238 



th^ because one, as a trse, will acquire more 

 strength or stubbornness than tlic other, a shrub, 

 can ever reach ; and because the cedar is capa- 

 ble of being worked into a closer texture than the 

 thorn. , , ,. 



Yet the wedge-like snout of the hog, the hardi- 

 ness of his nature, and the toughness of his hide, 

 certainly exhibit him as a dangerous foe to live fen- 

 ces ; and the resources of ringing and yoking to 

 control his powers and his disposition, ought to be 

 adverted to, for the sal:e of an improvement so 

 momentous. These will not shock our prejudices 

 nor violate our habits, and are supported by a 

 consideration of weight, far inferior to the impor- j 

 tance of hedging ; and yfit light as it is, of weight | 

 sufficient to justify the recommendation. If hedg- ; 

 es are not protected against hogs, at least four 

 rows of plants and a double width of ridge or bank 

 will be necessary ; there must be a double sized 

 ditch to furnish this earth ; a double portion of 

 land will be occupied by the hedge and ditch ; and , 

 more than double labour, owing to the inconvoni- ' 

 ence arising from grsat breadth, will be always 

 required to keep the hedge in order. Something 

 less than moieties in all these cases will suffice for 

 hedges capable of fencing out every other animal, 

 if the legal rights of hogs are only modified, and 

 besides the narrow hedges will be far more beauli- 

 fu). [Col. Taylor's Arator.] 



(I5=For further remarks on raising cedars, and 

 Cedar-hedges see page '2U9 of the, current volume 

 of the N. E. Farmer. 



N EW ENGl AND FARxMER. 

 NEW^NGl^ANT)j;AliMER. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, FEB. 16 , 1827. 



Feb. 19. mi 



It will be found advantageous to constru(j 

 manger, in such a manner that it may be 

 by sfiding into the wall, so that when the 

 has oaten his grain he may have nothing eB 

 bite at when the groom is cleaning laimi 

 which habit horses sometimes become crib- 



Tiie racks are best made of cast iron, as 

 rack-staves frequently introduce splinteral 

 the lips during the action of gathering the hi 



The door of the stable should be at least 



MANAGEMENT AND DISEASES OF 

 HORSES. 



Stables. Narrow stalls are a source of great in- 

 convenience and danger to a horse when he turns 

 round in them. In the course of my practice, I 



have met with several cases of diseased spines or ^ ^ „y uu^r ui mc o.»u..= .„.,.>..v „v. «. 



back bones from this canse only. Injuries of this fppt in height, which will render the horsi 

 nature are (renerally beyond relief, on which ac- l,able to strike his head against the upper- 

 count they point out very forcibly the necessity of 

 prevention. . 



When the horse is required to turn round in a 

 marrow stall, his own experience of his situation 

 i would teach him to move backwards out of it, but 

 the .room prevents him from so doing, by stand- 

 i irg close behind him, and urging him, either by a 

 threatening tone of voice or the whip, to turn in- 

 stantaneously in a space considerably shorter than 

 j his own body 



it in passing through it. 



fVater. With regard to water, horses gel 

 ly prefer that which is soft, and even thici 

 muddy. Soft water should therefore alwaj 

 iriven to them, if possible. The quantity 

 be proportional to the labor which the anin 

 dergoes, for if he sweats much, he will 

 quently require more to repair the consun 

 of the fluids of his body. It is customary in I 



is own body. . . ing stables to warm the water before the 

 Although by exerting the utmost flexibility of I j^-j^j^g jj . j^is is 

 • n __ .u ;,„..i .noir npfhans. nerform this I . .^ u;™ KoKU 



NORTH WEST PASSAGE- 1 



In a letter from Mr Douglass, the botanist, to | 

 Dr. Hooker, dated from the Great Falls on the | 

 Columbia river, the 2-Uh of March, lf<at), there is : 

 the following curious paragraph respecting the 

 North West Passage; — " There is here a Mr 

 Macleod, who spent the last five years at Fort 

 Good Hope, on the Mackenzie rivei. He informs 

 me, that if the natives, with whom he is perfectly 

 acquainted, are worthy of credit, there must be a 

 North West Passage. They describe a very 

 ■ large river that runs parallel with the Mackenzie, 

 and falls into the sea near Icy Cape, at the mouth 

 of which there is an establishment on an island 

 where ships come to trade. They assert that the 

 people there are very wicked, having hanged sev- ! 

 cral of the natives to the rigging ; they wear ^ 

 their beards long. Some reliance, 1 should think i 

 may be laid on their statement, as Mr Maclood | 

 showed us some of the Russian coins, combs and ] 

 several articles of hard ware, very different from ; 

 those furnished by the British Company. Mr I 

 Macleod caused the natives to assemble last sum- 

 mer, for the purpose of accompanying him in his 

 departure for Hudson's Bay. The sea is said to 

 be open after July. This gentleman's conduct af- 

 fords a striking example of the effects of perse- 

 verance. In the short space of eleven months, he 

 visitsd the Polar Sea, and the Atlantic and-Pacific 

 Oceans, undergoing such hardships and dangers 

 as, perhaps, were never experienced by any other 

 individual." The letter from which this is an ex- 

 tract, with various others from Dr. Richardson and 

 Mr Drummond, will be published in the forthcom- 

 in<- number of Dr. Brewster's Journal of Science. 

 [U. S. Gaz.] 



Ustful properties of Celandine. 

 The juice of this plant cures tetters and ring- 

 worms, destroys warts and cures the itch. 



his frame, the animal may, perhaps, perform this 

 motion daily without injury, he is nevertheless ex- 

 posed to an accident which may in an instant ren- 

 der him for the future totally unserviceable. 



The width of the stall, therefore should be at 

 least SIX feet, the length nine feet. This will en- 

 able the horse to stretch out his limbs when he is 

 I lying down, which is a great relief to him when 

 I fatigued. 



The manner in which the stall is usually paved, 

 is equally productive of bad effects. The surface 

 is generally formed with a descent from the head 

 I of the stall backwards, with a view to let the urine 

 ' run off from the litter. Thus the horse stands con 

 i tiatially up hill, bv which position he naturally be- 

 i comes so much fatigued, that he may be said to 

 1 have performed half his work before he is out of the 

 I stable. For the ligaments of his joints and flexor 

 ' muscles of his legs, are thereby perpetually ex- 

 tended. If the reader will stand for a few min- 

 utes, with his toes higher than bis heels, the pam 

 he will feel in the calves of his logs will soon con- 

 vince him of the truth of this remark. Hence, 

 when the horse is not eating, he always endeav- 

 ours to find his level, either by standing across the 

 stall, or else as far back as his halter will per- 

 mit, so that his hind legs may meet the ascent of 

 1 the other side of the channel. But the greatest 

 i mischiefs which arise from this mode of construct- 

 Sing the pavement consist in obliging the horse to 

 1 stand with his fore legs farther under him, and 

 ! out of a perpendicular direction, by which position 

 'he not only acquires a bad habit of leamng for- 

 wards, but also becomes liable to a contraction 

 in the heels of his feet, by the weight being prin- 

 cipally on the toes. It moreover promotes an in- 

 clination to swelling in the hind legs, as well as 

 beintr frequently the cause of his body slipping 

 backwards in the stall when he lies down, so that 

 being at the utmost extent of his halter, he has 

 not the power of rising again on his legs, for want 

 of free use of his head and nock. 



The ground surface of the stall, therefore, 

 should be perfectly level, and paved with hard 

 bricks. A conductor for the urine may be obtain- 

 ed by means of a drain passing from the centre 

 backwards under the pavement. For this purpose 

 the centre of the stall should sink somewhat low- 

 er than the other parts of it, and the entrance to 

 the drain should be covered with an iron grate a- 

 bout six inches square. 



a very bad practice,J 

 renders him liable to be griped whene 

 drinks it in any other state. It certainly 

 prudent to give much cold water to a horse^ 

 he is heated with exercise, but other periods', 

 be found when he may drink it with safet 

 Grooms have a foolish habit of galloping h) 

 immediately after drinking: with the intcutii 

 warming the water in their stomachs. By { 

 unnecessary precautions, it would appear that 

 water was both unnatural and prejudicial to 

 animal ; but it can only become so from his 

 ing rendered irritable and tender by tht 

 surd modes with which he is treated in hi.' 

 mcsticated state. 



I JVoshinf; Horses when ivarmir^jnriouf:. Intil 

 I crs and coach-masters would find "it their int 

 to prevent the abominable custom of washinc 

 ?es over their whole bodies, immediately after 

 ing gone a stage. That they survive it, i 

 proof of its utility, but only serves to shon 

 power which nature has of resisting the effe. 

 any treatment which is hostile to her econon 

 If the animal was put in motion immediately 

 this operation, it might be less prejudicial 

 when he is tied up in a stable in that stale fo 

 or three hours, and left to dry by evaporation 

 it cannot be diificult to perceive the improf 

 and danger of such a practice. The legs of h 

 of all descriptions should nevenbe washed wi 

 being afterwards rubbed dry. The feet shou . 

 picked very clean after exercise, and if halt 

 dry, should be stopped with clay, or any other 

 stance which will retain moisture. During 

 day time, if the liorse does not work hard, th 

 ter should be removed from under him, so th 

 msy stand on the bare pavement, which meth 

 very beneficial to his legs and feet. — Lawn ' 

 Treatise on the Horse. 



Pulse of a Jiorte. — In the management of « 

 horses great advantage may be derived froi ,■ 

 tendincr to the state of the pulse, as we are tl |j 

 by enaliled to judge of the degree of violen f 

 the disease, and the probability there may » 

 recovery. We are in some measure aUo ass ^ 

 by it. in ascertaining the nature of the comp ' 

 and the application of remedies. 



In a healthy horse the pulsations are abo I 

 or 40 in a minute, and may be felt very disti I 

 either on the left side, or in an artery which i 



