1873.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
51 
are necessaries of life, for farmers will raise 
what they make most money from, irrespective 
of anything but the profit concerned. But sugar 
ami beef are staple articles of cousumptiou, the 
market for which can not be overstocked for 
many years, if ever; whilst tobacco is a crop 
that requires costly preparation, is subject to 
many adverse contingencies before it can be 
marketed, and if in excess is salable only at re- 
duced prices. The culture of root crops tends 
to an increased fertility of the soil, and in this 
way becomes profitable indirectly, as helping to 
produce better crops of other kinds that may 
follow. But in itself, the sugar-beet is a profit- 
able crop. The value for sugar leaves a hand- 
some profit, and the refuse pulp from each acre 
will furnish as much feed as two tons of hay. 
It is a legitimate crop, as being one that lias a 
definite place in the rotation of true agriculture; 
while tobacco is otherwise, as sacrificing the re- 
sources of the farm, aud having no place in any 
possible rotation or systematic agriculture. It 
is a special crop, and as such is legitimate only 
under circumstances that will prevent it from 
interfering with the regular business of the farm, 
or the production of crops that must necessarily 
depend on the internal resources of the farm 
for their culture. Under such limitation, there 
can be no objection to the culture of tobacco, 
but farmers should be cautioned against making 
it their dependence, lest they may lean npou a 
staff that may pierce the hand that rests upon 
it. The fable of the goose aud the golden eggs 
is apropos to this matter. 
The Cbillingham Cattle. 
— ■• — 
In tho extreme north-eastern part of England, 
in the county of Northumberland, is a small 
remnant of an extensive ancient forest which 
at one time stretched far northwards into Scot- 
land. This piece of forest is called Cbillingham 
Park. In it is Chilliugham castle, one of the 
seats of an ancient noble family of England, the 
Earls of Tankerville. The park, as such, has 
been in existence for eight or ten centuries, and 
within its boundaries have been preserved dur- 
ing all that lapse of time a remnant of tho 
ancient race of cattle which inhabited Europe 
even in that prehistoric time when the cities 
now submerged beneath the waters of the Swiss 
lakes were peopled. The scientific name given 
to these cattle, Bos primigenius, sufficiently ex- 
plains their great antiquity. Of them none now 
remain but this herd at Cliillingham, aud a few 
other less important specimen herds in some 
other similar parks and inclosures. They are 
thus the oldest race of cattle now existing. 
They are not domesticated, and are purposely 
kept as wild as possible, so that they may fur- 
nish sport to their owner and his friends in 
hunting them. Notwithstanding, they are 
readily domesticated when kept apart from their 
semi-wild companions. These cattle are white 
in color, with the inside of the ears reddish- 
brown, eyes surrounded with a black ring, muz- 
zles brown, hoofs black, aud the horns while, 
tipped with black. The bulls have no dew-lap, 
and no mane but a short upright one about two 
inches in length. The very spirited engraving, 
drawn by Harrison Wier, which appears on our 
front page, and for which we are indebted to 
the Loudon Field, represents the head of a 
seven-year-old bull recently killed by the Prince 
of Wales when visiting at Cliillingham. The 
bull was the leader of the herd, and was con- 
sidered as so fine a specimen that the head has 
been stuffed and mounted as a trophy. As might 
be expected, these cattle are not good milkers, 
but their beef is said to be of very excellent 
quality. A curious fact iu relation to them is 
that although the race is so ancient, and has 
been kept perfectly pure, yet occasionally a calf 
is born with red or brown ears, or mixed with 
brown or red on the bod}', or even entirely red 
or black. Such calves are destroyed, so that 
the herd mav be kent uniform in color. 
Using- Crude Carbolic Acid. 
L. D. Stowell, of Albany Co., N. T., writes us 
that " crude carbolic acid has been sold quite 
extensively, and in some cases harm lias re- 
sulted from the use of it. If you would give in 
the American Agriculturist directions for using 
it and the precautions necessary, you would 
confer a great favor on many of your readers." 
We have used crude carbolic acid for several 
years, and find it exceedingly valuable on the 
farm. Iu applying it to animals it is necessary 
to exercise considerable caution. Some years 
ago the writer had a flock of Merino sheep that 
were affected with footrot. We put some crude 
carbolic acid about three inches deep in a water- 
tight plank trough, and put in t lie sheep, and 
let them stand in the acid a few minutes. It 
cured the footrot, but two or three of the sheep 
in struggling fell down into the acid. In ten 
or fifteen minutes afterwards, they exhibited 
symptoms of great suffering, aud in less than an 
hour died. We skinned the sheep for the sake of 
the pelts, and found the carcass so impregnated 
with carbolic acid that the meat kept for months 
during the hottest weather without undergoing 
any change. 
This is no argument against carbolic acid. It 
only proves that it must be used with care. 
For footrot iu sheep it should be applied with 
a small brush directly to the hoof and between 
the divisions. We have used the crude acid 
undiluted in this way repeatedly without the 
slightest injury, and two or three applications 
to the whole flock will effect a perfect cure. We 
dress the feet of all our sheep and lambs twice 
a year with crude carbolic acid, simply as a pre- 
ventive, and have not had the slightest symp- 
toms of footrot or fouls since we adopted the 
practice. We can confidently recommend the 
plan lo our readers. 
As a dip for killing ticks on sheep, or to pre- 
vent or cure scab, we prefer to use carbolic 
soap, but we have several times used a weak so- 
lutiou of crude carbolic acid in warm water. 
We can not give definitely the proper propor- 
tion of acid to water, for the reason that the 
strength of the crude acid varies considerably. 
It can be safely used strong enough to kill many 
of the ticks instantly, and make all of them very 
sick. In our own case we judge of its strength 
by dipping the finger into it and applying it to 
the tongue. It should be strong enough to 
sting the tongue for a few seconds, and then 
pass off without leaving any unpleasant sensa- 
tions. Haifa pint of crude acid iu a twelve- 
quart pail of water will probably be found 
strong enough to instantly kill the ticks. And 
this would be about the proportion we should 
use where, as at this season of the year, we 
poured the liquid on to the sheep instead of dip- 
ping them. For dipping, we should not use 
quite as much at first — adding a little more acid 
after a few sheep bad been dipped. The most 
important point is to be very careful to thorough- 
ly mix the acid witli the water. Unless this is 
done with great care, the acid will swim on the 
surface of the water, or in small globules in the 
water, and the first sheep that is dipped will get 
more than its due proportion. 
For lice on pigs, a good plan is to rub the 
pigs all over with soft-soap, and then wash thcui 
witli carbolic-acid water, as strong or a little 
stronger than above recommended for sheep. 
For lice on cattle, the same method may be 
adopted, witli or without the soap. We should 
apply the carbolic-acid water with a sponge, 
and see that every hair and every part of the 
skin was wet. 
For lice on dogs, the dog may be either dip- 
ped all over, except his nose, eyes, aud car-, or 
washed first with soap and then with carbolic- 
acid water. 
If our hens were affected with lice, we should 
be inclined to dip them also, though we have 
never done so, owing to the fact that we use 
carbolic acid freely in the heu-house, sprinkling 
a strong solution of it about the floors, nests, 
etc., and washing the roosts with the strong 
crude acid applied with a paint-brush, and 
have never, since we adopted this practice, been 
troubled with lice. 
We think this crude erfVbolic acid will pre- 
serve wood. At any rate, it is a great purifier, 
and we use it freely about our pig-pens, wash- 
ing out the troughs occasionally with a solution 
of it, and sprinkling it on the plank floors, rub- 
bing it on tho posts, and mixing it with lime- 
wash for the wall?. 
For disinfecting purposes, we think it valua- 
ble principally in arresting fermentation, decom- 
position, and putrefaction, and thus preventing 
the formation of deleterious gases rather than 
in neutralizing these gases, or rendering them, 
iunoxious after they are escaping. Still, we 
have no doubt, the vapor of carbolic acid will 
destroy any poisonous organized matter that 
may be floating in the atmosphere in the vi- 
cinity of sewers, ill-ventilated cellars, etc., etc. 
There is no danger of using it for this pur- 
pose, so far as the health of man or animals is 
concerned, though to many the smell is quite 
disagreeable. A word of caution, however, is 
necessary. We have known carbolic acid 
sprinkled in a cellar where milk was kept, and 
all the milk and cream then in the cellar was 
not only tainted aud spoiled, but the vapor aris- 
ing from the carbolic acid so impregnated the 
cellar that no milk could be put in it for several 
days, and even a crock of butter, although cov- 
ered, was so affected that the upper portion 
could not be eaten. The truth is, that for all 
apartments, fresh air and plenty of water, with 
scrupulous cleanliness, are far better than 
carbolic acid or any other disinfectant. 
Is Pea-Straw Good Fodder ? — A corre- 
spondent says lie lias not found pea-straw as 
valuable for fodder as good oat and wheat 
straw. — Very likely. And yet good pea-straw 
may be so cured aud fed, as to be worth far 
more than any other straw, unless it is choice 
bean-straw. It is more nitrogenous than wheat, 
oat, barley, or rye straw, and should be fed, to 
get out its full value, in connection witii a small 
quantity of corn. Sheep that have a pound of 
corn each per day will fatten more rapidly on 
pea-straw than on wheat or oat straw. The bet- 
ter plan is to let them have all they will eat of 
both pea and wheat straw — say pea-straw morn- 
ing and noon, and wheat or oat straw at night. 
But we apprehend the trouble witli our corre- 
spondent is not so much, in the way of feeding, 
as in the method of cutting, curing, and pre- 
serving the pea-straw. If the peas were allowed 
to grow till dead-ripe, and after cutting were al- 
