THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



79 



They may have reasoned from what they 

 had observed in regard to the stirring of 

 other substances. Experiments on a very 

 small scale will convince them that stir- 

 ring the unswarded earth will not in a 

 dry time, make it more dry. 



If no litter has been placed about the 

 trees, set this spring, keep the earth well 

 tilled both for the sake of your trees and 

 your harvest. When you plough among 

 your trees you should always muffle the 

 ends of the. whiffle tree to prevent galling 

 or tearing off the bark. It is almost im- 

 possible to avoid it without this precau- 

 tion. — Massachusetts Ploughman. 



ERRORS IN HORSE SHOEING. 



In our last number we remarked upon the 

 chief cause of unsoundness in a horse's foot, 

 viz: bad shoeing. We wish to cull from Mr. 

 Miles' book a few more practical observations 

 upon the proper treatment of the- hoof. But 

 before we go farther, we will define more dis- 

 tinctly what we mean by unsoundness in the 

 horse's foot. For some seem to think that if a 

 horse does not limp, his feet must be sound. But 

 in fact, a horse may have a diseased hoof and 

 not limp at all. He may be lame and not pal- 

 pably so. A horse limps because one foot 

 alone is unsound and painful. If both are 

 equally painful, when he rests his weight upon 

 them he will endeavor to pass as quickly from 

 one to the other as possible, and gain with ig- 

 norant people the reputation of a quick stepper. 

 The truth is, that no horse whose foot is in a 

 state of inflammation to such a degree that 

 he is unwilling to throw upon it the whole of J 

 his weight can be considered sound. When j 

 both feet are inflamed he shows it by what is j 

 termed pointing. We will transcribe some of | 

 Mr. Miles' remarks on this topic: 



The various degrees of "pointing" 1 

 ranging between the occasional partial 

 withholding of the weight from the heel 

 without advancing the foot — perceptible 1 

 only to the most practised eye, — and the 1 

 habitual thrusting out of the whole leg 

 to the front — palpable to every beholder, — i 

 are so many indications of pain in the | 



foot ; the intensity of the pain being 

 marked by the degree of pointing: and 

 in spite of the determination to consider 

 th'em as mere variations of a trick, they 

 are unequivocal symtoms of unsound feet. 

 The horse is far too wise an animal ever 

 to inconvenience his whole frame, merely 

 to gratify a particular trick ; and I take 

 it, his reason for pointing will be found, 

 upon investigation, to have much more 

 to do with a desire to relieve himself from 

 pain than an inclination to indulge a ca- 

 price. The act of pointing calls upon 

 him to withdraw half the support from 

 half of the base on which his body stands, 

 and that too at a part where it can least 

 be spared, — where his head and neck 

 overhang it, and tend to throw a great 

 increase of weight very unevenly upon 

 the remaining support ; thus forcing him 

 to equalize the pressure as soon as he 

 cart, by dividing it between the remaining 

 support and leg of the opposite side be- 

 hind. Experience has taught him that 

 this is best effected by adjusting the ba- 

 lance, before the removal of the suffering 

 foot from the ground ; and we accordingly 

 observe him commencing the process by 

 withdrawing the support of the hind leg, 

 and then, having arranged the balance to 

 his mind, he raises the foot intended to be 

 rested, and carrying it forward, deposites 

 it at such a distance from the base as 

 shall ensure to it perfect exemption from 

 sustaining any of the weight. We can 

 readily imagine that an animal formed to 

 stand upon four legs, would find it an 

 irksome business to support himself for 

 any length of time upon two: and so in 

 practice the horse finds it to be ; for his 

 muscles soon become weary of their in- 

 creased work, and he is driven to seek 

 relief from the new pain by a change of 

 position, which again calls forth the old 

 one, — and thus the poor beast is doomed 

 to a perpetual alternation of painful sen- 

 sations. His courage enables him to bear 

 a great deal of pain without flinching, 

 particularly when it increases upon him 

 in the stealthy manner that usually marks 

 the course of unsoundness in the feet. — 

 There is, however, a point beyond which 

 his- endurance cannot be stretched, and 



