364 
AMERICAS' AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
cats, rabbits, geese, fowls, pigeons, etc. To complete 
these, the Prince of Wales has sent her ladyship some 
white rats and mice. AH the farm servants have light 
hair, and we suppose they are dressed in white clothing. 
We do not hear whether carriages, wagons, carts, plows, 
and other implements are painted white, but to be con¬ 
sistent, they ought to be, as well as all the buildings 
and fences outside aud furniture within. The great 
White Jackass in Spain is as precious as a Barb horse of 
the purest blood. We wonder Lady Abingdon does not 
add one of these to her domestic stock of animals. 
Blackberry Wine—Syrup—Root. 
A correspondent in a Southern State has great faith in 
the efficacy of blackberry wine, and begs us, as the fruit 
ripens very early with him, to send a recipe by mail, as 
one in the paper will reach him too late. The juice of 
the blackberry has a small amount of astringency, and 
■whether the fruit itself be eaten, or its juice converted 
into wine or syrup, its effect, if any, will no doubt be 
favorable in bowel complaints. The astringency, which 
is not sufficient to be disagreeable to the taste, is alto¬ 
gether too slight to be of much value medicinally. The 
reputation of the blackberry as a remedy in various 
bowel complaints, depends upon the astringent proper¬ 
ties of the root. The “ Blackberry-tea,” so much used 
in domestic practice in various parts of the country, is 
made not from the berries, but from the root. The root 
is not only employed as a family remedy, but our most 
skilled physicians find that, in chronic cases, it is most 
useful, and agrees with the stomach when other medi¬ 
cines will not be retained. We have known obslinate 
cases of the “ army diarrhoea ” to yield to this simple 
remedy when other medicines had failed. Those who 
wish to avail themselves of the remedial properties of 
the blackberry, should make use of the root. It does 
not appear that there is any perceptible difference in the 
roots of the several species; those of the running and 
bush forms of the blackberry have the same properties. 
As one or more species is to be found in every part of 
the country, a useful and inexpensive remedy is every¬ 
where at hand. The usual method of preparing it is to 
add an ounce of root to a pint and a half of water, and 
simmer slowly until reduced to a pint, and strain. The 
dose of this tea for an adult is a wineglassful; for a 
child, one to three teaspoonfuls. While it is preparing, 
bits of orange-peel may be added, to give a pleasant 
flavor. This tea was much used by the surgeons of both 
armies in the late war with great success, and it is now 
much employed by physicians. If desired, a syrup of 
the root may be prepared, to be kept at hand for use. 
Four ounces of blackberry root and one drachm each of 
cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, are gently simmered for 
an hour in a quart of water. The liquid is then strained 
off, and two pounds of sugar added. When cold, add a 
wineglassful of brandy, and bottle for use. The dose 
for a child is a teaspoonful, and for an adult a table¬ 
spoonful. As to blackberry wine, the usual process for 
other fruit juices may be followed. To a gallon of the 
berries, well bruised, add a quart of boiling water. Al¬ 
low these to stand for twenty-four hours, stirring occa¬ 
sionally. Then strain and press out the juice, and add 
two pounds of sugar to each gallon. Place the liquid 
in a jug to ferment. The jug must be kept full by add¬ 
ing from time to time some of the juice kept for the 
purpose. When fermentation ceases, cork the jug, and 
keep in a cool place three or four months, after which 
the wine may be bottled, carefully pouring it off from 
the sediment. Of course, larger quantities may be 
made with the same proportions, in a cask. 
Pure Water for Hogs. 
The swine plague was alarmingly frequent a quarter 
of a century ago, though fifty years ago it was unknown. 
At present it prevails among unimproved swine, and is 
a great drawback to profitable swine raising. Foul wa¬ 
ter is the most potent cause in the development of 
the disease, which may be largely prevented by pro¬ 
viding pure water. The hog is the only farm animal 
which will readily drink impure water; before doing 
this, cattle, sheep, and especially horses, will suffer 
great thirst. A hog is frequently indifferent to the 
quality of his drink, and this is largely, if not altogether, 
a matter of bad education. Supply a hog with pure 
water, and it will soon despise that which is foul. 
Swine are subject to the same laws that govern the 
health of other animals. Vegetable and animal matters, 
in a decaying state, when introduced into the system, 
are detrimental to health. Such matters are readily in¬ 
troduced with water, being taken directly into the 
stomach, soon pass to the intestines, etc., and become a 
source of disease. Experience and observation have con¬ 
vinced us that a large per cent of swine disease is pro¬ 
duced by the disease germs being carried into the stomach 
in foul water. It is now believed that this, and many 
other diseases, are due to minute organisms, so low in the 
scale of organic life, that it is difficult to say whether 
they are vegetable or animal; they are known by the 
general name of “ disease germs.” The vitality of 
these germs is not great, except when preserved, as it 
is in water containing organic substances. In the wa¬ 
ter of pools, ditches, and ponds, their vitality is pre¬ 
served for some time. If hogs are forced to drink such 
water, they take into their bodies the seeds of disease. 
In many parts of the Eastern States, the brooks 
and creeks are fed by springs, and consequently 
their water is pure, cold, and wholesome. They will 
afford good water for hogs or any other animal. But 
over a larger area, particularly in the West, the creeks 
are not fed by springs, but formed of surface water. 
After rains, the waters rush along, laden with a sedi¬ 
ment, consisting in part of decaying vegetable and ani¬ 
mal matters. They soon recede into slimy, stagnant 
pools, rich in malaria and pregnant with disease. In 
such localities, the swine raiser must wholly depend 
upon wells. In some cases, well water may be as un¬ 
wholesome as that from ponds and sluggish creeks. To 
be reasonably pure, the well must be fed by a spring or 
subterranean stream, and should be banked up well with 
clay around the curb, so that no surface water can enter. 
In August, hogs suffer the most from unwholesome 
water. During this month they require much water, and 
it is more essential that it be pure than during any other 
time of the year. The sun is hot, the air dry, the earth 
parched ; the hog has a compact body, formed largely of 
fat, small lungs imbedded in masses of flesh and fat, and 
with its nostrils near the ground. It inhales dust, which 
in part consists of decaying vegetables. Everything 
conspires to produce a feverish state of the body, and a 
great thirst, to be allayed only by large quantities of 
cold water. But water from creeks, ponds, and the like, 
are at this season the most heated. The greatest fatal¬ 
ity among swine is in September and October. As the 
period from the inception of the disease to its fata! ter¬ 
mination is from thirty to forty days, it would appear 
that the disease germs are most often taken into the 
body of the animal in August. 
Shall we Prune in Autumn? 
To the above question, which comes from several 
subscribers, we say decidedly, yes, provided the 
question applies to newly planted trees, those set 
last spring, or within a few years. The sooner 
such trees have their final shape given to them, the 
better. This should have been done when they 
were planted, but between the hurry of spring 
work and the timidity of the inexperienced, who 
are afraid to cut, trees are quite too often set out 
just as they come from the nursery. Such trees 
must sooner or later be put into their final shape 
for bearing, and the sooner this is done, the better. 
Some books on fruit culture, the French especially, 
give diagrams to show how the tree should be 
shaped. These are well enough as suggestions, 
but as no two trees grow precisely alike, the only 
guides in such matters are, a general idea of the 
laws which regulate tree growth, and common 
sense in their application. Working to pattern can 
not be followed. If one has a young orchard, the 
first point to be considered is the hight at which 
he will make the heads of his trees. In localities 
where the summer is long and hot, it is claimed 
that low heads shade the trunk, and thus are a 
benefit. Others wish to have the heads high 
enough to allow of the passage of teams beneath 
them, if need be. While there is no objection to 
cultivating crops in a young orchard, and indeed it 
is better to do this than to neglect the soil entire¬ 
ly, the practice is becoming more general of seed¬ 
ing the bearing orchard to clover, and using it as a 
pasture for swine, to the mutual benefit of pigs 
and trees. The hight of the heads being decided 
upon, all branches that start below this should be 
removed. The next point should be, to secure an 
open and well-balanced head, with the main branch¬ 
es evenly disposed. Beyond this, all branches that 
crowd, or cross one another, all “water shoots,” 
vigorous growths, that sometimes start up in the 
growing season, should becut away. The season’s 
growth being completed, the removal of branches 
at this time will cause no check, and as the branch¬ 
es to be cut away are all small, no large wounds 
will be exposed. Hence we say, by all means do 
such pruning in autumn, while the weather is mild, 
and other farm work is not pressing. 
Improvement of Jersey Cattle on their 
Island Home. 
We are pleased to be informed that a few at least 
of the breeders on the Island of Jersey, have de¬ 
termined to improve their cattle in a common sense 
way. Led off by a foolish fancy, dictated to them 
by foreigners, they have been half ruining their 
cattle for years past, by paying too much attention 
to worthless fancy points, instead of to that which 
is most important, namely, the largest economical 
production of butter for the amount of food con¬ 
sumed. A plan of this improvement is sketched 
by W. Philip le Brocq, of Jersey. He says : “Every 
endeavor is now on foot to secure an authentic 
butter record of some of our best dairy cows. 
Printed forms of butter records are being delivered 
by the committee to the members of the Associa¬ 
tion, which will need to be signed before a magis¬ 
trate of our royal court, as a guarantee of their 
accuracy, before they are accepted by the Society. 
They will then be entered in a record book, with 
the original, and copies will be sent direct from the 
Association on application. Any intending pur¬ 
chaser visiting the Island, will receive all the 
assistance he needs from the Society. ” The above 
strikes us as being a better plan for adoption 
in the United States, than any we have yet seen 
proposed here. It would require only a little 
additional labor, and a trifling extra expense to 
the Jersey breeder, to keep a record of the pro¬ 
duction of one, or more, of his cows, take this to 
the nearest justice of the peace, or judge of a 
court, make oath to it, and then forward the same 
to the Secretary of the American Jersey Society, to 
be entered in a separate book kept by him especial¬ 
ly for this purpose. This book should be held 
open for the free inspection at all times of any 
member of the Society, and the records should be 
published monthly, to be furnished to all appli¬ 
cants, by their paying a moderate annual subscrip¬ 
tion for the same. Some may fear.that deception 
will be practised occasionally by a person furnish¬ 
ing a record. If so, he perjures himself; and we 
presume would be amenable to the law for so 
doing. Tet even if he were not, perjury is no light 
crime, and would be so disgraceful when found 
out, as it surely would be sooner or later, that the 
most brazen-faced scoundrel would long hesitate 
before committing such an outrage on the Society. 
The plans we have seen hitherto proposed to be 
adopted here, do not strike us favorably. The one 
is for a committee to be appointed by the Jersey 
Society, to call on the owners of the cows to be 
tested, take them under their own care for a week or 
longer, and see to their feeding, milking, skimming, 
churning, and weighing. This would be very ex¬ 
pensive and tedious, and few men capable of con¬ 
ducting such an oversight, and reporting the trial, 
could be found to engage in it. The other plan pro¬ 
posed is for all cows to be sent to a certain place for 
trial, to be carried on by a stationary committee ap¬ 
pointed for this purpose. But cows sent away to a 
strange place, will not often feed as well, and be as 
contented and quiet as at home, for a considerable 
length of time. They would consequently not only 
lose in the production of milk, but also in its quali¬ 
ty. Hence the trial of them under these circum¬ 
stances would be a very unfair one. Moreover, 
the risk of sending a cow from home is consider¬ 
able, and those possessing such as are of high 
value, would not be willing to take it. Herd books 
record without hesitation all pedigrees sent them 
by the breeders of stock, in accordance with the 
rules for entries. They rely on the owners of the 
animals alone for the evidence of the breeding,, 
which is a necessity of the case ; for who else ex¬ 
cept the owner can know anything about it, if he 
pleases to keep the facts entirely to himself? Jersey 
breeders are thus trusted in sending in their pedi¬ 
grees, precisely the same as all others. Now if a 
man is to be trusted in this, unaccompanied with 
an oath, shall he not be in the much less important 
record of milk and butter production with an oath ? 
In common fairness and credence we think so. 
