404 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



Take, for example, a common poultice, apply 

 it to a hofse's foot, and renew it as soon as it be- 

 comes dry ; in the course of two or three days, 

 the hoof will separate from its matrix, the frog 

 and heels soften, the tissues are in a state of re- 

 laxation, and if the poultice was continued, the 

 hoof would separate from the sensible parts ; if 

 the foot is already diseased, the separation is ac- 

 celerated. Warm water has the same effect ; ap- 

 plied externally for any length of time, it relaxes 

 and prostrates; applied internally, it I'elaxes and 

 vomits. Hence the soft, which implies, moist, hot 

 bedding, — tends to create morbid action in the 

 feet, and whatever disease the horse may be pre- 

 disposed to iu those parts, will generally mani- 

 fest itself. Some animals, however, escape the 

 evils alluded to, owing to their insusceptibility ; 

 for disease of the foot cannot occur without a 

 susceptibility to it, and the application of a cause. 

 Soft bedding, cow dung, and other unmentiona- 

 ble filth, are,often resorted to as remedies for con- 

 traction, but they are classed among the irration- 

 al barbarities of the past, with which they ought 

 to have sunk into oblivion. 



Veterinary science has discovered that if such 

 articles possess ^yay virtue, it is owing to the mois- 

 ture they impart to the foot. Therefore, on the 

 score of decency, and in view of i-elaxiug the con- 

 tracted foot according to the principles of reason, 

 and modern science, we should avoid every kind 

 of filth, and resort to pure water or wholesome 

 poultice. Or, take off tlie shoes, wash the feet 

 daily, and let the horse run to grass ; so that he 

 may bring the sole and frog in contact with the 

 ground, and thus promote expansion of the heels. 

 I endorse your correspondent's views as regards 

 the manufacture of tender feet iu both the young 

 and aged, and it makes but little difference, wheth- 

 er they have the range of a filthy barn-yard, or 

 are confined in a bedded stall ; the effect is, ten- 

 derness of foot, and subsequent lameness ; and 

 the same, or a disposition to it, may be transmit- 

 tedjtlirough the sexual congress to future offspring. 



In view, therefore, of preventing diseased feet, 

 strict attention must bo paid to cleanliness ; the 

 stall floor shouM be composed of brick or plank 

 having just sufficient declivity to conduct fluids in- 

 to a gutter, running along the entrance to the 

 stall, which should tei'minate exterior to the sta- 

 ble, so that the ammonia, in whifh the urine is 

 abundant, is carried beyond the stable atmosjihere. 

 The bediling, which according to long custom is 

 stowed under the crib, there actnig as a sort of 

 noxious smelling bottle to the horse's nostrils, — 

 should be spread out in the open air, sorted ; the 

 refuse and excrement removed to a dung heap lo- 

 cated as far from the stable as possible ; for the 

 common manure receptacle, under the stable 

 floor, is one of the worst featuresof stable econo 

 my. The stalde floor should be washed clean, as 

 often as circumstances permit. 



Freak of Nature. — A friend gives us an ac- 

 count of a singular freak of nature which he has 

 observed in his garden this summer. Some time 

 ago, a sprout came up from the root of a rose- 

 bush, and some two or three weeks since, when 

 it had attained the height of 12 or 14 inches, a 

 bud appeared directly on the top of the shoot.— 



Just as the bud began to open, the shoot pushed 

 right up through its centre, and grew, while the 

 flower was maturing two or three inches more. — 

 A few days ago, he noticed that there were four 

 buds on the bush, through the principal one of 

 which the sprout is again making its way. The 

 leaves of the former flower, though wilted, not hav- 

 ing fallen off, he has thus a rose-bush which 

 presents the singular sight of two flowers strung 

 on the stem. 



For the New England Farmer. 



CHAPTER ON HUSBANDRY-No. 2. 



Mr. Editor : — Dear Sir — You kindly published 

 my first chapter and pronounced it excellent ad- 

 vice ; I take the liberty to go on, promising no 

 harm or bad advice. The 9th closes my last — I 

 begin with 



10th. Keep a good depth of soil in the barn- 

 yard ; night air out of doors must be better for 

 cows than the confined air of the leanto. Before 

 turning out, start them around the yard, and all 

 the droppings can be buried with a shovel in a 

 few minutes, which keeps the yard clean, and 

 saves the manure from drying waste. 



11th. The sink-drain, washing suds and privy 

 an-angements, can be so combined by drains to a 

 common receptacle, as to Avarrant the manufac- 

 ture of twenty-five loads of manure per annum ; 

 the value of these lost substances is hardly ap- 

 preciated. 



12th. Sand your leantos ; it keeps the cattle 

 clean, particularly the milch cows. 



13th. Bed down your horses at night, and give 

 them a clean, hard floor by day ; this prepai-cs 

 their feet for hard roads. 



14th. Themother of pigs is an eccentric animal ; 

 prior to her accouchment, she requires the kindest 

 treatment — such as a little fashionable ^^shajnpoo- 

 ing^^ with the curry-comb or card, and other ike 

 tender caresses, which may keep her from crunch- 

 ing her young; but with all of their "mire and 

 dirt" swinishness, they want a softer bed than a 

 Chinaman for a night's lodging. 



15th. Gates around your premises are more 

 convenient than bars ; yet many a rich farmer 

 waits the slow operation of "taking down the 

 bars," rather than reduce his casA capital in mak- 

 ing a convenient gate. A good gate, well painted, 

 hung on stone posts, is economy in the end. 



iGth. Char to a coal your posts, (cedar except- 

 ed, am unacquainted with this wood ;) it would 

 pay well, even with your hard wood stakes for 

 fencing stuff. 



17th. Place your season's fire-wood immediate- 

 ly under cover ; the "grand wood hill" so orna- 

 mental to the farm-house, and so commendable to 

 its owner, he may rest assured, that 15 or 20 per 

 cent, of its value is saved by seasoning it under 

 cover as soon as split. 



18th. JJsQ glass for glazing the broken panes; old 

 trowsers, a bag of straw, sometimes a wide shin- 

 gle — look, "The store has got some 7 by 9." 

 But New England is getting too proud for these 

 kinds of shows. 



19th. Do not be afraid to cut off this or that 

 twig in branching the limbs of your young or- 

 chard. The remaining wood gets all the sap, ex- 



