THE GENESEE FARMER 



367 



is said that no horse has the botts which has all the 

 salt he craves. 



But this is not the only use of salt in the animal 

 economy, as we shall see. Boussingault's experi- 

 ment was evidently for the purpose of testing the 

 direct effect of salt upon the production of fat or 

 flesh. Mr. Dickinson, of Steuben Co., N. Y., finds 

 by experiment, that his cattle thrive better with- 

 out shade. He is surely good authority ; but bis 

 experiments would have been more conclusive, as 

 regai'ds health and longevity, if he had experiment- 

 ed upon his roadsters for a series of years. 



As to the effect of salt upon health, I beg leave 

 to quote from Prof. James F. Johnston, of Scot- 

 land, who has evidently made the subject a study : 



" The wild buffalo frequents the salt-licks of 

 North-western America ; the wild animals in the 

 central parts of Southern Africa are a sure prey to 

 the hunter, who conceals himself behind a salt 

 spring ; and our domestic cattle run peacefully to 

 the hand that offers them a taste of this delicious 

 luxury. From time immemorial it has been known 

 that without salt man would miserably perish; 

 and among horrible punishments, entailing certain 

 death, that of feeding culprits on saltless food, is 

 said to have prevailed in barbarous times. Mag- 

 gots and corruption are spoken of by ancient wri- 

 ters as the distressing symptoms which saltless food 

 engenders ; but no ancient, or unchemical modern, 

 could explain how such sufferings arose. Now we 

 know why the animal craves salt ; why it suffers 

 discomfort, and why it ultimately fulls into disease 

 if salt is for a time withheld. Upwards of half the 

 saline matter of the blood (57 per cent,) consists of 

 common salt ; and as this is partly discharged every 

 day through the skin and the kidneys, the necessity 

 of continued supplies of it to the healthy body be- 

 comes sufficiently obvious. The bile also contains 

 soda as a special and indispensable constituent, and 

 so do all the cartilages of the body. Stint the 

 supply of salt, therefore, aiid neither will the bile 

 be able properly to assist the digestion, nor the 

 cartilages to be built up again as fast as they natur- 

 ally waste." 



And now, I would say to our friend A, let your 

 horses, oxen, she«p and pigs, have all they will eat, 

 and the surest way is to let them have access to 

 clear salt at all times ; only if they have suffered 

 from abstinence, be cautious at first, just as you 

 would with yourself, if you had suffered long witli 

 hunger. sante. 



Mu-sJktsg^oii, Mick., Oct.., 1560. 



HOW TO THSOW AN OX. 



Eds. Genesee Fakmer: — A few mornings since, 

 the little boys said to me; "Grandpa, Dimon 

 steer (a stout one three years old,) has got the heel 

 and ancle of his left hind foot filled with hedgehog 

 quills." 



I soon found that if I attempted to do much with 

 him, while standing, I should be likely to have his 

 foot in my face. Fortliwith I called help from the 

 neighbors, obtained a bullet-mold for nippers, and 

 took head-ropes from the stable. 



We placed the steer on smooth ground, and com- 

 menced operations by taking up his left or near 

 side fore toot, and tying the foot fast to the leg 

 above the knee ; next reaching under the belly a5id 



tying a rope around the ancle of both the off side 

 fore and hind feet. 



Placing a man the off side of his neck to attend 

 to his head in the fall; myself and another man 

 the near side, each hold of a rope fast to the ancle, 

 commenced pulling gently on the rope.s — crowding 

 a little at the same time against his sides. The 

 steer, as though understanding he had rather lie 

 down than to catch a fall, readily dropped on his 

 knees and down upon his side. The rope on the 

 fore foot was brought over his shoulder aud held, 

 and the rope on the hind foot carried back aud 

 held. The steer lay with but little struggle; with 

 the bullet-mold the quills were soon all drawn out, 

 and the steer went off' well. l. hendeiok. 



Sweden, Potter Co., Pa. 



WEEK EYES IN CATTLE— BEEEDS OF HOSSES. 



Eds. Gen. Farmer : — In the July Number, is an 

 inquiry whether there can be anything done for a 

 cow, whose eyesight fails at sun set. In answer, I 

 would say there can, if done in season. I have had 

 great experience in the care and management of 

 stock for the last twenty-five years, and have 

 seen three cases exactly like the one described, 

 with this addition : the cows could not see in a 

 cloudy day. In two cases it was caused by Hooks, 

 a disease which all Stock Raisers are acquainted 

 with ; where this is the case the film skin that 

 covers the lower part of the eye ball, becomes en- 

 larged and looks inflamed. Cure. — Take a needle 

 and draw a thread through the enlarged part, raise 

 it up and cut it off; this disfigures the eye a little. 

 Another plan is to put a rowel in about two inches 

 below the eye. The other case was caused by the 

 hollow horn, this was cured fay removing the cause. 



On the same page is an inquiry as to what is the 

 best breed of horses for harness. I would say, 

 from experience aud observation, raise horses that 

 will weigh from eleven to thirteen hundred lbs., of 

 a stock that are reasonable travelers, like the old 

 Messenger, or Duroc breed, then jou always have 

 horses that can perform labor ; but if you under- 

 take to raise smaller and faster stock, like the Black 

 Hawk or Morgan, if you do not get a colt that will 

 command a price for speed, which is only one in a 

 hundred, you have an inferior animal for farm pur- 

 poses because he is too light for the plow. 



aiis Co., Mich. JAJklES A. LEE. 



CHEAP LAND Uf CONNECTICUT. 



The Honieitead^ published at Hartford, Ct., in 

 alluding to Mr. Watson's pamphlet on the uncul- 

 tivated lands of Long Island, remarks : 



We have thousands of acres ixi Connecticut, 

 really uncultivatxj*!, whatever they may he called, 

 that can be purchased && cheaply a* those Long 

 Island lands, and tliat luaj be redeemtid more eco- 

 nomically. They do not lie in a wilderness, hke 

 most of the pine barretsfi, where the. diurches and 

 school houses are to be built, aad the rijads and 

 bridges are to be made, and the brushes and trees 

 are to be cleared o^ ajid the ^elilA are to be ftineed. 

 They lie in. the midst of civilization, aud of reli- 

 gious institutions, the fences ail made,i wiihin sound 

 of the railroad whistle acd the diurch-going belL 

 The school house, with wrMfe walls aad greea 



