241 THE CULTIVATOR. August 
medium,) by what means the joists which support the 
chamber floor and partitions above are sustained, in the 
“ laborer’s cottage/ 7 figured and described in the Janua¬ 
ry number ? And also, in what part of the frame 
“ braces 77 are employed, as it is observed that they 
are in the bill of timber. And also, will he give the 
distance or space between the slats of the “ sheep 
rack/ 7 also figured and described in the March num¬ 
ber, and by what means the hay is kept against the 
slats, and within reach of the sheep? W. R. 
[The joists referred to were supported by thick 
strips of plank, spiked on the inside of the upright 
siding. We do not at this moment recollect any bra¬ 
ces used in the building, except in connecting the 
rafters, to lath upon overhead. 
The space between the slats of the sheep rack, i§ 
about six inches—or just wide enough for each sheep 
to thrust its head freely between, and thus enabled to 
reach the hay without difficulty, and by which means 
less is wasted than if drawn from the rack at each 
mouthful. Any carpenter may easily measure the 
thickness of a sheep’s head, and act accordingly.] 
“ The West.” —The Prairie Farmer, commenting 
on a communication in the Maine Farmer, giving pri¬ 
ces of lands and products “ at the west,” very properly 
asks, “ Where is that?” The west is a pretty exten¬ 
sive term. It may include about 14 states, stretching 
from the northern extremity of Wisconsin, to the 
southern line of Texas, if anybody knows where that 
is, and it may include any extent of territory west of 
Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains; or, it may mean 
some little corner in one of the states, where the wri¬ 
ter has a friend or correspondent. 
How MUCH PORK WILL A BUSHEL OF CORN MAKE ? 
This is, no doubt, a hard question to answer, as so 
much depends on certain contingencies—such as the 
natural tendency of the hog to fatten, the manner in 
which the food is prepared, and the situation in which 
the animal is placed in regard to all the circumstances 
which promote the secretion of fat. An amount of 
food which would fatten an animal when placed in a 
dry and comfortable pen and fed from a clean trough, 
might be no more than adequate to the supply of the 
w r aste of the body, under an exposure to cold and wet, 
where quietude and comfort could not be enjoyed. 
Still an approximation may be made towards the set¬ 
tlement of this question. If a series of experiments 
could be made with hogs of the best breeds, placed in 
all respects in similar circumstances, both in regard to 
quantity and quality of food, shelter, and mode of feed¬ 
ing, a succession of results of similar character would 
no doubt in time be obtained, and they might be fairly 
taken as establishing for all. practical purposes, the 
point involved in the question. 
The committee to adjudge premiums on swine for 
the Essex County (Mass.) Agricultural Society, at the 
exhibition in 1846, in concluding their report, make 
some observations on the cost of making pork. They 
say— 
“ It is believed by your committee that pork can be 
raised for six cents a pound, when corn is sixty cents per 
bushel, at seven cents a pound when it is seventy cents 
per bushel, and so on, either way, one cent a pound on 
the pork, and ten cents a bushel on the corn. And this 
conclusion is drawn from the fact that a good thrifty 
hog, that will eat four quarts of corn a day, will gain 
a pound and a-half of pork a day.” 
According to the above rule, a quart- of corn is equi¬ 
valent to six ounces of pork, and a bushel is equivalent 
to twelve pounds. The committee do not state, (what 
is certainly very important,) whether the corn should 
be ground, and the meal given either raw or cooked, 
or whether the corn is to be fed whole in its raw 
state. 
The committee, however, speak in regard to the 
utility of cooked food, especially apples for swine, as 
follows: 
“ Our own testimony would go strongly in favor of 
cooked food, and some of us are of opinion that if it 
be fermented it is all the better. Indeed, apples, sour 
or sweet, if boiled and mixed with meal are not only 
eagerly eaten by swine, but are nearly as promotive of 
their growth as potatoes managed in the same way. 
We have no question that this is the best use to which 
cider apples can be appropriated.” 
“ Big Head” in Horses. —The disease in horses 
called “ big head,” is sometimes very troublesome, both 
on account of the pain and injury it inflicts on the horse, 
and the difficulty of curing it. J. J. Rousseau, in the 
Prairie Farmer, gives an article descriptive of the dis¬ 
ease and mode of cure. He says—“ The first appear¬ 
ance of the big head, when it attacks the upper jaw, 
is more like that produced by the halter in break¬ 
ing young horses than anything I can compare it to. 
Indeed so similar are the two that jockeys frequently 
trade off horses having incipient big head, stating that 
the appearances have been produced by a halter. The 
horse first loses that delicacy of proportion about the 
head which is one of his greatest ornaments, looking 
clumsy and awkward on account of the swelling which 
takes place first at or near the place where the nose¬ 
band of the halter passes round the nose. The tu¬ 
mors are at first small and circumscribed, and may not 
be noticed by a careless observer. Their situation is 
on each side of the face at the place above indicated, 
and when they acquire their greatest size, they extend 
to the eyes, or thereabout, and their elevation will be 
one or two inches, and in bad cases more. The head 
now presents a peculiarly clumsy appearance. Fre 
quently before the upper part of the head advances so 
far as just described, the affection seizes the lower jaw 
bone, which becomes much larger than natural.” 
The shoulder, also, he says, is liable to be attacked. 
It begins to swell at the points, from which it extends 
and embraces the whole scapula. But the disorder ob 
serves no regularity in its attack and progress. “ Some 
times the face alone is affected; sometimes the lower 
jaw, and sometimes the head is last affected j the com¬ 
plaint beginning in the shoulder, and extending to the 
limbs, and finally to the head.” In some cases it is 
said, the disorder does not extend to the head, and in 
such cases it is called the “ stiff disorder,” though the 
complaint is said to be the same, as is proved by its be¬ 
ing cured with the same treatment. It appears to be 
known by the various names of “big-head,” “big-jaw,” 
“ big-shoulder,” and “ stiff disorder,” but the same 
treatment is recommended for all. The disease is di¬ 
vided into three stages. The first stage is known by 
stiffness in the limbs, lameness, 8cc. The second stage 
is shown by the enlargement of the head, jaw or shoul¬ 
der. The third and last stage is shown by the protu¬ 
berances on the head, having gained a considerable 
size and bony consistence. The treatment for the first 
and second stages is given as follows: 
“1st. Apply a cord around the upper lip, put in a 
stitch and twist it so as to hold the horse still. This 
is a common operation and familiar to every farmer. 
Then cut through the skin on the middle of the nose, 
vertically, and immediately on the rounding part be¬ 
tween the nostrils. Let the incision be no deeper than 
to expose the tendon which passes down in this place. 
Lay hold of the tendon and cut it in two; then cut it off 
again at the distance of about one inch, taking the 
piece entirely out. (The piece must be taken out, or 
the cut extremities would soon reunite.) Next, doifble 
