I 860 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Q71 
muck, and not an ounce of the manure, liquid or 
solid, need be lost. This muck should be kept 
covered with straw, or refuse hay of some kind ; 
so that the sheep may be dry at all times. In the 
books this manure stands high among fertiliz¬ 
ers, and judging from what we have seen of its 
effect upon crops, it is not at all over-estimated. It 
is quite equal to the manure of the sty. While 
in the yard and trodden by the feet of the sheep, 
it is in no danger of fermenting. In the spring 
when the yards are cleaned out, if it be not im¬ 
mediately spread upon the soil and plowed in, it 
should be mixed with additional muck, as it is 
very prone to fire-fang. 
Profits of Sheep Husbandry. —It would perhaps 
be too much to say that no animal pays better 
upon the farm than sheep. The amount of profit 
will depend something upon location and upon 
the character of the farm. Where the circum¬ 
stances are favorable, we are confident it will 
pay well enough to keep sheep and to feed them 
for the butcher. This business is attracting 
more and more attention in the North and East 
every year, and mutton enters more largely into 
the family marketing. Many of the farmers on 
the Connecticut, in New-Hampshire and Ver¬ 
mont, are feeding all the grain they can raise to 
sheep. They buy wethers, and put them up 
about the 1st of December, feeding, on c«b meal 
and oats for grain. In March they shear them, 
and send to market when they will weigh 150 
pounds and upward, and will bring from four to 
six cents a pound live weight. 
-ca—----- 
Right on the Dog Question. 
In these days of political truckling and neglect 
of executive interference in behalf of the welfare 
of the community, it is refreshing to meet an in¬ 
stance of such outspoken decision and firmness 
for the right, as is manifested in the following 
letter of Gov. Randall, of Wisconsin. He had 
received many letters inquiring if he had really 
signed the “Dog Law” recently passed by the 
Legislature of that State, and which was printed 
in the Agriculturist for July. The writers also 
made complaint of the difficulty of enforcing the 
Law. He replies thus : 
Executive Office, Madison, July 6, 1860. 
Bear Sir: Your letter in regard to the “Dog 
Law ” is received. The bill was properly signed, 
and is the law of this State ; and that law will 
not be repealed with my approbation, while I re¬ 
main in office. No good citizen will object to it, 
or refuse to obey it. A man who is able to own 
a dog, which costs as much to keep as to keep a 
cow, is able to get a collar for him. No good 
citizen will refuse to make the sacrifice of obedi¬ 
ence to that law, when he must know that if it is 
enforced, it will save to the farmers and stock- 
growers of this State from $40,000 to $60,000 
every year, and increase the number of wool- 
growers very largely. Every human life lost by 
the bite of a dog, is worth more than all the dogs 
in the country. A man who is not willing to sac¬ 
rifice one dollar for his privilege, where so great 
a benefit may accrue to the State by compliance 
with the provisions of the act, ought to be kicked 
out of it. Very truly yours, 
Alex. W. Randall. 
-«»-.——=a «►£>=-- t-a - 
Don’t give Pumpkin Seeds to Cows. 
A subscriber sends a long communication a- 
gainst feeding pumpkins to cows. The writer’s 
reasoning is not entirely sound, and does not 
agree with our own experience and observation. 
As a general rule we are quite sure that pump¬ 
kins increase rather than diminish the amount of 
milk; and instead of making neat stock grow 
poor, we have fattened large numbers of cattle on 
pumpkins alone. There is one suggestion in our 
correspondent’s letter, however, which may be 
worthy of attention. He refers to the fact that 
the seeds of pumpkins have a decided diuretic 
(urine producing) effect upon the human organs, 
and that if they have the same effect upon cows, 
the excessive flow of urine must necessarily re¬ 
duce the flow of the milky fluid. He advises 
that when pumpkins are fed, the seeds should be 
taken out. This idea is plausible, and worth act¬ 
ing upon. 
For the American Agriculturist 
Shoeing Horses. 
In the July number of the Agriculturist, I no¬ 
ticed an article on the “ Contraction of Horses’ 
Feet,’’ with which I agree on some points, while 
on others I must disagree. The slight contrac¬ 
tion of horses’ feet does not necessarily produce 
unsoundness. Yet all unnatural conditions of the 
hoof are dangerous, and should be prevented if 
possible. 
I think, however, that the removal of shoes 
every three or four weeks, shortening the toe, 
thinning the sole, etc., instead of being a reme¬ 
dy for the difficulty, will, in three-fourths of the 
cases, produce it and many other unnatural con¬ 
ditions of the foot. Thinning the sole, as well 
as trimming the frog, except to remove the rot¬ 
ten substance, has a bad tendency, especially 
when the horse is used on hard roads in dry 
weather. It destroys the moisture and elasticity 
calculated to promote the growth and expansion 
of the foot. Shortening the toe, though measur¬ 
ably necessary, requires the exercise of some 
judgment. Although enough should be taken off 
both at the bottom and front to leave the foot in 
good shape, care should be taken never to weaken 
it, as much in a good foot depends'on the firmness 
of the toe. 
If shoes are properly forged, fitted, and put on, 
they can remain from five to seven weeks with¬ 
out inconvenience, where the horse is used con¬ 
stantly on hard roads, or from eight to twelve 
weeks, and even longer, where he is moderately 
used on a farm ; and it is highly necessary they 
should stay from six to eight weeks, to afford the 
foot time to grow and accumulate moisture and 
elasticity—further time than that is a matter of 
economy, but they should not be allowed to 
remain longer than from twelve to fourteen 
weeks. I know horses used on farms, that have 
been shod regularly only four times a year for 
many years, that are the best of animals, free of 
all lameness, with perfect shaped feet; and many 
that work partly on the roads and partly on the 
farm, which are shod every two months, and are 
always in good order for work. I have worked 
in shops where often shoeing, whittling and burn¬ 
ing, with the use of a little strong medicine, kept 
many a poor animal in misery. 
When a shoe is accidentally pulled off, or is 
loose three weeks after setting, it should be con¬ 
sidered a misfortune, and the horse taken to the 
shop, if possible, without injuring the hoof. Care 
should then be taken to use a3 many of the old 
nail holes as are sound. Avoid nailing to the hoof 
with shallow nail holes, which are apt to give way 
or split off. Avoid also leaving open old nail 
holes which terminate on the shoe ; they hold mud 
and sand to rot the hoof. In case of shoes being 
pulled off when the horse is at work, every farm¬ 
er and teamster should be prepared with a leather 
shoe to be worn to the shop This may easily be 
made of an old boot leg, by fastening a few thick¬ 
nesses of heavy leather for a bottom or sole, and 
splitting it behind, to tie it around the foot. 
I have treated a number of cases of hoof-bound 
horses to great advantage, and some have been 
permanently cured, by shoeing with shoes of good 
Swede iron, forged narrow in the tread, and fitted 
as wide at the heels as they would permit, with 
the calks inclining outward, and the foot careful¬ 
ly cleansed of all dead substances. The shoe was 
tightly nailed close to the heels, and spread with 
a pair of tongs, (a simple process known to every 
blacksmith,) about a quarter of an inch, or until 
the heels are visibly opened ; then, spread once 
in two weeks, and again in four weeks, and reset 
at the end of eight weeks, all the time keeping 
the hoof moist with fish oil. I never knew a case 
benefited where the blacksmith was so often ap¬ 
plied to as to impede the part of the work de¬ 
signed to be done by nature. Mahlon Baker. 
Dearborn Co., Ind , 
-o 4 - 
Hints on Horseback Riding. 
A person riding on horseback, is either a most 
graceful, or a most awkward object. A man may 
walk without much elegance, and still attract no 
particular attention, but a bungling performance 
on horseback makes the unhappy sufferer the 
butt for every beholder, and he can rally nothing 
of self-respect, to shield himself from the full 
force of ridicule. A poor rider feels as meanly 
as he looks. How can a man think well of him¬ 
self, as he is helplessly jounced about like a 
lump of putty, his elbows flapping up and down 
like the wings of a Shanghai rooster, his brain 
confused in the endeavor to find his center of 
gravity, and his pantaloons hitching up over the 
tops of his boots. But to one who knows how 
to keep his seat properly, to so adjust himself 
that he shall appear a part of the animal that 
carries him, there is nothing more exhilarating, 
or that will make him feel more a man. A bug¬ 
gy, with its soft cushions and easy springs, may 
do for “ nice young men,” and the indolent or 
timid, but give us the invigorating trot, or the 
luxurious gallop of the living animal, with a 
spring in every muscular fibre, to thrill and 
strengthen every nerve and muscle of the rider. 
One great secret in correct riding is, to make 
the seat the center of motion. The tyro shortens 
up the stirrup straps, that he may support his 
weight upon them, he then throws the body for¬ 
ward, and each spring of the horse raises him 
clear from the saddle, propelling him forward by 
a not very gentle application of horse-power in 
the rear. His feet are the center of motion, and 
he oscillates forward and backward like the piston 
rod of a steam engine, and the reaction upon the 
horse adds greatly to his fatigue. While in this 
position, should the horse stop suddenly, or 
stumble badly, the rider goes on independently, 
and finds himself upon the horse’s withers, neck, 
or over his head, as the case may be. From the 
first, the rider should learn to hold himself firm 
in the seat, by grasping the side of the horse 
with the thighs. Let them be a vise, from which 
no plunge of the horse forward, upward or side¬ 
way can extricate him. Keep the body erect, or 
slightly inclining backward, the feet feeling the 
stirrup beneath, but not resting there to support 
the body. Let the toes be nearly parallel with 
the sides of the horse, or but slightly inclined 
outward. The muscles of the body above the 
hips may be relaxed, to yield to the motion im¬ 
parted by the animal. Keep the elbows by the 
sides, not constrained, but resting there natur¬ 
ally and easily. 
Never depend on the bridle to keep in place 
upon the saddle, let that be done with the 
muscles of the thighs. Thi3 position will bo 
i 
