88 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[Makch, 
D K. II A R T JI A K ’ S S A 
Slieep for ISHimois.— Lewis Britaiu, Menard 
Co., III. We certainly ilonbt not that at present it will 
pay best to raise wool rather than mutton. The Spanish- 
American siieep require less care and are generally 
hardier. The best way to get a flock is undoubtedly to 
procure good sound, heavy fleeced rams of the .Spanish 
Merino or American Merino breeds, and to use them upon 
young native ewes of good size and sliape, selected from 
heallliy flocks. Keep up the flock,by using only good rams. 
S8, B'lWe sj, slrstiBaa^e 
liamb.—A. T. Taft, Trumbull Co., Ohio, writes' as 
follows: “ When you find a ewe with a dead lamb bleat¬ 
ing piteously and mouriung over it; if you wish to make 
her adopt another, catcli the ewe, milk her own milk 
upon the lamb, then removing the dead one out of her 
sight, step back out of tire way and witness the jov of 
the mother at the supposed restoration of her offspring. 
ffiam'el S»o5»iOBaiii;f ajSiaiii. — “ H.” 
writes that the Sheep Laurel or Lamb-Kill (Kalrnia an- 
gustifolia) is injurious even wlien dry. He had some 
sheep poisoned by eating hay containing it, and lliinks its 
effects worse than when eaten fresh. He flntls the 
most eincacious remedy to hc*a strong decoction of 
-senna, to be given in repeated doses until lire bowels are 
moved. We are glad to record at least one remedy tiiat 
has an appearance of efllcacy. “ H." further remarks 
that if lambs have plenty of milk and .succulent food, sucli 
as turnips, young grass etc., they are not apt to eat 
enough laurel to hurt them. Here is an excellent chance 
for some veterinary student to make valuable investi¬ 
gations. If the real action of tlie poison were well 
understood, the poisoning could bo treated intelligently. 
fety bridle and REI 
Eimaways and Kickers Mastered. 
Horsemen have long known that no horse can 
bear a strong pressure by the bit ag.ainst the corners 
of the mouth ; and they have employed a cord or 
reins or a pair of reins passing from the hands 
(through the rings in the harness) through rings in 
the headstall and to the bit, in connection with an 
ordinary’ pair of reins, to check runaway horses, or 
to control vicious or kicking ones. These contri¬ 
vances were so bungling, that they never came 
much into use, .and spirited horses, lit for much 
better things, were broken in spirit by the lash, and 
set to some kind of drudgery or trc.ad-mill work, 
w’here they soon wore out both pluck and life. 
Dr. S. B. Hartman, of Millersvillc, Lanctistcr Co., 
Pa., h.as an invention which gives, in a very pretty 
and convenient pair of reins, .all the ability to stop 
a runaway horse, to check a hard-mouthed one, to 
arrest a kicker at the first symptpm, just as effectu- 
iilly as the old bungling contrivance alluded to, and 
very much easier. The above spirited picture 
shows the effect of these reins upon a horse. The 
head is thrown up, the eyes lifted so that he cannot 
see the ground, the weight of the body thrown 
completely off the fore feet, so that kicking is out 
of the question, and the animal being thrown upon 
its haunches, of course must stop ; he cannot even 
back, for the Doctor says, and though we have not 
tried this, it seems true, that a horse may be made to 
sit down squarely on his rump. The bit is a simple 
I S. —Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
snaffle, or plain bar bit, attached to the headstall in 
such a way that the cheek strap (not buckled into the 
bit ring, but running through it), may be shortened 
up almost indefinitely by a pull upon the safety 
reins. These are attached to the check str.ap, 
passed up through the bearing or check rein 
swivels (the rein being removed) and joining the 
direct reins at the saddle or haines rings,from this 
point,they pass back to the hands, through the centre 
of the round driving reins, and terminate in loops 
and straps. While driving with two hands, the 
loops may be held by passing the fore fingers loosely 
through them, and when the driver wishes to use 
only one hand to drive, the straps of the safety 
reins hang down in front of his knuckles, and may 
be seized by the whip-hand .at .any instant that he 
wishes to apply their latent power. The safety reins 
are not borne upon at .all in ordinary driving. We 
have tried them somewh.at ourselves,and have placed 
them in the hands ofseveral experienced horsemen, 
who agree in their good opinion of them. “ Ata- 
lanta” is a rather famous trotting mare owned in 
this neighborhood, so hard-mouthed as to be en¬ 
tirely unmanageable with common reins and bits— 
with the safety bridle she was driven not only with 
s.afety, but with ease, and in hpr liorse way owned 
“ beat,” for the first time in her life. In Lancaster 
County, where the reins have been in use a j'ear or 
two, we learn th.at they are regarded with high 
favor, ladies .and children driving horses considered 
entirely unsafe before they were applied. 
