250 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
THE BEST FORM OE HORSES. 
The Head. —“ The head of a horse should be 
jarrow, lean, and not too long; but the piiucipal 
matter to be observed respecting it, is, tlu'it it be 
well united with the neck, so that the horse may 
be enabled to bring it into a good position, and the 
best position in which a horse can possibly hold 
his head, is such an one as is perfectly perpendic¬ 
ular from the brow to the ground, so that were a 
plummet to be suspended from that part, it would 
just raze or touch the nose. Every fiorse that has 
too large a head is apt to bear too hard on the 
bridle, which not only tires the rider’s hand very 
much, but exposes both to several disagreeable 
accidents; and besides, a large headed horse can 
not appear to any advantage unless he has a very 
long and well-turned neck.” Thus says the 
“ Farrier’s Dictionary,” upon which the Editor of 
the American Veterinary Journal 
Remarks. —The above paragraph looks very well 
on paper, but is a strange compound of truth and 
error. “ The head of a horse should be narrow, 
lean, and not too long.” A narrow, lean, and 
short head, affixed to the body corporate of a 
powerful draught horse would appear as ridicu¬ 
lous as if any one were to carve a statue of Dan’l. 
Webster, representing his vast bodily proportions, 
and adorning the upper works with a cranium re¬ 
sembling the form of a pear, narrow, lean, and 
“ chunky,” “ not too long.” Therefore, the writer 
should have qualified his theory, and informed us 
what kind of a horse the above described head 
would be likely to adorn. If it be intended for the 
body of an animal of the nervous temperament, 
with dense tissues, spare muscles and diminutive 
statue, the theory may be correct; but reverse 
the order as above, and everyone will perceive 
that the head and body are not symmetrical, 
which is a matter of considerable importance in 
the selection and purchase of a horse. 
The position of the head is next referred to. 
“ The best position in which a horse can possibly 
hold his head is such an one as is perfectly per¬ 
pendicular,” &c. 
The writer has here evidently fallen into a com¬ 
mon error, which confounds a faulty position with 
a physiological one. A head describing the same 
perpendicular line as that of the fore extremities 
would look very funny ; might set very well on 
the neck of a goose or pelican, or phoenix, but 
when the horse is concerned, that is another 
matter. The best position in which a horse can 
possibly carry his head is that which he naturally 
assumes, uninfluenced by check or other fetter, 
rein or martingal. The position indicated by the 
writer of the above paragraph as the “ best,” is 
acknowledged by all horsemen to be the most 
faulty, for horses when performing feats of speed 
are observed to extend the head in a horizontal 
line with that of the spinal column. A free ex¬ 
tension of the head, corresponding to the horizon¬ 
tal position of the neck and body, enables the horse 
to breathe with freedom, whereas if the head be 
attached to the body after the perpendicular fash¬ 
ion, it is apt to obstruct free respiration by pres¬ 
sure on the larnyx or first respiratory passage. 
We are well aware that some horsemen consider 
this faulty position to be the best, hence they en¬ 
deavor by means of the check-rein, and other ap¬ 
pliances to make all their horses carry their heads 
perpendicular, but these me« must have observed 
how relieved a horse appears to be when his head 
is liberated from this uncomfortable position, 
which, under the circumstances, can not be the 
best. If a horse with a large head bears too hard on 
the bridle and tires the rider's hand, then the ri¬ 
der or owner is at fault ; such a horse should 
never have been selected ffir the saddle, for to 
ride with safety we require a high head and neck. 
A horse having these points would not be likely to 
tire the bridle hand. 
The writer of the preceding quoted paragraph 
concludes thus, “ A large-headed horse can not 
appear to any advantage unless he has a very long 
and well-turned neck.” This is more a matter of 
taste than of utility. Persons who purchase horses 
merely for their beauty are apt to make a sorry 
bargain. Others who select and pay less atten¬ 
tion to the beautiful points, and more to enduring 
and physical qualities, are not so apt to get deceived. 
Many of the Pennsylvania horses used here in the 
trucking business have large heads and short 
necks, yet we hear no complaint in consequence. 
Then again, a large head and very long and 
tvell-turned neck will not appear to any advantage 
unless affixed to a corresponding size and confor¬ 
mation of body and limbs. However, a horse 
may make up in utility, for all he lacks ol beauty. 
VALUE OE TAN-BARK ASHES. 
Though tan-bark is much used for mulching 
plants, banking up houses, making paths, &c., con¬ 
siderable quantities of it are burned in many tan¬ 
neries, where the spent bark is dried and used for 
fuel under the steam boilers. It has been an in¬ 
teresting question, with us, whether these ashes 
were valuable for agricultural purposes, or even 
for soap-making, as we suspected the soaking in 
the tanning process might remove the potash 
which is the most valuable as well as the most so¬ 
luble ingredient in all ashes. During the past 
Summer, Mr. 0. J. Hayes, of Essex Co., N. J., 
submitted to us for examination some samples of 
these ashes, and as no analysis of this substance 
had hitherto been made, we believe, we at once 
forwarded them to Prof. Johnson, of Yale Col¬ 
lege, requesting an analysis, which he has made, 
and the result is given in his letter below. By 
reference to the table, it will be seen that the 
ashes show less than three per cent (2.6) of pot¬ 
ash and soda, while ordinary unleached oak and 
beech ashes contain more than three times this 
amount. The lime is not up to the average. In 
tables of analysis of unleached beech and oak 
ashes before us, the lime varies from 63 to 75 per 
cent. According to this analysis then, we may 
conclude, that while tan-bark ashes contain suffi¬ 
cient alkalies, (potash, soda and lime), to make 
them worth preserving and applying to such lands 
as require alkaline fertilizers, they rank consider¬ 
ably below ordinary wood ashes.— Ed. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist. 
The samples of the ash of spent tan-bark you 
had the kindness to send me, were duly received. 
I understand that both were of the same quality, 
except that one was fresh—just burned—while 
the other had been exposed during the last Win¬ 
ter, to the weather. 
I have made a complete analysis of the fresh 
sample, with the following results : 
Potash and Soda. 2 60 
Lime. 51.32 
Magnesia. 1.90 
Oxyd of iron and alumi¬ 
na. 2.47 
Oxyd of manganese_ 1.05 
Phosphoric acid.trace 
Sulphuric acid.5.68 
Chlorine .trace 
Silica (soluble). 4.63 
Carbonic acid.26.46 
Coal, sand, and loss .. 5.92 
100.00 
The composition of these asnes is such as war¬ 
rants making trial of their fertilizing effects. The 
large quantity of lime they contain, as quick-lime 
and carbonate of lime, would alone render them 
of great value on many soils. They also contain 
7 to 8 ■per cent of gypsum, which is often so emi¬ 
nently serviceable. The quantity of potash and 
soda is much more considerable than was to have 
been anticipated. Phosphoric acid has been near¬ 
ly or quite removed from the tan-bark by washing. 
The bark of trees, however, usually contains bui 
very little of this ingredient. 
Like every other fertilizer, the value of this 
must be ascertained by actual trial. The same 
results may be expected from it as from ordinary 
leached ashes. 
Whether the soaking of the tan-bark so long in 
water separates any portion of alkalies or phos¬ 
phates, does not appear from this analysis, as there 
exists, to my knowledge, no statement of the 
composition either of oak or hemlock bark with 
which to make a comparison. 
Samuel W. Johnson. 
Yale Analytical Laboratory, ) 
New-Haven, Oct. 1857. j 
A QUESTION ABOUT MUCK. 
Nathan D. Coffin, of Hancock Co., Ind., says 
he has plenty of straw, as well as muck on his 
farm, and inquires if it would not be better to use 
the straw as an absorbent for manure, and haul 
the muck directly to the field instead of taking it 
to the yard and then out, thus making double 
cartage. 
If straw be very abundant for the yard, and the 
soil be a warm one, not greatly needing the imme¬ 
diate benefit of manure, the proposed plan would 
answer. But muck'and all peaty substances are 
usually in a kind of pitchy or asphaltic condition, 
so that they resist the action of the air, and do 
not decay and yield up their elements readily, 
without being first subjected to the action of al¬ 
kalies, (lime or ashes), or to the heating of the 
compost heap. Putting them into the yard where 
they will be mixed with the animal manures 
serve a double purpose ; first, the heating of the 
manure decomposes the muck, swamp mud, 
leaves, &c., and fits them for plant food ; while, 
second, these substances act as absorbents to re¬ 
tain the gasses and escaping elements of the more 
readily decaying animal manures. They are 
similar to straw in their composition and ultimate 
effects upon growing plants. 
When muck or peat is entirely unneeded in 
the yard, owing to a superabundance of straw, the 
former may be dug out and piled up with a bush¬ 
el of slaked lime to half a cord or more, thorough¬ 
ly mixing it in. Left in this way a few weeks or 
months, it will become fitted for direct application 
and benefit to cultivated fields. In cold, wet or 
clay land, muck will often lie for years undecom¬ 
posed. In warm, light soils it is more rapidly re 
duced, and therefore sooner available to plants, 
though not immediately so, except in the most fa 
vorable conditions of warmth, air and moisture. 
Every thing considered, it is generally better to 
cart it first to the yards and compost it with ma¬ 
nure. 
BONES LN THE MANURE HEAP. 
Mr. G. C. Lyman, of Susquehanna County, 
Penn., referring to the article on page 227, upon 
dissolving bones, suggests that in the absence ol 
sulphuric acid, which is often difficult to obtain, 
bones might be put into ashes to be dissolved, if 
sufficient muck be placed over the heap to ab¬ 
sorb all escaping organic materials. We cannot 
speak from experience on this point, and we are 
not quite certain how far the bones would be 
crumbled or dissolved in the ashes when shut out 
from air. If the bones can be reduced by sur¬ 
rounding them with unleached ashes, and then 
covered over the whole with a coat of muck, say 
three feet or more in thickness, the plan would 
appear to be a good one. A little plaster mixed 
with the muck would be an improvement. Be¬ 
fore using the materials, the dissolved bones —t 
they be dissolved—should be thoroughly mixei 
