is important not to confound it with other cautious not to touch or handle any of the blood disease. or raw flesh, without first covering the hand. When it happens that one or more cattle suddenly die, especially in summer, without any previous visible indications of disease, the prevalence of inflammation of the spleen is always strongly to be suspected, although it may be mistaken for another disease called "blowing up," which is always the consequence of over feeding, especially on clover. As soon as the spleen disease makes it appear ance among a herd, the healthy animals should be separated from the sick, and the cattle confined to spacious, cool, shady and well ventilated sheds. Sultry heat, as well as fetid or corrupted stable air, must be carefully avoided. The best and most reliable remedy, as I have found by numerous trials in my practice, consists in pouring cold water upon the animal until it shows a violent trembling. This can be done by pouring the water, in a bucket, from a moderate height, upon the back of the animal, and every two hours one-half ounce of sulphuric acid, in a half pint of water, must be given to the animal to swallow. A still better inward remedy consists of chloride of lime, of which I give one-half ounce mixed with flour and water every half hour, until improvement is observed. The carbuncles have to be opened and cleansed with water or a solution of vitrol of zinc, by means of a syringe, after which butter of antimony is to be applied, with a small brush. This operation requires the greatest care on the part of an experienced person, and it is therefore better to entrust it to a skilful veterinary surgeon. In case of constipation, two ounces of saltpetre and three quarters of a pound of glauber salts should be given inwardly, and salt, soap and warm water applied outwardly. Upon the breast lappels, a fontanel of thirty grains of hellebore must be applied. If improvement appear to be felt after twenty-four or thirty hours, the following powder is to be given twice a day with bran fodder-two ounces gentian, ohe ounce saltpetre, one-half ounce powdered calamus, eight drachus of gold sulph. antimon. It is very dangerous to eat the flesh of an infected animal, and although this effect has not been felt in some cases, there are numerous instances where the eating of such meat, or even the juice or gravy, has been followed with death or the most alarming symptoms. The milk of the affected animal is likewise dangerous, although not to such an extreme degree. Persons who are entrusted with the treatment or care of diseased animals, should be very When a blister or fontanel is to be applied, or medicines to be put in the mouth of the animal, the hands of the person ought to be veiled or covered with gloves, and immediately afterwards every soiled spot of the skin carefully cleaned with soap, water or a solution of chloride of lime. Contagion follows very rapidly, and instances are recorded where the blood of an human system from the sting of a fly, has proved infected animal, even when received into the most deadly in its effects. The disease caused in the human body, if not the result of eating the flesh of animals affected with inflammation of the spleen, is called "black pox," which appears upon the affected spot, producing an itching or burning, and in a short time a small bunch arises, containing a liquid fluid; this spot becomes of a red, brown, and at last of a dark purple color, and changes into a hardened knob. Several days afterward a general and painful swelling, accompanied by disease of the whole body, takes place. The affected person complains of headache and nausea, fever and ague appears, with extreme and burning thirst, and dry, itching tongue; the mind of the patient becomes disturbed, and after repeated attacks of fainting, he dies in the greatest agony. I have witnessed two cases of this borrible disease, one in the dominions of Count Dolgrow, in Russia, during 1846; and the other upon the farms of Count Pontales, in Prussia, near Berlin, during 1849. Both these cases resulted in death, although the most renowned physicians were consulted. DR. HENRY CLOK, Late Chief Vetrinary Surgeon U. S. A., 312 Crown street, Phila. GREASE THE WHEELS.-Oil and black lead is supposed to be the best substance, but we have always found lard and flour apparently as good. If the wheels are kept well lubricated, very litthe difference will be found between the ease of running wooden and iron axles in ordinary farmwork. The smaller the axle, the less will always be the friction, other beings being equal; but be cause the spokes have a greater purchase, the friction being the resisting force, and being nearer the end of the lever when the axle is small. AMOUNT PRODUCED.-The aggregate production of wool in the whole globe is estimated as 1,616,000,000 pounds, or a pound and a quarter to each inhabitant, reckoned at 1,200,000,000 people. For the American Farmer." Trees. It may appear absurd to the owners of large tracts of woodland, that the trees of small gardens should be admired and thought worthy of as much care as we often find bestowed upon them; and, perhaps, there may be those who consider the leafy giants altogether out of place in such situations, and feel no regret at having them laid low, to make way for some cramped up flower bed, or may be for a potato or cabbage patch. We have been grieved in passing through the country, to see the want of taste and feeling shown on this very important subject by almost all classes concerned in the building of residences. To judge by the unsparing use of the woodman's axe," by those who are selecting sites for building houses, be they mansions or cottages, one would think that the noble trees of our woods and forests were a nuisance, to be put out of sight as quickly as possible; and that no piece of ground, whether of one hundred acres or only one, could be ready for building upon, or laying out as a garden, lawn, &c., until every tree had been rooted out and the ground made bare as a blasted pasture. overhead in the beautiful meadow beyond, and the green resting places remained; but, ere long, again the wcodman's axe was doing its work, and all the trees, young and old, were laid low; field and meadow "broken up," and the parklike (and what a beautiful site it was for a public park!) grounds surrounded by a Virginia "snake fence." The surface of that beautiful spot is now covered over with blackened stumps, and the prospect over the whole is one of desolation; and the old by-road is turned into as dull and uninteresting a highway as ever contractor rejoiced in. There may be situations where fine trees are in the wrong places, and must be removed. If too close to a dwelling, or where they shut out distant and desirable views, or where crowding upon other more valuable trees, but, in general, the enjoyment, as well as the beauty of a small place, is very greatly enhanced by the surroundings of fine and noble trees. Few in number, we believe them to be, and often in the way, it may be thought of flower beds, walks, &c.; but for such things, who, with any taste for the beautiful, has either eye or heart to sacrifice a noble elm, oak, or maple, or a horse chesnut, with its magnificent snowy spikes of flowers, a beech, with its foliage alike beautiful in the greenness of early spring, or in the rich, deep, red and yellow, glory of the fall; a wild cherry, with its racimes of beautiful flowers, and its carmine brightness in decay, or the "queen of the wood," the graceful, silvery birch, trembling to every passing breeze, and its leaves of golden hue covering the ground, when the winter winds have stript the branches, leaving them almost as beautiful in their winter barrenness as when clothed in their fragrant summer foliage. "Woodman spare that tree." Then the pathways, where we have walked under the shady maple and the spreading elm; alas, for their shadowy branches now! Poor comfort for those who admire those noble monarchs of the forest, to be told that the pathway will be much drier, and the roads may be kept in much better condition; that now the sun and wind will dry up all mud, and that there will be no accumulation of leaves and litter. It is sad to recall the rural beauty of some of those wild woodland scenes, where we have wandered with loved ones "now gone," in search of the wildlings of the wood. We remember one old by-road, with its avenues of wide, spreading American Elms, (Ulmis Americana,) which we think one of the most graceful and beautiful of all our native forest trees, on each side, and bounded on the south by a beautiful natural grove of the lovely Hemlock (Abies Canidensis). Beyond were the sweet, green meadows, gay with wild flowers, while every here and there upon its undulating surface were natural clumps of the same beautiful evergreen; and the scarlet ma-ordinary observer; for not only is the form but ple, (Acer Rubrum,) where one might sit and rest, notwithstanding it was within one mile of the limits of a flourishing aud populous city. But the beautiful spot, not unlike many others of a similar kind, was doomed-first came the ring of the woodman's axe, in laying low that beautiful grove of hemlocks; still the branches waved In the sultry days of summer, who does not value a tree for its grateful shade, as well as for its beauty? But it is in the fall when the latter quality is in its glory. In the gloriousness and diversity of coloring, we have never witnessed (in our wanderings) anything to equal the autumnal foliage of the American forests. To the real lover of trees, the interest is not departed even when the winter winds have swept the beauty out of the landscape, in the eyes of the the tree characteristic of each tree then seen. Then it is we witness the sheltering spread of the beech, the light playfulness of the birch with the strength and grace of the ash, &c., &c.; each and all have a claim on our admiration. We then find enough in the color of the bark, varied as it is from purple hues to silvery gray, and marbled from root to branch with many interesting kinds of moss and lichens, which, even to an unartistic eye, can but appear beautiful, Nor does the snow storm deprive the landscape of its beauties, as is clearly evinced from the window of the room in which we write, the prospect from which is varied, rich, and beautiful. The trees are now bending beneath or bearing up their feathery burdens; a contrast which renders them more clearly defined—the evergreens more especially. The pire and cedars, with their heavy loads of snow, (January 12,) standing out so noble here and there among the bare stems and branches, and now, frequently, when a sudden frost comes on during the night, and the gates of the morning are again being opened, when, lo! all the trees are sparkling as with diamonds, the dripping moisture changed to brilliant jewels, beautiful emblems of the depressing trials of the true Christian-meekly and nobly borne, not unfrequently changed to blessings, and the garment of praise given for the spirit of heaviness. Well may Ruskin say that no one can be far | wrong, in the way of life, or right temper of mind, if he loves the trees enough; if human life be cast among trees at all, the love borne to them is a sure test of its purity. Each individual that loves trees at all, has, most probably, some one special favorite, the preference not unfrequently determined by early associations, but whether it is the noble oak, or the graceful birch, it matters not, the longer we know and study our favorite, the more do we value it, and the playfellow of childhood becomes the friend of riper years. It has been suggested, that some of the trees in the immediate front of our college should be cut down, and perhaps it may be done to advantage; but few things are more perplexing to the lover of trees than the decision as to which shall fall, either in a wood or upon the lawn, or where a view may be opened or light and air admitted to the dwelling. No one who merely looks upon trees to be cut down, can understand the hesitation and alternate change of plan between summer thought and winter thought of our cherished trees; and is it not wise to ponder and look at the question on all sides, and remember that cutting down a tree is an irretrievable step? But when a tree is doomed to fall, it is best to make its removal a source of pleasure instead of indulging in vain regrets, as it must be admitted that by the timely and judicious removal of some, even noble trees, additional enjoyment is gained. But we would spare and cherish every tree whenever and wherever practicable, whether it be upon the farm, garden or lawn, &c. Many of our beautiful trees are fast dis appearing in the same way as they have done in other countries. France, says M. Thuan, will disappear, as many flourishing countries have, it she does not follow the example of Cyrus, who planted forests in Asia Minor. It is only the abundance of forests and water that enable China to support her 300,000,000 of inhabitants, because in this empire there are more trees planted than destroyed. Spain, so densely populated, and. so highly cultivated, at the time of the Romans, the Moors, and Charles V, owes ber desolate aspect at present to this waste of wood. So it will be in this country, unless we plant trees to supply the place of those we cut down. DANIEL BARKER, Md. Ag. College. For the "American Farmer" Estimating Corn in Crib. I frequently see in agricultural and other papers rules for estimating the quantity of shelled corn in cribs on the ear, without making any difference in the division for large or small cob corn. The presumption is that the seller means only to give five bushels shelled corn to the barrel in ears. The buyer of course cannot demand more than measure. I have bought and sold corn by the following measurement, which has given satisfaction. If the studding or framing is inside the crib or house, and the cob of the corn is of fair size, divide by eleven. If no framing but flush sides and ends, and the corn be deep grained with small cob, divide by ten. leveling the corn, multiply the length, breadth and depth together, and divide by eleven or ten, as before stated. EXAMPLES. 12 feet long. 11 feet broad. 132 6 feet deep. 11)792 cubic feet. 72 barrels shelled corn. 5 bushels in a barrel. 360 bushels shelled corn. 12 feet long. 11 feet broad. 132 6 feet deep. 10)792 After 79 barrels and one bushel shelled coru. Yours, very respectfully, D. H. LONG. Princess Anne Co., Va., Jan. 17th, 1867. 1 For the "American Farmer." Drainage of Flat Lands. CHAPTICO, ST. MARY'S Co., MD. GENTLEMEN: "I am satis nivis," says Horace, and so say I-“cribbed, cabined, and confined,' as at present I am. by the silent falling of the silver flakes, until it seems that shortly," Pelion upon Ossa," must be the result; and, were it not that I fished out, from under the garret and rubbish of the former proprietor of these acres, a whole lot of "old Farmers," running away back into the classic times of Edmund Ruf fin, Horace Capron, Ed. Stabler," "it id omne genus"—I say, were it not for this fortunate “raid," I should probably, on such a day as this, find myself "whistling for the want of thought;" for my select library, a cherished institution, which sprang into being with my boyhood, and grew with my growth, away down in the Palmetto State, was most barbarously "Shermanized," and, for the first time in my life, I find myself both without books and without money to buy. Think of my choice Roman engravings, and volumes, printed and purchased in the very land of the Dantes, Petrarchs and Tassos-Michael Angelos, Raphaels and Titians -all sacrificed to make "a Yankee Holiday." We may forgive-'tis more than mortal to forget. Please excuse this digression, but it is dif ficult to avoid "harping on my daughter," and I must now face the music, and tell you why I have had the presumption to address you at all. Coming from the rice regions, where ditching is the "rule," and having located myself here, if not again in the swamp, still upon very wide flat land, lying immediately upon the banks of the Wycomico, I suddenly found myself, after the first heavy fall of rain, surrounded by water--yea, “water, water every where, and, (many) a drop to drink "-and, in the total absence of drains, there it stood, freezing and thawing, and thawing and freezing, alternately, to my most perfect disgust, and a fatal premonitor that no crop could live under such circumstances. Thinking of the perfect drainage of my old rice fields, made me determine to introduce the "system" here, and lay off the fields after that fashion." Accordingly, as soon as I could put a plow into the ground, I struck off my flat fields into beds, thirty feet wide, and with Minor & Horton's No. 22 plows, and very large horses, threw the furrows to the centre; which immediately raised the crowns about twelve inches, and depressed the sides down to the bottom of the water furrows proportionately. A second plow ing, in last autumn, for wheat, on the same principle, has now raised these beds about eighteen inches on the crowns over the fall of the water furrows; and the late heavy rains of October so thoroughly put my system to the test, that I could exclaim with impunity, "Fiat justitia ruat coelum.” But, imagine my satisfaction when, upon rumaging over those old mutilated "Farmers," I came upon an article from the pen of the immortal Ruffin, entitled: "Various Essays on Practical Farming." Among these, I found one devoted precisely to my system of wide beds. But, unfortunately, both of the numbers are so mutilated, that more than 'half of the article is lost. I think, gentlemen, if you can lay your hands on those numbers, "July and August 1851," and, also, the "Farmer's Register, volume vi., page 185," and insert them in the Farmer, you will be doing not only me, but many more of your valuable readers, an important service. Perhaps, if desirable to you, I may send you a diagram illustrating how the drainage is effectu ally performed. much certainty of making a crop in this region, What do you think of barley-would there be the soil being a sandy loam? It was broken up broken again the same depth for barley, and relast spring eight inches deep for oats-will be ceive about 150 pounds Peruvian guano per acre. May it be threshed in the ordinary wheat thresher? Is Baltimore a certain market for it, or must it be shipped elsewhere? Let us have an article on "Barley." In these days of expensive labour, on the New England idea" plan, I am casting about for something to grow on the old pasture fields, instead of keeping up that old style "rotation;" and I would like to know how it would answer to bring on "Flax" as a rotation: say after corn or oats. If not demanding too much, I would like to see an article on "Flax Culture." My own idea is this: If, as I am informed, there are mills which will buy the straw, after it is threshed, without rotting, to raise it, and ship it to market in that condition, will the wheat thresher again answer for threshing out the seed, and a hay press for the straw? With many apologies for intruding so many things upon your attention, I remain, Your most obedient servant, The editor of the Mobile (Ala.) Register thinks the principal advantage possessed by the Northern farmers over those in the South is in the better implements used by the former. Artificial Manures. BY W. WALLACE FYFE. This is as fair a trial as could possibly be of the contrast betwixt the stimulating powers of [A Lecture delivered to the students of the Royal Agri- specifics, as applied to one particular crop; and cultural College, Circencester.] From the contrast of value presented in our last lecture between animal and mineral manures, excellent as some of the latter can be rendered by comminution and chemical solution, you must have felt the infinite superiority of the former as a resource of fertilization. The truth is, that the value of animal manures consists less in the amount or quality of their inorganic constituents, than in their ammoniacal contributions to the nitrogenised principles of plants. The gluten in wheat, being its principal nitrogenised constituent, may unquestionably be increased or diminished in quantity according to the quality of the Thus Hermbstaedt gives a table show manure. ing that Theoretically, vegetable manuring, or the antique practice of "green manuring," extensively practiced by the ancient Romans, who grew many crops for no other purpose, ought to prove more beneficial than it is ever found in practice. It is, however, frequently resorted to by the skilful farmer when he perceives it necessary to augment the organic constituents of the soil. Mr. Campbell, of Craigie, found no better way of manuring for wheat, after turnips, than by ploughing in the tops while yet green, and indeed as soon as the turnips could be moved from the land. Sea-weed is the only thing, in the shape of a plant, excepting, possibly, rape-cake, that is attended with great success in manuring, and being of marine vegetation, it furnishes most valuable ingredients to the land, such as carbonates, phosphates, sulphate of lime, and common salt. Mr. Wilson has well illustrated the result of applying various substances experimentally on pasture Jand near Largo, in Fifeshire. Sown and reaped together. A CROP OF HAY TURNED OUT I select the example because it perfectly accords with the theoretic value of the manures applied, and does not exhibit that sort of miscarriage in experiment, from whatever cause arising, in which we see the unmanured plot equaling or exceeding, in some instances, those supplied with known fertilizers. When such is the result, we may rest assured that there has been some mis. management somewhere. Although we do not, in our practice, manure the plant, but the soil, Mr. Lawes and others have so far indicated the approaches of science towards rendering crops of different kinds its patients as to have laid down the following rules for treating plants with manures, according to the specific objects of their cultivation. Liebig has distributed plants into three classes-silica, lime, and potash plants-ac cording to the predominance of these items in their ash, including, under the first, the ordinary cereals, wheat, barley, oats and rye; under the second, the leguminous, as peas and clover; and under the third, tubers, as turnips, potatoes, beet root, and the Jerusalem artichoke. Liebig commences his rotation under the potash plant, say with turnips, because, immediately after manuring with farm-yard dung, such plants would absorb the soluble active alkaline matters, and prevent their being dissipated by rains, and because these matters, being less required by other crops, would have to remain in the soil, unless first used up. Potash plants, moreover, should commence the rotations, because they would admit of portions of silicic acid, which other plants require, being separated and rendered soluble in time for the silica plants-wheat, for instance-which would come next in the rota tion. Very well, as neither the potash plant, in the first place, nor the silica plant, in the next, will be found to demand much lime, the lime plant-clover, for example-will come in admirably as the third rotation; and the land, during the growth of this plant, will, in a great measure, obtain rest after the exhausting action of the wheat or silica crop. Besides, although the silica plant may have required phosphates in addition to the silicic acid, it will be found that the lime plant, coming in succession to it, will benefit likewise by the phosphates, and yet leave enough, and no more, in the ground to mature the seeds of a fourth crop-oats or rye. Thus, therefore, we have the four-shift rotation, founded on the purest principles of science. Regarding the application of artificials in the promotion of specific crops, the following may be recommended; |