THE CULTIVATOR. 
15 
DICTIONARY OF TERMS USED IN 
Agricultu re anft its kinftrjeft Science©. 
HERD ROOK.—The Herd Book of the Improved 
Short Homs in England, is to them what the Book of 
Heraldry is to the proud nobility of the same country. 
In each is to be found the claim to distinction and purity 
of blood, and by its authoritative records and decisions, 
all pretensions must be judged. When Collings, Coates, 
Berry, and a few other enterprising individuals, had by 
their skill in selection and breeding, produced a race of 
animals superior to any hitherto seen in Britain, and 
public attention began to be directed to them, the prices 
they commanded excited the cupidity of less skillful 
breeders, and cattle were sold as the improved breed 
which had no title to that distinction. To prevent these 
impositions, and give the public a standard by which all 
cattle offered as Improved Short Horns might be tried, 
Mr. George Coates prepared the Herd Book, in the suc¬ 
cessive volumes of which the originals of this famous 
breed, with their most celebrated progeny in all their 
ramifications, down to the present time, are regularly 
numbered and recorded, and a glance at this book will 
show the blood of any Short Horn that has just claim 
to the title. The number on record at the present time 
amounts to several thousands, no inconsiderable number 
of which are at the present moment in the United States. 
So widely disseminated has this celebrated breed be¬ 
come in this country, that the propriety of an American 
Herd Book has been suggested, and may ere long be 
found necessary. The Cultivator, and some other agri¬ 
cultural journals, contain many pedigrees of the best 
stocks and animals, and by generally registering them 
in this way, with undoubted reference to the Herd Book, 
impositions and frauds, if attempted, could be detected, 
for every purchaser might remember that there is no 
pure Short Horn whose pedigree cannot be fully traced 
in the Herd Book. The Herd Book now extends to 
three volumes, and a fourth is soon to appear. 
HIDE-BOUND_This is a disease of the skin of ani¬ 
mals, which gives a peculiarly rough and staring appear¬ 
ance to the hair, and is not unfrequently indicative of 
a general derangement of the health of the animal. The 
skin of the hide-bound animal loses its pliability and 
flexible nature, becomes stiff and seems to adhere to the 
muscles and bones, and the extent to which this stiffness 
and feeling of adhesion exists usually marks the seve¬ 
rity and intensity of the cause in wfliich it originates. 
Hide-bound is always attended with more or less fever. 
The oil which is formed from the innumerable glands 
or pores of the skin is dried up, and the minute scales 
which form the outer surface of the skin, no longer 
yielding to the hair, they, as the skin dries, turn the hair 
every way, giving that irregular and unhealthy appear¬ 
ance so characteristic of the disease. Hide-bound is 
much oftener a symptom of disease than a primary one, 
and the efforts at cure must be directed to a removal of 
the cause. A dose of physic, (Youatt recommends eight 
ounces of sulphur with half an ounce of ginger,) and a 
few washes should be given. Medicines calculated to 
rouse the action of the skin, such as sulphur, nitre, anti- 
monial powder, or ginger, in small quantities, should fol¬ 
low the physic. When hide-bound follows low keeping, 
a change to a more generous diet, (gradually, however, 
and avoiding active tonics) will usually effect a cure. 
Mr. Youatt says the best alterative to remove hide-bound 
in the horse is levigated antimony, nitre, and sulphur; 
and given in doses of two drachms of the first, three 
of the second, and four of the third, and repeated every 
night in a mash or in the form of a ball. 
HOE.—Next to the plow, the hoe is one of the most 
effectual implements of modern tillage, and in countries 
where Indian corn is grown, may be considered indis¬ 
pensable. There are many kinds of this implement, 
adapted to its various uses in the garden or the field, and 
. in the form of them and the superiority of material and 
construction, the greatest improvements have, within a 
few years, been made. The blade or cutting part of a 
good hoe should be sufficiently hard to keep a good edge 
and not batter, and at the same time be so elastic and 
fine tempered as not to easily break. The horse hoe, or 
cultivator, as it is frequently called, is a great labor-saving 
machine, most admirably adapted to the cultivation of 
corn and root crops, particularly in those parts of the 
west, where, from the nature of the soil, its freedom from 
weeds, and the quantity of land to be operated upon, 
much of the labor must be performed by the horse. The 
great value of the cultivator, or horse-hoe, lies in its 
keeping the surface free from weeds, light and loose, 
and not disturbing the roots of the plants by running- 
deep like the plow. 
HONEY.—This is a well known substance, collected 
by the common honey bee from vegetable blossoms, and 
stored in combs for its own use. The most honey is 
made in regions of moderate temperature, such as the 
Mediterranean, Archipelago, or the Island of Cuba. It 
is also abundant in the United States. Honey when 
made from poisonous plants, partakes of their qualities, 
and death has been known to ensue from such a cause. 
On the south-east coast of the Black sea is a district, the 
honey of which is famous for causing a temporary mad¬ 
ness in those who partake of it when new; age deprives 
it in a great measure of this power. This effect is owing 
to the honey being mostly the product of the Rhododen¬ 
dron ponticum, which plant (a species of laurel) abounds 
in that region. It has long been the practice to destroy 
the bees in order to obtain the honey; but experience 
shows this custom is as unnecessary as it is cruel and 
barbarous. A variety of hives are now used in this 
country, in which the honey made is so stored in boxes 
that it can be taken without injury to the bees, or dis¬ 
turbing them, at the pleasure of the owner. The bees 
may also in the common hive be so stupified by the 
smoke of some narcotic subsiance, (the common meadow 
puff-ball gathered and fully dried is one of the best arti¬ 
cles for this purpose,) that the honey can be taken away 
without danger, and without permanent injury to the 
bees. The honey made on a farm may be considered a 
clear profit, as the expense of the apiary is usually tri¬ 
fling, and honey is a beautiful as well as delicious arti¬ 
cle of food. 
HOOYE.—Hoven, Bloat, or Hoove, is the name given 
to a disease in animals, caused in most cases by taking 
them fi'om a poor or innutritious food, and putting 
them into a rich and luxuriant pasture. The animal eats 
greedily, the stomach is overloaded, the rumen ceases 
to act, the food cannot circulate through its cavities, fer¬ 
mentation ensues, large quantities of gas are extricated 
and distend the stomach, the animal ceases to eat, and 
is evidently much distressed, the whole belly is blown 
up or inflated; in horses the blood is forced to the brain 
and staggers usually foliow, while in cattle this symp¬ 
tom rarely occurs; the tongue is protruded, and unless 
the animal is relieved, death must speedily ensue, and 
most generally by rupture of the stomach. There is 
no doubt as to the cause of this complaint, and the ob¬ 
ject in cure is to permit the escape of the imprisoned 
gas, and prevent its formation. Moving the animal 
about, or the shock caused by dashing pailsfull of cold 
water upon it, will sometimes cause eructations of gas, 
and relieve the animal. Alkalies (and the best of these 
is ammonia) will prevent the formation of gas if it can 
enter it, but unfortunately the same cause which pre¬ 
vents the escape of the gas, also prevents the entry of the 
alkali into the stomach, and if given it frequently passes 
on to the next stomachs where there are no acids to neu¬ 
tralize. At the commencement of hoove, any kind of 
oil will frequently relieve the beast, as producing a dis¬ 
position to vomit or purge, but at a later stage it will 
produce little effect from the same cause which prevents 
the action of an alkali. The probang, a hollow flex¬ 
ible tube of leather generally, (but we have known some 
valuable animals saved by an extempore probang, made 
of lead pipe) with a bulb on the end to prevent lacera¬ 
tion, is the best instrument to relieve animals; but where 
such an instrument is not at hand, the knife may be used 
for the liberation of the gas. “ The safest point for 
this operation,” says Mr. Youatt, “ is the following:— 
Suppose a line to be drawn along the vertebrae from the 
haunch bone to the last rib, and two other lines of equal 
length to extend down the flank so as to form an equila¬ 
teral triangle, the apex of the triangle, or the point 
where these lines would meet, would be the proper 
place for the operation, for in that place there is no 
danger of wounding either the spleen or the kidney.” 
Clover, rowen or fog, or turneps, will produce hoove; 
and some animals are much more subject to it than 
others. The farmer will do well to fit such animals for 
the butcher as soon as he is able. 
HOP.—This plant, the Humulus lupulus of the bota¬ 
nist, has long been cultivated for the sake of its flowers, 
which contain a bitter principle much used for giving a 
bitter flavor to beers and fermented liquors, not only 
preserving them, but rendering them far more healthy 
than they could be without it. Indeed the home-made 
small beer of the farmer, made of malt and hops, and 
divested of the narcotic or alcoholic ingredients so com¬ 
mon in other beverages, may well be considered one of 
the best of drinks, and a return to which would consti¬ 
tute a fortunate era in the health as well as morals of 
the community. What are called wild hops, are the 
male plants of the common hop, and are of no value. 
The hop is propagated by slips or by roots. The plant 
yields nothing the first year; in the second they produce 
their first crop of flowers, and are in full bearing the 
third year. A plantation will last from twelve to fifteen 
years, when it will require renewal. Hops require a 
rich deep soil, rather moist than otherwise, and must be 
manured occasionally. 
HORN.—This is a substance composed chiefly of con¬ 
densed albumen, combined with a small portion of phos¬ 
phate of lime, and a small and varying portion of gela¬ 
tine. In this latter respect it principally differs from 
bone, which is principally phosphate of lime and gela¬ 
tine. In many species of animals the males only have 
horns; and as a general rule the horns are not fully de¬ 
veloped until the animal is capable of perpetuating the 
species. Horns maybe divided into four kinds: 1, those 
of the ox, sheep, goat, and antelope; 2, of the camel 
leopard or giraffe; 3, of the rhinoceros; and 4, of the 
deer kind. The substance of the horn is furnished by 
the skin, and the bony part is secured to the bones of the 
head by anchylosis. Horns have not been exclusively 
confined to animals, as the records of medicine show in¬ 
stances in which these appendages have existed on both 
man and woman. The fixed alkalies readily dissolve 
horn into a yellow saponaceous fluid. The scrapings of 
horn are one of the most powerful of manures, and its 
effects are very durable. Horns are converted to many 
uses in arts and manufactures. 
HORSE-FLY.—There are several insects known by 
the name of the horse-fly, and which are at all times 
troublesome, and sometimes fatal to this noble animal. 
One of these, which is perhaps the most common and 
dangerous, is the one that produces the bot, ( CEstrus 
equi ,) a fly resembling the humble bee only lighter co¬ 
lored, and the female is provided with a long ovipositor 
folding under her belly, with which she lays her eggs 
on the hair of the legs, knees, &c. of the horse, and 
these being licked off and swallowed, a small larva: or 
grub is produced which is called a bot, and which not 
unfrequently, by their numbers and irritation, if not by 
their voracity, destroy the horse. Another is the fly 
which produces the bot called th e fundament bot (Oestrus 
hemorrhoidalis.) This fly lays its eggs on the lips of the 
horse, whence they are licked off and swallowed, and 
thus get into the stomach. They are most frequently 
found in the anal opening of the horse, and hence it was 
formerly supposed that the female deposited its eggs in 
that place. Injections of animal oil ensure the destruc¬ 
tion of this bot. Another is the red bot fly, ( CEstrus 
nasalis .) This insect is nearly the size of the honey bee, 
and the female lays her eggs in the nostrils of the horse, 
ass, stag, and sometimes of the sheep, though it differs 
from the CEstrus ovis or sheep-fiy. The horse is rarely 
killed by this insect, though the larvae in the nostrils are 
very troublesome, and when large enough they are 
sneezed out and pass into the pupa state in the ground. 
Sheep and deer die when they happen to have many of 
these larvae in their heads. Another variety is the 
horse-fly proper, or Hippobosca equina , which lives 
chiefly on horses, but sometimes attacks cattle and other 
animals. From its appearance, and the pertinacity with 
which it clings to the animal, it is sometimes called the 
spider fly or the forest fly. There are some other flies 
of the Tabanis tribe which are very troublesome to 
horses, but the above are the ones generally classed as 
horse-flies by naturalists. For further information on 
the flies that attack or prey on animals, the reader is re¬ 
ferred to Koollar, whose work on predatory insects is 
one of the best extant. 
HORSE-RAKE.—This is one of the most valuable of 
agricultural implements, considered as a labor-saving 
one, and for raking hay on all smooth meadows, and for 
several other purposes, should supersede the hand-rake 
altogether. There are two kinds, one called the single 
horse-rake, or which has teeth only on one side of the 
head, and the other called the double or revolving rake, 
which, on favorable ground, is much to be preferred. 
Such a rake will do the work well, expeditiously, and 
with far greater ease to the laborer. It is also very use¬ 
ful in raking over the stubble after wheat or barley has 
been harvested, and experience with the rake shows that 
a much greater loss was sustained (even when the crop 
was gathered in a careful manner) by a neglect in gath¬ 
ering with the rake, than was generally supposed. It 
is true, all that is left may not be lost, as the hogs may 
be gleaners, but we believe there are not many farmers 
who do not lose enough by not gleaning their field.* 
with a rake, to buy a new one every year. 
HOT BED_It is sometimes desirable for the farmer 
to grow plants for the maturity of which our summers 
have not sufficient length, or to bring others forward at 
an earlier period than can be done in the open air, and 
in such cases a hot bed or forcing bed may be resorted 
to with success. Plants may be started in these, anti 
when the frosts of spring are passed, be transplanted into 
the garden, and thus a maturity of the fruit secured. 
Hot beds are made with a frame to enclose the manure, 
or without, as suits the gardener. Horse manure is pre¬ 
ferred to any other for this purpose, to be placed in 
masses of such depth, that when fermented there will 
be a thickness of at least three feet, and of such size 
as the covering frames demand. Experience shows that 
beds enclosed in a box. or frame of boards do not dry 
up as rapidly as those without; but as the frame work 
cannot settle with the manure, the latter is sometimes 
so low when the fermentation has ceased, as to place 
the plants too much out of the direct rays of the sun. 
The earth placed on the manure should be rich garden 
mold, and of ten or twelve inches in thickness. If ra¬ 
dishes are to be grown, a still greater depth is admis¬ 
sible. Too great a depth, however, will prevent the 
requisite heat, and much lessen the value of the bed. 
Some care is requisite in regulating the temperature by 
► lifting and moving the glasses, and in pleasant days, 
air should have free access to the plants. A liberal 
supply of water of a moderate temperature (rain water 
is the best) must be given to plants while growing in 
the bed. 
HUBBACK.—This is the name of the celebrated pro- 
genitor of the Improved Short Horns, and in the hands 
of Charles Collings, did for the English cattle w T hat the 
Godolphin Arabian did for their horses. Mr. Youatt 
remarks, “ that there are uq. superior Short Horns which 
do not claim descent nearly, or remotely, from Hub- 
back.” The origin of this bull appears to be involved 
in some obscurity. He was purchased by Waistall and 
R. Collings, when a calf, of a poor man who grazed 
his cow on the highway, and his dam Avas remarkable 
for the ease in which she was kept in high order, a 
quality possessed by Hubbaclc to such a degree that a 
disposition to fatten prevented his usefulness as a bull 
but a few seasons. That Hubback was of pure Short 
Horn blood on one side cannot well be doubted; but 
the present race of Improved Short Horns have de¬ 
scended from a cross between Collings’ S. H. bull Bo- 
lingbroke, a descendant of Hubback, and a beautiful 
red polled Galloway cow. Perhaps there is not ano¬ 
ther instance on record where a single animal has ef¬ 
fected more important results, or stamped the character 
of excellence more decidedly on his descendants than 
this bull; and the example of the Collings, will go 
down to remote ages, as a proof of what perseverance, 
accompanied by a sound judgment, can effect in impro¬ 
ving a race of cattle. 
Every farmer should have a work shop. 
