The weekly Shasta courier., 1873-09-13
FARM AND GARDEN.

Wnen cdTeleSSly leu VI illdHdSeu, are
very subject to indigestion. They be-
come dull aud potbellied, and thriftless
in appearance, their appetite capricious,
their bowels irregular, and their faces
pale colored, sour and badly smelling.
When such cases are neglected, trouble
some diarrhpa is apt to follow. The
ailment usually depends upon the ac-
emulation of sour curdled milk in the
fourth stomach, which is the only one
used while the young animal is fed on
milk, and does not ruminate. Laxative
medicine must therefore be at once
given. For three months old calf,
the dose may consist of two ounces
of castor or linseed oil, to which may
be added half an ounce each of carbo-
nate of soda and ginger. If the animal
is weakly and securing, ten or fifteen
drops of laudanum may be added. For
a few days, until indeed recovery is es-
tablished, an ounce each of common
salt, carbonate of soda, and ginger may
be given night and morning in little
milk; or where the calf is fatulent,
dull, and weak, an ounce of salt and
half an ounce each of carbonate and sui
phite of soda may be administered twice
daily. The diet, as in all such cases,
must be carefully attended to. If I'M
weaned, the calf should have its milk
fresh and sound, and thrice daily. A
daily allowance of linseed cruel or
bruised linseed cake will further be ser
viceable; comfortable shelter, dry
bed, and plenty of room are also essen
tial. When protracted indigestion ap-
pears to result from weaknesses, and
the mucous membrane has become ir-
ritable and relaxed, advantage frequent
ly follows the use of eight or ten drops
each of muriatic acid and creosote,
given night and morning in few ounces
of water.-North British Agicultm'ist.
SPECIALTIEs IN FARMING.-General
farming or mixed husbandry, in more
than nine cases out of ten, will be
found to be better than exclusive atten-
ton to any one specially. The owners
of cranberry marshes cannot be general
farmers; those who have no land fit for
tillage cannot grow grain, but the gen.
eral rule holds good. The reasons are
many, too many to discuss in full. The
general system enables the farmer to
more economically make use of his
own or hired labor; work can better
be distributed throughout the year. 1t
is, as a rule, better adapted to retaining
or increasing the fertility of the soil,
and it secures the farmer from the evils
following the fluctuations in price in
all specialties. With a good crop of
tobacco or hops selling at fifty cents a
pound, the specially farmer can look
with undisguised pity on his Flooding
neighbor; but if one of these crops be
his sole dependence, and sells at three
cents a pound, the plodding neighbor
may be asked for the loan of enough
money to buy the necessaries of life for
year. 1t seems paradoxical, but we
cannot always afford to cultivate those
crops which pay best Western Farmer.
ROAD SAND.-The sand obtained
from turnpikes, or roads macadamized
with any sort of granite, hard blue
stones, very difficult to break and pull
verize, has peculiar value. The grind
ing of such rocks or stones under the
iron trimmed wheels of wagons, the
wear of horse shoes, and the mixture
of this ground rock with the manure
scattered along the roads, produces a
compound which is found to be highly
acceptable to trees and plants. The
granite rock, we know, is rich in pot
ash and silica; but it is not these
elements alone which give this road
sand its particular value. BY the pro-
cess of grinding and triturating inert
substances, such as oyster shells, char
coal, and quicksilver, we develop me-
dicinal and other virtues which these
substances do not possess in their crude
state. And so it is supposed to be with
road sand. By the constant grinding
and triturating of the iron-bound wheels
and horse shoes, the comminuted gran
lite becomes prepared for the use of
plants and when this road sand is
mixed well with the compost heap and
saturated with liquid manure, it is found
to help the efficacy of the compost in a
remarkable manner. Under the infu-
ence of the road sand of this kind alone,
it is said that when applied to lawns,
white clover is sure to spring up in the
greatest luxuriance and abundance
where it was never seen before.-Gar-
deners Monthly.
SHEEP EATING THEIR WooL.-In-
stances of sheep eating their own wool
are quite common, especially during the
latter part of the winter and early
in the spring. Some have thought the
habit resulted from the presence of
small parasites, as minute as the red
spider of some Towering plants. which
produce an irritation, and to allay this
the sheep acquired the habit of biting
its own skin, and thereby eating its own
wool. 1t is generally believed, how
ever, that the habit is analogous to that
of hens eating their own shells, and
of the abnormal appetite of cows for
old bones, wooden rags, ETC.; and is
caused by an exhaustion of phosphate
in the soil. Old pastures and fields
that have long been cropped, are def
cient in these elements, hence the alb
sence of them in the feed, and conse-
quent want of them by the animals. As
a preventive, mix small quantity of