1864. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



27 



nre a mile. In regard to husbanding manures he 

 had little instruction to give. Had seen excellent 

 effects from applying manure on grass lands in 

 the fall intended for corn. The corn was a foot 

 higher and of a darker color. He thought that 

 in the fall was the time to apply manure ; but the 

 question was how to keep the winter made ma- 

 nure through the summer without loss. He had 

 thrown it into piles under sheds, but it fire-fanged. 



THE HIGHWAY-SIDES. 



In many parts of our country the borders of the 

 highway present the most slovenly appearance. 

 In some cases bushes grow up to the very rut of 

 the carriage wheels, making it unpleasant for a 

 foot-passenger to step aside, especially when the 

 foliage is wet. In other cases the soil on either 

 side of the beaten track is suffered to propagate 

 thistles, daisies and other noxious weeds, which 

 supply the adjoining fields with future harvests, 

 each after its own kind. A correspondent of the 

 Country Gentleman, who has recently visited 

 Skaneateles, N. Y., and the adjoining towns, was 

 much pleased with the neat appearance of the 

 highways in that section. 



The soil on each side of the carriage-track has 

 been neatly graded and seeded with grass seed, 

 and all the stones and rubbish removed, and a 

 good burden of grass is cut annully. In some 

 localities where the grass had jnst been mowed, I 

 thought at the time that there would be not less 

 than two or three tons of good hay per acre. 

 Where a farmer has a long line of highway run- 

 ning through his farm, it will certainly pay well 

 to grade the sides of the beaten track, and seed 

 to Timothy and blue grass, or with red top, in case 

 the soil is rather low and wet. Where the soil is 

 high and dry, Timothy and red clover would flour- 

 ish well, and pay for all the expense of grading, 

 to say nothing of the beauty and neatness which 

 the tall grass, or neatly mowed highway, would 

 give to the appearance of the country. 



/'or the New England Farmer. 

 FOOT ROT IN SHEEP. 

 At this time of high prices in wool and sheep, 

 it seems particularly desirable that all who keep 

 sheep should understand the preventive and cure 

 of the most common diseases which mutton is heir 

 to. Thousands of dollars are annually saved by 

 careful breeders who study the habits and diseas- 

 es of sheep ; while many fine flocks are ruined, 

 and much money lost by inattention and lack of 

 that knowledge which should' be in the hands of 

 every flock-master. 



Among the most common and troublesome dis- 

 eases of sheep, in many parts of New England, is 

 the foot rot. In wet sei^sons, like the past, it 

 frequently breaks out in flocks which have not 

 been exposed to others that have had it. When 

 sheep go long in wet, low pastures, or stand long 

 in water, it affects the issues in the feet so that 

 an inflummation takes place, whicli induces the 



disorder, without contagion or infection. Still it 

 is very contagious, and diseased sheep will leave 

 infectious matter when they travel that will com- 

 municate the disorder to others that pass over the 

 same ground many days afterward. Therefore 

 avoid driving sheep over a road passed by disor- 

 dered ones, or into a pen for washing where such 

 sheep have been confined. But if your flock is 

 attacked by the foot rot, do not be unduly alarmed 

 and sell them much under the price of sound ones, 

 for they can be cured for a shilling per head. 



The disorder usually commences in one of the 

 forward feet, causing lameness. The sheep ap- 

 pears uneasy, frequently raising the foot affected. 

 On examination the foot will be found inflamed 

 between the hoofs. A day or two later niatter 

 will.be found at the heel and between the sections 

 of the hoof, which emits a bad and peculiar odor. 

 If a remedy is not applied the hoof will rot off. 



A very efficacious remedy is made as follows : 

 Take three parts of finely pulverized blue vitriol, 

 one part of white lead, mixed into a thin paste 

 with linseed oil. Clean the foot thoroughly, cut- 

 ting away all the hoof that is loose, so that the 

 paste may come in contact with the part affected, 

 and apply the mixture with a small paddle or 

 brush. Repeat the application two or three times 

 at intervals of a week, being careful .to pare the 

 hoof off where it is aff'ected before applying the 

 mixture ; and a permanent cure will be effected. 



Other remedies may be equally good — this I 

 have proved efficacious. Some five or six weeks 

 since, a neighbor of mine drove in, from a back 

 pasture, a flock of fifty odd sheep and lambs very 

 badly afl'ected with foot rot. I assisted in doctor- 

 ing them as above. In paring, we found it nec- 

 essary to remove nearly the entire hoof in some 

 instances. They rapidly improved, and after three 

 applications no lame sheep were to be seen in the 

 flock. He now considers them entirely sound, 

 and it has not cost him over ten cents per head 

 to cure them. Thoroughness is the sine f{ua non. 



J. R. Walker. 



Springfield, Vt, Nov., 1863. 



I^ur the New England Jh'armer. 

 SALT AS A MANURE. 

 The importance of common salt as a plant fer- 

 tilizer has not perliaps been fully understood by 

 agriculturists. It has long been known to possess 

 a specific influence in fructifying certain ])lants — 

 asparagus, in particular — and to such it has been 

 applied liberally. But few trials have been made 

 with it upon grass lands, upon garden vegetables, 

 cereal grains, &c., in this country, or, at least, but 

 little has been said respecting its use in the jour- 

 nals. Upon theoretical grounds it should prove 

 serviceable, as the analysis of the ash of turnips, 

 potatoes, kitchen garden" vegetables, meadow 

 plants, &.C., prove them to be rich in soda and the 

 chlorides. I suppose we are not yet prepared to 

 reject the teachings of chemical science as afford- 

 by the analysis of soils and plants, although the 

 faith of some may be shaken as regards their 

 value. 



The practical trials of salt, as a manure, on rec- 

 ord, art- those of Kuhlman in 1845, and the Gen- 

 eral Committee of the Agricultural Society in Ba- 

 varia, in 1857 and 1858, and recently we have the 

 report of Dr. Phipson, of Liverpool, who was em- 

 ployed by the Chamber of Commerce, of that city, 



