1881.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
101 
nary surgeon a heavy pair put on, the ob¬ 
ject being to have the foot carried so far 
forward by the additional weight, that it 
would not be hit. It spoiled her gait, and 
after the first two or three days did no good. 
So these shoes were ripped off and steel 
“ Goodenough” shoes for winter use put on. 
The effect was marvellous. Her actions are 
free and easy and there is very little click¬ 
ing. I attribute this to the shoe being so 
light and well formed. After this experience 
I put the same shoes on the other colt which 
we drive, and am glad to find that she is so 
wide-gaited that her hind feet are thrown 
outside the fore feet when trotting fast. 
What Need is there of Shoeing ? 
Many a man will ask himself that question 
after reading Sir Geo. Cox’s article in the 
“Popular Science Monthly,” copied from 
“Frazer’s Magazine.” The writer argues ex¬ 
tremely plausibly that 
shoes are not only not 
necessaiy, but exceed¬ 
ingly harmful. Now, 
every year I am in the 
habit of driving my 
horses barefoot as long 
as I can, and find that 
one of the pair can be 
driven about three 
weeks, when the hom 
will be worn into the 
quick, just at the toes of 
the fore feet. Then I 
have him shod forward. 
His mate will go bare¬ 
foot all summer, but 
still, if given too much 
“ road work,” will get 
tender. This tenderness 
comes on after going on 
thegravelly roads,not account of any breaking 
due to nail holes, but because the hom wears 
Away. Experience will no doubt prove that 
little half-moon shaped toe-guards, called “toe 
clips,” are all that is necessary—just to keep 
the toe from wearing. These ought really to 
be factoiy made, and for sale at the hard¬ 
ware stores. Few things are easier to do 
than to prepare the toe of the hoof—dressing 
off a proper surface with the rasp—and then 
fasten on the “ clip” or guard with nails. I 
use this style of shoeing with great satisfac¬ 
tion; and between letting the horses go bare¬ 
foot and protecting the toes in this way, 
while the full natural wear and pressure 
comes upon the sole and frog, get my horses 
feet in perfect form during the summer, so 
that the smith and the shoes and the calks 
have only the winter months to damage them. 
As a general rule this is not long enough 
for much harm to come to the feet, 
I have found moreover that the steel 
“Goodenough” shoes, which, when worn a 
little smooth, must be taken off and a new set 
put on, if kept for summer shoes will wear 
a long time, and when cut in two, will make 
excellent half-moon shoes or toe clips. 
Since reading the article referred to, I am 
determined, if possible, to harden my horses 
feet so that I can use them freely barefooted 
all summer. The plan therein suggested is 
to give the horse a rest, barefooted of course, 
until the nail holes have nearly or quite grown 
out, and then to use him carefully at first, 
until the hoof grows hard and strong. Still, 
I think the result will show that some horses 
may be used barefooted while others must 
have some protection to their feet. 
A Device for Weighing Bulky Articles. 
Mr. Orion Siggins, Forest Co., Penn., sends a 
sketch of a method of home-weighing which 
he finds very convenient, and describes some¬ 
what as follows : “A beam of hard-wood, 2 
by 5 inches through, and 16 feet long, a, is sus¬ 
pended from the floor above, at the point b, 
four feet from the end c. The platform, e, is 
made of inch boards, and is 8 feet square ; it 
is suspended from the end of the beam, c, by 
four ropes, one being fastened to each corner 
of the platform. A steelyard, with a capacity 
of 150 to 200 pounds, is suspended in the 
middle of a rope which reaches from the end 
of the beam, d, to a staple in the floor at /. 
A hook on the lower end of the rope will 
make it easy to unfasten from the floor at 
any time when it is desired to raise the long 
end of the beam and lower the platform. A 
cord, g, is fastened to the beam, with one end 
passing up over a floor beam—both ends 
hanging within easy reach. With this rope 
the weighing beam is easily kept in the right 
position. When the hay, etc., is on the plat¬ 
form ready for weighing, take hold of the 
rope to which the steelyard is suspended, 
and pull it down and hook it to the floor. 
With the weighing beam adjusted as here 
given, each pound mark on the steelyard will 
represent three pounds. If the poise marks 
110 pounds, there will be 330 pounds on the 
platform. The difference arises from the dis¬ 
tance between b and d being three times the 
length from b to c. devices may be used at 
the points, b, c, and d; and any old hook will 
answer at f. The long arm of the weighing 
beam should just balance the short arm and 
the platform. To do this it may be necessary 
to add some weight near d, as indicated above. 
_ n „_ « 
A Feeder for Young Lambs. 
Mr. W. E. Grant, Carroll Co., Ky., sends a 
sketch and a description of a Feeder for lambs 
which is shown in the engraving. The filler 
is made of tin, shaped like an eaves trough 
for a house, about 30 inches in length, and 
closed at both ends. At intervals of about 
six inches, tin tubes like those to an oil feeder 
are fastened through one edge, and reach 
down to the bottom of the trough. A drop 
of solder is placed on one side of each tube 
near the outer end. This projection secures 
a piece of rubber tubing 2£ inches long,'which 
makes a nipple for the lamb. The tubing can 
be bought at any drug store. T&e feeder 
complete will cost about seventy-five cents, 
and solves the problem of raising lambs with¬ 
out mothers at very little trouble or ex¬ 
pense. Mr. G. writes, it is best to place the 
feeder by the side of a fence so that the 
A HOME-MADE LAMB FEEDER. 
lambs can put their heads between the rails 
or boards and obtain their food without waste. 
Bran of Indian Corn and of Wheat. 
Mr. A. Buffat, Knox Co., Tenn., asks if we 
can inform him of the relative value, as food 
for stock, of the bran from Indian Com and 
that from Wheat. The question was referred 
to Prof. Atwater, who replies as follows : 
Below are analyses of 
I. 
II. 
in. 
Maize Bran. 
Wheat Bran. 
. Wheat 
Maiskleie. 
Coarse. 
Middlings. 
German. 
r- —American.-, 
(Water. 
.12.0 p. c. 
11.4 p. c. 
11 8 p. c. 
Ash . 
.... 2.3 “ 
5.1 “ 
2.3 “ 
1 Albuminoids... 
. S.O “ 
12.9 “ 
11.4 “ 
o H 
! Woody Fibre .. 
.12.5 “ 
8.1 41 
4.8 “ 
Eh 
Other Carbohydrates 61.2 “ 
59.0 “ 
66.8 “ 
[Fats. 
.4.0 “ 
3.5 “ 
2.9 “ 
100.0 
100.6 
100.0 
A 
1 Albuminoids... 
.0.2 “ 
10.0 “ 
8.9 
£ - 
Carbohydrates.. 
.55.0 “ 
48.5 “. 
54.8 “ 
(Fats. 
. 3.6 “ 
3.1 “ 
2.6 " 
& 
Nutritive ratio. 
.. ..10.3 
5.6 
6.9 
5 
Valuation $ 100 lbs..92.0 cts. 
101.0 cts. 
100.0 cts. 
Figures for “Total” are from direct analyses. 
Those for “Digestible” are calculated by as¬ 
suming certain proport ions of each constituent 
to be digestible, that proportion being based 
upon results of digestion experiments in (lie 
case of the Wheat Bran, but assumed for the 
Maize Bran, with which no digestion experi¬ 
ments have as yet, so far as I know, been 
made. For explanations of * ‘ Nutritive ratio ” 
and “Valuation,” see American Agriculturist, 
December, 1879, and January, 1880. It is 
worth noting that the lower value of the 
German Maize Bran (no American analyses 
have, I think, been made) is due to the smaller 
content of albuminoids, as compared with 
the Wheat Bran. It has also less ash and 
nitrogen, and is worth less to make manure. 
The “ Valuation ” above given does not take 
the manorial value into account. W. O. A. 
A Tie for ISag's, etc. —Wm. Nelson, 
Essex Co., Mass., sends a sketch of a Tie, 
shown in the engrav¬ 
ing. It consists of a 
small piece of wood 
with a slot cut in one 
side and a cord at¬ 
tached at one end. 
The wooden pieces 
are made very rapid¬ 
ly by taking a num¬ 
ber of laths and saw¬ 
ing them, all at once, 
into ten pieces. Sev¬ 
eral of the pieces are 
then put into a vise 
and the notch sawed 
into the sides. Mr. 
N. has used these 
ties for binding his 
shocks of corn, and 
finds them veiy 
handy. The piece 
of wood with the cord drawn into the slot 
is shown in the accompanying engraving. 
HANDY TIE. 
