242 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
August. 
Otlier Stoclc on the Place, 
Our host’s flock of sheep, mostly, I think, of South- 
down grades, numbered three hundred. As to swine, 
after trying Sussex, Essex, Chester County, and two or 
three other sorts, he had pitched upon the Berkshires 
as the best bacon makers. A convenient building, 
constructed of stone in ten compartments, would ac¬ 
commodate 80 or 100 hogs. They are only raised to 
a sufficient extent, I understood, to supply the demand 
for the workmen on the estate—little being sold from 
the farm, except the Devons, some wheat, and a 
few score of fattened steers, together with the surplus 
from the sheep flock. 
Fourteen or fifteen horses are employed in farm work, 
and Mr. Patterson has some breeding stock in this de¬ 
partment of considerable value. A three-year old 
blood colt called Sultan, by Childe Harold, was, among 
several others, examined at length by our company. 
He stands full 16 hands high, and was remarked as 
very good in most points which horsemen esteem—long 
in the arm and short in cannon, beautiful in the pas¬ 
tern, which is neither too long nor too short; wide be¬ 
tween the eyes, and tery gentle and intelligent in ex¬ 
pression ; with an excellent back, graceful and spirit¬ 
ed action, and the promise of a sufficient modicum of 
speed. One bright morning when only eight months 
old, he cleared three post and rail fences in succession, 
while in frolicsome humor, and when he comes to be 
broken will probably show that he has lost little of his 
activity. We also saw a fine old horse now upwards of 
27, seventeen hands high, which for 15 years was in Mr. 
Patterson’s constant service as a saddle horse. 
In respect to the different kinds of cattle, Mr. Pat¬ 
terson makes a distinction between the words race and 
breed , defining the latter as a cross of races. Thus he 
spoke of the Scotch polled cattle, the Herefords, and 
the Devons, all of which possess a marked uniformity, 
as races , while Short-Horns and Ayrshires he ranked 
as breeds . 
-o-©-*- 
Treatment of Cows with Weak Backs. 
Messrs. Tucker & Son —Mr. John Flint of Brook¬ 
lyn, inquires “what he should have done to save the 
life of a valuable cow,” which was troubled with weak¬ 
ness in the hind parts after calving. One year ago 
last spring, I had a similar case. One of my cows 
calved in the pasture, and at evening I put the cow 
and calf in the stable together, both apparently very 
well. But the next morning when I went to see them, 
the cow made several ineffectual efforts to get up, 
but could not, apparently owing to weakness in her 
back and hips (as she would readily raise upon her 
knees.) After I found she could not get up alone, I 
endeavored, with the assistance of several men, to 
raise her by means of placing a wide piece of cloth 
under her, and attaching it overhead to the joists by 
ropes. But all my efforts failed to relieve her, and I 
concluded she would die, and left her on a bed of straw. 
But it was suggested to me to bathe her back with 
wormwood steeped in vinegar. I did so, putting the 
liquid on as hot as the hand could bear it, rubbing it 
in well on the back and hips, and especially just for¬ 
ward of the hips. The bathing and rubbing (with a 
cloth) were repeated a number of times, and the next 
day the cow got up without assistance, and has done 
well ever since. Alonzo Green. Lancaster , N. Y. 
Draining Stiff Clays. 
Messrs. Tuckers —If your correspondent D. W. J., 
(see Co. Gent. June 24th, p. 401,) would read my ar¬ 
ticle (see Co. Gent. June 10th, p. 369,) over again, and 
attentively, I believe, in place of thinking himself a 
little witty, he would think himself a little soft—but 
the only experience I have had in digging into soils to 
judge of draining, out of this county (Seneca,) was in 
his county, Niagara. I will tell him how I found it 
there. A gentleman a few years ago wrote me, re¬ 
questing me to go there and give him my ideas re¬ 
specting some fields he wished to improve. When I 
went there, I found the surface very wet from a heavy 
shower that had fallen a few hours previous, but I 
thought there would be no difficulty in draining it, and 
went right to work to aid the owner in staking out a 
number of drains. Next morning I went to take an¬ 
other look at what we had done, intending to return 
home after breakfast, but great was my surprise, to 
find the surface of the fields still very wet, while no 
more rain had fallen. At my request the gentleman 
placed a number of men and spades at my service to 
examine the subsoil. A few inches below the surface 
I found a stiff blue clay for about ten inches deep, and 
as impervious to water as so much iron. Underneath 
that blue clay, I found a red clay, apparently imper- 
.vious to water, but as water could not get through the 
blue, I could only guess at that, and after spending 
the greater part of the day with five men digging 
holes from four to five feet deep, I found I knew no 
more how such land could be drained than a man who 
had never seen a drain dug. I advised the gentleman 
to try a few experiments by digging a few ditches as I 
laid them out, and plowing as deep as possible with 
subsoil plow, but to get no tile until he saw if he could 
get a run of water. He paid my traveling expenses, 
treated me very kindly, and I have heard nothing 
from him since. 
Now if your correspondent’s soil and subsoil is simi¬ 
lar to that soil, I would advise him to feel his way cau¬ 
tiously in draining. Certainly no man would be fool 
enough to dig ditches and lay tile, if there is no water 
to carry off. John Johnston. 
-« ©e- 
How .to get a Rain G-uage. 
Answer to “N.” (Co Gent. June 10th.)—To make 
a good, cheap rain guage, go to a tinsmith and get a 
cup made four inches in diameter and eight inches 
deep. Before soldering it together, and after cutting 
out, take an engineer’s or surveyor’s rule and mark the 
inches and tenths with a scratch awl, commencing at. the 
bottom of the cup—make the marks for inches one inch 
long ; and tenths one-quarter ditto—the half inches 
might be half an inch long. When the cup is sol¬ 
dered together, you will have the measure on the in¬ 
side so that you can see the exact depth of rain which 
has fallen at any time. Take a piece of two inch plank 
one foot square ; set the cup on the center and drive a 
nail through each corner of the bottom (which should 
be square and the cup round, thus leaving the corners 
of the bottom projecting ;) set it in the garden or field, 
away from the fenee and trees, and after e-very shower 
turn out the water to prevent rust. If made of cop¬ 
per, such as stove boilers are made of, the guage would 
last a lifetime. Cost of a tin one, about 50 cents; 
copper, about $1. D. A A. n. 
