1864. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



41 



defects are found ; necessarily found, because hu- 

 man affairs are imperfect. 



But our best agricultural books and papers are 

 to be relied on ; not of course always, for there 

 must be more or less theory connected with the 

 practical. It is theory that starts the practical 

 — helps it along. The reader must have intelli- 

 gence enough to discriminate. An ignorant farm- 

 er will not do. He will drag along ; no more. 

 Our best farmers are our best thinkers ; not our 

 richest always, for some people have a great fac- 

 ulty for saving. We know many such, with a 

 good deal of native shrewdness, and more of par- 

 simony — these people know how to hoard, how to 

 strike a good bargain as well. 

 ' But good common sense should the farmer 

 bring to his vocation. He will then see what is 

 merely opinion, and what is fact. He will not 

 trust his year's farming upon a vague statement. 

 This he will do : when he sees his neighbor's suc- 

 cess, he will inquire into that success. If that 

 neighbor is an honorable man, he will tell him 

 about the modus operandi of that success ; not the 

 success of one year, but success generally ; and 

 relate what he knows about the matter ; and that 

 is no more nor less than communicating his suc- 

 cess. Now this honorable, successful farmer, not 

 only communicates to his neighbors, hut also to 

 agricultural papers. Such men write our success- 

 ful farming books. You want to know your man 

 then ; and you want to know him by his success. 

 As you must "have some pattern to follow after, 

 take the successful kind of farming, practiced by 

 honorable men. That is the whole nut of the se- 

 cret. Example is the grand lever in farming. 



GREASE, OB. SCRATCHES ON" HORSES. 



Scratches, as this disease is commonly called in 

 New England, is not dangerous, or difficult to 

 cure, unless neglected by the grossest carelessness 

 and abuse. It is occasioned, sometimes, by cut- 

 ting the hair from, and thereby exposing the 

 hinder heels to the operation of cold and wet. In 

 winter when the legs most require warmth arid 

 protection, the heels are deprived of the covering 

 which nature intended should protect them , and 

 parts where the blood flows most tardily are laid 

 bare to the effects of evaporation and frost. 



Turning out to grass, especially during the 

 colder months, when the wet is particularly abun- 

 dant, and the bite short, is another fruitful source 

 of this affection. Allowing the mud to remain on 

 the parts after the horse is returned to the stable, 

 and a general neglect to keep the feet and legs 

 clean, is, perhaps, the chief cause of this painful 

 disease. 



The earliest symptom of "grease" is the crack- 

 pig of the skin of- the fetlock, very much as the 

 hands become " chapped " in cold weather. The 

 legs then swell, accompanied by more or less 

 fever. If the hair should be examined, it will be 

 discovered loaded with scurf about the roots, 

 while one foot will be frequently seen employed 

 to scratch the back of the opposite leg. At the 

 same time, the part begins to exude a thick, 



unctuous moisture, from which the disease de- 

 rives its name. This hangs upon the hairs of the 

 heel in heavy drops. It is an offensive secre- 

 tion. 



Should no regard be now bestowed upon the 

 sufferer, and the horse worked on despite the 

 lameness, the skin swells, white cracks, deep and 

 wide, appear upon the inflamed integument, the 



lines of division ulcerate, sometimes very badly, 

 and a thin, discolored and unhealthy pus mingles 

 with the discharge. 



The remedy for this disease is simple enough, 

 but the preventive, cleanliness, is still more easy. 

 Wash the parts in warm suds of castile soap, rub 

 them with some soft, fresh oil, with the fingers, 

 and keep the horse warm and quiet. 



Mayhew, in his excellent work, " r The Illustrat- 

 ed Horse Doctor," recommends the following, to 

 be used three times each day, viz. : 



Lotion for the Earliest Stages of Grease. 



Animal glycerin ,half a pint. 



Chloride of zinc half an ounce. 



Water six quarts. 



Lotion for the Ulcerative Stage of Grease. 



Chloride of zinc one ounce. 



Creasote four ounces. 



Strong solution of white oak bark one gallon. 



But, we urge again, a humane care of the ani- 

 mal — when this is observed, the disease will never 

 appear. 



Feeding Calves. — A friend of ours who has 

 great success in raising calves on skimmed milk 

 and "corn pudding," adopts the following meth- 

 od : He never lets the calf suck the cow, but 

 teaches it to drink out of a pail. When the calf 

 is three or four days old, he takes about a teacup- 

 ful of corn meal and pours a pint of hot water over 

 it, stirs it up and lets it scald for a few minutes. 

 He then pours on three or four quarts of skimmed 

 milk, or as much as the calf will drink. In the 

 meantime he has had a piece of iron heating in the 

 stove. When red hot he stirs the milk with it. 

 This "scorching the milk" he considers of the 

 greatest importance when calves are fed on 

 skimmed milk.' It prevents it from scouring the 

 calves. As the calf grows older he increases the 

 quantity of corn meal. When three weeks old he 

 gives at least a pint at each meal. The skimmed 

 milk, at first, is only twelve hours from milking, 

 but when the calf is older the milk may be al- 

 lowed to stand twenty-four or thirty-six hours 

 before it is skimmed. — Qenesee Farmer. 



