1877.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



147 



mg, pretty fair. The averagn weather was 

 too dry u]! to th(^ 17lh of Seiitoniber, but the 

 "latter rains'' greatly helped those plants 

 that had not been cut and housed before they 

 occurred. 



Jlr. Kurl/ is a clean and thoroui^h cultiva- 

 tor, and makes a free use of "uiislit" from tlie 

 barn-vaid. It is becoming; every day more 

 manifest that thor(iu;j;li culture, clean weed- 

 in;;, and sti'oug manuring, are es.sential fac- 

 tors in the raising of tobacco, and tliat it is 

 not safe to leave anything to chance ; but 

 these are not more essential than vigilant 

 "worming." 



RECIPE FOR DECORATING EGGS. 



Tako an og!? nmt eovor it ovur with beeswax. 



Prick the letters on tlie beeswax and tlioii scrape all 



the wax oil' tlie shell except where letters are, and 



1 then ilip the <■:;■!;■ into the acid. The shell will then 



■ pee\ oir, all Iml the i)art where the letters are, thus 



I niukin;? \\ hut is known iie ''raised letters." It can 



he done every time, and done to nicely that even the 



hen can he fooled Into thinking she laid the egg. 



Waiving the usefulness of the proce-ss con- 

 tained in the above "recipe," in its details it 

 certainly is as "clear ;is mud." When the egg 

 has gone through a certain preparation wo 

 are instructed to dip it "into(/i( acid." What 

 acid ? Not the slightest allusion, either by 

 word or implication, is made iireviously tormy 

 acid, either nitric, sulphuric, muriatic, oxalic, 

 tannic, formic, prussic, or malic. And then, 

 airain, what is the object of such a decora- 

 tion y AVith the shell "peeled off" it can be 

 of no use as a plaything for children ; and if 

 only intended as an ornament to the table it 

 must be a poor all'air, and certainly would go 

 no farther in satisfying human appetite than 

 a plain egg. What occasion "every time " 

 nuiy relal<' to we are left to guess, and if it 

 even means eternity it would be hardly worth 

 peri)etuating if its object is only for the pur- 

 pose of "fooling hen's" into tlie "thinking 

 tliey laid them." 



SMEYCH'S SEEDLING. 



This is a luscious yellow clingstone peach, 

 produced from tlie "seed, by Mr. Daniel 

 S^meych, of this city. A specimen of this 

 peach before us measures over eiglit inches in 

 circumference both ways, so that it is nearly 

 round. The suture is very indistinct, the 

 stem very short, and the cavity moderately 

 deep— indeed the fruit hugs the branch so 

 closely that it leaves the impression of the lat- 

 ter oii the fruit. The llesh is a golden yellow, 

 nwidcrately firm, juicy aud pleasantly sweet. 

 The skin is almost as clean as. a nectarine, al- 

 though it has a soft and velvety feel, and it 

 has a moilerate blush towards the upper end. 

 As a clingstone, nothing has come under our 

 obsea-vation that is superior, and it is worthy 

 of extended culture. 



MONTHLY REmTnDER FOR OCTOBER. 



Earth up celery, dig up potatoes, sweet- 

 potatoes aud other roots, as they mature, and 

 store them away for use ; collect squashes and 

 pumpkins, and expose them in a dry place to 

 a good airing, prctvious to storing them away. 

 IJlanch endive, hoe and weed out fetticus and 

 spinuach, plant out cabbage and lettuce plants 

 in cold frames. — Dkk's (l<x'nkncr. " 



This is the be.st season for setting out rlui- 

 bavb. Divide the old roots, leaving a good 

 bud to each plant, and set in .soil made very 

 ricli. In taking out sweet potatoes let the 

 tul)ers lay in tlie sini an hour or two before 

 putting away, (irajies carefully gatliered and 

 placed in a cool, dark, dry cellar will keep for 

 several months. Handle with care and pre- 

 serve the liloora intact. There is no better 

 time to set out raspberries and blackberries 

 than the month of October. It is preferable 

 to spring planting. A patch of rye sown in 

 tliis montli early, the ground being well ma- 

 nured, will come in good use for feeding milch 

 cows next spring, before the pasture tield is 

 ready to turn out ui>on. Evergreens may be 

 set out now, and the sooner the better. Select 

 small trees, preserve all the fibrous roots pos- 

 sible, and do not allow them to become diy. — 

 Farm Jmirnnl. 



THE CATTLE DISEASE— No. i. 



The unusual widcsiireading and fatal epi- 

 demic now prevaihiig in this comity, and over 

 a very large portion of the norlhern aud mid- 

 dle sections of the country, must be an apology 

 for the introduction of so much on that sub- 

 ject into this nmnber of our paper. So far it 

 has almost entin-ly balUed the profoundcst 

 skill of the veterinary profession ; and if the 

 doclors cannot make headway against it, there 

 seems' to be but littU; prospect of success to 

 the ellbrts of amateurs. Tliis disease mani- 

 fests itself somewhat dilTerently in differently 

 circinustanced districts, and is called "sple- 

 netic fever," "Tiixas cattle disease," "pleuro- 

 pneumonia," "murrain," "lung fever," and a 

 number of other names. 



"There is now prevalent anionq: the cattle of some 

 townships of this county a ty[ihus disease known as 

 the Texas fever, vvhicli has not only caused the loss 

 of many vaUiable aninuils, but which is in danircr of 

 taintiuir the milk and beef used by the peojtle ol' this 

 city. The disease has been located in this section 

 by tlic importation of Texas cattle, larire numbers of 

 W'hicli are brought to Ohio to be fattened for market. 

 These cattle arc infested by a small parasite, an in- 

 sect about the size of the conunon house lly, which 

 burrows in the skin, leaves a poisonous stinij which 

 infects the blood, .acts disastrously ujion the spleen 

 and liver, and, if not arrested by prompt treatmcnl, 

 causes death. On one farm in Brooklyn six valuable 

 cows have died. There are many cases in I'arnia, 

 and the situation is so tlireatening tliat in the latter 

 township the farmers bave held a meeting-, organized 

 and appointed a committee to ascertain and report 

 the best methods of treatment. 



"The disease is making its appearance simultan- 

 eously in ditferent and widely separated parts of the 

 country, and owners of cattle may be pretty sure 

 that tlie Texas (n- Spanish fever will jirevail this fall 

 in neighborhoods where what are called "through" 

 Texas cattle have been fed or pastured, en route to 

 Eastern markets, and that the only cure yet discov- 

 ered ftn- the disease is to kill at once all the cattle 

 affected by it, aud to keep all imatfccted lierds away 

 from the yards or pastures where Tcxans have been 

 fed or yarded, luitil the frosts have disinfected them. 

 More Texas cattle have reached Eastern markets 

 during the last mouth than for the same period in 

 any previous year, and the favor with which Texas 

 beef has of late been received in all our markets has 

 led to a large direct importation from the plains of 

 Southern Texas and to indifTcrent inspection of the 

 cattle by the shippers. A general outbreak of Span- 

 ish cattle fever tliis fall would be a calamity at this 

 time. Beef has already made an .advance of nnn-e 

 than 2 cents per pound, compared with the price of 

 a year ago, and the loss of a small percentage of the 

 present stock in the country would put another dol- 

 lar per 10(1 pounds upon our beef sui)plieB. 



The above extract from a western paper we 

 (hid in a recent number of the New York 

 Trihune, but we must confess that to our dull 

 apprehension, the more we read it over the 

 more it becomes "as clear as — mud." Cattle 

 arc now, and have been for many years, peri- 

 odically infected with a number of malignant 

 eiiidemic diseases, known by the names of 

 "lung fever," "murrain," "rinderpest," 

 " foot and mouth disease," " Spanish fever," 

 "Texas fever," but, perhaps, more properly, 

 "pleuro-pueuuionia" or "epizooty;" and, al- 

 though tiiese may fundamentally have their 

 origin in the inhalation of aninialcuUe, or fim- 

 gous sporules, yet^it seems impossible tliat tliey 

 could be caused by the infestation "of a para- 

 site, an insect about tin; size of a common 

 liouse lly, which burrows in the skin and 

 leaves a poisonous sting which infects tlie 

 blood, acts disastrously on the .spleen or liver, 

 and, if not arrested by prompt treatment, 

 causes death." It is true, cattle everywhere 

 are infected by "gad-llies," whicli dejiosit 

 their eggs on the backs and sides of these aiii- 

 iiials, and the grubs of these eggs, when 

 hatched, burrow under the skin and then form 

 an irritating pustule or tubercle ; but this is 

 only local — not constitutional — and after the 

 grub is fully developed it makes its exit of its 

 own accord, burrows into the earth, and in 

 due time comes forth a mature fly like its 

 progenitor. 



It is also true that if these insect infesta- 

 tions become very numerous they might cause 

 the death of the animals they infest, as some- 

 times occurs in the horse infested with the 

 grubs of the "bot-lly," or sheep with the 

 "sheep-bot;" and it has also occurred tliat 

 animals have been killed by being numerously 



stung by bees, wasps and hornets ; but these 

 are neither ei)idemic nor constitutional dis- 

 eases, tlu^y arc merely acute ca.ses of local and 

 temporary irritation or iiillanimation. The 

 diseases among cattle now in this country, 

 and wliich liavc been so fearful in their results 

 iu I'jigland and on the continent of Europe, 

 have an entirely dillerent origin, anil those 

 writers wlio allemiit to mix the matter up 

 with "jiarasites as big as a house-fly," are 

 only mystifying the whole subject. The pre- 

 \ailing disease is, doubtless, pknrD-jyncumonia, 

 perhaps one of tlie worst forms of epidemic 

 disease that animal "llesh and blood is heir 

 to." This di.sease was lirst imported into 

 Urooklyn, L. 1., in ISIS, by a Dutch cow ; iind 

 again, in IH'A), by an English cow ; into New 

 .lensey, in 1847, by English stock, and into 

 Hoston, in 1S.5'.), by Dutch cattle ; and we have 

 had more or less of it ever since; Iherelore 

 Texas is not to be considered responsible for 

 <tl!. of it ; and probably did not originate what 

 exists there at this time. 



To illustrate how near the disease is to us 

 here in Lancaser counly, its fatal results, its 

 nature, and its treatment, we will adduce, the 

 substance of a correspondence between Mr. 

 .lohn I'atterson, of Chester county, V-.i., and 

 the editor of th Ohio Farmer, in August last. 

 Mr. I', says : " There is a disease among my 

 cows upon which 1 should like to have your 

 opinion and your prescriptioli for treatment. 

 Eleven of my excellent herd have already 

 died, iucludiiig one young bull, for which I 

 had refused Sf.'itiO. It is a fever, similar to 

 typhus, or lung fever, which appears to attack 

 the lungs only. They have generally died in 

 thirteen days from the time they first appeared 

 sick. When opened, after death, a quantity 

 of blood was found lodged aroiuid the heart 

 and lungs, and the cells of the lungs were 

 filled with a white mucus, and became jier- 

 fectly solid. 1 am anxious to save the re- 

 mainder of my herd aud feel that there is no 

 time to lose." 



To this the editor replies: "The ili.sea.se 

 is plcuro-imLwnonia, and residts from the 

 hepatizdlion of the lungs, (that is, the lungs 

 change to a substance that has the apjiearance 

 of liver,) and it is epidemic among your herd. 



"■Trcattnent. — Bryonia 2 drs., phosphorus 2 

 drs., dilute and mix; nux vomica 2 drs., bel- 

 ladonna 2 drs., dilute and mix. Give a one 

 dram dose, alternately, every two houi-s for 

 the first 24 hours, and then once every six 

 Ikuiis for three days thereafter. For each cow 

 get three ounces of the two remedies after be- 

 ing mixed. Administer all the medicine upon 

 the tongue. Allow them all the cold water 

 they want." 



All the agricultural papere that have spo- 

 ken uiion the subject, both in England aud 

 America, as well as all the societies and the 

 veterinary organizations, concur in the opin- 

 ion that the disease tiught to be rooted out by 

 the most stringent measures, executed by the 

 central governments, and the expenses do 

 frayed out of the national treasury; and that 

 little good can be looked for by isolated ac- 

 tion by state, county or township, or by indi- 

 vidual efforts. Tlui danger threatens the en- 

 tire country, and therefore it is a national af- 

 fair. All the witnesses of every school have 

 practically agreed that in cast; of a general 

 outbreak of the disease, the ncces.sary meas- 

 ures for its arrest should not )>e left to local 

 enactments, but should be by all means vested 

 in central authority, which should also be 

 vested with ample powers; and the general 

 conclusion is, that if ever there was an oppor- 

 tunity for the national agricultural depart- 

 ment and its commissioners to distinguish 

 themselves as well as the national government, 

 it would be in taking special cognizance of the 

 whole subject, aud vigorously prosecuting it 

 with all their powers and their pecuniary re- 

 sources. 



Up to the present date, it is estimated that 

 over fifty head of cattle have died of the prc- 

 vniling disease in Euncaster county since the 

 middle of July, whatever may Ijc the name 

 or character of th« disease. 



