288 
AMERICAN AGEICTTLTTIEIST. 
[ J UNE, 
A Broom-corn “Seeder.” 
powers of nature than upon physic in the 
treatment of disease. Still drugs must play 
their part, only their use should be governed 
by reason and common sense. As auxiliaries 
to the administration of medicine, a proper 
regard should be paid to the diet, ventilation, 
and exercise of the animal. A complete 
change of diet, especially in the spring, is 
often of great service to stock who appear to 
be out of condition. 
For the horse that has lost its appetite, is 
hide-bound, and otherwise “out of sorts,” 
nothing acts better than bran mashes, which 
should be always made with boiling water. 
These are laxative, afford some nutriment, 
and serve to assist the action of purgatives. 
An old writer on this subject remarks: “ As 
a food, mashes are remarkably soothing, 
and emollient. It is like keeping the fat 
and gouty patient, who has had more than 
his share of the good things of this life, on 
turnips, or on bran, or on sawdust pudding.” 
Mashes may be also made of oats, malt, lin¬ 
seed, barley, and other grains, after being 
bruised or ground. Poultices and fomenta¬ 
tions act through the heat and moisture 
which they impart, whatever may be the 
substances employed. They should be always 
light, of proper consistence, and not applied 
too hot, or bound on too tightly. To prevent 
evaporation, oiled silk or India rubber cloth 
should be placed as an outer covering. 
Dr. D. D. S. 
Relation of Texture to Fertility in Soils. 
BY li. P. MORTON.* 
A proper mechanical texture in soils is 
essential to fertility. On the texture of a soil 
depends, not only its suitableness for the 
growth of different crops, but likewise the 
rapidity of their growth. It is this also which 
regulates, to a great extent, the soil’s power 
of absorbing and retaining heat, moisture, 
and manure. To be fertile, the soil must be 
firm enough to afford a proper degree of sup¬ 
port to the plants which grow in it, and yet 
loose enough to allow the delicate fibres of 
the rootlets to extend themselves in all direc¬ 
tions. It must be of such a texture as to al¬ 
low the free access of air, without which 
plants cannot live; and it must be close 
enough to retain, for a considerable time, the 
water which falls on it, and, at the same time, 
porous enough to allow the excess to drain 
away. In this respect, the nature of the sub¬ 
soil and the depth of the surface soil are 
both of them important. When a soil rests 
immediately upon a bed of rock or gravel, it 
will be naturally drier than where the subsoil 
is of clay and marl. On the other hand, a 
clay subsoil may be of material advantage to 
a sandy soil, by enabling it to retain moisture 
longer in dry weather. 
For the fertility of a soil depends not only 
on its composition—not only its wealth as a 
full storehouse of what the growing plant 
needs as food, but on its efficiency as a labor¬ 
atory in which the materials thus required 
are prepared for use. And it is in its rela¬ 
tions to the water which is the great carrier 
to and fro of the ingredients which are at 
once the chemicals in this laboratory and the 
food in this storehouse, that the efficiency of 
a soil in both these characters, and therefore 
its fertility, very materially depends. Unless 
♦Author of the “ Soil of the Farm,” which will soon 
he issued in this country by the Publishers of this paper. 
there be a sufficiently free passage for the 
rain-water throughout the substance of the 
soil, neither will the food of plants be proper¬ 
ly prepared, nor the stationary roots of 
plants be fed. It is in the great change thus 
introduced into water-logged soils by land 
drainage that its extraordinary power as a 
fertilizing agency depends. 
The relative fertility of a soil is further de¬ 
pendent on the climate wherein it lies. Dis¬ 
regard of local conditions as to rainfall, tem¬ 
perature, aspect, hight above the sea, and 
other necessary circumstances, may lead to 
very erroneous estimates of the value of soils. 
They may be the same in composition and 
texture, and yet differ greatly in value. 
Nothing is more certain than that the amount 
of rain, and the season of its descent, deter¬ 
mine in a great degree the nature of the hus¬ 
bandry of the place, and the value of its soil 
for agriculture. The temperature of the air 
in any particular locality has an important 
bearing upon the actual productiveness of 
the soil, whatever may be its composition and 
texture, and however propitiously the rain 
may fall upon it. Other things being equal, 
we should expect that sheltered situations, 
with a good southern aspect, would be those 
in which we should find the capability of any 
given soil best exhibited. But though soil 
and rain and duly-tempered warmth favor 
us, these and many other considerations be¬ 
sides, may fail to determine, in every case, 
whether this or that plant may be grown 
within particular limits. That also depends 
on the presence or absence of its proper food, 
and it is here that art is available for meeting 
the defects of nature. 
A Holder for Grain Bags. 
The accompanying engraving shows a 
form of bag-holder that “A Subscriber” has 
BAG-HOLDER. 
used with satisfaction. The hopper, to the 
lower end of which the grain-bag is sus¬ 
pended by hooks, is adjusted so it can be 
raised or lowered upon the standard. Any¬ 
one familiar with the use of carpenter tools 
can make this holder in a short time. 
Mr. J. S. Neuschwander, of Bluff ton, Ohio, 
sends us a sketch and description of a method 
of removing seed from broom-corn, which is 
both simple and cheap. To make a good 
“ comb” take 11-inch plank of timber that is 
not liable Fo split. Make the teeth 12 inches 
long, uniform and smooth, leaving the cor¬ 
BROOM-CORN “SEEDER.” 
ners sharp. The comb may be from one foot 
to 18 inches wide. Fasten it on any solid 
bench, and the “ seeder ” is ready for use. 
Give Them More Food and Better Care. 
BY PROF. D. 1). SLADE,, HARVARD UNIVERSITY. 
Depriving stock of necessary food is un¬ 
doubtedly the result of ignorance or thought¬ 
lessness, rather than wilful cruelty. I have 
known instances where cows, not in milk, 
and young stock, have been kept during the 
winter months in a condition bordering upon 
starvation, and that, too, by individuals not 
wanting in moral and intellectual qualities. 
If such persons would employ a small amount 
of reasoning power, they would see that such 
a policy was not for their pecuniary advan¬ 
tage. It is a well-ascertained fact that if 
young animals, especially young neat stock, 
are allowed to lose strength from want of 
proper nutrition at any time, it requires so 
long a period for them to recover, that the 
loss by such treatment far outweighs any 
slight gain obtained by the difference in the 
amount of food saved. Fortunately the hu¬ 
mane laws passed in most of our States may 
serve to remind the careless and indifferent 
of their duties towards the brute creation. 
Blaine, one of the most sensible and dis¬ 
tinguished of modern veterinarians, remarks: 
“By following the dictates of nature as 
closely as circumstances will allow, we shall 
best fulfill her intentions in the preservation 
of the animals entrusted to our care; but it 
must not be overlooked that art must also be 
counteracted by art, and as luxury and com¬ 
merce have introduced artificial habits and 
exactions, as well among our animals as our¬ 
selves, so these must be taken into the ac¬ 
count.” By providing for the comfort of our 
domestic animals, by giving proper food, 
shelter, and protection, and opportunity for 
exercise in the open air and sunshine, we 
best fortify them against disease. The dis¬ 
eases to which they are subject under the 
above circumstances are comparatively few, 
and with the exception of certain contagious 
affections, are amenable to proper treat¬ 
ment. Great progress has been made by the 
diffusion of useful knowledge through means 
of the press, by the establishment of veteri¬ 
nary colleges, and the agricultural schools. 
It is only by the greater diffusion of knowl¬ 
edge that we can hope to overcome the cre¬ 
dulity which entrusts such vast pecuniary in¬ 
terests as are involved in the treatment of 
disease, to unskillful, ignorant charlatans, 
