AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
13 
1873 .] 
_ 
Remedy for Hoven. 
In the American Agriculturist for June, 1872, 
page 218, we gave an engraving of a trochar 
(tnd cannula. The trochar is a sharp-pointed in¬ 
strument furnished with a handle, the cannula is 
a tube which fits over the trochar. One of the 
uses of this combined instrument is to relieve 
cattle suffering from hoven, or stomach danger* 
ously swollen or distended with 
gas. In careless or inexperienced 
hands there is danger of penetrat¬ 
ing vital parts of the animal when 
the trochar is plunged into its side. 
We give an engraving in which a 
safe method of using the instru¬ 
ment is illustrated. The distension 
of the stomach appears mostly on 
the right side of the animal. If the 
operator using the trochar stands 
on this side, there is great danger 
of piercing the kidney. If he stands 
on the left side of the animal and 
reaches over and holds the trochar 
in the same position as if he were 
making a blow with a dagger, or 
places his thumb on the top of 
the handle, as shown in the en¬ 
graving, and then thrusts the trochar into 
the place, as shown, it is impossible that it can 
penetrate elsewhere than into the paunch or 
rumen. In drawing out the trochar the tube or 
cannula is left in the wound and the gas escapes 
through it. It should remain there until gas 
is no longer evolved by the fermenting mass of 
food, and when this occurs the cannula may be 
withdrawn and the small opening will close of 
itself and rapidly heal without any interference. 
--—--- 
A Design for a Gothic Cottage. 
Iu order to meet the wants of our readers, 
we from time to time give designs for dwellings. 
Indeed, a few years ago, 
Mr. Judd, the senior pub¬ 
lisher, built several houses 
mainly for the purpose of 
showiug how many con¬ 
veniences could be intro¬ 
duced into a house for a 
moderate sum. The plans 
of these houses were pub¬ 
lished in the Agriculturist 
for 1870, in the numbers 
from April to August ex¬ 
clusive, and may be 
profitably consulted by 
any one about to build, 
whether they adopt either 
of his plans or not. So 
mittiy of what are called 
“ modern improvements,” 
that are rarely seen save 
iu the houses of the 
wealthy, are introduced 
into these plans, that one 
can hardly fail to get useful 
suggestions from them. 
Indeed, all labor-saving 
and step-saving conve¬ 
niences are of even more 
importance to those in moderate circumstances 
than to the wealthy who can afford extra ser¬ 
vants. We have had the promise from some of 
•our subscribers of plans of the houses in which 
they live. We here give a perspective view 
and plans of a Gothic cottage, designed by 
Brown & Grable, architects, St. Louis, Mo. We 
■are indebted for these to Messrs. A. J. Bicknell 
& Co., publishers of “ Bicknell’sVillage Builder,” 
a work that is particularly valuable for the full¬ 
ness of its details, both in drawings and specifi¬ 
cations. The design is suitable for a village or 
suburban residence, or for the house of a well- 
to-do farmer, and it may be executed in wood, 
brick, or stone, or even in concrete. The ex¬ 
terior, as shown in the perspective view, is 
ornamental, yet the ornamentation is dignified 
USE OF THE TROCHAR IN HOVEN. 
and exceedingly simple in its details. It has 
what every country house can have at a small 
additional expense—a conservatory. Probably 
there is no way in which so much enjoyment 
can be had for the same amount of money as in 
adding a room for house plants. This, how¬ 
ever, can if desired be omitted from the present 
plan without detriment to the appearance of 
the building. The plans of the first and second 
floors, which for convenience are placed upon 
the opposite page, will explain the arrangement 
adopted for the interior. For the front and side 
elevations, as well as the specifications giving 
minute descriptions of the different portions, 
we must refer to the work above named, as they 
PERSPECTIVE VIEW OP A GOTHIC COTTAGE. 
are altogether too voluminous to introduce here. 
The front of the house is 43 feel, and the depth 
50 feet. The estimated cost is $3,500 to $5,500, 
according to locality aud style of finish. Of 
course the expense can be greatly increased by 
the addition of what builders call “ extras.” 
And care should be taken that everything likely 
to be needed be included in the contract. 
Facts in Turkey-Breeding 1 . 
There is nothing like facts to confirm a theory. 
If it were really believed that good selection and 
good feed would increase the average size of 
turkeys a third, it would not be difficult to get 
intelligent farmers to pay attention to these 
points. We find a very important item in a 
local journal from North Stonington, Ct., which 
confirms this view. This town 
is on the borders of Rhode Island, 
and represents the district where 
the Narragansett turkeys princi¬ 
pally are raised, known in the mar¬ 
ket as Rhode Island turkeys. The 
writer says: “ Probably more than 
fifty thousand pounds of poultry 
have been sent from this vicinity 
this week for the Thanksgiving 
market in Boston at 23 cents 
a pound. The quality sent this 
year is better than that of last year, 
some lots of turkeys averaging 
nearly twelve pounds, and one 
monstrous old fellow bore down 
thirty-six and a quarter. The size 
of turkeys raised hereabouts has 
increased steadily for twenty-five 
or thirty years, owing to attention to propaga¬ 
tion. The time was when the average at 
Thanksgiving did not exceed eight pounds, and 
brought only as many cents a pound; whereas 
the weight has been increased fifty per cent, and 
the price two hundred per cent.” From Ston¬ 
ington, the town immediately south, a still 
larger quantity was sent, and the quality was a 
grade heavier. Said an old farmer Who bought 
a large Bronze gobbler of premium stock last 
season, “ I must have some more of that stock, 
for I have the heaviest turkeys in the neighbor¬ 
hood.” Good feed, especially during the first 
fall and winter, is almost as important as good 
stock. A farmer feeds a bushel of corn to a 
hundred turkeys in No¬ 
vember iu a day, at the 
cost of a dollar, and it 
looks a little extravagant. 
But it is less than the 
third of a quart, and the 
cost of a cent a day for 
each bird. We once tried 
the experiment of feeding 
some second-litter turkeys 
through the winter, and 
found the hens gained 
about two pounds a month 
and the gobblers three. 
The feed was principally 
boiled potatoes, aud meal 
and corn. At this rate, 
the gain in flesh, at twenty- 
five cents a pound, would 
be worth about seventy- 
five cents a month for each 
gobbler, and fifty cents for 
each hen. If thirty cents’ 
worth of feed will make 
this gain, it can not be 
very bad business to feed 
turkeys liberally through 
the winter. By all means 
have large, well-fed stock to breed from in the 
spring, and the time to make them is now. 
Value of Chaff. —Chaff is worth for feed 
twice as much as straw. Oat-chaff stands first, 
wheat next, and cows will very readily eat and 
thrive on it when wetted and sprinkled with 
meal. The chaff should be husbanded with care. 
