U9> 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



ahstinence," yet sometimes allowed to drink tn ex- 

 cess, and this at times when abstinence might be 

 salutary. Fatigue in the animal is often rewarded 

 with the whip, and as its strength decays, the ex- 

 citements to go forward in its compulsory p .th are 

 increased. Who can wonder, under such circum- 

 stances, that many animals are subject to sickness, 

 and that many, very many, do not " live out half 

 tlieir days." Now, can man be a guiltless being 

 when inflicting cruelties on his beasts, or when 

 placing food before them which is calculated to 

 create disease and pain in them ? Justice, mercy, 

 indeed every noble virtue which can warm the 

 breast of philanthropy forbid it. And we, incliari- 

 ly to our fellow-men, believe that they would never 

 be guilty of such outr.igcs upon them, were they 

 not ignorant of their nature, habits, &c. 



Ilencc we infer the utility, if not the necessity, 

 of those interested, making that science which has 

 special reference to them, a part of education. — 

 And first their anatomy. Whoever investigates 

 this science will learn that like ourselves they are 

 "fearfully and wonderfully made," and are admira- 

 bly adapted to the circumstances in which our con- 

 venience may require them. Altliough they pos- 

 sess a general formation and habits of much hardi- 

 hood, yet there are delicate springs in their struc- 

 ture which, if roughly touched, will throw the whole 

 machinery out of order. Thus in certain seasons, 

 a moderate rap on tlie horns of an ox, will induce a 

 disease, for which, comparatively, no one can apply 

 an efficient remedy. And it is so through all their 

 varieties, and in all the circumstances through 

 which they are continually passing: they are liable 

 to injuries at all times and in a variety of ways, 

 which a knowledge of their structure ard hatits 

 might teach us to prevent. The constitutional 

 iiabits of the animals which come within the range 

 of man's care, must necessarily be variOusas the dif- 

 ferent varieties. The fine sheep of Sa.'cony will not 

 bear the same m.anagement as the South-Down, or 

 the "old-fashioned" sheep of our own country. Of 

 course they will not succeed with such manage- 

 ment. The difference may arise, fa' some extent, 

 from change of climate, which may be remedied in 

 a proper way ; but there is a habitual and constitu- 

 tional dilTerence beyond this, which must be closely 

 observed and its peculiarities regarded, by doing 

 which, not only their health may be secured, but 

 their pacific qualities developed and realised. 



Loudon says, that "of all mammalia, man, in a 

 demoralized state is most injurious. The remedy 

 is furnished by law, — preventive, good education, 

 civil and kind treatmeiU." 'J'he remarks wiiich 

 apply to man, so far as preventives are concerned, 

 are four-fuld applicable to his beasts, inasmuch as 

 tlie latter never swerve from the habits which edu- 

 cation has enforced, and always reciprocate the 

 civil and kind treatment which they receive frojn 

 their boasting lord and master. Tlie importance of 

 early kindness to domestic animals is fully devel- 

 oped by the growth and the kindness of disposition 

 which, thus early encouraged, characterises them 

 in after years. So an ox which is accustom.ed to 

 the yoke, even while yet a calf, is broken into his 

 employment with less labor, end makes a firmer 

 and more valuable ox than one whose disposition is 

 unchecked, and whose corporeal form is allowed 

 unrestrained growth for two or three years. He 

 possesses more strengtii of bone and sinew. These 

 remarks apply also to the horse, and indeed tliey 

 extend in their proper application to all domestic 

 animals. The cow which has always been kindly 



treated, is a gentler, blotter cow, and of course re- 

 wards her owner more liberally. So with the 

 sheep, and even the swinish multitude. The do- 

 mestic animals do not confine their obligadons to 

 kind masters by mere labors of gentleness and ser- 

 vitude ; they carry expressions of gratitude in their 

 countenances for all the goodness manifested to- 

 wards them, and look up to him as their benefactor 

 and friend. In health, they meet our caresses with 

 joy, and in sickness, with loidis demanding our com- 

 passion, tliey demand our aid. How great is our 

 obligation to make them happy, so far as happiness 

 can be theirs, and how guilty if wo neglect and 

 abuse them 1 



But the domestic animals are not all, which mo- 

 tives of policy require should invite t^e study of 

 the farmer. There are others which, mayhap, par- 

 take more of the nature of man, that demand his 

 attention, and which, if left " unnoticed and alone," 

 will enter largely into the bligliting of his hopes 

 and destruction of those things for which he has 

 labored. The sly, insinuating fox, the wolf, wilh 

 many others, not excluding those of lesser charac- 

 ter, such as squirrels, rats, mice, moles, which build 

 railways with more than human speed through his 

 meadows — weasels, that infest his poultry-yard, 

 &c. &c., — all well enough in their places, but ex- 

 ceedingly apt to get out of their orbit. The inva- 

 sions of these are to be remedied, and how ? By 

 making that acquaintance with their instincts which 

 will subserve the end ; not by a long and tedious 

 course of observations — though observations should 

 be as constant as the circumstances which invite to 

 them — but by making their history a subject of in- 

 vestigation, as we do arithmetic and every other 

 study, from " the notes and observation" of others, 

 to whom circumstances have afforded more favora- 



I'Vom the Fanni^r's Cabinet. 



MANUUE, AXD THE ILL CFl'ECTS OF Dl '.i 

 'I Y STABLES. ! 



The following judicious remarks on the pres 'i .' 

 vation of the urine of animals, have been extract di 

 from Hay ward's Agriculture, and may be accept.! ) 

 ble and useful to the readers of the Cabinet. '• 



" The superior effect of putting the manure mvi 

 the land as it is priiduced, as stated by Sir H. \),\ j 

 vy to be tlie case with Mr Coke, may bo accovinto 

 for as arising from the urine absorbed by tiie .U!it ! 

 which, if left in the usual way, s|)n'ad in an opi:ii1 

 yard, would have been wasted and lost." . 



To show the fertilizing effects of urine, Sir.I( '>n; 

 Sinclair says, " every sort of urine contains tl.c i\i-,l 

 sontial elements of vegetables in a state o. solutiv u.'; 

 The urine of a horse, being so v. uch lig'ilei, wo ikl; 

 be more valuable than its dung, if both must boj 

 Conveyed to any distance. The urine of six cowsj 

 or horses, will enrich a quantity of earth sufficiont-' 

 to top-dress one acre of grass land ; and ns it won' J; 

 r0'|uire four pounds worth of dung to perforin tlui 

 same operation, the urine of a cow or horse is worth' 

 about twelve shillings (.$3) per annum, allowinjj 

 eight shillings per acre as the expense of preparinjj! 

 the compost. The advantages of irrigating grass 

 lands with cow urine, almost exceeds belief. Blrl 

 Harley, of Glasgow,) who keeps a large dairy ini 

 that town,) by using cow urine, cuts some small' 

 fields of grass six times ; and the average of eacll 

 cutting is fifteen inches in length." ,' 



In a note to the above, the author observes, tha^ 

 " whilst recommending the careful and effectual^ 

 draining of stables, for the preservation of the urine,- 

 as the most valuable part of animal manure, I wilfc 

 also state a circumstance which cannot be thought 



ble opportunities to become proficients i" these , „j,„,^^|^y ^f ^Qjij.g j^^ ^g^;,,^](uri^,j,_ „,],i(.|, ^^^^.^.^pj 

 matters than we can expect, with our diversity of 



cares to possess. 



.Mount Osceola, March 10, 1640. 



W. B. 



For the New England Fanner. 



BEAN PODS POISONOUS TO SWINE. 



Mr Bheck, — Souie years ago, I had thrown into 

 my hog pen, where there were six shoats, some 

 Saba, commonly called Civy, bean pods. When I 

 came from my work at noon, I found them all sick, 

 vomiting and in very great distress. Not knowing 

 then that tlie bcr.n pods had been given to them, I 

 went to dosing theui with such things as I supposed 

 might be good, but, in spite of all my efforts, in 

 about one hour after my first discovery of their be- 

 ing ailing, five of them were dead. I opened and 

 examined one of them, and found that all of a 

 liqaid kind was thrown up, and the potatoes with 

 which they were fed in the morning, cogether with 

 whey, were in a hard lump, and the bean pods 

 mixed in with them. 



Some suppose that it is the spur on the end of 

 that kind of bean pod which does the mischief. I 

 am of a different opinion, because those spurs, when 

 green, are too soft to have any bad eftect. I be- 

 lieve them to be poisonous ; my hogs wore evi- 

 dently poisoned. Every man, who keeps hogs, and 

 raises civy beans, ought to know that it is danger- 

 ous to give these pods to hogs, and that it may be 

 more generally known, is the reason of this com- 

 munication. LEVE TT PETERS. 

 ff'estborougk, March 3, Iti40. 



to me, to show how necessary tliis is also to the 

 health of animals. 



"I took possession of some stables, with the hor- 

 ses that had been some time kept in them, and, to 

 my misfortune, in a very short time I found that 

 horses kept in those stables had been subject to 

 the dreadful disease called the mad staggers for 

 ! several years. Some horses had died, and the 

 horses then there, and which had been for some 

 time kept in the stables, were in wretched condi- 

 tion. Two fine fresh horses which were put into 

 them, were within a few months seized with the 

 mad staggers, and one of them literally killed him- 

 self by knocking his head aboiii. against the manger 

 and stall ; the other was saved by copious bleeding 

 and removed into a fresh stable, but was so reduc- 

 ed as to be lessened in value one-half. My neigh- 

 bors advised the pulling down the stables, consider- 

 ing the disease infectious; but having, on going 

 into the stables early in the morning, been almost 

 suffocated and blinded by obnoxious gas, I exam- 

 ined the floor and drains, when I found the former 

 to consist of large burr stones, laid on a stiff' clay ; 

 and the floor sunk so low below the drain,'as not to 

 admit of the draining away of the urine. This 

 struck me to be a sufficient cause to affect the braiii 

 of any animal confined in it, the same as it had the 

 liorses. I therefore had the floor taken up, relaid, 

 and properly drained ; and the walls and ceiling, 

 manger, cribs, &c. washed with quick lime; ami 

 from that time for ton years, I never had a diseased 

 horse ." 



The mad staggers is undoubtedly a violent inflam- 

 mation of the brain of the horse, produced, in all 



