PREFACE. 



Ik the whole routine of husbandry, there is not a subject 

 on which there is so great a want of information as in treat- 

 ing sick animals, and preventing diseases ; and in no case do 

 so serious and frequent losses occur, for want of knowledge. 

 These losses, in this country, amount to a vast sum annually, 

 not less than some millions of dollars ; the greater part of 

 which might be saved by good management and proper treat- 

 ment. 



More than twenty years ago, we commenced collecting valu- 

 able rules and prescriptions, for managing animals and curing 

 diseases, for our own private use in pursuing the business 

 of farming ; and in a number of instances, neighbors con- 

 sulted these authorities, and by aid of a simple recipe, 

 saved the lives of valuable animals. A mere item of a 

 few lines, that costs less than one mill, may enable the 

 farmer to save the life of an animal. By the help of a single 

 prescription, whole herds and flocks have been saved from the 

 "pestilence that walketh in darkness, and the destruction that 

 wasteth at noonday." 



We have continued our collection of valuable matter, con- 

 sulting the best American and European authorities on the 

 veterinary art, and many skilful practitioners, from whom we 

 have obtained new and valuable prescriptions ; and in con- 

 ducting agricultural journals for more than twelve years, we 

 have carefully examined all the works of this character, in 

 this country, and some of the principal English periodicals, 

 through which numerous intelligent farmers have communi- 

 cated their experience in managing stock and treating diseased 

 animals. 



Availing ourselves ol our own experience and observation 

 as a practical farmer, and conductor of papers devoted to the 

 farming interest, and of our numerous sources, we have col- 

 lected a vast heap of valuable materials on the subject of this 

 work. This we have examined, sifted, arranged, digested, 

 and reduced, by excluding words and retaining ideas, facts, 

 and opinions, so as to present the cream and substance of the 

 whole, in one neat, cheap volume, within the means of every 

 one, and in a clear, simple style, within the comprehension of 

 every one of common capacity. 



This work is not only adapted to the wants of the farmer 

 but it should be in the hands of every mechanic, and persons 



