68 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
dians of reputation in fever and rheumatism, and is tonic and astringent, 
but is principally valued as a diuretic. Dr. Somerville used an infusion 
in dropsy with good effect, and the same has been testified by Dr. Manet 
and Dr. Barton. The wintergreen is extensively used in domestic hop 
beer, and is considered a purifier of the blood in spring. 
Grand exhibition at Ghent —On the 10th March there was the most 
brilliant exhibition of rave and beautiful exotic plants at Ghent, ever re¬ 
corded, perhaps, in the annals of botany and floriculture The Flemings, 
it is known, excel in a taste for floriculture; the aristocracy are mostly 
amateur florists or pomologists—the commercial gardens are numerous and 
extensive, and the love of flowers pervades all classes. The show in 
March was at the inauguration of the Cassino, a splendid hall just com¬ 
pleted, at Ghent, for floral exhibitions, 314 feet in length. The judges 
were 29, and were from Vienna, Paris, London, Brussels, and other prin¬ 
cipal tovvns. More than 5,300 plants were arranged in their respective 
collections, and 320 persons sat down to the dinner, embracing noblemen, 
gentry and gardeners. 
Merino and Saxon Sheep _Inquiries are frequently made of us from 
the south, at what price Saxon and Merino sheep can be had. In reply to 
these queries, we are authorized to state as follows: Mr. Daniel Curtis, of 
Canaan, Columbia county, offers Saxon and Merino bucks at from five to 
fifteen dollars, according to age and quality. Mr. H. D. Grove, of Hoo- 
sick, Rensselaer county, offers his Salxon bucks at from fifteen to twenty 
dollars; and our neighbor, C. N. Bement, will charge, for old-fashioned 
Merino bucks, twenty-five dollars. These prices are exclusive of the 
charge of transportation. Mr. Curtis has sent us a card containing speci¬ 
mens of the wool of more than sixty individuals of his flock; and Mr. 
Grove has also sent us many specimens from his superior Saxon flock. 
These specimens may be examined at the office of the Cultivator. 
The Grub Worm, we are advised, is already doing much mischief in 
the fields of young corn at the south, and even in the wheat fields. We 
therefore repeat the suggestion, that a handful of unleached ashes scatter¬ 
ed upon each hill, or of ashes and gypsum, or of ashes and lime, promises 
the best preventive of the evil. 
The Rye crop in Mew-Jersey, so far as we were able to judge during 
a jaunt across the state from Amboy to Camden, will prove almost a total 
failure. With deference we remark, that the prevailing mode of cultiva¬ 
ting this crop there, seems to be a very bad one. Although the country 
is sandy, it is very flat, and the crops seem to suffer from water reposing 
upon or near the surface. The fields are generally cultivated with a flat 
surface, and the rye appears to have been sown with corn, before the har- 
vesting of the corn. This is slovenly farming; and the vegetable matter 
which covers the field at the corn harvest, is virtually lost. If the land 
was cultivated in sixteen or twenty feet ridges, in the direction of the 
slope, the crops would suffer much less from wet and cold, and no more 
from drought, than they do now. And if the vegetable matters upon the 
surface in autumn were turned under, they would afford food to the crops, 
which they apparently very much want. Under drains would prove high¬ 
ly serviceable. 
“ Every conveyance of real estate within this state, hereafter made, 
shall be recorded in the office of the clerk of the county where such real 
estate shall be situated; and every such conveyance not so recorded, shall 
be void as against any subsequent purchaser in good faith and for valuable 
consideration, of the same real estate, or any portion thereof, whose con¬ 
veyance shall be first duly recorded.” See Revised Laws. 
Acknowledgments .—Seeds of the seven years pumpkin, and of a new 
squash, from W. Wetmore, Ohio; Wilson’s long-keeping apple, a very 
handsome sound fruit, from Robert Speir, Esquire, of Saratoga; three 
beautiful new apples, from J. A. Thompson, Esq. of Catskill, of which 
the Beauty of Wilts is the best, also Rohan potatoes; Baden corn, Chili¬ 
an peas, beans and lentils, from H. L. Ellsworth, Esq. Washington city; 
files of the Gardner’s (London) Gazette, from G. C. Thorburn, of New- 
York; Prospectus of the American Society for the diffusion of useful 
knowledge, from G. D. Abbott; a specimen of beautiful corn, from D. 
Wendell, Esq. of Murfreesboro’, Ten ; a set of garden hoes, and a weed¬ 
ing fork, of approved model and make, from T. Collins, of Burlington, 
N. J. Grape cuttings, forwarded to us by a friend in Arkansas, have not 
come to hand. 
W anted .—Seeds and bulbs of flowering plants indigenous on the west¬ 
ern prairies—particularly of species not growing in the Atlantic states. 
_ CORRESPONDENCE . 
DISEASES OF CATTLE. ~ 
Mr. J. Buel, —Dear Sir,—As my farm is better adapted for grazing 
than it is for raising grain, I have, for a number of years past, turned my 
attention, not unprofitably, to the former; my dairy has consisted of from 
twenty to twenty-three cows, with a proportion of other stock I suc¬ 
ceeded very well until the summer of 1833, at which time a distemper 
appeared amongst my cattle, which has hitherto baffled all my efforts to 
get rid of. Having lately become a subscriber for the Cultivator, it oc¬ 
curred to me, that ifinformation was to be obtained from any quarter as to 
the cause, nature, treatment, &c. of the disease, your valuable columns 
was the place. In hopes that either yourself, or some one of your numerous 
correspondents, will be able topointout a better course of treatment than I 
have yet fallen upon, I shall endeavor to give as plain and short a description 
of the loathsome malady as I am capable of. I may here slate, that some 
others in this neighborhood, as well as myself, have had the same distem¬ 
per among their cattle, and with the same result. That my loss has been 
greater, and that the trouble has continued longer with me than with any 
other that I know of, is probably owing to my stock being larger, and my 
continuing to keep the number good, I being loath to give up the busi¬ 
ness; and selling them, unless for beef, being out of the question. Out 
of nineteen head that have been seized, three only have recovered, and 
one of them has since died from what I considered its effects on her con¬ 
stitution. 
The first symptom observable, is running at the eyes and nose, at first 
thin'and of a greenish colour, but soon becomes a tough yellow matter. 
A violent fever soon comes on, accompanied with shivering and cough, 
the appetite gone, and a general debility takes place, so that the healthi¬ 
est looking animal, in two or three days, (as the saying is) becomes like 
two boards. The faeces is not alike in all, some are soon attacked with 
diarrhaoe, which continues to the last; others continue in the opposite ex¬ 
treme; in some cases there is a continual inclination to urine, which is of 
a redish colour, as if mixed with blood, others are not much so; if in calf, 
they invariably cast it at whatever stage of its existence it may be. Three 
or four days puts an end to those that are most violently seized, but not 
so with others, who will linger for two or three weeks. The eye, which 
is sunk and inflamed, becomes coated over with a yellow film, caused 
from its continual running, and they become perfectly blind. The skin 
cracks open and peels in large pieces from the mouth, lips, nosp and teats; 
the skin on the back also cracks, from which a yellow watery matter ex¬ 
udes; the nose gets stopped, and a continual gasping for breath is the con¬ 
sequence. If the weather is warm, the fly finds a proper receptacle for 
her eggs in the animal, and I peed not state the consequence. We are 
glad to kill them to end their misery, and rid ourselves of the loathsome 
spectacle. On opening them, (which I have had done in one or two in¬ 
stances by a respectable physician,) inflammation had taken place in the in¬ 
testines generally, and in all cases the gall bladder is greatly enlarged, the 
liquid in which seem3 to have discharged into the lungs, at least the parts 
adjacent are colored as if from that cause. They are alike liable to the 
disease at any age, and In any season of the year. I have treated them 
for what is usually termed jaundice or yellows, but no treatise on that 
trouble that I have met with, describes it exactly as it exists among my 
cattle. As a preventive, I have had them all bled, and fed them fora 
length of time, (mixed with their salt and otherwise,) bitter articles, such 
as soot tea, tar water, aloes, &c My treatment, when sick, has been 
bleeding, purging, and the various medicines usually recommended for the 
above named disease; but all to no effect, as you will infer from what I 
have already stated. If, from the statement I have given, you or any of your 
intelligent correspondents can give a satisfactory answer to the following 
questions, you will confer a favor on the public, and especially to the sub¬ 
scriber. 1st. What is the disease? 2d. Has any thing local a tendency 
to produce it? 3d. If in the affirmative, what things have this tendency? 
4th. If not, what are the causes? 5th. Is it infectious?* 6th. What is 
the most proper treatment? And 7th. What the best way to get rid of 
it?f I am, dear sir,yours respectfully, 
JAMES SMEALIE. 
Princetown, Schenectady co. May 9 th, 1S37. 
When I commenced the above, a favorite cow just began to sprihg bag, 
was seized; she was in excellent order, and to all.appearance, perfectly 
healthy; her case has been as violent as any I have had, she living but 
three days and a half from the time I first observed her sick. I have just 
opened her, the gall bladder appeared to be at least three times larger than 
its natural size, and part of its contents had evidently been discharged on 
the lungs and liver; the lungs were very much swelled and inflamed. She 
appeared to be choked to death. 
If you have met with any Ihing in your extensive reading relative to 
this disease, that you think might be of advantage, you will confer a very 
special favor if you will communicate it by post. I have come to the de- 
* Although nineteen head have had thi9 distemper during the time it has 
lurked among them, never but once were two of them sick at a time. 
t We are obliged to defer our answer till the July number.— Cond. 
