I^ R A C T I C A L FAR U E R 



187 



ihe iiiiT)roved )ilouehs for i-i(lg!i!<r ; ami with which 

 he ridffed t^Hverai acres on tlie intervale, which he 

 planted with corn, and from wliich he has real- 

 ized a tolerable crop, hcttiM- than most of his neiiih- 

 horri — thongh not so jfood as the nverafje of a 

 ^nod year. Mr Rohert Eastn)an of this town pre- 

 pared a few acres of iiis j>;round in the sasne man- 

 ner, and witli a like result. Tins plough may 

 also be used to gre .t advantage in the cultivation 

 of yjotatoes, two acres and a half of which may 

 be plonirhed and planted in a day, with the assis- 

 tance of two persons to drop the seed as the ground 

 is ploughed, and vvhiqj.) is covered by the plough- 

 ing and dressing the ridges. 



Alter the cro]) has been taken from ground pre- 

 pared in this marmer, the plough is run through 

 the ridges lengthwise, either in fall or spring, and 

 the soil prepared for the succeeding crop. 



If. then, as has been fully demonstrated, a sav- 

 in"' of one half if not two thirds of the labor of 

 breaking up grassland and preparing it for a corn 

 crop, cm be realized by this mode of culture, and 

 at the same time a better crop i)roduccd, it is cer- 

 tainly worthy the attention of the farmers of this 

 county, who I am satisfied, will give to the sub- 

 ject all the consideration which its importance de- 

 mands. 



tiroiii the Farmer's Keyister.) 



ON THE ABUSE 



t/lnd proper treatment of Work hoises. 



I was much pleased with a communication 

 signed W., from Charlotte, in the February No. 

 of your useful and valuable journal, on the feed- 

 ing of work-horses, in no other j)ortion of the 

 globe, where that invaluable animal, the horse, is 

 domesticated, is he mor'; esteemed, more lavish- 

 ly fed, and yet at the same time, more cruelly and 

 shamefully neglected, than in Virginia, east, of the 

 J3lue llidge, and I am always pleased to see any 

 effort made to meliorate the condilion of this faith- 

 ful and sreadfast friend of man. It has been fre- 

 quently a matter of astonishment to me, that the 

 Virginians, with their proverbial fondness for the 

 horsi", (to say nothing of his acknowledged and 

 indispensable value) should always have been, and 

 continue to be culfiiibly ignorant or negligent in 

 what 1 will call horse-husbandry. Nine men out 

 often, pay nwkind of regard either to his comfort 

 or -his nature. He is treated moie as a machine 

 made of wood oi* iron, than as a living being. In 

 winter he is exposed in wretched hovels, to the 

 " peltings of the pitiless storm," and ui sunmier 

 he is imprisoned in the same miserable goals, to 

 inhale the noxious stench and malaria, arising 

 from the putres* ent excrement and filth of his 

 stall. Ai'ur a hard day's work, or ride, the un- 

 thinking (not to say unfeeling) owner (or brute) 

 alights from the back of this faithful and jaded 

 friend, and instead of going to his stall — in per- 



son attending to his food — seeing that it is neither 

 too nmch nor too little, and of the right sort, and 

 causing his stiffened joints to be rubbed, and the 

 })erspirati()n and dust to be curried from his skin 

 and a soft bed thrown down, uj-.on wliii-h th(; wea- 

 ried creature may repose and resuscitate, himself 

 fir the morrow's labor, as eommon gratitude and 

 i:derest both would suggest, this submissive and 

 imcoinplaining servant is coldly consigned over 

 to the tender mercies of the slave ; and too fre- 

 quently, after a day f)erhaps of unprecedented la- 

 bor, spends a night of corresponding inquietude 

 and misery. No wonder theti, that we so fre- 

 quently see such woe-begone and miserable look- 

 ing jades tottering along in our teams. No won- 

 der that the horse is beconnng short-lived, and as 

 n)any hiriners think unworthy of raising ; and no 

 wonder that that long-eared, .stubborn, ill-contriv- 

 ed wretch, that thrives upon beating, the mule, is 

 so fast succeeding and shoving out this noble an- 

 imal. Your correspondent has well observed, 

 " that the master's attention is half feed." Yes, 

 sir, in this word atlenvon is comprised, the whole 

 wisdom of horse tnanagement ; and this necessary 

 attention needs no |)hrenological bump for its de- 

 velopment ; neither need a man "like a poet or • 

 a painter, i)e born with it," — for it is so sirn[)le 

 that any tnan, be he white or black, may learn it, 

 or be made to learn it. Were 1 asked what is the 

 best method for keeping horses in good order ? 

 without stopping even to glance at what kind of 

 food they ate, I should promptly answer atienlion. 

 This is the whole and only seciet ; for whilst 

 some kinds of food are decidedly better and cheap- 

 er than others, yet with attention a healthy horse 

 will thrive on unij food that he will eat. In the 

 first place, attend to your stable, make it a com- 

 fortable house, let it keep out the rain and ward 

 off the winter winds. Insumm'»r when the wea- 

 ther is fair and hot, when you take out of harness 

 at night, feed your horses i'.j a lot ailjoining the 

 stable (leaving the stable deor o])i n incase of 

 f'iin) — for it is too bad after a Jiorse has labored 

 hard all day, to cage him u|} in a narrow cell all 

 night; turn him into a lot and let him wallow and 

 walk about and enjoy the cool breezes. At least 

 once a week (for the horse is a cleaidy animal) 

 clean out your stalis and tiirowthe litter into your 

 farm-pen. You \iill add greatly to your stork of 

 year's manure, and infinitely to tiie healJi and 

 comfort of your iiorse. As often as yon clean out 

 your stalls '(or oftener) make your osiierthrow an 

 armful of straw or leaves into each. VVrter reg- 

 ularly. Bleed not nnfreqiientiy. As often asyou 

 think of it, if it is once a day, throw a smad quan- 

 tity of salt into the trough of each horse; and fi- 

 nally, curry and rub in the morning, at noon, and 

 at night; and whateve;' 3'on may feed on, the in- 

 cie 8Jd strength and ability of your horse will 

 amply compen^at! you for a 1 trouble; and if a 



