212 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



to crack, and not nnfrequently causing corns, 

 navicular joint lameness, bony deposits to be 

 thrown out from the lateral wings or processes of 

 the coffin bones, rendering the animal permanently 

 lame or unsound. These are but few of the bad 

 effects arising from contraction ; enough, however, 

 to serve our purpose at present. 



Remedy. — Preserve a level bearing by making 

 the shoes perfectly fiat on the quarters, so as not 

 to interfere with the expansion of the feet. Should 

 contraction already exist to considerable extent, 

 bevel the shoes slightly outward at the heels, in 

 order to facilitate expansion. Care should be used 

 not to bevel too much, or bulging of the lower 

 part of the hoofs at tlie quarters will be the result. 

 The shoes should in all cases be forged and not 

 twisted, as is sometimes done to save trouble by 

 the bungling smith. Proper applications, to soften 

 the horny parts and promote elasticity, should also 

 be used. Such preparations are put up in the 

 form of hoof ointments. k. jenntngs, v. s. 



Pr^ ^Anatomy in tA« Veterinary College of Philadelphia, Pa. 



MOWING MACHINES-ONCE MOKE. 



Editobs Gexeske Farmer ; — During the season 

 of 185S, I improved an opportunity, in reply to 

 Mr. Street, of Ohio, and several others in different 

 sections of the country, to show the impropriety 

 of the general introduction of Mowing Machines 

 in the State of New York, as the means of saving 

 either labor or money to the farmer. 



Since that time it is hoped that all those gentle- 

 men, — including the Small Boy from " Old Lena- 

 wee," in Michigan, who undertook to do what the 

 men could not do, — have seen the error of their 

 ways in regard to the saving of labor, by an un- 

 warrantable expenditure of money to procure ma- 

 chinery for their horses to do the mowing and 

 reaping ; and we will presume that such is really 

 the case with them, since they have had time to 

 repent of their ambition to get along too fast, and 

 we have heard nothing from them to convince us 

 to the contrary. But not so with your correspon- 

 dent, Mr. D. A. A. Nichols, of Westfield, N. Y.; 

 for while so many others have " kind o' gin out," 

 along with their $125 Mowing Machines, that 

 could not, as usual, find any shelter during all the 

 winter, he, Mr. N., it would seem, has actually 

 found his machine this spring, — probably by stick- 

 ing a Btake by the side of it in the fall, by w-hich 

 means some trace of it has been preserved through 

 the deep drifted scows of winter, the icy storms 

 of spring, and, we really hope, through all the 

 WHITE frosts of Junc, in 1859, — and now comes 

 out in the Farmer., greatly rejoiced, with nearly 

 half of the alphabet to his name. All haU to the 

 man of such indomitable courage and perseverance! 



It -will be remembered that the case of the old 

 fashioned scythe and sickle was pretty well made 

 out, and not much damaged in the lajt year's con- 

 troversy ; and since we are not willing to take up 

 much room in the columns of the Fwrrner upon 

 the subject at present, we will simply off-set those 

 few facts and figures, set forth recently by the man 

 of alphabetical notoriety, and let the subject rest till 

 a more convenient season. Mr. Nichols tells how, 

 out in his country, he and his neighbors have saved 

 their time and sti-ength by cutting their grass and 



grain by machinery; and we can easily imagine 

 how there, as in too many other places, the poor 

 laboring man went about, like men of olden time, 

 exclaiming " We are thus idle because no man has 

 hired us." 



I say I have neither time nor occasion to enlarge 

 upon the subject now, and will close this article 

 by a simple reflection for the consideration of Mr. 

 Nichols, and all others like him, as they have 

 leisure to attend to it, -which is: That while he 

 and others were last year, and will be again this 

 year, doing all their haying and harvesting by 

 sending their money away to make richer still a 

 few inventors of labor saving machinery, we were 

 last year, and shall be again this, and the next, and 

 the next, sharing our daily labor, at all seasons of 

 the year, with our honest, hard working neighbor ; 

 who labors for his bread, and who depends upon 

 the fruit of that daily labor for his wife and help- 

 less little ones ; who will thus be made comforta- 

 ble, we hope, at a time when too many in our 

 country are not far removed from care and want, 

 and who will long remember the time when, with 

 the company of, and to the rich, ringing music of 

 the sickle and the scythe, 



" Away down in the meadow 

 They used to make the hay." 



Oxford, Chenango Co., N. T. 



E. A. BUIfDT. 



WHICH IS THE MOST PKOFITABLE BREED OF SHEEP! 



Messrs. Editors : — Your corrospondent, Mr. 

 Ellsworth, in tha March number of the Fanner, 

 page 85, takes exception to my remarks on sheep 

 in the January number, and also gives it as his 

 opinion that the first cross is unworthy of attention. 



I think Mr. E. mistakes the question, and also 

 misunderstands me. I quite agree with him that 

 the best bred sheep is the best — that in breeding 

 up, as Mr. E. has been doing, the grades that have 

 the most blood will generally be the best — also that 

 good feed and shelter are of great importance. 



The question, however, is, not what are the best, 

 but what are the most profit?ble sheep ? As I 

 understand it, what sheep will give the largest 

 profifc in the shortest time? 



With regard to the etficacy of the first cross, I 

 have often put it to the proof, and am willing to do 

 it again. Let Mr. E. spend a certain sum in the 

 purcha.se of decent grade ewes ; I will buy some 

 poor and superior natives ; let us put them all to 

 full bred rams ; and if he can make so good interest 

 on his money in one or two years as I can, then 1 

 shall acknowledge that the first cross is of no \irtue. 



I have frequently bred up from common ewe?, 

 and have found that the first cross is far better thai' 

 the second or third, which often disappoints b} 

 unexpectedly receiving tlie bad points of the infe- 

 rior ancestors. And 1 should never think of striv- 

 ing to obtain a good flock by breeding up for years 

 from common ewes, when it is so easy to have pun, 

 blood on both sides, in which case the object i< 

 attained at once. j. c. 



Gapes in Chickens. — For this disease a corres- 

 pondent of the Country Gentleman says: Take 

 common black pepper, ground; one-half a tea- 

 spoonful to a grown hen, and vary the dose accord- 

 ing to the age of the patient. 



