THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



Causes of Colic. — The main cause consists 

 in the presence of a greater amount of food than 

 the intestines can elaborate into nutriment, or of 

 a kind of food difficult of digestion, producing 

 spasm, obstruction, vegetable decomposition and 

 consequent inflammation. Hard driving on a 

 full stomach will produce colic, because the effort 

 weakens the tone of the digestive powers and 

 they cannot elaborate the food — which then pro- 

 duces irritation and inflammation. Cold water 

 when the horse is heated, because it is a powerful 

 stimulus and will produce spasm or obstruction, 

 or by the re-action produces weakness of the di- 

 gestive organs. It also gives too much fluidity 

 to the food— fluids are more difficult of digestion 

 than solids. It also increases the fermentation. 

 Hearty feeding after hard driving, because the 

 stomach and intestines sympathize with the gen- 

 eral fatigue of the system and are easily over- 

 loaded, and the appetite will induce the horse to 

 eat more than he can digest. 



Colic is first flatulent, then inflammatory. In 

 the flatulent stage, or in what is called belly- 

 ache, aromatic remedies or half a gill of spirits 

 of turpentine, or a pint of whiskey and black 

 pepper maybe given; all these stimulate the 

 system and may assist it in overcoming the dif- 

 ficulty. But in the latter and inflammatory 

 stage, which rapidly succeeds the former, these 

 same remedies would produce speedy death by 

 increasing the inflammation. In nine cases out 

 of ten, this disease is not observed by the ordi- 

 nary driver until it has assumed the inflamma- 

 tory form — in which stage the remedy at the 

 head of this article should be given with as little 

 delay as possible; although it should not be 

 omitted even if the horse be supposed to be in 

 the article of death itself— for I have seen them 

 recover when every by-stander had dismissed all 

 hope. 



Yours truly, T. N. Welles. 



French Creek, Peoria Co., Nov. 25, 1842. 



P. S. — Change of feed will sometimes produce 

 colic, for the reason that the digestive organs do 

 not readily adapt themselves to it — and the food 

 lies there in its unchanged state, producing by 

 heat and moisture, fermentation, irritation and 

 inflammation. 



Colic produced by oats is not as obstinate as 

 that produced by corn. T. N. W. 



THRESHING SEED GRAIN. 

 "It has gone the rounds of the papers, on the 

 authority of the New Genesee Farmer, that the 

 use of threshing machines in getting out grain, 

 will prevent a large part of it from vegetating. 

 Several farmers who have made careful obser- 

 vations tell us, that new machines, before the 

 edges of the teeth are worn smooth, will de- 

 stroy the vital principle of many kernels, but 

 that old machines will not injure seed grain 

 more than the flail." 



The use of the threshing machine is universal 

 in Virginia, but we never heard of any injury 

 resulting to the grain. There are, however, 

 many varieties of the machine, and some may 

 so break the grain as to destroy its vegetating 

 properties, but if so, whether old or new, it should 

 be discarded at once. 



CONTENTS OF NO. II. 



Tobacco — Of the cutting, curing and housing, p. 25. 

 Clay Soils — Proper mode of treating, p. 27. 

 Barns — A description of Mr. Seely's on Staten Island, 

 p. 27. 



Windmills — Information requested, p. 28. 

 Sausages — Recipe for making Oxford sausages, p. 28. 

 Cultivator — New and improved form of, with a cut, 

 p. 29. 



Charcoal — Nutritive qualities of, p. 29. 



American Meat — Its introduction into the English 



market, p. 30. 

 Horse-Power — Proper mode of constructing, p. 30. 

 Dogs — To cure distemper, p. 31. 

 Corn — Should be sowed for hay, p. 32. 

 Stables — Management of, p. 32. 

 Manure — Should be kept under cover, p. 32. 

 Communications — Character of those desired for the 



Planter, p. 33. 

 Bread — Recipe for making, p. 33. 

 Sheep — Remedy for foot-rot, p. 33. 

 Seed Grain — The most nutritive not the best for seed, 



p. 33. 



Corn — Mr. Young's mode of cultivation, p. 34. 

 Potatoes — Modes of cultivation, p. 35. 

 Urine — Its great value as manure, p. 35. 

 Corn Fork — Description of Mr. Shriver's, with a cut, 

 p. 36. 



Stays — Absurdity of, p. 37. 



Ruta Baga — Account of Mr. Bement's crop with his 



mode of cultivation, p. 37. 

 Peaches — To secure a crop, p. 38. 

 Seasoned Wood — Importance of seasoning fire-wood, 



p. 39. 



Machinery — Value of labor-saving machinery, p. 39. 



Cattle— Proper mode of driving, p. 39. 



Climate — New theory of, p. 39. 



Calves — To cure the scours, p. 40. 



Frost — Ingenious method of protecting fruit trees 



from frost, p. 40. 

 Ink — To make marking ink, p. 40. 

 Corn — Successive crops for sixty years, p. 41. 

 Asparagus — Value of brine applied to asparagus, p. 41. 

 Virginia Agriculture — Improvement of, advocated by 



Mr. Za. Drummond, p. 41. 

 Founder — Value of a former recipe confirmed, p. 42. 

 Hogs — Proper treatment of forest or grazing hogs, p. 42. 

 Beeswax — Recipe for preparing, p. 43. 

 Durhams and Berkshires — Essay on, p. 43. 

 Corn and Cob Crusher — Mr. Hussey's described, with 



a cut, p. 44. 



Clothing — New fabric for negro clothing, p. 45. 

 M Cormiers Reaper — Inquiries concerning, answered, 

 p. 45. 



Rice— Its introduction into America, p. 46. 



Education — Other sources of information besides read- 

 ing, p. 46. 



Hens — To make them lay, p. 46. 



Feed for Stock — Value of passing all long food through 

 the cutting box, p. 46. 



Virginia Board of Agriculture — Their report to the 

 Legislature, p. 47. 



Colic in Horses — Recipe for, p. 47. 



Threshing Machines — Supposed to injure vegetating 

 properties of grain, p. 48. 



