380 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
substance at their uniting edges, that it was next to an 
impossibility to determine with any degree of accuracy, 
its relative thickness. 
These birds are esteemed as a palatable food, and for 
the period of three weeks that we remained at this Island, 
they were daily served at mess for both officers and crew 
of the ship. Upon examining the contents of the sto¬ 
machs of several of these birds, we almost invariably 
found them distended with the bones and partially de¬ 
composed relics of a small species of Cliipea (Herring,) 
which range along this coast in immense shoals from the 
cold waters in the regions about Cape Horn to the imme¬ 
diate vicinity of the tropical line. These cormorants 
dive and swim well, pursuing and securing their prey 
while in the water; ascending in the air to devour it, 
which they do with the greatest facility, tossing it up and 
catching it again as it descends, they swallow it almost 
instantaneously in a head foremost direction. From their 
prodigious numbers, their voracious appetite, and ex¬ 
ceedingly rapid digestion, a very large amount of these 
fishes are daily consumed by them. After having thus 
gorged themselves with food, they retire to their usual 
resting places on some projecting headland or rocky 
islet in the sea, where they remain for hours together, 
with outspread wings, until digestion has completed its 
course, when they again proceed to sea to renew the pro¬ 
cess. It is at such times that the Guano is so copiously 
deposited. 
This species of cormorant has a great geographical 
range, being found along both continents, from the fro¬ 
zen regions of the north, to the antartic sea, and of course 
are not uncommon along our whole Atlantic board, but 
in consequence of the frequent and copious rains which 
fall in these latitudes, the guano is unable to accumulate, 
being dissolved and washed away almost as rapidly as it 
can be produced. 
Penguins likewise, have frequently been mentioned as 
contributing largely to the formation of guano, but from 
the peculiar habits of the various species of these birds 
it will be readily seen that but a comparatively small por¬ 
tion of this substance can justly be attributed to them. In 
the warm climate of the Peruvian coast where this ma¬ 
nure chiefly abounds and where rains are seldom, if ever 
known to fall, these birds are relatively of rare occur¬ 
rence, but gradually increase in number in proceding to 
the south, until the antartic seas are reached, in the cold 
waters of which, they in the greatest profusion are found, 
being not unfrequenily observed, covering the surfaces 
of its numerous icebergs which are every where to be 
seen drifting along at a rapid rate by the power of the 
winds and the velocity of the currents. 
These birds are also of an aquatic nature, spending the 
greater portion of their existence in the open sea, visit¬ 
ing the land only for the purposes of molting, hatching 
and rearing their young, which certainly does not exceed 
three months in the year. In the high latitudes where 
Penguins most abound, guano is exceedingly scarce. 
From the facts here stated, and the circumstance that 
no piscivorous birds are so numerous in the regions 
where guano is found in the greatest profusion, as the 
Phalacrocorax graculus , I consider myself fully justified 
in the conclusion, that it is by these birds that this truly 
valuable manure is almost altogether produced. 
DISEASE IN CATTLE. 
Mr. Tucker —I would like to inquire of yo-u or some 
of your correspondents respecting a disease by w hich I 
lost a cow last winter, and also of another by w'hich I 
lost a heifer this summer. 
The cow at the time she was taken sick was nearly fat 
enough for the knife; she had been fed from the com¬ 
mencement of winter, (say almost the middle of Nov.) 
with barley meal, at the rate of about three quarts per 
day, the remainder of the time, (one month,) with plenty 
of hay, and water once a day as much as she would drink. 
She was kept in a close stable, (excepting when out to 
water,) and well bedded with clean dry straw. The first 
symptom of disease manifested, was about the middle of 
January. She first refused to eat her usual meal; her 
food was withdrawn, excepting hay, for one day; she was 
then fed lightly, and appeared to be fully recovered; in 
about twelve hours after, she Was as usual turned out to 
water, when she refused to drink and appeared to be cold; 
trembled very much, manifested a desire to go into the 
stable, frothed a little, and discharged a good deal from 
the nose; her eyes, and the inside of her mouth were 
red. She was immediately housed, and having the ap¬ 
pearance of suffering from a cold, she was kept warm, 
and treated as follows: first, about half a pound of Ep¬ 
som salts was given, followed by a strong decoction of 
Cayenne pepper and ginger, well sweetened with molas 
ses. This failing to open her bowels, about one quart 
of melted lard with one pint of molasses, were given; no 
effect; two quarts of soft soap were then given; the 
above were all given as drenches, as also one half pint 
of castor oil, all within two days; at the same time, the 
syrenge was freely used with warm water and melted 
lard, and also soap-suds, but all with very little effect. 
She passed but little dung, and that little of a natural ap¬ 
pearance; passed water freely; the slabbering, the dis¬ 
charge at the nose, the redness of the eyes «nd mouth 
constantly increasing, and also a great difficulty of respi¬ 
ration, with an uncommonly offensive breath. She refu¬ 
sed to eat anything during the whole time, excepting a 
little bran mash well salted, and drank but little; as no 
effect was produced, but little was done after the third 
day: at the end of the fourth day she died; when she was 
opened, her lights were of nearly as dark a color as her 
liver, and entirely filled with a bloody froth; the maw 
was quite hard, not having been passed by any of the 
cathartics administered. 
The heifer which I lost, was taken sick about the 20th 
of July when she was in very good condition; her pas¬ 
ture was bottom land partly inclined to be boggy, with a 
stream of good water passing through. Her first symp¬ 
tom was an attempt (as I thought,) to pass fseces, attend¬ 
ed with straining and great pain; about a quarter of a 
pound of Epsom salts was administered in gruel; no ef¬ 
fect; in three hours, half a pound more; the next morn¬ 
ing appeared rather better; the straining continued 
through the day, when half a pound more of salts was ad¬ 
ministered; no effect; the heifer appeared lively, contin¬ 
ued to feed well and drank freely for four days, when 
she died. When she was opened, her maw was very 
hard, and to appearance had passed nothing for several 
days; the bladder contained no water, but was very much 
swollen and the inside was quite rotten, as also were the 
passages connected with it. Now I would like to know 
what would have been a proper course of treatment in 
these cases, so that I may be prepared for similar ones 
in future. Yours, &c. L. Hartman. 
SORE TEATS. 
Mr. Tucker —During the past summer, a friend of 
mine in this place, who by the way is a practical and 
observing farmer, received reports that his cow’s teats 
were very sore, to which he applied lard, cream, and 
'other softening applications, none of which afforded re¬ 
lief; on the contrary, the soreness increased. He then 
directed his laborers to mow all the bushes, weeds, and 
grass, in and about the fields and fences of his pasture 
grounds, that were high enough to reach the cow’s teats, 
premising they might be scratched by thorns, or poison¬ 
ed by noxious weeds. Still no success. The teats grow¬ 
ing more inflamed, and becoming nearly covered with 
raw sores, he then went through his fields personally to 
see if the bushes and weeds were all cut, which he found 
done to his satisfaction. He then gave up the case as be¬ 
yond his knowledge. Some of the cows he was com¬ 
pelled to desist milking. Subsequently, in walking 
through his fields during a warm afternoon, he observed 
his cows quietly standing in a pond, wisping their tailsat 
the flies, with their teats reaching the water, upon which 
he discovered a large number of leeches, (H’rudo,) such 
as are found in most ponds of standing water. The mys¬ 
tery was at once solved, and the pond lowered by drain¬ 
ing; since which, there have been no complaints of sore 
teRts; S. Y. 
Oyster Bay, Queens Co., October 12, 1844. 
