1876.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
95 
they were all right. A few days after, the Erin 
brought out a lot of Short-horns from England, for 
California, and these too were landed without any 
question as to whether they were sick or well. 
Mil li-SicIcness. 
The Islands are not, however, free from cattle 
maladies. The cows are of course just as liable to 
diseases, not contagious in their nature, as any are. 
Perhaps the most distressing of these ailments, is 
what is called milk-fever. There are different 
forms of it, but it occurs with them just about as 
it does with us, namely, attacking the best cows 
soon after calving. So far it baffles the skill of 
their veterinary surgeons, and of their “cow-doe- 
tors ’ ’ of best repute. Some cows get well without, 
or in spite of, treatment, and many die. Old farm¬ 
ers told me, fairly with tears in their eyes, of the 
loss of this and that favorite cow by this disease. 
Is it because we milk too long?—because we feed 
too high ?—because the cow is too fat ? These and 
similar questions came up as the subject was dis¬ 
cussed. And among some farmers the practice of 
shortening the feed some time before calving, had 
actually been adopted—but without definite results 
as regards milk-fever. Is it not curious how ready 
farmers are to believe they are feeding “ too well ” 
for the good of their stock ; and there are uo end 
of objections and forebodings of evil, if the tradi¬ 
tions of the elders are transgressed. 
I have been kindly remonstrated with for feeding- 
up the small potatoes, called seed potatoes, and 
used as such in the region where I live), because it 
would dry up the cows. Indian-meal has the same 
reputation in some sections, and only a few weeks 
ago I read in the New York Tribune the statement 
of a farmer, who had demonstrated to his own sat¬ 
isfaction, that pumpkins fed to his cows had dried 
them up. Here are three kinds of food, famous 
for producing milk, each regarded as having the 
diametrically opposite tendency. Must we then 
reject all the observations and conclusions of prac¬ 
tical men ? No, indeed, but many of them must 
be taken with the “grain of allowance.” A false 
or necessitated economy was father to the opposi¬ 
tion to potatoes. The extraordinary fattening 
qualities of Indian-meal, probably suggested the 
idea of its drying up the milk. And in regard to 
pumpkins—pumpkin seeds are well known to be 
diuretic—it is quite likely that if the seeds be 
fed, a tendency to dry up the milk might have 
been observed. Now-a-days farmers usually remove 
the seeds before feeding pumpkins or squashes. 
To return to the subject of milk-sickness. I 
found no one who could show that fat cows had it 
oftener than lean ones, that cows hard to dry up 
had it oftener or worse than those going dry three 
months, or that high-fed, forced cows were more 
likely to have the disease than others. It seems 
reasonable to suppose that an animal whose vital 
organs had been over-taxed, will be more liable 
to suffer from any malady than one in health. After 
all, it appears as if the healthiest cows were most 
liable to milk-sickness, and most likely to die. One 
thing, however, was generally agreed upon, which 
is, that the cow’s bowels should be relaxed by such 
food as coarse bran, roots, or linseed-oil-eake. For 
my own part, I will add, that I consider the last 
named an invaluable article of diet for cows at 
calving time. It is highly strengthening, slightly 
laxative, and not in the least heating. Besides, I 
think a cow will always make the best and most 
natural disposition of the placenta. If it be re¬ 
moved, she is deprived of Nature’s medicine, and 
the consequences may be bad. In my own practice 
I never remove it, and never have had “ bad luck.” 
Are there too Many Farmers ? 
Just now there happens to be too much of almost 
everything that is produced by human labor. There 
is too much coal mined, the furnaces turn out too 
much iron ; too much cotton and too much woolen 
cloth are woven; too much leather is made, and 
curiously enough, many people are complaining 
that there has been too much money made: in¬ 
deed, some go so far as to declare that the excess 
in the manufacture of paper dollars is the very 
reason why there seems to be too much or too 
many of everything produced by labor. The farmer 
is no exception. He has too much wheat and corn, 
or at least there is so much of it to be sold that he 
cannot get a satisfactory price for his produce. It 
is the same with fruit, vegetables, cheese, butter, 
and beef; pork only seems to be a single excep¬ 
tion. Arc there then too many farmers, as some 
people seem to think ? If so, it would seem that 
there are too many miuers, spinners, weavers, tan¬ 
ners, builders, carpenters. merchants, clerks, and 
lawyers, as well; for all 
these people are com¬ 
plaining that their busi¬ 
ness is as bad or worse . „ 
than the farmers de¬ 
clare their’s to be. It 
can hardly be the case 
that there are too many 
people in the world. 
If there were too many 
of all other classes than 
farmers, one might well 
suppose that, as farm¬ 
ers are needed to sup¬ 
ply others with food and 
materials for clothing, 
there would be more 
customers to purchase their produce, and that their 
number might be safely increased. The supposi¬ 
tion that there are too many farmers may be 
abandoned as unfounded. Every farmer, who 
should leave his farm and go into other business, 
would find a w r orse state of things than he is en¬ 
deavoring to leave. If one should sell liis farm, and 
try to invest his money at interest, he would find 
that there were too many in that business also, and 
that safe and profitable investments are as difficult 
to find as high prices for corn 
or wheat. Under the present 
temporary condition of things, 
the farmers are the only class 
of people that are not too 
numerous. When their busi¬ 
ness happens to be poorer than 
usual, they do not find them¬ 
selves suddenly discharged 
without wages, to starve or to 
subsist upon their store hoard¬ 
ed for such a “ rainy day.” 
On the contrary, the farmer 
has, or he may always have, a 
sufficiency of the necessaries 
of life, and most of its com¬ 
forts, and although he may 
not have much money passing 
through his hands or be able 
to spend much in luxuries, yet his position is 
so vastly better than that of any other class of 
workers, that these naturally seek to become farm¬ 
ers, when their own business fails or times are hard. 
We have now before us numerous letters from per¬ 
sons who have hitherto worked in factories, or at 
various trades, asking us to advise them how they 
may invest their savings in a farm ora garden tract, 
and become independent of a manner of life that is 
full of “ups and downs” and serious reverses, 
which they believe a farmer’s life to be free from. 
The fact is, few of us “ see ourselves as others see 
us,” and we are too apt to look too much upon the 
dark side of our own affairs, and the bright side of 
those of other people, instead of doing the reverse. 
It would make a great difference in our ideas of 
things, if farmers were to do this, and there would 
be fewer of them inclined to think or believe that 
there were too many of them in the country. As a 
curious coincidence, we notice the English farmers 
are inclined to think there are too many in their 
business there, and are disinclined to pay so high 
rents for their farms as they have heretofore been 
doing; and yet the English people arc buying over 
100 million bushels of wheat from foreign farmers 
every year. Perhaps they think there are too many 
farmers here for their profit. It might serve their 
purpose doubtless for a time, if we did not raise a 
bushel of wheat for export, but it could hardly 
better our circumstances. Out of our population 
there are six persons engaged in other industries 
to every one engaged in farming, and this ratio is 
increasing every year. Every year farmers are de¬ 
creasing in proportion to the whole population, and 
if figures speak the truth, we cannot believe that 
there are too many farmers now, when there are 
relatively fewer than there have ever been before. 
Hay Racks. 
In March, when the last storms of departing win¬ 
ter prevent out-door work, and bring days of en¬ 
forced leisure, an opportunity may be seized for 
preparing or repairing the hay or straw racks, for 
use in harvest time. We have several times pre¬ 
viously described and illustrated these necessary- 
appendages to the farm wagon, but every year new 
ideas occur, which lead to improvement in the old- 
fashioned racks. We here illustrate two kinds of 
hay-racks, which have been found more convenient 
in use than some of the old kinds. That shown at 
Fig. 2.— RACK FOR GRAIN. 
figure 1, consists of a frame made of scantlings, mor¬ 
tised together, and fitting upon the wagon after the 
box has been removed. Cross-pieces, which pro¬ 
ject over the wheels, are bolted to the frame, and 
to these one or two side boards are bolted. A few 
short, sharpened stakes are fixed into the sides of 
the frame, which help to hold the load, and pre¬ 
vent it from slipping off from the rack during the 
loading. A strong rack of this kind may be made 
to carry a very large load of hay. We have seen 
over 30 hundred-weight 
loaded upon one of them, 
and more might have been 
easily added to the load. 
The plan of building this 
rack is readily seen by 
studying the engraving. 
At fig. 2 is shown a rack 
made to fit upon a wagon 
body. When grain is 
hauled, much is some¬ 
times lost through the 
rack, by shelling. This is 
almost always the case in 
hauling ripe oats, and always in drawing buckwheat. 
To avoid this loss, we have used a strong wagon- 
box of rough planks, fitted with iron sockets, bolt¬ 
ed securely to the sides. Into these sockets were 
fitted, head and tail racks, as shown in the engrav¬ 
ing. For the sides we procured natural crooks, 
Fig. 1.— HAY-RACK. 
RACK. 
