AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
369 
i86v _ 
fine the queen. If this can not be done readily, 
carry the hive to a dark room and keep them con¬ 
fined two or three days. Give them water and 
honey with which to commence comb building. 
It is also recommended to introduce into the 
hive a piece of comb with unsealed worker 
brood, which they will seldom leave. They will, 
however, act very capriciously at times, and leave 
almost without notice, and from no assignable 
cause, although every precaution may have been 
taken to make them comfortable and contented. 
--- 
To Keep Elies from Wounds. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: 
I noticed in your notes on farm operations for 
June, you recommend where lambs have been 
castrated or hurt, and maggots have bred in the 
wound, to put on tar or turpentine. It is far bet¬ 
ter than either, to take the leaves of the common 
elder, and bruise them, fry them in lard, and ap¬ 
ply the mixture. Let it melt and run into the 
wound, and every maggot will be off as soon as 
he can find the way out. It would do you good 
to see them coming out and tumbling off. This 
will save life, and heal the wound when neither 
of the others will—and if put on when the wound 
is fresh, no fly will lay an egg about it. 
Hancock Co., Ill . James Jenkins. 
-- 4 - ■ «»»» -- 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Pneumonia of Horses—Analogy with the 
Cattle Disease. 
During the Summer and first Fall months of 
1832 there was prevalent in this State, a dis¬ 
ease, which, from reference to my notes made at 
the time, I consider in character very like the one 
now attacking cattle. At that time, many noble 
animals (horses and mules) died almost without 
a warning ; others lingered with alarming symp¬ 
toms several days. So great was the general 
loss, that in consideration for my fellows as well 
as myself, I concluded to investigate the matter, 
and resorted to post mortem examinations, as 
the most certain means of success, in connec¬ 
tion with the state of the case previous to death, 
hoping it would result in finding the true cause, 
and that a prevention or remedy might be insti¬ 
tuted. I accordingly procured the services of 
several persons, and dissected ten animals, the 
result of which I will now give as nearly as pos¬ 
sible from the minutes made at the time. 
My first move was to go immediately to the 
chest, and examine the lungs, heart and large 
vessels : to see their exact condition, I dissected 
immediately after death. The lungs presented a 
soft flabby appearance, covered with patches of 
dark spots. Sometimes only one would be in¬ 
volved, at other times both, showing in this lat¬ 
ter case, particularly, a high grade of inflamma¬ 
tory action. The left side of the heart was next 
in order. It was found filled with a mass of 
congealed serum separated almost entirely from 
the globules or corpuscles, of a very glutinous 
nature, and formed into cords, and interwoven 
into and around the muscles so completely as, in 
some degree, to prevent their contraction. 
The Aorta or main artery, commencing at its 
attachment with the heart, was next opened as 
far as possible into its ramifications, and I there 
found this same ropy, sticky condition of the 
serum separated from the corpuscles as in the 
lungs, to such an extent as to block up the pas¬ 
sages of the arteries so much, as to defy their 
muscular action to drive it through them. This 
serum was so tenacious that I could pull it out of 
the large arteries in ropes two feet in length, and 
so tough as not to break in extracting. The 
lungs, to a certain extent, presented the same ap¬ 
pearance, but on account of their reticulated sur¬ 
face it was not so apparent. The liver and 
spleen were also found in a highly congested 
state, and showed the same phenomena as the 
heart and arteries. The bowels were much 
constipated, and food badly digested. The brain 
was also laboring under congestion. 
From the examination of the different princi¬ 
pal organs, I was fully satisfied that in all the 
cases the lungs were the seat of the affection, 
and comparing with different authors, I believe it 
to be equivalent to the Pneumonia of man, the 
substance of the lung being the principal part 
affected, and not the pleura. The latter seemed 
quite free of any taint, save in its connection with 
the adjacent •parts. 
You may ask if the Blood was in this condition 
while the animal was living, or did it result after 
death 1 In reply to this query, I can answer, I 
think, satisfactorily. In some cases I bled before 
death ensued, and upon cooling, found this ropy, 
sizy matter to be divested entirely of the cor¬ 
puscles. Once I stood by a horse and saw him fall 
dead, and immediately I plunged my knife into 
him, and then, before any change either mechan¬ 
ical or chemical could take place, found the same 
thickening of the serum. To my mind this was 
most conclusive. 
The symptoms as noted at the time, were, First: 
The horse will appear to be dull and sluggish, re¬ 
fuse to eat, and take no notice of his fellow, or 
anything around. His head and ears will begin 
to droop ; mouth and nostrils very hot and dry ; 
after a time the tongue becomes parched and 
dry. He next begins to stagger and reel 
about, the eyes sink deeply into the sockets, be¬ 
come of a glassy hue, and would seem to indi¬ 
cate that blindness was about to take place. 
(Hence it was commonly known as the Blind 
Staggers.) His mind is so confused that he will 
run against anything in the way, inclining his 
head to the side mostly affected, which is gener¬ 
ally the left. Not much inclination to lie down, 
every effort being to keep up, though when seen 
lying, he was mostly on the affected side. Many 
times the horse would travel or work well all day, 
and eat his regular meal, and the next morning 
show symptoms of the affection. Upon pressing 
the hand hard over the region of the heart, I 
found there was great labor, as if the heart were 
raising a great weight. Upon applying the ear to 
the side, found but little crepitation. Pulse much 
depressed; short breathing; sometimes would 
fall instantly dead. At other times when down 
would stretch out his head, neck, and legs, and 
thus remain, without any appearance of life. 
The limbs and surface are generally cold. He 
will often remain in this condition for three or 
four days. The hair often comes off in patches 
more or less, owing to putrefaction having taken 
place before death. 
As to the origin of this disease I am not pre¬ 
pared to say, but will state what I believe : that 
it may be brought on by the same causes and 
run its course the same as the Pneumonia in man, 
and prevail as an epidemic, but is not really con¬ 
tagious or infectious as they would now have us 
believe in the cattle disease, but it would doubt¬ 
less be engendered in others, not so much on ac¬ 
count of any particular virus or noxious principle 
received from the diseased animal, as from the 
privation of those necessaries for building up a 
healthy organization and sustaining it under all 
ordinary circumstances, which is the predispos¬ 
ing cause of most diseases. 
The treatment which I resorted to in the 
Pneumonia of horses, was first to bleed freely, 
and let the blood stand until it coagulated, and if 
the serum presented that ropy, sizy appearace, I 
bled again until the proper consistency was re¬ 
stored and the fever reduced. Drenched with salts 
to remove all accumulations in the intestines, 
and then I gave him Nitrate of Potassa, 1 oz., 
Antimony $ oz., every six hours, continuously 
administered as a drench, (as by this time the 
animal can not eat) until the symptoms abated. 
Covered all over with a blanket and put under 
him a large pot filled with hot water, kept up 
steam to bring on a sweat, and continued it as 
long as I thought necessary, according to the se¬ 
verity of the case. When the fever was reduced, 
I shaved off the hair of one or both sides, which¬ 
ever appeared most affected, over the region of the 
lungs, and applied spirits turpentine to irritate 
the skin, rubbed on the blistering ointment (strong) 
as often as found needful. If the ointment 
doesn’t blister, make use of the hot iron, and keep 
it sore for two or three days with turpentine. 
As a general rule no further medical treatment is 
necessary. Some care should be exercised in 
convalescence, not to bring up the sick animal 
too fast. Give plenty of fresh air, and keep in as 
unchangeable an atmosphere as possible. As to 
the preventive treatment whether there are any 
symptoms or not, I would take about two quarts 
of blood, and notice the condition of the serum ; 
and if it present much the same appearance as 
diseased cases, the animal may be considered ir 
danger ; then commence at once to give him Ni 
trate of Potassa, 1 oz., Antimony, £ oz., Flower 
of Sulphur, i oz., well ground together. Give 
this quantity three times a day in bran or ground 
oats, and continue this for two or three weeks, 
keeping the animal warm and dry. At the end 
of this time, all inflammatory tendency will be 
reduced, and when faithfully carried out, I found 
it successful in every way. 
Kent Co., Del. Wm. M. Bonwill, M. D. 
■-«-—mo w I m 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Hints on Fattening Pork. 
It is usual with many farmers to put this off 
until cold weather sets in. The pigs run in the 
woods, the road, or the pasture, picking up a 
scanty living, and come to the pens lean and 
hungry, when they ought to be fattened. In our 
practice we keep pigs in the sty the year round. 
We find them quite too valuable co-laborers in 
the manufacture of manure to allow them to 
waste “their sweetness upon the desert air.” 
A pig is worth ten dollars a year for this purpose 
alone, if you will give him the material to work 
with and plenty of food. But possibly it may 
pay for a little time in the Summer, to keep the 
sow and pigs in a good clover pasture where 
grass is more plenty than corn upon the farm. 
If this be done, all of them intended for the butch¬ 
er by Christmas, should be shut up immediately, 
and be fed with all they can eat. A squealing 
pig is worse for the owner’s pocket than for his 
ears. It is much easier to make pork in Septem¬ 
ber and October than in December and January. 
No extra amount of food is wasted in keeping up 
the animal heat. It all goes to fat and muscle. 
Variety of food is a matter of much importance 
in fattening swine. At this season a greater va¬ 
riety is easily commanded. The garden, if it is a 
good one, yields a great many refuse articles, 
squashes, beets, carrots, apples, melons, toma¬ 
toes, and corn, which will find a good market in 
the sty. One of the best articles of food for 
them is sweet corn, cut up by the rootu and fed 
whole. They are very fond of it, and it makes 
them thrive very fast. A half acre near the sty 
