1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



65 



that they keep it warmer and more moist, and 

 that at some future day, when the present forests 

 may have been manufactured into bulwarks of 

 defence, or articles of domestic industry, or used 

 as fuel, these may have an important value for 

 practical uses. 



Among the most beautiful of the evergreens is 

 the Spruce Fir or Norway Spruce, an accurate 

 figure of which we give above. It is one of the 

 loftiest trees of Europe, growing from one hun- 

 dred and fifty to one hundred and eighty feet in 

 height, with a straight trunk. It is also one of 

 the most beautiful pyramidal trees, and one that 

 has succeeded admirably iu this country. The 

 branches and twigs are often beautifully pendu- 

 lous, when the tree has attained some size. This 

 species is very characteristic, and therefore pecu- 

 liarly valuable in adorning the landscape ; it bears 

 trimming, and makes a good shelter and barrier 

 hedge, and withstands the severest winters. In 

 Warder's "Hedges and Evergreens," a more 

 particular account of the various species of ever- 

 greens may be found. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 UJSrCHRTAINTIES IN FARMING. 



Who knows for a certainty the comparative 

 value of the various root crops for making milk 

 or flesh ? No experience of my own, or informa- 

 tion from other sources, has satisfied me on these 

 points. 



Facts, or apparent facts, in reference to these 

 questions are so often met with conflicting with 

 each other, that it really seems as if no systemat- 

 ic, well conducted experiments had ever been 

 fully followed out to their true results. Then, 

 again, as to their effect upon the soil on which 

 they grow. I have known many complain of in- 

 ability to produce as good crops of corn follow- 

 ing turnips, as they did following other crops. 

 It has also been my experience. Yet we find 

 many contending that it is not owing to the tur- 

 nips. Who knows, and will tell us where the 

 truth lies ? I know, in my own case, that I ap- 

 plied three times the quantity of manure for the 

 turnip crop that I did for the potatoes along side, 

 and treated both alike the following season, for 

 corn, and did not get as much from the turnip 

 piece as from the potato by ten bushels per acre, 

 and the oats that followed the corn were very 

 much less ; in fact, when laid down to grass, a 

 stranger would have noted the difference in favor 

 of the piece planted with potatoes. How is this, 

 and who will tell us ? 



The soil seemed packed, and plowed much 

 harder where the turnips grew. Truth, in all 

 matters of this kind, should be brought to light. 

 Farmers in this country have too long been in 

 the dark respecting these, to them, important 

 questions. The compensation for their products 

 is small, compared with what it is in England. 

 True, their taxes and rents are less, but their la- 

 bor is far more expensive. I fail to recall the 

 time when New England farmers could go to 



Brighton market and purchase neat cattle and 

 feed them up fur beef, without losing money, un- 

 less it was done with grass and unsalable pro- 

 ducts of the farm. Even when fed in this way, 

 the question arises whether it would not be more 

 for their interest to have given the same proven- 

 der to their cows, and increased their dairy pro- 

 ducts, as well as fitted them for better withstand- 

 ing the severitv of our winters. K. O. 

 Rochester, Dec. ISth, ISGO. 



WHAT CAUSES COKNS IN THE TEET 

 OF HORSES. 



The question has often been asked : "What 

 are the causes of corns in the feet of horses ?" 

 It is not unfrequently that the exciting cause can 

 be traced directly to the influence of improper 

 shoeing ; in fact, I may say a very large majority 

 of cases are so caused. The first and by far the 

 most frequent cause is contraction of the heels, 

 which, in almost every case, is caused by our pres- 

 ent erroneous mode of shoeing. In the first place, 

 the smith bevels the shoe from without inwards, 

 so that when secured to the foot it prevents the 

 natural expansion of the hoof, as it is impossible 

 for it to expand up these inclined planes. When 

 the weight of the animal is thrown upon it, it will 

 be observed that the foot rests in a concavity, 

 which, resisting the natural expansion of the hoof, 

 gradually forces the heels inwards ; and, to save 

 a little trouble, the smith frequently hastens the 

 process of contraction by cutting away the bars 

 of the foot, thus weakening the quarters very 

 considerably. These things are altogether wrong. 

 If the bars were preserved sound, and the shoe 

 made with a level bearing, we should seldom find 

 a horse troubled with corns. 



Another cause is making the shoe too narrow 

 at the heels, causing unnatural pressure and bruise 

 on that part of the sole between the bar and crust 

 of the foot. When thus caused they are readily 

 removed by cutting well out, and applying some 

 of the caustic applications, and the widening of 

 the shoe. If caused by contraction, the cutting 

 process and caustic applications are proper, with 

 the additional trouble of restoring the natural elas- 

 ticity of the hoof, which can best be done by poul- 

 tices, and a proper hoof ointment, and applying 

 a shoe beveled slightly outwards from the last 

 nail hole. The shoe should be hammered, but 

 not twisted, as is sometimes done by the smith 

 to save a little labor ; the smith generally not re- 

 garding his extra labor as paid for. Better for 

 you to pay him two prices, and have the work 

 done properly. 



Corns are the cause, in most cases, of sprung 

 knees. The horse, in order to relieve the heels 

 from pressure, throws his weight mainly on the 

 toe, thus relaxing the tendons and suspensory lig- 

 ament of the leg, conti'action of which naturally 

 follows. As a proof of this assertion, examine 

 for yourselves the feet of sprung kneed horses, 

 and you will find a majority, if not four-fifths of 

 them, with corns. 



When the feet are not contracted, take pains 

 to keep them so by level shoeing, and preserving 

 the elasticity of the hoofs. By a little attention 

 to these matters much suffering will be prevent- 

 ed, as well as time and money saved. — Ohio 

 Farmer. 



