THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
February 29 
136 
periment for results in the egg basket. A neighbor 
also tried the hotel offal rations for over two weeks 
— result, his hens ceased to lay, and four died. 
Ohio. D. D. COTTOM. 
R. N.-Y.—Too much “pure fat” in that ration. 
There is a case where lean meat would have helped. 
A Simple and Easily Made Brush Rake. — 
In The R. N.-Y. of December 28, 1895, was a de¬ 
scription of a California brush rake. We are using 
one—see Fig. 49—in our vineyard, that might suit 
some better, and it is very much simpler and more 
easily made. A man with an ax, saw, and two-inch 
auger can make one in two hours. What is needed is 
a stick of tough wood for a head piece, about five 
feet long and six inches through ; put in this three or 
four teeth two feet long and two inches in diameter ; 
and on the opposite side a handle six feet long, a little 
above a plane with the teeth. To draw with, drive 
in the ends of the head piece two heavy spikes or old 
bolts, and fasten to these some grape wire, double, 
and twisted some, and to reach out about eight feet ; 
put in a stretcher two feet from the end, fasten on an 
old whifiietree, and it is ready for use. The stretcher 
is to keep the handle off the ground when dumped. 
We raked the vines out of 20 acres in 2 % days. We 
shall try a larger one among our fruit trees in the 
spring, with two horses, to rake out the brush. 
Trumansburg, N. Y. T. H. k. 
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AILING ANIMALS. 
ANSWERS BY DIt. F. L. KILBORNE. 
An Attack of Mange in Cattle. 
)V. J. L., Alstead, N. H. —What is a cure for the mange in a herd 
of cows ? They are constantly rubbing, and have rubbed off 
large patches of hair, especially on their necks just in front of 
the shoulders. 
Scrub and thoroughly clean the diseased surface 
with soft-soap suds. To any scabs that are not re¬ 
moved by the working, apply sweet oil to soften 
them. Then apply the following wash, using a brush 
to rub in thoroughly over the whole diseased surface: 
Creolin and oil of tar, of each one ounce, soft soap one- 
half pint, sulphur one-lialf pound, alcohol one pint; 
mix. Wash off after a day or two with warm soap 
suds. A second and third application should be made 
on the third and sixth days. If thorough, this treat¬ 
ment should effect a cure. The interior of the stable 
should be whitewashed, adding one pint of kerosene 
to each two gallons of whitewash. Or the stable may 
be washed with a solution of sulphuric acid, one 
pint of the strong commercial sulphuric acid to three 
gallons of water. 
A Horse that Sweats Freely. 
F. C. /S'., Elizabeth, N. J. —Can you give the cause of, and a 
remedy for my horse sweating so easily ? I purchased him last 
fall. He is about 14 years of age, weighs about 1,200 pounds, and 
is in good flesh, sound, apparently hard, and not hog fat. I feed 
whole corn and oats, equal parts by measure, and hay, and keep 
him unblanketed in a warm box stall. He seems to feel well, eats 
well, and is not nervous. The wagon is not heavy, and the load 
never weighs over 800 pounds. He is on the road five days a week, 
and is driven from 20 to 30 miles per day, with munerous stops; 
but he sweats very easily, often standing. I allowed him one 
hour tp make 4*4 miles the other day, and he was wringing wet. 
Some mornings, it is impossible to clean him properly on account 
of stable sweat. 
Some horses, like some people, sweat very easily 
and freely, and yet are, apparently, in good health. 
I would not advise medicinal treatment as long as 
the horse is in good health, flesh and spirits. Replace 
the corn by wheat bran in his grain ration. That 
may lessen the trouble somewhat. 
Sheep With Intestinal Disease. 
A. P. F., Pennsylvania. —1. As requested by Dr. Kilborne on 
page 37,1 killed one of my poorest sheep, and made as thorough 
an examination as I was capable of doing. I found the head, 
throat and lungs sound, only very much inflamed. The lights had 
three large spots on them the color of a hog’s liver after it gets 
cold—very dark red. I found all else right till I came to the small 
intestines, which had, from one end to the other, small, very hard 
substances about one inch apart on the inside about the size of a 
kernel of corn. In color, some were yellow, just like a ripe boil, 
others were of a darker color. I cut some open, but found no 
worms. They were hard like gristle. The rest of the sheep 
are getting better. 2. My six-year-old mare had her hind leg 
jammed between two logs at the knee. She is not lame, and 
the knee is not stiff, but the leg from the body down is 
swelled as full as the skin will hold. If I -work her all day, the 
swelling nearly all goes away, but in one night the leg swells up 
again, and is very hard. This accident happened about one year 
ago. What can I do to cure her, or is there no cure ? 
J, The smal| nodules or tumors you found in the 
intestinal wall were due to a minute, round worm, 
the Oesophagustoma Columbianum, which is barely 
visible to the naked eye, under favorable circum¬ 
stances. You could not be expected to find the worms. 
They produce what is termed the nodular disease of 
the intestines. Drench each sheep with one to three 
teaspoonfuls oil of turpentine well shaken up in four 
to six tablespoonfuls of castor oil—gauging the 
quantity according to the size of the sheep. The 
disease can be prevented in part by a change of pas¬ 
ture, pure drinking water and free access to salt. 
The cough was probably due to simple catarrhal 
trouble. If the sheep are now well fed and protected 
from exposure, there will probably be no further 
trouble. 2 . Give the mare one teaspoonful potassium 
iodide crystals in the feed once daily for two weeks, 
then omit for a few days. If any marked improve¬ 
ment is shown, repeat the course of the iodide. A 
complete cure cannot now be expected, but she 
should be benefited by treatment. 
What to Do For Choking Cattle. 
G. L., Dinsrnore , Pa. —What was the matter with our heifer? It 
was very difficult for her to get her breath. When first noticed, 
she was snoring very loudly and rubbing her throat ; at times she 
seemed hardly able to get her breath, then she would feel easier 
and then struggle for her breath again. What is the best known 
way for relieving choked cattle. 
The heifer was probably choked, although your 
description is too indefinite to give a positive opinion. 
The usual symptoms of choking in cattle are, great 
distress, discharge of saliva from the mouth ; frequent, 
more or less violent coughing ; continuous efforts at 
swallowing, and tympany or bloating. There is also 
often frequent passage of dung and urine. In all 
cases of supposed choking, first endeavor to locate 
the foreign body, or in case of bloating, first gag the 
animal by tying a round piece of wood two to three 
inches in diameter, or a plow clevis in the mouth to 
keep it open. The clevis or balling iron is preferable, 
because if the body is still in the throat, you can pass 
your arm in and withdraw it. Oftentimes a swelling 
to be seen in the furrow on the left side of the neck, 
will reveal the location of the object. In other cases, 
by pressing the ends of the fingers into the neck along 
this furrow, with one hand on either side, the foreign 
body can be felt and located. Treatment consists, 
first, in endeavoring to force the body upward into 
the mouth. Failing in this, to force it gently onward, 
with a probang, into the stomach. As a last resort, 
the oesophagus can be opened, the obstruction re¬ 
moved, and the wound sewed up. This last method 
can be safely undertaken only by a competent veter¬ 
inary surgeon. Even for the use of the probang, it is 
always safer to employ a veterinary surgeon if one 
can be had. Probably more cows have been killed 
than relieved, usually by rupture or laceration of 
the oesophagus, by the use of the whip, fork-handle 
or other improvised probang, in the hands of an 
inexperienced person. If the foreign body is lo¬ 
cated in the throat, endeavor to remove it with 
the fingers, passing the hand and arm through 
the clevis or balling iron. If the body is felt lower 
down in the oesophagus, first drench the cow with a 
teacupful of raw linseed or sweet oil, then have an 
assistant, or two, one on either side, hold the head 
straight forward and low down. The operator will 
then stand on the left side of the neck, and with the 
thumb and fingers pressed firmly into the neck on 
either side, immediately below the body, endeavor to 
force it upward towards the mouth. When the sub¬ 
stance has been forced nearly into the throat, if it is 
a smooth body, it can usually be thrown into the 
mouth, by a quick jerk with the hands. In other 
cases it may be held while one of the assistants 
reaches in and grasps the object with the fingers or a 
pair of forceps. In all cases where the obstruction 
cannot be removed in this way, without danger of in¬ 
jury to the cow, I would advise putting the gag in 
the mouth and sending for the veterinarian, 
Azoturia and Scouring in a horse. 
A. If., Skaneateles. N. Y .—My 11-year-old mare, when being 
driven last July, fell down flat on her side. Afterward I had 
driven her about five miles and stopped; in a few minutes she 
began to hump her back and look at her sides, and acted as 
though she would lie down as in colic. I at once began to move 
her around, and soon she seemed easier, but acted very weak, 
and I had hard work to get her home. Her legs wabbled, and she 
acted as though she could hardly stand on them. I stopped at a 
veterinary surgeon’s on the way home; he made an examination 
and thought that the trouble was caused by an irritant in the 
stomach or bowels, and treated her for worms. He then gave oil, 
and then condition powders, after which she seemed better; but 
when I drove her, she was no better. For the last year, when 
driven, her bowels get very loose, and she sweats very much. 
Since the veterinary treated her, I got one pound of soda, one 
pound of ginger and one pound of gentian, mixed, and gave her 
a tablespoonful on each feed. She got to looking very fine, and 
in good order, but when I drive her, there is no change. 
For the scouring and bowel trouble, try the pow¬ 
ders advised for “ Scouring in a Horse,” on page 37 of 
The R. N.-Y. for January 18. The diet should con¬ 
sist of easily-digested food, given in moderate quan¬ 
tity. Do not overfeed. Light daily exercise should 
be given if possible. Rub the loins and right side 
over the last ribs with sweet oil and strong aqua 
ammonia well shaken together. Repeat the applica¬ 
tion every three or four days until the skin is well 
blistered. 
Chronic Indigestion in a Horse. 
E. P. S., Plymouth, Mass. —My horse has grown shockingly thin, 
and has a terrible internal rolling, more especially after eating 
or driving. Is it caused by worms, and what will kill them ? 
Would cotton-seed meal mixed in bran mash fatten him any? 
Give the horse six drams of the best aloes and follow 
by a bran mash. Allow no other feed. After 12 
hours, and before feeding, give the horse, as a drench, 
one pint of raw linseed oil and 2 % ounces (five table¬ 
spoonfuls) of oil of turpentine well shaken together. 
Follow with a bran mash diet until purged. Then 
give the following powders,in two-tablespoonful doses, 
on the feed night and morning : Sulphate of soda, 
two pounds ; powdered gentian, one pound ; pow¬ 
dered nux vomica, one-fourth pound ; mix. Repeat 
the aloes and oils in two or three weeks if it appear 
advisable. Cotton-seed or flax-seed meal with bran 
and oats or corn meal should improve his condition. 
Place salt in a box where the horse can lick it at will. 
When to Use Hen Manure. 
C. If, Hartford, Conn.— The R. N.-Y. stated once that stable 
manure was never better than the day that it was made. I be¬ 
lieve that it is considered a good plan to haul it out during the 
winter if the land is level. It would be a great convenience to 
me to put the droppings from my poultry houses right on the 
garden. This plan gets it out of the way. How much would I 
lose by so doing ? Is not this certainly as well as to keep it in 
barrels without any care, allowing it, perhaps, to get dry ? What 
effect has lime on the manure ? There is nothing so good to keep 
the houses clean and sweet as lime. 
Ans. —Certainly nothing is added to stable manure 
by holding it in heaps. In the ordinary methods of 
keeping it, considerable is lost by leaching or badly 
managed fermentation like “ fire fanging.” The great 
object in composting manure or causing it to ferment 
under the most fa vox-able conditions, is to make it finer, 
and render its plant food somewhat more available. 
There is little objection to putting the hen manure 
directly on the garden to be plowed or spaded under 
in the spi-ing. One advantage in keeping this manure 
over winter, is that when thoroughly dried out, it may 
be ci-ushed or ground and used with muriate of potash 
and ground bone to make a good fertilizer. This dried 
manure makes an excellent “ filler ” for a home-mixed 
fertilizer. The carbonate of lime should not be used 
on fresh hen manure if you wish to retain its value. 
This form of lime liberates the ammonia by permit¬ 
ting it to pass into a volatile form. Land plaster, or 
sulphate of lime, will “sweeten ” the house and pre¬ 
serve the manure much better than the “ lime.” 
Building a “Low-Down” Poultry House. 
Several Subscribers. —On page 41, C. H. Brewster says that he caii 
house 1,000 fowls for $300, and tells of a house that cost only $7. 
Will he tell how it is made ? 
Ans. —If you care to run the risk of having your 
poultry subscribers throw their papers in the fire be¬ 
cause a man is foolish enough to let it be known that 
he can house 1,000 hens at a cost of less than $300, I 
will do as you requested, and tell you how I can house 
25 hens for $7. First I saw round cedar rails in three- 
foot lengths, sharpen one end and drive four into the 
ground two feet, five feet apart one way and 20 the 
other, for corners. I drive others between according 
to the length of the boards 12 inches wide, to be 
nailed on inside of the posts ; 2x3 joists are spiked 
on top of the posts. For covering, I use white pine 
“ box boards” rough, which come four and six feet in 
length. I nail four-foot boards on the front corners, 
and the saw run across the middle of a few more four- 
foot ones, makes the boarding for the back. Nail 
2x3 20-foot joists to the top of these, and use six-foot 
boards for the roof. I make the house to fit the 
boards. We have a house five feet high in front, 
three feet at the back, and a five-foot floor, 20 feet 
long. I board over six feet of the east end, and place 
