182 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



JtlNE 



ing it, ticky, have the scours and more or less 

 have died, in spite of all the care which could be 

 brought to bear on them ; and lately, that they 

 are troubled with grubs in the head, which, with 

 the scours, make much quicker work than the 

 scours did in the winter. 



Many experiments and modes of treatment are 

 resorted to, but as yet, none, as far as I am in- 

 formed, have been of but little use. One man 

 came some miles to get a prescription. The pre- 

 scription stopped the scours but nevertheless the 

 sheep died. A post mortem showed the midriff to 

 be nearly half decomposed, implicating quite a 

 patch of the stomach and bowels, which came in 

 contact ; so here was no cure to be looked for. 

 In another, going the same way, a post mortem 

 examination showed eight large grub worms in 

 one nostril, as far up into the head as they had 

 had time to burrow, with two or three small ones 

 ■wnggling on after. So thej go, to the tune of 

 fifty, and even more, in one flock, where, hereto- 

 fore, only now and then one would be found to 

 drop out. 



Cattle and horses wintered well, and command 

 a very high price in one sense, but in comparison 

 with the great whole, only about an average. Six 

 feet six inch oxen, four and five years old, one 

 hundred and fifty to seventy-five dollars, accord- 

 ing to beauty, &c., and larger ones in nearly the 

 same ratio. O. W. TilUE. 



Fanningto7i, Me., April 27, 1864. 



Remarks. — The disease termed by our corres- 

 pondent "the scours" seems to be quite prevalent 

 this spring throughout New England. There is, 

 of course, some special cause of this, and it is rea- 

 sonable to us that it lies in the quality of the fod- 

 der upon which the sheep have been fed through 

 the winter. During the entire haying season, 

 last year, there was such a succession of cloudy 

 and rainy days as almost completely to prevent 

 getting any hay in a perfect condition. Such was 

 the state of the weather in all this region, and we 

 believe it extended to the adjoining States. Com- 

 paratively little hay was got in short of three or 

 four days after the grass was cut, and much of it 

 stood a week. On some excellent farms, whei*e 

 the crops are skilfully managed, we often saw hay 

 standing that had been cut a fortnight ! Indeed, 

 immense quantities were housed in a blackened 

 and highly damaged condition, and its nutritive 

 quaUties greatly diminished. When such hay is 

 thrown from the scaff"old in the winter, it gives off 

 none of that delightful aroma so common to well 

 cur-ed English hay, but has a musty, offensive odor 

 and fills the barn with dust. It seems to us that 

 stock fed upon such hay cannot gain in milk or 

 flesh, and are in daily danger of contracting 

 disease. Is it not probable, then, that the un- 

 wholesome condition of the fodder upon which 

 sheep have been fed, is the cause of the disease so 

 common among them ? 



It may be said that cattle have thriven well 

 upon similar fodder. That may be — but they are 



of a hardier nature, and not so sensitive to such 

 influences as sheep. Cattle would also be quite 

 likely to have a greater variety of food, such as 

 the tops of corn, and husks, and butts. 



FARM ECONOMY. 



No single inquiry is more frequently addressed 

 to us, than this, — "What is the most j^^'ojitable 

 farming'^" It is impossible for us, or any other 

 person, to answer this question with any sort of 

 satisfaction to the inquirer, because what would 

 be profitable under the circumstances of one farm- 

 er, might be ruinous under the circumstances of 

 another. The economy, therefore, of which we 

 intend to speak, includes a 2)rovident management 

 of all means hy tohich property is saved or accu- 

 mulated ; a judicious application of time, of labor, 

 and of the instruments of labor. 



In a former article, published some weeks since, 

 we spoke of the arrangement of farm, buildings, 

 of the action of the elements upon them, and the 

 importance of shelter for their preservation. 



We propose now to consider the same subject, 

 in some other particulars ; and first, it is poor 

 economy for the farmer to invest too much of his 

 means in buildings, as a certain amount of ca^h 

 capital is as necessary to the business of the farm- 

 er as to many other occupations. As a general 

 thing, however, our farmers are not liable to the 

 charge of extravagance in this particular. It is 

 certainly good economy to have buildings com- 

 pactly and conveniently arranged so as to avoid 

 all unnecessary travel. A certain degree of thor- 

 oughness must also be observed in order to make 

 the construction a profitable one. 



It is good economy to see that cellars are prop- 

 erly drained and divided, that suitable paths are 

 made to pass upon from one building to another, 

 or from the house to the highway, — that fields and 

 highways are properly subdivided, that fences 

 are economically constructed, and that wood and 

 loater are plentiful and convenient wherever they 

 are required. So with regard to the rotation of 

 crops, the preparation and application of manures, 

 the selection of proper vehicles and implements, 

 drainage, the best breeds of stock, and, indeed, 

 the whole economy of the farm. But we pass 

 particulars in these, to touch upon one or two 

 points that lie nearer the heart of the family, and 

 which are vital to its health and happiness. 



A gentleman who had been engaged in prepar- 

 ing for publication the Returns of the Industry of 

 Massachusetts, and the Begistration of Births, 

 Deaths and Marriages, including the diseases of 

 which our people had died, informed us that there 

 were more cases of death from insanity among 

 the families of farmers, than in any other occupa- 

 tion ! We were surprised at the statement, as it 

 was the reverse of what we had always supposed 



