THE CULTIVATOR. 
91 
full, will produce it; and when produced it most ge¬ 
nerally brings forth death. 
While I am writing, I will mention a practice I fear 
is coming into vogue, which in my opinion is not only 
dishonorable, but calculated to do harm. It is the cus¬ 
tom of puffing certain seeds into notice, and then to 
cheat the community with them. For instance Baden 
corn was posted through our newspapers as the brag 
corn, whether as to number of ears to the stock or yield 
to the acre. Well, sir, we had some forty bushels 
brought to our country, and I do most positively affirm, 
taking the bushel I got as a specimen, there was at 
least one-fifth wholly unfit to plant, yet it cost us five 
dollars per bushel. There was not only every variety, 
from the hard flint up to the common white and yellow , 
but the nub or blossom end corn, and some of it actual¬ 
ly rotten. Again, sir, a man who has Rohans for sale 
at St. Louis, at eighteen and three-fourth cents for each 
potato, (as I am credibly informed,) says each po- 
tatoe will plant three hills, and each hill will yield one 
bushel of potatoes. What must be the size of a potatoe 
hill to get a bushel of potatoes from it? Yours as ever, 
A. H. F. PAYNE. 
N. B. Now, sir, do as you think best with this com¬ 
munication, but if you publish it, let it appear in the 
best garb you can, for I never was in the habit of writ¬ 
ing for the public. A. H. F. P. 
New Disease in Sheep, &c. 
Judge Buel —Sir—Mr. Bailey solicits information 
of your correspondents and patrons, respecting a new 
disease which has recently attacked his sheep, described 
in the May No. of the Cultivator. By the symptoms 
therein described, I should attribute the cause, to his 
sheep partaking too freely of the stock or root of some 
poisonous plant. A powerful application of quicksilver 
to the skin sometimes will produce similar symptoms. 
Treatment, blead them immediately after the attack, 
by opening the vein which lies between the innermost 
corner of the eye and nose; or bleed them in the nose. 
By the sheep’s taking the blood it answers as a mild 
purge. 
Treatment for blindness .—By the assistance of a quill, 
blow a few grains of pulverized blue vitriol into the 
eyes; or for a milder remedy add an equal quantity of 
fine loaf sugar with the vitriol. I have used the above 
with good success in removing the film from horses and 
cattle also. 
Breachy sheep .—Good fencesare the best remedy for this 
complaint; but when fencing timber is scarce, I have 
known the following application to be safe and effectual. 
Part the skin perpendicularly, about three-fourths of an 
inch, so as to expose and cut the two cords on each hind 
foot, (which are about the size of the stale to a pipe,) 
between the dew claw and hoof; a few days should inter¬ 
vene between the two operations, that one ankle may 
heal before the other is operated upon. Yours, &c. 
May 12, 1839. S. W. JEWETT. 
On the principle of fear or timidity in Horses. 
Mr. Editor —Sir— I send you the following remarks, 
trusting that you may find them worthy of an insertion 
in your periodical; for I presume that any thing that 
tends to elucidate the nature of that noble animal the 
horse, comes properly within the province of your re¬ 
marks ; although the appellation of your pamphlet is the 
Cultivator. 
It has been asserted by some authors, whose names I 
do not recollect, “that the superior knowledge that man¬ 
kind possesses, is partly owing to the power of handling 
or feeling that they have, and that were it not for this 
faculty, their knowledge of objects would be very vague 
and indistinct.” This I have no doubt is correct, for it 
is very probable that a child has but a very imperfect 
notion of objects until he begins to feel and handle them. 
A boy about a year old is frequently frightened at ob¬ 
jects, such as a bright scarlet cloak, a large dog, &c. 
and this kind of fear continues, until he acquires some 
knowledge of their nature by feeling and handling of 
them; this faculty being the great corrector of our sight. 
It is very probable that a horse is in the same situation; 
nature never having bestowed upon him the faculty of 
handling or feeling, his knowledge of objects must be 
very vague and indistinct. As a proof that this is 
the case, it may be observed, that horses are not any 
more frightened at unusual sounds than mankind are, 
and they are on about an equal footing with man in re¬ 
gard to the sense of hearing. An uncommon sound 
frightens a man as much as it does a horse ; the former’s 
reasoning powers will no doubt some times refer him to 
the sound, but at an unusual noise with which both are 
unacquainted, the one will be as much frightened as 
the other. It may be observed further in proof of my 
position, that all animals that possess the power of 
handling are more intelligent than those that have not 
this faculty. The elephant, the monkey, and the dog, 
are much more intelligent animals, than the horse, the 
cow or the sheep. A dog by jumping upon objects and 
pawing on them, acquires a knowledge of their nature 
and dimensions. A monkey can handle any thing about 
as well as as a man, and an elephant has such a nice 
sense of feeling in his trunk, that he can pick up a pin 
from the ground, and this is one reason of his great sa¬ 
gacity. A dog can travel along a great way without 
seeming to be afraid of any inanimate object, while a 
horse is continually scared and frightened at such trifling 
things as. the stump of a tree, a heap of stones, &c. 
But all this may be best exemplified by different animals 
in passing over a bridge; and as I have lived for a num¬ 
ber of years within a few rods of one, I have had fre¬ 
quent opportunities of witnessing their actions. A 
horse who is not used in passing a bridge, most gene¬ 
rally turns round on approaching it, and refuses to pass; 
he seems afraid, and acts in a manner that would seem 
to indicate that he knows nothing about the object of 
his fear, only that it has that impression on his senses, 
something like a child with a bug-bear. A cow and a 
sheep act very much in the same manner. But how dif¬ 
ferent the actions of a dog, a monkey, or an elephant. 
A dog passes over without any reluctance; a monkey 
would probably do the same. I once had an opportu¬ 
nity of witnessing the passage of an elephant. He ap¬ 
proached the bridge carefully, and put on his foot, as if 
to test its strength, and having done so, he retired.to 
one side; his fear, in this instance, did not seem to arise 
from any other consideration but that the bridge would 
not be strong enough to support him; and after his 
keeper examined the bridge thoroughly, he passed over 
without much reluctance. 
It may he stated as an objection to this method of rea¬ 
soning, that the domestic cat is an animal possessing 
the faculty of handling, and is not remarkable for any 
great intelligence. I differ very much from this opinion; 
for I consider puss as a clever animal, and she can cuff 
ears as dextrously as any of our most expert matrons. I 
have been quite astonished at what I have seen some cats 
perform, having owned one that could open every door in 
the house, almost as well as any biped in it. From 
these remarks, I think it will appear, that the faculty 
of handling is a great cause of superior intelligence 
amongst animals, and the lack of it in the horse is one 
reason of his great timidity or liability to being fright¬ 
ened. But in order to make this appear as plain as 
possible, I will state one example further. I once caught 
a species of porcupine, and on bringing it home I intro¬ 
duced it to the notice of a cat. Puss was evidently dis¬ 
concerted, but on its moving towards her, she gave it a 
smart scratch or two, and then retired. I next laid it 
before a dog. He appeared at first embarrassed, but 
mustering courage, he began to paw it, and at last he 
bit it; but on finding it pricked him, he kept walking 
around it in search of a vulnerable part. The last ani¬ 
mal I introduced it to, was the horse. He leaned down 
his head for the purpose of smelling at it. Now this 
way of smelling, although it may serve a useful purpose 
for distinguishing the animal food, is rather an awkward 
way of ascertaining the nature or quality of an object; 
and as soon as he saw the procupine move, he started 
suddenly back, and had he been at liberty, would no 
doubt have bounded off at full speed. In this instance 
the horse would never know any thing of the nature of 
the porcupine, and would be as readily frightened at it at 
any future time as ever; but the result would be diffe¬ 
rent with the dog or cat, who would probably always 
recognize it afterwards. But after all, could a remedy 
be devised for this excessive timidity in horses, and their 
liability to be frightened, it would, doubtless, be a great 
improvement. The use of blinds is an attempt at this; 
but it may be questioned whether they are of any ad¬ 
vantage, although they may prevent the animal from 
seeing so many objects at his side; yet they rather in¬ 
crease than diminish his chance of being frightened, 
from any thing coming suddenly up from behind. Hop¬ 
ing that these hints thrown out, may be the means of 
suggesting to some of your ingenious readers, a method 
by which this dangerous disposition in horses may be 
ameliorated, I remain, yours truly. 
J. GLENN. 
Morrisville, May 22, 1839. 
Canal Repairs. 
Schenectady, 1 6th May, 1839. 
Dear Sir —When the Erie canal was making over the 
flatlands at Schenectady, I remarked to the engineers, 
that in all cases where the water was to be sustained by 
artificial banks above the ground, I thought it would be 
liable to breaches, unless the banks were sheet piled. 
All such observations were treated contemptuously, 
as presumptuous from observers who did not pretend to 
make water run up hill. 
In consequence of trusting to such banks without 
sheet piling, they have been broken by the water, and 
required repeated repairs, till the amount stated in the 
report of the commissioners of the canal fund, to the 
legislature, of 3d January, 1839, under the head ^re¬ 
pairs,” is $4,284,366.24. And I presume one million 
more may be added for individual damages by detention 
in consequence of the breaches. These sums would 
make a ship canal of the Mohawk river from this to 
Utica. And before ten years more shall have elapsed, 
the cost of repairs will probably enlarge the sum suffi¬ 
cient to meet the expense of continuing the ship canal 
to lake Ontario. And yet we are to jog on, enlarging 
and repairing the artificial banks, because we began 
wrong and cannot acknowledge the error nor retract. 
The breaches in the enlarged canal will be attended 
with double the cost of repairs, and more to individuals, 
because a large sheet of water, when suddenly let loose, 
will force its way with more than twice the power of a 
small one. But the banks of the river, being ascending, 
would not break, nor would the bottom fall out, as that 
of the canal has done, to the depth of fourteen feet be¬ 
low the ground, by means of quicksand, on the flats in 
Rotterdam. Respectfully, 
__‘_ D. TOMLIN SON. 
Soap-boilers’ Waste. 
Fishkill Landing, May 27, 1839. 
J. Buel —Dear Sir—I have recently learnt that soap 
and tallow chandlers throw away annually a large quan¬ 
tity of liquid, which they call salt lye. It is possessed 
of a lyey sort of substance, and is so strong that the 
smallest quantity when applied to vegetables while 
growing will entirely destroy them. If this sort of lye 
can be made worth anything to the farming interest, 
you will do a favor by saying in what manner, in the 
next number of the Cultivator. We have a very perni¬ 
cious sort of a weed or plant among us, known to some 
by the name of snapdragon, to others by stinlc weed, 
(bears a yellow flower) which, should it continue to 
spread in our lots as it has done for some few years 
past, will render our farms almost useless. Information 
as to the course to be pursued to destroy it will be very 
highly prized by many of the farmers of Dutchess and 
Orange counties. Should you tell us how to prevent 
the ravages of the locust-borer upon the young locust, 
it will be looked upon as valuable. Yours truly. 
A FARMER. 
Remark —The lees, or salt lye, of the soap boiler and tal¬ 
low chandler, we believe, if thrown upon a compost heap, 
or sufficiently diluted with water, would serve as a fertilizing 
material in the soil. It must contain alkali, lime, and proba¬ 
bly some oil, all of which will prove beneficial to the soil. 
Urine is destructive to vegetation, if applied to growing 
plants in a fresh stale; and yet it is a powerful fertilizer when 
suitably diluted, or mixed with earthy materials, and modi¬ 
fied by fermentation. The pernicious weed mentioned by our 
correspondent we believe to be linaria vulgaris, sometimes 
denominated yellow load-flax, a perennial which spreads ra¬ 
pidly in clay grounds. The only means of extirpating it are 
those we have recommended for the extirpation of Canada 
thistles, star of Bethlehem, and other perennial incumberers 
of the ground—preventing the growth of their leaves by the 
good culture of hoeil crops. We know of no preventive of 
the ravages of the locust-borer. There are either two varie¬ 
ties of this tree, one of which is not attacked by the insect, or 
the soils in which they grow make a difference. If our corre¬ 
spondent will cross the Hudson, and visit the farm of Messrs. 
Hallock, a little below the village of Milton, he will see hun¬ 
dreds, if not thousands of the locust, of thrifty growth, v\ hieh 
are not at all affected by the borer. These prqjluce very few 
seeds.— Cond. 
Questions and Answers. 
Dover, Md. May 31. 
Judge Buel —Can your inform me who keeps hogs 
on an extensive scale, that I may get some information? 
Do you know of any kind of grass that could be cut by 
the middle of July or sooner, so as to yield a good re¬ 
turn on a sandy loam ? 
Our corn crops are coming on very finely; plenty of 
rain, though at present rather cool. I was thinking as 
soon as my wheat is cut of sowing oats on the stubble 
immediately, and plough it under so as to afford a green 
crop, on which to spread lime in the fall for corn next 
year; is it a good plan ? 
P. S. RUTH. 
ANSWERS 
For pig farmers see our advertising sheet for Feb. Lucern 
will grow on a sandy loam, if rich and clean ; and may be 
cut in Delaware by the middle of May, and will yield an 
abundant return. The oat crop after wheat may afford pas¬ 
ture, and may give some fertility to the soil, if ploughed under 
before it is destroyed by frost. 
More “ Last Words” About Millers’ Tolls. 
Rahway, May 15, 1839. 
Mr. J. Buel —Dear Sir—It would not have been ne¬ 
cessary for me to say anything more concerning millers’ 
.tolls, had not Mr. Walton’s communications appeared 
in the^ last volume of the Cultivator; as they have not 
proved that grain contains the quantity of air they have 
asserted. But since they thought proper to have it insert¬ 
ed in this volume; and as you are receiving such a mul¬ 
titude of new subscribers to every new volume, they 
will see but one side of the question; therefore permit 
me to occupy a small space in your next number with 
a final and concise review of our former controversy. I 
will commence with Mr. David Walton’s first communi¬ 
cation on this subject; he has here asserted “that in 
solid bodies there is fixed air,” of which fact perhaps 
nine-tenths of the agricultural community are ignorant. 
I will here observe, that it is hopeful that ten-tenths 
of the community may forever remain ignorant of 
this ignominious blunder of Mr. D. Walton’s: Does 
he presume to assert that nothing is solid within 
itself? if so, he must be deficient of common sense, in 
so publicly exposing his ignorance; for this has forever 
been one of the foundation stones of all philosophers, 
that every substance or matter is solid within itself. I 
will here inform him that the minuteness of matter is 
far beyond all human conception. To illustrate this, I 
will introduce him to divisibility, and here inform him 
that there can be no substance of matter so small but 
that it can be divided, and it will have an upper and un¬ 
der side. I will quote the illustrations of D. Blair, under 
the head of divisibility. “ 1st. Since matter can never be 
annihilated by division, so we can never imagine it to 
be cut into such small particles that any of them shall 
not have an upper and under surface, which may be se¬ 
parated if we have instruments small enough for the 
purpose. 2d. It would be absurd to say that the great¬ 
est mass has more halves, quarters, or thousandth parts 
than the smallest particle of matter;” to prove that every 
particle of fluids are solid, I will not presume to go be¬ 
yond the assumption of wise philosophers. I will quote 
Blair’s observations under the head of hydrostatics. 
“Obs. 1. Heat or motion is supposed to be the cause of 
fluidity: for example, ice without heat is a solid—with 
heat, it becomes a fluid in water—and with more heat 
an electric fluid in steam. In the first state the atoms 
are fixed in crystals; in the second, are thrown into in¬ 
testine motion; and in the third state, are forced asun- 
