740 Reading-Course for Farmers. 



Fly-nets 



The use of fly-nets often brings much comfort to working animals. 

 Working horses should be provided with throat-latch cloths when the 

 bot-flies are present, as these pests are very annoying, and the animals 

 in fighting them will often become excited, with a consequent lessening 

 of their usefulness. Whether to use fly-nets or fly-blankets may depend 

 on conditions. The use of the fly-blanket is not advised by many per- 

 sons, but there are conditions in which it proves very desirable, par- 

 ticularly on horses whose color is such as to fade on being exposed to 

 the direct rays of the sun. The fly-blanket, while very efficient in 

 retaining the color and keeping out the flies, is not so presentable and 

 is much warmer than the open net. Leather fly-nets are the most 

 presentable and the most desired by horsemen. But fly-nets and fly- 

 blankets are rather annoying to the teamster and are more or less expen- 

 sive, for which reasons they are often discarded entirely. 



To do away with the use of fly-nets a number of " fly- killer " prepara- 

 tions have been compounded. These materials are applied with a 

 small sprayer and to be effective must be used often. It is said that 

 they " do not soil or injure the hair and, all things considered, are cheaper 

 and more satisfactory outdoor fly protectors than are blankets." 



Blankets 



In our climate the use of blankets is indispensable. The horse will 

 prove more efficient and will endure much longer if reasonably pro- 

 tected against sudden changes in temperature, the cold rains and the 

 heavy winds to which we are subject. 



Stable blanket. — The proper use of the stable blanket is of first import- 

 ance. It is a common practice after the day's work to hurry the horses 

 into their stalls, unharness, blanket them at once, feed and leave them 

 for the night; in the morning it is desired to get to work early, the horses 

 are fed, the blankets removed, the animal's body curried a very little, 

 the harness is put on and in a few minutes the horses are at work. Ani- 

 mals treated thus stiffen in the joints, develop leg and foot diseases, 

 and soon become useless, and may be sold or traded as part payment 

 on others to undergo the same treatment. 



The usefulness of a horse can be prolonged and his efficiency increased 

 by proper blanketing and grooming. On arriving at the stable very 

 warm and sweating, the horse should not be blanketed until he has 

 ceased to steam, nor should he be left in a draft. If blanketed at once, 

 little opportunity is given for him to dry off, the blanket will become 



