144 
water they drank, (bloodsuckers being abundant in it 
and found in cattle after death,) provided liis stock with 
a supply of pure water and in five years not a single 
animal had been attacked. 
Next to pure water, a regular and constant supply of 
salt may be considered the best preventive of disease 
in cattle, and if a quantity of ashes or lime is mixed 
with the salt, the effect will be still more beneficial. 
For proof of this we refer to the Cultivator, vol. 6th, 
pages 120 and 149. In the firstcase, Mr. Warner found 
that wood ashes given in equal quantities with salt, at 
the usual times of salting his stock had for 20 years 
operated as an effectual preventive ; and in the latter in¬ 
stance Mr. Sackett, of Michigan, had for eight years se¬ 
cured his numerous stock of cattle by keeping in their 
troughs, so that they always had access to it, a mixture 
of equal portions of slaked lime and salt. The lime was 
kept in a barrel in a dry place, air slaked and always fit 
for use. Previous to adopting this course, he lost many 
annually by murrain, afterwards none. To conclude ; 
pure water, and plenty of salt mixed with some alkali, 
ashes or lime, we consider the best remedies or rather 
preventives of the murrain. 
New-Jersey Marl—Inquiry. 
Mr. James Boyle, of Annapolis, (Md.) wishes from 
some one acquainted with the subject— 
“An account of the Jersey marls, the easiest and best modes 
of digging and hauling, the usual depth of the pits below the 
surface, how to raise it from the pits, the mode of application 
on stiff and on light lands, the vegetation it best suits, and how 
much (if any) lime is mixed with it after digging before using.” 
The matter of these inquiries is an important one. 
Marl like that of New-Jersey, or closely resembling it, 
is found on a very large portion of the seaboard of the 
middle states, and from the wonders it has wrought in 
New-Jersey, it is evident might be successfully used on 
similar soils farther south. May we hope that some of 
our friends in New-Jersey, who have a practical ac¬ 
quaintance with the marls, their position, nature, and 
use, will respond fully to the inquiries of Mr. B. We 
should he happy to give place to such a paper in the 
Cultivator. — 
Milk House—Disease in Fruit Trees. 
Messrs. Editors —Cannot some one of your ingenious and ex¬ 
perienced correspondents furnish a plan for building a milk 
room ; one that will combine convenience and neatness, and 
above all ensure the longest time of keeping milk sweet in hot 
weather, and also keeping it from freezing in cold weather. I 
have never seen any plan of such a building. As I shall have to 
build soon, I wish to obtain the best method before commencing. 
1 have been much gratified with the plans of houses, barns, &c. 
which have made their appearance in the Cultivator at differ¬ 
ent times, and have drawn my plans chiefly from them; but I 
have been at a stand as to the best plan for a milk-house, with 
the qualities above mentioned. I should think some of the pro¬ 
prietors of the milk establishments near the cities, who carry 
their milk to market, might give the desired information, as I 
intend and have already commenced an establishment of that 
kind. Shall I build below or above ground? With what ma¬ 
terial, brick, wood, or stone ? 
I perceive that my fruit trees are infected with some disease, 
which I have no name for unless it is the scab. The bark on 
the limbs turns black, cracks, and at length withers the whole 
branch. Sometimes it occflrs on the body, and kills the whole 
tree. 1 have tried to ascertain the cause, but not being much 
acquainted with fruit trees, was unsuccessful. An insertion of 
these inquiries will oblige A Young Farmer. 
Burlington , Ft., 1841. 
We have several plans of milk and dairy houses in 
the British Husbandry, and the writings of Dr. Ander¬ 
son ; but as the plans are complicated and expensive, 
we shall omit them for the present, in the hope that we 
shall be furnished with plans better adapted to our cli¬ 
mate, and the resources of the common dairyman. A 
few hints on the construction of such buildings may, 
however, not be unacceptable. 
The first and great requisite in a milk house is an 
equal and low temperature; the second is dryness ; and 
the third perfect neatness. The easiest way of ensuring 
the first would be to place the milk room over a pure 
and copious spring of water. This would prevent un¬ 
due heat in summer, or freezing in winter, and many 
milk houses are so constructed. But experience shows 
that where making butter is to be a part of the dairy 
business, a dry, as well as low, temperature is necessa¬ 
ry to produce good butter, and hence in the best dairies 
of Holland and England particular reference is had to 
this point, all water except such as is required for 
cleansing being excluded. To produce an equal tempe¬ 
rature, and at the same time low, it is necessary the 
milk apartment should be as little influenced by the ex¬ 
ternal air as possible; for this purpose walls of great 
thickness, 6 or 8 feet, are recommended, the windows 
and doors double, and the buildings to have a northern 
and eastern aspect. The roof, too, must be made so as 
to prevent the heating effect of the sun’s rays from be¬ 
ing felt in the milk room, which is greatly aided by 
having trees of heavy foliage around it ; and in this 
manner the temperature of the milk room itself, what¬ 
ever may be the heat externally, will be little effected. 
Dr. Anderson recommended that the inner wall should 
be of brick, one tier, and neatly plastered ; as also the 
window and doorways ; while the main body of the 
wall should be of earth, with an inclination which would 
admit of its being turfed to the eaves ; and some built 
on his plan, walls 8 feet at the base and 4 at the eaves, 
proved admirable for the use intended. In our climate, 
double, or thick stone walls, would probably he better 
than earth. The floors of milk rooms should be dry, 
and of materials that will not absorb and retain what 
falls upon them, whether it he milk or water. Bricks 
are sometimes used, hut they are hardly smooth 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
enough ; flag or good paving stones are better, if cut to 
good joints ; and perhaps a floor made of cement, the 
sand pure and white, and the whole of suitable thick¬ 
ness, would make a first rate one. In the best Europe¬ 
an dairies and milk rooms, ventilation is performed by 
having the windows or a movable pannel of the doors 
provided with a fine wire screen, so that when the wind 
is in the right quarter, or of the right temperature, air 
can be freely admitted and all insects, &c., excluded. 
We are unacquainted with any disease of fruit trees 
resembling the one described by our correspondent. It 
would seem to he a kind of gangrene, as described in 
the English horticultural works by Knight, McIntosh, 
&c. Diseases of this class are attributed by these wri¬ 
ters to a bad, wet subsoil, and the remedy to he in a 
correction of this evil. It is possible this disease may, 
like the fire blight of the pear, or the black blight of 
the plum, he the work of an insect; if so, a careful ex¬ 
amination will doubtless detect it. 
Recipes, &c. 
Mr. Gray, of Trumbull Co., Ohio, informs us that a 
gill of melted lard turned down the throat of a sheep is 
an effectual remedy for that animal when poisoned with 
the low laurel, which abounds in some parts of the 
country. 
“ It will also cure persons that are poisoned with the vine 
called running ivy, or mercury, frequently found on low mea¬ 
dows, by rubbing it on two or three times, whenever its effects 
are felt.” 
“ To cure the bloat in cattle, take about half a lb. of salt pork 
that is fat; cut it into slices, and draw out the animal’s tongue, 
and place the pork as far down the throat as possible, when it 
will be swallowed, and relief soon be given, if the bloat is 
caused by clover or fresh grass. I have known from 1 pint to 
1 quart of melted lard (according to the size of the animal,) 
turned down the throat, used with the best effect in cases of 
bloat.” — 
Smoking Fireplaces. 
“H. E. S.,” of Bloomfield, (Ky.) sends the following 
hints on the construction of chimneys so as to prevent 
smoking : 
“The best means of preventing that pest, smoking fireplaces, 
is to build so as to produce a strong steady draught. The air in 
the chimney is rarified by the heat from the fire, and conse¬ 
quently rises; the air in the room fills up the partial vacuum, 
and a current is established. To insure a draught in the chim¬ 
ney, the air entering it should be heated as much as possible. 
This is dona by having the mantle or front of the fireplace low; 
this will force the air nearer the fire, and of course cause it 
to rise with more velocity, because it will be heated more than 
in a high front fireplace. The back should be of the same height 
as the front. If a tight room has a large fireplace and chim¬ 
ney, it will smoke, because there will not sufficient air enter 
the room through the crevices of the doors and windows to pro¬ 
duce an active draught up the chimney, and the cooler, heavier 
air on the outside will reverse the current, and force the smoke 
down into the room. Long chimneys usually have a stronger 
draught than short ones, as the column of rarified air is longer, 
but they may be made so long as to cool the air before it reaches 
the mouth of the chimney ; for this reason, very long stove 
pipes smoke more frequently than pipes or chimneys that are 
shorter. It is necessary also that the interior of a chimney 
should be smooth, so as to present no impediment to the 
smoke.” — 
Manure on Grass Rands in Indiana. 
There seems to be an opinion somewhat common that 
manure is useless in the western states, such is the na¬ 
tural fertility of the soil. The statement we give be¬ 
low, from Mr. Cadwallader, of Indiana, would seem 
to prove that manure loses none of its efficacy or value 
on western lands : 
“ In 1836, I bought a tract of land so poor that It would hard¬ 
ly sprout blackeyed peas. I immediately, as the best way of re¬ 
storing fertility, put it into grass ; but the first year it was not 
worth any thing. In 1838 and 1839, I top dressed the ten acres 
seeded down with two coats of manure, and in 1840, I, after the 
army worm had taken about half of the crop, sold hay to the 
amount of $62-37, besides putting six tons in my mow.” 
We shall be pleased to learn the results of any com¬ 
parative experiments making by Mr. C. in the culture 
and manuring of potatoes. 
Sawdust —Planting Trees—Jolmswort. 
“ A. W. L.,” of Hempstead, L. I., in a communica¬ 
tion says : 
“ My predecessor was in the habit of putting large quantities 
of sawdust, straw, &c., in his pig pen, let it get thoroughly in¬ 
corporated and rotten, and then use it as a manure. On the 
purchase of the place last spring, I found on it a quantity of 
this sawdust manure, horse manure, and long manure ; which 
three kinds I separately put in different parts of my corn field. 
The result is this : the part with long manure is very poor, (by 
the way would not pouarette help it ?) the horse manure good, 
and the sawdust first rate." 
This method of using sawdust has been practiced by 
the Shakers with great success. Rotted sawdust of it¬ 
self would be a good manure, but put in a pig pen it 
not only decays, but it absorbs and retains much of the 
most valuable part of the manure, that would otherwise 
be lost. Of the great value of hog manure for the corn 
crop there can be hut one opinion. It is decidedly supe¬ 
rior to any or all of the ordinary manures for this crop, 
and a farmer should use every exertion, by frequently 
replenishing his pig pen with refuse matter, to increase 
the amount, or prevent waste. 
“ A. W. L.” will find the treatment he proposes of 
his Johnswort a good one, (that is, to cut the plants, 
rake and burn them, plow in the fall, plow in the 
spring, and plant corn and potatoes,) if he hoes his 
crops as they should be hoed for a cleansing crop. We 
once treated a field in a similar manner, following the 
hoed crop with a grain one and a heavy seeding with 
clover and herds grass, to which plaster was liberally 
applied, and with the best results, the Johnswort hav¬ 
ing scarcely shown itself on the ground since. 
The trees about which “ A. W. L.” inquires, “ nut 
and oak,” can be readily transplanted, but more care is 
required in removing them, and greater care in giving 
a congenial soil. Forest trees, particularly the oak, 
have usually long tap roots. When such are removed, 
therefore, as large a ball of earth should remain on the 
root undisturbed as is possible. Stuart, in his work on 
planting, shows that the largest trees, and of any kind, 
may be removed, if this point is sufficiently attended to. 
“ A. W. L.” says, “last year, in killing some fine 
Berkshire pigs, I expressed a wish that they were whi¬ 
ter, when an Englishman, who assisted me, took a 
scrubbing brush and soap, and in three minutes those 
operated upon could not have been told from white 
pigs.”. This may gratify those who object to black 
pigs, since they can so easily be washed white. 
Merited Compliment. 
The following merited compliment to a distinguished 
individual of Mississippi, which we find in a communi¬ 
cation to us from J. S. C., Esq. of Jackson, (Miss.) we 
know to be eminently just. Mr. Elliott, who now 
holds a responsible official station, finds time to devote 
to the promotion of agriculture, being well aware that 
in increased products alone can the country be extricat¬ 
ed from the financial embarrassments it now experien¬ 
ces. We may be permitted to mention here, as proof 
of what may he done by an individual, that we have 
received through the agency of Mr. Elliott, within the 
past year, more than 200 subscribers to the Cultivator : 
“ A reformation in all departments of agriculture is, I am 
happy to say, rapidly going on in Mississippi; and to the dis¬ 
semination of the Cultivator by your staunch friend and the 
friend of agriculture, J. Elliott, Esq., very much is owing, 
Mr. Elliott is very justly esteemed the leader in improvements 
now making throughout the state, in the breeds of all our most 
valuable domestic animals, sparing no pains or expense to pro¬ 
cure the very best of their kinds, although no individual can be 
more unassuming than he is in this, as in all other matters. 
His stock of Berkshires is becoming extensive, and has been 
derived from the most unquestionable sources. The ciops 
of corn are likely to be large in this portion of the state; and 
those of cotton are perhaps quite as good as usual, though 
the plant is not generally so large as it should be at. this 
season, (June, 1841.)” 
Pine Sawdust—Inquiry. 
Mr. White, the owner of an extensive steam saw 
mill near Jackson, (Miss.) inquires “ whether pine 
sawdust has ever been applied as a manure ; with what 
benefit; and to what description of soils it would be 
most serviceable 1” He says : 
“ We have large quantities both of sawdust and ashes; would 
a mixture be beneficial? There are some low grounds on our 
place of heavy, tenacious clay, as yet unopened. Could it by 
ditching and applying the sawdust alone, or combined with 
ashes, be rendered serviceable in a year. The ashes we have 
will prove an invaluable manure to the most of our land as we 
get it opened, which is generally a light sandy loam. Hence a 
desire for preserving them for that purpose. The sawdust will 
shortly become a nuisance, unless it can be made useful as a 
manure. Under any circumstances, it is my intention to make 
some partial trials with it, but if it has been successfully em¬ 
ployed. I would like to know it, in order to avail myself of other 
people’s experience. The point I wish to get at more than any 
other, is, would the application of this description of dust, be¬ 
fore rotting, be injurious to the land?” 
Sawdust applied to soils would at first act mechani¬ 
cally, by rendering them less tenacious and more fri¬ 
able ; and when rotted, would he the same as any de¬ 
cayed vegetable manure. There can be little doubt 
that on heavy clay lands, especially when drained, a 
dressing of sawdust would be useful, both in lightening 
the soil, and eventually as manure. At the north, saw¬ 
dust of all kinds is highly prized, but its great use is 
to put in cattle yards or pig pens, to absorb the liquid 
parts of the manures, and have the acid, all woods con¬ 
tain more or less, corrected by the alkaline salts existing 
in such places. Mixed with animal manures in this 
way, it forms one of the best applications that can be 
made to land. A mixture with ashes, as alluded to by 
Mr. W., would correct the acidity, hut it is probable 
the beneficial effects of the ashes would he more appa¬ 
rent on the light than on the heavy soils. Pine saw¬ 
dust, as such, we have never known used extensively, 
but should have no fears of applying it to any land 
where it could be of use in rendering it more friable at 
first, or valuable as decayed vegetable matter after¬ 
wards. We should advise Mr. White to use as much of 
his sawdust as possible in his cattle and hog yards, to be 
trampled upon and saturated with animal matter, and 
the rest, mixed with ashes, put on such of his heavy 
lands as he can drain and open. The experiments, 
however, upon which Mr. W, is entering, will decide 
these questions more effectually than any theory. 
Hots in Horses. 
Messrs. Editors —Will you be good enough to tell me whether 
in your opinion, a horse ever died from the bots eating through 
his maw ? This is a question of deep interest to the communi¬ 
ty, and I hope you will not fail to give not only an answer, but 
your reasons as much at large for your opinion as may be con¬ 
venient. S. J. WHEELER, 
Murfreesborough, N. C. 
Although we do not imagine that death often occurs 
from the hot eating through the maw of the living 
horse, still cases have occurred which could hardly be 
explained on any other supposition, and for that reason 
we think horses are sometimes in that way killed by 
hots- Bots may destroy horses, we imagine, in three 
ways ; by eating through the stomach, by accumulating 
in such numbers as to choke up the pyloric orifice of 
the stomach, and by their so irritating that organ as to 
produce inflammation and consequent mortification. We 
think the bot sometimes perforates the stomach, from 
the fact that his mouth and its appendages are adapted 
