PRE 



PR] 



timber can be planted anil raised in 

 abundance is certain. It is equally 

 certain tliat they can be fenced witii 

 ditches, and, perhaps, with hedges, 

 though the experiments that liavc 

 as yet been made in the United States 

 to enclose land with hedges have 

 generally proved failures. 



"The most feasible plan, it seems 

 to me, would bo to enclose large 

 tracts by ditching, and cultivate the 

 land without division fences, even 

 between many occupants. Such is 

 the mode in many parts of Europe. 

 Or this kind of land could be profit- 

 ably improved by grazin<^ herds of 

 cattle and sheep, under the care of 

 shepherds. Houses of a most com- 

 fortable kind can be built of clay 

 without burning into brick, and the 

 expense of hauling lumber for roofs 

 and inside work would be trifling. 

 The only difficulty would be fuel. 

 In many parts of the West coal ex- 

 ists in abundance, and where that is 

 not to be had, the expense of hauling 

 wood over a smooth and nearly level 

 country would not be a serious ob- 

 stacle. It is also thought that peat 

 will be found abundant. 



" At present, however, there is an 

 abundance of unoccupied land so con- 

 venient to timber as to be easily 

 fenced in the common way, with 

 Virginia or worm fence ; and the oak 

 timber of this region is very durable." 



PRASE. Green quartz. 



PRECIPITATE. A solid matter 

 thrown down in a clear fluid by chem- 

 ical action. 



PREDIAL. Belonging to a farm 



PREDISPOSING AFFINITY. 

 Chemical affinity arising in the pres- 

 ence of three bodies, whereby a union 

 is accomplished between two, which, 

 without coming in contact with a 

 third, would not readily unite. 



PREGNANCY. Tlie state of be- 

 ing with young, carrying young. The 

 signs and determination of pregnancy 

 are often iinportant. The following, 

 from Mr. Youatt, is of great service 

 in coming to a conclusion on this 

 point. 



" Among healthy animals, the im- 

 pregnation of the female rarely fails 

 638 



to be tbe result of an intercourse be- 

 tween the sexes. The assurance, 

 liowever. of this having taken place 

 is occasionally an aflair of consider- 

 able interest, and of no little difficul- 

 ty, and the value and the destiny of 

 the female may very much depend on 

 the decision of the question. A cer- 

 tain time having elapsed, the thing 

 will speak for itself; hut are there 

 any symptoms or circumstances that 

 will warrant the veterinary surgeon 

 or the agriculturist in giving a deci- 

 ded opinion on the case in an early 

 period of supposed pregnancy 1 



'•It occasionally happens that the 

 fifth or the sixth month arrives, and, 

 even to the practiced eye, there are 

 few or no indications of conception 

 having taken place. There are, also, 

 but somewhat unfrequently, diseases 

 which very closely simulate this nat- 

 ural process. Can the veterinary 

 surgeon or the breeder decide 1 The 

 answer is in tbe affirmative, and 

 plainly and unequivocally. This is 

 one of the boons which the veterina- 

 ry art can now confer on the agricul- 

 turist. The altered character of the 

 female is regarded, and very proper- 

 ly, as a cn-cumstance of no liltle 

 weight. She is comparatively calm 

 and quiet ; her appetite returns, and 

 she regains her former condition and 

 her former habits. Five or six weeks 

 pass, and there is no outbreak of any 

 kind. Tiie owner concludes, and he 

 is not often wrong, that she is im- 

 pregnated. He, however, has had 

 little to do with mares or with cows 

 who has not witnessed the return of 

 the most furious oestrum, after a much 

 longer period of time has elapsed. I 

 have known more than three months 

 pass in this delusive quietude, and 

 tlien a salaciousness worse than at 

 first has indicated that no actual im- 

 pregnation had taken place. On the 

 other hand, the oestrum, but not with 

 all its former fury, has returned two, 

 and three, and four months after the 

 connexion, and yet, as the result 

 finally shows, impregnation had ta- 

 ken place at their first intercourse. 



"Many circumstances may cause 

 the owner to be anxious to know the 



