1861 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
331 
quent period both the sire and offspring may ap¬ 
pear equally perfectly in form and general char¬ 
acter ; but the power of hereditary transmission 
being so much greater in the sire than this off¬ 
spring (in proportion of 100 to 40), the former 
would be far more valuable as a breeding ani¬ 
mal, although the difference in the capabilities 
of the two would be entirely hidden or latent. 
If you breed from animals possessing a similari¬ 
ty of type, the offspring will possess the same 
character, but with a greater power for the he¬ 
reditary transmission of this character. On the 
other hand, animals having opposite characters 
mutually weaken each other’s influence, and the 
offspring only possess the power of hereditary 
transmission in a reduced degree. 
This power of perpetuating character is not 
confined to any one quality, but it extends to 
every peculiarity of the animal, whether it be 
similarity of feature, configuration of the body, 
general habit of growth, disposition for fatten¬ 
ing, the formation of milk, healthy constitution, 
predisposition to disease, temperament,—all are 
alike hereditary and are modified in their trans¬ 
mission by the mutual influence of the parents. 
It would appear as if every individual point of 
character were thus controlled and balanced ac¬ 
cording to the respective tendencies of the pa¬ 
rents, and that the resultant character repre¬ 
sented a series of balances, sometimes in favor 
of the male, at other times in favor of the fe¬ 
male. The dam might succeed in communicat¬ 
ing the general form to the body, but be unable 
to overcome the stronger power of the male 
over some certain portion of the body. The 
dam might be naturally deficient, for instance, 
in her hind-quarters and good in other parts, 
and under the influence of a sire having a pow¬ 
erful tendency to produce a good hind-quarter, 
she may be compelled to yield to his superior 
influence. In certain points of character, where 
they corresponded, the influence would be in¬ 
creased. In some particulars the dam might 
predominate, and in other respects the sire 
might be most influential. Thus the hereditary 
powers of carefully-bred stock will represent 
the maximum of good influences and a mini¬ 
mum of those which are undesirable.” 
- — -- — -.-- 
Corns on Horses’ Feet. 
There may be in some animals a constitution¬ 
al tendency to the growth of corns and other 
excrescences, but as a general rule, we believe 
they are caused by the unskillfulness of the 
blacksmith or the carelessness of the owner. 
Sometimes, the shoe is allowed to remain on the 
foot six weeks or two months, in which time it 
becomes imbedded in the hoof. Corns are 
sometimes caused by keeping a horse upon a 
dry stable floor, year in and out, using him but 
seldom on the soft, damp ground, and taking no 
pains to wet the hoofs and so keep them soft 
and pliable. Wherever it is possible, a horse 
should run at large in a pasture, several months 
of the year: this will promote his general health, 
and do more than anything else to keep his feet 
sound. ButVhere this can not be done, care 
should be taken to moisten the hoof frequent¬ 
ly, in the stable, or by use on the road. 
The blacksmith has no little responsibility in 
producing corns. He sometimes draws the shoe 
in at the heel, and bevels it from without in¬ 
wards. He cuts away the bars of the foot, and 
so weakens the quarters. All this is wrong. 
Keep the bars sound, and set the shoe level. 
But when corns appear, what shall be done ? 
Remove the shoe, pare out the angle well be¬ 
tween the bar and the crust, and apply a little 
warm tar to the tender spot. Youatt recom¬ 
mends “ the butter of antimony.” Saturate a 
piece of cotton wool with this liquid, and press 
it into the hole firmly, so that it will not soon 
be lost out. The design of this remedy is to 
stimulate the sole to the formation of new and 
healthy horn. Then, in shoeing, care should be 
taken to prevent friction on the tender part. 
Let the shoe be slightly bent off at the heel, so 
that it will not touch the hoof, and make the 
shoe so stiff that it will not bend down again un¬ 
der pressure. The shoe ought to be a little 
wider at the heel than before, and be slightly 
beveled from the last nail hole. 
In ordinary cases, the above treatment will 
remedy the evil. But where it does not, after a 
trial of ten days or a fortnight, then remove the 
shoe and put on a “ bar-shoe,” chambered so as 
to take off pressure from the diseased spot. This, 
however, should not be worn longer than for 
two shoeings, as it would injure the frog and in¬ 
duce the growth of soft hoof at the heels. While 
trying the “ bar-shoe,” or the bent shoe before 
mentioned, fail not to keep the hoof soft by using 
the hoof-ointment sold by all horse-doctors for 
this purpose. After applying it several days, 
wash the foot clean with castile soap and wa¬ 
ter ; then use it again. 
Where the ointment can not be had, and 
where the foregoing remedies do not answer the 
purpose, take off the shoe, and dress the foot 
with a large bran poultice. But turning out to 
grass, wearing light shoes meanwhile, is per¬ 
haps better than ointments and poultices put 
together. We have found this to succeed, when 
all other remedies did but little good. * 
For the American Agriculturist. 
A Good and Cheap Poultry House. 
Having made some improvements on my farm 
this year, I will mention only one—the hum¬ 
blest, most original, and perhaps most economi¬ 
cal of all—to wit: My Poultry House. It is 
built on seasoned white oak posts set in the 
ground 3 feet deep, is 8 feet high, 12x16 feet, 
with roof of usual pitch, and eaves projecting 3 
feet. The gable ends and one foot on the 
sides are sheathed, with lattice windows in 
each gable end for light and air. The planks 
forming the sides of the house are planed on 
the inside only. They are set perpendicularly 
and rabbeted in, so that each plank can readily 
be slipped out after the first one on each side is 
taken out, these being secured by hooks on the 
inside. They are taken off occasionally, and 
washed with strong lye to destroy vermin, and 
then returned to their places. Next to the posts 
on which the frame rests, and below the rabbit 
or resting place for these upright boards, I have 
placed planks 12 inches wide, hold in their 
places merely by wooden pins driven into the 
ground. The nests are placed against these 
planks, and covered by a wide plank, which 
also can readily be removed at pleasure. The 
nests are on the ground , separated by stones 
which project some little distance in front. The 
roosts are constructed of small saplings, which 
rest in notches in a plank on each side, that is 
nailed temporarily (tacked merely) to the frame, 
and these poles are 2 feet apart, and extend to 
the roof of the house at an angle of 60 degrees 
or thereabouts. There are four of these in¬ 
clined planes of roosts. The door is at one of 
the ends of said house, and there is an open¬ 
ing on the side, near the top of the door, for 
ingress and egress, with a suitable hen ladder 
both inside and out. 
If the above description is understood, it is 
easy to explain the objects I had in view in this 
building. Cheapness and cleanliness were the 
main objects to be obtained. Being built of sec¬ 
ond rate lumber, without ornament of any kind, 
and merely jack-planed off on the inside, the 
first was accomplished. With the exception of 
the roof and gable ends, it can , in a few minutes , be 
taken down , the boa/rds washed and replaced , by 
which means a most thorough cleansing can be 
obtained. The roosts, when foul, can be burnt, 
and new ones substituted. G. J. 
Franklin Co., Missouri. 
--- 
For the American Agriculturist. 
The Wren and Bees. 
The Wren is a valuable bird. It never does any 
harm, while it lives entirely upon insects, and is 
one of the most persevering, industrious, vora¬ 
cious and greedy little marauders that we know. 
I have a family of wrens quite domesticated; 
they come regularly every year, about the first 
of June, and leave about the first of September, 
with the progeny of the year. Several years 
ago I built three little houses for them, 2i inches 
square, with a round entrance of 1) inch; they 
have occupied them every year since, and no 
money would tempt me to part with my little 
russet songsters. All the day we are regaled 
with their merry songs; every morning and 
evening they are as fierce as hawks around my 
bee-liives, not a hive is missed, not a spot over¬ 
looked,every crack and cranny is explored, every 
bee-moth is dispatched, every dead young bee 
is carried off, and I consider my family of wrens 
of more value for the destruction of the bee- 
moth than all the lotions, mixtures, decoctions, 
and patent fly-traps ever invented. 
Manlius, N. Y. AGRICOLA 
The Army Worm and Draining. 
At one of the discussions at the recent meet¬ 
ing of the New-York State Agricultural Society, 
Dr. Fitch, State Entomologist, gave a lecture on 
the Army Worm, in which he stated that it is 
not the cut worm, but strictly the larva of a 
grass moth, which ordinarily lurks in the wild 
grass of swamps. In very dry seasons the in¬ 
sect has unusual feeding range, which favors a 
rapid increase. If the succeeding season be 
very wet, the swamps are overflown, and the 
insects are driven out among the crops, scatter¬ 
ing their eggs over the country. In confirma¬ 
tion of this explanation of their sudden appear¬ 
ance in such numbers, Dr. F. stated that the 
year 1769 Was dry, and 1770 wet, and the army 
worm was then very destructive. This also oc - 
curred in 1816 and 1817, and again in 1860 and 
1861. During this last visitation it was observed 
that the worm did not make its way up along 
the Connecticut River as in 1770, because most 
of the marshy regions then are now drained. 
If this theory be correct, it gives an additional 
reason for draining swamps and marshes. 
A Crowing Match. —A new sport has been 
inaugurated in France, viz: crowing matches 
between roosters. An account is given of a late 
spirited contest between ten large fowls and ten 
of smaller breed. The Shanghais carried away 
the palm. We presume the quantity, and not 
the quality of the crowing was regarded, for the 
crowing of a Shanghai is about the fowlest noise 
that can emanate from the poultry yard. 
