212 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
June, 
that death has ensued within twenty-four hours. 
We are informed that the frequent occurrence of 
this disease in horses brought by railroad, has been 
a discouragement to that mode of conveyance. 
Without pretending to a particular knowledge of 
the circumstances, we will venture to suggest that 
the primary cause of the disease is the confinement 
of the animals in a heated and vitiated atmosphere 
in the oars. Their sudden transfer to the open air, 
or to an atmosphere of much lower temperature, 
produces the effect so well described by Youatt. 
“ The discharge from the skin is at once arrested, 
and the revulsion, or pernicious effect of the sudden 
stoppage of a natural evacuation, falls on the lungs, 
too much weakened and disposed to inflammation by 
heated air and poisonous fumes.” The first diffi¬ 
culty is probably accelerated in many instances by 
overfeeding, and want of exercise. 
As a prevention of the disease, the better accom¬ 
modation of the horses in their railroad transit, 
should be the first object. The next should be to 
feed moderately, using constant care in regard to 
the protection of the animal from the effects of 
changes of temperature, giving daily exercise, with 
good grooming. Should the evacuations from the 
bowels indicate constipation, the administration of 
simple cathartics will be safe. A dose of Epsom or 
Glauber’s salts—half a pound to a pound, accord¬ 
ing to the symptoms—may be given. But in a dis¬ 
ease of so important a character, it will be safest, 
when it makes its appearance, to entrust the animal 
to the care of a skillful veterinarian. 
Ringbone. 
Eds. Cultivator —In a preceding number of 
The Cultivator , I discover a number of communica¬ 
tions on the subject of ringbone in horses. I have 
been in the habit for the last fifteen years, of opera¬ 
ting on horses for this complaint, which has caused 
me to notice what kind of horses are most afflicted 
with it, and I find those that are the longest jointed 
are the most numerous subjects. Seldom do I see 
one on a French horse, and never, with but one ex¬ 
ception, on a mule. Hence the careful necessity of 
attending to this particular point in breeding. 
The causes of ringbone are numerous; such as 
standing on a hard floor, running in the pasture, 
leaping fences, and in horses of mature age, being 
put to heavy loads, &c., &c. These causes produce a 
leakage, and the sinova, or juice of the fetlock joint 
issues into a bladder or spongy substance at the back 
part of this joint, and it is from thence conveyed by 
two conductors down on each side nearly to the edge 
of the hoof, where it becomes ossified and gradual¬ 
ly increases until it forms what is very justly called 
a ringbone. 
I extract this spongy substance, or bladder, taking 
particular care at the same time to cut the convey¬ 
ors off'—thus stopping the escape of the sinova. 
In answer to “W.” in your March number, as it 
respects all operations not being equally as success¬ 
ful, I know of no reason why they should not be, 
provided they were skilfully done. I know of no 
cases where I have operated, but what have proved 
equally successful under similar or like circumstan¬ 
ces. Where the complaint has been of long stand¬ 
ing, and as a natural consequence, the hoof has be¬ 
come much contracted, of course the lameness will 
not be cured until the hoof arrives at its natural 
state. If the complaint occurs in a colt, and the 
operation is performed as soon as the bunches are 
perceptible, he never will be lame at all. 
But I have known many instances where the ope¬ 
ration did no good at all, and what is still worse, 
entirely ruined the animal. Hence the necessity of 
the operation being performed by one skilled in the 
art. I know much prejudice exists against this 
mode of treating the ringbone; but I know it will 
effect a cure if performed rightly, as many instan¬ 
ces attest the fact. S. G. Cone. Unadilla, March 
15 , 1850 . 
®l)e JFarmer’s Nok-3Sook. 
Jersey or Alderney Cattle. 
Eds. Cultivator —In your May number you say 
you are not aware that any person has imported the 
“Improved” Alderney cow, from Jersey. Col. 
Le Couteur, last year, did me the favor to select for 
me one of the best and highest grades of the pure 
Alderney breed. She certainly is a fine cow, and I 
would not sell her for two hundred dollars. I have 
also the pure Alderney stock, imported by my late 
friend N. Biddle, at a cost of two hundred dollars a 
head. My four year old bull I consider perfect. I 
have also, three of the pure Alderneys imported by 
Dr. Physick, of Germantown, with which I am as 
much pleased as with any of my stock, and presume 
I have as large a herd of Alderneys as any man in 
the country • and this I am satisfied with—that any 
one who can keep one cow, and wants good milk for 
the use of his family, ought to have an Alderney. 
R. L. Colt. Paterson , N. J. 
We are glad to hear that Mr. Colt has introdu¬ 
ced a cow of the improved Jersey or Alderney va¬ 
riety. We think it will prove a valuable dairy 
stock. At a meeting of the Council of the Royal 
Agricultural Society, in April last, Col. Le Couteur 
made some observations on these cattle, which are 
worthy of attention. He referred to the scale of 
points (see last No. of this paper,) for deciding the 
relative merits of animals. He said the system had 
worked well, and that during ten years he had been 
secretary to the Jersey Society, he had never known 
a case of absolute dissatisfaction. In reference to 
characteristics, he remarked that 11 the cows which 
had the inside*of the ear tinged with a deep yellow 
color were invariably found to yield butter of 
a rich orange color, while those with ears of a light¬ 
er tint furnished butter of a correspondingly inferior 
quality, and of a paler hue. In the finest stock, 
too, the eye of the cow was soft and placid, while 
that of the bull was lively and full of fire. The ‘ac¬ 
tion’ of Jersey cattle also indicated not only their 
muscular power and their mode of employing it, but 
that general conformation and adaptation of parts 
which constituted excellence: a finely bred Jersey 
animal, Col. Le Couteur remarked, ought to w’alk 
off the ground like a race-horse.” 
In reference to the term Alderney, which has 
been applied to the cattle of the Channel Islands, 
he said the island of Alderney had belonged to his 
great-grandfather, who introduced into it great 
numbers of the Jersey cattle, but which, from the 
inferiority of the pasturage, soon deteriorated, and 
at the present time there was scarcely an animal 
in Alderney that he would think worth purchasing. 
He said many animals were passed off as of the true 
Jersey breed, such as those from Normandy and 
Brittany, some of which were ol a black and black 
and white color, and very interior to the genuine 
Jersey stock. The best cows of this breed, in the 
flush of feed in May and June, had given sixteen 
pounds of butter a week. 
