The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1886-07-22
OUR RURAL TOPICS,
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers
MURRA1N IN CATTLE.


The dry murrain is easily cured by any quick.
powerful purgative if taken in time; otherwise,
as rule, it is incurable. Bloody murrain. some
times called Texas fever, is of very different
nature. Aphysician in Chattanooga who has had
practice in yellow fever and made many ex-
aminations of the brain, liver, kidneys, heart,
lungs and spine Of those who died, had pictures
of those organs engraved for his book.
That physician made many examinations of
the same organs in cattle which died Of bloody
murrain, and had his drawings Of thom en-
grayed for the same book. He told me
that he could see no difference between
bloody murrain and yellow fever. Said he,
Bloody murrain is yellow fever in cattle"
He said he had tried faithfully to cure the
bloody murrain, but found it impossible He is
a physician of large practice, an ex-Army
Surgeon, and at present my family physician.
There is one certain remedy for the disease,
to wit, an ak applied promptly to the head.
A York State man keeps a dairy near me- and
thinks he prevents the disease by feeding flax
seed freely about the time the murrain or
sickly season commences. Another thinks he
prevents it by feeding green corn and green
stock peas. / think / kept my cows healthy
last season by feeding occasionally green cattle
peas. i can never get along without those peas
| My York State friend had three cows attacked
with bloody murrain last year. etried fax as
usual. Two died, and one, that was not so far
| gone by - hours as the other two, recovered
j believe that the only cure is prevention.
Cattle on high lands do not have the disease.
The first symptoms OF the disease are easily
detected in mich cows, but in other cattle it is
seldom noticed until they are too far gone
lwould like to know what allied my neighbours
| cow. She was fresh one morning. cleaned WELL
| and was a vigorous, hearty cow. About SO
hours after calying she showed signs of terrible
/ agony. She was not sick five hours. As soon
as she was dead an examination was made.
| Her brain seemed all right; in fact saw nothing
wrong, except with the stomach and gall. The
stomach had 20bunches Of different sizes, ON the
inside all of them elongated. The longest was
i five inches, and about one inch thick. ALI these
| punches were rough, not at all like the inside
| of the stomach. The gall was about the size Of
quart measure, and full. A little Of the gall
had run out-not more than ateaspoonful. The
kidneys had worked of very freely, and there
was no indications of either kind of murrain.
E. NJ. Brooks, Kings Point Tenn.
sKILLFUL CULTIVATION.
Skillful cultivation should be the aim of
every one who raises plants and crops To make
gardening and farming profitable, ID is neces-
sary to have something in return for every
| stroke that is made and every dollar that is
invested. Even when only few house plants
are cared for We expect to see growth and
bloom in repay for our care; if not, our interest
in them would soon be lost. We devote an acre
of land to certain crop; it costs for the season
the interest for year on the investment made
| for IL, besides the expense Of preparation, ma
nuring cnltivating. harvesting, marketing, etc.
Our crop is but half what il might be, or what
| good cultivation has proved might be obtained.
The time and expense ofpreparation, of sowing
and Of cultivation, have been as much as for q
full crop, and the cost Of harvesting and other
expenses but little less; but part of the land
was too wet and the planting could not be done
| early, as 1t should have been. and on the sane
account the manure that was applied, though
| there was not half enough of that, could only
4 produce partial effects, aud So from these COM
bined causes, we get back for our seasons work,
| perhaps, the expenses and little more. The
interest and expenses were $50 on the acre, and
our returns, all told, amounted to 500 giving q
| profit OF SO. At this rate per acre on the whole
| place, with what IL provides for the table be-
sides, with great economy, one may, perhaps,
live along for while, and the land is growing
poorer, and the value Of the first investment is
lowered-the place is running down. But at a
little more expense in preparation, perhaps $40
| on the acre, enough TO insure the best result,
making the whole sixty instead of fifty as be-
| iOAts dhA tue crop 10 TWICE. great, anu PERHAPS
| further enhanced in value by its superior
quality. All Of this success, then, is profit
$50 or more, instead of loan amount that
makes prosperity and success, instead of failure.
HAPPY SMALL FARMER.
The following from the Clay Center Kan. Dis
patch is well worthy of careful perusal by every
intelligent farmer in the country: Peter Rote
is farmer in small way. He lives at the
edge Of the city, and owns but three acres of
ground. He has that well improved, keeps a
cow, raises a S25 calf and 500 worth of hogs
every year, has a rye pasture, 100 fruit trees, a
nice little home, and money loaned out, all in
four years. He loaned q farmer money last
year TO pay taxes on 160 acres which the bor-
rover had under cultivation Peter ia a
worker. He makes and saves; cuts his gar
ments according to bis cloth allows nothing to
waste; feeds his stock and shelters il from
storm, and is getting rich An ambition to own
great big farm has made many a man poor in
this County. There is more glory in owning a
three-acre lot unincumbered than a whole sec
ton Of land knee-deep under mortgage. Peter
Rote's head is eminently level. Wish we had
more Peter Rotes"
TICKS ON SHEEP.
Ticks sometimes occasion losses among the
focks when the shepherd little suspects the
cause, and this time of the year is the time
when they draw most heavily on the vitality
| anu VI bubtp. II INC buctp 10 hot
seem TO improve for the quantity of food given
them, and often are found biting and rubbing
themselves, it is a sign that ticks are draining
the blood from their veins and some remedy
should be employed Immediately. Sulphur IS
almost certain remedy for these pests and a
little Of il should be given in bran or meal to
all the hocks occasionally. III this remedy does
not prove effectual, as soon as it becomes warm
enough the sheep should be sheared and then
dipped in tobacco juice, or other dip that will
answer the same purpose.
NoTELETs
1t was philosopher who said diversified
farming meant fields of grain, meadows and
pastures; q kitchen garden and orchard a
lawn with trees aud. flowers; breeding mares
and milch COWS; sheep, swine and poultry.
Live stock is the groundwork and will hold the
ground fertile.
Some eggs will Invariably hatch little
sooner than others Remove the young chicks
at once and keep them from the hen until all
are Matched. III you do not. the hen will be
likely to quit the nest with the first corners
leaving the unmatched chicks to chill and die.
-Sparrows may be kept from meddling with
freshly planted seeds by stretching black cotton
thread tightly four inches above the surface OF
the ground along the drills of peas and other
vegetables. The birds do not see the threads
and humping briskly against them. are tripped
or tumbled over. alarmed, land quickly DEPART
"A Country GentemGn correspondent tried
the experiment Of hauling manure from the
barnyard in Winter aud placing il in heaps on
n steep hillside TO see how much of the value
would be washed out of it by the rains. The
result WIS that the increased growth of the
grass from the washing did not extend five feel