Working Team Harness

Do not use martingales on working teams. See that the hames are buckled tight enough at the top to bring the draft-iron near the centre of the collar. If too low, it not only interferes with the action of the shoulder, but gives the collar an uneven bearing.

How To Estimate The Weight Of Hay

Allow 1 cwt. of hay to the cubic yard.

Power Of Horse

The greatest amount an average horse can pull in a horizontal line will raise a weight of 900 lbs.; but he can only do this momentarily; in continued exertion, probably half this amount is the limit.

Bedding For Horses

Sawdust serves this purpose well.

How To Utilize Dead Horses

Drag the body to some out-of-the-way part of the farm and sprinkle quicklime over it. Then cover with about twenty-five wagon-loads of muck or sods. In a year an excellent manure-heap will be at your disposal. Smaller animals may be similarly utilized.

Scratches On Horses

These may be cured by washing the legs in warm, strong soap-suds, and then in beef brine.

Horses. To Keep Flies From

Make an infusion of 3 handf uls of walnut leaves in 3 qts. of cold water. Let this stand over night and boil for a quarter of an hour in the morning. When cold, rub it over the ears, neck, and other irritable parts of the animal, with a moist sponge.

Wounds On Horses

If suppuration is inevitable, use carbolic acid combined with glycerine or linseed-oil in the proportion of 1 to 20. It may be applied night and morning with a feather. The wound must be kept clean, and, in the case of backs and shoulders, all pressure removed by small pads of curled horse-hair, sewed on the harness above and below the sore.

Compressed Ice

Thin ice from ponds, or small pieces left after cutting blocks from larger bodies of water, may be stored in a profitable manner, and at the same time its preservation insured, by compressing it into solid blocks by means of any simple press. In localities where ice is not attainable, snow might easily be treated in the same way.

A Simple Insect-Catching Device

Cover the inside of an old tub with liquid tar, and at twilight put a lighted lantern within, leaving the whole out over night. The bugs, attracted by the light, try to reach the lantern, and are caught and held fast by the tar.

How To Protect Cattle From Insects

Rub a very weak solution of carbolic acid through the hair.

Soot Manure

Save the soot that falls from the chimneys, when the latter are cleaned. Twelve quarts of soot to a hogshead of water makes a good liquid manure, to be applied to the roots of plants.

Manure

The bodies of king crabs, often found along the seashore, when decayed and mixed with sawdust, straw, muck, or similar material, make an excellent manure. Land so poor that no wheat could be grown on it, has been so enriched by the application of this compost, that from 25 to 30 bushels to the acre have been raised.