82 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



March 



processes are slow and tedious. There are several 

 machines in the agricultural warehouses for this 

 purpose, one of the best of which is Whittemore's 

 Patent Vegetable Cutter. It is capable of cutting 

 a bushel of turnips, or other roots, in a single 

 minute, and is provided with two sets of knives, 

 so that the roots may be cut coarse or fine, as may 

 be desired, and made suitable for sheep and calves, 

 as well as cows and oxen. 



The cut above will give an idea of the machine. 

 We have been using the cutter the present winter, 

 and find it both rapid and efficient. It is man- 

 ufactured and sold by Messrs. Whittemoke, 

 Belcher & Co., at Chicopee Falls, and at 40 

 South Market Street, Boston. 



EXTRACTS AND EEPLIES. 



PREMATURE BIRTHS. 



I notice in your paper a column devoted to Extracts 

 and Replies, and take the liberty to ask if you, or any 

 of your subscribers, have been troubled with cows los- 

 ing their young at this season of the year ? One of 

 my neighbors lost fifteen calves by premature birth, 

 two years ago ; others lost from three to ten last year. 

 This season one has lost six, and others will soon 

 come in ; another has lost four. The cows have no 

 appearance of having been hurt, and are apparently in 

 good health. Some of the young have the appearance 

 of disease, others have not. Is it a disease, and if so, 

 is it contagious ? Some think it is caused by herbage 

 in the hay. I am told that dairies in the State of 

 New York have suffered, in years past, to a consid- 

 erable extent in the same way, the cows of some 

 dairies having all yeaned before spring. If you can 

 give us any light in the matter it may be of profit to 

 us. S. L. Lincoln. 



South Adams, Jan., 1863. 



Remarks. — We sincerely sympathize with our 

 South Adams friends in their losses. They are serious 

 losses, as it is not only the loss of the calf, for the un- 

 natiural process affects the cow so much that some 

 good judges suppose she does not recover fram the 

 bad effects of it for years, if she ever does. Losses of 

 this kind are now daily occurring in other portions of 

 our State, and inquiries are often made for the cause 

 and a remedj'. 



The subject has been earnestly discussed in the Co?i- 

 cord Farmers' Club, but without eliciting any reliable 

 facts as to the cause. Gov. Holbrook, of Vt., was 

 present at the meeting, and suggested various things 

 as probable causes, — such as feeding with oil meal, or 

 too highly of some kind of grain, harsh treatment, or 

 exposure, or the prevalence of certain noxious plants 

 in fodder. All these were met by some one or another 

 of the members of the Club, proving satisfactorily to 

 all that the real cause of the trouble had'not been sug- 

 gested. In our own stock, for instance, we had nine 

 cases of premature birth, and yet our cows ate no oil 

 meal, and but very little grain, and their feed was uni- 

 formly the best of timothy and red-top hay, with half 

 a bushel of beets, turnips, carrots and swedes, cut and 

 mixed. The water they drank was pure well water, 

 and they were not exposed to sudden changes of 

 weather, or confined in a too warm barn. They were 

 treated kindly, and had no steep places to go up or 

 down in going into or out of the barn. In short, there 

 was no apparent cause for such results. 



The effect of such a birth upon the cow is a serious 

 one. It deranges the system, she loses appetite and 



flesh, the hair stands out and is frowzy, the milk does 

 not flow freely, and there seems to be a general dis- 

 turbance of all the functions of the animal, so that it 

 requires long and careful treatment to bring her up 

 again. 



At the discussion of this subject, alluded to above, 

 one of the members, Mr. Joseph D. Brown, who keeps 

 a large stock of milch cows, stated that he would pay 

 $'200, annually, to be insured against losses by prema- 

 ture births among his cows. In attempting to ascer- 

 tain the number of cases in the town that spring, the 

 startling fact was announced that 30 cases had occurred 

 within fourteen days in a single cluster of farms of 

 less than a dozen in number. These cases took place 

 among some of the best farmers in the town, — farm- 

 ers proverbial for the kind treatment and judicious 

 feeding of their animals. 



The discussion of the subject, as we have said, was 

 an earnest one, — the questioning and cross-questiou- 

 ing long and searching, and yet nothing was gained 

 from it to satisfy any as to the cause of the difficulty. 

 There was a skilful physician in the Club at the time, 

 and farmers of as acute observation and systematic 

 practice as can be found anywhere. 



The next year the cases were less numerous, and 

 have continued to decrease annually since, though 

 they still occasionally occur. 



We wish we could throw some light upon the sub- 

 ject, but have read and inquired in vain. We hope 

 to hear from correspondents in relation to it 



FINE HOGS. 



I notice in last week's Farmer, Mr. E. D. Hicks, of 

 North Yarmouth, Me., brags about a pig he killed, that 

 weighed 451 lbs. when dressed, at 10 months old. I 

 wish to say to Mr. Hicks that he must try once more, 

 as we are ahead of him up here in Vermont. 



Mr. David Chase, of Whitingham, killed one 9 

 months 14 days old, whose weight was 496 lbs. We 

 claim our blood to be Chester County. Will Mr. Hicks 

 inform us of what blood his was ? 



I had a pair of these pigs sent me in June, 1861, 

 from W. R. Lewers, Milford, Mass., and they have 

 multiplied well, having produced 21 pigs at two litters. 

 I have distributed them in this vicinity, and they prove 

 to be just what our farmers have long been looking for. 

 The half bloods have dressed off from 265 lbs. — that 

 beiny the lightest — to 425 lbs. at from 8 to 10 months 

 old. T. Cross. 



MontpeUer, Vt., Jan., 1863. 



TO KILL VERMIN ON ANIMALS. 



I noticed in the Farmer, Jan. 3d, an inquiry for the 

 surest and safest way to kill lice on animals. I have 

 found by much experience that tobac(?b smoke is a safe 

 and certain remedy for them. The pipe that I use was 

 made by taking an inch auger and boring into the end 

 of a stick of wood six inches, then cut it off eight 

 inches long, and bore the rest with a small bit or gim- 

 let ; shave the end down to a point, and fit a stopple to 

 the auger hole, and then bore through the stopple 

 with a gimlet or bit. Dry the tobacco and cut it up 

 fine, fill the pipe and set the tobacco on fire, then blow 

 through the hole in the stopple. 



A Friend to the Farmer. 



PURE COTSWOLD SHEEP WANTED. 



Will you inform me where I can purchase a few pure 

 blood Cotswold Sheep .' 



Luther L. Robinson. 

 Portsmotdh, N. H., Jan., 1863. 



Remarks. — We are not able to inform our corres- 

 pondent. Those having them to sell may find a cus- 

 tomer by addressing Mr, R. 



