1883.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



27 



of whicli, the liiiiflering a crib-biter from Ills 

 hal)it will lint always i)revent this distention. 

 We all know that many persons of sedentary 

 habits arc peculiarly liable to dyspepsia and 

 llatulency, and we must all have experienced 

 the unpleasant sensation attending it. How 

 arc they relieved '? By exercise, or by giving 

 an agent to dispel these gases. So it aiiiiears 

 to be with horses ; and we have observed that, 

 when cnb-biters are on long, slow, regular 

 work, tliey crib less. We liave seen many 

 eases in which crib-biters, being debarred from 

 their hal>it, have follen away in flesli, and 

 others, in which the animal has been inui'b 

 more liable to colic ; and we think that in 

 many crib-biters the habit is necessary to the 

 health of the animal. We usually see crib- 

 biters thin, but we think that proceeds more 

 from a diseased action of the digestive organs 

 than from the eflect of the habit, and their 

 being poor is no proof that crib-biting makes 

 thcni so. When a crib-biter continues in 

 health and good condition, if he can be kept 

 apart from other horses, we see no reason why 

 he should be debarred from cribbing ; and, 

 indeed, we think that, generally speaking, it 

 would prove injurious to him. Any one who 

 will take the trouble to examine one-half of 

 the difterent contrivances that have been made 

 to prevent it will wonder how it is possible 

 for a horse to crib-bite with some of them ; 

 and it will most strikingly convince them 

 of the very great dillicnlty there is to over- 

 come a habit once fully formed in a horse, or 

 any other animal. — Prairie Farmer. 



DEEP CULTIVATION. 

 In answering a correspondent who advo- 

 cates shallow cultivation for corn the Country 

 Oentleman mentions two conditions of soil 

 which are not benetited by deep plowing ; 

 these are such as have a sterile subsoil and 

 those which are porous below. A sterile sub- 

 soil does uot benefit the richer top soil by in- 

 termixture with it, and a porous sub-soil does 

 not need loosening. But a soil rich above 

 and poor and impervious below may be much 

 improved for withstanding the effects of se- 

 vere droughts by subsoiling and loosening to 

 some depth to receive like a sponge the heavy 

 rains whicli fall upon it, and to give out from 

 this reservoir the needed moisture to growing 

 crops when droughts prevail. We have seen 

 some striking instances. A row of potatoes 

 planted over a covered ditch yielded double 

 the crop given from cither of the adjacent 

 rows, the quality of the soil being the same ; 

 but the loo.sened earth over the ditcli prevent- 

 ed the effects of the severe drought which af- 

 fected the adjoining rows. In the same way 

 an advocate for manuring with electricity 

 proved his theory, as he thought, by running 

 a wire from a lightning rod under a row of 

 beans, which were greatly increased in growth. 

 The theory, however, was overthrown when 

 it was found that the same increased growth 

 was produced away from the wire by loosen- 

 ing the subsoil as much as was required for 

 burying the wire. The great increase in the 

 potato erop by thorough sybsoiling was 

 shown some years ago in a sea.son of unusual 

 drought in a field of several acres, which 

 yielded more tlian triple the amount per acre 

 obtained from other fields which were planted 

 after common or shallow plowing, and, the 



whole crop being sold at 75 cents a bu.shel, 

 gave over .$100 from each acre. 



These instances occurred where the subsoil 

 po.s.se.ssed no unusual fertilizing <iuality, the 

 benefit ari.sing from its acting as a sponge or 

 reservoir for moisture, as well as for the 

 deeper extension of the roots. But in very 

 large jiortions of the country a great positive 

 benefit has been found by bringing up and 

 mixing portions of the subsoil with the earth 

 at the surface. A farmer in one of the west- 

 ern counties of New York, in jireparing the 

 land f(U' wheat, set the i)low to run two inches 

 deeper than the plowing in i)revious years. 

 The result was that his wheat crop was in- 

 creased eight or ten bushels on an average. 

 A still more striking instance occurred on 

 another occasion of the benefit of an mter- 

 mixture of the subsoil with the surface. An 

 open ditch had been cut through a field to 

 drain a small pond. The earth taken from 

 the ditch was scattered over the surface for a 

 rod or two on each side. The field was then 

 sown to wheat. The subsequent winter was 

 very severe on this crop, and the following 

 summer proved unusually unfavorable. On 

 most of the field the product did not average 

 over five bushels per acre — it was scarcely 

 worth cutting. The two strips (on each side 

 of the ditch) on which the subsoil was spread 

 yielded at the rate of twenty bushels per 

 acre. This contrast was not owing to the 

 drainage effected by the ditch, as the soil and 

 sub-soil of much of the field rested on gravel 

 and had a natural drainage. 



Farmers must adapt their practice to cir- 

 cumstances. If the subsoil is both sterile and 

 porous there would be no object whatever in 

 deep plowing, unless possibly for gradually 

 deepening the manured top-.soil. If sterile 

 but impervious it should be sub-soiled— not 

 trench-plowed — to deepen the reservoir for 

 the absorption and supply of moisture. If it 

 possesses enriching qualities the plowing 

 should be dpep enough to bring up a portion 

 to the surface ; and, if in addition to its 

 fertilizing efl'ects it is impervious to water, 

 the sub-soil plow sliould be used in addition to 

 running the common plow deeper than before. 

 It is hardly necessary to add that all impervi- 

 ous subsoils need thorough underdraining as 

 an indispensable requirement in connection 

 with subsoiling. 



We might ofler conjectures as to what tlie 

 fertilizing sul)stances were in these enriching 

 subsoils, but our present purpose is merely 

 with the established facts. 



CARE OF HORSES. 



1. Xever allow any one to tickle your horse 

 in the stable. The animal only feels the tor- 

 ment and does not understand the joke. 

 Vicious habits are thi s easily brought on. 



2. Never beat the horse when in the stable. 

 Nothing so soon makes him iiersi-stcntly 

 vicious. 



3. Let the horse's litter be dry and clean 

 underneath as well as on top. Standing on 

 hot, fermented manure makes the hoofs soft, 

 and brings on lameness. 



4. Change the litter partially in some I'-'rls 

 and entirely in others, cveiy morning ; and 

 brush out and clean the stall thoroughly. 



ri. To procure a good coat on your horse, use 

 plenty of rubbing and brushing. Plenty of 



"elbow grease " opens the ijores, softens the 

 skin, and promotes the animal's general 

 health. 



0. Never clean a hor.se in the stable. The 

 dust fouls the crib, and makes him loathe his 

 food. 



7. Use the curry comb lightly. When used 

 roughly it is a source of great ))ain. 



X. Let the heels be well bru.shed out every 

 night. Dirt, if allowed to cake in, causes 

 grease and sore heels. 



0. Whenever a horse is washed, never leave 

 him till he is rubbed quite dry. lie will 

 probably get a chill if neglected. 



10. When a horse comes off a journey the 

 first thing is to walk him about till he is cool- 

 if he is brought in hot. This prevents his 

 taking cold. 



11. The next thing is to groom him quite 

 dry, first with a whisp of straw, then with a 

 brush. This removes dust, dirt and sweat, 

 and allows time for the stomach to recover 

 itself, and the appetite to return. 



12. Also let his legs be well rubbed by tiie 

 hand. Nothing so soon removes a strain. 

 It also detects thorns or splinters, soothes 

 the animal and enables him to feed com- 

 fortably. 



IH. Let the hor.se have some exercise every 

 day. Otherwise he will be liable to fever or 

 bad feet. 



14. Let your horse stand loose, if possible,' 

 without being tied up to the manger. Pain 

 and weariness from a continued position, in- 

 duce bad habits and cause swollen feet and 

 other disorders. 



1.5. Look often at the animal's feet and 

 legs. Diseases or wounds in those parts, if at 

 all neglected, soon become dangerous. 



16. Every night look and see if there is any 

 stone between the hoof and the shoe. Stand- 

 ing on it all night the horse will be lame next 

 morning. 



17. If the horse remains in the stable his 

 feet must be "stooped." Heat and dryness 

 cause crack hoofs and lameness. 



18. The feet should not be "stooped" oftener 

 than twice in the week. It will make the 

 hoofs soft, and bring on corns. 



19. Do not urge the animal to drink water 

 which he refuses. It is probably hard and 

 unwholesome. 



20. Never allow drngs to b(^ administered 

 to your horse witliout your knowledge. Tliey 

 are not needed to keep the animal in health, 

 and may do the greatest aud most sudden 

 mischief. 



THE COLLIE DOG. 



In the Kennel department will be found an 

 interesting report of the sheep dog trials of 

 the Northwestern Counties Association. Eng- 

 land, with a full description of the work of 

 the dogs. We would sug<rest to the lover of 

 the collie in this country that an as.sociation 

 be formed under the name of the American 

 Collie Club, for the purpose of holding trials 

 and improving the breed of this intelligent 

 and useful animal. Not least among the 

 benefits resulting from the work of such an 

 a.ssociation would be tlie wide-spread knowl- 

 edge gained by the public as to the virtues 

 and intelligence of their favorites, and this 

 would win for them their rightful place — now 



