260 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  September  is,  im 
Trade  Catalogues  Received. 
Barr  &  Sons,  King  Street,  Covent  Garden. — General  Bulbs,  Daffodils. 
Biddles  &  Co.,  Loughborough. — Bulbs  and  Plants. 
G.  Bunyard  &  Co.,  Maidstone. — Fruit  Trees. 
A.  Chatwin,  Wheeleys  Road,  Edgbaston. — Picotees  and  Carnations. 
W.  Cutbush  &  Son,  Highgate. — Carnations. 
J.  Davies  &  Co.,  Wavertree,  Liverpool. — Bulbs. 
Dicksons  &  Co.,  1,  Waterloo  Place,  Edinburgh. — Floiver  Hoots. 
Promow  &  Sons,  Chiswick. —  Bulbs. 
Pope  &  Sons,  Birmingham. — Bulbs. 
R.  Prince,  Belvoir  Street,  Leicester.— RwZbs. 
A.  Roozen  &  Sons,  Overveen,  Haarlem.  —  Cape  and  Dutch  Bulbs. 
B.  Soddy,  Walworth  Road,  London. — Bulbous  Flower  Boots. 
R.  Veitch  &  Son,  Exeter. — Hardy  Trees,  Shrubs,  Fruit  Trees,  Dutch  Bulbs. 
The  Pestilence  tliat  Walketli  in  Darkness. 
The  unknown  is  always  dreaded  ;  what  we  can  see  and  handle  is 
not  half  so  alarming,  be  it  ever  so  strange.  Our  ignorance  makes  us 
terrified  ;  we  fiel  so  helpless  when  we  cannot  assign  a  cause  or  suggest 
a  remedy — Pandora’s  box  without  hope  at  the  botkm.  There  have 
been  times  of  dread  iliness  attacking  the  human  race,  against  which 
that  race  could  make  no  stand  whatever.  True,  the  savants  of  the  day 
were  ready  with  potion  and  spell,  but,  alas  !  the  potion  was  harmless, 
the  spell  powerless.  Lite  for  life,  and  when  it  comes  to  be  a  question 
of  life  or  death  it  is  wonderful  what  an  impetus  is  given  to  sanitary 
science. 
There  are  always,  and  always  have  b'^en,  men  among  us  endowed 
by  Providence  with  grand -mental  powers,  and  t^'ese  men  have  been 
found  ready  and  willing  even  to  lay  down  their  lives,  if  by  means  of 
their  research  some  practical  remedy  may  be  found  which  will  prove 
of  benefit  to  their  fellow  men.  Medical  science  is  ever  advancing,  and 
with  it  a  true  regard  to  the  laws  of  proper  sanitation,  and  we  are  glad 
now  to  think  that  some  time  past  great  attention  has  been  paid  to  the 
further  development  ot  veterinary  science.  Will  Professors  Brown  and 
Macfadzean  be  very  irate  if  we  dare  to  suggest  that  their  branch  of 
science  is  yet  in  its  infancy  ? 
When  a  patient  can  describe  his  own  sensations  and  speak  clearly 
and  decidedly  of  the  result  of  the  remedies  the  doctor’s  way  is  in  a  great 
measure  cleared,  but  in  the  case  of  animals  it  is  quite  different.  An 
animal  m  .y  be  certainly  ailing,  but  it  is  for  the  “  vet  ”  to  declare  how, 
why,  and  where,  and  his  difficulties  are  increased  tenfold.  It  is  so  often 
like  working  in  the  dark  with  little  or  nothing  for  a  guide.  The 
previous  history  of  the  animal  (if  lately  imported  on  to  the  farm)  is  so 
bad  to  get  at,  nay,  almost  impossible,  and  for  tear  of  blame  the  men 
in  charge  are  so  chary  of  telling  all  they  know.  There  have  been  many 
and  m  my  a  case  of  mysterious  ailment  that  might  have  been  made 
quite  clear  if  only  the  ya^d  man  or  the  horse  boy  would  admit  liow  far 
he  has  gone  himself  in  amateur  doctoring.  But  of  late  years  we  have 
met  with  a  disease  so  terrible  in  its  nature  and  so  certainly  fatal  in  its 
action,  and  that  quickly,  and  with  the  disease  comes  no  palliation  in  the 
form  of  remedies. 
All  at  p  esent  appears  perfectly  hopeless;  we  speak  of  anthrax. 
The  cases  are  not  few  or  isolated,  nor  are  they  confined  to  one  class 
of  domestic  animal  ;  indeed,  we  fear  in  many  cases  man,  too,  may  be 
liable  to  its  ravages.  See  those  cases  constantly  reported  where  wool 
sorters  and  the  like  die  from  a  species  of  this  disease  contracted  from 
contaminated  flrecfs  or  hides. 
Only  just  before  Christmas,  within  six  miles  of  our  residence,  a 
farmer  lust  in  two,  or  at  most  three,  days  twenty-three  beasts  out  of 
a  herd  of  forty;  the  rest  were  slaughtered,  and  we  suppose  he  would 
receive  part  compensation.  All  the  talent  (veterinary)  of  the  neighbour¬ 
hood  assembled,  and  the  deceased  animals  were  so  disposed  of  with  a 
view  to  secure  immunity  to  the  rest  of  the  stock  ;  in  fact,  we  believe 
one,  if  not  two,  Government  inspectors  were  down,  and  no  pains  were 
spared  to  tender  assurance  doubly  sure.  But  after  all  these  precautions 
we  find  that  during  the  first  week  of  February  there  were  several 
distinct  and  well-defined  cases  among  the  pigs  on  this  same  larm. 
The  cattle  attacked  had  never  b' en  brought  up  from  the  field,  bad 
been  many  months  on  the  farm,  and  could  by  no  possii  ility  have  come 
in  contact  with  the  pigs.  When  will  that  man  and  his  stock  be  sale  ? 
Who  can  tell  ? 
A  few  years  ago  there  was  a  similar  outbreak  on  the  farm  of  a 
friend  —  the  victims  numbered  seventy  head.  We  have  personal 
acquaintance  with  many  similar  cases,  and  our  experience  is  only 
the  experience  of  other  farmers.  As  the  life  is  in  the  blood,  so  the 
disease  is  in  the  blood,  and  it  is  most  essential  that  no  blood  be 
allowed  to  escape  on  any  account  whatever.  The  bacilli  of  anthrax 
will  speedily  die  if  cor. fined  within  the  carcase,  but  multiplies  rapidly 
if  exposed  to  sun  and  air. 
This  disease  comes  with  such  suddenness  that  the  first  intimation 
of  anything  wrong  is  the  dead  body  of  an  animal  which  apparently  was 
in  the  best  of  health  only  a  few  hours  previously.  When  this  occurs 
it  is  always  well  to  be  on  the  alert.  Fetch  the  nearest  “  vet.”  and  let 
him  take  a  few  drops  of  blood  from  the  ear,  and  if  he  is  up  to  his  work 
he  will  be  able  at  once  to  say  whether  the  blood  is  infected  with  the 
anthrax  bacilli.  Close  the  nostrils  and  other  openings  with  tow  soaked 
in  carbulic,  and  bury  in  an  out  cf  the  way  situation  with  all  the 
disinlectant  ceremony  enjoined  by  the  local  authority. 
On  no  account  open  or  skin  ;  treat  the  carcase  as  a  deadly  thing, 
for  your  own  sake  as  well  as  for  the  sake  of  the  rest  of  the  stock. 
This  bacilli  will  find  its  way  into  the  systems  of  other  stock  wherever 
there  -is  a  cut  or  small  sore,  or  may  be  taken  into  the  stomach  by 
means  of  infected  food  or  water.  Take  the  healthy  herd  to  fresh 
pasture  or  yards  at  once,  change  food  and  water,  and  carefully  watch 
for  seven  days,  when  generally  all  danger  of  infection  will  be  over. 
There  is  no  chance  of  saving  the  once-inlected  animal.  All  that  can 
be  done  is  to  treat  his  body  so  that  it  shall  not  be  a  source  of  danger 
to  others.  If  it  were  possible,  there  is  no  cleanser  or  purifier  like 
fire ;  in  lieu  of  fire  strong  chemicals  must  be  substituted.  The 
greatest  care  should  be  taken  to  see  that  no  one  who  comes  in  contact 
with  the  diseased  body  should  have  a  sore  or  wound  on  any  part  of 
his  person.  Prevention  is  better  than  cure,  and  the  death  from 
anthrax  poison  is  a  fearful  one. 
No  one  yet  has  ascertained  the  true  cause  of  this  pestilence,  and 
till  the  cause  is  come  at  there  can  be  little  or  no  hope  of  cure.  The 
outbreaks  are  ruled  by  no  cause  that  we  can  fathom,  and  therefore  our 
helplessness.  Fat  stock,  lean  stock — young  or  <  Id — all  appear  to  be 
equally  liable ;  and  cases  occur  in  isolated  districts,  where  no  fresh 
animals  have  been  imported  for  years.  It  was  an  old  fallacy  that  higb 
}(ediiig  ot  a  too  fotcing  nature  rendered  stock  more  liable;  but  what  of 
young  stock  which  have  only  been  kept  in  growing  condition,  for  the 
scourge  falls  on  them  too  ?  All  we  can  say  is — if  sudden  death  occurs 
be  suspicious,  and  use  those  precautions  that  are  advised  when  a 
deadly  plague  is  abroad. 
Work  on  ttie  Rome  Farm. 
The  corn  harvest  is,  practically  speaking,  safe  in  the  stack,  very  few 
bits  being  now  visible  in  stock ;  remarkable  progress  has  been  made 
since  the  typically  September  weather  set  in,  but  this  expedition  is,  we 
are  sorry  to  say,  partly  owing  to  the  light  bulk  of  many  of  the  crops. 
No!  The  harvest  of  1900  can  hardly  turn  out  to  have  been  an  average 
one,  for  stacks  are  not  only  fewer  in  number  but  smaller  than  usual. 
The  spare  hands  that  can  thatch  are  thus  usefully  employed,  and  all 
catchpenny  men  are  being  retained  as  far  as  possible  to  help  with  the 
Potato  harvest,  which  will  commence  very  shortly.  It  is  many  years 
since  the  haulm  died  off  so  early  and  suddenly  as  it  has  done  this 
season.  This  premature  ripening  must  greatly  affect  the  yield,  for  the 
crop  generally  was  planted  later  than  usual,  and  thousands  of  acres 
have  stopped  their  growth  at  such  an  immature  stage  that  there  will  be 
few  tubers  of  a  size  suitable  for  market.  Growers  are  very  anxious  as 
to  the  disease  showing  itself  in  the  tubers.  It  has  done  so  to  a  very 
slight  extent  as  yet,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  cool  dry  weather 
may  allay  the  virulence  of  the  epidemic. 
The  clearing  away  of  the  crops  has  made  way  for  the  spring 
cultivator,  which  is  now  so  universally  used.  The  bad  old  system  of 
ploughing  or,  rather,  lightly  skimming  over  the  Wheat  stubbles 
immediately  after  harvest,  thus  cutting  up  any  roots  of  twitch  each 
into  four  or  five  small  portions,  has  quite  gone  ont  of  fashion.  It  is 
very  seldom  we  see  a  plough  nowadays  at  work  on  uncultivated  stubble, 
and  we  hope  never  to  see  it  again.  Should  the  fine  weather  continue 
until  Michaelmas,  by  diligent  use  of  the  cultivator  not  an  atom  of  live 
twitch  or  couch  should  be  left  to  form  the  nucleus  of  a  fresh  patch. 
It  is  in  autumn  cultivation  that  these  valuable  implements  should 
find  their  chief  role,  and  if  farmers  were  also  sufficiently  particular  as 
to  the  cleanliness  of  the  Clovers  and  Grass  seeds  they  use  for  their 
temporary  pastures  the  years  of  foul  rubbishy  crops  should  be  shortly 
numbered.  There  can  be  no  true  economy  of  labour  on  a  farm  that  is 
not  in  a  clean  condition  as  regards  the  absence  of  ordinary  farm  weeds. 
A  few  heavy  dews  have  done  the  lambs  a  little  harm,  and  they  are 
inclined  to  cough  again.  Care  must  be  exercised  to  keep  them  off  rank 
fog  until  it  has  got  moderately  dried,  and  when  very  frothy,  if  the  use 
of  it  cannot  be  avoided,  the  lambs  must  have  only  a  limited  quantity — 
that  is,  be  only  kept  on  the  meat  for  a  short  time,  and  it  is  a  good  plan 
to  cake  them  just  before  putting  them  on,  as  it  prevents  them  eating  so 
greedily.  Every  change  of  pasture  should  now  be  made  use  of,  even 
worked  stubbles,  for  there  are  many  pickings  round  the  hedgesides, 
Bramble  leaves  especially  being  eagerly  eaten  by  sheep,  and  they  are 
an  excellent  tonic. 
