FARMERS' REGISTER— DISTEMPER AMONG CATTLE. 



159 



shoots soon start from below the wound, and if then 

 let alone the grubbing would serve to increase the 

 number of stems three-fold at least. The suc- 

 ceeding tillage at ever^^ operation again breaks off 

 these young and tender sprouts; but av hen left 

 undisturbed, by the field being laid down in wheat, 

 the sassafras starts with new vigor the following 

 spring, and rises as fast as the crop. I admit that 

 this growth has been generally the larger on my 

 land, because (from neglect) the last shoots of the 

 previous autumnal growth were seldom effectually 

 grubbed at the time of sowing wheat — but the 

 most careful and thorough grubbing at that time, 

 would not lessen the number of sprouts that 

 would be ibund the next harvest, though it would 

 make their size less. My next neighbor, who is 

 not less annoyed with these shrubs, tried a plan 

 for their destruction which at first I thought 

 would be effectual — but the event showed that he 

 had gained nothing by his great additional labor. 

 His method of grubbing was as follows. The la- 

 borer dug away the earth from around the per- 

 pendicular tap root until he came to its origin ; 

 and it was always found to proceed from a larger 

 horizontal root which extended to unknown dis- 

 tances, so that one of these roots might perhaps 

 throw up sprouts from various places for an extent 

 of twenty yards or more. These horizontal roots 

 were generally ten or twelve inches below the sur- 

 face, and confined to the very sterile subsoil. As 

 it was impossible to get up the whole of these long 

 roots, (which probably form a sort of open net- 

 work under a whole field,) a piece was cut out 

 wherever a sprout (even the smallest) grew from. 

 This was in August. The large holes dug for this 

 purpose were left open, and soon new sprouts 

 could be seen putting out from both ends of the se- 

 parated roots. Thus my neighbor's work served 

 (like the cutting up of the polypus,) to cause two 

 to live where there was only one before. 



But as I almost despair of destroying sassafras, 

 I rest my hope for relief on its being discovered to 

 be a valuable crop. Upon chewing the leaves, at 

 any time from their most tender and succulent 

 state to their full maturity, they v.ill be found full 

 of mucilage, which it seems likely may be of use 

 in medicine, or the arts. It is well known tliat 

 every part of the sassafras tree has a deliglitful 

 smell, and a pleasant taste. The blossoms dried, 

 and the bark of the root, make a tea which is so 

 agreeable, that I think nothing but the abundance 

 and cheapness of the material has prevented its 

 being generally used for this purpose. About 

 twenty years ago a trade in the roots of sassafras 

 was commenced by sending it from James river to 

 England, where the use of the tea was extending 

 among the lower classes. The roots commanded 

 a good price, and the trade promised to be profita- 

 ble to us : but the jealousy of the East India Com- 

 pany (as it was said,) caused this new trade to be 

 quickly destroyed, by new and prohibitorjr-duties 

 on the article. During the few years that the ex- 

 portation continued, the large roots of nearly all 

 the sassafras trees in my neighborhood were dug 

 up for that purpose; but as there Avas no difference 

 of price offered, the roots of small shrubs, (though 

 vastly superior in delicacy and strength of flavor,) 

 were never used for sale, as they were much more 

 troublesome to collect. If the purchasers had 

 known the difference of value, a ton of small roots 

 would have been sold for as much as twenty tons 



of whole stumps and large roots of trees, which 

 formed nearly the whole amount of the commodi- 

 ty exported. 



I should have stated that the field which is so 

 full of sassafras shrubs, has not been grazed for 

 more than fifteen years — which protection of course 

 has given them the better opportunity to thrive. 

 Grazing, however, would have checked the evil 

 l)ut very little. What makes this growth the more 

 strange, is that the land liefore being cleared had 

 but very little on it. I have cleared a considera- 

 ble extent of poor woodland, where there were so 

 few sassafras trees, (and most all of these small 

 enough to be grubbed up,) that a slight observer 

 would have pronounced tliat there were none. — 

 Yet in these fields, and on very stiff, as well as on 

 light soil, their growth has since so increased, in 

 spite of the usual cultivation, as to threaten the 

 most serious injury to the future crop of wheat. 



ANTI-SASSAFRAS. 



ON DISTE3IPER AMONG CATTLE. 



Tel the EdUor of the Farmers^ Register. 



The objects of husbandry are so numerous, and 

 many of them involved in so much mystery, that 

 no one man can attain to great success, without 

 the aid of others. This noble art requires that its 

 votaries should be extremely liberal, if they would 

 become prosperous. A free interchange of opin- 

 ion may often serve to elicit truth, even in mat- 

 ters the most intricate. With such views, I lay 

 before you some suggestions on the disease among 

 cattle, usually called the "Distemper," which 

 though far irom satisfactory to myself, may lead to 

 a full investigation in the Register and to impor- 

 tant results among our farmers. 



That this disease is propagated by those cattle 

 which are, or have been the subjects of it, forms 

 the basis of the opinions which I would now pre- 

 sent. 



I believe the opinion has heretofore most gener- 

 ally prevailed, that the disease has spread from 

 the effluvia produced by the carcasses of animals 

 dying of. it, and from their bones. This belief, I 

 suppose, gave origin to the law requiring that such 

 carcasses should be effectually buried, or burned, 

 and forbidding even the preservation and tanning 

 of their skins. This law was, for a long time, ri- 

 gidly enforced, in my neighborhood, but so tho- 

 roughly are we convinced of its inefficacy, that it 

 has nov/ become a dead letter, except with such 

 persons as conscientiously obey every law of the 

 land — as such — however burthensome they may 

 esteem it. 



Every one familiar with the disease, must have 

 seen cattle, not infected, bellowing the funeral ob- 

 sequies of its victims with impunity, while nothing 

 but a line-fence debarred them from absolute 

 contact with the carcass. Nay, I have often seen 

 my dogs bring the bones of cattle dead from dis- 

 temper, among mine which had not been exposed ; 

 and I was at first alarmed for the consequences — 

 but none bad ensued. Having an extensive com- 

 mon near me, I have permitted the greater part of 

 my cattle to range at large, and have retained, in 

 an enclosure, a few favourites, together with my 

 working oxen, and those intended for such. These 

 two portions of stock have been very cautiously 

 kept asunder. The disease for several years des- 

 troyed some of the first, wliile the latter were en- 



