474 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
t June 4 , 1885. 
exposure, from the fact of the habit of most cows to lie down 
to ruminate, which cannot be done without considerable risk 
of harm when the ground is cold and sodden with moisture. 
At first they are only left out upon the grass for two or three 
hours, the time being gradually extended as the days lengthen 
and the weather grows warmer; but they are not left out at 
night till summer is fully upon us, and even then they have 
access to -a lodge. The backs of cows are examined closely 
before they leave the yard for warble maggots, which are 
either squeezed out or touched with mercurial ointment. 
There can be no doubt that these huge maggots must seriously 
affect a cow’s health, and it is only by the destruction of the 
larva that we can hope to keep down the flies in summer, 
and at this season of the year they may easily be detected 
and destroyed through the circular opening in the skin above 
each maggot. 
When cows are first into a strong fresh crop of grass they 
eat it greedily, and occasionally a case occurs in which the 
cow has so crammed itself that the rumen cannot act. Fer¬ 
mentation then sets in, gas is generated with such rapidity 
that the stomach is distended almost to bursting, and 
the cow is said to have hoove. It stands apart from the 
others with its head extended, breathing with difficulty, but 
not moaning at first. This, however, soon follows with in¬ 
creasing pain, and then comes the risk of inflammation and 
death. Taken in time, the remedy is simple enough, for 
we have only to give vent to the gas and there is immediate 
relief. This is done by making an opening into the left 
flank in cases of urgency with the point of a knife, and the 
insertion of a small wooden tube with a flange upon the 
outer end to prevent it from slipping into the cavity of the 
stomach. An old but safe authority tells us the safest place 
for this operation is the apex of an equilateral triangle de¬ 
scribed by a line along the vertebrae from the haunch bone 
to the last rib, and two other lines of equal length down the 
flank, the opening being made at the point of union of these 
two lines. We have found this in practice to be correct and 
quite safe to follow, but we only advise this somewhat rough- 
and-ready remedy for emergencies. If a veterinary surgeon 
can be had quickly he should certainly be called in, and he 
will probably use the stomach-pump to inject chloride of 
lime, and avoid the more obsolete plan of using the knife or 
a trocar. When the gas is removed the cow at once shows 
symptoms of relief, and it should have a dose of a pound of 
Epsom salts, half an ounce of powdered ginger, and an ounce 
of carraway powder, and for a short time afterwards daily 
doses of four ounces of Epsom salts, two of powdered gentian, 
and half an ounce of powdered ginger, with a bran mash. 
With careful feeding the cow will soon recover, and if it is 
only of ordinary value it should be dried of milk, fattened, 
and sold to the butcher, for the stomach is so much weakened 
by hoove that there is risk of subsequent attacks. 
Eed-water has always given us more trouble among the 
cows in June than in any other month of the year. It is 
generally accompanied by costiveness, but we once had a 
heifer suffering from red-water and diarrhoea, and the remedy 
used for the diarrhoea caused the red-water to disappear with 
it in about twelve hours. Costiveness is, however, usually 
present, and a dose of a pound of Epsom salts is given at 
once, and some red-water drenches procured from the vete¬ 
rinary surgeon, some of which dire necessity compels us to 
keep by us at this season of the year. With them we always 
feel safe, care being taken to give them so slowly that the 
liquor only trickles gently down the animal’s throat, and it 
is very seldom that the presence of a surgeon is found neces¬ 
sary. As to the cause of this troublesome ailment we have 
nothing more particular to say than that we have reason to 
suppose it arises from the eating of unwholesome herbage 
peculiar to certain pastures, for we have never had a case 
among any of the cows when kept altogether upon our best 
pastures containing very little growth besides selected Grasses 
of known excellence and Clovers. 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Frequent showers have brought a strong growth of weeds among 
Potatoes, Carrots, Parsnips, and Mangolds. Hoeing by hand must he 
pushed on to keep the crop from being smothered by weeds, and the horse 
hoes brought into use as soon as possible. Apart from weed growth the 
weather is favourable for transplanting Kohl, Cabbage, Thousand-headed 
Kale, and Mangolds where necessary, and so we may reasonably hope to 
have a full plant and none of the bare patches that were so prevalent 
last year. Hops have suffered from the cold nights, but the change to 
warm showery weather will soon bring the growth up the poles, and 
the horse hoes must be kept going among them. Where Charlock makes 
its appearance in moderate quantities among any of the crops too forward 
for any more hoeing, let every plant he pulled up by band if it can 
possibly be done without harm to the crop among which it is growing. 
If this were done we should not see whole acres of this pest as we so 
frequently do now. Once get Charlock established in the soil and it will 
require several years to get rid of it. The best plan is to sow a few acres 
of land infested with it with White Mustard year by year, ploughing in 
Charlock and Mustard as soon as flowers appear, and sowing Mustard 
again at once. If this is repeated, say three times in a single season, 
most of the Charlock seed near the surface will germinate, and the land 
will be well stored with nutriment. Many a field of corn has shown 
recently by the yellow hue of the plant how badly drainage is required. 
Let all such fields be entered in a note book for drains next autumn, and 
do not wait till then before coming to a decision about a matter upon 
which so much depends. Now is the time to see where drains are 
wanted ; without them it is not worth while to buy manure, for land that 
is waterlogged is not worth manure till the water is drawn from it and 
drains are left in perfect working order. Drain the land, use genuine 
manures for it, grow your own cattle food, and keep down those heavy 
bills for cake and corn, which tend more than anything else to cripple 
farmers, and to put all their profits into the pockets of the middleman. 
Frequently are we asked to inspect farms and to advise gentlemen as to a 
more profitable method of culture and management. Gladly do we do so 
when we have reason to hope that our advice will be followed, for we have 
several farms in hand, and know full well how difficult it is to induce those 
who manage them to follow any but the beaten track of their forefathers. 
A well-managed farm ought now to afford a full supply of green food for 
the horses. We have some horses on Trefoil, some on Clover, and others 
upon Grass, where they are turned as they come in from work. When 
they have eaten enough they are taken to the stable for the night, and: 
given either Lucerne or Rye Grass. With plenty of green food horses re¬ 
quire no corn unless they are put to exceptionally hard work. See that 
Thistles, Nettles, Docks, and Brambles are kept under upon pastures 
now. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Castor Oil for Calves, &c. (A Constant Reader ).—Your query about the 
quantity of castor oil which should be given to calves has been answered 
long ago. We repeat that the dose for a calf is 2 to 4 ozs., but you must be 
guided by the size and strength of the sick animal. For example, we had 
this spring a Jersey calf with a bad attack of diarrhoea. Now this calf was 
so small and delicate that the dose was reduced to 1 oz. of castor oil and 
twenty drops of laudanum, and we may add that a single dose was sufficient 
to arrest the foul purging, and the calf was soon restored to perfect health. 
It is no part of the reviewer’s work to notice the prices of books. It is our 
province to give the title of a book, the place of publication, and our 
estimate of its contents as briefly as is compatible with the bringing of a 
sufficiently clear idea of its value to the notice of our readers. It is for the 
publisher to advertise the work. We certainly may claim to have done ou 
part, and it is conformable to the general practice. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden Square, London. 
Lat. 61° 32'40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
a 
"3 
tf 
1885. 
May. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32« 
and Sea 
Level 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
^ Direction 
of Wind. 
Temp, of 
Soil at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
In. 
Sunday . 
24 
29.953 
54.4 
47.4 
W. 
49 1 
63.6 
43.2 
106.1 
38.0 
— 
Monday. 
25 
' 30.058 
52.9 
47.7 
s. 
50.1 
54 8 
417 
78.9 
36.3 
0.132 
Tuesday. 
26 
29.964 
67.2 
53.3 
w. 
5 .3 
64.4 
47.3 
103.5 
47.3 
— 
Wednesday .. 
27 
30.005 
56.9 
52.4 
s.w. 
51.6 
69.4 
52.4 
114.4 
49.2 
— 
Thursday .... 
28 
29.901 
66.6 
59.3 
s.w. 
53.5 
73 8 
53.1 
117.6 
46.8 
0.292 
Friday. 
29 
29.950 
67.2 
529 
S.E. 
65.4 
68.4 
52.9 
115.4 
51.8 
— 
Saturday .... 
30 
30.080 
57.0 
51.4 
s.w. 
54.8 
65.6 
47.2 
119.3 
41.7 
0.013: 
29.987 
57.5 
52.1 J 
52.1 
65.7 
48 3 | 
10 7.9 j 
44.4 
0.437 
REMARKS. 
24th.—Fine, and at times bright. 
25th.—Fair early, afterwards rainy and cold. 
26th.—Cloudy morning, fair afternoon, then fine. 
27th.—Fine and bright. 
28th.—Fine, bright, and warm. 
29th.—Heavy rain early ; fine and bright after 9 A.M. 
30th.—Fine morning; clear afternoon with slight showers ; then fine. 
Much warmer arid finer than the previous week, but the temperature scarcely up to 
the average ; even Thursday, which by some persons was considered hot, was so only 
relatively, for the temperature on that day (73.8 e ), though the highest during the month, 
is the lowest maximum for May for several years. In 1884 the maximum for May was 
81.3 C on the 24th, and there were six days with higher readings than any in 1885. Tha 
average maximum for 1885 was 6.6° lower than in 1884.—G. J. SYMONS. 
