1884 .] 
149 
AMEEICAI^^ AGEICULTUKIST. 
growth. “At present she eats well, has good hay, 
oats and bran mixed and wet with rain water once 
a day. Last summer the coat was not shed, except 
as it wore off. The dam was loaned when with 
foal, worked and starved nearly to death. I sup¬ 
pose this is part of the trouble. 1 have given al¬ 
teratives and various combinations with but poor 
results.”—The animal inherits the consequences of 
the bad treatment of the dam during preguaney. 
“ Like produces like.” This fact is shown particu¬ 
larly in the feeble powers of the skin, its inability 
to shed the hair; and again in the impoverished 
condition of the system generally, the result of im¬ 
proper and deficient nutrition. Patience may be 
rewarded in this case by better results than can 
now be anticipated. Supply the most nutritious 
diet possible, especially one in which carrots is a dai¬ 
ly portion of the diet. Daily rub the skin thorough¬ 
ly with the brush. Supply warm, sunny quarters, 
with opportunity for exercise in a sheltered yard. 
In short, do everything that may maintain the best 
state of health. If no improvement appears after 
several months of the above treatment, then pos¬ 
sibly purgatives may be given to stimulate the di¬ 
gestive powers, but with this exception, it is best 
to avoid using drugs and “ condition powders.” 
Swollen Leg. —“Al B. U.,” Raymond, Ne¬ 
braska, writes that he has a mare whose leg is 
swollen and was in this condition at time of pur¬ 
chase. “ She does not limp; and the swelling 
goes down some when she travels, and is at its 
largest when she is standing idle.”—Swelled legs 
indicate imperfect circulation in the parts, and are 
due to a stagnation of their fiuids. This condition 
is often the result of constitutional debility, and 
may be inherited. It is frequently brought on by 
irregular exercise, at one time excessive and then a 
period of idleness. It is often impossible to ascer¬ 
tain the exciting cause, especially when the animal 
is otherwise in good health. The treatment should 
consist of thorough grooming of the entire body, 
of hand rubbing of the affected limb, followed by 
the proper application of a flannel bandage, worn 
constantly when not at work, and this should be 
regular and not excessive. If necessary, mild 
diuretics, or physic, may be combined with the 
above treatment, but avoid these if itossible. 
Cracked Heels.—“N C.,” Milton, Pa., states 
the following case : “ A mare six years old, well 
bred, free driver, cracks come in the usual place 
of ‘ scratches are not always sore. The scars 
do not go away. After a hard day’s drive these 
places seem feverish and she walks stiff next morn¬ 
ing. Bran mashes for a few days afford relief. 
Have exhausted all kinds of external remedies. 
Owned her a year and a half, and she is better than 
when I bought her. Is kept in a box stall, eats 
well, is well groomed, has a good coat, and is in 
fine spirits.”—The cracks are but an aggravated 
form of the disease known as Scratches, which is 
an inflammation of the heels, and due to both local 
and constitutional causes. The former are long 
exposure to wet and cold, washing the parts with 
caustic soaps and neglecting to dry them thor¬ 
oughly ; putting the animal into stall without at¬ 
tention to the parts after long and fatiguing exer¬ 
cise and exposing the heels to cold draughts of air. 
The constitutional causes are shown by the imper¬ 
fect circulation, and consequent swelling of limb, 
and want of activity in the vessels of the heels. 
This condition is often found in debilitated horses, 
and also in others apparently in good condition, but 
whose skin is particularly sensitive to external irri¬ 
tation. The treatment must be both general and 
local. Attention to the maintenance of the health 
by proper nutrition, cleanliness of the skin, regular 
exercise, etc., are all of the first importance. Ton¬ 
ics such as iodide of iron, gentian, etc., are neces¬ 
sary if there is debility. Green food in the form of 
roots, especially carrots, with occasional bran 
mashes, serve as gentle laxatives. For local treat¬ 
ment, if the cracks are deep, and the parts stiff 
and sore, apply a poultice, upon the surface of 
which may be sprinkled a lotion of sugar of lead. 
Afterwards put into the cracks the benzoated ox¬ 
ide of zinc ointment, carefully, twice a day. A 
weU-applied bandage from the foot upwards will 
assist the cure by its moderate pressure. Remov¬ 
ing the hair about the heels is often followed by 
bad cracks ; so clipping the legs is inadmissable. 
Distorted Horns. —“A. T. A,” of Franklin, 
N. T., writes : “ We have a grade Jersey cow near¬ 
ly four years old, which was stabled in a narrow 
horse stall when a yearling. I fed her hay in one 
stall and roots in another, once a day. As she 
turned to change stalls her stub horns rubbed 
along the sides and they have grown lopped down 
towards her nose, pointing inwards. I commenced 
rasping the right one (which turned nearly at right 
angles with the head). It was then about a quar¬ 
ter of an inch from the side of the face. Rasping 
it from time to time did not change its twist. 
When it got within an eighth of an inch from the 
face I sawed off about two inches, as there is dan¬ 
ger in sawing off more. What shall I do V — 
Though the form of horn in the several breeds 
follow general laws, assuming different shapes ac¬ 
cording to the breed and sex, it occasionally hap¬ 
pens that from some unexplained cause, an unusual 
shape is developed. It is not probable that the 
supposed cause (in the above case) had anything to 
do with the twist, and the owner can rest well as¬ 
under the nuts, which stopped their working loose. 
.If at work in a field where you can not place 
the jug of drinking water in the shade set it in the 
furrow, throw a bunch of grass over the mouth to 
keep it clean, and plow the jug under. The ground 
will shield it frow the hot sun, and being cool and 
damp will help keep the water cool.In plow¬ 
ing, to keep dirt out of the shoes, take the legs of 
an old pair of trousers and cut off pieces about a 
foot long. At opposite points of each sew two 
strings. Draw the pieces on over the shoes, tie the 
strings down underneath just in front of the heel. 
Then fasten the,upper ends of the pieces around 
above the ankles with elastic garters.For a 
marker to lay off com rows among stumps, put two 
wagon wheels on an axle of a length to keep the 
wheels just the di.stanee apart the rows are desired. 
Any stout stick of wood wUl do for the axle. Fix 
on a seat to ride if desired. This marker will pass 
over ordinary stumps, and can be easily turned to 
avoid those directly in the way of a wheel. J. S. 
Lincoln Sheep. 
The popularity of the breed of sheep—of which 
we present an engraving, representing a group of 
A group of prize LINCOLN LAMBS .—'Engraved after the Agricultural Gazette, London. 
sured that nature will be perfectly competent to 
manage this without any interference by any one. 
Helpful Hints. 
When oats or other feed get low in the granary, in¬ 
stead of straining to reach them nail a stout strip to 
a bucket or box with which they can be easily lifted. 
.A horse of mine takes especial delight in roll¬ 
ing in mud or manure. I tie an old broom-stick to 
the curry-comb and stand off at a clean and safe 
distanee until 1 get the worst of it removed. 
If in plowing the laud-side horse is a lazy one and 
crowds over against the one in the furrows, take an 
inch board about six inches square, and through a 
hole in the center drive a wooden pin sharpened at 
one end. Tie this to the back-band of the furrow 
horse so that the lazy one will strike it every time 
he crowds, and he will soon get tired of doing so. 
.Always have on hand a paper of copper rivets 
of assorted sizes and a piece of oiled leather for cut¬ 
ting strings to keep the harness mended with ; then 
breaks can be readily mended, or those threatened 
in tugs, lines, straps, etc., either by rivetting or 
sewing with the stout leather string.When a 
calf persists in sucking after being separated from 
its dam for several weeks, take an old halter and 
through the strap passing around in front of the 
nose put nails, having the points filed sharp and 
standing outward. A piece of leather sewed 
over the heads keeps the nails in place. With this 
halter on the calf the cow will kick and keep it at a 
distanee and it will soon give up in disgust. 
Formerly I was often annoyed and delayed by the 
loosening of nuts on coulters or rolling cutter, un¬ 
til I hit upon the plan of putting leather w. shers 
lambs, comprising a first prize pen at the late 
Smithfleld fat cattle show—has been on the increase 
in this country ever since its first introduction. 
The Sheep of Lincolnshire were heavy-carcassed 
and leggy, but carried very long fleeces. They 
were greatly benefited by crosses with the Leices- 
ters as improved by Mr. Bakewell, and known as 
“ Dishley’s,” from the name of his place. StUl the 
Lincolns retained characteristics of their own 
which render them quite distinct from other long- 
wool breeds of the present day. They show this 
both in the wool and in the carcass, and have been 
greatly improved by judicious breeding in recent 
years. They are regarded by their breeders in this 
country as hardy, hearty feeders, heavy, well¬ 
shaped, and peculiarly well and long-wooled. In 
each of these particulars they have been improved 
and are in all respects a noble and excellent breed 
for early lambs, for mutton, and for fleece. A re¬ 
cent writer attributes some of their peculiar excel¬ 
lencies to an importation of big Dutch long-wool 
sheep said to have been made about one hundred 
and fifty years ago into Lincolnshire. It is not at 
all improbable that such an importation was made, 
as size, and length of fleece were qualities then 
i more highly prized than compactness of carcass, 
j Mr. Bakewell, who so improved the Leicesters that 
he may almost be said to have created the breed as 
we now know it, paid little attention to the fleece, 
and neglected mere size in preference to form and 
I quality. What blood the Lincolns possess which 
j responds so kindly to good breeding practices and 
\ careful selection is not certainly known, tint It is a 
; fact that it is in the blood and that selection alone 
I would not so promptly fix the valuable peculiari- 
I ties of fleece and carcass which they now possess. 
