NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



287 



SALTING STOCK. 



A corresponrlont of the Farmer, some time nsto, 

 offeicd some sjieeulatiniT* about salting stock — qucs- 

 tionina; the utility of the practice, and asking for 

 actual exnerimont. 



The animal system has no power to create an^• of 

 the elements of flesh, organized tissue, or salntavv 

 secretions. But the or<;ans of nutrition and assimi- 

 lation have ■vvondei'ful po-\vcr to modify the clieniioal 

 constituents of the animal body, into a iiart of that 

 body, when they are supjdied. Healthy, perfect 

 animals cannot he raised or kept unless all the vari- 

 ous chemical constituents of bone, meat, fat, &c., are 

 furnished in fond or drink, or in the atmosphere they 

 breathe. Combinations of gluten, starch, oil, &c., 

 found in the food of herbivorous animals, supiily 

 much of the material for organized tissue and fat, 

 and abundance of carbon for the purposes of respira- 

 tion. But a variety of mineral substances arc equally 

 necessary, to wit : Phosphorus for the formation of 

 nervous tissue, bones, white and yolk of eggs, and 

 miUc. It is furnished in the grasses and seeds of 

 plants. Sulphur exists in flesh, eggs, and milk. It 

 is found in most spring and river water, and in some 

 plants with their azotizcd compounds. I/ime is a 

 well-known ingredient in the animal structure. It 

 is equally abundant in the vegetable kingdom and 

 in all hard water. Iron is a " sine qua non " in red 

 blood, animal flesh, yolk of eggs, and milk. It is 

 supplied in some water and in many vegetables. 



Common salt is no less important in the animal 

 economy. It is contained in flesh, in the egg, in 

 milk, and other fliiids. It is a combination of mu- 

 riatic acid and soda. The first named is essential to 

 the gastric juice, making it a ready solvent of many 

 substances which would otherwise be useless to the 

 purpose of assimilation. Common salt is scarcely 

 found in plants, except such as grow in salt marshes, 

 salt licks, or sea water. This deficiency must be 

 supplied. Instinct and appetite impel wild animals 

 to seek such marshes and licks, where they choose 

 the raw material in the most concentrated form they 

 can find it. Domestication prevents animals from 

 obeying this desire, and renders it our dvity and 

 interest to mingle it with theii' food or treat them 

 regularly with this luxury, as their actions prove 

 they esteem it. 



By the advice of some old farmers I have fed my 

 pigs with salt freely and regularly, especially while 

 fattening, for four or five years ; and am satisfied 

 that it is of great service in giving permanency to 

 the appetite and solidity to the flesh — besides being 

 well paid for expense and trouble in grateful grunts 

 and smacking chops. 



J. H. BEECH, M. D. 



Gaines, N. Y., 1849. 

 — Genesee Farmer. 



Remarks by Editor N. E. Farmer. — Some per- 

 sons contend that salt is not necessary for stock ; but 

 it seems to us that they do not take a candid view 

 of the subject. Practical knowledge, in tending 

 animals, shows that they naturally require salt. 

 Their taste for it is not perverted, like that of man 

 for alcohol, tobacco, and opium. The young animal 

 craves salt, and partakes of it greedily and with a 

 relish. But the child loathes alcohol, until it is 

 diluted, and made palatable by sweetening, and a 

 love of it is acquired only by habit and the power of 

 fashion. 



This natural appetite, with the salutary effect 

 from the free use of salt by animals, and the evi- 

 dence, from a scientific investigation, that the ele- 

 ments of salt are component parts of animals, and 



that these ingredients are generallj' deficient in 

 herbage, are sufficient, in our opinion, to show, that 

 animals should cither have a suitable quantity of 

 salt mixed with their food, or they should have con- 

 stant access to salt, and help themselves as they 

 desire. 



NEATNESS IN SCHOOLS. 



Those who know enoiigh to be school teachers, 

 know that filthiness is off'cnsive to the best part of 

 people. If a teacher's influence over his scholars 

 tends to make them indifl'erent about cleanliness, it 

 tends to separate them from the best society, and 

 make them companions of the vile. They know, 

 too, that there is a connection between our external 

 circumstances, and the state and actions of our 

 minds. There are many indecent and injurious 

 things which children, and adults too, will do in a 

 dirty room, which they would not do in a clean one. 

 They know also that habits are rapidly forming 

 while children attend school. If they are accus- 

 tomed to be neat in their persons and dress, and to 

 have things neat around them when at school, they 

 will be much more likely than they otherwise would 

 be, to give due attention to neatness in future life, 

 and that is a matter of no small importance. 



Cleanliness is an important virtue, and one the 

 practice of which is very sure to lead to other virtues. 

 It causes a carefulness about things, which greatly 

 promotes economy. It calls for the doing of some 

 things frequently, and that tends to industry. It 

 causes attention to what one is doing, and what is 

 done near him, and to Avhatever else may affect him 

 in relation to cleanliness, and thus promotes mental 

 activity. 



Let me, then, say to those who expect to teach. 

 Do what you can to promote neatness among your 

 scholars. Yoiu- endeavors for it, if wisely made, will 

 be among your best commendations to them and to 

 their parents, and tend to bring you their approba- 

 tion and aid. They will also be among your best 

 means for preserving good order, and securing atten- 

 tion to study ; and thus serve to make your work 

 more easy and pleasant. If I were to go into your 

 school-room, and find it dirty, and evidently through 

 your negligence, (and it would be by your neglect if 

 not swept within twenty-four hours,) I should say 

 to myself, " This teacher is not fit to have the care 

 of children. He either does not know the need of 

 keeping out the dirt, or he does not as well as he knows 

 how." — Clarion. 



AN AFFECTIONATE GOBBLER. 



A friend, who has been very successful in raising 

 poultry, states that a turkey of his recently had a 

 large brood, and then suddenly died, and " made no 

 sign." The old turkey cock, immediately upon her 

 demise, took charge of her young family, conducting 

 them abroad in the daytime, and at night sheltering 

 them under his wings with all the care of a mother. 

 The widowed gentlemen with the red gills is in aU 

 respects a pattern of kindness and affection, not 

 oft n seen among the descendants of the turkey line. 

 — Lowell Courier. 



We are informed of a still more singular case 

 than this, which has occurred in a neighboring town 

 the present season. The turkey hen had laid the 

 proper complement of eggs, but did not incline to 

 set ; therefore Master Gobbler took it into his head 

 to do the setting, which he did, and hatched a fine 

 brood. He attends to them with truly maternal 

 care, and more than maternal ostentation, and gives 

 every prom.ise of a most successful experiment. — 

 Worcester Spy. 



