294 



NEW ENGLAOT) FARIVIER. 



June 



those most worthy of the honorable M. D. Every 

 doctor in a farming community ought to under- 

 stand something of veterinary practice, and every 

 well read physician necessarily does. There are 

 few bones in a horse's shoulder, and we suspect 

 that the injury to your horse is a sprain of the 

 sinews and not a displacement of the bones. For 

 a sprain Prof. Law recommends iodine and mer- 

 curial ointment, equal parts, thoroughly mixed, 

 and applied over the point of the shoulder until 

 considerable heat and tenderness appear. May be 

 repeated when these effects have passed off. Rest 

 is also generally regarded as essential in such 

 cases — provided we understand the case, of which 

 we are by no means sure. 



HORSES EATING TOO MUCH HAY. 



Will horses eat enough hay to injure them, if 

 left standing in the stable after eating ? 



R. S. Davis. 

 Williamsfown, Vt., April, 1870. 



Remaeks. — Yes, sir, if you give it to them, 

 they will. Don't you remember the old adage, 

 that "a horse will die at the hay-stack ?" None of 

 our domestic animals require more systematic 

 care in feeding than the horse. He may be kept 

 well at a moderate cost, and will be more healthy, 

 perform more labor and live longer than if fed so 

 highly as to double the cost of keeping A horse 

 will spend most of his time in throwing his feed 

 about, topsy-turvy, in his rack or box, and taking 

 a little occasionally, if feed is kept constantly be- 

 fore him. He will not eat with a keen relish, be- 

 come dissatisfied with all food, and eventually 

 have little appetite, grow thin, become unfit for 

 labor, and in the end diseased and worthless. 



A horse that is fed regularly and in moderate 

 amount, and is worked judiciously, will be in bet- 

 ter condition for labor than one that is fat, or 

 whose ribs can be counted at a distance of twenty 

 rods. It is not the thick layers of fat which give 

 the horse strength and power of endurance, but 

 the firm, compact muscles, made up gradually by 

 proper feeding and careful working. 



Some persons feed their horses but twice in 

 twenty four hours, and we have seen them in ex- 

 cellent flesh and condition for work under such 

 circumstances. But we think three meals better. 



A good teamster will never put his horse to a 

 rapid speed or to heavy work on road or farm im- 

 mediately after his meal. Let the first six miles 

 on the road be moderate, and if carting or plough- 

 ing, let the horse be indulged in occasional stops 

 of a minute or two. 



A horse without hereditary disease, treated in 

 this manner of feeding and working, will continue 

 a faithful and serviceable servant until from 25 to 

 30 years old. 



SEEDING A MEADOW. 



I have a meadow which has raised a crop of 

 oats the past two years, and which I wish to stock 

 with grass the present season. What kind of 



grass is the best for a meadow? and will it be 

 best to stock in the spring with oats, or in the fall 

 after the grain is harvested ? 



Young Reader of the Farmer. 

 Corinth, Vt., April, 1870. 



Remarks. — The term "meadow," in the United 

 States, is especially applied to low grounds on the 

 banks of brooks or rivers, or the low tracts of 

 land lying between higher ground, and which are 

 too wet to be ploughed and cultivated. We sup- 

 pose our correspondent refers to common uplands 

 of the farm, such as are suitable for corn and 

 smaller grains. 



If the land is ready to be seeded, the spring is a 

 good time in which to do it. The grass seed 

 usually employed is timothy or herdsgrass seed, 

 one peck to the acre, and one bushel of redtop 

 seed. If laid down with oats, two and a half 

 bushels to the acre will be sufficient. If with 

 barley — and barley is best for the grass — from one 

 and a half to two bushels per acre will be suffi- 

 cient. 



sweet corn for fodder. — A wheel jack. 



Can you inform me through your paper where 

 I can obtain a bushel or two of sweet corn, such 

 as is recommended for fodder, with the price per 

 bushel ? Also, the best and cheapest and most 

 convenient (if all these qualities can be combined 

 in one kind) machine, with which to raise ox 

 wheels so that they can be taken off to oil the axle ? 

 A Subscriber. 



Lake Village, N. H., March 3, 1870. 



Remarks. — Sweet corn for sowing for fodder 

 may be obtained at the seed stores in Boston. 

 Price from $3.50 to #5.00 per bushel. It is said 

 that if sown in drills, 3^ feet apart each way, two 

 bushels are sufficient for an acre. That is, that 

 thickness of sowing will bring the most profitable 

 crop. The surest way of getting good seed is to 

 preserve it yourself, being careful that no frost 

 touches it in- doors or out, until it is thoroughly 

 dry. A slight touch of frost, even if the ears are 

 tressed up to dry, will destroy its vitality. 



A good wheel Jack may be purchased at any of 

 the agricultural warehouses at a trifling cost. You 

 can probably make a good one yourself if you set 

 about it, that will not cost fifty cents. 



eggs in three months. 



I have thirteen hens in all ; one pure bred Brah- 

 ma, one Bantam, and the remainder our common 

 kind of fowls. They have laid forty-four dozen 

 of eggs during the months of January, February 

 and March. A Subscriber. 



Carlisle, 31ass., April 8, 1870. 



I have wintered thirty Brnhma hens at a good 

 profit. During the months of January, February 

 and March tbey laid eighty-nine dozen eggs. 



Bellows Falls, Vt., April 6, 1870. C. E. w. 



Tell your hens to crow again, Brother Owens, of 

 Wilmington, Mass. From eighteen Brahma hens 

 I have sold from January 1, to March 29, 1870, 

 sixty-five dozen eggs, besides an untold number 

 used in the family. Many of these eggs would 

 average twenty-six ounces to the dozen. 



D. Farwell. 



Harrisville, N. H., April 9, 1870. 



