Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-02-06
Farm and Household.


Mr.. 7. S. Gold, secretary of the Connecti
cut State Board of Agriculture, is not only q
man of letters, but one of the largest farmer.
in the State, keeping hundred or more head
Of cattle and other animals, upon his foui
hundred-acre home farm. The diseases OF
animals have been among his special studies
and whatever statements he may make can
be considered very reliable. At n recent
meeting of the New Haven farmers club.
Mr.. Gold gave the following short talk upon
some of the more common diseases of our
domestic animals
propose to give simple talk on the COM
mon diseases of domestic cattle, explaining
their nature and the treatment of them. One
OF the most common and easily remedied ills
OF horses is scratches, sometimes called sore
heels. 1t is n disgrace to any man to allow
his horses to suffer from this disease any
length of time 1t is caused from cold drafts
In stables and from filthy stables rather than
from insufficient or improper food. 1t is
shown in n sore under the fetock Joint Of the
horse. The euro is cleanliness and in chang
ing an unhealthy sore into healthy one, by
rubbing on, with a wooden cloth, ordinary
white lead dissolved in water. Collie in hors-
es is caused by feeding or watering them too
soon after they have been hard worked.
Sometimes it is caused by feeding fresh cut
hay, but not always. | have seen horses suf-
fering from collie in some parts of the State
when ii was attributed to hay which had not
been perfectly cured in the NOW. Corn not
perfectly ripened is often the cause of the
collie The remedy is a plug of moistened
tobacco used in preference to an injection.
An injection may be used in case the tobac-
co process is not successful. prefer these
methods to the drenchings given by horse
doctors, which sometimes, as l believe, cause
death. Farmers horses are more liable to
the heaves than any others because they are
worked hard after hearty eating and drinking
For this reason we have very few perfectly
sound horses which have reached maturity.
In the South, where there is q different class
of food used, heaves are never heard Of
Judging from this experience, would rec.
ommend little or no hay, and in its place
corn fodder. | believe in feeding horses
moderately. l believe that scratches, collie
and heaves are wholly within our control.
will say few words on cattle. Milk fe-
yer occurs at the time of calving, and has be-
come more prevalent of recent years 1t &C.
ours in animals which are in a full and healthy
condition. Cows which come in in August
or September, after giving fine supply of
milk for day or two, stop giving milk. The
COW is down, with eyes preternaturally bright
sometimes quiet and sometimes moaning
Some claim that milk fever cannot be cured
1 believe it can. l would give two pounds of
epson salts, and would repeat the operation
in six hours if the second dose was necessary
l would even give third dose. / would give
an injection if the salts proved Intellectual
followed by dose of from one-half pint to q
pint of cider brandy. case of my own was
treated in this way, and successfully. l have
lost very few COWS, but several of my neigh
bors have lost many. One COW treated first
Thursday, was well on Sunday. Some have
said that the physic operated because the COW
got well but did not cure her. believe the
treatment saved her life. Every farmer
should have dose of the salts on hand, for
the delay occasioned by sending three or..four
miles to drug store may be fatal one
believe in sailing and small addition of salt
petre as preventive of milk fever and MUIR
rain or black leg. Surfeit is another thing
which throws cattle off their feet. Great care
should be exercised in feeding cattle when
commencing o--feed grain. The amount can
be increased gradually, but when begin to
feed l commence with as little as a quart at a
time. Pleuro-pneumonia is something which
we are not liable to have to deal with but we
should be informed concerning it. 1t shows
itself 10y short breathing, dry nose high fe-
yer, and the peculiar position of the animal,
with shoulders thrown out and weak hind
legs. There is n peculiar cough which may
be brought on at any time by irritating the
throat with the hand when the animal has
this disease. 1t is difficult to distinguish this
disease from consumption in single case,
but when all these symptoms show them
selves In herd, you may be pretty sure that
1t is contagious pleuro-pneumonia The best
thing to be done in a case of this kind is to
slaughter the whole herd.