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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



From the Baltimore Morning Chronicle. 

 TO THE PUBLIC. 



As tlie season of Ihe year is approaching, 

 when persons owning horses become alarmed, 

 in consequence of these animals passing off hots 

 with their feces, 1 have thought proper to en- 

 deavor to remove such fears, by laying Ijefore 

 the public some facts which I have noticed in 

 the course of twenty-four years experience. 



Bots are generally found adhering to that 

 portion of the horse's stomach, which is lined 

 with a continuation of the oesophagus mem- 

 brane, to about one third or little more of its 

 extent; sometimes Ihey are found attach'd in 

 great numbers to the pylorus, or the posterior 

 opening of the stomach. The time that horses 

 begin to pass tliem rff, is generally in June, 

 and so on through ^^f>i!tembcr to October. The 

 bot remains in a chr>salis state for an uncertain, 

 but *hort time, an I then assumes the same char- 

 acter as the parent Ay. To prove, without the 

 possiliility of doubt, that the bot is produced 

 from the fly which dci)0sites its ova on the hair 

 of the horse, I took twelve bots that came from 

 twelve horses; these I put into separate vials, 

 and with paper wrapped round a quill barrel, 1 

 made stoppers to give ventilation, and noted 

 on each vial the day that each bot came from 

 the horse ; this was convincing as to the uncer- 

 tain time of the chrysalis ; for some produced 

 tlie lly in twenty-one days, others in forty-nine 

 days, and others in the intermediate time. The 

 flies thus produced were the same as those that 

 de|)osite their eggs so plentifully on ditVerent 

 pans of the liorse. What it may be that causes 

 this difference of time in the chrysalis admits 

 of speculation. It is proper to notice, that a 

 bot taken from ihe stomach of a dead horse, 

 cannot produce the fly, as in this stage of its 

 progress througli the canal, it is not sufficiently 

 matured. 



There is no worm that we know of, in the 

 intestines of the human subject, which makes 

 such an annual rot.ttion ; and in consequence of, 

 their long continuance in the intestines, we find 

 numbers of the human family destroyed by them. 

 Whereas, h may be presumed there would be 

 few or none killed by worms were their rota- i 

 tion nnnual. .\nd as bots perform this annual 

 course, it can be no cause of surprise that tliey 

 are not so destructive as they are commonly i 

 sujiposed to be. Was it a fact that they were 

 thus destructive, we should find very few colts 

 raised to the age of four years, for colts gener- 

 slly run out until they are considered ready for 

 work, and are fully exposed thro' the summer 

 to the action of the fly. 



if a hor^e, by symptoms, expresses much 

 pain, it is said to be the bots; and so much does 

 this opinion prevail, that people imagine bots 

 kill more horses than any other disease. If we 

 reverse this opinion, we shall perhaps come 

 nearer to the fact, for in all probaiiility there is 

 no disease that destroys so few. When he is 

 said to be sick with bots, it is generally spasm 

 or injluraniuliun of the intestines. That bots 

 never kill 1 will not assert, though there arc 

 eminent veterinarians in England who say they 

 never do. 



It is a common opinion, that a few bots are 

 essential to the health of the horse. This er- 

 roneous idea arises from people opening but 

 few r.fler death, and tho«e few being found to 

 have bots in them. But in the many hundreds 



that I have opened, their have been some in 

 which not a bot was seen ; and not one of these 

 may be supposed to have died for the want of 

 bots. The motive I have in making this com- 

 munication is to remove the fears that prevail 

 with some persons, when they see bots coming 

 from the horse, as if they were so numerous as 

 to kill him immediately. But for the informa- 

 tion of such persons as would rather give some- 

 thing to facilitate their discharge, when they 

 see a few coming away, 1 would advise one 

 ounce of powdered savin, to be given in the 

 horse's feed, once a day for three days. At the 

 season above mentioned, I have recommended 

 this medicine to such persons as 1 could not per- 

 suade to be satisfied with the course of nature ; 

 and they were very much astonished at the quan- 

 tity of bots, brought off by it. 



JOHN H.\SLAM, Veterinary Surgeon. 

 Baltimore, April 13M, 1823. 



From the American Farmer. 



Pittsjiehl, Gth June, 1823. 



Dear Sir — I have noticed an article in your 

 No. 5, vol. 5, of " a A'cw Jerse}/ Suhscriber," on 

 Ihe subject of Ruta Baga, in which he expresses 

 his doubts, if it be a profitable crop, and gives 

 his reasons. 



Equally desirous with your correspondent of 

 eliciting practical knowledge, I am induced to 

 state, that five years experience, satisfies me 

 that it may be raised to advantage, tcherever the 

 cliinnte is adapted to its culture : — because, 



1st. To raise a good crop it is necessary to 

 put the land in a good state of tilth. 



2d. The requisite care of the crop, while it 

 extirpates weeds, prepares the soil in the best 

 possible manner, for stocking to grass with the 

 succeeding crop of grain. 



3d. All kinds of live stock are fond of it. 



And tth. It affords a most succulent food, at a 

 time (the spring,) when most wanted for every 

 kind of stock. 



Having remarked the advantages arising from 

 the turnip culture in Europe, I was induced 

 soon after entering on Agricultural pursuits, to 

 give it a fair experiment, notwithstanding the 

 general opinion in this section of the country, 

 that turnips oould not be raised, except on ncirhj 

 cleared and burnt land ; consequently, they were 

 only cultivated in a partial manner, and merely 

 for culinary purposes. 



In 1817, 1 selected for the purpose an acre in 

 afield, that might be termed worn out land ; 

 that Is to say it would produce a half ton of hay 

 to the acre. The soil, a dry gravelly loam — 

 gave it three ploughings and two harrowings 

 liel'ore drilling — on the 24lh June, manured 

 with twenty-six loads of barn yard and hog's 

 manure, and sowed the common English turnip 

 — gave it a top dressing of about fifteen bushels 

 slacked lime, and fifteen bushels leached ashes. 

 It produce<l eight hundred and sixty-three bush- 

 els, and received the premium of the Massachu- 

 setts Agricultural Society. Very many of the 

 turnips weighed from ten to tweWe pounds ; 

 generally from six to eight pounds. 



Having raised at the same time a small quan- 

 tity of Kuta Caga, from seed procured direct 

 from Russia, I was enabled to make a compari- 

 son of the relative value of the two kinds, and 

 hence am satisfied, that with ns at least (on ac- 

 count of our long winters and late springs) the 

 Ruta Baga is preferable to the common turnip, 



because the latter can only be used to advan- 

 tage for fall feed, whereas the former will keep 

 good through spring — and at this time I have 

 them in perfection. It is true, an acre will not 

 produce so many bushels of the Ruta Baga, as 

 of the common kind of turnip, but that, 1 con- 

 sider, as fully compensated, by the greater 

 quantity of nutritive matter they contain. 



Since 1818, I have raised the Ruta Baga ev- 

 ery year, and may safely state, that, in no year 

 has the crop been less than five hundred bush- 

 els per acre, and entirely free from worms. 



Nothwilhstanding this favorable result, it i? 

 with much regret, I am obliged to add, that 1 

 am, as yet, almost alone in this county, in the 

 cultivation of turnips as food for live stock, al 

 though our soil and climate are peculiarU 

 adapted to them. AGRiCOLA. 



OCrThe climate of New England is so much 

 moister than that of the southern states, that 

 we apprehend both potatoes and turnips may 

 well succeed there, in seasons when they would 

 fail even with us in Maryland. The suggestions 

 above, are valuable and conclusive — however, 

 as to New England, at least — and yet we see 

 that even there, this great resource for winter 

 feeding of stock is neglected. What immense 

 advantages have resulted from the turnip cul- 

 ture to England. We regret that the commu- 

 nication from .Agricola was not sooner received, 

 but any thing from his pen will be at all times 

 highly acceptable. — Ed. Jmer. Farmer. 



I 



From the American Farmer. 

 WOOL. 



In compliance with the request of one of your 

 correspondents, I state, that I have just finished 

 shearing a flock of 525 of mixed merino sheep, 

 from which I have obtained, 2368 1-2 pounds of 

 wool, fiL'e from tags, giving an average of a lit-' 

 tie more than 4 1-2 pounds. My average is not! 

 as great as it has been in former years, in con- 

 sequence, (I presume.) of my flock's containing 

 at this time, a larger proportion of breeding ewes 

 than usual. I have always been in the habit of 

 preparing my wool for market, by laying each 

 fleece, as it is taken irom the sheep, on a fable, 

 taking off all around, about tvvo or three inches 

 of the coarsest wool, which is reserved for do- 

 mestic purposes, and rolling the remainder up 

 very nicely and firmly, with the inside of the 

 fleece turned out. The whole is then packed 

 away in coarse bags; and a waggon, will at a 

 single load take a thousand dollars worth of it 

 to market. My wool, thus prepared, has been 

 readily sold, for the last four years, at 40 cents 

 per pound, in .Vlexandria ; and I am very much 

 inclined to think would bring a great deal more 

 in the northern markets. But from some cause 

 or other, we find it very diflicult to ascertain the 

 market price of wool in other places. I last 

 year, made an inquiry through your paper, on 

 this subject which was never answered. The 

 growers of ivool would certainly find it to their 

 interest, to communicate freely with each other 

 on this subject. And wool is now becoming too 

 important an article, not to be entitled to some 

 little attention, in a paper, devoted like yours, 

 to the agricultural interest of the nation. 



1 have been told that during the last summer 

 70,000 lbs. of wool were imported from Europe 

 into Boston alone, and sold, at public auction, 

 at from 75 to 125 cts. per lb. Is this the fact ? 

 And if so, what was its quality and condition? 



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