3-40 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[September, 
which will probably all be absorbed and disappear. 
The mule did not incline to injure the dressing with 
his teeth, although permitted to lie or stand, as he 
desired, I had, however, directed a mixture of com¬ 
mon tar and pulverized aloes, equal parts, to be ap¬ 
plied to the plaster dressing, should there be any 
tendency to use the teeth. The success attending 
this very simple and easy mode of treating fractures 
in this one case of an animal, usually more vicious 
than the horse, has led me to believe that “Plaster 
of Paris,” properly applied, must be as successful in 
the treatment of fractures in animals, as it has been 
in those of man. It is certainly worth the attention 
of the public, and more especially that of all edu¬ 
cated veterinary surgeons. 
[The above method of treatment as applied to 
veterinary practice, is not new; we gave an account 
of it in May, 1873—so long ago, that it is well to call 
attention to the matter anew, as it is a treatment 
that is successfully practised. Bandages of thick, 
brown paper wetted in glue water, have also been 
used successfully, and it is now no longer the prac¬ 
tice to kill an animal which happens to fracture a 
Fig. 1.— gale’s copper-strip cutter. 
limb that can be bandaged. The use of slings pre¬ 
vents any displacement, even with restless, nervous 
animals. The application of surgery to disabled 
animals, is often of great value, and is frequently 
found effective. Even amputation has been suc¬ 
cessfully performed; a valuable Short-horn cow 
was recently saved in this manner, and when fur¬ 
nished with a wooden leg, moved about the pasture 
as easily as before. It should be borne in mind 
that the plaster to be used is not the ordinary land- 
plaster, but calcined plaster, known as Plaster of 
Paris, and used for hard-finishing walls, etc. Ed]. 
Some Useful Fodder and Root Cutters. 
The saving made by feeding cut, instead of long 
fodder, is estimated by many careful and exact 
fanners at one half. From our own experience 
during many years, we are satisfied that, when long 
hay and unground grain are fed to horses or oxen, 
or whole corn-stalks and dry meal are fed to cows, 
or calves, double the quantity will easily be con¬ 
sumed and wasted together, that need be given, to 
keep the stock in an equally good condition, if the 
fodder is cut,.and the grain ground. This is a very 
important saving, with which the extra labor in¬ 
Fig. 2.— BALDWIN’S AMERICAN CUTTER. 
volved In cutting and preparing the fodder, is in¬ 
considerable. This fact is now so well known, 
that there are few farmers, stock breeders, or other 
persons, feeding many animals, who do not use 
Fig. 3.— SILVER & DEMING CO.’S CUTTER. 
fodder cutters. To meet the constantly increasing 
demand for these machines, a very large variety is 
manufactured, and improvements are constantly 
being made in their construction, so as to secure 
greater durability and efficiency. We here illustrate 
some of the most approved forms of these ma¬ 
chines. Not having space to mention more than a 
few of those that are worthy of notice, we do not 
wish it to be understood, that these are all that 
are useful or desirable; on the contrary, there are 
many that are equally good and useful, made by 
other manufacturers in different parts of the coun¬ 
try,' that we have not room to mention at this time. 
Figure 1 represents the “ Gale Copper-strip Cut¬ 
ter,” made by the Belcher and Taylor Agricultural 
Tool Company, of Chicopee Falls, Mass. This is 
an old, standard machine, which we used some 
years ago with entire satisfaction. The spiral 
knives of this machine cut against copper strips 
upon the upper cylinder, which protect the blades, 
so that they will work for years without grinding. 
The smallest size will cut one bushel of hay, or fod¬ 
der, into chafE an inch in length, in a minute. It 
will cut corn-stalks, with the ears upon them, or 
Fig. 4.— N. T. PLOW CO.’S LEVER CUTTER. 
hay or straw. Another machine which we have 
used satisfactorily, is the “ Baldwin American Fod¬ 
der Cutter,” (fig. 2,) made by C. Pierpont & Co., 
New Haven, Ct. The knives of this machine are 
spiral, and cut in opposition to an iron plate, in the 
manner of a pair of shears. It is self-feeding, with 
iron rolls, which are operated by adjustable gear¬ 
ing. The smallest size is able to cut 110 pounds of 
fodder of any kind in an hour, in lengths from half 
an inch to two inches; the largest size of hand- 
machine will cut 700 pounds per hour. The largest 
size, operated by power, is able to cut two tons of 
fodder in an hour. A machine made in Ohio is 
shown at figure 3. This is the “Silver & Deming 
Company’s Feed Cutter,” made at Salem, Ohio. 
It was awarded several first premiums at fairs in 
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and other States. Its 
special recommendation is a provision, by which, 
in case any stone, piece of iron, or other hard sub¬ 
stance should accidentally come between the 
knives, they stop, although the fly-wheel still re¬ 
volves. This is done by means of a friction cone 
upon the fly-wheel shaft, but this is only provided 
when it is specially ordered as the “ safety fly¬ 
wheel.” A lever cutter, made by the N. T. Plow 
Company, New York, is shown at figure 4. This is 
one of the old, standard machines, which is ap¬ 
proved by some farmers for its simplicity, and the 
impossibility of getting out of order. It has also 
the merit of being very low priced. 
When roots are fed, a cutting machine for these 
is as useful as a cutter for fodder, and it is also 
necessary to the safety of the animals, in prevent¬ 
ing choking that might occur by swallowing large 
pieces. An excellent root cutter, made by the New 
York Plow Company, is shown at figure 5. This 
machine was awarded a medal at the last exhibition 
of the American Institute. It is made to cut the 
roots into thin slices, a shape in which they may 
be safely and economically given to cows, sheep, 
hogs, or horses. A similar machine, which cuts 
the roots in shreds, is also made by the same par¬ 
ties. The engraving shows the manner of construc- 
Fig. 5.— -N. T. PLOW CO.’S ROOT CUTTER. 
tion, and the shape of the knives, and the.box. 
The box is shown by the dotted lines, so that the 
knives, and cylinder upon which they are fixed, 
can be seen. A machine of somewhat similar con¬ 
struction, made by the Belcher & Taylor Company, 
of Chicopee Falls, Mass., is shown at figure 6. This 
machine cuts a bushel of roots in a minute. When 
thousands of bushels are fed in a season, the sav¬ 
ing in time and labor is very great, and when but 
one cow is kept, and half a bushel of roots only 
are fed every day, it will pay to use one of these 
machines for the mere saving of time and labor. 
Now that every hour of a farmer’s time is needed, 
to keep his farm up to a profitable condition of 
working, every time-saving and labor-saving ma¬ 
chine is an absolute necessity to him. It no longer 
pays to do things by slow hand-work, nor to waste 
any of our resources, because the measure of the 
profit on the farm is now the cheapness with which, 
the products are raised, and the farmer who can 
produce his crops more cheaply, than another can 
his, can undersell the latter, and still make a profit, 
while the latter loses money, or in other words,, 
receives smaller pay for his labor. The one who 
Fig. 6.— BELCHER & TAYLOR CO.’S ROOT CUTTER. 
I works the'most rapidly, and effectively, now gets 
I the be6t pay, even if he is working for himself.. 
