542 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  2,  1897. 
capital  grass  land,  and  the  tenant  is  a  man  always  out  and  about.  He 
thoroughly  believes  in  a  master’s  eye,  and  is  a  clever  practical  man. 
He  is  ably  seconded  by  his  active  wife,  who  may,  in  the  summer 
months,  be  found  in  her  dairy  much  earlier  than  we  should  like  to  see 
ourselves  out  of  bed.  We  mention  these  facts  because  we  think 
they  have  a  certain  bearing  on  the  case,  and  we  feel  we  must 
look  for  a  “  first  cause  ”  that  appears  to  be  totally  out  of  this  gentle¬ 
man’s  control. 
All  scientists  agree  that  abortion  is  the  outcome  of  over-civilisation. 
We  do  not  want  to  be  misunderstood.  We  mean  this:  It  was  for 
many  years  the  object  of  breeders  to  produce  the  very  best  animals 
of  the  kind — best  in  quality  and  shape ;  best  as  meat  producers  at 
an  early  age,  and  the  best  mothers — f.e,,  milk  producers.  This  applies 
equally  to  sheep  as  well  as  horned  cattle.  We  have  arrived  at 
something  very  near  perfection ;  but  we  have  made  the  life  and  the 
surroundings  too  artificial,  and  we  have  to  pay  the  price. 
Perhaps  some  of  our  readers  think  the  subject  is  not  so  serious  as 
to  merit  consideration.  We  will  only  mention  the  result  of  the 
inquiry  of  one  gentleman  living  in  a  small  town  in  North  Yorks,  on 
this  question.  We  think  facts  speak  for  themselves.  He  took  his 
own  house  as  the  centre,  and  considered  the  cases  occurring  within 
a  four-mile  radius.  He  does  not  consider  he  had  knowledge  of  all  the 
cases,  as  he  found  the  owners  of  cows  for  some  time  very  reticent  in 
supplying  information ;  but  when  we  state  that  he  had  nearly 
400  cases — authenticated  cases — 200  of  which  occurred  within  two 
miles  of  his  house,  we  may  fairly  consider  the  subject  needed  investi¬ 
gation. 
The  investigations  were  spread  over  seven  or  eight  years.  None 
of  the  herds  appear  to  have  been  very  large  ones,  twenty-five  cows 
forming  the  largest.  Now  the  gentleman  interested  in  this  set  of 
investigation  was  of  opinion  that  the  majority  of  cases  arose  from  the 
consumption  of  hay  or  grass  infected  with  “  ergot,”  which  is  a  fungoid 
growth  infesting  our  grasses  and  food  cereals. 
In  several  cases  Avhere  abortion  occurred  in  a  herd,  upon  change  of 
hay  the  plague  ceased.  This  might  be  only  accidental,  but  it  is  a 
curious  fact.  To  set  against  this,  we  have  experiments  tried  by 
Professor  Brown,  where  he  fed  in-calf  heifers  with  ergot-infested  hay, 
and  when  the  supply  of  hay  was  exhausted,  ergot,  in  a  pure  form,  was 
administered  without  any  evil  effect,  ' 
In  reading  an  aiticle  by  Mr.  C.  Stephenson,  of  Newcastle,  we  are 
struck  with  some  very  lucid  remarks  he  makes,  and  we  think  he  hits  the 
right  nail  on  the  head.  There  are,  he  says,  two  distinct  kinds  of  abortion 
— one  the  result  of  accident,  and  spoken  of  as  “  Sporadic,”  the  other, 
which  assumes  an  epidemic  form,  or,  more  properly  speaking,  enzootic. 
He  first  considers  the  condition  of  life.  High  feeding  and  no  exercise  ; 
bad,  insufficient  food,  and  exposure  to  the  elements.  Bad  water,  too, 
is  an  active  agent  in  producing  this  disease,  and  close,  ill-ventilated, 
dirty  sheds.  After  attacks  of  foot-and-mouth  complaint  or  other 
diseases,  a  cow  will  often  readily  abort,  and  the  taint,  “  so  often 
unsuspected,”  of  tuberculosis,  is  often  at  the  root  of  the  evil. 
When  cows  are  out  at  grass,  abortion  in  its  early  stages  may  not 
be  easily  detected  ;  when  up  in  sheds,  the  first  symptoms  ought  to  be 
noted,  and  the  cow  instantly  isolated,  and  her  standing  disinfected  with 
quicklime.  All  substances  should  be  carefully  destroyed,  burned  if 
possible,  and  the  cow  must  regain  her  nonnal  health  before  being 
allowed  to  breed  again.  This  in  a  first  case  ;  after  a  second,  fatten  and 
kill.  We  give  a  cow  the  benefit  of  the  doubt  the  first  time ;  the  second 
marks  her  as  an  inveterate  sinner,  and  she  must  be  cut  off  in  her  prime. 
This  not  only  for  her  own  sake,  but  for  fear  of  causing  the  disease  to 
spread,  as  it  is  quite  possible  for  infection  to  be  communicated  to 
other  cows.  Cases  have  been  often  known  where  an  unsuspected 
unhealthy  animal  may  do  endless  mischief. 
One  thing  is  certain,  cows  are  among  the  most  excitable  of 
animals,  and  in  the  case  of  a  cow  aborting  when  in  company  of 
other  in-calvers,  the  excitement  is  abnormal,  and  the  owner  ma,y 
consider  himself  fortunate  if  he  gets  off  without  further  loss.  Cows, 
too,  are  most  inquisitive,  and  will  investigate  carefully  any  nasty 
matter  they  may  find  lying  about. 
Whether  from  it  they  become  infected  with  some  germ,  or  whether 
the  smell  alone  may  do  the  mischief,  Ave  cannot  say,  hence  the 
necessity  of  close  attention  to  in-calvers,  and  the  careful  removal  of 
obnoxious  matter.  If  possible  (and  this  is  really  an  important 
matter)  split  up  the  breeding  herd  into  small  bodies,  and  thus  should 
abortion  take  place  in  one  herd  the  area  of  infection  is  circumscribed, 
and  further  danger  arrested.  Plenty  of  disinfectants  in  the  sheds  is 
most  desirable.  Above  all  things,  if  the  coav  is  designed  to  breed 
again  give  her  ample  time  to  recover  her  normal  state  of  health. 
Cases  of  abortion  have  arisen  on  farms  where  for  years  they  liave 
had  a  clean  bill  of  health,  and  these  cases  arise  where  a  neAV  coav 
has  been  imported,  whose  earlier  career  is  wrapped  in  mystery. 
No  one  sells  a  really  good  honest  coav  if  possible  unless  there  is 
some  just  cause,  and  people  never  like  to  “  crab  ”  their  oAvn  goods 
There  has  been  a  proposition  that  all  cows  Avhich  have  aborted  should 
be  marked  in  some  permanent  Avay,  and  the  buyer  then  buys  at  his 
own  risk.  The  losses  incurred  are  too  serious  to  be  lightly  con¬ 
sidered — loss  to  the  individual,  and  loss  to  the  consuming  public. 
All  men  are  to  be  treated  as  innocent  till  proved  guilty  is  our 
admirable  English  law,  and  it  is  well  to  treat  all  diseases  as  infectious 
till  they  are  proved  to  be  otherwise. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Autumn  work  is  almost  completed — at  any  rate,  it  ought  to  be,  for  the 
winter  quarter  is  just  at  hand.  Farm  operations,  howeA’er,  cannot  be 
ruled  by  time  in  a  hard-and-fast  way,  and  we  have  to  make  the  best  of 
the  seasons  as  they  are  presented  to  us.  One  thing  only  is  certain  the 
farmer’s  tasks,  like  the  brook,  go  on  for  ever. 
The  same  may  be  said  as  to  the  work  of  farm  horses  ;  still,  on  many 
farms  the  horses  have  more  rest  days  in  winter  than  in  summer,  and  it  is 
often  the  case  that  the  farmer  applies  the  axiom  of  “  No  work,  no  pay  to 
his  horses  as  much  as  to  his  men.  But  is  this  fair  ?  If  the  farmer 
a  holiday,  does  he,  for  the  day,  confine  himself  to  a  diet  of  dry  bread  ? 
Hardly  so  ;  therefore  it  is  hardly  fair  if  he,  when  he  leaves  home,  takes 
the  granary  key  away  in  his  pocket,  and  leaves  the  waggoner  with  an 
empty  bin  and  nothing  but  the  straw  or  chaff  (dry  bread)  for  the  horses 
until  his  return. 
When  horses  are  working  hard  they  require  well  keeping,  and  there  is 
nothing  to  be  said  against  reducing  the  large  ration  when  the  need  for  it 
no  longer  exists  ;  but  sudden  violent  changes  of  diet  are  good  for  neither 
man  nor  beast,  and  should  be  avoided.  This  particularly  applies  ^  to 
winter  feeding,  for  a  change  to  the  animal's  natural  food  (grass)  duiing 
the  warmth  of  summer  must  be  beneficial,  or  Nature  be  at  fault. 
The  natural  foods  available  for  summer  or  winter  are  good  to  follow 
and  use ;  grass  and  Clover,  straw  or  hay  in  their  seasons  ;  but  horse- 
keepers  in  their  choice  of  the  adjuncts  to  these  are  most  likely  to  eir. 
For  instance.  Oats  are  a  perfect  food,  but  often  indigestible  as  well  as 
dear.  The  idea  of  many  farmers  is  to  give  the  strongest,  as  they  think— 
i.e.,  the  hottest,  food -viz..  Maize  and  Barley— during  the  hard  work  of 
Turnip  time ;  but  during  hot  weather  starchy  foods  should  not  be  used,  a 
mixture  of  Oats,  bran,  and  beanmeal  being  an  excellent  Avorking  food  tor 
summer  weather.  ,  . 
When  we  are  approaching  winter,  however,  things  are  diuerent,  and 
we  think  that  for  a  winter  horse  diet  there  is  nothing  better  than  56  lbs. 
of  maizemeal  and  28  lbs.  of  bran  per  horse  per  Aveek.  If  10  lbs.  of  linseed 
cake  or  4  lbs.  of  linseed  meal  be  allowed  per  horse,  to  be  put  in  the  water- 
tub  (kept  in  the  stable  under  lock  and  key),  the  horse  being  watered  fiom 
that  tub  (after  a  good  stirring)  and  from  nowhere  else,  thei'e  should  be 
little  need  for  the  services  of  the  veterinary  surgeon. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camdek  Square,  London. 
Lat.  51°  32'  40”  N.;  Long.  0°  8'  0"  W. ;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
s 
3 
1897. 
November. 
Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
Sea  Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inchs. 
Sunday  ....  2! 
30-741 
46-0 
45-8 
calm. fog 
45-4 
50-1 
40-3 
5-2-1 
35-8 
— 
Mondav  ....  22 
30-691 
42-4 
42-4 
8. 
46-2 
49-1 
38-8 
57-9 
33-1 
— 
Tuesday  ....  23 
10-513:  41-4 
41-2 
N.E. 
45-1 
41-9 
4  *i4 
46-1 
36-2 
— 
Wednesday . .  24 
30-433 
.39-4 
39-4 
N. 
44-8 
45-0 
36-0 
45-9 
37-9 
0-010 
Thursday....  25 
30-248 
44-1 
43-4 
N.E. 
44-7 
49-9 
39-4 
67-9 
40-1 
— 
Friday . 26 
30-531 
1  33-3 
30-7 
s.w. 
43-2 
50-3 
28-0 
56-7 
23*9 
0-034 
Saturday  ...  27 
30-080 
j  50-3 
48-6 
w. 
43-1 
52-9 
33-5 
54-9 
28-7 
0-311 
30-462 
1  42-4 
41-6 
44-5 
48-5 
36-7 
54-5 
33-7 
0-355 
2Ut  — Foo-  all  dav,  very  dense  and  dark  about  11  a.m. 
2»nd.-  SlLlit  fog  early  ;  bright  sun  at  9.45  and  fine  day  ;  fog  again  in  evening. 
2.1rd.  -  SliAt  fog  all  day,  extending  to  great  height  in  alternoon  and  causing  darkness. 
24lh.— Fog  alt  day, and  very  dark  from  11  to  noon. 
25th.— Milder,  with  frequent  sunshine  in  morning  ;  overcast  afternoon. 
26th.— Slight  fog  early,  but  bright  sun  all  .morning  ;  overcast  from  2  p  m.;  rain  m 
evening. 
27th  — Mild  and  overcast,  with  rain  from  4.30  p.m.  to  11  p.m. 
Temperature  just  the  average,  rainfall  again  below  it,— Ct.  J.  SYMONS, 
