112 



The LANCASTER FARMER. 



[July, 1883. 



Ox-Tail Sonp. — To make an appetizing ox-tail 

 soup you should be;j;in to make it the day before you 

 wish to make the soup. Take two tails, wash clean, 

 and put in a kettle with nearly a gallon of water ; 

 add a small handful of salt ; when the meat is well 

 cooked take out the bones. Let this stand in a cool 

 room, covered, and the next day, about an hour and 

 a half before dinner, skim off the crust or cake fat 

 which has risen to the top. Add a little onion, car- 

 rot, or any vegetables you choose, chopping them 

 fine first ; sage or summer savory may also be added 

 and simmer for an hour and a half. 



Boiled Rice, Chinese Sttle. — Pick the rice over 

 wash it well in cold water, put it over the fire in 

 sufficient eold water to rise an inch and a half above 

 the top of the rice, and set the saucepan where its con- 

 tents will slowly reach the boiling point; a little salt 

 may be dusted over the rice if desired; be sure that 

 the rice boils very slowly; the water will be partly 

 absorbed by the rice and partly evaporated, as the 

 vessel in which it is cooked is not covered; when it 

 is tender it is served in the bowls as an accompani- 

 ment to other dishes, being eaten as we eat bread; 

 while the grains are distinct they are slightly adhe- 

 sive, and can easily be eaten with chop-sticks, which 

 replace our forks. 



Rice and Lamb, Arabian Style. The inhabi- 

 tants of the Mediterranean countries excel in the 

 preparation of rice, and therefore a number of their 

 dishes will be given he.-e, as they are not expensive 

 and not difficult to prepare, while they afford a wel- 

 come variety at table. 



Boil about three pounds of lamb, exclusive of the 

 weight of the bones, in boiling water with a little 

 salt, until it is tender; take it troA the broth, put in 

 its place a quart of rice, or a pint of rice and soaked 

 chick peas, (large yellow dried peas) and half a cup 

 of raisins, and boil all together until the rice and peas 

 are tender. Meantime cut the flesh of the lamb in 

 pieces an inch square and fry them light brown in 

 hot butter; when the rice is done drain off nearly all 

 the broth; mix the meat with it, highly season the 

 dish, which is called alciizens, and serve it hot. 



Live Stock. 



Feed the Cows Well in Summer. 

 The customary loss from poor and deficient feed 

 in midsummer, when grazing is the sole dependence 

 for the summer feed for the herd, is about two-fifths 

 of what would have been the yield if full feeding of 

 green food has been supplied through the. entire 

 season. When a herd has been permitted to shrink 

 from drought, it not only gives less milk through all 

 the remaining part of the season, but it dries up en- 

 tirely very much sooner than when the flow is kept 

 up to its maximum measure all the time. Herds 

 which are full fed, go dry on an average only about 

 one month in the year, while those who suffer from a 

 drought six to ten weeks in the hot part of the 

 season, with no extra feed, go dry on the average 

 about three months. Animals pinched in the summer 

 get poor and wanting in vigor, so that they do not 

 stand the winter well, and yet it costs more to win- 

 ter such a herd than it does a fieshy one. To subject 

 cows to a lack of feed when they should be doing 

 their best, brings disaster in every quarter, and in- 

 fiiets losses upon the owner which keep him strug- 

 gling with poverty from year to year, and by dis- 

 tressing and discouraging, make him dissatisfied 

 with his business and life an up-hill journey.— jVa- 

 timial Livestock Journal. 



How to Feed Stock. 



The Massachusetts Ploughiaan says that some 

 farmers have an idea that any boy can feed stock as 

 well as a man, but the more observing believe that 

 to feed stock so as to secure the best condition on the 

 smallest amount of fodder, requires quite as much 

 skill as any operation on the farm, and it is a work 

 which requires both study and practice ; study to 

 learn the nature and requirements of each class of 

 animals, and the nutritive qualities of each kind of 



food ; practical experience so that the particular 

 wants of each animal in every class maybe thoroughly 

 understood. While the farmer should endeavor to 

 have his boys feed the stock a portion of the time, 

 he should always be with them to give directions and 

 to see that the work is properly done. The knowl- 

 edge of how to make cattle eat up the coarser fod- 

 der without waste, is fully possessed by some 

 farmers, while others do not even know how to 

 make them eat up the best hay, but keep large 

 quantities before them the most of the time. For 

 economy there is nothing like keeping a clean crib, 

 giving cattle only as much as they will at once eat 

 up clean. This will apply to all farm animals as 

 well as cattle. 



Harsh Grooming. 



It is a very common thing among horses that are 

 what is called well groomed, to be cross in the stable, 

 and it is no uncommon thing to see this disposition 

 carried into the street. Particularly do we find this 

 fault in nearly every horse that is kept for speed, 

 hence we are led to the conclusion that the ill temper 

 is caused largely by the harsh use of the currying 

 tools. As evidence of the truth of this, we notice 

 that the celebrated trotting mare, Maud S., has a 

 very kind disposition, and that those in charge of 

 her are under positive instruction from Mr. Blair, her 

 trainer, to use no grooming implements that will ir- 

 ritate the skin. The tact that race-horses are the 

 best-groomed and at the same time invariably cross, 

 is conclusive to our mind that the fault ia in the 

 harsh manner of grooming them. We often find 

 horses that will stand perfectly quiet to be scratched 

 with th fingers, in fact will become perfectly docile 

 when in a rage, under such treatment ; but the mo- 

 ment the currycomb is applied, they become restless, 

 and often require secure fastenings while being cur- 

 ried. During the past two or three years we have 

 had two horses that when we first got them would 

 jump all over the barn at the touch of the curry- 

 comb, and yet would stand perfectly quiet to be 

 rubbed with a wisp of hay or the brush, yet by care- 

 fully handling the currycomb on them we were in a 

 short time able to curry every part of them. There 

 is no doubt that many a good dispositioned animal 

 had had his disposition spoiled by attempting to clean 

 the mud ofl' his limbs with a sharp currycomb. 

 Under no circumstances should this be done ; if the 

 weather is too cold to admit of washing when soft, 

 allow it to dry and then rub with a wisp of hay or 

 coarse cloth ; old gunny sacks are best. 



If any of our married friends doubt our theory in 

 regard to this matter, we suggest that they place a 

 sharp-toothed comb in the hands of their better half, 

 and sit down on a stool in front of her, particularly 

 if the hair on their head is a little scarce. 



Wasteful Destruction of Calves. 



Thinking men are much concerned over the con- 

 tinued habit of destroying large numbers of calves in 

 the dairy districts. They realize fully the difficulty 

 of persuading the dairy farmer that it would oe 

 wiser to save at least the female calves, for the 

 farmer who can readily sell every ounce of milk at a 

 profit will not readily bother with raising calves. 

 Very naturally he asks, Why should I feed $20 worth 

 of milk to raise a f 15 calf?" audit is not easy to 

 show why, for dairymen can buy milch cows when 

 they need fresh ones, feeil them well and fatten 

 quickly when the flow of milk shall have fallen below 

 a profltable point, and sell to the butchers for enough, 

 or very nearly enough, to pay for a fresh cow. 



If he realizes that the lime will come when milch 

 cows cannot be bought in this way he will reply 

 that when milch cows become scarce and hard to buy 

 thi-n milk will become scarce and easy to sell at 

 higher prices than are now current. The profits of 

 the dairyman will thus be affected comparatively 

 little by any change which may thus come in the 

 supply of cows. In this case, as in many others, the 

 unwise policy of destroying the young heifers will in 

 the end serve to increase the cost of living. Every 

 one who uses milk or butter will have to pay a part 



of the penalty for slaughtering the^e thousands of 

 young calves, each of which if brought to maturity 

 might produce in the natural course of her life food 

 amounting to many times her own weight and value. 

 Killed at the age of six or eight weeks she will 

 yield at best a few pounds only of not very nutritious 

 food. 



Just how a reform may be brought about in this 

 matter does not appear. The dairyman can scarcely 

 be expected to feed a calf milk worth more than 

 that calf will be worth when weaned, even though he 

 may fully realize that there is here in the West a 

 strong demand for all thrifty calves at prices which 

 cause such animals to be brought hundreds of miles 

 from the East. He may believe that the supply of 

 cows in this country is much below the wants of the 

 rapidly increasing population, and that beef and 

 milk and butter must rise in value year by year, 

 so that a few years hence each cow willbecome much 

 more profitable than she would be now, but he will 

 probably continue to sell his young stock to the 

 butcher as soon as it shall have become old enough 

 to kill for food. 



The Glanders. 



Because of the recent appearance among horses of 

 the dread and invariably fatal disease known as 

 glanders, and its alarming prevalence in some por- 

 tions of the State, something about its nature and 

 the means for preventing contagion may prove profit- 

 able. A well known and thoroughly informed veteri- 

 nary surgeon was interviewed yesterday by a re- 

 porter for the Times on this subject. He said : " Of 

 all diseases among live stock this peculiar form of 

 glanders is the most to be dreaded. When an animal 

 is afflicted with it there is absolutely no hope of re- 

 covery, and the only thing to be done is to limit it to 

 the one patient if possible. This is rarely, if ever, 

 possible, however, for with great rapidity the whole 

 stable becomes infected, even to the building, harness 

 and litter. In fact, everything in the barn becomes 

 pregnant with the germs of the disease, and it is 

 almost impossible to eradicate them. There is only 

 one sure way known to the profession, and that is to 

 destroy all the horses, and then burn the stable with 

 its entire contents. The attendants upon such cases 

 very frequently contract the contagion, and it ope- 

 rates with as deadly effect upon a man as upon a 

 horse. By the most systematic disinfection, how- 

 ever, a man may, with comparative safety, treat 

 cases of glanders. He must make an absolute 

 change of clothing upon leaving the stable and take 

 a thorough bath if he would not spread the disease 

 or contract it himself." 



" How may the disease be detected in its primary 

 stages ?" 



"In the earlier stages the symptoms are similar to 

 those of ordinary distemper, and it is very apt to be 

 mistaken for that disease even by experienced vet- 

 erinary surgeons. Within a few days, however, the 

 changes are very pronounced. The glands of the 

 throat become swollen, and malignant eating ulcers 

 form in the nostrils. In a short time a dropsical 

 swelling of the joints appears, attended by ulcera- 

 tions on the lympathics of the skin. The lungs fi- 

 nally become infected, folowed by a distressing con "h, 

 and before long the animal dies." 



"How long has the disease been known to exist?" 



"For many years, but it appears periodically. 

 During the war cavalry horses were killed by scores 

 by glanders and it was no unusual occurrence for the 

 horses of an entire regiment to be destroyed before 

 the contagion could he checked." 



"Does the disease ever originate spontaneously?" 



"It is claimed by some that it does appear without 

 specific contagion, but I think that such an idea is 

 erroneous. I never heard of a case that originated 

 without direct contact with a previous case. To pre- 

 vent contagion too much importance cannot be at- 

 tached to a most rigid disinfection. It should be 

 even more exacting than in small pox." 



"Do you think the disease is liable to extend be- 

 yond the district at present infected?" 



"That will depend entirely upon the care that is 

 exercised by the people in those districts. It is so 

 easily transmitted in clothing and in almost any ar- 

 ticle that a quarantine is the only method that will 

 insure absolute safety." — Chicago Times. 



