[Public Sales of Stock.]

So far as they have come to our notice the following are the principal stock sales announced thus far to take place in 1884:

[Remedy for Foot-and-Mouth Disease.]

Rev. F. H. Brett, Carsington Rectory, writes as follows to the English agricultural papers:

Some few years ago, when the foot-and-mouth disease was prevailing, I gave a farmer in this parish, who had the disease among his cattle, some sulphurous acid, and advised him to make trial of the following treatment: To put about two ounces of the acid into a quart bottle and fill up with water, and then give about a tablespoonful of this dilution three times a day to the diseased cattle. He acted upon my advice, and the result was that his cattle were quickly cured of the disease. Again, two or three weeks ago one of my parishioners came to me to inform me that one of his cows was affected with this disease, and to ask me if I could give him anything for it. I gave him some of the same acid, to be used as above stated, and advised him also to burn a little sulphur in the shed in which the diseased cow was kept, two or three times a day. He followed my advice, and three or four days after I was informed that the cow was doing nicely, and was giving her milk again. My confidence in the remedy is therefore confirmed, and I think I am in duty bound to make it as widely known as possible. In addition to giving the acid internally, I advised the moistening of the affected feet also with the same dilution with a sponge.

The sulphurous acid acts remedially, I conclude, by being destructive of the life of the microbes, or exceedingly minute animaculæ, that gives rise to the disease; and I feel persuaded that, if the owners of cattle would take the trouble to burn a little sulphur once or twice a week in their cattle sheds, they would not only protect their cattle from attacks of foot-and-mouth disease, but have them also in a more healthy and vigorous condition, especially in the season of tying-up and confinement.

I have underlined the last syllable of sulphurous to guard against mistake. Sulphuric acid would only be productive of mischief. Sulphurous acid may be obtained through any druggist in sealed stoppered bottles at a small expense.

The simplest way of burning sulphur in the cowsheds is as follows: Take a slip of cardboard, or of extra stout brown paper, about a foot long and two inches wide, and place on one extremity about as much coarsely-powdered brimstone as would lie on a penny piece, hold it by the other end, and apply the flame of a candle till the sulphur is ignited, and then wave it about in the shed, in order to disperse the vapor among the cattle; if there be straw, or anything else inflammable about, hold a tile, or something of the sort, in the other hand, under the burning sulphur, to catch any that may drop.