THE COW HER DISEASES AND MANAGEMENT. NO. 19. 
369 
would a gin the boys, heh V " But, Mr. Doo- 
little," I replied, blushing somewhat at his flattering 
appreciation of my abilities, " perhaps as a learned 
professor at college, I might not have been so use- 
ful as in the sphere I now occupy ; though I would 
gladly have more time to study than my laborious 
occupation permits. Still I do not regret that I was 
bred a farmer; and to quote a proverb, like your- 
self, my good neighbor, recollect, that " He is the 
best scholar who hath learned to live well." " Yes," 
echoed Uncle Sim, tiring up with great animation, 
"Him that's born of a hen must scratch for a liv- 
in\ I don't mean to insinuate by this, Sargeant, 
that you wasn't well born, I only meant 'What is 
bred in the bone will come out in the flesh ;' which 
is as much as sayin', it was quite nat'ral for you to 
keep to farmin', as your father, grandf'er, and great 
grandf'er, clean up to Adam, fur-zi-no, did afore 
ye." Sergeant Teltrue. 
♦ — 
THE COW— HER DISEASES AND MANAGEMENT— 
No. 19. 
Dropsy. — This is not a very common disease in 
cows ; but when it does occur, it is more frequent- 
ly met with in the chest. It is caused either from 
an obstruction of some of the principal organs, 
particularly the liver, and hence appears in con- 
junction with many other complaints, as jaundice, 
&c, or it may proceed from a general relaxation of 
constitution, when the powers of life are being, as 
it were, exhausted. 
The malady is known by a swelling in the dew- 
lap, similar to what takes place in anticor ; but 
here it is soft and puffy, accompanied by a dimin- 
ished quantity of urine, and the eyes of the animal 
show a whitish appearance, with weakness and 
a discharge of a watery fluid. 
With the above-named symptoms, the cure of 
this complaint is very uncertain. It is generally 
attempted first by giving vent to the accumulated 
water, and afterwards, when this is done, in endea- 
voring to prevent its return, by bracing up the 
habit. The collected water may be removed by 
general purging, which may be effected by the 
following medicines : — 
Take of flour of sulphur, 9 oz ; saltpetre, \% oz. ; grains of 
Paradise, 3 drachms. 
To be mixed for one dose, and given in two quarts 
of water gruel, sweetened with half a pint of mo- 
lasses. Along with this, a fleam may be struck 
into the dewlap, so as to make ten or a dozen ori- 
fices, which, as well as the other parts of that 
organ, are to be rubbed with the following oint- 
ment : — 
Take of linseed oil, S oz. ; oil of turpentine, 2 oz. ; oil of vit- 
riol, 1 oz. 
The last-named article to be gradually mixed with 
the other two. 
During the interval of purging, the following 
diuretic may be given in two quarts of water 
gruel : — 
Take of Castile soap, % oz. ; aniseed, in powder. % oz ; vale- 
rian, in powder, % oz. ; camphor, \}i drachms ; saltpetre. 
% oz. ; fennugreek, %. oz. ; sweet spirits of nitre, 3 
drachms. 
To be repeated once or twice a-day, till the swell- 
ing of the liver, or other symptoms, depart. These 
are believed to be the only means of cure in the 
power of man, and when unsuccessful, little else 
can be done. 
The food of the animal, in this case, should be 
nourishing, and rather dry in its nature. Friction 
and warmth will also be highly useful. 
Wounds in the Soles of the Feet. — Wounds in 
these parts are occasioned by a number of acci- 
dents, such as being worn through by travelling : 
also, by treading on nails, sharp stones, glass, or 
any other substance which may penetrate through 
the hoof to the quick, all of which will cause 
lameness, and the parts soon become festered. If 
neglected, the confined matter will make its way 
up between the hair and hoof, and consequently 
render the cure more tedious. 
As soon as the lameness is perceived in the foot, 
from any of the above-named accidents, the foot 
should be drawn out as soon as possible, in order 
to search for the wound; and the hoof must be 
taken off as far as it is hollow, underneath, so that 
a proper remedy may be applied to the affected part. 
When this is completed, the following ointment is 
to be spread on cotton or tow, which is to be closely 
confined upon the wound with a cloth and string : — 
Take of tar and common turpentine of each 1 lb. 
To be put in a pipkin over a slow fire, till they are 
completely dissolved ; then remove it from the fire, 
and add to it four ounces of spirits of turpentine, 
which should be well stirred and incorporated 
together. The dressing may be repeated every 
other day till the foot is well. 
This method, in recent cases, will generally suc- 
ceed in effecting a cure ; but if the case has been 
of Jong standing, and the wound has become 
ulcerous, then a different mode of treatment must 
be pursued. 
♦ 
FARMERS, STAY AT HOME. 
This saucy republic of America is an everlasting 
" great country," (at least it is shrewdly suspected 
that it will be, when the bounds are fixed,) and this 
greatness, or vastness, though a matter of gratula- 
tion and pride to ourselves, as a nation, is the very 
thing that has kept the farmer from rapid improve- 
ment in the management of his affairs. Land being 
more plenty than people, it is cheap here, in com- 
parison with other countries, and therefore the 
farmer settles on new land, which is bought for a 
trifle, and when he has nearly exhausted his soil, 
instead of attempting to renew it, he adopts what 
he considers a cheaper course ; he sells his farm 
for what he can get, pulls up stakes, and moves 
away to some other new land, the soil of which, 
without the trouble or expense of manuring, is 
ready to bring forth large crops upon merely re- 
ceiving the seed from the hand of the owner. 
Well, this system may have been very well 
once ; it has served to push our backwoodsmen 
further towards our borders, on the great west, and 
thus aid in peopling our magnificent territory, and 
developing our vast resources ; but as it is import- 
ant that we, somehow, manage to keep a few 
farmers in our New-England and Middle States, it 
stands us in hand to see that they pay attention to 
improvements in agriculture and the creation of 
new soils, so that they may not be tempted to run 
