■SlMERIGAN ag-riculturist. 
[Maech, 
DR. H A R T jM A N ' S SAFETY BRIDLE AND REIN S.—Ei>grave<l for the American AgriaiUurisi. 
Sheep for Illinois. —Lewis Britaia, Menai-d 
Co., III. We ccrlainly doubt not tliat at present it will 
pay best In raise wool ratliet" than mutton. The Spanish- 
.\meiican slieep require less care and aie generally 
hardier. The best «ay to get a floci; is undoubtedly to 
procure good sound, heavy fleeced rams of the Spanish 
Merino or American Merino breeds, and to use them upon 
young native ewes of good size and shape, selected from 
healtliy flocks. Keep up the flock, by using only good rams. 
Jflaking: a, E«e owm a. strange 
Ijamb.— A. P. Taft, Trumbull Co., Ohio, writes as 
follows ; '* When you find a ev^e with a dead lamb bleat- 
ing piteously and mourning over it; if you viish to make 
her adopt another, catch the ewe, milk her own milk 
upon the lamb, then removing the dead one out of her 
sight, step back out of the way and witness thejny of 
the mother at the supposed restoration of her offspring. 
Lanrel I»oisonlng as;aln. — " H." 
wiites that the Sheep Laurel or Lamb-Kill {Kaimia an- 
^Hstifolia) is injurious even when dry. He had some 
sheep poisoned byealinghay containing it, and thinks its 
effects worse than when eaten fresh. He finds the 
most ellicacious remedy to be a strong decoction of 
.•ienna, to be given in repeated doses unlil the bowels are 
moved. We are glad to record at least one remedy that 
has an appearance of efficacy. " H." further remarks 
that if lambs have plenty of milk and succulent food, such 
as turnips, young grass etc.. they are not apt to eat 
enough laurel to hurt them. Here is an excellent chance 
for some veterinary student to make valuable investi- 
gations. If the real action of the poison were well 
understood, the poisoning could be treated intelligently. 
Runaways aad Kickers Mastered. 
Horsemen have long known that no horse can 
bear a strons; pressure by the bit against the corners 
of the mouth ; and they have employed a cord or 
reins or a pair of reins passing from the hands 
(througli the rings in the harness) through rings in 
the headstall and to the bit, in connection with au 
ordinary pair of reins, to cheeic runaway horses, or 
to control vicious or liicking ones. These contri- 
vances were so bungling, that they never came 
much into use, and spirited horses, fit for much 
better things, were broken in spirit by the lash, and 
set to some kind of drudgery or tread-mill work, 
■where they soon wore out both pluclc and life. 
Dr. S. B Hartiuan, of Millei'sville, Lancaster Co., 
Pa., has an invention which gives, in a vciy pretty 
and convenient pair of reins, all (he ability to stop 
a runaway horse, to cheek a hard-mouthed one, to 
.arrest akicker aTthe first symptom, just as effectu- 
ally as the old bungling contrivance alluded to, and 
very much easier. The above spirited picture 
shows the effect of these reins upon a horse. The 
head is thrown up, the eyes lifted so that he cannot 
see the ground, the weight of the body thrown 
completely off the fore feet, so that kicking is out 
of the question, and the animal being thrown upou 
its haunches, of course must stop ; he cannot even 
back, for the Doctor says, and though we have not 
tried this, it seems true, that a horse may be made to 
sit down squarely on his rump. The bit is a simple 
snaffle, or plain bar bit, attached to the headstall in 
such away that the cheek strap (not buckled into the 
bit ring, but runmng through it), may be shortened 
up almost indefinitely by a pull upou the safety 
reins. These are attaclied to the check strap, 
passed up through the bearing or check rein 
swivels (the rein being removed) and joining the 
direct reins at the saddle or hames riugs,from this 
point,theypassback to the hands, Wii-ofr/;/! the centre 
of the round driving reins, and termin.ate in loops 
and straps. While driving with two hands, the 
loops may be held by passing tlie fore fingers loosely 
through them, and when the driver wishes to use 
only one hand to drive, the straps of the safety 
reins hang down in front of his knuckles, and may 
be seized by the whip-hand at .any instant that he 
wishes to apply their latent power. The safety reins 
are not borne upon at all in ordinary driving. We 
have tried them somewhat ourselves, and have placed 
them in the hands of several experienced horsemen, 
who agree in their good opinion of them. " Ata- 
lanta" is a rather famous trotting mare owned in 
this neighborhood, so hard-mouthed as to be en- 
tirely unmanageable with commou reins and bits — 
with the safety bridle she was driven not only with 
safety, but with ease, and in her horse way owned 
" beat," for the first time iu her life. In Lancaster 
County, where the reins have been in use a year or 
two, we learn that they are regarded with high 
favor, ladies and children driving horses considered 
entirely unsafe before they were applied. 
