54 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



meet, and so the breeder's purse will prove who 

 tries it. 



GROOMING AXD FEEDING HORSES. 



Every horse should be thoroughly cleaned 

 each day. The bedding, instead of being thrown 

 under his manger to fill his food, his eyes and his 

 lungs with ammonia, should be thrown behind 

 him or out of doors to air. His manger should 

 be kept clean and once a week washed with salt 

 and water and salt left in it. One night in each 

 week he should have a warm bran mash — eight 

 quarts— generally given on Saturday night, as it 

 is somewhat loosening and weakening, and the 

 horse is presumed to be idle on Sunday. Oats 

 are by far the best food, and ground oats wet with 

 water is better than whole dry grain. Cut hay is 

 a great saving, and moistened and sprinkled with 

 ground oats, forms the best of food. The hull of 

 the oats is hard and often unmasticated, and 

 passes undigested through the system, thus taking 

 away instead of imparting strength and nutrition. 

 For medium sized horses, with moderate work, 

 nine to twelve quarts of oats per day and fourteen 

 pounds of hay are ample. For large draft horses, 

 eighteen quarts oats and sixteen pounds hay. 

 Food consisting of one-third corn ground with 

 two-thirds oats forms strong, hearty, lointer food 

 for work or coach horses. But corn is unfit for 

 road or fast horses. It is too heating. Good 

 beds and good grooming are as important as good 

 feeding. Horses, like men, want good, dry, warm, 

 clean beds. In grooming, tie your horse so he 

 can't bite his manger and thus learn to crib bite ; 

 and if you find your groom currying and torment- 

 ing the poor animal when tied, so he is uneasy 

 and restless, use your stable broom over the 

 groom's back — it is an excellent instructor to 

 teach him to be gentle. Let the currycomb be 

 very moderately used on the body to loosen up 

 the scurf and dirt, but never permit one near the 

 mane and tail. Rely mainly on the bncsh and 

 rough cloth for cleaning. Banish combs from 

 your stable. They tear out more hair in a day 

 than will grow in a month, and they ruin all the 

 manes and tails that are ruined. The tail should 

 be washed with castile soap and water once every 

 week, and brushed with a wet brush every day in 

 the year, holding up the bone of the tail and 

 brushing the hair from you. Half an hour is 

 enough for a good groom to one horse, but one 

 hour's time at the outside, ample to be very com- 

 plete. City horses on dry floors should have cow 

 manure put into their feet once a week, to draw 

 out fever and keep hoofs growing. It should be 

 put in over night and allowed to wear out of itself. 

 To conclude, always be gentle about your horse's 

 body, especially his head — "more haste less speed" 

 is peculiarly applicable to grooming and breaking. 

 Use whips as little as possible — use your reason 

 and exercise patience and kindness, and instil by 

 precept and example the same useful lessons in 

 those untutored creatures denominated grooms — 

 and if you cannot inculcate wholesome truths into 

 their heads, you can ameliorate the condition of 

 that much abused animal, the horse, by occasion- 

 ally exemplifying the power of their own treat- 

 ment on themselves. 



the sun and wind, extend exceedingly in height, 

 but present at the same time slender and feeble 

 branches ; their leaves are pale and sickly, and in 

 extreme cases, they do not bear fruit. The exclu- 

 sion of light alone is sufficient to produce tliis spe- 

 cies of disease. 



Sunlight and Air. — Shrubs and trees which 

 are too much sheltered, too much secluded from 



For the New England Farmer. 



AGKICITLTURAIi KNOWLEDGE— FARM- 

 ERS' CLUBS. 



Mr. Editor : — Your able correspondent, "John 

 Goldsbury," comes out in strong terms against 

 the teaching of agriculture in common schools, 

 while "More Anon" is perhaps as strong an advo- 

 cate in favor of our schools teaching this branch. 

 Now, Mr. Editor, it looks to me that this is not 

 bringing the matter any nearer to a point. What 

 matters it whether agriculture is taught in com- 

 mon schools, or schools got up for the particular 

 purpose of advancing agricultural knowledge ? 

 Undoubtedly, J. G. would advocate the teaching 

 of agriculture to our young men, and every word 

 that he proclaims against the teaching of it in 

 common schools, through the press, has its bear- 

 ing on the mind of the young reader. For one, it 

 would be much more pleasing and interesting to me 

 to take up the Farmer and read from the pen of 

 John Goldsbury an article treating upon the ne- 

 cessity of an agricultural school for the instruc- 

 tion of our young men in the science and prac- 

 tice of agriculture. I ^\^ll know that the science 

 of agi'iculture has never been brought up before 

 the mind of the farmer as it will be in years to 

 come, and should have been in years gone by. 

 If agriculture can be taught in common schools 

 to advantage in connection with other branches, 

 then let it be taught there ; but if not, then let us 

 do all in our power to encourage the establish- 

 ment of schools for the particular purpose of in- 

 structing in agriculture. I believe that a thor- 

 ough knowledge of the combinations of the soil 

 and its elements, and also those elements neces- 

 sary for the growth of certain plants, is just as 

 essential to the farmer as education is to the law- 

 yer, the minister or statesman, and that the suc- 

 cess and prosperity of the farmer depends upon 

 his knowledge of his business, just as much as 

 the success of the school-teacher depends upon 

 his qualifications as a teacher. 



It has always been considered that the young 

 man who was unfit for any other business could 

 be a farmer ; could plant corn with a shovelful of 

 manure in the hill, and hill up the corn to keep 

 the wind from blowing it down, because his fa- 

 ther did so before him ; for tliis he is not to blame. 

 The agricultural Avorld itself is to be blamed that 

 it has not ere this waked up to a sense of its du- 

 ty, and labored with an understanding mind when 

 it has Cultivated good old mother earth. 



I trust the time is not far distant when our 

 New England hills shall be interspersed with 

 schools where agricultural knowledge shall be 

 imparted to the j'oung. Many a man will sneer 

 at this, I am aware by experience, but let it only 

 nerve us the harder, and time will show to this 

 class of farmers, who laugh at book farming, (as 

 they term it.) whether there is anything to be 

 gained by a thorough knowledge of our business. 

 The farmers' club is a fine thing for gathering to- 

 gether this class, and discussing agricultural top- 



I 



