104 Bulletin No, 34. 



and, together with stock water stream?, is extremely wishful of 

 irrigating water. 



With nothing but false economy in its defense, and an abun- 

 dant supply of well water within easy reach, it may be properly 

 classed in many localities as a public nuisance, and its early aboli- 

 tion by a progressive farming community is to be earnestly hoped, 

 for. 



R. H. Forbes, 



Department of Chemistry. 



DEHORNING CATTLE. 

 No. 15, May i. 



The thought of saying something upon this subject was sug- 

 gested to the writer by seeing" a promising young bull suffering 

 the loss of his horns by what seemed to be a most barbarous 

 method. The poor brute had been thrown and was lying with 

 three feet tied together, his head fastened to one post and one hind- 

 foot drawn back by pulley and tackle to another. Three men and 

 a boy were working about his head helping" to saw off the horns. 

 The dry powdery manure of the corral was used to stop the flow 

 of blood. The operation of dehorning must cause some pain but 

 it need not be accompanied by such rough handling as to en- 

 danger the future usefulness of the animal dehorned. 



There are few men, if any, who have handled hornless cattle 

 that do not appreciate the advantages of dehorning and who do 

 not strongly advocate its practice. Not only is danger of injury 

 from hooking avoided but the animals are more quiet and peace- 

 able, giving better results in the milking corral and the feed lot. 

 With the loss of their horns they seem to lose the desire to fight. 

 It is no longer a question as to whether cattle shall be dehorned 

 or not but a question of when and how to do it. 



The old original method of dehorning was by use of the saw. 

 It is still advocated by some and has the advantage of taking off 

 the horn where other means sometimes fail. Clippers designed 

 for the purpose are more convenient and as a rule more efficient. 

 In the case of old animals not only do the horns themselves be- 

 come very hard but the so-called pitch assumes a bony character 



