Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1878-04-25
CHE far1n aud fireside,
HARNESS CALLS.


The skin is frequently injured by pressure
or friction from some part Of the harness. A
first the amount of damage inflicted may ap
pear triaing, but continuance Of the pres
sure On the injured part soon causes consider
able arrangement, and even a slight woune
becomes of Importance, on account of th'
time required for its healing and the remark
able susceptibility of the part to the recur
renee of the injury. Sore shoulders are thf
direct consequence, in many cases, of badly
fitting collar. Some horses, however, have
very tender skin, and extra work, either II
respect of distance or increase Of the load tt
be drawn, will be followed by injury to the
shoulders, although the collar may be worn
which has been used for months previously
Actual excoriation of the surface of the Skin
is not commonly produced in a short journey
but very slight swelling takes place and tht
part becomes excessively sensitive, causing
the animal to resist any attempt to replace
the collar after it has been removed. Unles:
the driver is more than usually cautious ano
considerate, this expression of the animals
feelings passes unnoticed, the horse is har
messed in spite of resistance, and after time
is induced to pull with his ordinary energy
for the soreness which annoyed him at first
soon ceases to be felt.
The continuance Of pressure, however
produces further mischief, and, after time
actual abrasion of the skin takes place. A
few folds of cloth tied around those parts Of
the collar which are Immediately above and
below the seat of the injury, tend, in some
degree, to save the abraded surface from fur
ther pressure; but the chances are that by the
time the horse reaches his stable, the shoulder
will be so far damaged as to require some
considerable time for its effectual repair
This necessary rest cannot, perhaps, be con-
veniently allowed, the wounds are temporary
ly dried up by stybic and astriDgent applica
tons and the horse is again put to work, only
to suffer from more extensive abrasions. In
this way some horses shoulders are kept in a
miserable plight, requiring the constant use
of tincture and lotions to keep them in sutti
cient state of repair, to render the use of
collar in any form possible. 81
1t is not only in the case of the poor mans
horse that sore shoulders are found. Many
animals in extensive establishments are III
equally disgraceful condition.
Treatment of abrasons of the skin from,
undue friction is not difficult, at any rate, in
theory. 1t is principally necessary to remove
the cause of the injury and leave the cure to
the restorative powers of nature; but as time
is an object, it is always thought best to as
sist the healing process by some astringent
remedies, and there is no objection to the use
of the ordinary tincture of myrrh and aloes,
which is commonly employed in such cases
Horses, with abrasions of the skin of the
shoulders, should not have collar put on till
the skin has become perfectly healthy
Something may undoubtedly be done to hard
en- the skin and thus make it less susceptible
to friction. A strong (saturated) solution Of
alum, or of common salt, may be used for this
purpose with advsntage.-SIDNEY SWIFT in
Home Journal
AsHEs.-The statement has been made
we have never seen it tested-that bushel
of unleached ashes weighs about forty-eight
or fifty pounds. Assuming it to be forty
eight pounds, top-dressing of twenty-five
bushels to the acre gives 1900 pounds of fer
tilizer. 1t is estimated that this quantity Of
ashes contain about one hundred pounds OF
potash, three hundred pounds of lime, fifty
pounds of magnesia, twenty-five pounds OF
phosphoric acid, and perhaps ten pounds OF
sulphuric acid. 1t will be seen that ashes are
about equal in value to the best commercial
guanos, containing the very elements most
needed by plants; while guano is valuable
mainly for its nitrogen and phosphoric acid
The ashes supplies the pbosphoric acid, but
contains no nitrogen. This is the main diff
ference. The salts Of ashes also are general,
ly rendered nsoluble by water by the action
of the fire, but can be made soluble by chem.
ical processes.
Ashes are a good fertilizer for anything
that grows, from fruit trees down to potatoes
and garden vegetables Of every kind AS
long as farmers can procure them at a reason.
able price it is one of the best fertilizers they
can use. They may be applied broadcast, in
the hill or drill, or in compost. But in com
posting care must be taken not to mix them
with anything containing ammonia, or ami
NAL manures of any kind. From the perma.
nency of their effects, and the number of es'
sential elements that they supply, they form
perhaps the most economical fertilizers to be
had, and if residing near town, the farmer
ought to make arrangements with the inhab.
itants to purchase all they have.-EScaange.
The CHUFA.-The chufa is species of nut
grass but unlike that terrible garden pest, it
does not survive the winter The planting
seed must be gathered, dried and housed
After you save what seed you wish, just turn
your hogs into the field and they will do the
harvesting.
As regards planting and cultivating, first,
lay off the rows three feet apart, put in barn
yard manure, or some kind of good fertilizer,
bed on, say two furrows, open the bed as you
would for cotton, say, two inches deep, as
they grow near the surface. Drop one nut at
intervals of about twelve inches apart, then
cover. Plant about the 18th of April
Should moles destroy any they can be drawn
as slips and reset they never wither from
being reset. I reset half an acre last year
and l do not think one died. Keep clear OF
grass and weeds, and plow about twice. The
yield is enormous. Hogs prefer them to any
other food.
There is no comparison between corn and
chufa the hogs fatten faster on chufa, and
we do not have the trouble and expense oi
gathering them. They do better on light
soil-R. B. Noodle, in Rural Messenger.
The Poor GENTLEMAN.-There are more
young American men in the penitentiaries Of
this country, learning trades, than there il
outside of them. The principal cause of this
is that we are educating our young men fol-
gentlemen-trying to make lawyers, preach
ers, doctors and clerks out of material that
nature intended for blacksmiths and brick
layers, carpenters, tailers, and other honest
"hewers of wood and drawers of water" l,
is mistake, and big one, to teach boys