26 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[February, 



result become ijublic, and as it is undoubtedly 

 a matter of considerable importance we print 

 it at length. The examination of the snowy- 

 looking stuff under the microscope at once 

 disclosed the fact that it was composed of 

 thousands of very minute insects, covered 

 with silvery scales, and nearly all in a vigo- 

 rous state of health. A searching investiga- 

 tion was at once set on foot, and strict secrecy 

 enjoined on all concerned, and it was soon 

 proved beyond a doubt that the insects were 

 no less than the dreaded snow fleas of Eastern 

 Siberia, wliich have never before been found 

 in any part of the world more than a few 

 hundred miles from that country. A well- 

 known professor of natural history, who 

 formed one of the investigating committee, 

 said yesterday : The first specimen we re- 

 ceived was sent from Montreal by a ship- 

 master named Manning, who discovered 

 th^m on his ship's deck on the Atlantic 

 Ocean, but we have found large quantities of 

 them about the city during and after all the 

 snow storms of this season. The snow flea, 

 or, to give it its scientific name, the Bisli- 

 Siberius, belongs to the family of Produridce, 

 or "Springtails," and, although very much 

 smaller than the ordinary black flea, closely 

 resembles it in form and habit, one great dif- 

 ference being that, while it is > apable of leap- 

 ing, it does so by means of its tail, and not as 

 the flea does— with his legs. The leap, in the 

 case of tlie snow-flea, is performed by doub- 

 ling the tail up under the abdomen and sud- 

 denly throwing it backward, which results in 

 a forward movement of the body — in fact, it 

 is from this characteristic that the name 

 " Springtails" is derived. They are very te- 

 nacious of life, and breed very rapidly, 

 especially where the weather is cold and dry, 

 damp weather seeming to throw them into a 

 stupor. In Eastern Siberia the people have 

 to use every precaution against the pests, and 

 . many legends speak of them as the " snow of 

 Hades," and say that the souls of the wicked 

 are being tortured by being exposed to driv- 

 ing storms of them. "As yet," continued 

 the Professor, " we have found but few cases 

 in this city wliere people seem to have been 

 sufferers from the insects, but should a s jjj 

 of cold, dry weather set in it will unciuestion- 

 ably be the signal for much complaint. The 

 insects, which can only by the closest scrutiny 

 be distinguished from fine snow, fasten to 

 the clothes of pedestrians and cling there, 

 until the persou enters a warm temperature, 

 when they at once begin to bite in the most 

 vicious manner; and, although the bite is not 

 poisonous, it is for a few moments even more 

 painful than that of the ordinary flea. As a 

 rule, the bites are mainly confined to the legs, 

 for the snow-flea does not seem to possess the 

 power to climb and wander over the body of 

 its victim. Oue gentleman, a resident of 

 Frankford, was a lew days since much an- 

 noyed by them, and his little boy, who was 

 bitten at the same time, suftered great pain 

 for several hours. Correspondence with scien. 

 tific men in Montreal and Boston shows that 

 the pests have also appeared at those points, 

 and in the former city have created great dis- 

 comfort. The strangest feature noticeable is 

 the fact that it is never found more than 

 eighteen inches above the ground, and servant 

 girls have been forced to wear rubber boots 



while sweeping oft' the sidewalks in front of 

 their masters' residences. Professor James 

 McArchfield, of this city, has prepared an ex- 

 haustive article on the subject, which will be 

 read at the next meeting of the Academy. — 

 Philaaelphia Record. 



[We publish the above more as a matter of 

 fancy than of fact. It needs scientific con- 

 firmation, and until that is accorded we are 

 compelled to place it on the outer margin of 

 our belief. It will, however, do our readers 

 no harm to read both papers on the " Snow 

 Flea." It may set them to thinking and ob- 

 serving, exercises people are prone to shove on 

 the shoulders of others, unless they are sure 

 there is "something in it."— Ed.] 



PIPES MADE FROM POTATOES. 



According to the Vienna Aijricidturul Ga- 

 zette it has been discovered that meerschaum 

 pipes of excellent quality, susceptible of the 

 highest polish, and even more readily colora- 

 ble than the genuine sjjiioho di mare, may be 

 made of potatoes. The familiar tuber, it 

 seems, is well qualified to compete witli the 

 substance known to commerce as " meer- 

 schaum clay. " Its latent virtues in this direc- 

 tion are developed by the following treatment : 

 Haviug been carefully peeled and sufl'ered 

 extraction of its " eyes," the potato is boiled 

 uniutermittently for thirty-six hours in a mix- 

 ture of sulphuric acid and water, after which 

 it must be squeezed in a press until every drop 

 of natural or acquired moisture is extracted 

 from it. The residuum of this simple process 

 is a hard block of a delicate creamy white hue, 

 every wlnt as suitable to the manufacture of 

 ornamental and artistically-executed pipe- 

 heads as the finest clay. The potato, more- 

 over, dealt with in the manaer above de- 

 scribed, promises to prove a formidable rival 

 to the elephant's tusk. It may be converted 

 into billiard-balls as hard, smooth, as endur- 

 ing as ivory, and can be depended upon for an 

 inexhaustible supply of carved umbrella- 

 handles, chessmen and fans. As potatoes are 

 plentiful all over the world, and likely to 

 remain so, while elephants are, comparatively 

 speaking, rarities, mankind at large may 

 fairly be congratulated upon the discovery 

 of a substitute for ivory, which can be pro- 

 duced in unlimited quantity, and at an almost 

 nominal cost, taking into consideration the 

 difference of price between a pound of the best 

 kidney potatoes and a pound of prime ele- 

 phant's tusk.— iondon Dailt/ Telegraph. 

 ^ 



TRAINING A HORSE TO BACK AND TO 

 LEAD. 



Take him to the top of rather a steep piece 



of ground, stand his hind feet down the slope, 



throw the bridle reins over the neck, place 



yourself in front, and take hold of them on 



each side of the head close to the bit. Now 



press the bit against the sides of the mouth 



and speak gently, "back, back" — and the 



horse will soon learn to do this. Next, take 



him on the top of ground not quite so steep, 



and pursue the same course. When the horse 



has learned to back readily down hill he can 



be taken on to level ground to do it. As soon 



as this lesson is well taught, harness him to a 



light, empty wagon and go through the same 



course. When completed jump into the 



wagon, take the reins in hand, pull on them, 



at the same time speaking to him "back, 



back," and thus keep up the discipline till the 

 animal is perfected in it. If he has a mate, 

 after both are well instructed, they can be 

 harnested together and drilled till perfect in 

 backing. 



Three things, as above stated, must be 

 strictly observed; First, to place the horse 

 with his back down descending ground ; sec- 

 ond, when harnessed, let it be in a light, 

 empty wagon, which requires the least possible 

 effort to back it ; third, be perfectly kind to 

 the horse, speak gently, pat it on the neck, 

 stroke down its face with the hand, and on no 

 account strike it. As soon as the horse under- 

 stands what is wanted of him he will do it 

 with alacrity. It is not from ill-temper or 

 stubbornness that he does not back at once 

 when spoken to ; it is from sheer ignorance — 

 he does not know what is wanted or how to do 

 it until gently taught. 



A second method is to harness the horse 

 alongside of another well broken to back, and 

 set the hind end of the wagon on a sloping 

 piece of ground and follow the directions 

 above, or jump into the wagon and take the 

 reins in hand, but it is better to discipline 

 alone at first, as above. 



To teach a horse to lead, let a man or boy 

 take the end of the bridle in hand and gently 

 pull on it, while another holds out a dish with 

 grain or meal in it. The horse will then ad- 

 vance to it. Now let him nibble a small quan- 

 tity, then move with a dish a little fiirther in 

 front, and so keep on till he is taught to lead 

 well. He can also be taught by putting him 

 alongside another horse which leads easily 

 He ought to be rather hungry when thus 

 drilled, so that he will come up eagerly to the 

 dish of grum.—Bural New Yorker. 



OBSERVATIONS ON CRIB-BITING. 



A crib-biter in a stable has a most unpleas- 

 ant and disagreeable appearance. Opinions 

 dift'er whether crib-biting should be regarded 

 as a habit, or a disease, or a vice. Our ob- 

 servations on this point are as follows : We 

 imagine that it generally arises in horses in 

 poor condition, and that, in the first instance, 

 the habit is acquired from an eftbrt of nature 

 to get rid of thegasescollectedin thestomacli, 

 and in these cases it may or may not com- 

 mejice from irritation. We have not known 

 a fat horse to take to crib-biting by standing 

 next to another aflected with it ; but a lean 

 horse that is difticult to get fat may do so. 

 This habit, when once acquired, and when 

 the animal is in condition, will seldom or 

 never be left off ; but the same diseased action 

 and tendency to flatulency will still continue. 

 We do not think that horses inhale the air in 

 crib-biting ; we consider it an effort to expel 

 air. W^e never saw a horse make a gulp, or 

 attempt to swallow air. Whether any air is 

 expelled from the stomach in crib-biting, we 

 can not determine, but think there is some 

 portion, and that the principal noise is from 

 the fauces. The construction of the fiiuces 

 and stomach of a horse render the exuctation 

 of air a diflicult process, and we have seen 

 horses nearly choked by a sudden rush of gas 

 up the fpsophagus, but this eftect was proba- 

 bly caused by the noxious quality of the gas. 

 The distention ot the stomach of the animal 

 in crib-biting depends, we consider, on thQ 

 gases given out from the food ; as a proof 



