there nre higher branches of practical studies into 

 which tliey should be initiated. Their duties and 

 labors under the yoke on the farm and on the road 

 are of the utmost importance to the farmer, and it 

 is incumbent on him to teach them in the most 

 eflfective, thorough, and, at the same time, kind and 

 pieasant manner. There is a great difference in 

 the teachers of this kind of science, as well as in 

 the four-footed pupils to be trained. Some teach- 

 ers that we have seen 'breaking steers and cows,' 

 as tlie plirase is, did not evince half as much good 

 sense and discretion as tlie cattle they undertook 

 to train. On the other hand, there are some cattle 

 80 naturally crabbed and perverse in disposition, 

 that kindness and gentleness seem to be thrown 

 away upon them, and they require at least some- 

 thing as stringent as the hampering and ca>iting 

 down of Rarkt's method, before they will We 

 convinced that there is a power above them to 

 which they had better submit. This most gene- 

 Tfiliy displays itself in those cattle which liavo 

 been suffered to go unmolested and have their own 

 way until they have nearly or quite obtained their 

 growth. The beet inode and manner of teaching 

 caille, or any other animal — biped or (juadruped — 

 is to train them when young. Take them in the 

 bud, when you can handle and control them easily, 

 and before they liave grown up wild and strong, 

 without any discipline or restraint. Train them 

 when young, should be tte motto in every stable 

 and every barn-yard. 



"in training animals, whether young or old, 

 there is unotht-r requif^ite to be attended to beside 

 discretion of management and conmv»n sense in 

 the teacher. This is to have the right kind of 

 harness * * * The saddle of the yoke should 

 be adapted to the length and breadth of tlie neck 

 on which it rests, so as to render it easy to the 

 •wearer. Not too narrow, lest it cut in — not too 

 wide, lest it gall the neck at its insertion in the 

 slioulilers. It should not be too short, lest it in- 

 duce them to haul apart, in order not to step on 

 each other — nor too long, lest in winter it may in- 

 duce them to crowd in order to keep the track — 

 not too narrow in depth through the ring and 

 staple, lest it pull down on the top of the neck too 

 much — nor too wide, lest it have the reverse op- 

 eration ond cause the lower part of the bows to 

 press too hard and g&ll the neck or throat in that 

 port." 



HOLLOW HORN IN CATTLE. 



Some time ago a correspondent of the Oeneaee 

 Farmer asked for a cure of this disease. A gen- 

 tleman in Ohio writes us that he has a receipt 

 which he will send to any address for one dollar! 

 His receipt may be a very good one. But we have 

 not much faith in secret remedies for diseases of 

 man, animals or vegetables. 



There are those who appear to think that an igno- 

 rant quack doctor knows more about diseases and 

 their cures than a regularly educated and experi- 

 enced physician. But we are not of the number. 

 Every now and then some man writes us that h« 

 has discovered a remedy for the curculio, or for the 

 potato disease, or for the curl of the leaf in the 

 peach, which he thinks would be worth millions to 

 the country, and which he is benevolent enough to 

 sell to any one for the trifling sum of $5.00, more 

 or less ! , Not long since a man in this city called 

 on us, and in a low voice and with a mysterious 

 manner informed as that he had discovered an in- 

 fallible remedy for the pear blight. He could also 

 kill the currant and gooseberry caterpillar without 

 any labor or expense, and in fact there was no 

 disease on man, animals or vegetables that he could 

 not cure. He, too, was willing to sell his kaowl- 

 edge to the dear people for a consideration ! He 

 was a "spiritualist," and the " spirits" had communi- 

 cated this wonderful knowledge to him. We 

 lacked faith in the "spirits" and concluded not to 

 invest. A year or two since, when the pleuro 

 pneumonia or cattle disease visited this oonntry, 

 we received several letters from parties who had a 

 receipt for its cure, which they were willing to sell 

 for a small consideration, and some of the writers, 

 no doubt, thought it strange that we did not hasten 

 to inform our readers of the fact. But the truth is, 

 our faith in all secret remedies is exceedingly small. 



We do not think we have any right to excite the 

 curiosity of our readers by publishing such commu- 

 nications as the one now before us in regard to 

 hollow horn in cattle. 



We have repeatedly published articles on the 

 subject in tlie Genmee Farmer. Those who have 

 our volumes on hand for the last few years will 

 find various means recommended both for pre- 

 vention and cure. Allbn, in his Domestic Animals, 

 says of hollow horn : 



"This is not unfrequently hollow stomachy and 

 very often follows stinted fure, hard usage, and ex- 

 posure to cold. We have noticed this as most 

 prevalent aiuoug oxen that have done a severe 

 winter's work. 



'■''Symptoms. — Bloody urine; swollen udder; 

 shaking the head ; eyes and head swollen ; stand- 



