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®he goi[Sfiman. 
THE HOESE DISEASE. 
Some of the Preventives and Remedies 
Recommended. 
The preventives and remedies for the 
horse disease which is afflicting horses all 
over the country are multiplying with 
great rapidity. We copy some of those 
which have come to our notice. 
The symptoms in the New York stables 
are a cough, a running at the nose and gen¬ 
eral fever. with a strong disinclination for 
food. 
In some stables tar is fed the horses by 
putting it on their tongues and making 
them swallow it, at the same time rubbing 
the throat with sweet, liniment. 
Steaming, by putting vinegar on a hot 
brick in a bag, and compelling the animal 
to iuhalo the steam, is another mode of re¬ 
lief adopted. 
In Rochester, rest, warmth, a mild laxa¬ 
tive, the free use of disinfectants, with lib¬ 
eral sponging of the nostrils and mouth, are 
regarded as the true remedies to be resort¬ 
ed to in all cases, 
Taylor’s Compound Horse and Cattle 
Food has beou used in some of the stables, 
and is regarded valuable in all cases of cold 
and affection of the throat. It is given 
both in the feed and water. 
Bromo-Chlonilum, sprinkled in tlic sta¬ 
ble, and the manger washed with it (diluted) 
to purify the air, and the mouth and nos¬ 
trils washed with it to arrest the discharge 
and prevent the spread of the disease, is re¬ 
garded excellent, both as a preventive and 
remedy. 
About Rochester, where the disease has 
prevailed to such an extent that the street 
cars stopped running, the livery stables 
closed, and the country people come to the 
city only by steam, it is asserted that the 
only fatal cases are those in which bleeding 
has been resorted to. 
It is stated that in England, where this 
disease is not uncommon, sulphur is used 
as a prophylactic, and is a certain cure. A 
few ounces of common sulphur are burned 
in a pan of coals five or six times daily, in 
the stables, so that every part shall become 
fumigated. The animals are, at the same 
time, well cared for and blanketed. It is 
asserted that this simple remedy never 
fails. 
Mr. F.. H. Roomer, a homeopathic veteri¬ 
narian, who has charge of the 2,00) horses 
belonging to the Third Avenue railway 
stables, regards this as an epidemic, and 
not an infectious disease, lie stales it to 
be a kind of diphtheria, which may cause 
the death of an animal in three hours, iiis 
treatment is to administer five drops of 
aconite and use plenty of purgatives, 
which cause the animals to revive from the 
comatose state into which they fall an 
hour after they are attacked. The aconite 
removes the spasms. 
Dr. F. Mink, a veterinary surgeon of 
Rochester, furnishes the Democrat of that 
city the following, which ho calls an epi¬ 
zootic : “ I think it cannot properly be re¬ 
garded as a ne.w disease. It is clearly a 
form of influenza that has occurred fre¬ 
quently in the United States, as it often 
has in different portions of Europe. Three 
forms of influenza arc spoken of by veter¬ 
inary authors—the catarrhal, rheumatic, 
and the gastro-orysipelatous form. 
“The, disease which is now seizing so gen¬ 
erally the horses of this city Is plainly of a 
catarrhal character. The first notable symp¬ 
toms will be a flow of tears from the eyes, a 
watery discharge from the nose, and gener¬ 
al languor. Next a cough, which, becoming 
more frequent, will soon occur in par¬ 
oxysms. In the commencement thu mem¬ 
branes of thu nose will be found pale or of a 
leaden color, and those of the eyes present¬ 
ing a yellowish or reddened appearance. 
Many cases are ushered on with a chill. All 
this is soon succeeded by a general feverish 
condition, manifested by heat of month, 
membranes of the eyes and nose reddened, 
pulse frequent, though soft and easily com¬ 
pressed, respiration quickened and some¬ 
times laborious. At this stage the bowels 
may be sluggish, urinary organs inactive, 
and the discharge from the nose often as¬ 
suming a yellowish or greenish appearance. 
“The disease usually ruus its course with¬ 
in ten days, and with proper treatment, few 
if any cases ought to prove fatal. Those that 
do so are usually complicated with other 
diseases, as bronchitis or pneumonia. 
“ Treatment—The patient should be ex¬ 
cused from all labor and allowed complete 
rest. The stables should be clean and well 
MOOBE’S BUBAL NEW-Y0B31EB. flOV. 2 
ventilated. Disinfectants may be useful 
and in some cases necessary. Father of the 
following will answer:—Carbolic acid, sul¬ 
phate of iron, or bromo-chloralum. The 
patient should be properly groomed, and 
the nose, and eyes frequently sponged with 
water, and the limbs, if cold, bandaged. 
The drink should have she chill slightly re¬ 
moved, but not enough to make it warm 
and unpalatable. The diet should be light 
and of a laxative nature; say short feed or 
bran wetted or scalded, with a little salt ad¬ 
ded. Hay in limited quantities may be al¬ 
lowed. 
“ In regard to remedies, 1 wish to say that 
heroic treatment should not be tolerated. 
Blood-letting, cathartic nauseants, and ar- 
, terial sedativos are all of them either inju¬ 
rious or uncalled for. Next, whatever med¬ 
icines are administered should not be given 
in the form of draughts or drenches, hb the 
animal is sure to be thrown into a paroxysm 
of coughing the moment a drench is at¬ 
tempted, and some of the medicine will in 
such event bo almost sure to find its way 
into the windpipe and bronchial tubes, 
thus inducing fatal bronchitis or pneumo¬ 
nia. Balls should not be given, as they will 
be coughed back or out, and the irritability 
of the throat will be increased in attempt¬ 
ing to pass them over with the hand or fin¬ 
gers. Powders are well-nigh useless, aR 
when mixed with the food the patient will 
usually refuse both food and powders. 
Electuaries, sirups or pasteB are the only 
forms in which medicines may be safely 
and successfully administered in cases 
where the throat is tender and irritable and 
coughing easily induced. 
“Saline medicines I regard as the most 
useful iu this disease. Either of the follow¬ 
ing will answer: Chlorate of potash, mu¬ 
riate of ammonia, or hyposulphite of soda. 
As an anodyne to relieve the cough fluid 
extract of belladonna may he added. The 
proper dose of either of these medicines 
may bo rubbed up with two or three ounces 
of honey or molasses, and these poured in 
the mouth from a small bottle or placed on 
the tongue with a spoon. (I iven in this way 
the medicine will he readily lapped up 
and easily swallowed. But little trouble is 
required to give it, and no danger of getting 
any medicine in the trachea will be incurred 
by this method." 
Gen B. S. Ro HERTS, U. S. A., writes that 
in 18C8 a disease similar to this which now 
prevails, broke out at Fort .Sumner, New 
Mexico:—At first it defied all treatment, 
and the great majority of horses attacked 
by it died. On examining the throats of 
the dead horses, I found the lining mem¬ 
brane of the larynx highly inflamed and 
thickened, and a thiekmneous pus filling it, 
causing suffocation. 1 ordered all horses, 
on the first appearance of the disease, to be 
thoroughly rubbed between the lower jaws 
and along the larynx down the neck with 
spirits of turpentine, causing a very severe 
external irritation and blister. 
1 saved every horse thus treated, and in a 
very few days entirely broke the distemper 
and checked the epidemic. 
I do not doubt that thousands of horses, 
where this epidemic prevails, can be saved 
by adopting this treatment. It acts more 
quickly as a counter-irritant than any other 
remedy 1 know, and relieves the fever of 
the membrane iff the larynx in a very few 
hours. Besides, spirits of turpentine is al¬ 
ways at hand, and can he more readily ap¬ 
plied than any other counter-irritant. It 
should be thoroughly rubbed in through the 
hair to the. skin, for n distance of some 
twelve or fifteen inches, under the jaws and 
down the neck of the horse, immediately 
over t he larynx. The remedy is severe, and 
makes the skin sore for several weeks, and 
for an hour causes great suffering to the 
horse. But it acts prom]illy and effective¬ 
ly, and in my judgment it will be found the 
best, and perhaps the only cure for this 
fatal malady, causing such suffering and 
loss among horses t hrougliout I ho country. 
A, Liantard, Y. S., says:—'There is m 
the treatment of the present epidemic a 
very essential point to be taken into con¬ 
sideration which relates to the hygienic at¬ 
tendance of the affected animals. Rest, as 
soon as affected, is essentia), as if the ani¬ 
mal is kept, at work 1 lie disease will pro¬ 
gress and may prove fatal iu a few hours. 
This is a part of the treatment I think vet¬ 
erinarians ought to insist upon very 1 irmly. 
Good hygiene by the proper and comforta¬ 
ble temperature of the stables, blanketing 
according to the condition of the ambient 
atmosphere, handaging of the extremities 
after a good hand-rubbing; wiping of the 
nostrils with vinegar and water is also rec¬ 
ommended. Feeding of course requires 
much attention and eureful handling, and 
warm gruels, scalded mashes, and oats 
mixed with flaxseed may bo used, iu a few 
cases roots, carrots, turnips, or fruits may 
be given, according to the condition of the 
bowels. 1 would also highly recommend 
proper ventilation, cleaning of the stable6, 
of manure-pits, whitewashing of the sta¬ 
bles, and the free use of disinfectants. 
cdijttht dj-nrp. 
SOILING CEOPS. 
Mr. Harris Lewis, at one of the recent 
State Fair Discussions, at Elmira, talked of 
soiling crops as grown in connection with 
grasses for dairy purposes. We copy from 
a report of what lie said, which we find in 
the Country Gentleman:—In a true dairy 
district grass can he grown more cheaply 
than any other feed, hut as an adjunct he 
had found lucerne to bo the best of all soil¬ 
ing plants on land adapted to it. It likes 
best a sandy or light soil, and if there is 
water eight inches or so below it, so much 
the better. Its habit, too, is to monopolize 
the soil or leave it. Sown broadcast, it re¬ 
quires 18 lbs. per acre—iu drills, from 10 
toll. He preferred broadcast seeding. It. 
is highly relished by all stock animals, and 
will make four growths a year, each of two 
feet or more, and it can be out as easily as 
rye. There is one piece of lucerne in Oneida 
County which had grown 108 inches in one 
season. It will not produce quite as much 
milk as some of the natural grasses, but. no¬ 
body will object to the quality of the milk. 
Next for soiling purposes, ho prefers 
orchard grass. For convenience it had bet¬ 
ter be sown near the burn, on underdrained 
and subsoiled land. Sow at least three 
bushels per acre—better more than less. 
Fertilize near the surface, and not deeper 
than the cultivator will work it; nlnke the 
ground rich— 'OC'r'y rich—and seed in the 
fall. After the first year you can cut St 
twice, and after that four times, if you 
keep it rich. Surface manure—there is no 
danger from evaporation—he did not think 
it would exceed 2 per cent., at any rate. 
Cut before it fairly gets into blossom; if 
not, it quickly changes into woody, fibrous 
matter. On rich land, when well estab¬ 
lished, two feet of growth can he obtained 
at a cutting. It comes on, too, when the 
cows need it, and before you can gel feed 
for them from fodder corn. Always cut 
before it blossoms, and if you don’t need it 
just then, cure it for feed in the early 
Spring, and your second cutting will even 
yet be earlier than sowed corn. This first 
cured cutting will be dried grass, not “h:i} T ,” 
and no cooking is needed to improve it, but 
some roots fed with it will supply all the 
succulence needed. H ad done better with 
the dairy in March in this way than any 
dairyman in Herkimer County. 
From an experience of 25 years he had 
found that no roots equalled the Ameri¬ 
can improved imperial sugar beet; it was 
a long name, but some of the roots grow 
long also. He had raised 44 tons to the 
acre, and it comes nearer to supplying the 
succulence of grass than anything lie knew 
of, and at the cheapest rate. As to the 
amount to feed, he was governed in part 
by tie character of the cows; a peck, on 
the average, does well, but some will take 
half a bushel. 
Next to this sugar beet in value was the 
Yellow Globe, and for young stock, the 
Mammoth Red. He once bought a tooth¬ 
less old cow for §21, giving about two quarts 
of milk daily on a feed of hay and grain. 
He gradually changed her food to roots, 
(sugar beets), and in two weeks her yield 
rose to 50 lbs. of milk daily, and she made 
700 lbs. of cheese that season, while the 
average in Herkimer county is less than 
BOO lbs. He kept the cow five years, iu 
hopes to raise a heifer from her, but unfor¬ 
tunately her calves were “ all of the other 
sex.” He finally sold her for the same 
price she cost him, and on a change of feed 
she died soon after. But anybody else 
could do as well as ho had done, and one 
point was to weed out all the non-paving 
cows iu the dairy—and in a dairy of thirty, 
there would usually be several such con¬ 
stantly draining the profits from the good 
cows. Give them away, or hire some one 
to take them. Give your good stock all 
the good grass they will eat, furnish com¬ 
fortable quarters, plenty of light and air, 
treat them as kindly as you would your 
family, and you may expect to do well. 
But it is ruel to feed old, woody, fibrous 
hay, which a cow cannot digest nor assimi¬ 
late. Grass, grass, and plenty of it, is what 
your cow needs. 
In answer to questions, Mr. Lewis said 
the beets should be sown just as soon as 
the ground was in good order. They will 
not run to seed the first year, though car¬ 
rots will. Can get a second growth of or¬ 
chard grass by the last of June. Don’t 
think frequent changes of pasture are good. 
Lucerne does not change rapidly to woody 
fibre. In seeding to clover he prefers the 
large kinds. * 
Mr. F. D. Curtis preferred the small 
kinds of clover for pasture or hay. The 
value of grass was in its foliage, not in its 
stalks. The large kinds had few side stems 
or leaves until late in the season, a long 
and worthless stalk and a small head. For 
enriching the land the large kind is the 
best, as the roots go down in proport ion to 
the top. But it does not start as early as 
the small kinds, and is wasteful for bay; it 
lodges, rota, and furnishes a mass of mate¬ 
rial of little use. As to orchard grass, it 
has great value for soiling; it will stand 
drouth better than anything he knew of, as 
it has a great mass of fibrous roots going 
down several feet. Still two cautions are 
necessary as regards meadows—It ripens 
too early to be grown with timothy, and 
when too ripe, it is almost worthless for 
fodder, and hence should be sown by itself, 
and cut by the last, of May or first of June. 
For permanent pasture it la one of the most 
valuable grasses known; he had a field of 
ten acres, on which he had had to .seed tim¬ 
othy and clover every other year, but it. is 
now in orchard grass for the sixth year, 
and had yielded more this year than ever. 
The other caution is that it is a delicate 
plant to start. For a permanent meadow 
he lmd sown one bushel of clover seed, one 
of timothy and live of orchard grass; sow 
the last of August or first of September, 
and cover lightly. The clover and timothy 
will disappear after a few cuttings, and 
leave the orchard grass alone. A bout not 
changing pastures frequently, he agreed 
with Mr. Lewis; he would regulate the 
number of cattle to the size of the field, 
and keep t hem there. Ho believed also in 
top-dressing; frequent surface manuring 
will even keep clover growing year after 
year. Ten years ago a piece of liis farm 
was heavily dressed with sheep manure, 
and it was growing excellent clover now. 
Mr. Reeder advocated seeding both kinds 
of clover at the same time, as more pasture 
would lie obtained in that way. 
Mr. Hoffman suggested the Spring seed¬ 
ing of grasses without seeding with grain. 
He had succeeded well in that way. 
VINEYAED NOTES. 
Plaster of Paris as a Manure for 
Vinofl.—I have a large quantity of grape¬ 
vines planted in the open ground, and 
trained on poles and wires along the gravel 
walks. In planting these 1 had the holes 
dug tit) inches deep; 1 then threw into each 
hole five or six lumps of old plaster of 
Paris, about the size of my fist. I threw a 
little earth over these lumps, and then 
planted the vines in the usual way. The 
result has been wonderful; the vines which 
were not half an inch thick when planted 
three years ago, are now two inches and 
more iu diameter, and bear finely. The 
grapes are also freer from disease. Other 
vines, not so treated, are much smaller and 
produce less, the fruit being also more lia¬ 
ble to disease. To try the effect of this 
plaster, in planting two American black 
Walnuts, we put plaster to the one and not 
to the other. The former grew twice as 
fast as the other. Last year we dug about 
the roots of the one to which no plaster 
was put, and we throw in seven or eight 
large lumps of plaster among the roots; 
the trees are now both of the same size, 
and though only four years old are 10 or 17 
feet high.—P. P., Italy, in Garden. 
“ Sam Miller ” Grape is a name given by 
Maj. Frea.s to a grape which Sam Miller 
says “ is a hybrid, between Golden Chussc- 
las and Concord; is hardy, vigorous, healthy 
and very productive, and 1 think good. 
There were bunches a foot tony, but be¬ 
tween birds, bees, wasps, hornets, ete., the 
bunches are all spoiled. I am convinced 
that I can grow it to weigh three pounds to 
a bunch." Maj. FreAs received specimens 
of this grape and says:—“The grapes sent 
us were too far decayed to pass an opinion 
upon them. Only two berries, the flavor 
of which had been much interfered with by 
the rotten ones, were left to give us any 
idea of the quality of the fruit. The color 
was a grayish-white, the fruit larger than 
the Concord, and so far as we could judge 
waspulpless, which is a great consideration. 
The quality we should say was at least very 
good, and the stranger seemed to promise 
well. If the vine should prove hardy, after 
additional trial, the bunches anything like 
promised size, and the productiveness and 
quality as claimed for it, we canuot see 
what is to hinder it from taking its place iu 
the front rank of out-door grapes.’’ 
