276 



NEW ENGLAND FARiVIER.. 



JXTNE 



ABCHXBAIiD'S IMPROVED SPOKE 

 WHEEL. 



The accompanying engraving illustrates a 

 new Spoke Wheel, invented and manufactured 

 b_v Mr. E. A. Arciiihald, of Methuen, Mass., 

 and shows pretty fully the princi])les of its 

 construction. The spokes have their ends, 



which enter between the flanges of the hub, 

 made in the form of truncated wedges, and 

 each of them has formed in it a semicircular 

 cutting, which, when the spokes are placed 

 together in the wheel, as shown, form a bolt 

 hole to receive one of the bolts which pass 

 through the flanged plates of the hub. They 

 thus act as an arch of solid wood, so firmly 

 clamped together as to give great strength at the 

 part of the wheel receiving the greatest lateral 

 strain ; and the wood being left uncut at the 

 perimeter of the flanges, has a larger sec- 

 tional area tlian is found in many other forms 

 of spoked wheels. 



n team wheels the axle boxes should be 



true with, and so firmly secured to the hub 

 as to obviate all danger of displacement. 

 The spokes should be so firm in the hub that 

 neither wear, weight, nor drought will cause 

 them to work toward the centre and loosen 

 the tire, and so held by the hub that the ab- 

 sorption of moisture shall not dish or cramp 

 them. The spokes shovdd be made to fit the 

 felloes in the most perfect manner, without 

 checking or splitting. If properly made and 

 of well seasoned stock, the wheel becomes one 

 homogeneous whole, all strains being dis- 

 tributed to all parts of the wheel, rather than 

 concentrated upon single parts, as is the case 

 when everything is not held firmly in its place. 

 This wheel has been used in the most trying 

 climates, and under the most trying circum- 

 stances, and has shown itself capable of great 

 endurance. For further information in rela- 

 tion to this invention, see advertisement in 

 another column. 



EXTBACTS AIXTD KEPLIES. 



SWELLING UNDER A COW's TONGUE. 



Mr. Editor : — I am a reader of the New Eng- 

 land Farmer, a paper from wliich I have received 

 much valuable information. And now, I wish to 

 consult you concerning a sick cow, of which I am 

 the 0A\'nev. 



Early in December last, as the cow came to the 

 bam one niglit, I observed a swelling under her 

 tongue. It was so large at first, that the base of 

 the tongue was pushed up so as to render the 

 breathing of the animal quite ditHcult. Soon, 

 ho«'ever, the swelling subsided in part ; but it re- 

 turned to its former size, and has continued ever 

 since to vary in its dmiensions from time to time. 

 The animal's appetite has lieen good until the last 

 week. But she now scours badty, has lost her ap- 

 petite and is exceedingly weak. 



The cow will, probably, be dead before this 

 reaches you ; but I wish you, or some of your con- 

 tril)utors, to explain the natnre and cause of the 

 disease, and prescribe the treatment proper for 

 such affections. s. m. 



l\'orth Charlestown, N. H., 1S71. 



Remarks. — The swelling described by our friend 

 "S. M." was, doubtless, an enlargement of the sui- 

 lingual gland, a small body situated under the 

 tongue, and which like its associates, the parotid 

 and suh-7naxilary glands, secretes saliva for the 

 purpose of aiding in the process of digestion. 



Such enlargements of the sub-lingual gland may 

 be caused ])y inflammation, cither acute or chronic ; 

 by the presence of worms ; or by the development 

 of a nuilignant disease, like scirrhus or cancer. In 

 the case under consideration, wc judge the enlarge- 

 ment to :avc been caused by acute inflammation; 

 or else by the presence of worms. If inflamma- 

 tion was the cause, it was probably produced by 

 the obstruction of the duct or pipe of the gland 

 which discharges tlie saliva into the mouth 



