NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



205 



tween the bricks and the surrounding- solid 

 earth ; this space he filled with mortar made 

 with lime and pounded gravel. Equal parts of 

 pounded brick, sand, and sifted stone lime, were 

 well mixed and worked up with hot lime wash. 

 This composition was spread on as hot as possi- 

 ble upon the inside of the well. 



" To prevent the cooling- of the cement too 

 hastily, only a gallon must be made at a time. — 

 A floor of the cement must be laid, and the top] 

 arched, leaving room for a pump to be put 

 down." 



" In many parts of Europe, rain water, saved 

 in cisterns is the only water drank. Stolberg 

 says, he drank some in the vicinity of Naples, 

 near three j'ears old, and found it excellent. — 

 Mr. Brentham has lately taught us, that water 

 may be kept during the above period perfectly 

 sweet. Ou the flat coasts of the United Slates, 

 these rain water cisterns ought to be generally 

 built ; for the water from the ground is very 

 bad, and occasions many of the disorders, at- 

 tributed to other causes."' i 



It is said, by some, that if the bottom of cis- 

 terns be covered with sand, it will help to sireet- 

 en and preserve it. , 



"• Anciently there were cisterns all over the 

 country in Palestine. There were some like- 

 wise in cities and private houses. As the pities 

 for the most part were built on mountains, and 

 the rain fell regularly in Judea at two seasons 

 of the year only, in spring and in autumn, peo- 

 ple were obliged to keep water in cisterns in 

 the country, for the use of their cattle ; dnd in 

 cities for the conveniency of the inhabitafits. — 

 There are cisterns of very large dimensions to 

 be see at this day in Palestine, some of which 

 are 150 paces long, and 54 wide." 



There are many tracts of country within the 

 limits of the United States, where the water is 

 brackish, hard, and unwholesome ; and where, 

 of course, it would be well for the inhabitants 

 to turn their attention to the construction of cis- 

 terns for holding rain water, which, if well pre- 

 served, is always pure and wholesome. 



Implements of Husbayulry, 

 "In purchasing implements of husbandry,the fol- 

 lowing rules are to be observed : 1 . They should 

 be simple in their construction, that their uses 

 may be easily understood ; and when neccssar}', 

 that any common workman may be able to re- 

 pair them. 2. The materials should be of a 

 durable nature, that the labor may be less liable 

 to interruption from their accidental failure. 3. 

 Their form should be firm and compact, being 

 so much subject to jolts and shaking. 4. In the 

 larger machines, symmetry and lightness of 

 .shape ought to be particularly attended to : for 

 a heavy carriage, like a great horse, is worn 

 out by its own weight, more than by what it 

 carries. 5. The wood should be cut up and 

 placed in a position the best calculated to resist 

 pressure ; and mortises, so likely to weaken the 

 wood, should, as much as possible, be avoided. 

 6. Their price should be such, that farmers in 

 moderate circumstances can atTord to buy them; 

 yet, for a trilling difference, the judicious far- 

 mer will not purchase articles, either of a flim- 

 sy fabric, or a faulty form ; and 7. Implements 

 ought to be suited to the nature of the country, 

 whether hilly or level, and more especially to 

 ihe quality of the soil, since instruments calcu- 

 lated for l.ght land, may not answer well in the 

 heavy and adhesive." — Code »f Agriculture 



From the Northern Intelligencer. 



DISEASES OF SHEEP. 



As far as I have learnt, it has been liut a few 

 years since worms have been discovered to breed 

 in the heads of sheep, though it is probable (hey 

 have, from time immemorial. They arc not 

 only found in the heads of sheep but also in the 

 deer of our forest. 



1 am fully satisfied that these grubs do more 

 injury to the sheep of our country, than all the 

 diseases with which they are aftlicted, and we 

 may add to this, all that are killed by dogs and 

 wolves. I therefore consider that a true history 

 of these worms, their manner of breeding, to- 

 gether with the best method of destroying them, 

 will be important to the public, especially at 

 this time, when our farmers are so generally 

 turning their attention to the breeding of sheep 

 and supplj'ing our infant manufactories with 

 wool. 



1st. These grubs proceed from a large bee, 

 which lays its eggs in the nostrils of sheep, the 

 last of August and first of September, where 

 the}- soon hatch, so that by the 20th of the 

 month, you may discover in the cavity between 

 the nostrils and the wind pipe, from 25 to 100 

 small white grubs, with black heads and a black 

 streak on the back, and in June a black streak 

 crosswise. They continue in this place till July 

 and August, at which time they get their growth, 

 and are as large as a pipe stem, and near an 

 inch long, with four large teeth as hard as 

 bone. They then leave the sheep, and soon 

 cast off their skin, when the bee appears, and is 

 ready to lay a new parcel of eggs. 



Symptoms. — The symptoms do not appear till 

 towards spring, at which time they may be dis- 

 covered, by sickly countenance and loss of flesh, 

 notwithstanding all the grain and roots that can 

 be given them ; sometimes running at the nose, 

 (though not always.) and snorting as if trying to 

 blow something from the head. In some instan- 

 ces they will suddenly spring about in a wild 

 tVantic manner, and drop down dead. When 

 this last symptom takes place, the grubs have 

 made a lodgment in the brain. When they do 

 not die in this manner, the grubs make the 

 sheep so poor that their wool stops growing, be- 

 comes loose and much of it falls before shearing, 

 many oi the lambs are lost, and those that live 

 are stinted by reason of the ewes being poor 

 and sickly, and consecjucntly give little or no 

 milk ; sometimes the sheep will linger along, 

 pining awaj' continually, and not die until June 

 or July. 



Reme(?y. — Take half a pound of good Scotch 

 snutT, pour two quarts of boiling water on it, 

 stir it and let it stand till cold, inject about a ta- 

 ble spoonful of this liquid and sediment up each 

 nostril of the sheep with a syringe. This must 

 be repeated three or four times at proper in- 

 tervals, from the middle of October to the first 

 January ; the grubs are then small and are much 

 easier destroyed ihan afterwards, and have not 

 Injured the sheep as they will, if deferred until 

 later. Half an ounce of assafoetida, pounded 

 in a little water, and added to the snuiT, will 

 make it more effectual. The owne.- of the 

 sheep need not be alarmed when the operation 

 is performed, to see the sheep very drunk and 

 apparently in the agonies of death, as they will 

 in a iew minutes recover. 1 never knew any 

 bad effects to follow. Dry snuff may be blown 



up the nose with a quill, and have a good ef- 

 fect ; but it is a tedious dirty job. 1 have tried 

 vinegar and blue die with but little or no suc- 

 cess. 



The reason ivhy it is necessary to perform 

 the operation so often is, thiit in the heads of 

 the sheep, there are many cavities, and a little 

 above each nostril there is a thin substance 

 wound up into four folds, the grubs get into 

 these cavities and fold'^, whore it is not common 

 to reach them the (ir.st operaton, but by rei)cating 

 it three or four times, at proper intervals, they 

 will crawl out and be all destroyed. The rea- 

 son of my directing the sediment of the snuff to 

 be injected, together with the decoction, is, the 

 sediment is retained in the head longer than the 

 liquid, which makes it more certain to prove 

 ell'ectual. 



The above knowledge I have obtained from 

 dissecting the heads of a number of sheep, in 

 dilTerent seasons of the year, and making cxpc- 

 iments on some before they were killed, and in 

 this way I could di.scover exactly the effect of 

 the difiereiit medicines. 



If the above directions are strictly attended 

 to with all the sheep of our country, more than a 

 million of dollars uould be saved in the United 

 States yearly ; as all sheep (in this part of the 

 world at least) arc ini'ected with these vermin ; 

 if any person doubts it, let them examine sheep 

 from the 20th of September to the first of June. 

 I have found that our sheep are sometimes 

 infected with the consumiition on the lungs. — 

 Bucks that have been put to too great a number 

 of ewes, without being well fed with corn or 

 beans, a little befoue tuppying time, are most 

 subject to this disorder. 



Symptoms. — The eyes uncommonly bright 

 and shining, water constantly running i'rnm them, 

 and a gradual loss of flesh, they generally de- 

 cline till the latter part of the winter and then 

 die. 1 lost a buck last winter with the above 

 symptoms, and on dissection, I found evcrj' part 

 natural except the lights, which were nearly all 

 ulcerated. 



Remedy. — Tar, or tar wafer is good, but after 

 the disorder is fully seated, it is doubtful wheth- 

 er any thing will be of service. 



Foot rot. — This disorder is occasioned by sheep 

 going in wet pastures. There is an issue in the 

 division of each hoof, a little above the hoof, 

 some have erroneously supposed it to be a liv- 

 ing worm. When the sheep stand long in wa- 

 ter, it affects the issue of their feet, so that an 

 inflammation takes place, and if they are not re- 

 moved to a dry pasture the feet will rot off. — 

 Perhaps it would be better for those, whose 

 land is low, to take out those issues, which may 

 be easily done, by putting the finger the under 

 side ol'the foot and pressing upward, then with 

 a sharp penknife cut through the skin around 

 the mouth of the issue, and with a strong pair 

 of twoesers it may be ; ullcd out, the place will 

 then heal and the sheep will not be liable to 

 (he rot in the foot, though they should run in 

 wet pastures. But when the pastures are dry, 

 which on the whole, is best for sheep, 1 think 

 it not proper to pull out the issue ; ibr this rea- 

 son, the God of nature has made them thus, and 

 undoubtedly for the benefit ol the sheep, as 

 much as the issue in the legs of hogs. 



JNO. T. ADDOMS. 

 Plattsburg, Oct. 10, 1822. 



