1849. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
145 
<S!)e tktmnarg department. 
Hoove in Cattle. 
Eds. Cultivator- —-Allow me to suggest a quicker 
and much easier way of curing an animal hoved on clo¬ 
ver, Take a straw band, with a knot in the middle 
as large as a man’s fist, put plenty of tar upon it, and 
put it in the mouth of the animal, and tie it on top of 
the head, not too tight—so that she can chew it. 
Then put two or three table spoonful Is ol the tar in the 
mouth. This will relieve the animal almost instantly. 
I have cured at least twenty cattle in this simple way, 
and can cure any one in fifteen minutes at most, with 
absolute certainty , if the animal is hooved upon corn 
or rye chop, [corn or rye coarsely ground, and mixed 
with cut straw or hay,] I take a pint of lard or half a 
pound of glauber salts, and drench the bowels with it, 
I have known several cattle to be cured in this way ;— 
but never had but one of -my -own foundered,—-it was a 
cow fresh in milk. I gave her lard—-she soon got better, 
but lost her milk, and for a week or two gave but little. 
She lost all her hair; it came off in great bunches. B. 
M. Ellis. Muncy , Lycoming €fo., Pa.. } Jan, .30, ’49. 
Stretches in Sheep. 
In answer to an inquiry made in our March number, j 
we have received several articles in relation to this dis¬ 
ease, the most important portion of which we give as 
follows-; 
Mr. J. S. Pettibone, of Manchester, Vt., has lost 
several -sheep by this complaint, and. from a post mor¬ 
tem examination of most of them, he is convinced that; 
the cause is a stoppage by a part of the small intestines 
being drawn into itself,—-constituting what is called in- 
trosusception. He states that all he has examined have 
presented this appearance. He thinks it difficult to 
cure, unless taken as soon as it can be perceived from 
the symptoms exhibited by the sheep—-if delayed twelve 
hours, he says the animal may as well be 11 killed and 
put out of its misery.” His remedy is, to take a sheep 
as soon as it appears to be affected, raise it up by the 
fore legs, and move it up and down; then take it by the 
bind legs and move it in the same way. Then give it 
from half to three-fourths of a pound of lard, cut up 
into pieces of convenient size to put down its throat. 
Then turns out the sheep and gives it a smart run. 
This seldom fails to produce a cure. Mr, P. is in 
doubt as to the remote cause of the affection. He 
thinks it often attacks sheep that are in good condition 
and apparently healthy. 
In support of Mr. Pettibpne’s views, we may add 
that the editor of the Berkshire Culturist agrees with 
him as to the cause of stretches, and recommends si¬ 
milar treatment. He states that he has also given for 
this difficulty, u common squirrel shot ’’—about an 
ounce to a sheep; though a smaller quantity will often 
produce relief. A correspondent of the Michigan Far¬ 
mer states that his remedy is u simply driving about 
the sheep affected with the disease, so as to exercise 
them somewhat violently.” 
Mr. €. W. Hillman, of East Avon, N. writes 
—“ We have had more or less of stretches in our flock 
for the last fifteen years. We have tried all the usual 
remedies recommended, with little success, till we tried 
the following; Take a sharp-pointed pen-knife, and 
make an incision in the third ridge in the mouth, and 
start the blood pretty freely. This has proved an effec¬ 
tual cure in every case. As a preventive, I would re¬ 
commend one tea-cupfull of sulphur mixed with eight 
quarts of salt. Keep it by them from fall till spring.” 
Mr. Albert A. Doane, of Middle Granville, N. Y., 
writes —“ We have found in most cases, that bleeding 
at the ear would give immediate relief. We have used, 
in some instances with good success, gunpowder and 
rum, in the proportion of half a gill of rum to two tea 
spoonbills of powder. We have also tried a strong de¬ 
coction of thorough wort or boneset, made sweet with 
molasses, say half a pint to a dose; followed by an in¬ 
jection of slippery elm bark. From our experience, 
we have more confidence in this than in the powder 
and rum. As we are situated where we cannot get 
pine or hemlock boughs, we tried as a substitute this 
winter, pulverised rosin, mixed with salt, sulphur and 
ashes, and have been very successful in its use.” 
Scours in Sheep. 
Mr. Reed Burritt, of Burdett, N. Y., writes in re¬ 
ference to this disease ;— :l Late in the fall of 1837, the 
scours got among my lambs, and I was not able to ar¬ 
rest the disease until some forty of them died. At 
length a friend recommended rennet, prepared the same 
as the cheese-maker uses it to set a curd for cheese. I 
accordingly gave to each lamb that was diseased, about 
four table spoonbills, and not one of them failed to re¬ 
cover. We then prepared a quantity sufficient to soak 
a bushel of oats, and fed them in piece-meals to the re¬ 
mainder of the flock, which consisted of about one hun¬ 
dred, and the disease stopped entirely. I have used 
no other medicine for that disease to this day, and 
it has never failed of curing. I keep it on hand 
the year round; but it is seldom called for excepting in 
the fall, when the grass is frozen. I have not had more 
than two or three cases a year since 1837. An old 
sheep needs six or seven spoonbills. If they are not 
relieved in twenty-four hours, I repeat the dose; but it 
it is very seldom that I have had to repeat it. One 
thing further I entreat the shepherd to do, for the com¬ 
fort of the innocent animals; which is to tagg them. 
I am credibly informed that wheat flour and water, 
mixed to the thickness of milk, will readily cure scours 
in human or brute creatures. A piece of opium as large 
as a common chestnut, dissolved in a pint of good 
brandy, will cure the scours in a horse. I have never 
known it to fail.” 
Mr. Albert A. Doane, of Middle Granville, N. Y., 
pursues the following course, in reference to scours;-— 
“ When the cases are severe, we give pulverised char¬ 
coal, about two or three table spoonbills for a dose. As 
a preventive (and we believe in the homely proverb, 
1 an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,’) 
we mix powdered charcoal, sulphur, and ashes with 
salt, and keep the mixture in some convenient place, 
where the sheep can get at it at all times.” 
Spaying Cows and Heifers. 
Eds. Cultivator —In answer to your correspon¬ 
dent who asks for information in regard to spaying cows, 
I would say that I have practiced it for twenty-five 
years, and think I can judge with tolerable correctness 
as to the benefits of the operation. 
A spayed cow will give more milk in a year than 
when she went dry thirty, sixty, or ninety days; and 
she is ready to fatten at any time, and will take on fat 
much more readily than those cows that are dried and 
fatted in the usual way. I have followed the practice 
—(and so did my father before me)—-of spaying cows 
in the spring, and milk them two or three years, or as 
long as I please-—without the trouble that is had with 
those that are not spayed. When fatted, the quality 
of the beef is superior to that of any ox or steer, and 
fetches a higher price in market. In the town or city, 
where milk is the object, the spayed cow may, as you 
say, “ continue in milk indefinitely as to time.” 
As to the operation, it is difficult to give such a de¬ 
scription ©n paper, as would enable the farmer to per- 
