APPENDIX.

INFORMATION HOW TO TREAT DANGEROUS DISEASES.

There are several diseases which are very dangerous and run their course in a very short time, and prove fatal if they are not properly treated or arrested before they become firmly seated. I would here urge upon every owner of horses, (and in fact every disease which this work treats on,) to pay strict attention to it. In many diseases, what you can do must be done at once or not at all—the old saying is ‘a stitch in time saves nine,’ and there is a great deal of truth in this, in many diseases.

I would here urge upon you the importance of glystering in certain diseases. In the Wind Colic and also in the Spasmodic Colic, as soon as you ascertain what the disease is and not before. The truth of the matter is that no man has any right to give any medicine until he is certain what the disease is. Give the medicine and course of treatment prescribed in the disease then quickly follow with injections. If you have neglected to prepare yourself for glystering, back-rake with your hand—this is done by greasing the hand and arm with lard or oil and introduce it as far as you can. The glystering or back-raking never does any harm but always assists in relieving. Every owner of horses should prepare himself with several large beef or hog bladders, a few elders with the pith punched or burnt out, and by so doing you are prepared at any time to give an injection. This may be done by cutting a notch around the one end of the elder, then fill your bladder with soap suds or oil, next tie the bladder on the end of the elder you have notched, firmly, and introduce the elder into the fundament, and then you can force the suds into the fundament easily by pressing on the bladder. You should in all cases where there is great danger of losing your horse, give injections and continue to repeat them until they operate. There are many cases in colics that the horse is bound or corked, this can be perceived by the horse trying frequently or straining to dung; when this does occur it is very dangerous and you must in these cases give large doses of aloes and glyster freely, repeating until you get it to operate. If you fail to get an operation you will lose your horse. Preparation for glystering: Take warm water and make a suds with soap, add thereto epsom salts, and in some cases you may add ½ oz. aloes. Fish oil is a very good article of itself; from a pint to a quart for one injection. I have known 1 pint of fish oil to be given as a drench in colic, and has relieved where all other remedies have failed.

I will here state that there are more horses killed by medicine improperly given than ever was cured. For this reason, the great majority of owners of horses and in fact a great many farriers who pretend to know, do not know what the disease is, and next is a dose of medicine and perhaps in less than half an hour the horse drops down dead, and why, because in many cases the medicine given for the disease, is the dose that poisons or kills him, from the fact that he was mistaken in the disease, or given medicine for one disease when it was another. Therefore, I here again assert that no man has any right to give medicine until he fully ascertains what the disease is. This he can easily get at if he will pay some attention to the symptoms which are so plainly described in this work. As soon as your horse commences to complain, watch him closely and you will find him to point out to you plainly what the disease is, and you will find the horse to point it out to a hair’s breadth as I have described it to you.

Why is it that men will toil and labor hard through the summer’s heat, and expose themselves to the extreme cold in winter, and at the end of the year perhaps, will lose more in horse flesh than they have made. Millions of dollars are lost yearly in horses and a great part of it for the want of carefulness and paying some attention to the diseases of the horse, which costs no man any hard labor or exposure. Let me urge upon you the importance of reading this work over again and again, paying attention to it as you peruse it over, and you will find it gives you such information as each and every person should have for his own interest. I will here state that an ounce of preventative is a great deal better than a pound of cure. Many diseases might be prevented by being cautious in their treatment to horses and keeping them in a healthy condition. This should be done by using the celebrated horse powders on page 60, twice a year, fall and spring. Say you feed from 1 to 1½ pounds to each horse, each time, fall and spring. If you adopt this once you will never depart from it afterward, as you will find it to be a preventative of diseases and will find so much improvement in your stock that you will not depart from it. Every man that has a horse should habit himself to sprinkle a little salt on the feed every time he feeds his horse. The salt is nourishing and is just as much needed in the horse’s food every meal as it is needed on the food that a man eats.

The Inflammation of the Lungs is another dangerous disease. It is becoming to be a common disease among horses, and carries off its thousands, simply because it is at first a sneaking disease; the farmer and owner thinks very little of it when it first makes its appearance, and the truth is there are very few persons who know anything about the disease, and if it is suffered to run over the third day, you might as well take the horse out where you want him to die; yet, with all its danger and certainty of death if neglected, there is not a disease which is plainer in its symptoms or is pointed out plainer by the horse than in this disease. It is impossible to be mistaken in this disease if you but pay the least attention to it, and is easily conquered if taken in time. In this disease the foxglove, tartar emetic and nitre should be used twice or thrice a day, as directed in Inflammation of the Lungs.

Bots is another which is very dangerous when they take hold. Feed the Celebrated Horse Powders, as directed and use plenty of salt and you will not have one case in a thousand of Bots.

If you want the best Lotion in the world for fresh or old wounds on horses, turn to page 70, there you will find it, Tincture of Aloes and Myhr; if you want to cure the Ringbone or Spavin, turn to page 71, and you will find it; if you want to cure the Blood or Bog Spavin, turn to page 68; if you want a Lotion for to cure the Scratches in a few days, turn to page 64; if you want a Lotion for Sprains, Bruises, Swellings, &c., turn to page 63; if you want a certain remedy for Sweaney, turn to page 74; if you want to see the List of Medicines used in the diseases of horses, you will find them from pages 93 to 108, giving their medical properties and uses.

I will here name a few Domestic Medicines, Receipts, &c., and would urge every person and family to make use of them and keep them on hand, as they have proven to be very valuable and will do what they are recommended to do. Dr. Wickey’s Cholera Medicine cannot be surpassed for cholera, cholera morbus, diarrhœa, summer complaint, looseness of the bowels, sickness of the stomach, cramp colic, flux, &c. This Medicine is easily prepared and will keep for many years if made out of good brandy. There is not any Medicine now in use that will give the same amount of satisfaction as this, and it is perfectly safe and harmless, as it is purely vegetable, see page 148.

Prof. Biddle’s preparation for the hair and head will positively cure the tetter or any itching or humor of the skin, will prevent the hair from falling off, and has restored more hair than any other hair restorative ever introduced, see page 174.

If you want sweet cider the year round, turn to page 165 and follow directions, and you will have it; if you want honey without bees, turn to page 161 and you can have it; if you have the rheumatism and want to be cured, turn to pages 152, 153, 154 and 155; if you want a liniment that cannot be surpassed and is easily made, turn to page 157 and you will see how to make it. You should add double the quantity of laudanum and use the spirits of saltpetre—which is made by pouring alcohol over the saltpetre, the same as the camphor.

If you want to read an interesting subject, turn to page 131 and read the whole subject and you will have it in truth; if you want the best medicine in the world for colic, turn to pages 128 and 129. I will here state that the Pipsisseway is the best for colic, it has a whitish stripe running through the centre of the leaf. The Wintergreen has not this whitish stripe through the centre; both of them keep green the year round. The Wintergreen is considered very excellent for colds and coughs, it is used as a tea for coughs. If you want an eye water that will relieve inflamed eyes, turn to page 194; this is truly valuable and is a harmless application, yet easily made, costing but 6¼ cents.

I have here named some of the leading articles, which will prove to be very valuable to all that have occasion to make use of them. Try them and you will be convinced.

SCARLET FEVER.

I will here give to the reader the symptoms of Scarlet Fever. This disease has slain its thousands where the monster disease, Cholera has slain its hundreds, and it becomes every parent to feel it his duty to be careful when the disease is in the neighborhood. It is evident that the disease is contagious, in this form it can be taken by inhaling the breath from one that has it, and it is satisfactorily proven that it can be carried in woollen goods from one family to another.

Symptoms:—This disease commences with chilliness, dullness of the head and prostration of strength, according to the violence of the attack. There is sometimes nausea and vomiting, and the surface soon becomes florid and hot.

The throat is generally inflamed and the same appearance extends to the tongue, which is sometimes of a very deep scarlet, tinged with blue. If the symptoms are increased, it is called Scarlet Fever in a malignant form, the symptoms are very violent and the patient becomes pale and faint, the heart palpitates, the Fever continues to rise higher and higher, there is great danger.

The pulse now rises to one hundred and fifteen or twenty strokes in a minute. The pulse and the eruption will give the form and character of the disease. The eruption generally commences with red patches, which spread and unite till they cover the whole body. The eruption appears first on the face and neck, then on the legs, and the redness is greatest about the loins and bending of the joints, and on the hands and ends of the fingers. There is however not a perfect regularity in the eruption of Scarlet Fever, either in appearance or duration. In ordinary cases the eruption remains out about four days, when the grain of the skin begins to peel off and in a few days more it disappears. As the disease progresses, the tonsils becomes specked with ash colored spots and Ulceration follows. In favorable cases their slugs come off in eight or ten days.

If the Patient does not die by the ninth day, he will generally get well under proper management, though it may be three weeks, in some cases before he recovers. When this disease terminates favorably, all the symptoms generally yield, beginning about the fourth day after the eruption appears. The patient is more liable to relapse in this disease than any other, and caution should be used to prevent a relapse. Parents would do well to watch its first appearance and keep their children from its influence as much as possible using preventatives, such as keeping a tar plaster around the neck, keeping gum camphor, a little asafœtida and a small piece of garlic around the neck—this should be put into a small muslin bag and hung around the neck. Let the children eat small pieces of garlic during the day. These are considered preventatives by the Medical Faculty.

Treatment—Give mild purgatives, such as Oil, to keep the bowels open. Drink plentifully of balm tea, if this cannot be had, use Sage, Hysop, Saffron Blossom, or Dittany. This will bring out the eruption and keep it out full. If this can be accomplished, the danger will be very much lessened. This fact should be kept in view in all eruptive diseases. Keep a Tar Plaster around the neck; add to the tar a small portion of Spirits of Turpentine, keep this on for some time, renewing, adding turpentine enough to cause the skin to red. If the patient be not very careful when he gets out, he will take cold, and the glands of the neck will swell and suppurate and the ear will run, and if great attention be not paid, deafness will probably be the result.

They must be kept clean and Laudanum and Sweet Oil put into them every day till they get well.

6 REASONS FOR PLANTING AN ORCHARD.

First, would you leave an inheritance to your children, plant an orchard. No other investment of money and labor will in the long run pay so well. Second, would you make home pleasant, the abode of the social virtues, plant an orchard. Nothing better promotes among neighbors a feeling of kindness and good will, than a treat of good fruit often repeated.

Third, Would you remove from your children the strongest temptation to steal, plant an orchard. If children cannot obtain fruit at home, they are very apt to steal it, and when they have learned to steal fruit, they are in a fair way to steal horses, &c.

Fourth, Would you cultivate a constant feeling of thankfulness towards the Giver of all good, plant an orchard. By having constantly before you one of the greatest blessings given to men, you must be hardened indeed if you are not influenced by a spirit of humility and thankfulness.

Fifth, Would you have your children love their home, respect their parents while living and venerate their memory when dead, in all their wanderings, look back upon the home of youth as a sacred spot, as oasis in the great wilderness of the world, then plant an orchard.

Sixth, In short, if you wish to avail yourself of the blessings of a bountiful Providence, which are within your reach, you must plant an orchard. And when you do it, see that you plant good fruit, don’t plant Crab Apple Trees, nor Wild Plums, nor Indian Peaches, the best are the cheapest. Seriously, we have often wondered why our farmers did not devote more attention to the cultivation of fruit; it certainly would prove profitable and pleasant. An orchard of an acre or so of choice fruit, properly taken care of could not be the least profitable portion of a farm. Upwards of a hundred bushels of fruit can be gathered annually, and without much trouble from merely a small garden patch. One great point to commence with is to procure good sorts, for it requires no more labor to attend a tree that will bear apples worth seventy-five cents and a dollar a bushel than one producing those not worth more than two shillings. Let our farmers think of these things. But, the inquiry is frequently made how shall we manage our trees, to produce fine flavored fruit in a short time.

First, select good, rich soil, such as will produce 70 bush. indian corn per acre, if not such it should be made such by manuring. You cannot expect a tree to flourish and produce good fruit when there is no strength or food to supply it with proper nourishment. It is too much like building a house without a foundation, or sitting down to dine at an empty dish, there being nothing to support the growth of the tree, no food to supply it with proper nourishment, finally, it dies for the want of nourishment, if not, the fruit which it bears, if any, is small and knotty, having scarcely any taste or flavor. If you want nice, large, fine flavored fruit, prepare your soil before planting your trees and keep it prepared by manuring occasionally. It is unreasonable to expect to raise fruit from a tree when it is half or three quarters starved out, all for the want of nourishment. You may here make inquiry how to prepare your soil. This may be done by putting a heavy dressing of manure on it, then obtain sufficient depth of soil, so as to enable the roots to extend themselves freely and hold moisture without dying out in protracted drought. This may be done with a common plow, letting it run 8 or 10 inches deep, then by means of a good subsoil plow, running it in the same furrow, you will obtain a depth of 15 or 18 inches. This process should be continued until you have all plowed that depth. When you have this accomplished, run your harrow over several times leveling and pulverizing it finely. When you have all this completed your soil will be prepared for planting your trees. If you cannot possibly prepare your soil in this way, you should by all means dig very large holes, say six or eight feet in diameter and a foot and a half deep, working the manure through the soil as you dig it up. This may seem to the farmer as requiring too much labor, but will richly pay him for it in the end. Plant your trees in this soil firmly, leaving the soil a little lower about the body of the tree, so as it may hold the water, if filled up about the level of the soil, the water will run away from the roots and your tree may die for the want of moisture. Every tree should have a stake driven in the ground to fasten or stay the tree, so as to prevent the storms from bending and switching it about. If this is not done your trees will be injured, and will not thrive. There are a great many farmers complaining that they cannot raise any fruit. Truly, how can they expect to raise fruit when they will crowd their trees into small holes, and the soil so hard that you can scarcely drive a stake into it with a sledge, and above all the land starved out, the grass and weeds suffered to grow up at such a rate that you are not able to see the body of the tree. Young trees should be nursed and cultivated, keeping the soil mellow by repeated stirring and preventing the growth of any vegetable for several feet from the tree. A hoed crop is next best to clear mellow ground. A sowed crop, grass or weeds is ruinous to young trees. After you have your trees well set, you should by all means wash them down once or twice a year with soap and water. Say about one quart of soap to two quarts of water—wash from the large branches to the bottom—this will destroy the insects that may be put into the body and limbs of the tree. Many drooping trees have been made healthy by using this wash. If you wish to preserve your peach trees, it is necessary for you to apply this to them twice a year, also frequently pouring reasonably hot soap suds to the body and root of the tree; this will kill and destroy the worm which so frequently destroys your trees. The lie which is left at the bottom of the kettle from boiling hot soap is very good and should always be used to wash your trees. If you wish to preserve your peach trees, you should by all means search the roots and body of the tree, and where you find any gum caused by the worm, remove it by means of a knife, carefully cutting away where any gum is found, and as far as there seems to be a hollow under the bark, then wash the whole stem well, suffering it to run to the roots: It is stated by a worthy gentleman, that by planting tansey around the tree, the worm will not trouble the roots. This is simple enough and worthy of a trial. It is hoped that these important truths will cause the Farmer and others to put them in practice, and it most undoubtedly will be the means of raising improved fruit and will be richly paid for all his labour.

HOW TO CATCH AN OWL.

Those who are troubled with owls, let them set a steel trap on the top of a pole near the hen roost, and you will be certain to catch him.