THE CULTIVATOR. 
23 
b^teiinarji 5De|)ariittent. 
ABORTION CAUSED BY SMUTTY OATS. 
It is well known to medical men that there are vari¬ 
ous substances which will produce strong contractions of 
the womb, and are sometimes used in midwifery to ef¬ 
fect this purpose. Of these substances, ergot, or the 
horned or smut rye, is the most common, and its fatal ef¬ 
fects, where it occurs on the grasses, as it sometimes does, 
renders \ts pernicious effects well known to farmers. But 
it seems not to be generally known that smut in oats 
should be classed with the most active of agents belong¬ 
ing to this class. 
We find in the Tennessee Agriculturist, an interesting 
account furnished by Francis Gordon, of the effects of 
smut in oats, in the case of four mares owned by Mr. 
Denny, of Tenn. The whole -were fed on corn and fod¬ 
der during the winter, and did well. About the first of 
March, they were fed with cut oats, of which fi’om one- 
foarth to one-third were smut or black heads. “ One 
mare soon lost her colt, and continued to exhibit signs of 
labor pains for several days, till she died. A short time 
after, two others lost their colts, and continued to make 
apparent efforts to foal, showing uterine contractions for 
ten days. They reduced in fiesh rapidly, till Mr. Denny 
informed me of the circumstance, when suspecting smut 
to be the cause, I advised him to discontinue oats as a 
feed. He did so, and the mares soon began to recover.” 
Why did not the fourth mare lose her colt also? Be¬ 
cause she was not fed on oats. She has brought forth a 
colt at the proper time. A gelding and two oxen were 
fed on the cut oats during the whole time and all did 
well. This was because they had no womb to be acted 
on by the smut. Why did Mr. Denny’s oats produce 
abortion, while other farmers have fed their mares on 
oats without such misfortune? Because Mr. Denny’s 
oats had between one-fourth and one-third of black heads, 
while theirs were probably better oats. Why did the 
mares continue to show signs of powerful uterine con¬ 
traction after they had lost their colts? Or why did the la¬ 
bor last so long? Because they were continually fed with 
the same oats; and therefore every new meal produced 
new labor pains. But when the two last mares were put 
upon fodder instead of oats, the womb was no longer 
stimulated to contract, and they immediately recovered.” 
Dr. Gordon thinks it very probable that many of the 
cases of abortion in mares, Avhieh have been ascribed to 
‘^clover, flax seed, beef sblood, swimming in water, &c.” 
as well as those cases in which mares after being sent to 
a stallion for the whole season, have proved to be not 
with foal, may be traced to this cause. However this 
may be, the facts stated are sufficient to put farmers on 
their guaj’d against feeding breeding mares with smutt)' 
oats. 
SICK HOGS. 
The diseases and treatment of domestic animals, must 
necessarily claim the attention of the farmer. Sick hogs, 
I have been informed, could not be cured, and when they 
would not eat, there was no hope. In consulting Lou¬ 
don, similar opinions were expressed, and last autumn, 
when one of my neighbors lost three hogs by sickness, I 
began to think the general opinion was correct. But in 
Oct. 1842, I was led to draw a different conclusion, the 
following case being the first in which I had acted as 
hog doctor. The circumstances were minuted at the 
time, and you have them as entered in my memorandum 
book. 
October 5th, 1842. This morning a young half breed 
Berkshire sow, with a litter of seven pigs five days old, 
was discovered to be sick, and refused to eat. No cause 
for her sickness is known, unless she may have eaten 
something among the sea weed, half a cart load of which 
Was thrown into the pen yesterday. Had been fed upon 
swill made with bran, or ground corn and barley, and 
buttermilk. 
About ten o’clock, A. M. let her out of the pen, when 
she appeared to be blind, would turn around in a circle, 
or run against the fence, or any obstruction before her. 
Turned her into a field of grass, when she kept moving 
around in a circle, with her nose to the ground, without 
eating the grass. Offered some buttermilk which she 
would not take. 
Conceiving the disease to be in her head, I cut off the 
end of her tail, and slit her ears to bleed her, to which 
she made no resistance and no outcry. 
After wandering about the lot until noon, the tail still 
trickling with blood, caught and threw her down to ad¬ 
minister some medicine. Drawing her mouth open with 
a rope, the following dose was given, mixed with molas¬ 
ses, and made thin enough with water, to be easily pour¬ 
ed down: 
Recipe —Calomel, a tea spoon full. 
Powdered jalap, two tea spoons full. 
Sulphur, one tea spoon full. 
Ginger, one tea spoon full. 
Her paps being full and hard, put the pigs to her, but 
she took no notice of them, and kept moving as before. 
In the afternoon had spasms, drawing her mouth and 
neck to the right side. Now thought that we should 
lose the sow and her litter, as the pigs were too young 
to feed. In order to save a part of them, however, three 
were given to another sow, which littered on the same 
day, and had pigs so much like them, that after being to¬ 
gether a few minutes, we could not tell them apart. 
In the evening the animal was no better, and the me¬ 
dicine had not operated. Caught her again, and poured 
down her throat, without much resistance, (as she had 
become weak and hardly able to stand,) a quarter of a 
pound of Rochelle salts, dissolved in warm water. 
October 6th. The medicine has operated, and this 
morning the animal has improved; taking some swill, 
and during the day, some soft nubbins of corn. In the 
evening, rather languid and eating sparingly. 
Oct. 7th. In the morning much better. In the after¬ 
noon well and lively as ever, eating her allowance, and 
taking care of her pigs. 
Nov. 10th. The sow and her pigs all alive and doing 
well. Richmond. 
MANAGEMENT OF HORSES. 
Messks. Gayeoud & Tucker —I send you my expe¬ 
rience and observations on the treatment and manage¬ 
ment of Horses. As there is no animal that contributes 
so largely to the comforts of man, as the horse, it is high¬ 
ly important that we undei'stand their proper treatment. 
With regard to the Colt Distemper, my practice is, 
whenever they show signs of that disease, to feed them 
tar; which I do by taking a small paddle, and with it 
putting the tar down about the root of the tongue and 
back teeth; this done a few days in succession, has al¬ 
ways proved an effectual cure. 
With regard to Botts, I only say with a writer in the 
Cultivator, keep the bott nit shaved off of your horses. I 
offer this advice from an experience of 40 years. 
One of the most necessary arts in raising horses, is to 
understand castrating; but before I commence, I must 
say to my brother farmers, throw away all your tradi¬ 
tional customs, such as your iron clamps, hazle sticks, 
searing irons, tallow candles, fat pork, cording twine, 
and a number of other operations, that only serve to toi'- 
ment and disable the animal. It is astonishing that such 
practices have continued for so many centuries. Throw 
the horse in the usual way, and with as little exercise 
for the horse as possible; after making him secure, with¬ 
out any further preparation, I proceed to extracting the 
castings precisely in the ordinary way of altering a pig, 
taking care not to cut across the veins, and to be very 
careful to scrape the cord of the casting off, instead of 
cutting it square off; this will prevent too much bleed¬ 
ing. I then apply a little salt and lar<l to the wound, 
rubbing a little lard on the loin to prevent cold; but do 
not know that those precautionary measures are necessa¬ 
ry, for I have had them do equally well without using 
anything but the knife. In this waj^, horses will stif¬ 
fen or swell but very little, and require no after appli¬ 
cations, and in a few days they are fit for use. If they 
show too great a disposition to bleed, keep them from 
exercise for 24 hours. 
Let me say to all who have skittish horses, cut off your 
blinds, and if your horses scare at a leaf, let them see 
that it is only a leaf. A horse is a reasonable animal, 
and if he has a chance to look around him, he is not go¬ 
ing to run Unless something shows a disposition to hurt 
him. If drivers would take the precaution to turn a horse’s 
head quick towards the danger from which he cannot 
be reined, and let the animal see his danger, he would be 
as ready to shun the danger as his driver. Two years 
since, I had a pair of horses that would runaway at eve¬ 
ry unnatural touch or noise, until I cut off the blinds of 
the bridles, and they have never runaway since. To test 
the truth of this, put a blind bridle on a skittish ox, and 
he will be almost unmanageable. Respectfully, your 
agricultural friend. Clinton Shattuck. 
Oalena, III. 1842. 
RELIEF OF CHOKED CATTLE, 
Messrs. Editors —Some two or three yeai’s ago, I 
began to feed potatoes to my cows, and the first time I 
fed them one of them got choked, and bloated like a 
bladder. I took my knife and stuck it into her, just for¬ 
ward of the hip bone on the left side; the wind poured 
out; the bloat went immediately down; I turned her out 
of the stable, and she went to the field. After some two 
or three hours, I went to see her; she was lying down, 
and the potatoe was lying on the ground before her. 
Some two or three days after, I had another cow choked. 
She went through the same process, and with the same 
result. Sometime after that, one of my neighbors called 
on me, and said one of his best cows was choked with a 
potatoe. I went with him and tapped her as before de¬ 
scribed. I found the hole inclined to stop up by the mov¬ 
ing of her skin. I took a goose quill, cut off both ends, 
and put it into the hole; the bloat went down, and I left 
her. Two or three days after I saw him, and he told me 
she threw out the potatoe after two or three hours, and 
was well. I have since fed a good many potatoes, and 
no accident has happened. I am of the opinion that this 
is the surest and most expeditious way of relieving dumb 
beasts, as well as the safest; at least it is the best way 
that I Imow of. Try it. p. Otis. 
Galway, Saratoga co. 1842. 
Messrs. Editors— Your correspondent Richmond, 
(p. 200, vol. IX,) by consulting a surgeon, will learn 
that his method of operating on male animals, is more 
painful than it need be. The spermatic cord consists 
parts, viz: an artery, a vein, and a nerve. 
When a surgeon operates, he passes a ligature by means 
of a crooked needle, around the artery only, without in¬ 
cluding the nerve, which is the seat of feeling, and ty¬ 
ing it will cause great pain, which will continue until 
the cord rots off. The nerve can be distinguished from 
the blood vessels, by feeling like a cord when squeezed, 
also being lighter in color. C, H. Tomlinson. 
Schenectady, Dec. 12, 1842. 
anb tlje QDrfljarb. 
SECOND BLOSSOMING OF FRUIT TREES. 
The past year, (1842,) has been remarkable for the 
numerous instances of second blossoms, and in some 
cases fruit, which have occurred on fruit trees, particu¬ 
larly the apple. In one instance in Missouri, the se¬ 
cond crop matured, but this must be considered a very 
rare occurrence. By a number of the Gardener’s Chro¬ 
nicle, edited by Prof. Lindley, we find that this second 
blossoming has not been confined to this country. He 
says in a reply to a correspondent, “ there are many 
freaks of nature which we cannot understand or explain. 
Among them is the unusual circumstance of an apple 
tree (with apples on,) blossoming again at this season 
of the year.” 
In the cases which have fallen under our notice, this 
second blossoming could be clearly traced to injuries 
which the foliage of the tree had suffered. In the one 
case, the leaves and fruit were mostly stripped from the 
trees of an orchard by a hail storm, leaving them almost 
as sear and dry as if they had been scorched by a flame. 
In a few days new foliage began to appear, flowers on 
most of the trees showed themselves, and young fruit, 
and that which was mature, was afterwards to be seen 
on some of them. In another instance, one-half of an 
apple tree full of flowers, was stripped completely by 
the common caterpillar, which devoured both leaves 
and blossoms. Some of the branches thus stripped, af¬ 
terwards showed many flowers with the new foliage 
that covered them, but it was too late in the season for 
the fruit to form, or at least to reach any considerable 
size. In these instances, the defoliation of the trees 
produced the same effect that their hybernation during 
the winter does; and the temporary check their func¬ 
tions received, was followed by similar results of new 
leaves and flowers. We once saw a branch of a com¬ 
mon cherry tree covered with white blossoms, while 
the rest of the tree was loaded with fruit nearly ripen¬ 
ed. An examination showed that the branch had re¬ 
ceived an injury, which by preventing the circulation, 
had doubtless in the same degree retarded the blossom¬ 
ing. In this case, the cause was somewhat different 
from that of the apple trees. Here it was simple re¬ 
tardation ; in them injury caused a temporary suspen¬ 
sion of the functions, and their renewal was followed 
by the same results which follow their annual winter 
suspension. 
The fact that the blossoming of fruit trees may be re¬ 
tarded, may be turned to good account in those places 
where fruit is liable to be killed by late frosts in the 
spring. A layer of snow around the trunk, covered 
with straw, or the refuse tow of flax, will retard the 
blossoming of trees for two or three weeks, and to that 
extent lessen the danger from frost. Nature sometimes 
performs this effect on a great scale. The southern 
margin of Lake Ontario is an instance of this. It is well 
known that this tract of country is one of the best in the 
state for fi-uit, and this is in a great degree to be attri¬ 
buted to the influence of the lake. During the winter, 
this great body of water is cooled nearly to the freezing 
point, and as its temperature rises slowl)^ in the spring, it 
has the effect of lowering the temperature of the air 
near it, and consequently of retarding the blossoming of 
fruit in the same degree. The destruction of the young 
fruit by spring frosts, is a thing there almost or quite 
unknown. The good effects of the lake are felt to an 
equal degree in the fall, as the heat of such a mass of 
water is given off gradually, and thus late fruit attains a 
maturity and perfection, unchecked by frost, elsewhere 
rarely gained. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —I send you a descrip¬ 
tion of a hand plow, which if properly constructed,will, 
I think, be found to answer very well in loose soils. It 
is not intended for stiff land. Its construction is similar 
to that of the shovel plow so generally used in this re¬ 
gion of country, with a wheel attached to the end of the 
beam in front. I do not now recollect the dimensions 
of the one which I formerly made, nor do I consider it 
essential, as each one can proportion it to suit his own 
fancy. The cut (fig. 11,) will give you a crude idea of 
its construction. Let a. be dressed out to the thickness 
of 2| inches, and three feet in length, to the lower end 
of which, let the shovel g. be attached with a screw. 
Take two pieces of scantling 3 feet 8 inches in length, 
one inch in thickness, and four inches in breadth, for the 
side pieces b. b., and bore a large auger hole through 
one end of each, for the wheel c. to revolve in, and attach 
the other two ends to the sides of a. Construct a wheel 
c. 32 inches in diameter. The handles e. e. may be 3 or 3| 
feet long, with sufficient breadth and thickness to give 
strength. Mortice a hole through a. 1 by 1| inches. 
Then dress/, so that it will fit the mortice exactly when 
divided equally. By boring holes through the handles e. 
