10 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
have had, at different times and with various degrees 
of intensity, the pear fever, the berry fever, the 
poultry fever, and the hog fever—to say nothing of 
other distempers. From some of them I have not 
yet entirely recovered. I have reproached myself 
at times for not giving you something of my ex¬ 
perience, for he who always receives and never re¬ 
ciprocates, is liable to be suspected of selfishness. 
Butpressure of other duties has thus far prevented. 
I belong to the best abused and the least defend¬ 
ed profession in the world—the legal—having been 
a member of it for upwards of sixteen years, during 
which time I have had my full share of business, 
and all the professional success to which I was en¬ 
titled. I mention it not egotistically, but only to 
enable you to see that I ought not to be ignorant 
of the subject about which I purpose to write. 
A well digested system of just and equitable laws, 
and courts of justice to properly enforce and ad¬ 
minister them, are absolutely indispensable for the 
security of life, liberty, and property. No civilized 
community can exist without them. Destroy them 
in this country to-day, and we will relapse into bar¬ 
barism with a fatal rapidity unequalled by our won¬ 
derful progress thus far in all that constitutes na¬ 
tional greatness. The confidence and security with 
which we lie down and sleep at night, in both city 
and country, is owing to the fact that the protect¬ 
ing shield of law is above and around us, and that 
we have courts to redress our wrongs. I will not 
enlarge upon this—its truth will he admitted by 
every one who will pause to think and reflect.- 
This being the case then, every one eugaged in the 
work of ridiculing the tribunals, and their officers, 
which are constituted for the purpose of adminis¬ 
tering justice between man and man, is prosecuting 
a very bad business. His blows are aimed at the 
pillars of the State. He stabs at the nation’s life. 
In your December No. you illustrate your idea of 
lawsuits by a picture which is a fair caricature of 
some lawsuits, and of some lawyers and their clients. 
[Exactly what we designed it to be.— Ed.] It may 
in some cases do good—in many its tendency will 
be bad, if it prevents your readers from obtaining 
that justice to which they are entitled, and which 
they can not have, except through the agency of the 
courts. There is much litigation that might and 
should be avoided. It is equally true that there is 
much that should be encouraged. Sweeping, indis¬ 
criminate censure of lawsuits and lawyers is an easy 
matter. Any one can do it. It is much easier than 
just and fair discriminations. Such reformers need 
to be themselves reformed. They trim dead and 
diseased branches by cutting down the tree at the 
root. Your picture is of this character. No line or 
word gives to your many readers the fact that your 
illustration is a truth only as it describes exception¬ 
al cases, and that it is a monstrous falsehood so far 
as it conveys the idea that our courts and lawyers 
are engaged not in the god-like employment of ad¬ 
ministering justice between man and man, but in 
extorting money unjustly from credulous clients. 
The picture you say has already caused some cli¬ 
ents to settle their cases by compromises. If so, it 
by no means follows that they were wisely settled. 
Yet you conclude such was the case without know¬ 
ing apparently the facts.* An insurance company 
refused to pay a widow $2000 upon a policy which 
she held upon her late husband’s life. I helped to 
recover for her a verdict of over $2100 for debt, in¬ 
terest, and costs. She had two lawyers, and the 
case was taken to the court of errors by the com¬ 
pany, and there abandoned, leaving the verdict of 
the jury in force. After my associate aud myself 
had received all the “ milk” we wanted, I had the 
pleasure of paying to the happy widow over $.2000. 
Now, while the case was pending, had she seen your 
[*Here is one of the oases. Two neighbors in this Slate 
had commenced a suit about a cow which promised to be 
a long one. They happened at the Post Office in a coun¬ 
try store, as the Agriculturist, arrived, to which they were 
both subscribers. Each opened his paper and saw the 
engraving. They laughed over it, approached each other 
in good humor, and settled their difficulty on the spot by 
mutual concession and agreement. They sent us a re¬ 
port, and we shall not tell how large a fee was presented 
to us in acknowledgment of legal services rendered.— Ed.] 
illustration of the beauties of litigation, and com¬ 
promised her claim for $1000 by reason of it, you 
would have had another opportunity of congratu¬ 
lating your readers upon the happy influence your 
picture was exerting in diminishing and settling 
suits. But your picture would have cost the poor 
widow $1000 in clean cash! I would recommend 
this case to your “artist.” I could fill many num¬ 
bers of your paper with other instances that have 
come under my observation, illustrating the same 
great truth, but it is unnecessary. 
To rush into litigation to redress every little real 
or imagined wrong would be foolish, and there is 
iu my judgment no class of men in the community 
who do so much to discourage it as the lawyers. I 
have had abundant opportunities of knowing this 
is true of the attorneys of this State as a body, and 
I believe it true of every other State. The most 
unselfish advice to settle and to quietly submit to 
little wrongs, is given constantly by the men who 
are so liberally maligned. [Such men we admire 
and honor—if there were not many exceptions, there 
would have been no occasion for our picture.— Ed.] 
A bad man loses his case and he abuses the law¬ 
yers. A rogue is convicted of crime, and he curses 
the courts. A man wishes to be a villain and is 
afraid of justice—he thinks society would be im¬ 
proved if the law books were all consumed. A wit¬ 
ness, bribed or biassed, has his falsehoods exposed 
on the cross-examination, and he hides or tries to 
hide his dishonor by a prodigal abuse of the legal 
fraternity. A political editor having large self es¬ 
teem, a longing for office, and a narrow-minded 
jealousy, delights to ridicule and stab the legal pro¬ 
fession, some of whose members he imagines are a 
little in his way. And sometimes a clergyman, who 
has failed as a lawyer, prefers to place his change of 
employment upon the ground that he is too good 
a man for so bad a business. And now and then the 
editor of an agricultural paper pauses in his enthu¬ 
siastic admiration of fat pork and poultry, large 
cows, cabbages and colts, to circulate libels upon 
one of the most laborious and useful professions. 
[Is the holding up to ridicule the practices of those 
foolish men whom good lawyers themselves try to 
keep out of the law, any “ libel ” upon the profes¬ 
sion ?— Ed.] 
In the meantime the lawyers as a body smile at 
the narrow-minded folly of their assailants, and an¬ 
swer by a dignified silence. I stand almost, if not 
entirety, alone in attempting a reply. I do it in part 
to'pay a debt, for I feel that I owe you an article or 
two. Another time I will select a subject more ap¬ 
propriate to your columns. Fair Play. 
New-Haven, Conn., Dec. 1, 1862. 
■-*3 I .■ ■ i ca -^fr-pae--*-C- 
Treatment of Wouncls in Animals. 
A correspondent inquires for directions as to 
the best treatment of flesh wounds in animals, 
what salve or liniment should be used, etc. It 
is a mistaken notion that any plaster, salve, lini¬ 
ment, or other nostrum, will heal a wound. The 
divided parts must grow together by the action 
of vital power in the flesh itself. The most we 
can do in the matter is, to place the separated 
portions under the most favorable position for 
uniting, and then let nature work. Of course 
the flow of blood must first be stopped. Unless 
some large blood vessel has been wounded, 
bleeding will usually soon cease. If however 
it continues long, and especially if the blood 
be of a bright red color, and comes out by 
jets or spirts, showing that an artery is di¬ 
vided, prompt measures are necessary, usually 
requiring some surgical skill. It is sometimes 
needful to hold open the edges of the wound, find 
the ends of the blood vessel, and tie them with 
strong white silk, leaving the silk long enough 
to hang out of the wound. In less severe cases, 
the application of cold water, or of alum water, 
or pressure, will aid in stopping hemorrhage. 
In a simple cut, it is not necessary to cleanse 
the wound from blood. Its coagulation will aid 
in the healing process, if the parts can be 
brought together and kept in contact. Foreign 
substances, as dirt, splinters, etc., must be re¬ 
moved before a cure can be looked for. 
When bleeding has mostly ceased, bring the 
parts iu close contact, and secure them by nar¬ 
row strips of adhesive plaster. This article, 
which can be procured at any druggist’s, should 
always be at hand. If, however, the laceration 
be extensive, it will be necessary to sew the 
parts together. Some means should be adopted 
to prevent displacement of the parts, after heal¬ 
ing commences. To relieve the itching and ir¬ 
ritation, the animal will endeavor to scratch or 
rub the wound, and thus often make it worse 
than at first. Bandages are useful, where they 
can be applied. They should not be too thick, 
for fear of heating and consequent inflamma¬ 
tion. The animal should be kept entirely quiet, 
and the diet be made rather low. If much in¬ 
flammation appears in spite of these precau¬ 
tions, an occasional moderate dose of Glauber’s 
salts, together with the application of cold wa¬ 
ter to the wound, will check it. These general 
directions will answer for wounds not severe 
enough to require a veterinary surgeon. * 
Imprisoned Animals. 
Animals need shelter, but imprisonment is 
neither necessary nor beneficial. The horse 
and cattle stalls in too many instances supply 
only one requisite, viz.: warmth. Animals are 
frequently penned up from week to week, in 
narrow quarters, reeking witli filth which fills 
the air with noxious effluvia, where little or no 
light can enter, as though they were undergoing 
punishment. Now even the best accommoda¬ 
tions that can be provided, are in a measure un¬ 
natural. Our domestic animals at the North 
are natives of warmer climates, where they are 
accustomed to roam at will during the entire 
year. Every important change from this, their 
natural condition, will more or less interfere 
with their best deyelopment. If abundant 
and wholesome food, pure air, and plenty of 
light be supplied, the benefits of shelter will 
more than counterbalance the loss of freedom. 
Confinement of animals should not be too 
strict. Some amount of exercise is indispensa¬ 
ble. The horse that is kept standing on the 
stable floor for weeks, will be troubled with 
swollen limbs, loss of appetite; will be likely to 
acquire the habit of cribbing; and when finally 
used, will over-exert himself, and then quite 
likely be laid up for a time with stiffened mus¬ 
cles. Cattle become restless and feverish from 
long confinement, and will not lay on fat, or 
give a full flow of milk, without a moderate 
amount of exercise daily. A good plan is to 
turn them loose in a sheltered yard after the 
first feeding, while the stables are being cleaned. 
Animals as well as men enjoy a change of place, 
and with these their health and comfort are 
intimately connected. 
Cure for Foot Rot in Sheep. 
A. A. Goff, Farmington, Ohio, contributes to 
the American Agriculturist the following prepara¬ 
tion for curing foot rot in sheep, which he saj's 
has been very effective in his neighborhood: 
“ Mix 3 oz. each of blue vitriol (or sulphate of cop¬ 
per), white vitriol (or sulphate of zinc), verdigris 
(or acetate of copper), and gunpowder, with k 
pint each of alcohol, spirits turpentine, and strong 
