248 
AMEEIOAE' AGEIOULTUEIST, 
[June, 
A Fence Board Holder. 
Figure 1 shows a contrivance for holding fence 
boards against the posts, at the right distances 
apart when nailing. A two and a half by two and 
a half inch piece of the de¬ 
sired length is taken for the 
upright, a. About its cen¬ 
ter is hinged the brace, c. 
A strap hinge, h, or a stout 
piece of leather for a hinge, 
will answer. Blocks or 
stops, d,d,d,d, are nailed on 
the upright a, at the required 
distances, according to the 
space between the boards on 
the fence. The bottom 
boards of the fence are nail¬ 
ed on first. The bottom 
block of the board holder 
rests upon the bottom board, 
and is held in position by the 
brace c. The boards can be placed in the holder 
like putting up bars, and are guided to their places 
on the posts by the blocks d, d. The boards can 
now be nailed on the posts, and the holding devices 
moved for another length. When the boards are 
too long, they can be pulled forward a little, and 
the end sawed, and pushed back to place. One 
man using this contrivance, can nail on nearly as 
many hoards in a day, as two persons with one to 
hold the hoards in the old way. Figure 2 shows 
the manner of using the fence board holders. 
Animal Ailments. 
DB. D. D. SLADE. 
Shortening oe the Tendons. —Mr. A. N. Brainard, 
Carbondale, Ills.—The shortening of the tendons, or 
cords in the legs of the horse, is due to previous inflam¬ 
mation in the parts, the result of strain and over-exer¬ 
tion.—In the early stages, a long period of rest at pas¬ 
ture with an occasional blistering, may serve to restore 
the tissues to their natural condition, if they have not 
been too seriously injured. A high-heeled shoe may 
facilitate the cure, by throwing the tendons into a state 
of relaxation. After the tendons have become per¬ 
manently and rigidly shortened, however, only the sever¬ 
ing of the cords by the knife, can give any hope of a 
permanent cure. The operation should be performed by 
a skillful surgeon, and the animal cannot be put to hard 
work for several weeks afterwards. Although the opera¬ 
tion is a simple one, its results are often far from satis¬ 
factory, and this fact must be considered before it is 
undertaken. There is always a tendency to contraction 
of the tendons again, in spite of the means employed to 
overcome this condition. 
Parturition Fever. Milk Fever. Parturient 
Apoplext. —Mr. W. L. Fulton, Pioneer, Ohio.—These 
names are given to a diseased condition, which may at¬ 
tack cows within twenty-four hours after calving, and 
almost invariably proves fatal. The disease most fre¬ 
quently shows itself in animals that are large milkers, 
and are inclined to a fullness of blood, and that have 
been well fed previous to calving. The symptoms may 
be, at first, great dullness, stupor, heat of head and 
horns, followed by delirium, or the delirium may be ab¬ 
sent, and loss of power over tbe limbs, accompanied by 
paralysis of intestines and bladder, and inability to rise. 
Whatever may be the jiarticular condition of the animal 
as shown by the symptoms, it is dependent upon the 
peculiar state of the system at the time of parturition. 
Cows, which show a tendency to plethora, must be kept 
upon a low diet for weeks before calving. The diet 
should be of a laxative nature. Great attention should 
be paid to cleanliness, and to proper ventilation of the 
premises in which they are kept. Particular care should 
be taken, that they are not allowed to have access to 
luxuriant pasturage. The disease having declared itself, 
the first and most important step is to administer a full 
cathartic, which should consist of two pounds, at least, 
of Epsom salts. If insensibility has occurred, give this 
by means of the stomach pump, and after a few hours 
the action of the purgative may be assisted and hastened 
by foments of warm soap-suds every fifteen to twenty 
minutes. If there is delirium with heat of head and 
horns, apply cold water, or bits of ice to these parts. 
Rub the body and extremities constantly, and draw off 
the milk frequently. The strength must be kept up by 
the aid of stimulants. The following answers an ex¬ 
cellent purpose : Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia, two 
ounces : Ground Gentian, one ounce; Ale, one pint, to 
be given every two hours. Coldness of surface and of 
extremities must be counteracted by suitable coverings. 
It is important to maintain the erect posture, if possible. 
The chances of recovery under any circumstances are 
small, but this fact should not prevent us from using 
every exertion to overcome this malady. If recovery 
occurs, tlie animal should be fattened for the butcher, 
and not allowed to have another calf, unless the cow is 
very valuable, in which case great attention should be 
paid to the means for prevention of the disease. 
Diarrhoea in Fowls. —W. J. Hess, Goldeiidale, Wash¬ 
ington Territory,—It would be dififlcult to form a correct 
diagnosis of the cause of death in fowls, without know¬ 
ing more of the symptoms whicli they presented. The 
enlarged and peculiar state of the liver found on the ex¬ 
amination of one fowl, does not prove that others were 
similarly affected. The length of time, from one to 
four weeks, during which the birds were ailing, pre¬ 
cludes the supposition of cholera. Diarrhoea in fowls 
may be due to a variety of causes, among which may be 
mentioned improper food, inclement weather, change of 
diet, etc., or it may be a symptom of contagious disease. 
Unless long continuous, it is not worth while to resort to 
remedies, except to very simple ones. A complete change 
of food may often effect a cure, such as giving soft boiled 
rice, barley-meal, or barley. To these first two, may be 
added a little powdered chalk, or a few drops of lauda¬ 
num. If this is not suflicient, give five grains each of 
chalk, rhubarb and pepper, to wliicli may be added half a 
grain of opium in tlie food twice a day, or perhaps better 
still, in a pill. Sulphate of Quinine should be added to 
the drinking water. To wliatever cause the disease may 
be due, the affected birds should be separated from the 
healthy. The liouse and yard should be thoroughly 
cleaned and disinfected, by washing walls, perches, floors, 
with water, to whicli is added about six drachms of Sul¬ 
phuric Acid to the gallon, by means of a common broom 
or brush. If possible, tlie liealthy birds should be re¬ 
moved to new quarters for a time. 
Death oe Young Pigs.— Mr. Geo. W. Osborne, Hamil¬ 
ton, Madison Co., N. Y., writes us that he has lost two more 
pigs, three months old, from some obscure cause. For 
the first month he fed them on ground feed, corn and 
oats. Since then has been using cotton-seed-meal in ad¬ 
dition, gradually increasing the quantity, until he reached 
the proportion of two of feed, to one of the meal. Tlie 
pigs ate. about twelve quarts of the clear feed daily, but 
only half of that amount of the mixture. The pigs ivere 
well housed and littered. Have had no clear water to 
drink, and very little salt. Tlie post-mortem examina¬ 
tion showed considerable inflammation of the digestive 
organs.—It is fair to presume from the appearance pre¬ 
sented at tlie examination, that the cotton-seed ivas the 
cause of death, being an inappropriate article of diet for 
young swine, on account of its extreme richness in al¬ 
buminoids. If given at all to young animals, it should be 
in very small quantities, and its effects upon the system 
carefully watched. We know of one case at least, where 
death of a pig was produced by an excess of this food. 
Clean water is essential to the well-being of swine, as it 
is to other animals, and experiments have abundantly 
shown the value of salt, not only for tlie general health 
of the pig, but also as contributing to tlie fattening 
process. 
Weakness in Horses. —A subscriber from Oil City, 
Veraiigo Co., Pa., writes us that he has a liorse eight 
years old, which appears to be weak in the hind-quarters, 
sweats easily when worked, and staggers about.—Tlie 
animal is suffering from general nervous debility, exhib¬ 
ited most especially in tlie hind-quarters, and due most 
probably to previous sickness, from which lie has never 
entirely recovered. Whatever the cause the treatment 
must consist of giving the best food and plenty of it, oais 
being preferable to corn. Great attention should be 
paid to keeping the skin in the most healthy condition, 
by proper grooming and plenty of friction. Good quar¬ 
ters and good ventilation are essential, also a moderate 
amount of work, with no excess. Give half an ounce of 
Powdered Gentian in his food twice a day. Treat the 
animal patient just as you would a person who is weak, 
and not yet recovered from some previous illness. 
* 7 I n n5^ 
OUR 
BASKET. 
I*ro€liictlve Idalio Valleys. —The val¬ 
ley world around Cauldwell is one of the western won¬ 
ders. Boise Valley stretches out in the purest atmosphere, 
a distance of eighty miles of the richest available soil, 
interlaid with springs, rivers, and geyser wonders as well. 
Fayette Valley, a semi-Swiss scene, takes in one hun¬ 
dred miles of the best meadow lands of the Territory. 
The Malheus Valley, seventy miles in length, holds in 
its precious soil and area, all possibilities to the farmer 
and fruit-grower. 
Boise and Payette Valleys are bordered and inter¬ 
spersed with timber lands, that would put Michigan for¬ 
ests to shame. Everything that can be produced from 
the soil in Colorado or the Sacremento Valley, can be 
raised in these valleys of Idaho, without irrigation. 
Climate. —For years the “Oregon 
mist,” has been a standing slur with the surrounding 
States and Territories, and to describe that “ mist,” 
would be to say, it is simply a heavy fog, without the 
chill and malarious taint, that sneaks along with fog in 
other localities. It never rains in torrents and showers 
in Oregon, but settles into a heavy dampness, without 
the least atmospheric disturbance; thunder storms are 
rare, hail storms, cyclones, hurricanes and blizzards are 
unknown to the State. After September the soil is kept 
moist in its dew bath; from the first of November, 
until the second week in May, the rainfall is regular 
and copious, insuring the best of crops, and the 
farmer’s prosperity. The climatic conditions of this 
far-western State, are particularly adapted to good 
stock. The “ chinch-grass,” as it is known on the Pa¬ 
cific Coast, is the most healthful grazing to be found in 
the world. The draught horses of Oregon are remark¬ 
able for size, health and endurance. The winters can¬ 
not be called severe, when, west of the Cascade Range, 
the farmers allow their stock to roam the year through, 
witliout any attempt at housing or feeding. L. Lester. 
'I'lie Herbage ©f a Permanent 
Meadow.—Tlie great value of the experiments con¬ 
ducted at Rothamsted, Eng., by Messrs. Lawes and Gil¬ 
bert, has often been acknowledged in these columns. 
One important feature of these experiments is their con¬ 
tinued character. Results derived from the same treat 
ment of plots of ground for twenty and thirty or more 
years, have a value far beyond those experiments lasting 
but a year or two. In the report now before ns, we have 
only one class of results from twenty years’ experiments 
upon a meadow of mixed herbage. The “ Agricultural 
Results” were publisliedin 1880. The present report 
gives the “Botanical Results,’’ and is the work of that 
most conscientious and pains-taking botanist. Dr. 
Maxwell T. Masters, editor of “ Gardener’s Chronicle,” 
London (Eng.) This report occupies over two hundred 
and thirty of the ample quarto pages of the Transactions 
of the Royal Society, and is illustrated by tables that are 
wonderful in their completeness. The object of these 
experiments, which have been continuous for over twen¬ 
ty years, was to show the effects of fertilizers upon the 
herbage of a meadow. Some twenty-two plots were 
carefully measured, some were left without any treat¬ 
ment, and others had weighed quantities of manure and 
different fertilizers applied to them. Records of the fer¬ 
tilizers, and their effect upon vegetation, have been 
made from year to year. These experiments involved a 
vast amount of mechanical labor. To take a fair sample 
of the herbage of each plot was no small task. The col¬ 
lectors follow'ed the mow'ers, and a portion was taken 
from each sw'ath ; these portions were carefully mixed, 
and a sample of ten or twenty pounds taken for exami¬ 
nation. Tlie specimens from each plot were overhauled 
and assorted by experts, including boys, who became 
wonderfully skillful in detecting the different plants. 
An account was made of the numbers of each species, 
and they were also grouped as grhmineous (grass-like) 
plants, leguminous (clover and related) plants, and mis¬ 
cellaneous, mainly weed-like plants. These results are 
presented in tables, allowing a comparison to be made of 
the effects of different fertilizers. Should a study of 
these show anything of value to our farmers, we shall 
make use of them. Our present object is to acknowledge 
the receipt of this remarkable contribution to scientific 
agriculture, and again to call the attention of our 
readers to the extenstve, accurate, and most valuable 
experimental work carried on at Rothamsted, England. 
