1866.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
253 
Coop for Hen and Chickens. 
We give herewith, a very pretty design for a 
hen-coop, which, though a little late for the 
principal broods, will nevertheless, serve for a 
hint at least, if not a model for those who, hav¬ 
ing summer broods, would be likely to subject 
them to great discomfort, did they place them 
in the common close coops. The design is to 
have a box without a bottom, provided with a 
slatted and movable front as exhibited, and to 
have the whole covered by a movable roof of 
thatch, or any other convenient and cheap ma¬ 
terial. The roof affords shade and protection 
from the weather, and being placed against the 
south side of a wall, makes their quarters ex¬ 
ceedingly comfortable, if not luxurious. For 
ourselves, we prefer a coop with a slanting roof, 
and with a slat door of one or two slats, that 
may be raised and lowered, instead of being 
obliged to raise or lower the whole front. The 
thatched shed, however, is particularly pictur¬ 
esque, and useful for protection in all w'eathers. 
Ring-bone. 
This distressing disease in horses is caused by 
over-exertion in pulling heavy loads, especially 
in up-hill work. It is, besides, hereditary in some 
cases, like spavin, which it 
very much resembles, and 
occurs sometimes without 
obvious cause. When ring¬ 
bone is established, it con¬ 
sists of a bony enlargement 
with or without anchylosis 
of the fetlock, or pastern, 
and coffin bones and joints, 
just as spavin is an osseous 
growth upon or union of 
the bones of the hock. It 
commonly occurs upon 
horses subjected to heavy 
draught, while spavin often 
comes in consequence of 
fast work, leaping, etc. The 
commencement of the dis¬ 
ease is in an inflammation 
of the periosteum and in¬ 
vesting ligaments of the 
joint, which is communi¬ 
cated to the bones and pro¬ 
duces disorganization to 
some extent, and a deposit 
of bony matter which gra¬ 
dually increases in size, and is always liable to 
grow larger and more painful, thougli it often 
Fig. 1.— HEALTinr 
BONES. 
remains stationary for years, and does 
not unfit the horse for some kinds of 
labor. After the bony enlargement has 
actually taken place, there is no cure; 
but counter-irritants, blisters, etc., some¬ 
times relieve the pain and the lameness it 
causes for a time. The only time when 
a cure can be effected, is before the dis¬ 
ease becomes fixed, while yet it is only 
an inflammation of the joint. This will 
be indicated by tenderness, pain, heat, 
etc., and cooling appliances, such as cold 
water, soap and camphor, with a little 
laudanum, etc., may be used, giving en¬ 
tire rest, with green food or roots. Fol¬ 
low this by some convenient prepara¬ 
tion of iodine, like an ointment of iodide 
of lead and lard, or an ointment of bin- 
iodide of mercury—either of which may 
be had of any good apothecary. Rub in 
the ointment well, and follow up the 
treatment for several weeks, not working the 
animal. In case there is a considerable swel¬ 
ling, though not yet firm bone, it is worth 
while to try blistering with cerate of cantharides, 
continuing at intervals the use of the iodine, the 
object of which is to promote the absorption of 
the swelling. Or a treatment may be follow¬ 
ed similar to that suggested for spavin in the 
March number of the Agriculturist, page 94. 
The engravings which we present, show, in 
fig. 1, the bones of the leg from the hock down, 
in a condition of health, 
and, in fig. 3, the hoof and 
pastern joint affected by a 
very severe ring-bone. This 
is taken from a specimen at 
the N. Y. College of Vet¬ 
erinary Surgeons, Lexing¬ 
ton Avenue, in which the 
enlargement of the bone 
was so great, that it grew 
Fig. 3.— RING-BONE, from each side around out¬ 
side the great flexor tendon, forming a ring 
through which it passed. Ring-bone usually 
manifests itself by a hard swelling upon the top 
of the joint, but the osseous tumor may appear 
most prominent on any of the affected parts. 
- - —-- »■ • - 
Musk-rat Traps. 
Whoever has undertaken to maintain the tide¬ 
water embankments described in the present 
volume of the Agriculturist, pages 57 and 93, for 
shutting out the sea from meadows, or whoever 
for any purpose keeps up dams or embank¬ 
ments, must have been greatly annoyed by that 
most persevering, industrious and shy animal, 
the musk-rat. He is considered very hard to 
Fig. 1. —MUSK-RAT TRAP. 
trap, as he cunningly avoids any thing suspicious, 
and, except in the winter, will not touch bait of 
any kind, unless very rarely. The holes and 
works of the musk-rat are the chief obstacle 
the tide-water farmer has to contend with, who 
attempts to shut out the sea and reclaim for 
cultivation what are known as salt meadows. 
P. M. Griswold, of New Haven Co., Conn., 
writes; “The best trap for musk-rats that I 
know of, and one that is used quite extensively 
here, is thus made; A box is made 8 x 10 inches 
in the clear, and 3 feet long (fig. 1); two gates are 
Fig. 3. 
made to fit it as shown in fig. 3. The holes for 
the gates are placed 1 inch from the top and 3 
inches from the end. Each 
gate is made in the following 
manner: take a piece of hard 
wood 1 inch square, long enough 
to cut a shoulder on each end, 
and let them play easily in the 
holes in the box. Then take 
wire 'Is inch diameter, cut it in pieces two inches 
longer than the box is deep, and insert these in 
the hard wood piece, as shown; then weave fine 
wire across them 3 inches from the bottom, to 
keep from spreading, and when the gates are 
ready, put the box together. The gates hang¬ 
ing so that any animal going in will lift them, 
and when in, they will drop and secure him a 
prisoner. When done, place the trap in the wa¬ 
ter where musk-rats live. The water must be 
deep enough to cover the box 6 inches or more. 
Put a stone upon it to keep it 
down; drive stakes each way 
from the box at each end, to 
keep the rats from going past, 
and to lead them towards it; 
set a board up across upon 
each end of the box to keep 
them from climbing over, and they will dive 
and swim into the trap, and will soon drown. 
I caught three at a time in a trap like this.” 
We find that our friend F., whose trout ponds 
we described some months since, uses similar 
traps. They are made of sheet iron, the 
gates being a little different, as shown in fig. 3. 
In summer they are set as above described, with¬ 
out bait, but in winter they are baited with 
parsnips and sunk through the ice or in open 
places in deeper water, with cords attached 
with which to lower them and haul them up. 
Fig. 3. 
The Sun Dial—Use and Ornament. 
Good watches and clocks are common no\V- 
a-days, and there is no longer the use for sun 
dials and noon marks, which existed only a 
few years ago. Nevertheless, on farms a few 
miles from villages and town clocks, how often 
does it happen that the time is lost except as 
we depend upon the sun for it ? At such times 
a sun dial is a real convenience, if it be large 
enough to give tolerably accurate time. Sun 
dials are always interesting, and may be made 
ornamental, and are certainly very appropriate 
ornaments to private 
or public grounds. In 
those of the ordinary 
form the gnomon or 
style which casts the 
shadow, is a right 
angle triangle, set 
with the long side up, 
to make the shadow. - 
This long side should J 
point directly toward 
the north pole. So 
that the north star, 
provided it could 
cast a visible shadow, 
(and indicated the ex¬ 
act north,) would cast 
none. To do this, 
the angle of elevation 
must be the same as 
the latitude of the place, and it must be set 
pointing due north. A correspondent sends 
us a pasteboard model, of a sun dial with 
a butterfly for the gnomon, or style which casts 
the shadow, as a sample of the pretty and fanci- 
