1864. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



219 



used for that purpose. I remember an instance 

 where a piece of land had become quite thickly 

 covered with a growth of white birch. These were 

 cut close with a scythe, and then sheep were 

 turned upon it, which, perhaps, for want of better 

 feed, kept the young shoots fed down, and cleared 

 the pasture of brush." 



Mr. Hayward does not believe in compelling 

 sheep to become bush exterminators, but says : 

 "Give them clover and other sweet grasses ; give 

 them as good as you have, and if you have used 

 proper judgment in the selection of your flock you 

 are well insured of a good profit." 



George Fox says : "It is cruel and unprofitable 

 to keep sheep so short as to compel them to eat 

 bushes;" but he adds: "There is scarcely a bush 

 or plant which sheep do not love to eat. I have 

 many times seen sheep turn from white clover, 

 they like so well, to bushes and brakes." 



If sheep are turned upon wild pastures, the 

 farmer must expect wild, poor wool and poor 

 sheep ; but if care is taken not to overstock the 

 pasture, and properly select stock for breeding, the 

 improvement of flock will progress just as the im- 

 provement of the pasture does. Tyro. 



■WATERING CATTLE AND HORSES. 



Although few persons think it worth while to 

 pay much attention to this department of hus- 

 bandry, yet a little reflection will convince any 

 reasonable person of the value and importance 

 of furnishing cattle with a constant supply of 

 pure water. Pure, cool water is said to be a god- 

 send to a thirsty throat ; and as cattle are apt to 

 have thirsty throats, they should be permitted to 

 enjoy a luxury which costs but a trifle, and oper- 

 ates very favorably in promoting their health. 

 All classes of domestic animals have as great an 

 aversion to impure, filthy water, as ourselves ; and 

 the former will often turn away with disgust from 

 the filthy stuff called water, which is often found 

 in water troughs on the roadside, and witlain the 

 precincts of the barn, and in some pastures. The 

 common stagnated pond water, which many poor 

 creatures are compelled to imbibe, is often the ex- 

 citing cause of disease, especially in the Western 

 States, where decayed vegetable matter abounds. 

 Pure water will never injure an animal. I do not 

 believe the stories which are told about horses be- 

 coming foundered in consequence of drinking j:)m?'C 

 water. In a majority of cases Mr. Fastman is 

 blameable ; he has, probably, either overdriven or 

 overworked the creature, or else has suffered it, 

 when heated, to cool off without the necessary 

 care and attention which should always be ob- 

 served when animals are fatigued, or perspiring 

 freely. 



Hard usage, wilful neglect and wanton cruelty, 

 are mwe likely to produce disease than the "uni- 

 versal beverage" so acceptable to the palate of a 

 weary or thirsty horse. How often do we see a 

 "let" horse come into the stable all exhausted and 

 used-up, scarcely able to advance one limb before 

 another ! Examine into the facts, and we shall find 

 that the powers of the subject have, perhaps, been 

 overtaxed. He has been driven too far, or at too 

 rapid a rate, for the present state of his constitu- 

 tion to endure ; and, perhaps, he has not had suf- 

 ficient nourishment to repair the waste incidental 

 to the living mechanism, under the states of rapid 

 and protracted labor. Is not this enough to ac- 



count for the used-up condition ? Is it not more 

 rational to suppose that abuse of the respiratory 

 organs, and those of locomotion, operates far 

 more unfavorably on the horse than water ? It is. 

 But Mr. Fastman must, if there be any blame 

 rightly belonging to him, try to shift the same 

 from his shoulders, and therefore he avails him- 

 self of a popular error, — "lie drank too mxick wa- 

 ter" Yet the individual has no means of ascer- 

 taining the precise quantity needed. We might 

 say the same as regards our horses whose labor* 

 are very fatiguing ; they come from their work, 

 and, as soon as unharnessed, go to the trough 

 and imbibe from one to three buckets, without 

 any bad effect. Some animals need more water 

 than others ; the kind of work, the temperature 

 of the atmosphere, and the nature of the food, 

 whether it be wet or dry, all tend to diversify an 

 animal's wants. The domesticated horse requires 

 a bountiful supply of good water ; his body is 

 composed of seventy-five per cent, of the same, 

 and he can no more exist without it than he can 

 without food. 



A cow or ox is probably the best judge, as regards 

 its own wants, as to the quantity of water needed. 

 It is not the quantity which a rational animal im- 

 bibes which does harm, but it is the quality that 

 demands our attention. 



Thirsty people drink all the cold water they 

 need ; then why deprive a cow or horse of what 

 they actually need? Consider the condition of 

 the inhabitants of populous cities during the sum- 

 mer season. Thirst amounts almost to a disease, 

 and, in view of quenching it, the thirsty are con- 

 tinually imbibing water, rendered cold, hot, sour, 

 sweet or alkaline, just as fancy dictates, or as fash- 

 ion prevails ; cold ices and other fixings are called 

 into requsition, to smother the fire of thirst that 

 rages within ; everybody partakes freely, the 

 young and the aged, the exhausted and vigorous, 

 the laborer, exhausted by a hard day's work, and 

 the rich man of no work, each and all are doing 

 their best to see the bottom of the pitcher, and to 

 pitch their bodies into the watery element ; yet, 

 after all, how few persons complain of any bad ef- 

 fect from it ! 



Cattle should never be allowed to drink pond 

 water. They should either have access to a run- 

 ning stream, or, a clean water trough. — Prairie 

 Farmer. 



Cutting and Curing Clover. — Clover should 

 be cut immediately after blossoming and before 

 the seed is formed. It should be cured in such a 

 manner as to lose as little of its foliage as possible, 

 and therefore cannot be treated exactly as the nat- 

 ural grasses are. It should not be long exposed 

 to the scorching sun, but after being wilted and 

 partially dried, it should be forked up into cocks 

 and left to cure in this position. The fourth or 

 fifth day, when the weather is fair and warm, open 

 and air it an hour or two, and it will then be fit to 

 cart to the barn. 



Clover cured in this way without loss of its fo- 

 liage, is better for milch cows and for sheep than 

 any other hay. It may also be fed to horses that 

 are not hard worked, or to young stock, but it is 

 most valuable for cows in milk. For other farm 

 stock it is worth from two-thirds to three-fourths 

 as much as the best hay. — Manual of AgricuUure. 



