38 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



ih? around will permit. Then to start it, it would 

 doubtless be a good way to fill it before putting it 

 down as suggested by the editor of the Farmer, of 

 you can change it at any time with a common beer 

 pump, which may be obtained at the liardware 

 stores, witliout the counter fixings, for about twenty 

 shillings. To adapt it to your purpose, you have 

 only to attach about three feet of lead pipe to each 

 e«d of it, and fasten the wooden Irame to apiece of 

 plank large enough to stand on. It may be worked 

 either as a suction or force pump, but I prefer the 

 latter. To couple it to the syphon, make a quill 

 of hard wood, say locust, five inches long, and in- 

 troduce one end of it into the syphon and the other 

 into the force pipe; then tie a piece of strong twine 

 from one pipe to the other, leaving it slack in the 

 middle, and then take a large nail and make it 

 taut by twisting it after the manner of an old fash- 

 ioned saw-strain. I charge my pipe in this way 

 and the operation requiies about twenty minutes of 

 bard work. To do it by suction takes longer, and 

 requires that the valves, couplings, &c., should be 

 in perfect order. 



As to tcsling- the pipe, it must lie borne in mind 

 that when a syphon leaks, water does not escape 

 from it, but air sucks in; it is therefore not easy to 

 detect an imperfection. I would recommend to 

 start it and see if it continues to work. If it does 

 not you may be certain that it is not sound. A leak, 

 if tolerably large, may be discovered by forcing wa- 

 ter in hard, but air will enter through a crevice 

 when water cannot readily be forced out. The pipe 

 might be tested with an air-pump; if a perfect vac- 

 uum can be formed, you can rely upon it that it is 

 all right. Do not on any account cover up the pipe 

 till it is proven. — Genesee Farmer. 



O. P. Laird. 



Oneida Castle, N. Y., Nov., 1850. 



APPLICATION OF CHLOROFORM TO 

 ANIMALS. 



Dr. Dadd, veterinary surgeon, of thiscity, makes 

 the following statement in the Chronotype, show- 

 ing the great utility in giving chloroform to ani- 

 mals when painful operations are to be performed on 

 tliem. 



Dec. 9th, 1850, I was called to see a gray mare, 

 of the nervous temperament, about nine years of 

 age, o\vned by Mr. Webb, of Haverhill Street, in 

 this city. The animal had just received a severe in- 

 jury in consequence of running away and coming in 

 contact with the shaft of a vehicle. The animal 

 appeared to labor under considerable excitement, 

 pulse quick and wiry; respiration hurried; and in- 

 cipient violent twitchings of the humoral and pec- 

 toral muscles. On an examination of the wound I 

 found a laceration of the skin and fascia, commenc- 

 ing four inches below the point of the olecranon (or 

 point of the elbow) on the outside of the off fore 

 leg, continuing down to the centie of the carpus, 

 (knee.) The upper portion of integument being 

 a-lso lacerated crosswise, the flap presented a tri- 

 angular appearance. The muscle known as the 

 pMensori mdacarpi oblique was divided. Two small 

 tendons, which operate in the extension of the leg 

 and foot, were also severed. The periosteum, cov- 

 wing the bone, was also lacerated in several places. 



Taking into consideration the great pain the an- 

 imal suffered in consequence of the large surface 

 exposed, and the extra pain the animal must neces- 



sarily suffer in sewing up the wound, I thought it 

 an act of humanity to administer chloroform. The 

 animal was accordingly cast — in the usual manner 

 — having previously strewed the ground with straw 

 to break the fall and prevent concussion. A bun- 

 dle of straw was then j)laced under the head of the 

 animal, and that firmly held down by an assistant. 

 The wound having been carefully washed, and all 

 extraneous matter removed, a sponge, saturated 

 with two ounces of chloroform, was then applied 

 by Dr. Hogan to the nostrils. In a few seconds, 

 the pupils became dilated, difficult respiration set 

 in, which soon subsided, the pulse became soft, and 

 the animal appeared perfectly msensible. Know- 

 ing it to be a matter of impossibility to unite the di- 

 vided tendons, the principal one having been torn 

 from its attachment at the carpus (knee,) I se- 

 cured the ragged and pendulous portions, and pro- 

 ceeded to bring the skin in apposition, where it was 

 confined by interrupted sutures. Twelve stitches 

 were taken, in all, about one inch apart, leaving an 

 orifice of half an inch at the lower part of the wound 

 for the escape of fluids. A pledget of linen, 

 moistened with tincture of myrrh, was then ap- 

 plied, and over the whole a bandage. The cast- 

 ing apparatus was then unlocked, and in a short 

 time the animal got up and walked to its stall. The 

 animal showed no signs of pain, except once, dur- 

 ing the operation, and this was owing to the evap- 

 oration of the chloroform; on another ounce being 

 applied, the animal quickly relapsed into its former 

 state of insensibility. 



Present state of the animal, 24 hours after the 

 accident: — Nervous excitement entirely abated; 

 pulse and respiration natural; appetite good; — the 

 wound (as far as I am able to judge without remo- 

 ving the bandage) is doing well. 



ADVANTAGES OF LARGE WHEELS 

 TO HORSE CARTS. 



The advantages of large wheels to horse carts 

 are obvious, as they greatly increase the facility of 

 draught, and tend to lessen the number of accidents 

 to which all two-wheeled carriages are liable, from 

 the shaft horse falling down. 



By adopting large wheels and a bent axle, the 

 cart becomes less liable to such accidents, as the 

 centre of gravity, (the fore end of the cart body,) 

 and the centre of suspension, (the axle,) are brought 

 much nearer together, the former being placed near- 

 ly over the latter, at a small distance only from it. 

 A horse falling with a loaded cart so constructed, 

 will experience but little increase of weight upon 

 him while down. The centre of gravity will be 

 thrown forward, but in a very trifling degree. In 

 carts, &c., it will almost always happen that the 

 centre of gravity will be above the point of suspen- 

 sion (the axle;) but in gigs, &c., the body may be 

 placed below that point when the body will always 

 maintain the erect, (that is a horizontal) position, 

 and should the horse fall down, will operate to lift 

 him up again. A gig so constructed will be al- 

 most beyond the possibility of tiuise serious, aiul 

 frequently fatal accidents, which oceur^ from the 

 falling of the horse. 



1^ Slieridan celebrates the felicity of army hus- 

 bands — a man who "may wed you to-day, and be 

 sent the Lord knows where before iiioht; then in a 

 twelvemonth, perhaps, come home like a Colossus, 

 with one leg at New York, and the other at Clitd- 

 sea Hospital." 



