The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-08-19
AGRICULTURE.

The DIGESTION OF TIE HoRsE.-The
horses stomach has capacity Of only
about sixteen quarts, while that Of the
OK has two hundred and fifty. In the
intcstines this proportion Is reversed,
tho horse having acapacity Of one hun
dred and ninety quarts, against one
hundred Of the OK. The OK and most
other animals have u gall-bladder for
the retention ola part of tho bile Sc
cretcd during digestion; the horse has
none, and the bile flows directly into
the intestine as fast as -seerctcd. This
construction of tho digestive apparatus
indicates that tho horse was formed TO
eat slowly and digest continually bulky
and innutritious food. When fed on
hay 1t passes very rapidly through tho
stomach into the intestine. The horse
can eat but five pounds of hay in an
hour, which is charged, during masti-
cation, with four times its weight Of
saliva. Now tho stomach, to digest 1t
well, will contain but about ten quarts,
and when the animal eats onc-thlrd Of
his daily ration, or seven pounds, IN
ono and onc-halt hours, he has swal-
lowed, ut least, two StOmachs full Of
hay and saliva, one Of these having
passed to the intestine. Observation
has shown that the food Is passed to
the intestine by The stomach In the Or
der in which 1t Is received. If we feed
horse six quarts Of oats 1t will Just lill
hls stomach, and If, as soon as he fin
ishes this, we feed him the above ration
OF seven pounds of hay, he will eat
sufficient In three quarters OF IN hour
to have forced tho oats entirely out OF
his stomach into the intestine. AS it is
the office of the stomach to digest the
heterogeneous parts Of tho feed, and as II
stOmachful Of oats contains four or five
times as much Of these as the same
amount of hay, 1t Is certain that either
the stomach must sccreto the gastric
juice five times rs fast, which Is hardly
possible, or 1t must retain this food five
times as long. BY feeding the oats
first, 1t can only be retained long enough
for tho proper digestion of hay, conse-
quently 1t seems logical, when feeding
u concentrated food like oats, with a
bulky one like hay, to fecd tho latter
first, giving the grain the whole time
between the repasts to be digestcd.
PUNCTURED WOUNDS. - Punctured
wounds Of the horse arc those inflicted
by a pointed body, rs nail in the foot,
point Of fork, or splinter of wood.
These are tho most dangerous kind Of
wounds, for they are frequently the
cause Of tlstula and locked jaw, says
the Modern Horse Doctor. We make it
an invnrirble rule, in tho treatment Of
punctured wounds, to first examine by
probe or otherwise, and remove any
foreign body that may be present, and
then poultico with tlaxsecd, into which
we stir II small quantity Of fir balsam.
In puncture Of the foot by nail, instead
of plastering it with tar, and forcing
tont into the oritlce, and then covering
the sole with leather, as most black
smiths are wont to do, VIC have the shoe
taken OIL, the foot washed clean, and q
moderately warm poultice applied, and
renewed daily, until the suppuratiye
stage commences. That once establish
ed, we consider our patient safe; for
many men, as well az animals, have
lost thcii lives from the absorption Of
p,ls formed in the wound after the cX-
tcrnal breach had healed. When Il hone
IS injured by tho point OF nail, or fork,
the cure Is rather tedious; the primary
wounds, however, nre the same. The
poulticcs may be followed by astringcnt
injections, rs alum water, etc. In case
Of Injury to the bone, we use pyrolig-
neous acid 4; to be thrown into the wound
by means Of n small syringe. If cXten-
sive disease of the bone sets in, the SER
vices of a veterinary surgeon will be
required. a profuse or unhealthy dis
charge from a puncturcd wound must
be met by constitutional remedies. Sui
phur and sassafras, to the amount Of
half an ounce each, every other day, to
the amount Of three or four doses, will
arrest the morbid phenomenon. The
local remedy In all cases Of this kind is
diluted acctio or pyroligneous acid.
HANGING GARDEN.-A hanging gar
den of sponge Is a very pretty window
ornament. Take a good sized sponge
and SOW 1t full Of rice, oats or wheat,
placing 1t for n week or ten days In a
shallow dish containing water. The
sponge will absorb the moisture, and
the seeds will begin to sprout before
many days. When this has fairly TAX
cn place the sponge may be suspended
by Il cord from hook at tho top of the
window, SO as to swing free where it
Will get a littlo sun. 1t will thus be-
come living mass Of green, and re-
quirc but little moisture.
TREES should be- planted not only by
dwelling houses and along roads, but
they should be In every pasture and by
watering places, and near every barn,
wherever cattle horses or sheep are to
be provided for. All these animals suf-
fer from our burning sun; and to say
nothing Of til cir comfort and enjoyment
the cost of shade trees will be many
times paid back in the saving Of the
milk. fat, fleece and strength, which