1871. 



NEW ENGLAND FARJMER. 



619 



it, and shall be glad if by doing so I may benefit 

 any one. I think — 



i. Tha: changes of weather at dilTcrcnt seasons 

 of the year att'ect the barometer differently. 



2. That winds from different qnarters sometimes 

 have great influence on the barometer, and it shonld 

 be observed when changes occur in the direction of 

 winds. 



3. During the summer months, a slight fall of 

 the mercury is indicative of rain ; a continued fall 

 of some days indicates continued rain ; a sudden or 

 great fall, heavy showers, of short continuance. 



4. There being an average, or mean, between the 

 highest point the mercury occupies and its mini- 

 mum or lowest, any change below or above the 

 mean indicates approaching fowl or fair weather, 

 according as the mercury rises above or falls below 

 that point. 



5. In winter, the rising of the mercury indicates 

 frost and greater cold, or falling snow. 



6. Fogs often causea slight fall of the barometer; 

 the atmosphere being over saturated and contain- 

 ing water in a disseminated liquid state. 



Whitefield, N. H., Hept. 27, 1871. L. D. k. 



Remarks. — On behalf our correspondent who 

 made the inquiry that has drawn out these practi- 

 cal suggestions for the use of an instrnment with 

 which many farmers have had a rather unsatisfac- 

 tory experience, we wish to thank "L. D. K.," who 

 we may be permitted to add is one of the observers 

 employed by the Smithsonian Institute. 



BLOODY MILK FROM A HEIFER. 



A neighbor of mine, Mr. Isaac Smith, who main- 

 tains a large herd of dairy cows, has one heifer 

 that has given bloody milk from one part of her 

 udder for six weeks past to a greater or less de- 

 gree. "What is the cause, and how can it be reme- 

 died ? 1). w. H. 



Barre, Mass., Oct. 3, 1871. 



Remarks. — Prof. Law, Veterinarj' Lecturer of 

 the Massachusetts Agricultural College, in reply to 

 a similar inquirj', remarks, that^ redness oi mSXk 

 has in some cases been traced to feeding on certain 

 plants, for instance madder, and intimates that this 

 may sometimes be mistaken for bloody milk. But 

 as only one cow in Mr. Smith's herd is affected, 

 the trouble cannot therefore be ascribed to any- 

 thing in her food, and probably the milk is tinged 

 with blood. Supposing this to be the case, "what 

 is the cause, and how can it be remedied ?" We 

 do not know the cause of the bloody milk in this 

 case. Bloody milk is often caused by the garget, 

 — is often one of the first symptoms or effects ob- 

 served of that disease. Rough milking, or too 

 much pulling on the teats in stripping, will cause 

 bloody milk, probablj' from the rupture of some 

 of the delicate veins. Great fatigue, as being 

 chased by dogs or boys; a weak or poor state of 

 the blood ; a kick or blow on the udder or adja- 

 cent parts ; stepping on the udder by other ani- 

 mals, while the cow is lying on the ground or in 

 the stable, — are among the causes that produce 

 bloody milk. It may also occur in connection 

 with Bloody Water, and a tendency to periodicity 

 has been observed in connection with the recur- 

 rence of rut or heat. The remedy, then, should 

 be adapted to the removal of the cause, whatever 



that may be. If the heifer has been a])used by 

 dogs or boys, apply a good hot poultice to them, 

 instead of doctoring her ; if she has been milked 

 by stripping her teats between the thumb and 

 finger of a stout man, change that treatment to a 

 more reasonable practice ; if caused by poor blood 

 and a weak state of the system, give a nourishing 

 diet, says Dr. Law, with a course of tonics, say, 

 three grains of carbonate of iron and half ounce 

 of powdered ginger, daily for a week. If the 

 bloody milk is the forerunner of the garget, direct 

 your treatment to the cure of that disease the best 

 you know how, or if caused by external injury 

 adopt such preventive and curative measures as 

 your best judgment may suggest. 



In many cases of slight trouble of this kind 

 iodine has proved beneficial. Make an ointment 

 consisting of one part of iodine to twelve parts of 

 lard, and rub it in on the parts of the udder af- 

 fected. For ordinary cases of garget one of our 

 correspondents recently recommended one ounce 

 of Hydriodate of Potassium dissolved in one pint of 

 soft water. Dose for a full-grown cow, one large 

 spoonful, mixed with a little bran mash, twice or 

 three times a day, according to the virulence of 

 the disease. This medicine should be used with 

 caution, as it has a tendency to dry up the milk. 



HOME for a western MECHANIC. 



I wish to get a little advice in regard to buying a 

 home. I am a mechanic, 25 years old, and have 

 lived in the West abput eight years ; three years of 

 the time farming, the rest of the time working at 

 mv trade. Myhome at the East was within a few 

 miles of Boston, and old New England will always 

 seem very dear to me. My capital is ;J-1500, and I 

 wish to know if I can get started on a comfortable 

 home in Massachusetts with that amount. East- 

 ern papers that I see, advertise many desirable 

 places for sale, at what seems to me to be cheap 

 prices and easy terms I am well aware that the 

 soil of many of these places may be pretty well 

 run out ; but can they not, by a good system of 

 cultivation, be made capable of producing good 

 fair crops ? 



I would like to know the amoimt of money that 

 it would be necessary to invest in stock and tools 

 on a small farm there for raising ordinary farm 

 crops. I Ijelieve that soiling is the system for New 

 England, where tillage land can be had, as the 

 markets are excellent and manure valuable. My 

 objections to a home in the West are several. I 

 have not capital enough to buy an improved farm 

 here, and if I had, the improvements on a western 

 farm are generallv anything but desirable,— poor 

 fences, poorly built houses, stables "shingled mit 

 straw," and no barns. To get cheap land, I must 

 go where I must deprive myself and family of 

 many privileges; and improving a new place is 

 costly work, especially where money brings ten to 

 twenty per cent, interest, as it does in the new 

 States. 



I suppose Horace Greeley would discourage me 

 from turning my face eastward, Init I think I won't 

 say anything to Horace aI)ont it. An answer to 

 the above in the Farmer would greatly oldige 



A Bay State Boy. 



Wisconsin, June 27. 1871. 



Remarks. — As you and your family are per- 

 sonally strangers to us we have no idea of what 

 would constitute a "comfortable home" to you 



