THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



285 



may appear from superficial examination 

 to be perfectly good. 



If in going along a road we were met by 

 a led bear with a monkey on his back, or a 

 man seated on a velocipede, we found our 

 horse astonished, and then shying or start- 

 ing from the approach of either,, we need 

 not be surprised at his doing so ; but if we 

 merely met a man driving a calf before 

 him, and the horse showed evident symp- 

 toms of astonishment and alarm, I should 

 strongly suspect there existed something 

 defective in his sight that occasioned his 

 alarm at the appearance of such a com- 

 mon object. I # do not mean we are to 

 come to this conclusion at once by his 

 doing so; but if he continually shied from 

 objects he must often have met with, or, 

 at least, similar ones, the inference I 

 should draw would be that imperfect vision 

 disabled him from seeing what the object 

 was, or that it appeared to him a some- 

 thing that it was not. Such horse may 

 see his way along a road well enough, and 

 quite answer the purpose of a road horse ; 

 but ware the man who would ride him at 

 a fence, for then the secret would out. 



I have ho doubt many of my readers have 

 found a horse or seen one, in technical term, 

 "buck" on coming to a (say) large white 

 stone on the road, without its appearing to 

 have attracted his attention until close 

 upon it. I have no hesitation in giving an 

 opinion that a horse in the habit of doing 

 this is near-sighted. If, on the contrary, 

 he cocked his ears and raised his head on 

 seeing the stone at a distance, I should 

 infer his sight was confused, and that the 

 stone was magnified to his view, or ap- 

 peared what it was not ; but the sudden 

 start on seeing it, as it were, under his 

 feet, clearly shows he had not seen it till 

 close on it — then he starts, often produ- 

 cing an almost electric shock to the rider. 

 I have seen a horse thus start so suddenly 

 and violently, as almost to bring himself 

 on his nose. Depend on it, no horse will 

 do this but under the influence of defect- 

 ive vision. 



The attempt to cure a failing the result 

 of an infirmity, must prove abortive, 

 unless we could cure or palliate the origi- 

 nal cause of it. The treatment of horses 

 that start or shy from habit cnly, will pro- 

 bably form the subject of another article. 

 [Harry Hieover, in the London Field. 



Willis' Improved Stump Machine. 



PATENTED MARCH 6tH, 1855. 



Farmers, Mechanics, Road Builders, Specula- 

 tors, and all progressive men, your attention is 

 called to this Valuable Patent. 

 My Stump Machine has great power. It has 

 no equal. It is simple in its construction, easi- 

 ly worked, and not liable to get out of repair. 

 Its common weight is about 1500 lbs. It is 

 easily borne from place to place, and it can be 

 loaded in three minutes, and unloaded, set up, 

 and a lusty stump drawn, all within fifteen 

 minutes. Once fastened, it will pull an acre and 

 a half of stumps without changing anchorage. 

 A single yoke of cattle, or one strong horse, is 

 sufficient to work it. With such a team, if ne- 

 cessary, a power of from three to five hundred 

 tons, can be made to bear upon a single stump! 



One can work it, though two work it at bet- 

 ter advantage. The time required to extract 

 stumps from six inches to four feet in diameter, 

 will vary from two to ten minutes.* With this 

 Machine, standing trees may be taken out, 

 large rocks removed from their beds ; and it is 

 the best Machine ever invented, not only for 

 pulling stumps, but for moving buildings, and 

 other heavy bodies. All the iron used, is 

 wrought, of peculiar quality, imported, sus- 

 taining 57 tons to the inch ! 



The price of these Machines varies according 

 to weight and size. I will furnish the Ma- 

 chine at my manufactory, together with an in- 

 dividual right to work it, for $200. I reside 

 at Orange, Massachusetts, where I manufacture 

 this article, on a large scale, and hold myself 

 ready to furnish it, or sell rights to use it, in 

 any State or Town in the Union, now unsold, 

 on terms most reasonable. 



This patent begins to be appreciated ; all 

 who wish to bring so good a thing into use, 

 and thereby make a " pile of money/' should 

 come to Orange, see the inventor, see the work- 

 ings of the Machine with their own eyes, and 

 if not perfectly satisfied respecting its merits, 

 all their expenses shall be cheerfully paid. 



WILLIAM W. WILLIS. 



Culture of Carrots. 



Several queries have lately arisen in relation 

 to this valuable vegetable, by reason of sug- 

 gestions from those experienced in their cul- 

 ture. 



First, what depth should the land be plowed 

 for the advantageous culture of the carrot? 

 Second, can the carrot be advantageously 



