vol.. TVf. so. 5. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



37 



rO PRESERVE SHEEP FROM THE GAD- 

 FLY. 



In vol vii. of the N. E. Farmer, we find the fol- 

 lowing: rnnmrks upon this subject, by Mr Fesseii- 

 ]en : 



Tliere exists in some parts of the country, a spe- 

 lies of fly, which nnturalists call Q^slrus ovis, of 

 Lhe same genus with that whicli deposits eggs in 

 [he hair of horses, and causes bolts. This fly at- 

 tacks sheep from about the middle of August to 

 the middle of September, deposits its eggs in the 

 nostrils of the animals, and causes those worms, 

 which so frequently destroy them. The Mechan- 

 ic's Gazette recommends as a preventive, covering 

 the nostrils of sheep with a list of gauzy substance, 

 ;hrough which the animal can breathe, and keeping 

 It in its place by some adhesive substance. We 

 doubt, however, the practicability of " keeping it 

 [in its place." Another preventive which sheep- 

 jwners tell us is effectual, is to keep the noses of 

 he sheep constantly smirched with tar, from about 

 he middle of August to the latter end of Septem- 

 If the sheep swallow some of the tar, so much 

 he better, as it prevents or cures the rot, and oon- 

 irms their health. 



If the fly has performed its mischievous func- 

 ion and the seeds of the disorder are already sown, 

 loa may make use of the following: Take half a 

 jound of good Scotch snuff, pour two quarts of 

 )oiling water on it, stir it and let it stand till cold ; 

 nject about a table spoonful of this liquid and sedi- 

 iient up each nostril of the sheep with a syringe. 

 This must be repeated three or four times at proper 

 ntcrvals, from the middle of October to the first of 

 (anuary ; the grubs are then small and are easier 

 lestroyed than afterwards, and have not injured 

 he sheep as they will if deferred until later. Half 

 in ounce of asaafoelida, pounded in a little water, 

 nd added to the snuff, will make it more effectual. 

 The owner of the sheep need not be alarmed when 

 he operation is performed, to see the sheep very 

 Irunk and apparently in the agonies of death, as 

 hey will in a few minutes recover. I never knew 

 iny bad effects to follow. Dry aiiuffmay be blown 

 ip the nose with a quill, and have a good effect; 

 )ut it is a tedious dirty job. I have tried vinegar 

 ind blue dye with but little or no success. 



Instead of Scotch snuff, a decoction of tobacco 

 vill answer the purpose. A gentleman who owns 

 I large flock of sheep, informs us that he had used 

 t with perfect success. Spirits of turpentine are 

 njected into the nostrils of sheep, as a remedy for 

 *orms ; but that substance appears to possess one 

 naterial disadvantage, which should preclude its 

 ise for that purpose, namely : when thrown into 

 Jie nostrils it kills the sheep us well as the worms. 



Frmn llie Karmer's Cabinet. 



CHEAP MANURE FOR THE GRAPE VINE. 

 " Nothing more," soys a vine-dresser upon the 

 banks of the Rhine, "is necessary for the manure 

 of a vineyard, than the branches of the vines them- 

 selves ; my vineyard has been manured in this way 

 for eight years, and yet more beautiful and richly 

 laden vines cannot be pointed out. I formerly fol- 

 lowed the method usually practiced in this district, 

 and was obliged in consequence to purchase ma- 

 nure to a large amount. This is now entirely 

 saved, and my land is in excellent condition ; and 

 when I see the fatiguing labor used in the manur- 

 ing of vineyards — horses and men toiling up the 

 mountains with unnecessary materials, I am inclin- 

 ed to say to all, Come to my vineyard and see how 

 a bountiful Creator has provided that vines should 

 manure themselves like the trees in the forest! and 

 even better than they, for the foliage falls from the 

 trees in a forest only when the leaves are wither- 

 ed, and then they lie for years before they decay ; 

 but the branches are pruned from the vines about 

 the end of July, while still fresh and moist, and if 

 they are then cut into small pieces and mixed with 

 the earth, they undergo putrefaction so completely 

 that at the end of four weeks not the smallest 

 trace can be found." 



Another poor man writes — "For the last ten 

 years I had been unable to place dung on my vine- 

 yard, because I am poor and could buy none ; but 

 I was very unwilling to allow my vines to go to 

 decay, as they are my only source of support in 

 my old age ; and I often walked very axiously 

 amongst them without knowing what I should do. 

 At last my necessities became greater, which made 

 me more attentive, so I remarked that the grass 

 was lonyeron those spots where the branches of 

 the vine fell, than on those on which there were 

 none. So I thought upon the matter and then said 

 to myself, if those branches can make the grass 

 grow large and strong and green, they ought also 

 to be able to make my plants grow belter and be- 

 come strong and green. I dug, therefore, my vine- 

 yard as deep as I would have done to put dung into 

 it, and cut the branches into small pieces, placing 

 them in the holes and covering them with earth. 

 In a year I had the great satisfaction to see my 

 barren vineyard become quite beautiful ; and this 

 plan I continue every year, and my vines grow 

 splendidly and remain the whole summer green, 

 [ I even in the greatest heat. All my neighbors won- 

 der very much how my vineyard has become so 



SHOEING THE HORSE. 

 Mr Editor — The remark of your correspondent 

 at page 318 of yimr number for May, "That many 

 of us transpose the order of our labors," reminds 

 me of a mode adopted in the shoeing of the horse, 

 which I once witnessed, and which is I believe of 

 importance sufficient to deseree notice in the pages 

 of your valuable and very interesting work. It 

 occurred at the town of Croydon, near London, 

 which is well known as the centre of the stag-hunt, 

 so well attended by the whole country around, and 

 especially by the high-bred bloods of London ; and 

 where may be seen a field of the best horses in the 

 whole world — many of them worth five or seven 

 thousand dollars. 



As I once passed through this town, one of my 

 horse's shoes became loose, and I went to the shop 

 of a smith named Lovelace, to get it fastened : the 

 shoe was nearly new, and had become loose in 

 consequence of the nails having drawn out of the 

 hoof, although they had been clinched in ihe man- 

 ner universally practiced. The smith remarked 

 that all the other shoes were loose, and would soon 

 drop off, wheti 1 requested him to take them off 

 and replace them : and then did I perceive the dif- 

 ferent mode which he adapted for fixing them, 



which I will here detail. 



As fast as he drove the nails, he merely bent the 



points down to the hoof, without, as is customary, 



twisting them off with the pincers : these he then 

 drove home, clinching them against a heavy pair of 



pincers, which were not made very sharp; and 



after Wis had been very carefully done, he twisted 



off each nail as close as possible to the hoof; the 



pincers being dull, the nail would hold, so as to 



get a perfect twist round before it separated. 



These twists were then beaten close into the hoof 



and filed smooth, but not deep, or with the view to 



rasp off the twist of tlie nail. "Oh ho!" said I, 



"I have learnt a lesson in horse-shoeing." " Yes," 



said he, "and a valuable one; if I were ever to 



lose a single shoe in a long day's hunt, I should 



have to shut up my shop ; my business is to shoe 



the horses belonging to the hunt, and the loss of 



a shoe would be the probable ruin of a horse worth, 



perhaps a thousand pounds; but I never am fearful 



of such an accident." "Simply because you drive 



home and clinch the nails before you twist them 



off," said I. " Yes," replied he, "by which I se 



cure a rivet as well as a clinch." i — ' , ,, , - , ' , ,_ . j..„™ 



The thing was as clear as the light of day, and i rich, and yet they allUow that I have put no dung 



I have several times endeavored to make our shoe- "P"" •' *"'"' 'e" y^"^' , . c ,v.^ .,;„„ 



ing-smiths understand it, but they cannot see the A most rumous plan of tnanagement of the v me 



advantage it would be to themselves, and guess. Prevails in some places : .t.sto pmch off the top 



SOWING WINTER RYE. 



From the middle of August to the middle of 

 September is said to be the best lime for sowing 

 ■vinter rye. By sowing early, you provide green 

 "ood for sheep late in the tall and early in the 

 spring, and by early sowing and feeding in the 

 all, the roots of the grain take such firm and ex- 

 •.ensive hold of the soil, that they are less liable to 

 De thrown out of the ground by frost, or winter- 

 killed. When sowed so early, three pecks of seed 

 will be sufficient — Ibid. 



Sweet flag root cut in thin slices and scattered 

 among woollens of any kind, will effectually repel 

 the attacks of moths. 



therefore, it would never do in these parts ; but .f of the bear.ng shoot when ,t has advanced about a 

 my brother farmers cannot see how it works with foot beyond the last fru.t-jo.nt wUh the view of 

 halfan eye, and have not the resolution to get it 'throwing more of the Jmces of 'he ^;;«^ '"^^ ^ 

 put into practice, they ought to see the shoes drop i fr"it; and th.s ,1 no doubt does ; but this juice s 

 from the feet of their horses daily, as I was once not properly concocted or cooked as it is by pass- 

 J.J NT 1 . „ f u„ „„„„ in" on to the end of the shoot and returning to the 



accustomed to do. Now, let any one take up an '"s "" ••" "•" " , . ,. , c. 



fruit, there to be deposited in a slate ot purity, tit- 

 led by the hand of nature for the express purpose, 

 and in a way which she only knows how. Hence 

 arise plethory and mildew — the vessels overcharged 

 with the crude sap are bursted, and then putricity 

 and life are engendered, to the destruction of tho 

 crop. Of a piece with this highly improper treat- 

 ment, is the removal of the tendrils, and, at a later 

 period of the season, the leaves which shade the 

 fruit — all wrong, depend upon it : we cannot im- 

 prove nature — all we can do is to aisist her, as 

 " "= ' "^ J s some one very properly has it.— Furmer*' Cabitiet. 



old horse shoe at any of the smiths' shops on the 

 road, and examine the clinch of the nails which 

 have drawn out of the hoof, and he will soon per- 

 ceive how the thing operates. In short, if the nails 

 are driven home before twisting off, and the rivet 

 formed by the t.mst be not afterwards removed by 

 the rasp, I should be glad to be told how the shoe 

 is to come off at all, unless by first cutting out the 

 twist I am, sir, a constant reader of the Cabinet, 

 and one who has benefited many dollars by the va- 

 rious hints which have been given in its pages. 



J. S. 



