1883.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



63 



Finally, salt Is destructive to aininst all intesMnal 

 worms. In Brazil, where eattle are very suhjeet to 

 parasites, the stock owners have discovered this vir- 

 tue, and therefore dose their animals twice a year 

 with one pound each of common salt, after the ac- 

 tion of which they always manifestly improve in 

 condition. It is to the yonni; wt^rms especially that 

 salt proves destructive, hence a <laily allowance of 

 one or two ounces for the larger t|uadriipeds, or two 

 drachms for the sheep, will ijo far ,towards*wardin;; 

 ofT fatal attacks hy destroyinir the youny; parasites 

 as they are taken in, in the food oi- water. Thus for 

 the liver worms in sheep (Hot) salt marshes or the 

 free use of salt proves almost a specific, and tlu? 

 6toma"li, and, to a less extent, the intestinal worms 

 of all liomestic animals, may be kept in check by a 

 daily liberal yet moderate allowance. 



Floors for Horse Stables. 



The long debated question as to the best material 

 for stable floors is bein;f"affain revived. i< A clay floor 

 was adhered to by some for years, and su<'h was the 

 earnestness of the advocates and the many arsju- 

 ments brou;;ht to hear upon it that we were induced 

 some twenty years af;utotryif. In three or four 

 months we had the planks back ajrain, bciiif; satis- 

 fied of the disadvautajre of clay for this purpose. Our 

 present floor of plauk is simply inclined a little from 

 front to rear, where the usual gutter is made to 

 carry off the liquid voidiiifrs. We do not believe in 

 Baud, coal ashes, sawdust, asphaltum, llaijs, cobble 

 etoues or any of these modern devices to injure 

 horses. Thus far we have never noticed that this 

 little inclination was in any way injurious. a«d we 

 doubt whether the wooden ffrating that we frequent- 

 ly see ilaced over the plankinj; that some use would 

 be advisable on the ),'round that the atiiraal would be 

 more comfortable, while this movable jrratin;,'- or 

 second floor mif;ht lead to accidents. When a person 

 can keep horses in a good, sound, healthy conJition 

 for five or seven years, as we have done, on a care- 

 fully constructed plank flooring inclining a little to 

 the rear, it is just as well to be satisfied with it. Do 

 what one will, holes will be dug by the stamping of 

 the feet in the clay, and these will be lllled with 

 moisture, wnieh will necessarily result in scratches, 

 quarter crack, etc. If the clay is leveled off and 

 beaten down daily it will make no dillerence. Some 

 time ago we yisiled a number of stables where many 

 horses were kept and we encountered only one which 

 was composed of anything but wood. Of course there 

 will be new things— inventions— springing up which 

 are to meet and overcome every objection, and there 

 will be some to adopt them, but we will be satisfied 

 with what we have until theie is something produced 

 about which there will be no Oiislake.^Ocnnantown 

 TeUgrapli. 



Charcoal for Sick Animals. 



In nine cases out of ten when au animal is sick, 

 the digestion is wrong. Charcoal is the most effi- 

 cient and rapid corrective. The hired man came in 

 with the iutelllKeuce that one of the finest cows was 

 very sick, and a kind neighbor proposed the usual 

 drugs and poisons. The owner being ill and unable 

 to examine the cow, concluded that thelrouble came 

 from overeating, and ordered a teas|]Oonful of pul- 

 verized charcoal to be given in water. It was mixed, 

 placed in a juidi bottle, the head turned downward. 

 In live minutes improvement was visible, aua in a 

 few hours the anitnal was in the pasture quietly 

 grazing. Another instance of equal success occurred 

 with a young hcil'er which had become badly bloated 

 by eating green apples after a hard wind. The bloat 

 was so severe that the sides were us hard as a barrel. 

 The old remedy, saleratus, was fried for correcting 

 the acidity But the attempts to put it down always 

 raised coughing, and it did little good. Haifa tea- 

 spoonful of fresh powdered charcoal was given. In 

 Blx hours all appearance of the bloat had gone, and 

 the heifer was well. 



The Hog Crop. 



It is the opinion of many that we will have a large 

 hog crop this year. In these days, when half of the 

 hogs raised are marketed at or under one year of 

 age, it does not take long to make good a shortage. 

 It is true that a shortage of corn will very soon make 

 itself apparent in the weight and general develop, 

 ment of stock, but it does not necessarily interfere 

 with the increase in numbers, and though the spring 

 of 1^81 was generally very unfavorable for pigs, 

 everything has since been in favor of tlie breeder. 

 The feeder, however, has been compelled to work on 

 a more economical basis than usual, and many a lot 

 of hogs that should have been kept gaining by full 

 feeding has been allowed, or rather compelled to 

 '•root hog or die" sure enough. At the present lime 

 we are iretting liberal runs of good hogs, from :!!),- 

 000 to 50,000 per day at this point, and the iiidica- 

 tions do not point very strongly to any very serious 

 falling off iu the croj) of marketable hogs for the 

 sprini^ and summer. A fact to l)e borne in mind, 

 however, is that prices have recently advanced to 

 tempting figures- as ' high as ?~ for extra 

 heavy hogs— well calculated' fo draw strongly on the 

 available hog crop. — Chicago I'aper. 



Tying Up Calves. 



Will you please give mi^ your oi)inion in regard to 

 tying up calves? Some say tie them up. others let 

 them go with the sheep, and others turn them into a 

 pen by themselves, and litter them well, and they 

 will do first-rate. I think of taking uj) with the last 

 advi(;f\ Yours truly, T. C. P. 



If one has a wood sized pen, and can keep it well 

 liedded so as to kee]) the calves clean, it ij the most 

 itatural way, and undoubtedly a better way, than 

 tying them up, but, if <uie is pressed for room, or has 

 but a limited quantity of l)cd<ling, they will do very 

 well if tied up|with a halter, if they have been accus- 

 tomed to be led and tied ; if not, they will at lirst be 

 very uneasy. It is always best to accustom calves to 

 the halter when very young, for if brought up to be 

 led, it is much easier to lead than to drive them. 



It is not good policy fo turn them in with the 

 sheep and lambs, l^or when the lambs are young they 

 are liable tog et injured by the calves; it may besaid 

 that by letting them run with the sheep, they will 

 eat up a considerable portion of what the slieop 

 leave; but on the other hand, they will be sure fo get 

 a large share of the best hay given the sheep if it is 

 within their reach, and if it is not, they cannot eat 

 the poor. As the calves need to be fed different from 

 sheep, this, If nothing more, is a suflicient reason for 

 not keeping the calves with them. — Mauachusetts 

 Plougliman. 



Man's Treatment of the Horse. 



The man has cut away the frog, because he thinks 

 the horse will be Injured if the frog touches the 

 ground. He has then cut a deep groove at the base 

 of the frog. This is to give a well-opened heel, as 

 he is pleased to call it. He has scooped away the 

 sole to "give it spring." He has scored a deep notch 

 in the toe for the shoe. This is evidently a conserva- 

 tive relic of the time when nails were not used, and 

 the shoe attached by three pointed clips hammered 

 over the edge, one in front and one on either side. 

 Then he has improved the whole of the outer sur 

 face of the hoof. As the (Jreator has furnished this 

 part of the hoof with a thin, hard, polished plati>, 

 ibrmiug a sort of varnish which is impervious to wet, 

 the farrier, as a matter of course, rasps it all away 

 up to tlie crown. And as the Creator has placed 

 roufid the crown a fringe of liair, which acts as a 

 thatch to the line of junction and throws off the 

 rain upon the water proof varnish, he cuts this away 

 with his scissors. Lastly, the Creator having given 

 to the horny hoof a mottling of soft and partially 

 translucent brown, gray-blue, yellow, black and 

 white— never exactly the same iu two hoofs, mu.:h 

 less in two horses— the farrier takes a blacking pot 

 and brush, polishes up the hoofs until they look like 

 patent leather boots, all four exactly alike, and then 

 contemplates his work with satislaction. In his own 

 words, he has "turned out a finished job of it." 



Advantages of Small Flocks. 



The reason why large flocks of sheep— and the 

 principle applies to all farm stock— are less thriftv 

 than a small number together is answered very truly 

 by an address befofe the Indian Sheep Growers' As- 

 sociation, in speaking of pasturing : There is one 

 thingabout pasturingsheep that has been overlooked, 

 viz., the damage done to the grass by being run over 

 by the flock. While I believe one acre of good grass 

 would keep five or maybe eight sheep well, I do not 

 believe 100 acres would keep .500 sheep. Fire sheep 

 would probably do but little damage to one acre, 

 even though they were confined to it ; they would 

 put a lew tracks over it in a day, and would easily 

 find fresh grass each day. But suppose we put five 

 hundred sheep in a hundred-acre lot ; if each sheep 

 would confine themselves to their own particular 

 acre they would probably do well in summer. But 

 they will not do this, and right here is where theory 

 and practice part company. Our five sheep start out 

 to graze, and the VXy go along with them. Now, a 

 sheep is a dainty creature, and likes clean food. So 

 the hinderinost part of the flock keep pushing ahead, 

 paying little or no atention to what has been already 

 run over, and being in eacdi other's way each would 

 go over ten times as much ground belore it is filled 

 as it ought. And having so much more work to get 

 its food, it docs not do so well as one that can satisfy 

 itself with little or no exertion. Going over the trail 

 too frequently and picking about dung and urine for 

 grass is doubtless what makes large flocks so liable 

 to disease. 



'• Loss of Cud." 

 "This is an ambiguous term," says the Kansas 

 Farmer. " It may mean dropping of the cud from 

 the moutli during rumination, or a suspension of 

 rumination. But may occur from tlie same cause- 

 viz., iiKligcstion, or eatintr injurious or poisonous 

 plants. If this is the cause the stomach and bowels 

 should be cleared by a strong purgative, such as 

 twelve ounces of Ep.som salts with one ounce of 

 ground gingeralong with it. But the latter may oc 

 cur fiom the animal having swallowed somethiug 

 which has injured the paunch, such as a thorn, a 

 small piece of glass, or other rough, sharp substance. 



The symptoms which niiuht be looked for in this 

 case would be a rapid wasting and weakness, a star- 

 ing coat and a ilull colored skin, with much loose 

 scurf upon It, Irregular appetite and bowels, with die- 

 charge of gas from the throat and accumujatlons of 

 it in the paunch. Nothing can be done In'this ease 

 but to trust to chances and a natural recovery, leav- 

 iim: the animal fo rest, to facilllale a cure or the ex- 

 [lulsion of the intruding substance, If that Is possi- 

 ble." 



Training Heifers to Milk. 



A lieifer should be trained as soon as weaned. 

 She should then be haltered and made used to being 

 tied up and handled, and leil by the halter. Shi 

 should be eardeil and brushed, and her udder and 

 teats handled frequently until she becomes used to 

 it. A month or two before site calves she should be 

 tied up and brushed, and the udder rubbed and the 

 teats pulled; taught to lift the leg and keep it out 

 of the way of the milker, and generally disciplined. 

 All this should be <Ione gradually and gently, and 

 the youiu; animal made to understand that there is 

 nnthing to fear by always exercising kindness to her. 

 When she drops her calf no stranger should attend 

 her, but one site knows well, and she will come to 

 her tlufies as easily as an old cow. A newly calved 

 heifer should always be tied when she is milked, aa 

 she may be very nervous and not to be depended 

 upon until her disposition is shown. 



Bedding for Cows. 



Here In New England cords upon cords of good 

 dry sawdust and turning shavings are put into the 

 streams at the several sawmills, cabinet shops, etc., 

 and farmer A's cows only a mile away never have 

 one mite of bedding the whole wintor. Having 

 talked with some of the folks that have used turn- 

 ing shavings or sawdust for years, it is their opinion 

 that it pays more than double the expense incurred 

 in ffctling the sawdust, for the amount of manure it 

 makes; it saves all of the liquid manure, makes 

 the mamire pile fine and easy to work over; and it 

 will he obliged to be worked oyer unless you have 

 lioirs upon it to keep it from heating with consider- 

 able sawdust in it; but that can be done on leisure 

 days; then it will be line, all ready worked over for 

 the spring work, and in its best shapi' for the crops 

 to get the benefit. Green mamire from cows that re- 

 ceive no bedding and not worked over only as it goes In 

 and out of the cart, is not worth one-half as much as 

 line, properly prepared manure. It not only pays that 

 way, but how much more comfortable the cows are; 

 keepsthem cleiin, much better milking, etc. You re- 

 ceiveaproflt iu more ways than one. — Mirror. 



Inoculation of Animals. 



In the June number of the }feilical Record, James 

 Law has an excecdinirly interesting article on the 

 mitigation of the maliiinity of disease irerms. A 

 portion of the article is devoted to a consideration of 

 the luiii; plague in cattle, and while not containing &ny- 

 thiiiL' that is new to anyone who is perfectly familiar 

 with the disease, it does contain some IhinL'S that 

 will be new to the general reader. Tlie lunt'-plague, 

 so called, is not necessarily a disease of the luiiifs. 

 Prof. Law in his article truly says that it is possible 

 to inoculate the disease in the tail. This can be 

 done, too, with the effect of inoculation or vaccina- 

 tion, and it will protect the niiimal from future at- 

 tacks as certainly as if the disease had been devel- 

 oped in the lungs. The professor says that some 

 who are more witty than wise have ridiculed the 

 idea of thus inoculating an animal, but that their 

 nomenclature was at fault ami not the inoculatus, 

 that the specific diseiise, whatever it maybe called; 

 has been really produced in the tail, and that the 

 subject of the inoculation was made proof against 

 what is called the luii^' plague. The plague Is a 

 local ilisease which will develop in any vascular 

 structure of a susceptible animal in which i" may be 

 iinplanted. The germs inhaled into the lungs prey 

 upon the lun!;s alone, and if other germs are placed 

 upon the raw surface of the tail they will develop in 

 the tail only, but in both eases the disease all'ects 

 the system In such a way that the animal will not 

 aurain have the disease, however much it may be 

 exposed. 



If the tall is Inoculated, the severity ,of the dis- 

 ease will depend greatly upon the d. ptii to which 

 the poison is planted. The exudation and swelling 

 rarely exceeds the size of a hen's egg. But in the 

 lungs the air passages are closed, preventing a free 

 impress of oxygen, and it is not uncommon for the 

 mass of exudation to weigli as much as thirty 

 pounds, besides an enormous liquiM effusion in the 

 pleura'. In Australia, the professor says, the inocu- 

 iaiion is eluinsily but su^■ceh^fully performed, by 

 drawing a worhted thread. Mneared iu the exudate, 

 throu!,'li the connecting tissue beneath the skin of 

 the tail. This is a deep insertion, but the loose tex- 

 ture of the Worsted, serves to favor the admission of 

 air, and to counteract any dangerous change in the 

 virus. 



